Killarney to Dingle

It's easy to see why Killarney has been attracting holiday makers since the 1700s. No matter which way you look, there's beauty to be found or a different attraction to visit. It was difficult to narrow down what we would do in our short time there.

We woke up early, had a wonderful buffet breakfast at our hotel, then headed back to Ross Castle to catch the first tour of the day. I'm so glad we did this because the resoration work on the tower house was fantastic and we had a great guide. Andrew was particularly enthralled by it all. Unfortunately we could not take pictures on the inside, but I took plenty on the grounds. I don't think I could have managed any photos anyways because I had a death grip on Maeve as we went from room to room or climbed the narrow, steep, winding staircases which were originally designed to originally trip intruders...and still work on tourists to this day ; )

After Ross Castle we drove to Torc waterfalls but there was zero parking to be found. Instead we opted for Muckross estate - a huge park like setting with more attractions than we could see in a day. Rather than tour the stateley home, we visited the traditional home and ate far too much soda bread which the bake over the hearth. In between dodging rain showers, we visited a variety of traditional cottages which again made for beautiful photos.  It's going to take me forever to sort through all the shots. I'm so glad I brought my good camera and not just the phone cam.

After Muckros, we hit the road and headed into Dingle. I'll admit that the drive along the sea cliffs was hairraising in spots. We stopped at Inch beach to watch the surfers and the wild Atlantic crash into the shore below. Despite it's name, Inch is actually a 5 km stretch of white sand beach and huge waves. You can drive right down onto the beach if you wish.

After pulling into Dingle, we stopped at Garvey's to stock up on food and supplies for the week. I was super impressed by the amount of home baked goods, fresh produce, meats and cheeses.  Even the store made, ready-to-cook, meals used only locally sourced ingredients. In general, things seem to have less preservatives here. The shelf-life is more limited but the food seems fresher. Our grocery stores at home are goning to seema  little more lame now.

We did tour any of Dingle town as it was nearing dinner time, but it looked the the quintessential charming Irish seaside village. Looking forward to seeing more of it in a few days.

Our last stop was Ballyferriter and our gorgeous holiday home for the the week. The photos online did not do this place justice. It has eveything we could wants on need, tons of room to speard out, sea views in the front and a mountain in the back (literally, we are built into a mountain). Above all else, it's about 150 meters away from four amazing pubs and a supere old church and corner shop.

To cap off the day, we had dinner in one of the pubs and I can safely say we were the only tourists in there. Most of thhe folks here speak gaelic as their first language so it was a neat experience. And kids seem more than welcome in the pubs here. People bring their dogs, kids were running in and out, and the owners (clearly all brothers or related) were scrambling between serving customers and trying to watch the football match on t.v., letting out large expletives of "Feck!" anytime their team missed the ball, which Andrew thought was amazing. My kids may come home with a few new "choice" words in their reperatoire.

Dublin to Killarney

On Friday we bid farewell to Dublin. We were easily able to grab a cab from Henrietta street back to the Dublin airport to pick up our rental car. If you stay in Dublin's North side, it's actually cheaper and less expensive to grab a cab rather than the Air Link bus - future visitos take note!

After picking up our rental - a brand new Toyota CHR Sport edition (Hybrid) - we said a little prayer before departing on the M50. Hats off to Dan who took to driving to the left side like a duck to water, although he claims it's like being a new driver all over again. Also, hats off to the kids for keepinbg quiet during some the more difficult traffic getting out of Dublin.

It was a relatively smooth ride, with 3/4 of the drive to Killarney on a divided highway - much different than our drive from Dublin to Galway last trip.  Admitedly, the scenery wasn't super spectacular until we finally got off onto the national and regional roads. Either way, we were easily able to make our way through 6 counties - Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Tipperary, Limerick and Kerry - in about 3.5 hours.

For lunch we stopped in the beautiful border town of Ballina/ Killaoe which is divided by the river Shannon and Lough Deagr.  We ate at a quaint little pub - Goosers in Ballina - then walked in the rain over the long narrow bridge into Killaloe in county Clare. The kids though it was neat to cross from one couty to the other.

We arrived in Killarney aroung 2:00 p.m., checked into our hotel, and quickly headed into town to catch a pony and cart ride through Killarney park towards Ross Castle. Nothing can quite preapare you for the beauty of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks and lakes below. Our ride took about an hour and wound it's way through the forest full of ferns, ancient oaks, and giant trees - it really is enough to make you believe in fairies, pookas or lepprechauns. Our guide was fanstastic and assisted by his 11 year old daughter who is learning the ropes (quite lierally) to become the 4th generation of pony cart drivers in her family.

We ended the day having fantastic wood fired pizza at the Killarney Brewing company, complete with craft beer. It was the perfect end to a long journey and busy day - Hubby certianly earned himself a couple of good pints.

EPIC day in Dublin

Today was our last day in Dublin and it sure was a busy one.

We started the day off a Dublin's new EPIC museum, which chronacles Irish immigration over hundreds of years. If you are ever in Dublin, I'd highly recommend it. Amazing to see how such a small country has made such a large impact on the world - and not a single lepprechaun in sight ; )

After EPIC, we ate lunch by the Dublin port then hiked up to Grafton Street to do a bit of shopping. We then hightailed it to the GPO to send off a few postcards and back to the apartment in time to tour a neighbouring building - 14 Henrietta Street.  I highly recommend this new attraction - a stark look at life in the former Dublin tennements.  I think we all walked away with a greater appreciation for just how good we have it.

We capped off our last day in Dublin with supper at The Church - a pub and restaurant in an old, you guessed it, church. This place was beyond cool.  It was neat to sip a pint of Guinness in the spot where Arthur Guinness himself got married, or where Sammuel Beckett worshiped.

We will be sad to leave Dublin tomorrow morning but are looking forward to seeing the countryside and what Maeve has started calling, "the real Ireland". Enough city life - time for the green hills and fields. We will be up early to taxi back to Dublin airport to pick up our rental car then drive west for three hours to Killarney. I'm looking forward to giving my feet a break but I'm sure Dan's not looking forward to re-learning how to drive on the left side of the road - wish us luck :)

Exploring Viking Dublin

Our first full day in Dublin is done and dusted. The kids continue to amaze me. We left the apartment at 9:00 a.m. and didn't come back until 5:00 p.m., that's a whole day of walking some 18,000 steps.

We're really spoiled for choice in terms of location and attractions; it has been hard to narrow down what we should see. Today it was Dublin Castle (underwhelming), Dublinia (wonderful), lunch at the Brazen head (Ireland's oldest pub apparently) and walking all over the Temple Bar (cringy at times, but worth a stroll). We topped if off with a rainy walk through the grounds of Trinity College, which is now on Andrew's top list of post secondary hopefuls - dream on kid!

We decided to keep it simple again tonight by eating it - saving both our wallet and our feet. This is what I adore about renting - the space to stretch out, sleep better, meet the locals, and eat at our leisure. Where else can you also sit on your balcony and watch a young kid (I'm guessing a traveler) exercise his mini pony up and down the narrow cobblestone alleyways (I kid you not!).

Popping off to read or watch some Netflix now. Looking forward to our last day in Dublin tomorrow.

Cortyard in Dublin Castle 

Queen Maeve looking down upon her subjects

Stairway to the top of the tower next to Christ Church Cathedral

Maeve apparently has a thing for stained glass

Iconic Trinity

The Rolling Dougnut - Dublin famous

The kids had a bit of a party last night

Andrew getting ready to cruch our tower climb

Obilgatory Temple Bar shot

In Dublin's fair city

Did dhuit! We made it! As I type this blog entry I am sitting in an apartment in Dublin overlooking the historic Henrietta Street - one of the oldest Georgian streets in the city. This is where Dublin's powerful and elite once called home, only to be replaced by some of Dublin's poorest residents. When the Irish republic was formed, many of the wealthy homeowners returned to London and took up the role of absentee landlords, carving their beautiful Georgian homes into tiny one room tennements. Today, the neighbourhood is making somewhat of a resurgence. The tennemnts are gone  and developers are breathing new life into some of the buildings. I can't stop staring at the facades, thinking of all the life that has passed through them and all of the history witness by their residents. This is Dublin in a nutshell - both rough and charming, both maddening and wonderful.

Today will be our first full day in Dublin. Hubby and the kids are still sleeping off the effects of our long journey, but I was up with the gulls...literally, they starting shreaking at 5:30 AM. I'm itching to hit the pavement but I have to remind myself that I am travelling with young children this time around and need to be sensitive to their needs. I can't fault them, they were absolute troopers during the long flight, travel delays, and then walking all over Dublin to do some shopping for supplies. After being up for some 39 hours - zero complaints from them. They were a bit ropy by bedtime, but happy alltogether.

First stop on the list this morning - Dublin Castle. Dan and I missed it last time we were here because there was a state visit and most to the rooms were closed.  Thankfully our timing seems better now. The kids have been begging to see a castle, so I can't wait to see their reactions.  From there, we'll lively hit up the Stag's Head - Dublin's oldest Pub - for a pint and some lunch.  From there we'll be checking out EPIC - Dubling's newest attraction that tells the story of Irish immigration through interactive digital displays. It has won a number of awards and came highly recommended from a few different locals. The remainder of the day, we'll play by ear.

Signing off now, as I hear a bit of rustling coming from the kid's room. It was their first time sharing a bed last night and they have been asleep for a solid 11 hours. It's just poor Mom who can't seem to catch any rest - I'm just too excited to be back here again!.

The kids and I at Ha'penny Bridge over the River Liffey

Henrietta Street

Our local pub, view from my balcony

Fáilte chuig ár mblag!

Fourteen years ago my boyfriend (turned husband) and I skipped out on our university convocation and decided to celebrate abroad. Not ones for tedious ceremonies, traveling seemed like a much better alternative, not to mention a better way to reward ourselves after several years of study while working multiple jobs. A chance encounter with a poster at the local mall featuring discount flights to Ireland sealed our fate. 

The aptly-monikered "Emerald Isle" had always been on my bucket list (if twenty-four-year-olds even have such things). Having grown up as a O'Brien, my parents may have played up the name a wee bit even though the family has been in Canada since time immemorial. Regardless, I've always had a strong fascination with the culture and language - cue the Irish dancing lessons, and Gaelic books/courses.

Hubby's fascination was less strong, although his maternal side (Beamish) had more direct ties to Ireland only a few generations back. Mostly, he was just happy to go along with whatever I planned, especially if it involved a country synonymous with good pubs and a decent pint.

I'm not sure anything could have prepared us for just how much we would enjoy our trip, nor for how beautiful the scenery was. I'm glad we took the time to steer off the beaten path and really get to experience its charms - enough to keep us yearning to go back.

Fourteen years is a long time, with a lot of life lived in between, but I'm happy to report that we are making the return trip this August. I'm not sure that either of us imagined that our next time "over the pond" would involve two kids (ages 5 and 9), but I'm thrilled that we will be able to share this new experience with them.

We created this blog as a space to record our memories and share our Irish adventure with curious friends and family and so...

Fáilte chuig ár mblag! Welcome to our blog.