Howth, Ireland, is a small fishing town on the eastern coast, just north of Dublin. I went to the front desk of my hostel and asked the man working if he had any suggestions for day trips. He listed a few places and a girl behind me chimed in with Howth. She told me she’d been in Ireland for 10 days and out of all her day trips, Howth was her favorite. So, we decided to take her advice and bought train tickets the next morning. It was 2.70 one-way, so I figured even if it wasn’t all that great, at least I wasn’t breaking the bank to get there.
The train there was fairly tarnished, oddly small - hardly any cars - and stopped frequently at teeny towns. About 35 minutes passed and the train arrived in Howth. I loved the town from the minute I stepped out of the train station. Immediately outside was a fresh market set up with trinkets and vegetables, run by chatty, kind, authentic Irishmen. Once through there the town was lined with local shops and restaurants. All along the water were outdoor restaurants, crowded with locals, serving up fresh seafood. Seals swam by the pier and oversized white masts filled the sky. The edge of the town was cliffs along the ocean, creating a beautiful backdrop for the perfect town. Everything about Howth was charming.
We sat at the end of a dock with our boots dangling over the water and the seals beneath our feet. We just basked in the sun in silence for close to an hour, it was a gorgeous day and I was in great company. We asked someone where we should go for lunch and the told us to go to Summit Inn. She said we could either walk up the road for about 15 minutes or we could take the scenic route along the cliffs and it’d take about an hour and a half. We chose the road less traveled.
The cliffs were unreal. The sky was so clear at one point I looked out on the ocean and honestly couldn’t tell where the skyline met the water because it was so blue. The water was clear as could be and small boats filtered in an out routinely. Being so caught up in the beauty of our hike, we clearly missed the turn to the restaurant because we found ourselves at the foot of a lighthouse that was a few miles away from the Summit Inn. Great. We trekked through thorn bushes, flowers, and mud to get there, making our own path, but it was such a spectacular day I couldn’t even be upset. The laughs were rolling by the time we got to the restaurant and the food was unbeatable. Their homemade chowder was the best I’d ever had and the grilled chicken quesadilla was just the right fix for my [never-ending] Mexican cravings.
We went back to the town by the road, giving our tired legs a rest, bought a bottle of white wine, and shared it on a bench by docks, watching the sunset. The time I spent in Howth was indescribable and unforgettable. My sister, Mackenzie, just got engaged a few days before and I spent so much time thinking about the wedding and how happy I am for her. I rarely send texts just because of the international rate, but I sent her a text saying, “I think I finally found my favorite place – Howth, Ireland. We’re going to come here together one day when our kiddies are grown and we’re old and gray. I love you and could not be happier for you.” To finish off the trip and officially make it one of the best trips ever, I got a strawberry milkshake at a cutesy café on the way to the train station. The small, rusty, old train didn’t even faze me on the way home. I just gazed out into the inky sky, speckled with white stars, and thought, “Yup, definitely not in Kansas,” and smiled.
The train tickets cost us €5.40 round trip, but I would’ve paid anything. I wish I could’ve spent more time there, but we were leaving for Paris in the morning so it wasn’t even an option. The friendly, whimsical town of Howth will just have to wait another decade or so for my next visit, and hopefully, Mackenzie will be with me.
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