Ireland- Take 4 Finally!

What? Katie went to Ireland again? (you might be thinking) No, I just got sidetracked and never finished blogging about the rest of the trip. Just in case you were worried about days 7-11 - here you go.

County Kerry

Day 7

Started out our morning with a great breakfast, our last in Kilarney, packing the van to move along once again. On a side note, I love Irish bread. Brown Bread, Soda Bread - it's amazing. I ate it with every meal.

We saw saw beautiful scenery during the drive, including the village and beach of Inch. Inch Strand is 3 miles of sandy beach and was chosen as the beach location for "Ryan's Daughter", and old film that I have not seen, although I have added it to my queue.

We drove to Dingle, a very cute seaport town for lunch. I like any town who has a dolphin named Fungi for a mascot.

In 1984, Paddy Ferriter, the Dingle Harbour lighthouse keeper, first began watching a lone wild dolphin escort the town's fishing boats to and from port. By August of that year, local Ministry of Marine manager Kevin Flannery was able to officially record the dolphin as a "permanent" resident of the entrance channel and self-appointed "pilot" of the fleet.

Some members of our group drove the Dingle Peninsula, but mom and I were ready for some time out of the van. We walked, shopped and did some sightseeing around the town of Dingle. I even got my hair cut -spur the moment.

(Beautiful scenery on our drive & Fungi the dolphin. )

We continued our drive, then boarded a ferry boat to continue our journey on to Doolin - our final destination for the day. I love riding Ferry Boats, but this was a cold and windy crossing. We stopped by the Cliffs of Moher on our way to the B & B that we were staying.

It was a clear afternoon and there was no other tourists, so we went ahead & climbed up. By far, the most popular image that you see when referencing Ireland - but nothing could prepare me for the amazing size and magnitude of this place. The Cliffs of Moher stretch for 8km & rise up to 214 metres above the Atlantic Ocean. The view, experience, height and wind - leave you breathless.

We then checked into the cutest B&B - our room had views of castle ruins, Downtown Doolin and cow pastures. How quaint. We went to Doolin for Dinner and wonderful Irish music.

Doolin

Day 8

We hated to say goodbye to our B & B in Doolin, but it was only a one night stop. We left Doolin and began the drive to Galway. On the way, we drove through the burren. The Burren lies south of Galway in County Clare, Ireland. As the largest karstic limestone area in Western Europe, the Burren is an anomaly in the Irish landscape and continues to fascinate geologists who come to study its limestone patterns, underground rivers and grykes (cracks).

One of the coldest days, but we still managed to do a lot of sightseeing in the van and stopping points along the way. We happened upon these gorgeous stop - castle ruins. We also managed to drop by Moran's Oyster Cottage (famous Irish Pub).

One of my favorite thing about Ireland was the thatched roof buildings. One thing that we learned was each thatch craftsman makes his roof top a little different. This is basically their signature on their work.

We reached beautiful Galway Bay & our final big stop of the trip. We enjoyed a beautiful seafood dinner overlooking the bay and checking into a B&B that had Skype -so we could call home for free!

(Our group in front of the beautiful Galway B&B, Galway Bay, Mom outside the restaurant.)

Galway City
Day 9

Our 9th Day in Ireland, found us a bit tired and ready for some relaxing sightseeing. The ladies of the group had a lazy start and then took a bus tour of Galway. The bus tour was a little silly, didn't see too much, but the tour guide was really funny. Quite the ladies man, he kept telling us about all his girlfriends. I took this video - don't even try to understand the story - but it's so great to hear his thick Irish accent.

Our Tour Bus - It was so miserably cold.

We spent the day sightseeing & shopping in this cute town. Although it sounds crazy, one of our favorite meals was this night - Italian. An Italian Restaurant, in Ireland, run by Polish people. It was astounding how many people that we met during the trip were from Poland. With the Eurpoean Union, many young people leave Poland to work in other European countries- due to their central location and former high unemployment in Poland. We then went to my favorite pub - the one that had a locked front door and a sign that said, "The Front Door is the Back Door".

Day 10

Galway City

We left Galway to travel toward Shannon - our final stop and departure city. We stopped at Dromoland Castle and Hotel to see how the rich and famous stay in Ireland. Over 400 acres of grounds, boasting a private golf course and amazing interior - it was very impressive. Starting at 350 Euros a night (that's almost $700 US!)

We made it to Shannon and visited the grounds of Bunratty Castle. We ate lunch by the castle where I took one of my favorite photos of the trip. The sign says,

"Fáilte. Welcome. May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again,May God hold you in the palm of his hand."

Buttratty Castle is a top tourist attraction in Ireland, we were hoping to see their traditional Irish feast of music and dance, but they were closed since it was Monday (Something to keep in mind when you are traveling in Ireland - quite a few shops/attractions/pubs were closed on both the Mondays we were there). Instead we had a relaxed evening in a Pub about 30 minutes from our B & B.

Day 11

Shannon

We left early in the morning on the last day of our trip. The trip home is always bittersweet. It was an amazing experience to visit Ireland with my mom. We had the best tour & guides imaginable and great traveling companions. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity with so many memories to cherish forever.

Ireland - Take 3

Day 5

Killarney, County Kerry

On Wednesday we woke up and left beautiful Cobh to travel to Killarney. On the way, we stopped at the popular desination of Blarney Castle. The castle has been destroyed and rebuilt several times and is currently a partial ruin with some accessible rooms. At the top of the castle lies the Stone of Eloquence, better known as the Blarney Stone. Tourists visiting Blarney Castle may be positioned upside-down and kiss the stone, which is said to give the gift of eloquence. There are many safety precautions, but it is quite high and the positioning definitely made everybody very dizzy. After a long day in the car, we were ready to check into our new B & B and settle in. We walked to dinner in town and enjoyed a great dinner & Irish music at a local pub.

Beautiful Blarney Castle

An outlying building, taken from a window inside the main castle.

Mom asking the "handler" not to drop her :)

My official photo, coming up from kissing the Blarney Stone.

A view from below of the Blarney Stone, you slide all the way down and kiss underneath.

Horse and buggy available for hire in Killarney.

View of the river & bridge from our B&B room in Killarney.

Day 6

Killarney, County Kerry

We took off on Thursday to drive the popular Ring of Kerry. The Ring of Kerry is a tourist trail in County Kerry, south-western Ireland. The route covers the 170 circular road with beautiful scenic views throughout. From breathtaking cliffs & ocean views to gorgeous countryside & quaint towns. We made quite a few "photo opp" stops throughout the day, along with planned stops at Muckross House and Lady's View. We finished the day with a great dinner - one that was voted our most favorite on the trip - The Laurels Pub, Killarney.

One of the many great photo opps.

How cute was this pony carrying the tiny dog?
Shot from the car
Breathtaking view along the Ring of Kerry

Muckross House - this house had 65 rooms! Extensive improvements were undertaken in the 1850s in preparation for the visit of Queen Victoria in 1861. The house and the grounds are now a National Park.

Split tree in the Killarney National Park

Ladies View is a scenic point along the Ring of Kerry. The name apparently stems from the admiration of the view given by Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting during their 1861 visit.

Our favorite group dinner - amazing food and authentic pub atmosphere.

Ireland - Take 2

Day 3

Malahide

We work up early (jet lag is a serious thing) and got on the road. On the way out of town, we visited Malahide Castle. It was a beautiful day and a great way to start our first full day in Ireland.

Malahide Castle

Mom and me in front of the castle

I thought this was so cool, how they grew flowers in the shape of star.

Beautiful entrance to the castles graveyard.

Rock of Cashel

We left the Dublin area and began to travel south. We stopped at the Rock of Cashel, a beautiful historic site on our way to Cobh. We didn't tour the Rock of Cashel, but the beautiful weather provided us a chance to take some photos.

From the car, a dark look at the Rock of Cashel

Statue at the Rock of Cashel

I thought these ladies were so cute, sitting by the Automatic Barrier sign.

One of the older buildings, below the main structure.

View from street level - near the shop.

Cobh (Cove)

Leaving the County Tipperary, we traveled further south to our destination for the night - the seaport town of Cobh in the County Cork. We checked into our B&B, wandered around the town and grabbed dinner at the local hotel. Not many places are open on Mondays in Ireland.

Our luggage in stuffed into the back of our "Minibus".

Cathedral of St. Colman

Beautiful view along the water

Day 4
Cobh

We had another beautiful day to explore the city of Cobh. Cobh has a lot of interesting history, including being the last port of call for the Titanic as well as the closest port to the Lusitania disaster. We had the opportunity to take a walking tour of the city called "The Titanic Trail". We also viewed the beautiful St. Colman's Cathedral and visited the Heritage center which explained the Titanic, Lusitania & coffin ships (refering to the ships that carried Irish emigrants escaping the effects of the potato famine). We ended our day with a drive to Kinsale- a nearby seaport village. We shopped and ate dinner in Kinsale and then went back to Cobh - for our last night in the area.

Immigration Building that processed people leaving on ships - including the Titanic.

Memorial for those lost on the Titanic, dedicated by the only living survivor of the April 15, 1912 disaster. Interestingly enough, we did the tour on April 15, 2008 on the 96th Anniversary of the sinking.

Statue to memorialize the fisherman in nearby villages who saved many aboard the sinking Lusitania.

Aunt Mary, Me and mom outside St. Colman's Cathedral

View of the harbor from above - said to be the second largest natural harbor in the world

Ariel view of the town

Statue on the waterfront of Annie Moore and her brothers. Annie Moore was the first person to be admitted to the United States of America through the new immigration centre at Ellis Island, New York on 1 January, 1892.

Mom & me in Kinsale