Ireland

We were in Ireland from August 24th to September 1st and had an amazing time! We flew in to Dublin, picked up a car, and began our tour of Kilkenny, Waterford, Cork, Killorglin, Ring of Kerry, Clifden, Cliffs of Moher, Galway, Belfast, and back to Dublin. Here you can find a summary of our trip and a few photos.

We started our day with an Irish breakfast and headed for the Ring of Kerry where we wanted to hike through the Gap of Dunloe, hike to the Muckross House and Torc Waterfall. It wa an amazing day with amazing views!! After a perfect day being one with nature, we left for Clifden for two nights in a castle! The castle was beautiful and we had an amazing dinner that night.

The next day, we drove to County Clare to see the Cliffs of Moher. We stopped along the way along the shore and it was quite windy! Also, the Cliffs of Moher is absolutely beautiful!! We spent most of the day there and drove around and came across a small town, Doolin, and had fish and chips in one of the oldest pubs in town. The food was great and the ambience even better. We toured the countryside by car and headed back to Clifden. As another small town, we looked around for a local restaurant to have dinner before they all closed. We were not extremely hungry so we ordered a few appetizers which were soooo tasty!! We had fried brie, clams in a white wine and garlic sauce, and seafood chowder. Clifden is known as a fishing town and the food did not disappoint.

We drove towards Galway the next day with the intent on staying the night in Belfast.  The morning was spent shopping for gifts (Galway has a pretty extensive shopping district).  We didn't eat lunch as I recall, but we did stop off at the same Gelato shop twice (for some reason, Ireland has really good Gelato).  After lots of shopping and checking out some Irish music (not that we went to a concernt, but they played on the street), we headed towards Belfast.  Belfast is located in the North East portion of Ireland and still is under heavy British influence.  All of the sudden, we had to pay in pounds and everyone had British accents!  Belfast is also where the Titanic was built.  It was the anniversary of the Titanic sinking, so we went to the museum and actually saw the slip way where it was built and port where the Titanic sailed off.  We also toured Belfast City Hall and were allowed to sit in the Lord Mayor's chair.  We also saw a chest of drawers that was made for the Titanic, but never made it onto the ship.  Belfast City Hall was also a very important area with regards to World War II.  All in all, it was pretty entertaining.  By the time we made it back to the hotel, it was getting pretty late, and the hotel restaurant was the only place still open at the time.  The burgers and beer were excellent, and the hotel bar turned into a night club of sorts.  After hanging out in the bar and drinking for a little, we headed to sleep to prepare for our journey to Dublin to close out our trip.  

We finally made it to Dublin. We kind of forgot to book the room right away, so we actually were staying outside of Dublin in a town called Tallaght. Why so far from the city you ask? Notre Dame and Navy were kicking off the college football season in Dublin the day we were leaving, and about 60,000 people were staying in Dublin for the game. We had to return the rental car, so the last couple of days in Dublin were touring by way of bus. Our first day was spent going to the Jameson Factory, which made Michael look like a kid in a candy store. He bought a bottle of Jameson that could only be purchased at the Factory. We later toured Trinity College, which looked kind of like something out of Harry Potter. The book of Kells was also on display, and we were lucky enough to view it right before it closed for the day. That night, we went to a pub in the heart of downtown Dublin. Believe me when I say that the Irish love singing and drinking right after work at a pub, and so did we! The next day, we took the bus back into town and got in around lunchtime. After some lamb stew we were on our way to a walking tour of Ireland, which took us through a path that passed by the hospital in Dublin that was donated by Arthur Guiness, the prison and many local street markets. Our trip ultimately ended at the Guiness Factory. Aside from being proposed to in Arizona (more on that to come later), visiting the Guiness Factory was one of the happiest moments of Liz's life. We went through the entire factory, learning how to pour the perfect pint and learning as much about Guiness as possible. We even received certificates after our "perfect pour." We also bought way too much stuff from the Guiness store, including chocolate and barbeque sauce, both of which were delicious. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. The next day, we went to the airport in Dublin and headed back home. It was definitely a great first trip, but it wont be our last.