January 27th

Day Three: Bray Day

As if we had not had enough spontaneity within the past 36 hours, our group decided to travel to Bray, a small coastal town an hour south of Dublin. 

Treating ourselves to breakfast at WUFF and indulging in a caramel macchiato (which is very different than it is in the US,… basically a shot of coffee) with a side of strawberry and nutella pancakes, we jumped on the train. 

In just under an hour, we were looking across the expanse of Muir Éireann, the ocean bordering the rocky coast. We walked through a neighborhood to get to the main street (admiring door art along the way) and suddenly took in the many buildings, restaurants, dogs, and haunted manor before us. 

The stoney beach was unexpected, each smoothed over and gentle to the touch. I could not help but think of my mom, a rock collecting (stealing) enthusiast, who would be having a hay day if she were here. So naturally a pocketed a stone I particularly liked and made my way to the main event. 

Bray Head and Cliff Walk. A paved and organic path to the top of a hillside that overlooked the town, the bay, and every rolling hill in between. Enjoying our meander to the top, I took photos of plants, stone walls, and soaked up all of the green I had been deprived of in the city.

It was not until we made our way up the hillside that things started to get tricky. We had found a path that looked like it might lead to the top, or at least we thought it was a path. Whether it was or not was never truly confirmed nor denied. Still, eager to begin our climb, we headed vertically up the muddy path.

Our optimism quickly plunged when the rain came down and threatened our already tedious climb. To say morale was running low would be a bit of an… understatement. It got to the point where the only option we had was to continue going up, because to go down would mean sliding uncontrollably down and off of the cliff. 

It seemed like a lifetime. We would stomp up and up and up the hill but look around and get seemingly nowhere. Until the top of the white cross peaked over the brush. 

With success in sight, we trudged on, and were rewarded with a breathtaking view of the town and wilderness and ocean below. When I tell the story of our trip and show people pictures, I plan to tell them that we had timed the walk perfectly so that we would see the sunset. The rays of light cut through the overcast and onto the color of the landscape. 

We grabbed a group picture from a couple with a chocolate lab, then discovered a second, much less steep and questionable path opposite from the direction we had come. Happy day. We cheerfully made our way down the tranquil trail, enjoying the sun set before us in the middle of the sky, and ended up at the Ocean Bar and Grill where I selected a mushroom rossioto to savor and warm me.

Having our travels and hunger fulfilled, we boarded the next train home, played brain teasers to keep us from sleep, and enjoyed the company of hot chocolate as we trudged home.

I also made the spontaneous decision (accredited to my oldest sister advising me to do what sounded fun and not waste opportunities) to join a handful of my newfound friends on a trip to Iceland the coming weekend. 

Why not right ?