Our original plan was to drive into Dublin, see the sites and then drop Jessie at the bus station to head back to Galway. We decided to skip Dublin since we had been told it is near impossible to drive in Dublin due to the traffic. Instead, we drove Jessie back to Galway. It was only a 2 1/2 hour trip from Trim to Galway, and we needed to do some more shopping. We thought we would be able to find gifts everywhere we went, so we did not buy everything in Galway and haul it around the country for two [View Full Entry]

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We started the day off with our typical full Irish breakfast, except this B&B also offered black and white pudding. I was brave enough to try the puddings, but Pam and Jessica decided to pass. I found them to be quite tasty and had them both mornings we stayed here. We started out the day by driving to Navan and shopping for chocolate. We then made the rounds to the sites in the Boyne Valley. We visited the Hill of Tara, The Hill of Slane, Bective Abbey and Newgrange Passage Tomb. We decided to call it an early day and head [View Full Entry]

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Today was another travel day. We left Ballycastle to head back into the Republic. We passed through Armagh, the religious center of Ireland. St. Patrick established the first Christian church in Ireland in Armagh in 455 AD. There are two St. Patrick's Cathedrals on opposing hills in Armagh, one catholic and the other protestant. We stopped for lunch in Armagh, but did not tour the cathedrals. Our final destination was Trim in County Meath, Ireland's Heritage Capital. We booked a B&B across from Trim Castle which was used in filming parts of the movie Braveheart. There are numerous sites in Meath [View Full Entry]

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Jessica found out that Rathlin Island, which is just off the coast of Ballycastle, was the hiding place of Robert the Bruce, the (brief) King of Scotland. This became one of the infamous side trips suggested by Jessica. She had to see Bruce's Cave where he saw the legendary spider. The ferry to Rathlin Island takes 50 minutes. We found a brochure at the B&B for a boat that made the trip in 15 minutes. Of course we decide on the 15 minute trip. I called to make a reservation and find out that the owner had died suddenly the week [View Full Entry]

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Sunday was our travel day. We got a late start since we didn't get in until 2:30am. We skipped breakfast so we could sleep longer. We got up and packed everything so we could head out to Northern Ireland. We picked Jessie up at Corrib Village around noon and headed north through Sligo and Donegal. About 2 hours into the trip, Jessie suddenly realizes that she has forgotten her passport. This is potentially a huge deal since The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are two different countries, even though they are on the same island and it is all Ireland. [View Full Entry]

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With Jessica's school requirements completed, today was the day for the Ring of Kerry. We needed to start out early because we had a long trip ahead of us. We picked Jessica up at about 8:30am (yes, she was actually up and ready). As with any trip with Jessica, we had to make a side trip. She had just finished writing a paper on the Rock of Cashel in Tipperary (it is a long way to Tipperary). Buildings on this rocky stronghold date back to the 12th century, and Cormac's Chapel is one of the most outstanding examples of Romanesque architecture [View Full Entry]

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Jessica finally finished her paper...she is done with school until the fall! We picked her up at Corrib Village and drove her to the school to turn in the paper. We then went down to the City Center to do some shopping on Shop Street, which is right next to Merchant Street (these Irish come up with some clever names for their streets). I picked up an Aran sweater, and Pam managed to find gifts for all the nieces and nephew. I got a few shots of Shop Street and Eyre Square. Later in the day, we dropped Jessie and one [View Full Entry]

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Today was supposed to be a visit to the Aran Islands, three islands off the coast of Ireland, just out of Galway Bay, where the people still live much as they did over a hundred years ago. This is also where the Aran sweater originated, the traditional Irish wool sweater with different designs woven into the sweater. Each design has a meaning, and each family had a specific pattern which identified their family. The sweaters were worn by the fishermen and helped identify their bodies if they were lost at sea and washed up onto the beach. We missed the first [View Full Entry]

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Today was our day to visit the Cliffs of Moher. Jessie has already been to visit the Cliffs, so she stayed in Galway to finish her paper due on Friday while we did something she had already done. The day started with a wonderful full Irish breakfast: fried eggs, sausages, ham, potato cake (must have potatoes), Irish brown bread, toast, juice and coffee. We made it through Galway without any problems and headed south around Galway Bay. We stopped at Dunguaire Castle in Kinvarra to take a few pictures and walk around the castle. We originally wanted to take the coast [View Full Entry]

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We're finally in Ireland! We arrived in Dublin at 9:30am and unbelievably so did all our luggage. Yea Delta! We had too much luggage for the car we rented...must have been the bag full of shoes for "you know who". Upgraded to a Hyundai SUV Diesel...gets good mileage but sounds like a truck. We made our way cross-country and arrived in Galway around 2:30pm. Met up with Jessica and after lots of hugs and kisses, we checked into the bed and breakfast. It is a nice place overlooking Galway Bay. We have a room with a balcony that looks out over [View Full Entry]

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