It’s a little strange– flying to a different country on your birthday. Granted, I was still over the United States when I turned twenty-five. But the idea of being in a different country when you first set foot on land at a quarter-of-a-century is a bit like reseting something.

This is not my first trip to Ireland; we landed in Dublin, but I had been there about eight years ago. However, this is my first trip to Northern Ireland, part of the UK, and the small town of Armagh. Ireland is just as beautiful a country as I can recall it among all of my travels.

We passed by the Mountains of Mourn, which are the home of C. S. Lewis and inspired the landscape of Narnia. It was beyond these mountains that we came upon the little gem of downtown Armagh– narrow, winding, hilly streets that are surrounded by old stone walls. A very different feel from America where at only two hundred and fifty years old, there haven’t been many opportunities or time to build and defend large cities of stone from invaders, Armagh and its close homes resemble a fortress.

Our hostel is on a hill overlooking the city center and Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral as well as an elaborate new cathedral to St. Patrick in the distance. I traveled there before the 7pm mass to gaze upon its internal splendor as one of the first Catholic cathedrals to be maintained in post protestant-controlled Ireland.

From the cathedral I could see our hostel and suburbs of Armagh. I have the feeling that within my stay I shall walk every street of Armagh.

There’s a great peace here and the late setting and early rising sun of this first night of Armagh drive me to start off this next quarter century with a new drive and see all and experience all that I can in this emerald land.

Note: remember to find Mac Ivor’s cider in America, somehow.