In the fall of 2010, during my third year studying architecture at the University of Notre Dame Rome program, I met my best friend Mark in Ireland for fall break. He was studying abroad in Lyon, France, and we chose Ireland for the first half of our trip. We began in Dublin, staying in a small bed and breakfast and spending our days walking the city visiting pubs for live music, touring the Guinness Storehouse, and taking in the rhythm of the streets.

From there, we took a train south to Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains, a place I had wanted to visit ever since seeing the movie P.S. I Love You. The landscape was exactly as I imagined: green, expansive, and quiet in a way that feels almost unreal. When we arrived at the stop, we called the number listed for a taxi. The driver turned out to also be the owner of the bed and breakfast, and the restaurant attached to it, since the town was only a few buildings.

The trip also holds a different kind of memory: the first argument of our friendship which began in 2007. We set out on a hike through the forest and after a heated exchange about mud getting on his shoes, we parted to walk separately. We eventually found our way back to the B&B.