From the Emerald City to the Emerald Isle

 

 

 

 

The kids had Half Term break last week so we decided to hit up the Emerald Isle for a Griswald family road trip. We hitched up the Family Truckster and did a fast and furious road trip through the gorgeous south end of Ireland. Originally we were going to try to find some warmer temps or go skiing, but we wanted a closer destination so Ireland was the easy choice.

 

We flew into Shannon (60 minute flight!), picked up the Truckster and headed to the Cliffs of Moher straightaway! The sun was out and it was a balmy 50+ degrees...perfect weather for the Cliffs of  Moher viewing. Many people told us if the weather is cloudy/foggy that the cliffs just aren't worth going to, so we really lucked out. There were hardly any people and it felt like we had the place to ourselves. Apparently the day we were there they discovered that the side of the cliffs had been graffiti'd  with some colourful art-of course we could not see it but we read about it the next morning in the papers.The green colours were fantastic and the cliffs very dramatic. I was pleasantly surprised by the Cliffs of Moher-they were breath taking and I was glad my expectations were met.

Cliffs of Moher

Gorgeous day and not too cold-sun was out!

Cartwheels are mandatory at all tourist attractions!

Constant exposure! Love the textures here.

Biggest wave in Europe right there-need a jet ski to get you out to the waves.

After visiting the Cliffs, we jumped in the Truckster and headed to our first hotel. The Adare Manor in Adare, Ireland was ranked as one of the best Irish castles in all of Ireland. They were having an amazing Half Term break deal for a family room, kids are free, full Irish breakfast and dinner included so we jumped on living large for one night. As we entered the manor grounds, it was truly a "wait for it" moment. We turned the corner of the long drive and BAM!...the stately Manor awaits. We did find out a very important fact: manors are for the rich and castles were for defense...big difference! After checking in, we were given a tour of the manor which eventually led to our room. Our room was HUGE! May could do cartwheels galore in it! The kids quickly changed into their swimming costumes (lol! British for bathing suits) and went to terrorize the pool. We had a lovely dinner in the golf clubhouse's restaurant and followed up by drinks in the Manor bar where we were regaled with ghost stories of the Manor.

The next morning the kids and I walked explored the ground of the Manor and the charming village of Adare whilst Pete fly fished the Maigue River. As Pete says, "They don't call it catching for a reason." But he loved fishing with a ghillie (guide) who knew all about fly fishing in Ireland. Very cool! The kids and I picked up picnic supplies, had one more swim and then we headed out to "do the Dingle"!


Adare Manor-in Adare, Ireland was gorgeous!

The lobby

Tea Room and Bar

Gorgeous golf course setting

Ready to hit the pool!



Our huge room!

Royalty for one night only!

Full Irish Breakfast

Cool ruins on the property...although kids have the sad look on their faces
 because we had just seen a cat get hit by a car in town. Traumatizing!

The "wait for it" moment...

Pete and his ghillie Jim



Not a bad view from this hole!

We found out a manor is for the rich and a castle is for defense

Happy Man fly-fishing in Ireland!

We cruised on to the Dingle Peninsula and stopped at several beaches to search for rocks and shells. It was wee bit windy and we ended up eating our picnic in the Truckster. But then we found a wide open beach and spent about an hour tide-pooling and enjoying the protected and unwindy beach. It was heaven!

Not what Avis had in mind when we rented the car...

Climbing up to Pender Lake while crossing Connor Pass

After our beach combing bliss, we headed to Dingle over Connor's Pass, as recommended by the young American girl I sat next to on the plane. Ironically, she was moving to Ireland that day from Portland and had worked at Kells! Connor's Pass was desolate, narrow and a winding road. We stopped half way up and hiked up to a mountain lake. We were the only ones there and had some great fun shouting weird things to echo back to us!

Pender Lake

Essentially the pass turned into a one lane road-it was hairy!

Defacing the Irish stone

Hairy Highway we dubbed it!

Cold and chilly at the top of Connor Pass

At the top of the pass, you can see both sides of the Dingle Peninsula. It was windy and cold up at the top. It was a quick jump out and jump back in picture!

 

We checked into our cute B & B, the Castlewood Inn, relaxed a little and headed off to dinner in the cute fishing village of Dingle. We were going to try and hit a pub after dinner to listen to some Irish music but we were all so exhausted, we  just couldn't do it!

 

After an amazing breakfast cooked by the owners (to die for bread pudding!), we did a quick drive up the south side of the Dingle Peninsula to Slea's Head and then back to Dingle to pick up our suitcases. We had a long drive around the Ring of Kerry to get done that day so we had to get on the road! The kids slept most of the first part of the ring drive (which wasn't as stunning as the end bit of the ring drive) so Pete and I just chatted and listened to some Irish tunes (Pete bought a CD of Irish Pub Songs).

 

Some back history for you: after I lived in Florence, Italy during my junior year of college, I travelled to Greece with some friends and then met my room mates from Italy in Ireland. This was years before the Internet and cell phones so there was no email/texting check in to make sure we all were still meeting or had been delayed. We had picked a date to meet in the train station in Cork and we all meet there on the assigned date. Some how we had it in our brains that it would be fun to rent 3 speed bikes and cycle around the Ring of Kerry. We stored our backpacks at the train station (can't do that anymore can you?), rented our bikes and headed out on a 3 day biking tour of the Ring of Kerry...on a 3 speed bike, without helmets.

 

Why am I telling you this? Well after driving the Ring of Kerry last week, I can not believe how in the HELL we did that bike ride? It was so hilly, narrow and 112 miles around. So we averaged 40 miles a day with no prior bike riding training? Ah to be 20 again! I am trying to track down these old room mates in the hope they can fill in the parts of the trip I can't remember...I do remember staying in some really dodgy B & Bs...

Cliffs of the Dingle Peninsula

A 2500 year old fort!

Slea Head on the Dingle Peninsula

We found this cool tiny little beach with some big surf!

May loves a good beach! She brought home 5 lbs of rocks and shells.

Cliffs on the Ring of Kerry

Another one lane road not even on the map...you can see it go up and
 over those mountains into the left hand corner

We stayed in the charming village of Kenmare at the Coachman Inn. Definitely our worst hotel of the trip and I should have known better than to wait until the day before to find a place to stay. But the town itself made up for it-it was super cute and we had an excellent dinner at Packie's Bistro. Kenmare is know for some of it's excellent restaurants. Many were closed due to the season but in the spring and summer I think it is a very busy village!

Kenmare, Ring of Kerry

Kinsale, south of Cork. Darling town!

The next morning, we were up and out to try and hit the vibrant fishing village of Kinsale. The road was winding and narrow and we got stuck behind a truck so our drive was longer than expected. We had an amazing lunch at Fishy Fishy and strolled the streets of this cute village. We were going to try and stop at the Blarney Stone on the way up to Dublin but we were behind schedule and just headed straight up to Dublin (3 hr drive on a Friday and ran into traffic :-( )

This boy never ate a plate of mussels he didn't like!

Still going and just hitting his stride...

And done!

 

Trinity Library on the Trinity College campus-wish I could
 have taken a picture inside-it was stunning!

At this point in our trip, we were happy to give up the car and settle in some place for a couple of days. Pete gets an amazing deal at the Dublin Four Seasons through work so we had a sweet set up. Kids loved this hotel-they had kid sized robes for them, a bowl of popcorn and sodas waiting for them in their room. We were spoiled rotten by the service there! And they had a great pool! Win!

Another library-the National Library of Ireland

On Saturday, it was lightly snowing so we headed out early to do the Dublin Bus Tour. We hit Trinity College and Library, the National Library, Dublin Castle, some big Cathedrals, the Guinness Storehouse, Phoenix Park (where the US Embassy and the president of Ireland both reside). The Irish President's residence was designed to look like the original White House. Also, we were told the next Ambassador for Ireland might be Bill Clinton? Wha?

Wish I could say the kids were pouring over an Irish literary classic but no.
They were looking at a 2006 Guinness Book of World Records.

A monument for Dr. Barnardo-a famous Brit who helped many orphans in England and Ireland.
May did a report on him earlier this year so she was excited to see this sculpture.

Hiding from the nuns of the church!

Now we are talking-the Guinness Storefront tour!

Horse with a hat!

Classic Guinness adverts!

The kids loved the tour as much as we did-very well done!

Our complimentary Guinness with a shamrock!

Yum-I am a Guinness convert now!

Let's talk about Guinness, shall we? Believe it or not, I had never had a pint of Guinness. I was scared it would be too thick, too filling, too warm and too dark. Was I wrong. It is delicious. It is smooth, it is light, it is cold and it goes down easy! YUM! I am a new convert! The Guinness tour was excellent. Obviously it was the most crowed place we went but we all were engaged and learned a lot about making beer!

Listening to traditional Irish tunes at the pub in the Guinness Storehouse

Waiting patiently for another pint

 On Saturday night we booked a reservation at a cheesy restaurant that had a set menu, bad wine, good Irish music and hilarious 3rd rate Celtic dancing. The music was fun, people sang along and we all enjoyed it. Then the dancers came on stage. Wow. My jaw dropped to the floor and it was hard not laugh. What they do is impressive and I am sure very difficult, but inside I was dying! Michael Flatley, eat your heart out!

On Sunday morning, we split up. Pete took the kids to the Killmainham Gaol for some harsh reality. They had a great time learning about the Irish Potato Famine and the all the young kids that were sent to jail for stealing bread and coal. I went to Grafton Street and Temple Bar to peruse the shops and take in some of the Dublin street life!

Killmainham Gaol-Dublin's old jail
Kids as young as 7 years old were imprisoned here for stealing food and coal

Yummy-my first Guinness!

We came back with some crazy lookin' Leprechauns!

All in all, we loved Ireland, the people were so nice and friendly, most of the food was tasty, it was beautiful and we loved the Guinness! Hopefully we will get back to see Northern Ireland at some point!