Best of Music: January 2022

*check out my last music round-up here!*

Hello and welcome to 2022! I have big musical expectations for this year – hopefully lots more concerts, fresh albums from artists we know and love, and discovering yet more new artists and songs to provide the soundtrack for this year. I was so busy listening to Christmas songs in December that this month’s round-up will be a double-whammy from December and January – you can check out my full Dec 21 and Jan 22 playlists here, and read on for the best of the best – enjoy!

 

Second Coffee – Marielle Kraft

 

Starting off the year with this indie-pop anthem from singer-songwriter Marielle Kraft. Whilst not necessary my go-to genre (this blog is called ‘Ciara’s Country’, after all), 2021 introduced me to many indie-pop artists I really enjoyed, from Blu Eyes to Brynn Cartelli and Leah Sykes, and I think we might need to add Marielle Kraft onto that list. Second Coffee lyricises about that awkward encounter we all know and love – bumping into an ex – made even more awkward when they completely ignore. Working in a coffee shop that her ex comes into, Marielle wonders “Who’s that second coffee for? Will you leave it at her door? Does that make her want you more, like I used to when I loved you?... Guess our breaking up worked out since you’re here, you must’ve found someone new who you could bring that second coffee to.’ With a slightly staccato / accusatory undertone in her vocals, Marielle perfectly captures the suspenseful wondering we all do in this situation, and makes it into a very decent song.

https://genius.com/Marielle-kraft-second-coffee-lyrics

 

Stop Coming Over – Chris Lane 

I wouldn’t have classed Chris Lane as one of my top country artists, but maybe with all of the songs of his I’ve loved recently, I should. I Don’t Know About You and Summer Job Money made their way to the top of my playlists last year, and Stop Coming Over has already paved the way for plenty of Chris Lane on my 2022 playlists. This cutesy serenade is about getting to the point where you’re ready to ask someone to ‘stop coming over and start coming home’: ‘Hey, what you say we decorate and slap some paint on these doors? Soon as I met you, knew I’d let you get to making it yours. We can drop that under the mat, get you a key of your own, when you gonna stop coming over and start coming home?’ The simple melody is full of rhythmic guitars, and Chris has a voice that rivals some of the big names in country today (check out his cover of Mario’s RnB track Let Me Love You) If you’re thinking of asking someone to move in, this might just be the perfect track for it.

https://www.testietraduzioni.it/translation/it/stop-coming-over-chris-lane/

 

Lonely Might – Nick Wayne, Abby Anderson

 

Abby Anderson is a name that I’m familiar with – I’ve had the honour of seeing her perform live, and was even due to interview her at CMC Rocks in 2020 (before it was unfortunately cancelled) – but Nick Wayne was not until this point. Nonetheless, Abby has proven herself as someone who works well in duets, Shallow with Jimmie Allen and I Believe In Santa Claus being notable examples. She seems to have a voice that just works with everyone, and that is definitely the case on Lonely Might. We start acoustically with Nick singing the first chorus before the drums build underneath his voice. Abby joins in with a soft melody for the pre-chorus: ‘You didn’t come here to remember, came here to forget, came here for another thing that you’d regret. We both got our reasons…for the why, if the hurt don’t kill us, the lonely might.’ The duo hit full stride at the chorus where the song title finally makes sense: ‘So just tell me what you’re drinking and I’ll tell you what I’m thinking, two wrongs don’t make a right, but lonely mixed with lonely might.’ This is soft and powerful, and highlights two vocalists who I can only hope we’ll be hearing a lot more from in future.

 https://open.spotify.com/track/6DEvEWlLRaWntMvxRpBIB3

Laredo – Angie K 

 

I love it when I stumble across a song so completely different to anything else that I’ve heard, and Laredo does just that. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a country song in Spanish, and in this song, Angie blends seamlessly between English and Spanish. Born in El Salvador and raised in Georgia, this mix makes perfect sense, and fits fantastically with this track. Here, she tells the story of a young vaquero from Colorado meeting a girl from Mexico in the town of Laredo, and the love that blossomed as ‘they danced under the light of a Texas moon, luna llena sin palabras they move, in his arms she found something true as they were speaking with their eyes…In the morning he will ride, saddle up and say goodbye, but they know, love is in Laredo.’ Angie has quite a deep range which sounds great on this Western meets Latin country song – I would love to hear more like this!

 https://open.spotify.com/album/6UvkjIXN6hwu8xsfeFmtNV

Planes Don’t Wait – Shawn Austin

 

Yet more proof that Canada truly produces some of the best country artists (Tenille Townes, Lindsay Ell, Tenille Arts, Jess Moskaluke, Meghan Patrick, David James, I’m looking at you!) If you’ve ever tuned into my radio show (every Friday 5-8pm UK on www.ukcountryradio.com), you’ll know that songs like this are exactly what I love – someone who can really sing gracing us with a song about something that matters to them. Here we have Shawn’s super smooth vocals lamenting on his old love leaving to move across the country: ‘She’s at thirty-seven thousand feet halfway to California, and I’m running these power lines putting in overtime here in Georgia. Chalk it up to a one-way ticket, didn’t get it, now I’m sitting here missing her. Time don’t stop, flies by fast, hearts still break, love don’t last, and planes don’t wait.’ There’s a lot of heart in this song, and it’s one I know I’ll be listening to again and again.

 https://open.spotify.com/album/0K7lqtgvkiXUbfGOSxAC12

Wait For It – Jennifer Nettles 

Here’s another song which I’m sure many of you might have listened to again and again, although in a slightly different form. You might recognise the title as a song from the hugely successful Broadway musical Hamilton, and the singer as one half of the ridiculously successful duo Sugarland. Together, they make magic. I’ve seen Jennifer perform both as a solo artist and in Sugarland, and each and every time she has brought 110%, with a voice and an energy that can captivate entire arena audiences. As such, whilst at first a seemingly odd choice to include a song about men ‘fighting on the British side in Georgia trying to keep the colonies in line’ on her album, it makes perfect sense that someone with such powerful vocals would want to combine them with the word’s of a lyricist known for writing powerful songs. Her cover obviously takes a more country feel than the original Broadway version, verging into the slightly spooky, swampy vibe of a song you might expect to hear around a Lousiana campfire, but really turns out to be something very special.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORK9bVNwHOY 

Why Don’t We – Zack Dyer

 

As someone who grew up on boy bands and Disney pop, I love it when I find a song that takes what I loved as a child, makes it more mature, and slides it into the genre I now love the most. Zack Dyer sounds like he’d be just as comfortable as part of this generation’s new NSYNC with soft and sultry vocals that fit his cool-guy image, but decided to take the country route, and for that I’m glad. Those soft vocals are paired with this soft song about wondering if it’s worth giving things another try: ‘If all our friends say they miss us and my folks back home ask about you at Christmas, you can’t blame me for wondering. I know that we both said goodbye, hearts move on, just give them time, but I don’t ever want to know what that feels like, so why don’t we forget that we called it off, get back to you with my t-shirt on, putting those reposado lips on mine, oh my. Why don’t we act like we don’t remember the ‘go to hell’s are ‘we could do better’s. We ain’t gotta get back together, but why don’t we?’ I dig.

 https://open.spotify.com/album/4PywMvltuqO7wSGwFxSmfY

Backroad Flyin’ – Luke and Kaylee 

In general, I think we can all agree that duos of ‘name’ and ‘name’ usually make good music (Dan + Shay, Maddie & Tae), as do husband/wife groups (Little Big Town, Ryan Hurd & Maren Morris). Luke and Kaylee tick both of those boxes, and guess what? They make good music too. I love the vibe of this one – a true ode to road trips and car adventures or, in other words, backroad flyin’: ‘Finding a new view together, ou know that it never gets old, soon as I get the ok from you, baby I’m packed and I’m ready to go. Backroad flyin’, riding with the windows down, baby, we could cruise through Florida, find out way to a Gulf Coast town. See the countryside together, doesn’t matter what direction we’re bound. Anywhere we stop, you know I’m buyin, what you say we do some backroad flyin’?’ Luke and Kaylee both have very different styles, but somehow they work extremely well together. Fun, easy-listening. Perfect for backroad flyin’.

 https://open.spotify.com/album/5URlnunYAmVeQcjW8XJW9y?highlight=spotify:track:73VO2Gy5FMTpmeQl0jFeZl

And there you have it, the first music round-up of the year! I hope you enjoyed reading all about my recent favourites – you can check out everything I’m listening to right here: Ciara’s Country Spotify, or tune into my radio show every Friday from 5-8pm UK on www.ukcountryradio.com (and an extra bonus Ciara’s Country Roundup hour on the last Friday of the month at 8pm and repeated again that Saturday at 5pm!) I’d love to know all of the music you’ve been loving lately – be sure to drop me a message on Twitter @CiarasCountry with your suggestions. Thanks so much for reading!

2021 Year In Review

*check out last year's Year In Review here!*

My year started, as most years do, at midnight on January 1^st, but this one was quite unlike any other years had started. I was standing in the middle of a deserted street wearing Grumpy Cat pajamas, listening to the sounds of illegal fireworks going off in a city that I had unexpectedly found myself living in. That unexpected start to the year, alone, cold, but feeling more alive than I had since the pandemic began, ushered in the start of what would become a very unexpected year.

 

The first unexpected thing was being offered a prime time radio slot on UK Country Radio. Towards the end of 2020, I’d begun presenting a show on the station, and in early January was promoted to ‘Friday primetime’ – three hours of country music and a bit of chat from me which I have continued to host throughout 2021. (You can tune in every Friday from 5-8pm on www.ukcountryradio.com!)

 

It’s been great fun, and not only have I been able to share my favourite songs with whoever’s tuning in (and will be getting my own additional one hour special this coming year to do just that), but I also had the opportunity to interview loads of great artists over Zoom, including Seaforth, SixForty1, Chase Bryant, and many more. These are artists who, in normal times, I might not have had the chance to sit down with, had I still been in Australia, or if they had been too busy touring to take my calls, but here we were, me in my ‘office’ in the Netherlands chatting to them in Nashville, Texas, Canada and beyond.  

 

The next unexpected surprise came in February, when we got some pretty significant snowfall, making for pretty walks in fresh snow, watching hardy Dutch locals ice skate on the frozen canals, and even taking a step on one myself (and not falling in). Such cold weather simply called for comfort food, so I continued my explorations around all of the local bakeries, testing out the best cakes they had on offer and even getting one to celebrate my (unexpected) one year anniversary of living in the Netherlands in March.

 

The weather improved in April, bringing with it gorgeous spring blossoms, baby lambs, and a fresh batch of cygnets to spot on my daily walks around the waterways. This time was obviously a new beginning for nature, but also for me too, as I was offered a job teaching online in Riga, Latvia. Along with the teaching I was already doing for students in China, I spent the next few months finishing up courses and running summer programmes teaching kids, teens and adults. I met some truly lovely people, and I can only hope I’ll get to meet some of them in person a bit further down the line.

 

As the blossoms faded, May heralded the start of tulip season, and with covid not as bad(?) as it had been the year prior, we were finally able to get out and see them. We took two weeks to explore the tulip trails, travelling around the country to see the best and the brightest tulip fields that stretched for miles and miles, with gorgeous flowers of every colour. I get why people like it in the Netherlands now.

 

June saw the tulips give way to rhododendrons and roses, the weather get warm enough for long cycles, and even more cake for me, including one which I baked for my birthday – whipped cream sponge with salted caramel buttercream and caramel drip, decorated to look like a tropical island (i.e. where I’d rather be during the pandemic!) It was yet another unusual birthday, but these were unusual times.

 

We took advantage of sunny days in July to get out and explore the Netherlands, visiting beautiful cities like Delft, Rotterdam, Maastricht and Amsterdam, including seeing Girl With A Pearl Earring in the flesh. I also made a new friend around this time in the form of Bob, the cat from across the road who I got to cat-sit on occasion. This was the time when I saw a lot of my friends in other countries start to get vaccinated and begin to meet up again, so going over to pet him for half an hour was the perfect excuse for a much-needed serotonin boost when I was feeling low that I couldn’t yet meet up with friends safely.

 

Alas, the end of the social isolation tunnel was in sight, and I received my second vaccine in mid-August, just in time for me to finally leave the country for the first time in over a year. We headed to Ireland to catch up with family at long last and celebrate my cousin’s wedding in Ballinasloe, County Galway. It was so nice to see each other again after so long, as well as do a bit of planning for another wedding coming up later in the year…

 

But first, we had to get through September, and were finally feeling comfortable enough to spread our wings a bit. There seemed no better way to do this than with a European roadtrip. The first stop was back to my birthplace near Heidelberg, where we went castle chasing and visited the town I spent the first few months of my life in. 

Next, to beautiful Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Meersburg, on the shores of Lake Constance, where we wandered through Disney-like villages and soaked up insanely beautiful sunsets. Onwards to Liechtenstein to see the juxtaposition of the old and the new, and Strasbourg, to eat and admire the views from the Cathedral. Finally, Luxembourg and it’s winding streets, and the ‘smallest city in the world’ of Durbuy in Belgium. A much-needed break away from the Netherlands, and a great way to see so many stunning places in Europe. (You can find posts about all of these places on my blog!)

 

We made it to another stunning place in Europe in October – County Kerry, Ireland. Whilst we had only been in Ireland a few months prior, this time, we were joined by my brother and his fiancée to explore the Wild Atlantic Way, beaches and bays, and reconnect after so long. This was essentially a ‘pre-honeymoon’ for the two, as they were then married in a lovely ceremony near my Dad’s hometown. It was a small wedding, but so long as you’ve got those who matter most around you, what more do you need? Very happy to be ending 2021 with a happy brother and brand new sister-in-law!

 

I also took the time in Ireland to donate my hair to the Little Princess Trust for the third time – covid may not have been good for many, many reasons, but at least not being able to go to the hairdressers meant I had 14 inches of hair that I was able to donate!

 

No sooner had I arrived back in the Netherlands that the most unexpected change happened, and I moved to Italy. I had received a job offer to work in Como, and after a year and a half of teaching online in the Netherlands, I was more than ready for a change. I arrived in one of the most beautiful places on Earth, and jumped right into a busy working schedule teaching adults, teens and children at school in Como and across Lombardy.

 

I started exploring further afield in November, visiting some of the towns around Lake Como including Bellagio, Varenna, and Menaggio, as well as taking a long weekend to visit Verona and Bologna (you can check them out on my blog too!). I learnt the power of aperitivo, ate so many amazing things, and even tried my hand at cooking too.

 

And here we are in December. My Italian travels have continued with snowy trips to Milan, and food-filled ones to Bergamo. During the short time I’ve been here, I’ve made the most incredible friends, eaten spectacular food, and visited stunning places. There’s so much still to explore in 2022, and I can’t wait!

Thanks for reading about my 2021 adventures! What did you get up to this year? Drop me a message on Twitter @CiarasCountry, along with what your plans are for 2022! 

Travel: BERGAMO, ITALY

*check out my last Italian travel adventure (to Verona, home of Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet) here!*

One thing that I love about Italy is how much Italians love it too - the number of times I've asked Italian people what their favourite place in the world is, only to have them answer somewhere in Italy, is truly testament to how beautiful this country is. 

I got a glimpse of it's beauty upon visiting Verona - wandering along the river and admiring the views from up high, but even that was nothing compared to the most recent destination I've visited, Bergamo, which proved it's beauty both in it's landscapes and it's food too. 

The good decisions began first thing, when we purchased day travel tickets for 16.50 Euro, allowing us to travel to Bergamo from Como and back, and would prove their worth even more once we'd arrived there. Being close to two hours long, the journey to Bergamo wasn't short, so I'd worked up quite the appetite by the time we arrived. First stop on the agenda: food.

I was glad I didn't let myself be sucked into the first cafe we passed, as it was when we reached Tresoldi La Boutique Del Pane that we found heaven. I opted for a pear and chocolate cake, but had to stop myself halfway through when I saw the slice of pizza my friends brought over. This Margherita was cooked to perfection with just the right balance of tomato and cheese, and the slice of Quattro Formaggi I bought afterwards was just as delightful. We'd been in Bergamo for less than ten minutes, and I was already happy. 

We carried on up the main street to the funicular which would take us to Citta Alta, the old town. This area was utterly gorgeous - narrow streets flanked by high buildings, Christmas decorations strung above our heads, and welcoming shop windows selling clothes, gifts, and oh so much food. We passed artisan gingerbread makers, fresh pasta, and patisseries. I physically couldn't help myself from going in to one and buying a 'polenta e osei', a traditional Bergamasque sponge cake covered with yellow almond paste and decorated with chocolate or marzipan birds.

We admired the pretty checkerboard church before continuing on our way, although we didn't make it very far before we got distracted. There, on our right, were the most stunning focaccias we'd ever laid eyes on, and dozens of them. You want mortadella and cheese? You got it. Burrata and tomatoes? Sure. Prawns and rose marie sauce? Of course. Grilled vegetables? No problem. Every kind of topping you could imagine was stacked high onto these soft pieces of focaccia, so of course we had to try them. 

The queue was long, but worth it, although I must warn you that the servers are VERY generous (it's pay by weight), so you might want to get just one slice between two. We opted for an aubergine and burrata option, and tomato, burrata, and salad. Divine, although I struggled to eat much at all given how full I was already! 

On we went, wandering slowly through the streets and stopping occasionally to pop into one of the little shops. We ended up at another funicular (told you that day travel pass would prove it's worth) which took us up to Torre Castello San Vigilio. When I tell you that the views from the top were some of the best I'd seen in a long time, it was no word of a lie. 

We walked up to the castle, and were greeted with 360' views as far as the eye could see. The horizon stretched on for miles, towns down in the valley and great mountains stretching up behind them. It really was breath-taking. This seemed like the perfect place to rest for a while, so we stayed, taking photos and chatting to other visitors, before the sun started to set. 

This made for a visually spectacular wait for the funicular as the sky lit up with yellows, oranges, purples and blues. You know I'm a sucker for sunsets, and this one didn't disappoint. This was quickly turning into my favourite day in Italy so far, and it wasn't even over yet. 

Back in Citta Alta, we cruised back through the streets as darkness set in, pausing at Piazza Vecchia to stand under the lights, snowflakes and baubles that had been erected outside the Biblioteca Civica Angelo Mai. I'd been wanting to see an Italian Christmas town, and this one seemed to do the trick. 

Still feeling full from the day's eating didn't stop me from picking up one last culinary delight that I'd admired on the way up - a slice of Torta Trentina al Cioccolata at the Nessi bakery. It was even better than I'd imagined - soft and squishy, like a mix of chocolate mixed with dates, and topped and tailed with a thin layer of biscuit. I truly regret not buying a whole block of it after I got home and discovered I couldn't find anything called 'Torta Trentina' anywhere on the internet! Readers, if you know this recipe, or anything like it, I need you to send it to me! 

It seemed like everyone had the same idea to leave Bergamo around that time, as we had to queue a while for the funicular back down, and quick march our way past the city Christmas lights in order to catch the train home. Worth every minute. 

Fear not though - our day was not quite over, as we were bringing a special surprise back home with us - fresh scarpinocc, a type of ravioli made with cheese, breadcrumbs, egg, milk, and amaretto that had been recommended to me by an Italian colleague (I love having local friends!) We cooked it at home, it's freshness meaning that it was ready within minutes, and served with butter and a generous helping of parmesan. A genuinely perfect way to end a perfect day. 

Tip for visiting Bergamo:

- I cannot stress this enough: do. I know I still have plenty of Italian cities yet to visit, but I think this might be my favourite yet. The landscapes change rapidly between one part of the city and the next, and I don't even have to tell you that it's worth it just for the...

- ...food. Oh my gosh, I have never been so satisfied. Everything I ate was not just good, it was excellent. I would go back just for exactly the same food as I had this time, and that's without even having tried the plethora of eateries that this beautiful city has to offer. My stomach and I will certainly be back. 

I hope you enjoyed today's blog post on Bergamo! If you did, do let me know on Twitter @CiarasCountry or in the comments below, as well as giving me suggestions for where else in Italy I ought to visit! I'd love to hear all about your travel adventures too... More Italy blog posts coming soon, thanks so much for reading! 

Travel: VERONA, ITALY

 

*check out my previous travel blogs here!*

 

“Two households, both alike in dignity,

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene.”

 

If a city is worthy of inspiring one of the greatest love stories of all time, it’s probably somewhere I ought to visit. I arrived at Verona Porta Nuova station one sunny afternoon and headed straight for my hotel – Hotel Sanmicheli. Now, a hotel wouldn’t usually be my first choice for a budget trip, but this was a holiday weekend, and I was pretty sure Sanmicheli had the only available room left in the city, so needs must. My room was fairly tiny, but I didn’t plan on being there for long anyway.

 

First stop – food. I’d passed an unassuming pasta bar en route to my hotel which I thought was worth a try, and boy, was I right! Amido had a simple menu – choose from a few types of pasta, pick your sauce, and any toppings you might like. I opted for a pasta that I hadn’t heard of before – bigoli, and topped it with Norma sauce (tomato and aubergine) and Grana Padano cheese. I kid you not when I say it was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. 10/10 in my books, and perfect to fill me up for the day’s activities.

 

I made my way to the incredibly busy centre of town to search for inspiration at the Tourist Office. Thanks to the free wifi there, within minutes, I’d booked myself a ticket to the Arena – the Roman Amphitheatre slap bang in the middle of the city. Scooting past the queue waiting to buy tickets, I waltzed right in. Due to renovations, much of the Arena was closed off, but you could still walk around inside, read the informational posters, and then head out into the arena itself.

 

If you’ve got enough stamina, you can walk up and down the stands as much as you want to see the vistas across the city and see what its citizens are up to. It was time for me to join them shortly after, and I set off into the fray, along the river towards the Basilica di San Zeno Maggiore. The church was closed at the time I visited, but that didn’t stop me from admiring the architecture from the outside.

 

I wandered back through the city streets at my leisure, into the busy Piazza delle Erbe and then down a side street where I came across a long queue. It turned out to be leading towards my destination: Casa di Giulietta, aka Juliet’s House, said to have inspired the famous balcony scene from Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet.

 

I was once again pleased to have booked in advance as it meant I was able to skip the inordinately long queue. I found myself in a courtyard full of people and a large bronze statue of Juliet herself, with a certain body part tarnished a burning gold from being rubbed for luck.

 

Inside the house, I expected… more. You walk up some nondescript stairs, and join another queue to get your picture taken on the famous balcony. Would you be able to tell that this is an important balcony from the photos? Absolutely not. Continue up another set of stairs to be greeted by four props from one of the older movie adaptations of the play, and that’s pretty much all there is in the whole house. Was it worth 8Euro to stand on a balcony? Absolutely not. Save your money and spend it on Amido pasta instead.

 

As the night was drawing to a close, I walked back along the river, admiring the reflections of the lights on the water, and decided there was only one thing that it made sense to do on a chilly night like that. Get hot chocolate. And when I say hot chocolate, I don’t mean Nesquik and hot milk, I mean practically melted chocolate in a cup. La Bottega definitely delivered with its liquid chocolate that you could have with a variety of different toppings – strawberry was a good choice.

 

The next day started with a complimentary breakfast in the hotel – breads and pastries, yogurts and spreads, and a selection of hot drinks. Then it was time to explore. I passed by a few pretty churches before heading up to Castle San Pietro. I wasn’t there to visit the castle, but to admire the view, and what a view it was. The clear blue river flanked by red-roofed buildings, bridges spanning the water and the occasional church spire rising above. The water shallowed as it approached the bridges, giving the impression of waves. One of the best views I’ve seen in a while.

 

From there, I walked across to the Santuario della Madonna di Lourdes, a large yellow painted church high on the hill, again offering great views of Verona. I was just in time for a church service to start, and how nice it was to hear the Italian hymns ringing out of the church doors as I admired the vista.

 

I followed a sketchy looking path labelled ‘Verona’ on the way back, but it did take me back to the city, and via the imposing Forte Sofia no less. From here, I could see back up to the Santuario and across to the Castle, and found myself impressed by just how far I’d walked in a few hours!

 

My walking wasn’t quite over yet, as I had to navigate my way back across Verona to the train station. I thought ‘why not take the scenic route?’ and wove my way towards Castelvecchio, taking careful steps to walk across the high path on the bridge, again offering lovely views of the city. I haven’t visited all too many Italian cities (yet) but Verona will go down as one of the most beautiful in my book.

 

Tips for visiting Verona:

-        Save your money on Casa di Giulietta and go to Amido instead – definitely more worth it!  

-        Make sure at least part of your itinerary involves a viewpoint (I recommend Castel San Pietro) – Verona has a really beautiful skyline that’s well worth appreciating from higher up

I hope you enjoyed today's travel blog! Keep up to date with all my travel adventures on Twitter @CiarasCountry, and let me know where you're off to next! Thanks so much for reading :)