In honor of Saint Patrick’s day I have been thinking of Ireland once again. I am taking my parents there this summer so it is double on my mind. And frankly, Ireland is a part of me and I think of it all the time.
I remember back to 1999 on my first trip to Ireland. I traveled on my own to take a summer class at Trinity College Dublin and met up with my brother Sean afterwards. It was the first big international trip for both of us. While preparing to embark on our journey away from Dublin we were sitting having dinner in a small local restaurant in town. We were excited and happy to be together on our journey when Van Morrison started singing on the radio. Having been familiar with “Brown Eyed Girl” as a kid I had never heard this “new” song he sang. “Cyprus Avenue” played on the radio in the restaurant and I was enthralled. I had to know what this was. Well, it turns out it is off an early 1968 album called Astral Weeks and wasn’t new at all. I bought the CD while we were still in Dublin and it has remained one of my all time favorite albums. My husband and I even saw Van Morrison in concert at the Hollywood Bowl in 2008 where he sang all of the songs off of the album as a 40th anniversary tour of the albums release.
It’s amazing to me how one small moment on a trip can stay with you so many years later. Do you have any travel moments that stick with you many years later? Songs or music than bring you back to a time and place? Smells or colors that bring you back to a particular travel moment?
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day friends! Slante!
Bulldog Travels / Photos By Jenny 