The BIg Finish

So it's been two months since our trip and we were finally able to finish posting the pics from our trip to the page. There were so many photos that we actually had to add extra memory to our laptop to get them all to fit. Thank you for your patience and we hope you enjoy the remaining photos. The pictures capture our last few days in Ireland. When we had last written we were staying at a castle in Ballynahinch. That morning we walked the grounds and took photos, the trail went on for miles and miles. We had lunch at the castle where we actually saw a famous Irishman that hosts the late show there. We couldn't figure out why other guests were staring at him until we saw his picture on the cover of a magazine the next day. After leaving the castle, we drove through Connemara which was absolutely amazing and we were lucky enough to catch a sunset on our way through. That evening we stayed in Athlone which was the home of Brian's Great Grandparents. We stayed in a local B&B called The Shannonside House. The family was extremely hospitable and our stay was very comfortable. Though we arrived late and had difficulty finding somewhere to eat, the family that runs Shannonside took us in with big smiles on their faces. The next morning we headed back to Dublin for the last two days of our trip. Once again we stayed with May and couldn't be happier. While staying with her we visited St. Patrick's Cathedral. We only spent a few hours there but could have easily spent days there, it was busy yet peaceful. People walked around in large groups with their mouths open wide not saying a word. Our pictures don't even do it justice. It was AMAZING! After St. Patricks we headed into downtown Dublin for some shopping (Brian's favorite). It was decorated for Christmas and every store was packed to the brim with shoppers. It even flurried for a few minutes! Leaving May and Dublin was a sad sad day. Ireland is so easy to fall in love with that we both had a hard time saying goodbye. It is absolutely the trip of a lifetime and we recommend going no less than two weeks. We will be going back as soon as we can and we hope that everyone has an opportunity to experience the perfect vacation that we did. Thank you for reading our blog!

Moving on up

We didn't have internet capabilities last night so we weren't able to write about our day yesterday which was spent taking in our last moments at our homey cottage in Dingle and heading to the Glasha Meadows B&B in Doolin. Doolin is just north of the Cliffs of Moher and being that we were in the southern part of the country, we had a journey ahead of us. As we were driving we stumbled upon a car ferry that would take us across the Shannon River in about 20 minutes cutting 85 miles off of our drive. We exchanged glances and without even speaking began to dig in our pockets for the ferry toll. Within a few short hours, we were pulling into Doolin, a small sleepy town along the water's edge with a clear view of the Cliffs. The next morning we awoke to a home cooked Irish breakfast and in no time we were pulling in to the Cliffs of Moher parking lot. We know we keep using the words amazing, perfect, gorgeous and beautiful to describe where we've been and this was no exception because the Cliffs are all of that and then some. Whether you are climbing up the wrought iron spiral staircase at O'Brien's Tower or making your way along the narrow path of the Cliffs of Moher, the view is magnificent. Every direction you look leaves you speechless. We promise to have pictures posted soon!

Once we left the Cliffs we didn't have any definite plans so our options were unlimited as to our next destination. Did we start to head East back towards Dublin or head further North? We both agreed that Galway and/or Connemara (North) would be our next stop. In order to get directions punched into the GPS, we had to narrow our search down to a specific town or place. We chose Ballynahinch Castle (as it was between both Galway and Connemara). We were getting closer to our destination so we began to search for B&B's in hopes of finding somewhere to stay for the night in the area. Before we could find somewhere to go, we were pulling into the entrance of Ballynahinch. At first it appeared to be closed, the entrance was not lit and the lights leading up a long dark driveway were extremely dim. As we arrived at the top the car came to a halt. We both sat with our mouths wide open. A beautiful castle/hotel set at the top of a mountain alongside a river and it was sitting right in front of us. One look at the lobby and we were sold. One room for two in a castle please and thank you. We really really promise to have pictures posted soon....we promise!

The Ring of Kerry Round Two (and Killarney National Park)

We took our chances today and drove out to The Ring of Kerry and Killarney National Park. The second time must have been a charm because the weather was perfect almost all day. On our way we stopped in a town called Inch and took pictures of The Inch Strand, a beach and very small peninsula just south of Dingle. We reached The Ring of Kerry which on a straight drive through would normally take about 3 hours, we were there all day. Every corner was more beautiful than the one before. There were points in our drive where we both got out and stood there and watched our surroundings, completely silent. There were no words to describe it. Our pictures, which we thought came out really great, don't even do the landscape justice. It's just gorgeous. We stopped at a local store on the top of one of the mountains called Avoca. We got lost in all of the local jewelry, clothing, food, etc. When we finally got back in the car we realized we were losing daylight and still wanted to get to the park before sunset, and we are so glad we did. By the time we reached Killarney National Park, an entire family of reindeer were eating in a meadow mere feet from the main road. We planted ourselves in one spot for close to an hour and just watched them. A few times they looked up and gave us great photo opportunities but they didn't seem threatened by us or concerned with us at all.

So now we are back at the cottage, it's our last night here and it is bittersweet. We are both extremely sad to be leaving but are very excited about what is still ahead. We have been at this cottage for six days and would have absolutely stayed here for another week had we known how terrific it was going to be. This perfect cottage with the perfect view in the perfect little town will surely be missed. We aren't sure what our internet capabilities will be when we leave here but we hope the next time you hear from us it will be from Doolin and we will have just visited The Cliffs of Moher. More to come soon....we hope!

Second times a charm....we hope.

We had decided yesterday to drive The Ring of Kerry. The weather was not on our side. By the time we had reached the beginning of our route, we had hit scattered showers, tons of fog, and had two unhappy people in the car. We went anyway and took as many pictures as we could but knew that if the visibility was a bit better, if the weather was just a little clearer, we would be able to get some really beautiful shots. But the day was not lost. When we returned to Dingle we stopped for dinner at The Old Smokehouse. It didn't appear to be open and many other storefronts seemed vacant. Because of the weather there were not a lot of people out and businesses had either closed early or hadn't opened at all. We went in anyway hoping for the best and were pleasantly surprised. The owner greeted us at the door and as we were the only patrons we had our pick of whatever table we wanted. We sat in the patio section made up of floor to ceiling windows overlooking a tiny bridge with a small stream running through it. The walls were covered with amazing local artwork and even with the rain pouring down outside, it was perfect. Our meals left us speechless. It was a perfect end to a gloomy day.

We made eachother a deal. If we woke up in the morning and the sun was shining, we would give The Ring of Kerry another try. If not, we would find something else to do. Good news, the sun was out this morning!

Better to be safe

Today we had planned on going to The Ring of Kerry and our plans were quickly halted when we looked out the window this morning. What was once a beautifully blue and cloudless sky was now ominous, gray, and like nothing we'd ever seen. That is how quickly the weather can change here in Ireland. Within 30 minutes, it can go from pouring rain to sunny and warm, back to cloudy again. So we figured we would wait it out, the weather was bound to get better as it had done each day since we've been here. It was windy and cloudy but not rainy so we decided to start our day off with a walk along the cliffs to take a few more pictures, get some exercise and maybe by the time we got back, the weather would shift...and shift it did. As we walked and more time passed the wind began to whip around viciously. All of the sheep that would normally stand were either laying down individually or huddled together. By the time we had made it from one end of our area of the peninsula to the other, we could barely stand up without being blown over. The wind was rippling up the grassy hills and the waves were crashing hard against the shore. Neither of us have ever seen waves this big at any east coast beaches we have been to at home. Right then and there we decided it would be best to stay at the cottage where it was safe and warm. However, we are determined to go to The Ring of Kerry tomorrow, rain or shine!

That's a bunch of Blarney!

Today we traveled out to Blarney Castle which is about 3 hours from our cottage in Dingle and it was totally worth the drive. We were so lucky to have beautiful weather all day. Not a speck of rain or a cloud in the sky. We took our time, stopping off to take pictures of surrounding towns and reading about local legends in each place. There was a little driving lesson as well, and it was not Brian that needed to be trained on how to drive on the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road. Not only was the weather gorgeous, but Blarney Castle was almost completely empty. It is usually jam packed with tourists because it is home to the Blarney Stone and every American that visits usually goes about 2,000 people per day during busy season. We were shocked when we arrived that there was not a single person in line. It was so quiet there that the staff let us each smooch that filthy rock not once but twice! Once you make the decent back down from the top of the castle where the famous stone is located, there are several amazing trails to walk through. We decided to walk through "Rock Close" which is full of ruins, Irish folklore, waterfalls, gardens, etc. The original plan was to go to The Ring of Kerry on the way back to the cottage but it had gotten too dark so there will be more to come on that tomorrow. Instead we stopped off in Killarney for some shopping and dinner. The "Failte" Pub had amazing food, plenty of rowdy Irishman and great music. Now we are back at the cottage, settled in for the night and will sleep well knowing it was another day very well spent in Ireland!

Friday 11/12/10 - Dingle or bust

We woke up with 12 hours of sleep in us and May's Irish breakfast to fuel us up for our road trip across Ireland. We drove through so many beautiful and unique towns that we still can't decide which was our favorite. By the time we got to Dingle it was starting to get dark and as we made our way around the Dingle Peninsula where the cottage was located, it was completely dark. The cliffs edge was immediately to our left, mountains of rocks and stone to our right. Narrow does not even begin to describe the width of this road. We looked for all of the markers that Bill and Susan (the people that rent the cottage) had given us and we could not find the cottage anywhere. Finally after turning around three or four times, we found it, realizing we had passed it already about three or four times. We were ecstatic but starving from our trip. So we dropped off our bags and headed back out to a local pub called Murphy's for some dinner. We realized as soon as we drove into town that our mission for the next day was to go back and walk around. It is a small town that has a marina along the most beautiful cliffside you could imagine - pictures will be coming soon. We arrived back to the cottage to take our first hot showers in days. But before any of this could happen, the power went out. The wind is incredibly strong here as we are located about 20 feet from the waters edge. We cracked a bottle of wine and started a fire. Within a very short time, the power came back on but it didn't matter. We were at an amazing cottage in an amazing country after having another amazing day. We are both going to sleep tonight with smiles on our faces.