Luck of the Irish

This summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel. When you've got an unlimited amount of time and have been saving money since high school for a trip such as this, deciding where to go can be a very fun but daunting task. Fortunately, I knew one place that was necessary for me to visit -- Ireland.

I worked at CNN in Atlanta in the summer of 2009. I was assigned to work on HLN's Morning Express with Robin Meade. I was so excited to work on this show because I had already been a fan of Robin. My first week, I was the only intern working on the show, but I had been told there was another intern who would join me later. To my happy surprise, that other intern turned out to be one of my future best friends.

Brigid Moore

Brigid Moore is from a small town in Northern Ireland. She is one of the most interesting, funny, intelligent and lovely -- inside and out -- people I've encountered. She made my summer and experience at CNN so much more enjoyable! I more than gladly accepted her offer to come visit her and her family in Northern Ireland the next summer!

God, as always, orchestrated the trip perfectly. My best friend, Brigitta Andrews, was unexpectedly given a month off work and was able to join me for the first ten days of my trip. We decided to spend a week with Brigid in Ireland first.

Me with Brigid and Brigitta

Brigid picked Brigitta and me up from the airport in Dublin on June 8, and drove us to her hometown of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Armagh is a small town known as the religious capitol of Ireland, full of beautiful cathedrals and churches. We experienced the traditional Irish weather -- overcast and light rain -- the whole time we were in Armagh. Brigid took us first to her parent's lovely home to unload our bags (mine being the largest suitcase known to mankind) and meet her father, Paddy Moore.

It is obvious where Brigid gets her quick wit and intelligence from. Paddy greeted Brigitta and me with warm hugs and a huge smile on his face. He and Brigid made us a snack -- tea and toast -- while they shared Irish history with us. Paddy is like a walking encyclopedia on Ireland. He shared stories about his native land that dated from thousands of years ago to today. He really was fascinating.

After getting settled, Brigid and Paddy took us to one of the world's oldest historical and Ireland's most important archeological sites, the Navan Center and Fort. There were plenty of interactive activities for us to enjoy, and we were able to walk around the grounds and see the kinds of homes Irish people lived in over two thousand years ago.

Navan Fort

Brigid and Brigitta

After seeing this beautiful area, we ventured around Armagh's various cathedrals and churches. Each one was unique and so beautiful. The cathedral where Brigid's family attends is very large and traditional. There were many pieces of beautiful artwork and gold-covered fixtures. Another cathedral we visited was large with vaulted ceilings and many marble statues throughout it's space. Something surprising, though, was the presence of flat screen televisions on ever-other marble pillar beside the pews. It was interesting to see these modern touches on an otherwise traditional worship area.

After an afternoon of sightseeing, we returned home to the Moore residence, where we met Brigid's lovely and kind mother, Goretti. She prepared a wonderful meal and even made a special dish for me since I'm vegetarian. It was such a treat!

Exhausted from our flight and determined not to let jet-lag ruin our trip, Brigitta and I turned in early.

Fun taxi cabs in Belfast

The next morning, we took a bus to Belfast, the city where Brigid currently lived at the time and where she had attended "uni." It was such a wonderful city! The history there was rich and the city was covered with old architecture, but there was also a very strong presence of modern life. It was a great combination of old and new.

We began by visiting Brigid's student home, a great two-story house that she shared with two of her best friends. We went to the near-by botanical gardens and then visited Queens College, the main university in Ireland. It was so beautiful, so different than the "constantly-under-construction" University of Tennessee. After exploring the city a bit, Brigid introduced us to two of my new favorite shops -- TopShop and Prixmark.

Ariel view of Belfast

TopShop is a moderately-priced trendy place to buy clothes, shoes and accessories. I spent about an hour-and-a-half trying on European styles Brigid had picked out for me. TopShop was inside a shopping center that had a viewing deck on its top floor, allowing for an ariel look over the entire city of Belfast.

Prixmark was a great store for buying all things and was much kinder to my wallet. :) There was an interesting mishap that occurred at Prixmark. True to my bargain-buying self, I was going crazy in the shoe section, where I was finding great pairs of shoes for 2-10 pounds ($6-$25) each! I was so busy trying shoes on, that I misplaced one of the sandals I had actually worn into the store. I had to spend the remainder of my shopping experience with one bare foot until I could purchase another pair of sandals at the end -- good thing they were so inexpensive!

We enjoyed a delicious dinner after shopping and then headed back to Brigid's house to get ready for an exciting evening. Brigid's roommate, Eimear, was hosting a charity night to raise money for Habitat for Humanity. After meeting some of Brigid's friends at her house, we headed to a near-by venue for the Charity Night.

Patricia, Steph, Brigid, Me and Brigitta

Brigitta's Solo

Eimear's brother is a member of the band that was playing American classics like "Jessie's Girl," "American Pie," and "Foxy Lady" at the Charity Night. Brigitta and I were thoroughly enjoying dancing our hearts out and being the only Americans in a room full of Irish people! Brigitta even got up and sang an amazing a cappella version of "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted," causing a standing ovation from the unsuspecting crowd.

It was such a wonderful night, but the best of our Irish adventure was yet to come.