November 7, 2017
It all began with an email … one that showed flights very inexpensive flights from North Carolina to Ireland (Scott’s Cheap Flights)! I sent a text to my husband, Joe, and said Ireland is calling us – can we go? Within an hour we had seats to fly to Dublin at the beginning of October. We landed in Dublin, Ireland on October 7th at 6:30AM! Let us just say that the first adventure began with us driving from the airport to the hotel. Driving on the left hand side of the road was fun and at times a bit scary, but my husband did amazing driving while we there.
With only seven days we had a lot we wanted to see, so the first day we spent in Dublin. First I have to tell you that no matter what part of Dublin you go to, people are beyond kind and friendly. We started our Saturday morning by going on a hop on – hop off buss ride, enjoying the sights in downtown. Of course we had to head to Guinness to have my first taste of their beer and Guinness Stew!
The second day, Sunday, we traveled down to Glendalough in Wicklow. There we saw the stone ruins built in the 6th century by St. Kevin. I can’t even describe to you the feeling I had as we walked around the ruins and graveyard. Gravestones that were so old that sometimes you could barley read the date in which that was upon them. It was misty and chilly, but it couldn’t stop us from seeing such a beautiful and peaceful place. One of my highly recommend things to see.
Joe and I visited the National Archives in Dublin on Monday to learn more about Joe’s Irish ancestry. It is a wonderful place to go and the genealogists there are amazing with their knowledge and background when you are researching. Seeing books that went back to the 1600’s was just unreal. While we are still searching for his ancestry, they gave us so many tips for us to use when coming back state side.
Driving to Cashel, still on Monday, when we came around the bend and saw the Rock of Cashel, it truly took my breath away. It stood so high and majestic. No matter where you travel in Ireland – there are so many things to see! We loved staying at the Rockville House B&B. Literally you step out of the B&B, take a right and walk about 5 minutes to the Rock of Cashel. There is a bakery in town called the Bakehouse, oh my word. Joe and I enjoyed pastries & talked while he had his Irish tea and I a coffee Americano.
Doolin, Ireland is just about 2 hours from Cashel and on the west coast of Ireland. There you will see the Cliffs Of Moher. The Cliffs of Moher are 702 feet high and span across eight miles. The day we were there it was so windy that literally the wind would push you forward. The Cliffs are a natural wonder sight to be seen, we were just in awe. We stood at a lovely B&B called the Half Door Inn and enjoyed a lovely meal at Gus O’Connor’s Pub.
One of Joe’s and mine favorite movie is the Quiet Man which we started watching when we first started dating. The Quiet Man featured John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. If you have never seen it, I recommend you take sometime to watch it. So when we found out we could actually go to Cong, Ireland to the town in which it was filmed, it was a bit surreal for us. We visited the actual church St. Mary’s, which was in the actual film as well as Cohan’s Bar.
Quiet Man was also filmed in a few different areas besides Cong which wasn’t a far drive away. We went to Derryerglinna, Co. Galway, Ireland, to find the Quiet Man Bridge. This bridge is in the second scene of John Wayne when he sees the home he was born in, White of Morn cottage. Beside the Quite Man it has a 12th century Abbey that was lovely to stroll through. Joe especially enjoyed visiting and going inside the Monk’s fishing house.
Our last stop, on Wednesday – Friday, was a real 1700’s castle called Ballynahinch Castle. It has over 400 acres of land, among the backdrop of mountains, lakes and on the lake is the old O’Flaherty Castle (which is currently being restored). The first night we arrive, I grabbed my newest book and headed to one of the six large fireplaces they had within the Castle and read for hours. Joe and I took a 2.5 hour hiking tour, the next day, with a guide who talked and showed us the grounds and history of Ballynahinch. On our last night there, Joe and I sat in front of the fire and ate a beautiful dinner. It was one of the most perfect ways to end our trip together.
On Friday afternoon, Joe and I drove all of the way back to Dublin to catch our flight home. Before we left, we ate one last dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant, Bellucchi’s!
My Helpful Tips:
- When you are at the airport (Ours was RDU which is an international airport) we were able to pull from the ATM euro’s, which saved us in fees when exchanging money.
- If you are renting a car, we decided to get their navigation system, which was the best thing we could of ever done. Turn by turn the navi (as they call it) got us there. Not only that, we did not always get a signal on our IPhones. Full insurance for the car was a must for us. Some of the roads you travel on are so narrow, just the simplest brush from the bushes would scrape against the side of the car.
- We bought a backpack that zippered up from the back of the backpack thanks to our friend Lauren. We had no worries about our money or passports inside of it.
- Travel light! We took only one carry on luggage with us and a backpack. Traveling to Ireland requires a raincoat (which saved me a few times) and a good pair of walking shoes that are water resistant. As for clothes, I was told to put out everything you think you need, then take a third away. That worked perfectly! I also bought tide packets so that I could wash a few things in the sink and hung them to dry when needed!
- I bought this travel plug and this adapter so we could charge all of our devices easily.
- Rick Steves book on Ireland is a must!
- A BIG thank you to those who gave me a shout out on Instagram of all of the places to go, as they say in Ireland, it was all grand!
I also share a few of my favorite International Packing Tips on another blog post!
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