Think of All the Joy You'll Find, When You Leave the World Behind (and travel to Europe)

Cheers, mates! I’ve just returned from a delightful romp through Ireland with a short pit stop in London. While I experienced a myriad of incredible things while abroad (like holding a baby lamb and staying in a castle), I also made time to find pixie dust everywhere I traveled. I also got the chance to experience a lifetime dream celebrating one of my other obsessions—Harry Potter!

Basically being Snow White with this little lamb. Animals love me.

My family began our trip in Ireland. Much to my delight our hotel was just around the block from the Dublin Disney Store! Nestled on the pedestrian Grafton Street, this quaint Disney store had some adorable exclusive merchandise including leprechaun Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse! I also saw an abundance of merchandise I hadn’t seen previously including t-shirts with classic VHS cover designs. This 90s kid loved them! We also visited Trinity Library, which had a library that would make even Belle gasp.

Another sparkle of pixie dust we found in Ireland was when we had the opportunity to stay at the Adare Manor. While I still dream about staying in Cinderella’s Castle some day, this experience came pretty darn close!

While traveling around the Ring of Dingle, I was surprised to learn that scenes from the most recent two Star Wars films had been shot nearby. I got the chance to visit some Beehive Huts that are similar to those lived in by Luke and Rey on the Skelligs right off the coast of Dingle.

After a week in Ireland we spent a few days in London. I loved having the opportunity to revisit the city where I had studied abroad 10 years prior. While I chose to study in London due to my love of British history, I’d be lying if my love of Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, and 101 Dalmatians didn’t play a small role in me wanting to visit this incredible city.

Finding Pixie Dust was in London is easy to do if you know where to look! While visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum we were able to view costumes from the original cast of the Lion King in the West End.

When we decided to visit London, my sister had one request: go visit the house that was used as Annie James’ in The Parent Trap starring Lindsay Lohan. Luckily this house was located near our hotel at 23 Egerton Terrace. Lindsay Lohan even went and visited the house when she was in London a few years ago! My sister wore an adorable Disney Bound outfit in an ode to Annie’s outfit.

On our last day in London we had a short time before heading to the main event of the day. We chose to visit Oxford Street to do some shopping, which also allowed us to visit that Disney Store location as well! This store is at least three stories and had a full-sized Cinderella’s carriage inside to boot!

Now, when my mom told me she wanted to go to Ireland for our family vacation, I was of course excited. However, I did have one request. Could we please travel to London and go on the Harry Potter Studios tour? My mom agreed, and so on our last day in the UK we traveled an hour north of London to the Leavesden Studio for the three hour tour.

I don’t want to spoil any of the magic of the tour for those of you who will visit eventually, but let me just say this tour is worth the drive and every single penny. You are immersed entirely in the magic of the Wizarding World in a way that Universal Studios only dreams it could do. I am not a huge fan of Harry Potter World (I’ve had a few bad experiences there), but this experience did not disappoint. You have the opportunity to walk through every set, view every costume, and immerse yourself in a variety of magical tricks. I’ve included a gallery of some highlights from our visit.

Have you experienced pixie dust while traveling abroad? Sound off in the comments below!