An Irish Thanksgiving and Colmar, France

Over the week of Thanksgiving, my parents came to visit me! Back when I first decided to study abroad, I told them they weren’t allowed to come see me, not because I wouldn’t miss them, but because I thought part of the challenge of studying abroad was being left alone in a foreign land for the whole semester…no exceptions. But at some point I stopped trying to make things unreasonably difficult for myself, and boy am I glad I did! Not only was I extremely lonely by this point and dying to see them, but this was their first trip to Europe, and I’m so glad we got to do it all together.

They arrived in Cork on Tuesday morning, exhausted after an overnight flight and a layover in Amsterdam, but I was firm with them that they had to stay up all day if they were going to get through the whole trip without jet lag, and they were good sports. We had arranged for a car rental so that they could see some of Ireland while I was stuck in class, and my dad navigated us seamlessly through the tens of roundabouts between the airport and their Air BnB.

After a quick unpacking and freshening up, we headed out to lunch. Food is always the most important thing to my family, and we went to a restaurant that a local had informed informed me served the best burgers in Cork. It was fun watching my parents try to understand the thick Cork accent that I’ve become accustomed to (the people of Cork are famous for being impossible to understand), and it was so fun to be out for a lively meal rather than eating alone! We wandered around Cork a little bit after lunch, but we spent most of the afternoon holed up in the house just hanging out with each other and watching Hallmark Christmas movies on Netflix.

Unfortunately, my dad has to eat gluten free, and I was worried that he wouldn’t get the full Irish experience while he was here (no beer, battered fish, or scones), so I searched ahead of time for a place that did fish and chips with a gluten free batter. It’s called Coqbull, and we headed there for dinner with my roommate and best study-abroad friend, Alyssa, since her family has been kind enough to include me in more than one meal.

The following morning we headed out early before my 9:00 am class to get scones and a coffee. Wednesday was the day we planned for our family Thanksgiving meal, since we would be traveling the next day, and my parents picked up some last minute items at the store while I went to class. My dad and I have a Thanksgiving Eve tradition of making pies, but since our schedule was more than a little jammed on this trip, we had to do it during my break between classes. Unfortunately, it turned out to be one kitchen disaster after another because of an inaccurate oven, and we ended up having to throw a black and smoking pie outside. Luckily we were able to figure out how to adjust the oven for the real food though. While it felt weird not to be surrounded by tons of family and standing around in our kitchen at home, the food tasted just as good.

The next day I decided to blow off all of my classes so that we could make the most out of a cross-country Irish road trip. My mom’s side of the family is Irish, and my grandma’s maiden name was Tarbert, which is actually the name of a town on the west coats of Ireland south of Galway. We headed up there first via some crazy winding and narrow roads and lots of cute towns and fields. They say the only way to get a true sense of Ireland is by car, and in my experience that has been true. While it would be near impossible to find an official tour that took you to lots of privately owned tiny fields, that’s actually what most of Ireland consists of. The views were incredible, and it was exhilarating to go flying down the country roads (on the wrong side!).

Tarbert turned out to be super small and actually a bit desolate feeling, but we stopped at a cute pub called Swanky’s for lunch that had amazing employees and served awesome lamb. We were able to sit next to a warm fire and soak in all of the distinctly Irish ambiance.

From there we drove back across the country and north to Dublin where stayed the night in the airport hotel since we were scheduled to fly out to France the next morning. We got in after dark (it feels like it gets dark at 3:00 pm here these days), but I was proud of the way my parents were determined to make the most out of our trip. We went down to the city center for dinner and pints in one of the famous Temple Bar pubs, and we even spent some time walking around Grafton and soaking in the Christmas lights. Upon some reflection, I was so insistent that my parents not miss anything they might like to see while they were here that I sometimes acted a bit intense, never letting them rest, but I think overall they were glad they got to experience everything.

The next day was a travel day to Colmar, France. I had found flights on RyanAir for 19 euros and, since my family is Christmas obsessed, suggested we go for the Christmas Markets. I first got the idea to visit Colmar from a Christmas account on Instagram that had posted a majestic picture of the town the year before without including the name of the city or country. After some intense zooming in on the surroundings and googling the names of everything I saw, I finally figured out that this dream-like place was called Colmar in the Alsace region of France. This region lies right on the boarders of France, Germany, and Switzerland and is truly special because of its many influencers. In fact, the area is so closely integrated that the nearest airport has separate exits for each of the three countries.

After a year of waiting, 3 months elsewhere in Europe, a shuttle, a plane, a bus, and a train, we finally arrived at our cute hotel right by the center of Colmar. As we walked into town for dinner, we entered what could only be termed “The Magic Zone” for the rest of the trip. Colmar is indescribably quaint and beautiful. It literally felt like stepping into a real-life Christmas village, and it was so much more magical than I had ever dreamed. The section of Colmar where we stayed is called Petite Venice because there is small canal running through the city, and it’s lined with old-style German buildings that were lit from top to bottom in Christmas lights. Christmas music played from the small markets tucked away in the corners of the town, and I swear a constant hush seemed to be over everyone as they took in all of the views. We ate dinner in a cozy canal-side restaurant serving an interesting and delicious mixture of French and German cuisine, and after dinner we wandered around the closest Christmas market until it closed. This was the first Christmas market I had been to in Europe, and I was so happy that it’s a miracle I didn’t burst with Christmas spirit.

The next morning we got up and headed to a cozy cafe for croissants and coffee. (I’m a late bloomer to croissants, and I’ve pretty much only eaten them in France in my life thus far, meaning I’m going to be a total snob when I come home). Along the way we passed a bakery with the most incredible-looking chocolate cinnamon rolls in the window, and they were so good that we ended up coming back for four more! This day was truly awesome, and we spent most of it wandering around the little markets and just soaking up the atmosphere. We bought amazing cured French meats and cheeses at one stand, chocolates at another, and some incredible German sausage and sauerkraut for lunch. By dinner time we were too stuffed full of snacks to eat anything real, so we just sipped on mulled wine as we browsed the many Christmas trinkets. Traveling with anyone at all felt great after a lot of solo time this semester, but to get to visit this town with my family and be 100% at ease was one of the best experiences I’ve had while abroad.

The next day was our last day in Colmar, and we took it pretty easy. The jet lag seamed to finally catch up to my parents, and after a frustrating language experience at a local market during breakfast, we hung around the hotel for a while and just relaxed. Of course, I got antsy fairly quickly and decided to spend a couple hours wandering around by myself. I ended up finding this awesome vantage point where I could watch one of the Christmas markets from above the roof of one of the stalls. I sat, sipping on hot cider, listening to Christmas music, and watching the market-goers until I was too cold to stand it any longer.

Before dinner we made plans to take a short boat ride along the canal to see the lights, as the tickets were super cheap. It ended up being kind of a dinky tour if I’m being honest, but it was nice to see all the lights reflected off the water and hear a tiny bit of history about the region. Of course, since food is our number one priority, we decided to make our last meal a nice one. We ate at a gorgeous french restaurant that had a crazy good gorgonzola cream sauce, and it was probably one of the best meals I’ve had while traveling.

This trip ranks as one of my all-time favorites, and we’re already talking about going back. Whether it was the town, the season, or just getting to be with my family, I’m not sure. But I’m guessing it was the combination that made this trip so special. Below you’ll find pictures of our time in Ireland and some pictures that don’t do Colmar any justice at all.

Cheers,

Summer