Howth and a lot of Rain!

I woke up to a dreary, wet, gray Sunday and was prepared to continue my sleep when my friend texted me that, in fact, our plans to go to Howth were still on. Howth is a fishing town about 30 minutes north of Dublin but with the weather being not stellar I was fine taking a literal rain check. But she was excited, and her friend from out of town was excited, so I put on my excited (yet tired) face and prepared to leave.

We had a 20-minute walk to the train station and the rain was spitting on and off the entire time. I was very glad to get my ticket, have found the station, and ultimately to settle in my seat on the train.The journey was uneventful - except for the mother with young children that slipped as she exited the coach - and luckily all of the surrounding Samaritans jumped to her rescue and made sure she was okay. You see, the weather was bad.

When we got to Howth my feet were killing me. The boots I wore that day are normally very comfortable and good for walking. Yet, occasionally, they really hurt my feet and I have no idea why or when it will happen. This was one of those days.

We walked along the shore in Howth and saw the beautiful, foggy views in front of us. They really were nice, but the pelting wind was a bit unattractive. We started up this hill and, after deciding to do the 45-minute hike, we somehow wandered onto the 2.5 hour hike. 

We slipped and trudged around the peninsula, with a steep mountain side to our right, steep cliffs and the ocean on our left, layers of mud and water beneath our feet, and rain above our heads. I am a quick walker so led the way with my umbrella as the two others followed and one of them slipped in a puddle in a particularly muddy spot.

I tried to keep my spirits up and did a decent job but nearly ran to civilization as soon as I saw it. We must have looked so disheveled with our hair soaked and windblown, our bodies muddy and our faces tired.

Once we got the the end of the hike, the top of the mountain, we had to walk via pavement back to the village which was about 30 minutes away. We settled into a cute cafe for lunch and after deciding on a quesadilla the server (of course) told me they were out. Well then a chicken and cheese panini it is sir, which resulted as my final choice. I also got a chocolate milkshake which, though small, was tasty.

For dessert we went to the Howth Market where we had seen sweets earlier. I wandered over to a dessert vender who said I could get two things for three euros (as opposed to one for two euros as marked). Naturally I settled on and ate away a chocolate cheesecake and a kiwi cake. Halfway through I was full and we walked back towards the station.

On the way back I hopped off the train downtown and ran some errands before heading back to my apartment. It felt good to do some shopping after a day in the rain and nature.

Howth is definitely a cute place for hiking and milling about. I am glad that I got to go their as a nice day trip but am even more excited to return when the weather is warmer and sunny! As I would with every place I suppose. 

Yours,

The Opinionated Lassie