Sigh!
I would love little more than to have stayed in Ireland for another little while and perhaps get another serving of Haddock from Galway! It now seems like such a distant memory!
Our days were scattered between driving and seeing new things. We did get lost a couple times, and
thanks to our GPS we found ourselves again in the most enchanting of places. We did all the touristy things and had the time of our lives!
Day 1: Orient ourselves and get used to driving those tiny cars, on tiny, winding roads going 80km/hr... on the opposite side of the road!
*** Yes! the gas pedal is on the same side! Just for the record!***
Day 2: Attempted FINDING a church, but getting lost and going on the backroads through Killaloe and Ballina, which had the most charming farmer's market. We got some of the most decadent desserts and fine salads there! I also got a few teas (roibos) to try and they smelled divine!
After that we took a GPS road (ummm.... path? It wasn't really a PAVED road...) This was an unexpected perk to driving ourselves! Getting lost was so much fun, we had to stop and take pictures!
This small and ever-winding road EVENTUALLY took us to our final destination for the day; the Cliffs of Moher. (a.k.a: Cliffs of Insanity!!!)
These are absolutely beautiful and worth the short hike. There were a lot of people there, but it didn't seem too bad since there are so many cliffs that each person can take their own. These are very captivating cliffs that are absolutely mesmerizing!
On our way home from the cliffs, we stopped at a graveyard that was around, and inside an old church ruin. It was right on the sea and very beautiful. I love their high-crosses in Ireland!
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| I Kissed the Blarney Stone (twice!) |
Day 3: Blarney Castle (after losing car #2 a couple times, we finally made it!) We were about the only ones to the castle, when a tour bus arrived right behind us! It's okay though, we got to kiss the stone before they did! (but after every other tourist who's ever been to Blarny!) I got to kiss it twice! (my roommate didn't catch the picture the first time, so the guy let me go again! :) Watch out tour bussers behind us! After that we headed just around the hill to Cork City. Driving there= Yikes!!! End of story!
Day 4: Ring of Kerry. We spent the day driving one of the most scenic drives in the world, and I can honestly say it really is some of the most beautiful country I've ever seen! It is breathtaking.
Driving the extra Skellig Loop was an experience to remember! There was a certain hill that was so steep, I thought first my car wouldn't even make it up. Then I started feeling like we would tumble head over heel backward clear down to the sea! It was amazing!
We paid 4 euro to hike up a little hill to view the Skelligs and we were stunned at their dramatic cliffs and dangerous enchantment. I think they were a little better than the iconic Cliffs of Moher, but both were worth seeing! This might be due to the fact that there isn't really a visitor's center dedicated to them, and they seem so much more raw and dangerous than the mysterious Moher cliffs. I may have to return to both places and re-evaluate my opinions...
Day 5: Galway City. We first went to a castle that was closed, then to Connemara to a Marble place. We then headed straight to the beach. Not much for sun-bathing there, but Salthill was a fun stop. Afterward, we headed to the Pedestrian Only Part of Galway and discovered all the shopping we could find! There were pubs and good-eats all over the streets! We saw a beautiful little cathedral and had the BEST beer-battered fish I've EVER had! It was Haddock, (catch of the day) and it was so flaky and moist it was falling off my fork! I needed a spoon to eat it! It was AMAZING! Sigh............
Day 6: Train to Dublin. We hadn't originally planned for Dublin in our itinerary, but we wanted to take a train there. We went to a museum and saw some great exhibits! (Book of Kells, high crosses, and Irish silver) Then to the national Library which had a lot of green Connemara marble in it. It is a beautiful building. What a great place to do genealogy!
Day 7: Cashel and Hore Abby. This was another unexpected treasure of our journey! We had heard from some locals that it wasn't really worth going to... "just a rock on a hill, go somewhere worth-while, like Las Vegas!" Ha! Yeah right! It was amazing! There is a lot of history there! It was the most beautiful drive from Garrykennedy, where we stayed, to Cashel.
There, we took a tour, some pictures and advice from the shop-woman to eat at Lady's Well in Cashel. It was a delightful cafe in town and the food there was gourmet! It was reasonably priced and simply scrumptious!
We then headed over to Hore Abby. It was a fun stop with just us! (Our two miniature cars were all that would fit in the pull-out for the ruin in the middle of a cow-turd-stained field) We played around the ruins and the arches for a long time, just enjoying the enchantment that comes with ruins. It was one of our favorite memories to savor.
Day 8: Home :'(. It really wasn't long enough, I'll have to return again! Our trip home wasn't too bad, but when we got home, Salt Lake welcomed us with the worst blizzard of the year! It was crazy to think we had gone from the Sunny (okay, so semi-rainy, blustery, but only partly cloudy) Ireland to a thick blizzard in less than 48 hours. Welcome home! Such a memory!
