I don’t know if I can describe how great of a trip Ireland really was. It was an amazing adventure from beginning to end with a lot of good food, delicious beer and great friends. But I’ll give it a try…
We met our friends, Andrea and Andy at the airport then went directly to pick up our rental car. Alex was our main driver and had a little trouble at first as he tried to get into the wrong side of the car (in Ireland you drive on the other side of the car on the other side of the road, so it takes some getting used to) so we knew this was going to be interesting. It was a stick shift and only Alex’s 3rd time driving a manual so getting out of the parking lot took a little while. He eventually got the hang of it and we were off on our Irish adventure!
Our first stop was Kilkenny where we explored a castle, took a Smithwick’s Brewery tour and sat and listened to live music all night. At one tiny bar called The Hole in the Wall (name explains it all) a customer grabbed a guitar off the wall and played a bunch of songs for all 10 of us there. It was really fun!
The next day we headed to Cork. On the way we stopped to explore the Rock of Cashel and a nearby Abbey that was in ruins. The next two days consisted of Blarney Castle and kissing the Blarney Stone (really neat experience), getting locked in the hostel bathroom and having to be saved by Andy (not such a great experience), and one of the bands at a bar asking for Alex’s name (thinking we said Felix at first 😂) then putting it into his song.
We then spent a night in a castle. On our way to the castle we did a tour of Charles Fort then walked down to a nearby beach where we found dozens of jellyfish on the sand. We left then headed towards the castle which was the middle of nowhere through tiny, one-car roads. We arrived at tea time so we enjoyed a cup before checking out our room. We spent the rest of the evening at the castle. We ate dinner, enjoyed a few pints while we hung out with the lazy castle dog, Einstein.
The next day we did the Ring of Kerry after getting to feed the castle donkeys and mini horses their breakfast which consisted of scones and bread. We drove most of the day just looking at beautiful scenery, stopping every so often to take pictures or check out castle ruins. At one point, we took this tiny road down to a beach. Walked along yet another jellyfish filled beach then got in the car and headed back up the hill towards the main road. We turned a corner and a van was coming right at us. We had no choice but to swerve into what we though were bushes but turned out to be a stone wall. Luckily, we had gotten the full insurance on the car so the 3 inch long gash in the side and a few scratches were covered. We eventually made it to Killarney where we finished the night with a very creepy ghost bus tour.
Dingle was our next stop. We decided to do a 3 hour sea kayaking trip in the Atlantic Ocean . It was amazing! We got to explore two sea caves and hold a starfish while paddling through beautiful blue waters. It was a workout but definitely worth it! The night in Dingle was complete with an excellent Irish dancer.
Doolin was next. It was a little disappointing because we really needed the weather to cooperate with us because we were going to see the cliffs of Moher. We drove up the hill towards the cliffs and could barely see anything in front of us. We got to the top and decided to turn around because it was just too foggy. As we headed back down, we started to be able to see more and more so we headed right back up the hill and sure enough the fog had lifted enough for us to see the cliffs. They were amazing!
Clifden was our last little town before ending in Dublin. We made a few pit stops along the way. Our first stop was to Ashford Castle. The castle itself was very impressive and the estate was huge! It took a while but we eventually found the building where our falconry lesson was taking place. We didn’t know what to expect. Our guide Megan, introduced us to our two hawks, Milly the calm, laid back bird and Geimhreadh the talkative, more aggressive, “don’t look him directly in the eye” bird. Andrea and I let the guys go first. Alex and Andy walked the birds into the forest where we all got a quick lesson. Release the birds, Megan sneaks a piece of food into your glove, then stick your arm out and they’ll land right on it. Simple as that! It was very fascinating to watch. Then we switched off and Andrea and I got to do the same thing. We switched back and forth for about 30-45 minutes then Andrea and I walked the birds back to their cages. It was a very cool experience and I would recommend it to anyone. We left Ashford castle and found ourselves at Kylemore Abbey. We snapped a few photos of this gorgeous Abbey then drove to Clifden where we finished the night with pints of Guinness (and Bailey’s) and some great live music.
We ended this trip with two nights in Dublin. We toured Trinity College, took a few shots on the Jameson distillery tour, got to pour our own pints at the Guinness experience and ended with a hurling match- an Irish sport similar to Lacrosse, Rugby and field hockey combined into one. We had never seen a hurling match before but really wanted to go. We got tickets, picked out the team we wanted to win then bought some apparel. The game was really fun and exciting and people really get into it. Our team ended up coming back and winning.
It was hard saying goodbye to our friends who we had just spent 24/7 with for the last 12 days, but the memories made on this trip will last forever. If you ever get a chance to visit Ireland, go. You won’t regret it!
followthesunny.com 
Wow…that sounds like the most amazing trip! You’re creating wonderful memories ❣
LikeLike
Wow, what a trip. You did a great job describing it, I would love to go there! It sounds like you packed so much into those 12 days, you will have those memories forever!
LikeLike