A Travelling Mum Without Her Family In Ireland: Prelude

I didn’t know it would be like this. I pottered around my room, turning over a brochure on the table, playing with the lamp fringe, blowing my hair out my face. I toddled over to the table for some chocolate and water, reading the thank you card from the hotel and sunk into a rich, plush lounge. What was I suppose to do with myself? Alone in a hotel room at dinnertime. No one to feed, no one to shower, no one to tuck into bed. I looked out the window feeling slightly melancholy before an exuberant joy started to fill me. I was ALONE in a hotel room. I jumped from my chair and flung myself backwards on the bed, a whole king size bed just for me. Weeeeeeeee! 

Josh and I came to Dublin for a travel blogging conference called TBEX. It was our first time attending anything like this and we were overwhelmed by the amount of effort and time put into it, but that’s a whole other story.

The organizers of the conference also offered a choice of press trips attendees could go on. And when I received the email in my inbox letting me know I had been accepted I was devastated. I had been accepted without my family. I was going to reply no, but my husband generously, and with much admiration, told me to go. I felt giggly when I hit “send” letting them know I was coming... alone.

Alone! It has been actually been more then 1 and a half years since I have been away from my family. While travelling the world for the past 540 days we had not experienced much of a break away from each other. My husband and I had been one night away from the kids when my mum visited in Penang and we had taken the time to get several daycares or nannies for some lunch breaks and excursions, but never away from all of them.

Even my time away from Josh had been limited before our nomadic journey. We often loved to get away from the kids, but I had always been with him. Once in 2011 I took a trip to Bali with my grandmother, mother and sister, but I had never been anywhere completely alone.

Now there were 20 other people coming on this press trip, but I did not know any of them, so essentially in my mind I was alone. And I was excited.

 

When the day came to go I sat down for breakfast with my family. I couldn’t eat and grabbed a croissant and stuffed it in my handbag. I watched my kids laugh and talk. I listened to my husband’s last minute photography tips and I sat feeling nervous and frightened and ashamedly very eager for the day to begin.

Here is my story of my press trip in Ireland without my kids and husband. I hope you enjoy it.

Read:

Day 1 - Tea & Scones, walking tour in Westport, cycling the coast, a warm place for home & eating overload.

Day 2 - Riding hookers, extreme sports, Galway city and more food.

Day 3 - Irish beaches & jigs, plus Segway tours.

Disclaimer: Now my husband is an awesome photographer and takes all our photos on our trips so you will need to give me a little grace as I learnt to use the camera the night before the trip. 

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