Ireland

We landed in Dublin early Saturday morning and for convenience, had a driver meet us at the airport to bring us to our flat. Good thing too, as we arrived very weary travelers - Aer Lingus is a fine airline but the cabin lights were on all night and I think the pilot tried to talk to us every hour on the hour. No sleeping for us! Traveling with another couple, it made sense to book a 2-bedroom AirBnB flat conveniently located in downtown Dublin - also less expensive than two hotel rooms in the city, but it wasn't ready yet so we popped in to a small cafe for coffee and a snack and then found a grocery store to pick up some breakfast items and drinks. Our flat was centrally located with an excellent host, Malcolm, who provided us with great tips for how to spend an afternoon walking around the city. We visited Dublin Castle, City Hall and Christ Church on our way to the Guinness Brewery.

The brewery impressively encompasses 50 acres in Dublin and was easily walkable from our flat. We took an excellent tour that culminated with enjoying the stout at the Gravity Bar with panoramic views of Dublin. It really does taste better in Ireland! After the tour, we took a cart and pony ride to JR Stackhouse pub for dinner. Classic tourists, right there! There was no one in the restaurant and we were immediately worried that it was a bad choice, but the food and the service was fabulous and hearty. We then meandered back to our flat and were happily asleep by 7:30pm.

Verrry slow start this morning, we all slept until 10am! After cooking breakfast, we headed out on the town for a full day. We walked to St. Patrick's Cathedral and viewed the grounds, but couldn't go inside because mass was in session. We did the Dublin hop-on-hop-off bus tour, so we hopped on our yellow bus here and toured western Dublin: the liveries, Teeling Distillery, Phoenix Park, Dublin Zoo, Jameson Distillery and Writers Museum. We were still getting used to the Irish accent at this point and had a hard time understanding the driver. We hopped off on O'Connell Street which was so busy it reminded me a lot of Time's Square. We grabbed some coffee and moseyed on through the shops picking up souvenirs.

We realized how close we were to Trinity College, so we walked across the River Liffey and took an excellent tour led by a second year undergrad, James. My favorite part of the tour was how he said that during graduation, everyone is lined up from best grades to worst ones! I wonder how that would go over in the US these days ...

We then went along to the Long Hall, which was one of my favorite places for picture-taking on the whole trip. It looked like the library in the Harry Potter films and contained over 200,000 books. We then went to see the Book of Kells. No pictures there but it was reeeeally old and preeettty interesting.

From there, we decided on an early dinner at O'Neills, a carvery. It's here that a food pattern emerged: Paul ate ham every day (sometimes twice) and Nancy ate fish and chips every day. Nancy and I both enjoyed that in Ireland, an half-pint can be had anywhere. I wish that was a more common offering in the US. After dinner, we headed down to Temple Bar which is an area much like Bourbon Street in New Orleans. We discovered THE Temple Bar and enjoyed beer and live Celtic music for a nice little evening.

Busy day! We awoke bright and early and hailed a taxi at ~8:15am to pick up our rental car. Renting a car away from the airport saves a lot of money since you don't rack up the airport fees. Our rental was awesome - a Peugeot SUV with the biggest sunroof, essentially the entire roof. As I write this 3 years later, I still reminisce about this trusty steed. The Irish drive on the left hand side of the road, but Shawn was an expert after practicing so much in New Zealand (tip: research car rental insurance for any overseas trip).

First stop was Kilkenny Castle, a little over an hour from Dublin. We enjoyed an excellent tour, learning that it was built between 1129-1219 and given to the people of Kilkenny in 1967. On the outside, a castle, on the inside it had a sort of Moroccan flare. After touring the castle, we journeyed to the city center and discovered St Canice's Cathedral which was built in the 13th century. On the grounds also was a lookout tower and graveyard. Kilkenny is very much a picturesque Irish town, and is pretty hilly which meant a lot of stairs and hill climbing for Paul and Nancy but they were troopers through it all. Lunch at Kyteler's Inn was pretty good too.

Nancy had really wanted to go to the Waterford Crystal Factory but we had told her before we left that we just couldn't fit it in the itinerary. It was this day that we surprised her with a private tour of the factory and it was a highlight of the trip. We saw how they blow glass, how the glass is cut and how each craftsman works their entire life doing this form of art. Highly recommend as a half-day activity!

Back on the road again to Newton Farm, our B&B for the night. I love B&Bs and try to stay in them as much as possible. The service is always great, it enhances the travel experience, the breakfasts are hearty and they always have well-maintained gardens (which I knew Nancy would appreciate). Newton Farm is a real working farm with barnyard animals galore and overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. After the hustle and bustle of Dublin, the quaintness was a breath of fresh air.

We headed into Ardmore for a light dinner and decided to take a short pre-dinner walk on St. Declan's Way which we now affectionately call The Ardmore Hunger March. Shawn and I had a blast, but it ended up being an unexpected 3+mile hike along the cliffs and ocean, and pretty challenging in places. Nancy was sneaking Paul snack bars to keep him going. It was really beautiful and peaceful, though. We finally made it back to town and I will never forget the look on Shawn and Paul's faces when the first restaurant we went to (of 3 in town) was closing at 7:30pm - sheer panic. The only restaurant still open was Shipmates and they were just about to run out of food, but they had enough to serve us. Phew. Utter exhaustion ensued but what an epic day!

We all slept amazingly that night and our first B&B breakfast knocked it out of the park - Nancy liked that it was served on china. We set out for the town of Cobh, Titanic's last port of call before headed for the iceburg. We did another walking tour of the town, very steep so a little slow going, and we enjoyed how colorful the townhouses were. We ventured up to St Colman's Cathedral, which overlooks the harbor. Building began in 1868 and was completed in 1915 in the Gothic Style.

After enjoying a snack, we decided to carry on toward the Blarney Castle which is exactly what you'd expect a castle to look like. The first castle dwelling was built around 1200. The castle we saw was built in 1446. We climbed all the way up to the tower and did the traditional kiss of the Blarney Stone, which you have to lay town on your back for, grab some handrails while you dangle your head backward to kiss a stone with lots of lipstick and saliva (*shudder*). I think it's kind of a hoax ... Shawn and I still have seriously limited social skills. No gift of gab for us.

After walking the grounds, we visited the Poison Garden where these two pharmacists had a ball. The plants that drugs come from - all natural! We strolled over to the Blarney Manor and admired all the flowers and trees - there were over 60 acres of gardens to explore. All of the gardens and window boxes in Ireland are amazing, despite how grey it seems to be so often.

At ~4:30pm, we headed to Killarney which was slower than expected due to some traffic. Our second B&B of the trip was Friar's Glen which is situated on a wildlife preserve, and our hostess Mary was one of the most memorably pleasant that we've ever had. It was so cozy with the turf (peat moss) fire in the fireplace, it felt like home instantly. We rested up from our travels and an eventful day. Dinner was a stone's throw from our B&B at Jarvey's Rest where we got to watch some traditional Irish dancing over a really good dinner. Check the dancing off the list!

We all slept well at Friar's Glen, very quiet. Breakfast was very good and served with a view of red deer in the side yard having their own breakfast. After researching fairly extensively prices and experiences, I had booked us a private tour of Dingle Peninsula which cost4re us ~$350 + tip for the entire day. I chose the highest TripAdvisor-rated group and did not regret it. Our driver was Callum and he picked us up in a VW van at our B&B, his thick Irish accent required us to listen very closely to every single word. He pointed out terrain differences between Dingle and Ring of Kerry, taught us about farming, geology and history of the area.

We stopped in Dingle Harbor and then Ventry where we looked at the cool beehive huts. He also pointed out Skellig islands, a UNESCO heritage site that served as a monastery in 600 AD and was a filming location for a newer Star Wars film. We were wildly lucky with the weather. It had rained sporadically almost every day of our journey so far, nothing to impair our activities but I was really excited for a clear day on Dingle, which is often affected by fog and rain.

We drove around Slea Head Drive which is a one way road, and were entertained watching a tour bus that took it the wrong way and got stuck. At the tip of Slea Head Drive we admired the Blasket Islands. We then stopped at Ventry Beach, nestled into the rocky hillside, and enjoyed the sunshine. We ate at a local pub, name in Gaelic so I don't know what it was, but there was an interesting bathroom situation like so many in Ireland it seems.

We stopped next at the Gallarus Oratory, thought to have been built in the 9th or 10th century. It is all made of stacked stone and still stands solidly today. We stopped at Kilmalkedar Church and a mountain pass between Brandon and Stradbully mountains with amazing views of peat farms, the ocean and waterfalls. We returned to our B&B and enjoyed an excellent dinner and after-dinner walk at the Lake Hotel with views of Castlelough Castle and Upper Lake. A beautiful end to a fantastic day.

After traveling together for several days, we planned a morning in the middle to each do our separate activities. Shawn and I hiked Torc Mountain. We were able to take the path directly from our B&B, very convenient, however the first 1.5 miles or so was a horse path so it meant a lot of dodging poo. We weren't expecting too much of this hike but we were pleasantly surprised at what stunning views awaited us. At the peak, we had 360 degree views of Killarney NP, Muckross Lake, Upper and Lower Lakes. The shades of blue and green were stunning for not a lot of effort and few other hikers - we highly recommend.

Paul and Nancy enjoyed Muckross House and Gardens, and went to Torc Falls. They had a blast and also would highly recommend this as a way to spend a morning. We all re-convened at the B&B and headed off to Adare in the mid afternoon to see the thatched-roof houses.. We had dinner at Aunty Lena's Pub which we thought was excellent. You know, Ireland seems to get a lot of flack for not being a foodie destination but we enjoyed nearly all of our meals in Ireland. It's very meat and potatoes and fish and chips, but it's done pretty damn well. And the beer is always good.

We arrived to our last B&B, Bunratty Meadows where we had a quiet evening of board games, tea and cocoa, and mingling with other travelers. This was a more modern B&B and very comfortable with very kind hosts.

Cliffs of Moher important tip - get there early! The tour buses start showing up around 9am but it gets busier with each passing hour. The Cliffs were spectacular, a must-see in a lifetime. They rise to a height of ~700 feet from the water and extend a total of 5 miles in County Clare. Walking paths are plentiful in either direction, but note there is no guardrail so if you slip, you're a goner. We enjoyed another perfect day of sunshine here as well, so lucky! After souvenir shopping, we headed to Doolin Village, a small, seaside town, where we grabbed some Irish coffees at O'Connor's pub. That Irish coffee was damn strong and we were feeling pretty gooood! After heading back to the B&B for a short nap, we were off to our next adventure: a medieval feast at Bunratty castle - a fitting way to spend our last night in Ireland.

Bunratty Castle was abandoned in the 19th century when it was purchased and restored in the 1950s. A recreated 19th century rural village is nearby the castle which was mostly for kiddos, but we had a good time looking at all of the old farm equipment. We were greeted for dinner by a kilted piper and entered the castle via drawbridge. In the Great Hall, we drank mead and listened to harp & violin music. The dinner was family-style and a four-course meal of parsnip stew and soda bread, spare ribs, chicken with veggies and potatoes and an apple tartlet. No cutlery, we ate the whole thing with our fingers and it was yummy.

We spent the rest of our evening preparing for our journey home. We did not arrive to the Dublin airport with enough time - you clear US Customs in Dublin so arrival > 3 hours prior to your US departure is a necessity. Yikes. We got Paul and Nancy to their gate with seconds to spare.

Ireland was a unique style of trip for us, but one we treasure as we reflect on it. Shawn's dad, Paul, passed a year and a half later and we always think of how much fun we had taking this adventure with him and Nancy. We are very grateful for this time spent together, all of the laughs we shared and memories we made.