Europe Trip, Part 3: Ireland

You know it’s a fantastic trip when your mom texts you while you’re in Ireland and asks “Are you coming home?”

The answer is, of course, yes … at least this time. Truth be told, Teacher Man and I have this crazy secret dream of living in a cottage somewhere close to Cobh (pronounced “Cove”), Ireland, a harbor town on the southern edge of the country. It’s where I will write my first book, I’m sure of it. 😉

But I digress.

If you have read Part 1 and Part 2 of my trip posts here, you know that Teacher Man, Joe and I embarked on a two-week European adventure in August to France and Ireland. After relishing our time in Paris and then exploring the history and beauty of Bayeux, we flew to Dublin and couldn’t wait to show Joe this beautiful country that Teacher Man and I both fell in love with on our honeymoon 20 years ago.

And P.S. – my apologies for the lengthy post but seriously, so many photos!

Our first stop … one night in Dublin. We took Joe to Grafton Street so we can people watch and find dinner and a Guinness somewhere. (Joe had Sprite, no worries.)

Guinness just tastes better in Ireland. 🙂

Next stop … County Mayo and specifically Killala, where Jerry’s family on his mom’s side is from. Thanks to some relatives, we have detailed directions to what we call “Murphy land”. Jerry and I had visited 19 years ago and couldn’t wait to show Joe. It’s a fun adventure to find it. Case in point: drive through town, look for Palmerstown Bridge, make a few turns and drive down a very country road until some old buildings on the left, which reside on what was once Murphy land. A few minutes of trespassing (yep, truth!) and several photos later and we were on our way again. Pretty awesome, though! How many of us get to visit our ancestors’ land?

Our stop for the night: Galway, where I mapped out our next day’s travels to the Cliffs of Moher and the Dingle Peninsula. And Guinness. Always Guinness.

On our way to the Cliffs of Moher, just outside of Galway, we visited Dunguaire Castle in Kinvara. It was a blast to explore and we loved the views from the top. (Hint: you can purchase your entrance tickets online, although you don’t necessarily need to. It wasn’t super busy when we went there in the morning – however, tour buses were definitely coming. so it can’t hurt to be prepared ahead of time.)

Just one of a million scenic overlooks in Ireland. Everywhere we turned, we saw pretty landscapes, so much green, and picture perfect photo opportunities!

This might be my favorite photo from Ireland. 😉 We stopped the car to check the back tire and I happened to look over the stone wall to see the sheep. They were pretty surprised to see me too!

The Cliffs of Moher never disappoint … so incredible! Expert tip: definitely book your tickets online (especially in the summer) as this is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Ireland. We faced a line of cars (and buses) to get in but the pre-purchased tickets definitely helped.

Lucky for us, we were able to walk a significant length of the Cliffs of Moher before a deluge of rain came. Beautiful!

Next stop for the night: Dingle and I was in love! This was a brand-new area to all of us and we adored the tiny streets and colorful buildings. We stayed at Barr na Sráide, a small bed and breakfast with friendly service and amazing Irish breakfasts. Our room was also tiny — easily the smallest room of our trip – but certainly well appointed.

The next day we headed out to partake in the Slea Head Drive around Dingle Peninsula, which was pretty much as magical as all the blog posts and websites say it is. But first … we had to wait for some cows to cross the road. 😉

When on the Slea Head Drive, it’s imperative you stop at all the things! After the cows moseyed on by, we found a Celtic Prehistoric Museum that Joe LOVED and that, honestly, was quite impressive with its array of ancient artifacts! We also walked around several celtic sites and toured a Famine Cottage, which shared some of the potato famine history.

Here in these photos, we’re almost to the Blasket Islands Museum … and again, the backdrops and scenery were breathtaking!

And just one of many fish and chips enjoyed while on our trip!

I finally found my favorite Irish beer, Harp, in Dingle after our drive! (No offense to Guinness – I love that too, but there’s just something about Harp that is my jam.)

A few final pictures of Dingle before we headed out on the road, bound for Kinsale and eventually Cobh in the southern part of the country.

But first … Inch Beach, which was spectacular! And then Kinsale …

We had never been to Kinsale before and it did not disappoint. Oh my, the colors of this tourist town! The city was in the midst of its summer celebration so it was crazy busy but we spent a few hours walking around, enjoyed a very casual lunch, and then headed to Cobh, our favorite little city in Ireland.

Oh excuse me, just another stone castle-like structure next to a road. 🙂

Cobh is a harbor town (just like Kinsale) perhaps most famous for being the last port of call for the Titanic. The city also has a cemetery where some of the victims of the Lusitania were buried in mass graves. For those who aren’t familiar, Lusitania was a British ocean liner and its sinking by a German U-boat in 1915 contributed to the entry of the United States into World War I.

We stayed at Water’s Edge Hotel and enjoyed a HUGE room right on the water so we could view the cruise ship docked nearby and other boats passing by. We stayed in this very hotel 19 years ago so it was fun to go back! Oddly, though, I don’t have a photo of it from this current trip. I guess I was so excited to be in Cobh that I kind of forgot about that!

St. Colman’s Cathedral in Cobh is stunning as it sits on a hill overlooking the harbor. The night we visited, a choir was rehearsing inside so we sat for a few minutes in silence, taking it all in.

A view from outside the cathedral.

The Roaring Donkey is our favorite pub in Cobh. We stumbled upon it 19 years ago and it’s still going strong. It’s more of a neighborhood pub, higher up on the hill, vs. the touristy pubs close to the water. The regulars were friendly and the pub itself just seems like the quintessential Irish pub. 🙂 Plus, the beer provided a nice respite after walking huffing and puffing up a very steep hill.

One of the last major attractions we visited was Blarney Castle in County Cork, which ultimately ended up being one of Joe’s favorite parts of the Ireland leg of the trip. The castle is amazing and we all “kissed the blarney stone” at the very top.

Kissing the blarney stone entails laying down over an opening in the castle wall and kissing a spot on the stone wall upside down – with some assistance of course. Those who kiss the blarney stone are blessed with the gift of gab, or so we are told. 🙂 (Do I dare mention Teacher Man has kissed it twice in his lifetime, apparently giving him twice the gift of gab?!)

Like mother, like son in this photo – awaiting our turn at the blarney stone.

The grounds at Blarney castle were gorgeous … so many flower and shrub varieties to enjoy!

For our final night in Cobh – and in Ireland! — we stopped at the Mauritania bar in Cobh before doing a very American thing — ordering pizza at Papa John’s and taking it back to our hotel room to eat. 😉

It was a truly amazing trip — beautiful sites, cities, and people. And no travel woes to really speak of; the trip went exactly as I had hoped! (That includes all the quality time Joe spent with this parents! LOL … he handled almost two weeks away without a decent data plan on his mobile phone quite well! Thank goodness for wifi at every hotel, right?)

Truly, though, France and Ireland captured our hearts yet again. When can we go back? 🙂

xoxo – Lara