Having the independence of a car while overseas is amazing, but driving in Ireland can be intimidating. Jet lag, being on the lefthand side of the road, and roundabouts everywhere you look makes for quite an adventure! While my family eventually became more comfortable in the car, we still found ourselves lost in the Irish countryside multiple times, but always found our way thanks to helpful locals.
During our travels, my family and I became very familiar with the few songs playing on the radio stations we could find. Most notably, we remember just how many times Daft Punk's Get Lucky and A-ha's Take On Meplayed during that trip. Hearing either of those songs instantly transports me back to small roads with a stone wall too close on one side and a line of trees on the other side, while a tractor drives slowly past. Take On Me especially reminds me of an afternoon near the end of our trip, after visiting the breathtaking Cliffs of Moher. As we sat in traffic with the sun shining down on us and the windows down, we couldn't help but sing along and let loose. My father sang, loudly and very off-key, especially at the line "in a day or twooooo, " and I happened to look over to see a group of teenagers, walking home from school, standing on the sidewalk, looking confused and upset, and staring at my father as he ruined the song for them. Having grown up in a family that will happily sing off-key shamelessly, all I could do was cackle at the situation and sing along, knowing that I would always have a hilarious and wonderful memory whenever I heard that song.
