Ireland 2011
We head to Ireland for a couple weeks
United Airlines – Best Airline Ever
When we landed in Chicago, we had a big carry on full of liquid, and we had to go to another terminal and so had to go back through security . But, you...
Tara for Now
Our last guesthouse had 'Hill of Tara' etched into the glass of the garden door, which we took as a fairly direct instruction about how to spend the morning....
The Adventure Continues
We got through security support fast and easy.. didn’t even have to take our shoes off, but then! Customs! I got through okay, but they room Morgan into...
End of the Road
Here we are camped out in our last hotel, right next to the airport. I can’t believe its almost over ! :c we are having a quick bottle of humid foreign...
Dublin Back
We left County Down in the rain, and I can tell you exactly where we started, because a hand-painted sign for a boarding kennels gave the townland away:...
Clontarf
Hello, hello! Yesterday we drove all the way back into Dublin, to a little place called clontarf. We tried to stop in a couple malls on the way to do some...
Belfast and Furious
A slow morning in a guesthouse with lavender walls, nobody especially ready to leave. We packed at the pace of people who know the best part is now behind...
Causeway to Heaven
We woke up in a four-poster bed in a castle, a sentence I hope to write again, but had never written before. Before checking out we roamed the whole of Castle...
Belfast
At first we thought Belfast was kinda boring. Not a lot of shops.. we got a nap in. Then we went out for Thai food (sticky rise dessert!) and found a club of...
Giant’s Causeway
Was absolutely my favorite scenic location so far. We tried to go to the Bushmills distillery, but we were 5 minutes too late. They wouldn’t even let us...
Hold Your Horses
A short, spectacular day, most of it on horseback. We saddled up near Sligo in the early afternoon and rode out along the lanes, then over beaches and bogs...
Sligo!
Today! Horseback riding over beaches, bogs, and freeways! ! It was so great, then we checked in to the beautiful castle Markree. It is PHENOMENAL. Just to get...
Galway Squared!
2 days in Galway! At the Eyre Square Hotel. It wad am okay hotel.. like many of the places we stayed, it had a double bed and a twin. Galway is similar to...
Moher the Merrier
We spent the morning in Galway, wandering the shops off Eyre Square, and yes, there was a handstand in the square. Elizabeth has a habit of doing them in...
Blarney Rubble
The thing that always catches me off guard is that castles, while living spaces, are about more than the castle. there’s always a massive amount of land...
Cliffs of Moher
We headed to the coast and stopped where the cliffs of moher are. We marveled at the views, enjoyed the crisp air, and Eli was worried about the big sign that...
Shannon-igans
We pointed the car north out of Kerry with the wipers going, through Castleisland and Listowel, the rain settling in for the long haul. At Tarbert we did the...
Killarney Me Softly
After a run of castles and cities, Killarney was a day to breathe. We slept in a little, said good morning to Kerry, and headed out into the national park. It...
The Blarney's Tone is Flat
The thing nobody warns you about Irish castles is that they come with enormous grounds — so you park, and then you walk, past bridges and streams and even a...
Cahir and a Question
Sunday took us southwest through Tipperary, all parkland and low stone walls and a river keeping pace with the road. We stopped at a thatched cottage because...
Oh My God, They Kilkenny'd
Kilkenny in daylight turned out to be a warren of medieval lanes with names like the Butter Slip, several of them narrow enough to touch both walls at once....
The Guinness Book
We gave the afternoon to the Guinness Storehouse, which is less a brewery tour and more a seven-story cathedral to a single beverage. There are barrels the...
Viking a Chance
A full day in Dublin, and we started it in horned helmets. The Viking Splash Tour runs around the city in a bright yellow amphibious truck, and the price of...
Dublin Down
And away we go. This was really Elizabeth's trip — she'd wanted to come to Ireland since she was about fifteen, did all the planning and made all the lists,...
September 28th, 2011
When I was about 15 years old, I woke up and decided that I should definitely go to Ireland. I’m not sure why or what sparked it, but all the research...
Thinking about traveling.. reminds me of traveling
Travel planning can be stressful! I’ve taken on the responsibility of putting this trip together, since it was my idea in the first place. Phileas is...