I took a bus to Dublin airport and met Riley after she went through customs. The rental car was crazy expensive just because of the strangeness of the insurance here. And Riley got to do all the driving because I opted out–no way was I going to drive on the left. She actually adjusted pretty quickly and managed over the course of the week to only run into a few bushes and one wall.

The first place we visited was Malahide Castle & Gardens, en route to Howth. Malahide is this many-times renovated castle originally built in the 12th century, and it was the seat of the Talbot family for a long time. After Cromwell rolled over Ireland, it was the base for ruling over Dublin and its surroundings. I remembered this from my last visit, but the phrase “beyond the pale” comes from the English, who called the area close to Dublin “the Pale” and the wild, rural land beyond it was considered barbaric/uncivilized. Thus why things that are unimaginable or rude are beyond the pale.

Next, we drove down the coast to Howth, a peninsula close to Dublin, where we had our first fish & chips and walked down to the lighthouse. Riley is getting married in April and I’m officiating, so we had a lot to talk about.