9-6-2026 MY WEEK: this is my first gig in ireland

the irish travel diary

ireland was a wonderful dreamscape over the weekend. while ohio enjoyed nice weather this labor day, sib and i escaped the green lands of the better land, immersing in the beautiful irish accent spoken around us, downing guiness every chance we got, and wandered through the cobbled streets of dublin until wee late hours. 

trinity college

day 1

we're at the cleveland airport, a packed flight. oh well, sib and i were thankful we got there on time. traveling through cleveland on a friday before a holiday around 5pm is treacherous. everything felt so... green. was it just my fixation on ireland - the emerald skirt sets worn by the flight attendants, the cheerfully green sign and signature clover at the aer lingus gate? all I saw in the crowd waiting for our flight were subtle (or not) hints of green. i was a victim of this, wearing my green adidas gazelles. maybe we all reached for something green, signifying the moors and typical green irish decor, and the green luscious landscape of the country. except for some guy with a last name schloss. he got called at the gate and he was wearing a tropical button down in turquoise and peach, head to toe looking like he belongs at the gate for miami instead.

om diva vintage store

we barely slept a blink. we watched some movies, even read our books, only occasionally dozing off in our "saver" seats in the middle and window. no aisle to stretch legs, not on this full flight. nevertheless, we're used to such long voyages, and this 6-and-a-half-hour flight felt better than our usual 7-8 plus a couple layovers. we landed into dublin, with a niall horan song welcoming us on the radio, and a very kind customs guy congratulating sib on an early birthday. that's it, sib thought. she's moving here. we spent perhaps 20 minutes looking for the proper bus stop that will take us into town to our hotel. i enjoyed the various bus stops as an introduction to the city. we got dropped off by whitefriar's street with an ancient grey church and park. we wheeled our luggage down the streets, passing townhouses that i swear i used to see while watching british series. sib and i laughed at how much we find of our own town benkovac, and even jersey and pittsburgh, making connections to the infrastructure and layout of the city. low on sleep, we still weren't aware that we were back in europe!

soup of the day: guiness

check in wasn't until 2pm and we got to the hotel at 11ish. we decided to grab a bite at nando's, and we got chicken wraps each. i tried some spicy peri-peri sauces, yum. walk around town, stopped by trinity college. it so happened to be career day, and irish ems, firefighters, army, all sprawled around the campus, among parents and tourists. the ems had their own band, the national ambulance service pipes and drums, and i almost teared up hearing the bagpipes and drums, alongside a youth group performing too. we passed by grafton street, and stopped at some local vintage stores, like loot, om diva, jenny vander, tola vintage, nine crows, and lucy's lounge. no purchases were made, but if i had enough time and luggage space, i might've tried on wedding dresses at jenny's.

living my dark academia dreams

back at the hotel, taking a quick nap, and i must admit, a major headache almost got the best of me. i took a steamy shower, drank a ton of water, tried to get enough energy, i knew i needed dinner, and i knew i needed an irish coffee (cocktail of the week). sib chose our dinner spot, at the old storehouse bar close to all the action near temple bar. the menu catered to mainly traditional meals, and sib chose a sausage and apple pie with a baked potato, and a pint of guiness. i opted for irish coffee, in-house chicken pate and some fries. feeling like i have some energy in me, sib and i walked by the many bridges, facetimed our mom (who felt closer than ever), and enjoyed the night life. we came back to the hotel for an early bedtime, just to recover for the next day. 

artwork displayed at lucy's lounge

day 2

we wake up before sunlight, at 5am. sib had booked us tour to galway and the moher cliffs. both refreshed, we grabbed complimentary coffee and tea at the hotel lounge, some granolas, and walked to molly malone's statue. the air felt fresh at dawn, with a couple people straggling around, some on early morning walks, and some less fortunate, who claim the sidewalks as their home. we hop on the bus, and our tour guide, hilda, leads us to the west coast. i think i had the best sleep on this bus. 

glimpses of ancient history on the road

our first stop was a 20-minute break at the barack obama plaza. what i thought was internet's urban legend is true and real. when hilda mentioned this, i nearly screamed. sib and i got some water and other trip necessities and took a couple photos of the obamas. 

on the road again, and i nap for another hour and a half until we get to the moher cliffs. i had specifically planned to pack our raincoats for the cliffs and guess what items we forgot to pack? you got it. it poured for about 10 minutes, then the wind gusted, feeling like someone turned on a fan to dry us all out. undefeated, we climbed the path and some more, onto the o'brien tower. what a view. the atlantic ocean like a monster sounded restless, roaring through and smackign the cliffs. the green, luscious, ever-moist grass contrasted the sharp and scary stone. on the other side, the sheep and cows sprawled lazsily, no care about the rain or wind. the crows around us seemed accustomed to the constant flow of tourists. 

the cliffs and i

next stop: burren. our giant bus weaved through the scary narrow roads. one side was the atlantic, the other were the step-like stones, and various blackberry bushes. lunch was at o'donohue's pub. quick service, fish and chips for me, and sib enjoyed beef and guiness stew. no time to waste, the weather in these parts is unpredictable. we continue on, until galway.

we arrive to galway, a quaint seaside town with docks and seagulls and flags, and a ton of people. we didn't have lots of time to spend here, but sib and i were on a hunt. we saw stores selling claddagh rings, but our priority was the aran sweater. hilda, our tour guide, told us about the history of these knit sweaters. before we left, i had told sib, "i really want an irish fisherman sweater". that was all the knowledge i had about them. hilda explained that these were raw wool woven sweaters, historically made by fisherman wives. typically found in cream shades (like sheep's wool), the wives would sometimes knit purposeful mistakes so that if a fisherman's body washed up on shore, the sweater was used to identify them. the aran sweaters had a utilitarian purpose too. they were warm for the harsh oceanside conditions, but they had their drawbacks. the wool had lanolin, an oil that would have a specific scent to it. and these sweaters were itchy!! hilda explained that the popularity of aran sweaters came into limelight when a 1956 vogue did a spread on them. then we saw the kennedys and marilyn monroe wearing them. in more recent fashion history, jean paul gaultier and kenzo did runway shows inspired by the aran knitwear. naturally, i had to own an aran sweater of my own!

jean paul gaultier fall/winter 1985

we drove back to dublin in the dusk, and i continued my bus ride nap. i kind of regret it, i missed out on history lessons by hilda, particularly about the political tensions between the irish and british. it's a topic i am only vaguely familiar with, through songs like zombie by the cranberries, or sunday bloody sunday by u2.

sib and i washed off the rain and wind from the atlantic, dressed in our going out best, and into the night we went. we were on the lookout for a pub that's lively. the thing about dublin, and galway now that we've been, is that the streets are full of music. almost each pub has live music, and the crossroads have a street singer, sometimes even two. we got lucky, temple bar was not packed like it was that saturday, earlier. we got in, i got an irish coffee, and sib got guiness. i switched to jameson + ginger ale mid night. we people watched, sang along, and we talked to some fellow americans too. the night seemed like it had no intention of ending. the streets still felt full and alive, and the music seemed magical here in ireland. the national symbol of ireland is a harp (something new i learned this trip), and it's evident that the irish are proud of their music. they got the traditional songs, they have the corrs, u2, niall, and many more. the parallels of the irish suppression and croatian suppression in history, the similar lifestyles, enjoyment of good food, drink, and song; the seaside lifestyles do not differ much. perhaps i too sense that ireland could be a home, sweet home. 

cheers!

day 3

our last day was only brief in ireland. we got up early enough to get brunch and coffee and walk around st. patrick's park. we wandered through the streets until it was absolutely time to go to the airport. 

sparkly jeans worn by a girl in temple bar

i’m impressed by the diversity of fashion on the streets of dublin. there’s an air of authenticity even among the trendy, tiktok template, looks. it feels less performative than, for example, the streets of new york city. the variety, uniqueness among the people - absolute eye candy. the majority of looks are grungier, edgier and full of darker tones, very utilitarian, but still well put together. the dichotomy is there tho because I’ve seen tulle pastel skirts, and an equal amount of asics, pumas, adidas among kitten heels, stilettos and high heel boots. i loved that many women embraced long socks, peeking from their capris, jeans, and knee-high socks paired with skirts. even the men were dressed very well. if they wore athleisurewear, there was no baseball cap in sight, just higher end sport wear in edgy tones and bagginess reminiscent of our favorite japanese designers. i rarely see a man in the usa dressed in intention like they do in dublin. if the men didn’t opt for the edgy streetwear, they opted for nicer blouses and polos, and jeans that fit appropriately. not too baggy with ass peaking, and not too tight where we can see every… bulge. highlight so far? a dude wearing a fedora with ‘twat’ spelled all over it. i need to start bringing the canon camera on my trips, otherwise people might think i'm a creep for documenting fabulous fits!

this week's looks

for the ireland trip, i tried out the sudoku packing method with some tibi tips to pack the right shades for the right location. 

dublin outfit equation: [2+1] + 3 ⁺⁴

the sudoku packing method for dublin, forgive the mess!

monday for work i wore a simple black turtleneck dress, a statement stack necklace, black slingback flats with gold hardware, metallic gold hobo bag, and a pop of red: cardigan from forever 21 and chanel sunnies.

tuesday work. graphic marni skirt, metals, pearls, knit top, and tortoise shell shades. lots of texture in this look, very industrial, yet when styled - each item is so feminine.

wednesday work. i wore my mom's old kitten heels (and got a workout because we did fake snowball fights at work), diesel top, red maxi skirt, margiela replica tote, chanel sunnies, and bangles.

thursday work. i wore a houndstooth blouse, maroon/plum midi skirt, replica tote, white penny loafers.

friday work. bcbg asymmetrical top, corduroy midi skirt, chrome slingback flats, oscar de la renta sunnies, pandora bracelets and simple hoops.

friday/saturday plane trip and sightseeing. i wore baggy yoga pants, wool knit sweater, knight red cardigan, trusty longchamp, adidas gazelles. added on the cropped leather jacket.

 saturday night, dinner and walk. i wore a croft and barrow leopard print top, rebecca minkoff high waisted dark wash jeans, doc martens fisherman loafers, sib's adidas tote, cropped leather jacket.

sunday, trip to moher cliffs and galway. i layered up: sib's ribbed tank and her ribbed long sleeve top, corduroy side leg american eagle pants, fisherman loafers (great for the rain and puddles), red oversized leather jacket (i saw this jacket on like 4 girls!). uniqlo crossbody and pigtail braids to protect my hair from the wind. 

sunday nite at temple bar. forever 21 square neck top, ralph lauren straight leg jeans and vintage straw purse, adidas gazelle, leather jacket.

monday included! brunch and trip home. ribbed tank and top again, aran poncho, sib's yoga pants, longchamp and gazelles. felt very wasp-y and anglican...

what am i looking forward to next week?

it's sib's birthday!!! expect exclusives from sib: what she's listening to, a look at the best of her looks this year, and an interview!