I've just come home from my summer holidays! They started out in Kusadasi, Turkey then I ventured onto Schull in West Cork, followed by Cobh, Cork and I'm finally home in Dublin.
I left for Kusadasi mid-July and I spent a fantastic week there! Our flight was delayed an hour and a half leaving Cork so we didn't get to our hotel until 5, almost 6am and breakfast finished at 10am so we only got 3 hours sleep the first night. We spent the first day exploring the town and relaxing by the pool. The weather was absolutely stunning but I don't understand how people can actually work in the heat! For the remainder of the week, I went to Long Beach, Ladies Beach, Ephesus and just explored what the town had to offer.
Most people recommended Long Beach as it was 15km of beautiful sandy beaches but the water was quite stoney and it took about 40 minutes to get to. Ladies Beach was only a 10/15 minute drive and I definitely preferred Ladies Beach over Long Beach! The water was stunningly clear and I literally spent hours in it. Ephesus, an ancient city was beautiful. Only 10% of the city has been uncovered and it already takes two and a half hours to walk through. It was so fascinating to see all the ruins but then see how the whole city would have looked in its day as the tourist office had a 3D model at the start of the tour.
The shopping in Kusadasi was pretty fab. All the shops were in what the locals called "Bazaars" - I would call them market stalls. They ranged from Turkish souvenirs to clothes, shoes and bags. I loved the shops and spent a fair amount of time in them. Although the men in the shops did scare me at first.....
By the end of my week in Turkey, I didn't want to leave, I loved spending time by the sea and beside the pool but I did notice how sunburnt I was getting - even with factor 50! So when I flew back into Cork the following Sunday, I was glad to be home!
The following morning I had to get up bright and early to catch a bus to Schull, to spend a fortnight with my family - who I hadn't seen in five weeks. Schull is a cute village in West Cork. It only has one street with shops - Main Street. It's a real holiday village though. I've been going since I was a baby and my summer wouldn't be the same without a trip to Schull. The majority of the two weeks was spent on the beach. I alternated between a small, sheltered beach called Ballyrisode and a larger, surfing beach called Barleycove. I loved the water until the last two trips to the beach. On my last trip to Barleycove, I was bitten/attacked by sea lice, they sound as horrible as the looked! I noticed these teeny tiny black things start sticking to me and I though seaweed. How wrong I was! After a couple seconds they started to hurt and I got out of the water straight away! I got over it though and was left with spots where they had stuck. On my last trip to Ballyrisode, we arrived just as the tide was beginning to fall so the water was slightly sandy. I didn't mind and jumped right in for a swim. The swim was lovely until I was going back in and got stung by a jellyfish! Not gonna lie, I cried, it was the first time I'd ever gotten stung!
Other than those two mishaps, I really enjoyed Schull and can't wait to go back next year!
After Schull, I went to Cobh, a town about half an hour from Cork City and in the heart of Cork Harbour. I love Cobh, it's like a second home to me! I spent some of the week shopping in the city and the rest of the week in Cobh. I love walking along the water routes and being so close to the sea. For my last couple days in Cobh, Cobh Peoples' Regatta was taking place. It happens every year and the highlight of the regatta fir me, is the fireworks on the Sunday night. I've seen the fireworks every year since I was little but for the last few years I've missed out on them as I had to be home beforehand. I made it my mission to stay and see the fireworks this year and I'm glad to say I succeeded. I saw the fireworks at 10pm on Sunday night and then I drove back home to Dublin. The fireworks symbolised the end of my summer as I had to start work the next day and school next week...... SOMEBODY HOLD ME PLEASE!
Although the thought of going back to school is a bitter one, I thoroughly enjoyed my summer and would't have changed it one bit!
I hope everyone had an amazing summer,
xoxo
Ciara.
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