Ireland, you are a true gem.

---

The thing about Ireland is that it’s green. And whilst I had previously been under the impression that this
was due to hordes of leprechauns emerging at night with watering cans, it turns out that the reality is that it’s because the clouds love Ireland. Andwho can blame them? It’s a lovely place, filled with colorful people, colorful houses, and a colorful history. Even if the primary colors you are going to experience are green and grey. Ireland is a fairytale. A fairytale you can only experience there. Remember all those castles you saw in Disney movies growing up? Well, in Ireland those magical moments become alive… magical!

How much did I pay for this experience? See below…

Flight: $ 484.30 (Delta Airlines- Non Stop) – Hotels/Car Rental: 350 per person – Food/Activities/shopping: $650

Being the planer that I am, I created an itinerary for the 5 days that we spent in Ireland.

Day one:

Dublin Castle
A short walk from Trinity College brings you to Dublin Castle. You are free to visit the grounds and the artgallery. If you want to tour inside the castle you need to take part in one of the guided tours as that is the only way to
get access. That said it is also the ideal way as you learn about the history of the castle and the significance of the various rooms and items on display. It is still an active building and hosts internationaland european political events. Well worth visiting.

Guinness Storehouse

Who loves beer? Not I. After reading reviews of the Guinness Storehouse I decided that I must visit the Guinness Storehouse whilst in Dublin so I went with high expectations and these weren’t misplaced.The building has been nicely restored and converted into a museum and exhibition area showing the history of the Guinness brand. It was very well laid out and very interesting. The highlights though were the “how to drink Guinness” talk and the sampling of the real thing on the top floor of the building which overlooks the whole of Dublin. The Gravity bar had an amazing panoramic view of the city. This place is worth a visit, even if just for the view.

Temple Bar District

This is the heart and happening part of the city! The epitome of Irish bar culture! Walking up and down the streets of this little section of Dublin you’ll be greeted by the sounds of live music emanating from every bar and smiling faces singing and laughing and swigging from a pint of Irish beer! So much fun!

Day two:

Drive from Dublin to Galway was approximately 2 hours 15 minutes.

Galway
Galway is a very touristfriendly Irish town. Once you arrive, all things can easily be found within a mile radius of the central town square for tourists. The Town Center isn’t very large. Everything is very walkable so no car is
necessary if you are staying in a central location. Public transportation is good and the harbor and suburbs are very pretty. Wonderful little shops and restaurants in the Quay Street area. Not a lot of tourist attractions, but definitely a fun place to visit for a couple of hours.

Drive from Galway to the Cliffs of Moher was approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Dunguarie Castle
On the way to the Cliffs, we stopped in Kinvara to tour Dunguaire Castle. It is really a tower house that was built in 1520 and has had extensions added to it. The last occupant was Christobel Lady Amphill who acquired the house in 1954, completed restorations, and actually lived there for 12 years. Each floor of the tower house consists of one room and is furnished in a different time period. It is not a large castle, but it was a nice stop
to break up the drive.

Cliffs Of Moher
This may have been the highlight of our Ireland trip! We were slightly worried because if fog rolled in, it could ruin the whole trip, however, this was not an issue. The cliffs are amazing and the surrounding area is beautiful as well. The tower is very cool and offers unique views. Extremely windy, but that did nothing to spoil the trip. Pictures are amazing and this is a must-see when in Ireland. Truly captures everything that is great about this country! Take a warm coat; its quiet windy and DO NOT forget sunglasses.

Drive from Cliffs of Moher to Bunratty was 57 minutes. Here we spend the night in Bunratty Castel Hotel.

Day three:

Bunratty Castle
The Castle itself is pretty cool, but even better are the cottages, shops etc. It’s like taking a trip back in time. The village is beautiful and very well maintained and each of the houses show interesting contrasts on rural
life in Ireland during the different periods. The village has a wonderful collection of old Irish thatched roof cottages, fisherman cottages, merchant homes and other village buildings. You really get a sense of how the Irish lived in the 1800′s through the 1950′s. The smellof the peat fires was fantastic. Definitely worth a visit if you love
history.

Drive from Bunratty to Killarney was approximately 2 hours 25 minutes.

The Ring of Kerry
After reading many different blogs about this beautiful countryside. I decided this place was a must see! Unfortunately, due to the fog we were unable to drive through the ring. We were able to see a little of this beautiful place but not much. I guess I will leave this on my bucket list.. but if you
have a chance make sure you check this place out.. must be gorgeous!

Day four:

Drive from Killarney to Blarney Castle was approximately 1 hour 15 minutes.

Drive from Blarney to Cork was approximately 15 minutes.


In cork we decided to rest since we were extremely tired. For dinner we drove 45 minutes to Kinsale. There we had dinner at a restaurant that recommended by a local. I was quite disappointed. The food was okay, not
worth the drive.







Day 5:





Jameson Distillery

The Jameson Experience was one of the definite highlights of the Cork leg ofmy Ireland pilgrimage, speaking as both a history buff and a lover of fun Irish-made adult beverages. I especially liked the taste-testing session at the end. Shots of whiskey at 9 am? Sureeeee.

Drive from Cork to Dublin was approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes.

When we arrived to Dublin, we decided to have dinner, shop around and spend our last night in the temple district.

What you must know about driving in Ireland.

1. Definitely have a GPS, good maps, and watch the signs. You are still going to get lost but it will be less frequently

2. Driving on the left (for those of us raised on right-hand side driving) – This seems like a piece of cake but I was a paranoid co-pilot. After a
day or two I was still walking to the wrong side of the car.

3. I have developed great respect for the skill of the Irish driver – seriously. The hard part of driving in Ireland is the narrow roads
usually with no shoulder, and the Irish seem not to realize that it is a difficult task.

4. Speed limits: I’m only guessing but this is what I saw as a major difference – Speed limits are a goal, not something you actually can
always attain. In the USA speed limits are more like the speed minimums. In Ireland, not even the native drivers can reach the limit on many
stretches of the road. It is not unusual to have an 80 km/hour speed limit sign followed by ‘slow’ and then ‘slower’ painted on the road just
ahead of a hairpin turn. There is no reduced speed signs before these turns, you are just warned to go slow – you are not told how slow so be
ready to sit on the brakes.

5. Blind corners, no place to turn around, no shoulder, and hedges blocking your view is a normal road. Then there are also the small
roads.

8.Parking – Evidently parking in one lane of a two lane road, parking on sidewalks, or anywhere else is fine. I couldn’t see any pattern or rules governing parking. You’ll remember this the first time you pull into a small village and sit for 10 minutes behind the guy in front of you in
your lane only to realize no one is in the car. It is parked.

8.White lines – A solid white line does not mean you cannot pass but alsoa dotted white line doesn’t indicate that you can pass – as far as I
can tell. Come to think of it, I haven’t figured out what the lines mean.





9.GPS – My TOM TOM GPS with UK maps was not at all good at finding pointsof interest. Actually, I had to learn how to read a map since our GPS stopped working after Dublin. Learning how to read a map was a very difficult task but I got the hang of it in no time.

It was a great adventure and I cannot wait to do it again.

I will be back.

---