There are really no words to describe the beauty of Ireland. We arrived back in the states on Monday night and to be honest I'm missing that magical island. 7 full day of getting lost with my guy and staying in the cutest of towns. No real agenda and only a vague itinerary. We landed in Dublin on Monday morning and then made a circle around the island and ended back in Dublin before our flight home the following Monday.
This is the route we took!
The Emerald Isle is as gorgeous as you can imagine. Guinness, friendly people, rolling checkerboard hills, stunning mountains, hearty food, christmas festivals everywhere you look, and ancient castles. Gahhh...this post is really making me miss our time there....
Our first day was spent pretty much sleeping, gosh that jet lag will get ya. We stayed at the Clontarf Castle which was beautiful and a little outside of Dublin as I knew we were probably going to want a quiet day, which it ended up being. We explored a little in the evening, but it was early to bed as we had an early start.
On Tuesday we headed to Galway. The drive was pretty easy. I have to give Chris major props for handling a stick shift on the other side of the car on the other side of the road. There were definitely some terrifying moments in the car that's for sure. Galway is the funnest little city. They call it Dublin's sister and I couldn't agree more. It's a coastal town on the west coast and the city was all decked out for Christmas-as was the rest of the country we found out. We checking onto the Galway Bay Hotel and immediately went exploring. Our hotel was right on the bay and made for stunning views of the sunset over the water. We enjoyed the Christmas market in the heart of the city and ate at this delicious Italian restaurant. Galway was definitely a favorite for me.
On Wednesday we traveled through the Burren which was breathtaking. Miles and miles of rolling hills and castles just on the side of the road (which we of course pulled over to explore) This was our introduction to the tiny roads of Ireland. It's the scariest thing when you're just going along and a massive truck come around the corner and you think you're about to take your last breath. Glad we can laugh about it now, but jeez louise. After traveling about 2 hours we arrived at the Cliffs of Moher.
The Cliffs of Moher is probably the most breathtaking place I have ever seen. You feel like your in another world. This was Chris' favorite place we went and it was on his birthday-so win! As stunning as they were, they were also pretty terrifying (Chris will call me a baby here) They have a wall you're supposed to stay behind which is about 20 feet of the edge, Well, the path behind the wall was fully flooded so it was either wade through the water or climb on the other side....so we climbed. It was slippery because the rain had turned the path into mud and we were about 3-5 feet of the edge of some of the highest cliffs in the world. The whole thing is about 25 miles long and Chris wanted to walk pretty much all of it. Ms. scaredy pants over here let him walk a little further as I couldn't stomach it. Seriously though, they were beautiful and it was one of my favorite days ever.
Thursday and Friday were spent in a city called Killarney which is in County Kerry, Again, covered in Christmas lights and the friendliest people. There were quite a few castles here and we explored Killarney National Park and a few Abbeys. We definitely packed these two days full of things. On Friday afternoon we headed to County Cork to see the Blarney Castle-Because you have to see the Blarney Castle when in Ireland, right? It was a little touristy, but still magnificent. We spent most of the afternoon there. We kissed the Blarney Stone and went through the gardens and stables. Then it was off to Waterford! MY favorite of everywhere we stayed. We got in pretty late on Friday night, but got to eat dinner at this yummy restaurant right on the water. While in Waterford we learned that it is the oldest city in Ireland and how it is called the "Untaken City" because through thousands of years and multiple wars, it never fell to its enemies. I'm pretty sure Chris and I could teach a college level course of Waterford's history haha. We also visited the Waterford Crystal Center which looks like a Tiffany and Co for crystal. We picked up a few christmas ornaments here (we always get ornaments wherever we travel to) All day long there was a Christmas festival going on. There were little stations all around the city with different things to do. So fun! I was sad to say goodbye to Waterford and the Granville Inn Hotel (best breakfast ever) but it was time to head back to Dublin!
For our last day in Dublin I had set up a tour of Croke Park...We had just spent 6 days touring castles and girly things haha, so I needed to put something on the schedule for Chris. We did a tour of the stadium and learned more about Irish history and what Croke Park means to them. They play 2 sports there. Gaelic football and Hurling. Players don't get paid, and we learned what a huge honor it is to play for your county. Interesting stuff.
We ended our week at the Guinness Storehouse which is definitely a must do! You go through a self guided tour where you go through the stages of making the beer starting with the barley. You then learn how to properly taste it before heading up to the Galaxy Bar which has a view of the whole city and they give you a free pint of Guinness. Yes! We had dinner at a great little pub called the Hairy Lemon. The food was amazing and it was little perfect spot to end such an amazing week.
Ireland, we are sure missing you, but I have a feeling we will be seeing you again someday.
Love,
Michelle