Check out Destination: Dublin for part 1!
Last time you heard from me we talked all things Dublin! Today, I would like to continue our tour around Ireland by heading south. After we spent 3 full days in Dublin, we picked up our rental car on the 5th morning and we started heading south out of Dublin. It did not take very long to finally reach those green hills I had pictured Ireland to be. We drove about 1 ½ hours south and stopped to tour Kilkenny Castle and grab a bite to eat at a small sandwich shop in the town.
After spending some time in Kilkenny, we continued our journey in attempts to find Wexford county, which is where my Dad’s family emigrated from when they came to the United States. This was the only hiccup in our itinerary and we ended up getting lost. We stopped for a bit in a small town on the Irish Sea and then we continued on to Cork. By the time we reached Cork we settled into our hotel, the Best Western Montenotte Hotel for the night, ate some dinner and relaxed for the evening. The next morning we departed from Cork and headed to Blarney Castle about 15 minutes away from our hotel.
Once we reached the Blarney Castle we walked around and of course went to kiss the famous Blarney Stone! I did not really prepare myself for the sudden fear I was going to have hanging over the edge of the castle to kiss this stone. I let my dad and husband go before me and I actually almost chickened out and did not do it, but finally convinced myself I could not make it all the way to Ireland and just look at the Blarney Stone. I am so glad I convinced myself to complete this tourist “must-do” because I would have been upset with myself had I not! This really is a cool experience, but just prepare yourself, it is really high up off the ground at the top of a castle and you will hang over the edge while lying on your back!
After our time at the Blarney Castle, we headed towards the Cliff of Moher. On the way we stopped in Limerick and toured St. John’s Castle and then we stopped off in Ennis and toured the Ennis Friary. We then continued on to the Cliffs of Moher! The Cliffs were absolutely breathtaking and need to be on your must see list!
After spending some time at the Cliffs we drove to our hotel which was about 10 minutes away. We stayed at the Tir-Gan-Ear House Hotel located in Doolin, which I highly recommend. While there we ate dinner at the local pub! This was one of the best, most authentic experiences we had the entire time we were in Ireland! Doolin is a small town and the pub is the local hangout. We got to experience Irish music while we ate and took in the lifestyle of the locals!
The next morning, we left our hotel in Doolin and head towards Galway! While in Galway we stayed at the Radisson Blu Hotel. It took us about 1.5 hours to get to Galway from Doolin. Once we arrived we took a tour with Galway on Foot Walking Tours. This tour given by a local named Sean Leonard was fantastic! Sean is incredibly knowledgeable and showed us so many amazing sights across the city. By far Galway was my favorite of the major cities we were in while in Ireland. It also was my husband’s favorite and he frequently talks about how he would like to go back and just spend time in Galway for a week.
The day after we arrived in Galway, we took the ferry to the Aran Island of Inis Mor and spent several hours there on a bus tour. After our tour we stopped in a local shop and purchased some authentic wool! The Aran Islands are THE place in Ireland to purchase wool. Visiting Inis Mor was such a unique experience. It was like a step back in time!
I will stop here in Inis Mor and look forward to sharing with you the last few days of our time in Ireland in my next blog!
Until Next Time,
Your Bibbidi Bobbidi Bestie,
Holly
Yorumlar