In July we embarked on an all-anticipated family vacation with friends over the Atlantic Ocean to Ireland. It was a remarkable trip even despite some snags (you know, a delayed flight, losing two days due to said delayed flight, and then a lot of R-A-I-N). Hopefully, this post will tell the story of what was a memorable holiday in Ireland despite the inconveniences!
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| Eight eager travelers looking to get out of O'Hare on a Sunday night, but it was, sadly, not to be. |
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| So, we lost two days of our trip, but finally flew out to on Tuesday morning. |
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After landing in Dublin on Wednesday, at 5 AM, we picked up
rental cars and drove 2 hours west to Galway.
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We couldn't check in to our Air BnB, so we had a few hours
to kill touring Galway...starting with Eyre Square. |
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| Galway is a pretty compact Irish city,... |
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| ...with all kinds of old buildings like St. Nick's Collegiate church... |
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| ...fun statues to pose with,... |
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| ...and the first of many opportunities for Clare to see her name (spelled her way)! |
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It didn't take long to reach the other side of town...a scenic spot
where the River Corrib flows out into Galway Bay... |
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| ...where we spotted our first swans (and green landscape!) of the trip. |
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| We continued our walk along the river to the University of Galway... |
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| ...which had some pretty campus buildings... |
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| ...and took a good look inside!! |
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| After checking into the Air BnB, the kids decided to take a break...and the adults decided to pub it up! |
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| We really enjoyed Tig Coili... |
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| ...filled with really cool photos from the past,... |
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| ...and police & fire badges from all over the world (including Northbrook, IL!). |
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| And I mean WINDY! |
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We planned to hike the cliff walk well past O'Brien's Tower...
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| ...but after a quick snapshot at the tower... |
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...and an admirable attempt at a family photo (we thought the poor
guy taking this shot was seriously going to blow away!!),... |
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| ...we decided to descend back down to the visitor centre. |
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| We left the Cliffs and made a stop for lunch in Doolin,... |
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| ...where we saw cows on the hills,... |
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...and then got back into the car and drove/power napped
our way towards the Burren region of Ireland. |
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The Burren is a region in Clare (ha!) County Ireland with unique rocky landscapes
formed 100s of millions of years ago by several geologic forces ... |
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| ...and you never knew whether the remains of a turret,... |
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| ...or castle ruins would appear around the corner!! |
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| In the Burren region we visited a town called Kilfenora,... |
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| ...and, despite the rainy conditions, located our friend's family grave,... |
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| ...and this centuries old Celtic cross. |
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| Finally, we took a short hike along the rugged landscape... |
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| ...to see Poulnabrone Dolmen, an ancient tomb that dated to 4200 - 2900 BCE! |
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For our second night, we stayed in a town called Bunratty, known for its castle...
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| ...which made for a great backdrop for our family photo! |
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The highlight of our night in Bunratty (after a drink and snack
at Durty Nelly's pub right across from the castle),...
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| ...was attending a medieval castle dinner! We were treated to bagpipes upon arrival... |
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| ...and received a quick tour of the inside. |
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| It was quite a show,... |
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...with heaps of entertainment,...
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| ...beautiful music,... |
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| ...and dinner eaten by hand! |
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| A great medieval time was had by all (we even made friends with the singer photobombing us)! |
The next day we woke up and drove two hours to the fun and festive (and funny named!) town of 'Dingle',...
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| ...and while in search of a bathroom and coffee in this building,... |
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| ...ended up randomly touring the Blennerville windmill! |
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We met an extremely gregarious and funny Irish man
(who had somehow convinced us we needed to visit this windmill!)... |
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...and, in between showing off his knowledge about the Chicago Bears (he went
on and on about poor Jay Cutler and even mentioned Rome Odunze...the recent
1st round draft pick!), he got my kids to do chores! Here they are grinding and
turning flour (which was one of the purposes of windmills
in the old days...who knew?!?). |
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| Making flour (without the power of the windmill) is hard work!! We all agreed this unexpected tour was a great experience! |
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Just outside of Dingle we traversed Connor Pass, one of the highest mountain passes
in all of Ireland. The roads were definitely narrow, with a lot of switchbacks... |
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| ...but the backdrop was gorgeous (and GREEN)!! |
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| It was raining, but the twins and I scampered up the side of a slippery, uneven path up the mountain... |
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| ...where we saw the Conor Pass waterfall... |
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| ...and a little further up, Peddlar's Lake. |
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The views below were fantastic...even in the rain!
(You can see one of the 'easier' driving sections of the pass.) |
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| After driving a few kilometers more, we could see Dingle in the far distance! |
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| The town looked cute on first entry. |
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| We grabbed a bite at the festive Dingle Pub... |
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| ...and were not disappointed by the highly recommended Murphy's Ice Cream. |
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After shopping for some supplies (no, we didn't purchase
anything in this supposed 'Taste of America' display!)... |
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| ...we got the kids settled into the Air Bnb... |
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...and the adults headed out to sample some pubs (there are over 50...for a town of 2000 people!!).
From upper left and clockwise: Foxy John's (it also serves as a hardware store during the day!), Adam's Bar, OFlaherty's, and Dick Mack's...all with great atmosphere and highly recommended! |
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| We finished the night at O' Flaherty's where we were literally (it happened and I even apologized!) bumping elbows with the band (musician on the left) and enjoying the traditional music! |
In the first few days, we certainly made up for lost time! Check out 'Part 2', coming soon!
