Ireland!

We have wanted to visit Ireland for a very long time because C’s family on his dad’s side is Irish.  We almost went in 2008, but decided to go to Iceland and England instead because of a deal on flights that we came across.  So when we were deciding where to go this summer, Ireland was at the top of our list and fortunately, we were able to make it work with our schedules.

Before we even left our house, I was oohing and ahhing over these bills.  How beautiful is this currency?  So colorful!  Perhaps I was feeling nostalgic for Canadian currency.

Sunday, August 10

We flew out of Dulles and I came across this amazing wall as we were walking to our gate.  I love rainbows and I could not pass this wall without taking a photo of it.

Our flight to Dublin left at 10:15 pm, and overall, it was a very uneventful flight, which is just how we like it.  Seven-and-a-half hours is a rather long time to sit in one spot, and I was pleasantly surprised that we had landed early.  That euphoria was short-lived however, as we ended up sitting on the tarmac for over 45 minutes because our gate had a plane at it that was experiencing mechanical difficulties.  As a result, the plane was filled with frustrated travelers, and it was quite a relief when we were finally able to get off the plane.

Monday, August 11

Customs was no problem at all, and so we collected our bags and headed to the car rental desk.  Unfortunately, the car we had reserved had been returned to them without a rear bumper, so we were told we’d have to wait for another car to become available.  The employee was extremely accommodating and offered to give us a deal on our rental fee and pay for our lunch while we waited.  He seemed almost stereotypically Irish – red hair, freckles, chatty, and friendly – and was a pleasure to deal with.  He asked, “How do you pronounce the town you’re from?” and those of you who know where we live will understand why he asked us that!  When we told him, he laughed and said he was afraid of mispronouncing it and saying something offensive.  He was adorable.

We went to one of the airport restaurants and ordered a margherita pizza.  When the server brought it to our table, she said, “I’ll get you some sauce,” and returned to the table with tomato ketchup, English mustard, brown sauce, and real mayonnaise.  For pizza?

When a car was finally ready for us, it was a small minivan, which a little larger than we were hoping for, since we’d be driving on the left side of the roads and figured a small car would be easier to handle.  Plus, parking spaces seemed miniscule everywhere we went.  However, it turned out rather well and we enjoyed driving it around.  And by “we,” I mean C, because I only drove it for about half an hour the entire trip, which turned out to be a total of over 2,220 km, or almost 1,400 miles.  That is a lot of driving for a place that is – if the internet is to be believed – about the size of Indiana!

Upon leaving the airport, we drove directly to Belfast and checked into our hotel.  Since I’ve already written about my love of bridges, it should come as no surprise that I snapped a quick photo from the car as we were driving.  I’d love to report that we did something exciting upon our arrival in Templepatrick, but we were pretty exhausted and ended up having a very long nap and grabbing a quick bite to eat before calling it a night.

Tuesday, August 12

Despite the rain, we enjoyed a beautiful drive and took a tour of the Bushmills Whiskey Distillery, which is apparently the world’s oldest distillery.  The tour was really interesting and the whiskey was so good!  At the cafe, we could not pass up a Guinness cupcake, which was delicious.

After the distillery, we drove to Giant’s Causeway – 40,000 interlocking basalt columns that were created over 60 million years due to the cooling and shrinking of successive lava flows.  It was pretty incredible.  While we were there, someone shouted, "Go, Hokies!" at C because he was wearing his Virginia Tech jacket, which was not something we expected to hear!

We also spent some time wandering around the town and came across a sign advertising Tim Hortons coffee.  This is the second unexpected place we’ve spotted Tim Hortons being sold…first Grand Cayman Island, and now Northern Ireland.

Wednesday, August 13

We checked out of our hotel in Templepatrick and drove into Belfast to visit the Titanic Experience at the shipyard where Titanic was built.  It was a fascinating museum and when you think about what it took to construct such a vessel in the early 20th century, it is pretty amazing.

After the museum, we stopped for lunch at a pub along our drive in Enniskillen before leaving Northern Ireland and heading to Ashford Castle in Cong.

Thursday, August 14

After spending the night at Ashford Castle, we had a fabulous day before we sadly had to head to our next destination in the late afternoon.

We drove to Galway and checked in to the Galway Bay Hotel.  We grabbed dinner at the pub in the hotel and then went to a long walk along the promenade.  It was so beautiful!

Friday, August 15

We drove to Croagh Patrick and then through Connemara National Park, both of which were really beautiful.  After dinner, we walked around Galway, where C experienced another proud moment as a VT alum when another person called out, "Hokies!"

Saturday, August 16

We checked out of our hotel, left Galway, and headed to Clonmacnoise, a historic monastery, and then stopped at a creperie in Ennistymon for an amazing lunch before heading to the Cliffs of Moher.  Not even the wind and rain could detract from the beauty of this place.  Perhaps the most interesting thing I learned was that scenes from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince were filmed here - the Cliffs of Moher served as the cave where Voldemort hid the locket horcrux.  So if I wasn't already impressed with the Cliffs of Moher, the connection to Harry Potter definitely sealed the deal.  The last part of our day involved driving to Cork to check into our next hotel.

Sunday, August 17

We drove from Cork to visit Charles Fort, which is a star-shaped fort in Kinsale.  While we were there, we ran into a family who lives about twenty minutes from us!  This was the third time we chatted with people because they asked about C’s Virginia Tech jacket.  We then went to Midleton to the Jameson Distillery and took a tour to learn about how Jameson is made.  At the end of the tour, our guide asked for volunteers to participate in a tasting, and not only did I volunteer, but as a result, I was deemed a qualified Jameson Whiskey taster.  Quite an honor.  After Jameson, we went to Barryscourt, but the castle had been damaged in a storm and we could not go inside, so we just wandered around the grounds and gardens.  Finally, we went to Cobh, which is the last place Titanic docked before beginning its voyage across the Atlantic.  Cobh is also the major port where countless Irish immigrants – including C’s ancestors – left Ireland for North America.  After a quick rest back at the hotel, we walked around Cork, grabbed dinner at a pub called Clancy’s Bar, and had some of the best dessert I've ever tasted - sticky toffee pudding!

Monday, August 18

After breakfast at our hotel, we checked out and drove to Killarney National Park, home to Ross Castle and Muckross Estate.  We spent the morning exploring the beautiful grounds before driving to Dingle, an old Irish sea town along one of the western peninsulas.  We had lunch at a creperie and then got ice cream.  I tried the honeycomb ice cream, which was vanilla with sponge toffee in it and it was sooooo good!  We wandered around the town and shops, and then drove up Connor Pass, which is the highest pass in Ireland.  It was very windy and rainy, and the road down was incredibly narrow, but the view was more than worth it.  On our way to our next hotel, we got stopped in traffic by a cow crossing, which is definitely a first for us!  We checked into The Pembroke Hotel in Kilkenny and had dinner at a pub called The Field which had spectacular live traditional Irish music.

Tuesday, August 19

We had a wonderful lunch at a café called The Fig Tree, and then walked over to Kilkenny Castle.  Between the castle, the grounds, and the people, I was in love.  Definitely one of the highlights of the trip.  We then ventured out to Cahir Castle which was fun to explore and to Rock of Cashel, whose the buildings date back to the 12^th and 13^th centuries.  I drove between these two sights and was anxious the entire time.  What a strange feeling to drive on the left!  I was more than happy to give the keys back to C so I could resume staring out the window at the magnificent scenery.  After leaving Rock of Cashel and driving back to Kilkenny, I spotted the most grand rainbow – unfortunately, there was no where to stop along the narrow road to take a photo, and it disappeared before we could locate the pot of gold at its end.  Rather disappointing.

After a brief rest at the hotel, we went to Lanigan’s Pub for dinner and more live music, which was awesome.  We ended the night by getting milkshakes from a place called Shake Out and walking back over to Kilkenny Castle to see it at night.  Beautiful!

Wednesday, August 20

We checked out of the Pembroke Hotel, left Kilkenny, and drove to Powerscourt Estate, which is known for its gardens.  They are extremely impressive and if we lived anywhere near there, we would definitely visit often.  Our last drive of the trip took us to Dublin Airport where we returned the rental car and took a taxi to the hotel where we were spending our final three nights.

The hotel was the Morrison Doubletree and it was right downtown, less than a five minute walk from the Temple Bar area, which is where the cafes and pubs are.  As you can see from the photos below, the hotel was very modern; the only colors were white, gray, and purple.

We had dinner at a pub called The Bankers, and then stopped by the Hard Rock Café to get a Dublin t-shirt for our collection (side note:  we collect t-shirts from every city visit that has a Hard Rock Café; we have been to every location in the U.S. and are working on international now :-)).  The guy working in the store was an absolute delight to chat with.  He was asking about whether we were enjoying our time in Ireland and we said we were, but that we were curious as to why coffee shops offer milk, but no cream.  He started on about how you can’t get anything that isn’t healthy for you anymore and how he is tired of it.  His exact words:  “You can’t get mashed potatoes at KFC anymore.  It’s a joke!  A JOKE!  And Dunkin’ Donuts?  They were here for one year, and then, poof.  Gone.  That was the greatest year of my life!”  He was hysterical!  I wish I could remember more of the what he said; he made our day!

Thursday, August 21

We had lunch at a pub called T. P. Smith’s and then wandered around Dublin and visited the Post Office, where we learned more about the Irish independence movement.  We then went to the Library at Trinity College Dublin and the National Library ofIreland before stopping for dinner at Temple Bar restaurant called Topolis, which was very good.  After dinner we wandered around Temple Bar and visited Dublin Castle, and also saw a random building with multi-colored windows that changed color every few seconds.  I stood and watched it for much longer than was probably necessary.

Friday, August 22

We returned to T. P. Smith’s for lunch for the second day in a row because it was just that good, and then walked to Jameson’s old Dublin distillery and took a tour of the St. James Brewery where Guinness is brewed.  We explored the shopping district - yes, they have a Disney Store! - and then had dinner at Fitzsimons Temple Bar, where we again enjoyed some live music.  That is definitely something we love about Ireland – you can find amazing live music every night of the week.  We also came across a fabulous bridge, so naturally I had to photograph it.

Saturday, August 23

We got up early, only to find that our flight was delayed by more than three hours, so we had a leisurely breakfast at Mochaland Café before grabbing a taxi to the airport.  Our flight was great - and I don't always say that because there are times I despise flying because I don't like being at the mercy of someone else's schedule - but it was even greater to come home, see our furry kids, and sleep in our own bed last night.

We enjoyed every minute in Ireland, and tried to see as much of the island as possible.  Our favorite places were Cork and Kilkenny and the friendly, easy going nature of the locals was very welcoming.  We felt incredibly safe everywhere we went and people went out of their way to be kind.  We would visit Ireland again in a heartbeat!  I do have a new-found love...tea. As you can see from the title of the book we came across in one of the shops, tea is pretty big in Ireland, and I drank a ton of it while we were there.  I wanted to find a teapot to bring home with me to remind me of the trip, so here it is.  Love it!!!

If you stuck with me this long, I’ll end with some miscellaneous signs we encountered along our travels that amused us!

Happy Tails to you!