Better late than never! My husband and I finally got to take our honeymoon (2 years after the wedding) to the beautiful, magical country of Ireland. It was incredible.
Thought I'd write a post on what we did and where we went, what we ate - I kept a travel journal while we were driving, so I'm going to type what I wrote, verbatim in italics, what I add now will be in regular font.
Don't know if anyone else will read it and it doesn't really matter, but I wanted to have an online copy of our trip. Our adventure... :-)
Here starts part 3, the final entry in our saga!
Don't know if anyone else will read it and it doesn't really matter, but I wanted to have an online copy of our trip. Our adventure... :-)
Here starts part 3, the final entry in our saga!
Ireland: Day 8
Slept wonderfully at Ard na Greine and had a HUGE breakfast of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. Then we went outside to see Norma's baby calves! SO cute! They licked us a lot...discovered the barn cat too. Came back in for a fresh change of non-cow clothes and then took off for Mizen Head armed with a bag of Norma's scones. Our first stop was a circle of stones near Glandore, Co. Cork, called the Dromberg Circle of Stones. Very powerful place to stand. My legs got wobbly inside the circle and my ears began to ring while inside on of the old foundations of a hut. Interesting...
Back in the car - drove through Glandore town - SO pretty! Makes me want to spend all day there just sitting and looking at the harbor and being lazy and having tea... Maybe someday we'll have a cottage there. Very idyllic. Stopped in Skibbereen for some tourist info and some postcards, then continued on. Saw some more gorgeous coastal scenery including a huge white sand Caribbean-blue beach! We stopped and walked in on the boardwalk, then a floating pier they use to get across the water when the tide is up. Climbed up the dunes and down to the beach. Took our shoes off and just enjoyed for an hour or so. Barley Cove Beach is lovely. Drove around the corner and up the cliff and found Mizen Head. Had to get my lighthouse fix. :-) Mizen Head is a sight to behold. Gale force winds on a bright sunny day make you only wonder and shudder at what it looks and feels like during a storm. We spent some time in the visitors centre and then decided to walk down and over to the the bridge built during the early 1900's, between 2 cliff-sides connecting the walkway and the end of Mizen Head where the station is. We'd overheard some people in the visitors centre swearing they wouldn't go across that bridge for ANYthing. hahaha! The bridge was strong and not scary at all. We even saw a harbor seal sunbathing down below us. It looked as though he was waving! The views were incredible. I felt more 'in-touch' here than I did at the Cliffs of Moher which was where I thought I'd really connect. Mizen reminded me of all the lighthouses on the Great Lakes where I grew up (except bigger). It felt like home. The man taking our tickets at the station was from NYC & salty. I liked him. He reminded me of all our east coast salty sailors. :-) Neat mu
seum inside the station on the end of the cliff. Very informative. Learned about Marconi and his innovative technology. Then went out on the point and was almost blown off the cliff! Loved it. The caves look like they house sea-creatures such as mermaids and other 'supposed' mythical beings. Here in Ireland I wouldn't doubt their existence for a second. When leaving Mizen Head, we got back to the parking lot and saw two huge, beautiful black horses playing with each other on the cliff! It was so surreal...like watching a scene in a movie. Perfect way to end our trip to Mizen.
Drove back into town by a mountain top road and got to see different views of all the nearby harbour towns. Drove back into Bandon town and checked DH in for his his half-marathon then drove back to Ballinascarthy/Clonakilty for dinner. Had a beer and took a photo at Henry Ford's Tavern. Then had really great food at a little spec of a shop tun by a Tajikistan man. Had excellent curry chips (fries) and a meat pizza (including lamb). Very good. The owner even let us take a picture of his curry sauce for future culinary reference. Went back to Ard na Greine fat and happy and passed out for the evening. It was a very good day.
Back in the car - drove through Glandore town - SO pretty! Makes me want to spend all day there just sitting and looking at the harbor and being lazy and having tea... Maybe someday we'll have a cottage there. Very idyllic. Stopped in Skibbereen for some tourist info and some postcards, then continued on. Saw some more gorgeous coastal scenery including a huge white sand Caribbean-blue beach! We stopped and walked in on the boardwalk, then a floating pier they use to get across the water when the tide is up. Climbed up the dunes and down to the beach. Took our shoes off and just enjoyed for an hour or so. Barley Cove Beach is lovely. Drove around the corner and up the cliff and found Mizen Head. Had to get my lighthouse fix. :-) Mizen Head is a sight to behold. Gale force winds on a bright sunny day make you only wonder and shudder at what it looks and feels like during a storm. We spent some time in the visitors centre and then decided to walk down and over to the the bridge built during the early 1900's, between 2 cliff-sides connecting the walkway and the end of Mizen Head where the station is. We'd overheard some people in the visitors centre swearing they wouldn't go across that bridge for ANYthing. hahaha! The bridge was strong and not scary at all. We even saw a harbor seal sunbathing down below us. It looked as though he was waving! The views were incredible. I felt more 'in-touch' here than I did at the Cliffs of Moher which was where I thought I'd really connect. Mizen reminded me of all the lighthouses on the Great Lakes where I grew up (except bigger). It felt like home. The man taking our tickets at the station was from NYC & salty. I liked him. He reminded me of all our east coast salty sailors. :-) Neat mu
seum inside the station on the end of the cliff. Very informative. Learned about Marconi and his innovative technology. Then went out on the point and was almost blown off the cliff! Loved it. The caves look like they house sea-creatures such as mermaids and other 'supposed' mythical beings. Here in Ireland I wouldn't doubt their existence for a second. When leaving Mizen Head, we got back to the parking lot and saw two huge, beautiful black horses playing with each other on the cliff! It was so surreal...like watching a scene in a movie. Perfect way to end our trip to Mizen.Drove back into town by a mountain top road and got to see different views of all the nearby harbour towns. Drove back into Bandon town and checked DH in for his his half-marathon then drove back to Ballinascarthy/Clonakilty for dinner. Had a beer and took a photo at Henry Ford's Tavern. Then had really great food at a little spec of a shop tun by a Tajikistan man. Had excellent curry chips (fries) and a meat pizza (including lamb). Very good. The owner even let us take a picture of his curry sauce for future culinary reference. Went back to Ard na Greine fat and happy and passed out for the evening. It was a very good day.
Ireland: Day 9
Had a quick breakfast of yogurt flavored with homemade rhubarb goodness. Then jetted off to Bandon for DH's race. Parked in the middle of their rugby pitch and walked over to the start line across the highway. DH took off running and I walked into Bandon to await his finish. Bandon had a farmers market going on in their town centre which was where the finish line was! Neat town. DH finished his half-marathon at 1 hour and 58 minutes. We walked around a bit at the market, hot him his post race massage, then walked back to the rugby club where they had free sandwiches and were pouring hot tea in mismatched ceramic mugs for everyone! Very homey relaxed atmosphere. Then went back outside and grabbed a burger. They had a DJ and the grill all fired up. It was lovely. Everyone was really nice and friendly to 'the Americans'. :-) Went back to Norma's house and had some tea and coffee after DH had a shower, then prepared for the party at Norma's house. Her 3mo old grandchild was being christened that day so we were most graciously invited to the after party since we were there! LOTS of people showed up. Lots of family and friends and neighbors. We drank a lot of wine and ate a ton of great food. Met some really nice folks.
Ireland: Day 10
Checked out of Ard na Greine which was seriously sad...and started driving east. Knew we had to be back in Dublin by Monday night for our flight out on Tuesday, so figured it'd be good if we made half or more of the distance on Sunday. Took the 5min car ferry Norma had recommended over Cork Harbor to avoid Cork traffic (and all those bloody round-a-bouts!). After we'd crossed the river, we decided to try another Jameson Distillery, this time in Midleton, Co. Cork! Neat place - got to see the worlds biggest pot still! DH was a whiskey taster again and we hit the gift shop on the way out. :-)
we kept driving and decided to check out a place I'd seen in the B&B book Norma gave us before we left called Killiane Castle in Wexford, Co. It's a 15th century tower attached to a 17th century manor house. Incredible place. The owner showed up at the door and told us the price of the room (which was great) and he showed us up to our room! After getting our luggage up there we walked back downstairs and outside to try out the "farm walk". We traipsed all over the place. Got thistles in our fe
et/legs stepped in mud, cow poo, climbed over fences and braved a really big kinda pissed off looking horse. It was fun!!! Plus, the chickens chased me all over the yard... Then we decided to climb the old tower. What a place! I wasn't sure if it would be stable or not but we climbed... Old brick fireplaces, narrow stone steps gave way the rooftop. Incredible views. Went back down after awhile and saw the owner outside! He asked if we'd seen the head (!?!?). There's a head carved out of limestone on the top part of the tower - just coming straight out of the wall. Way cool. Next, went out to dinner at a pub about 2km from the Castle. Good food. Drank a bottle of wine and had an Irish coffee. Larkins was the name of the place. I had curry chicken and chips and DH had fish goujons. We shared profiteroles for dessert. Mmmm!
we kept driving and decided to check out a place I'd seen in the B&B book Norma gave us before we left called Killiane Castle in Wexford, Co. It's a 15th century tower attached to a 17th century manor house. Incredible place. The owner showed up at the door and told us the price of the room (which was great) and he showed us up to our room! After getting our luggage up there we walked back downstairs and outside to try out the "farm walk". We traipsed all over the place. Got thistles in our fe
et/legs stepped in mud, cow poo, climbed over fences and braved a really big kinda pissed off looking horse. It was fun!!! Plus, the chickens chased me all over the yard... Then we decided to climb the old tower. What a place! I wasn't sure if it would be stable or not but we climbed... Old brick fireplaces, narrow stone steps gave way the rooftop. Incredible views. Went back down after awhile and saw the owner outside! He asked if we'd seen the head (!?!?). There's a head carved out of limestone on the top part of the tower - just coming straight out of the wall. Way cool. Next, went out to dinner at a pub about 2km from the Castle. Good food. Drank a bottle of wine and had an Irish coffee. Larkins was the name of the place. I had curry chicken and chips and DH had fish goujons. We shared profiteroles for dessert. Mmmm!Ireland: Day 11
Had a great breakfast at Killiane. I had eggs baked with cheese and mushrooms and DH had crepe type pancakes. REALLY tasty! Got our bags and checked out - then climbed the tower one last time. Decided we would take turns, one going up the other staying down so we could get each others photos on top of the tower! Let me just say, it's a lot creepier when you climb it alone.
Started driving towards Wicklow and when we got there, parked in town to find the Black Castle. I was really looking forward to this ruin. Followed the directions I had found online past Hopkins Hardware along the harbour and up the hill. Once we got closer we just couldn't miss it - huge black ruins rose up from the edge of a cliffside. Really awesome place. Very dramatic/romantic. Lots of cannons surrounded the ruins as well. I really enjoyed that we had the ruins to ourselves. It made it a lot more personal and gave me another sense of belonging.
Started driving north towards Dublin and stopped at Avoca where we got many a thing for friends and family including an Irish wool scarf for me! :-) When we realized town would be a mess because the Queen was coming to town the following day. So we couldn't go to Guinness but drove around Dublin and back up to Newgrange/Bru
na Boinne to see Knowth! Took our time at the visitors centre and had a sandwich. Got on our tour bus, met some ladies from Canada and had our tour of Knowth. There were only 5 of us on the tour. It was great. Very interesting how it's construction coincides with Newgrange and Dowth. VERY windy! Got to climb to the top of the main chamber where the settlers used to live. Neat perspective.
On the way out of Bru na Boinne, we stopped in Duleek at the Woolen Mills store. I got a gorgeous grey, Irish wool cardigan and another scarf. Fantastic!
Drove back south towards Dublin again to look for a place to stay. Wound up at the Premier Inn in Swords. Had dinner at the restaurant downstairs. Nothing spectacular but it was very filling. I had the fish & chips (huge fish!) and DH had the curry chicken! Got a bottle of mediocre Cabernet Veneto. Profiteroles for dessert which was awesome.
Packed everything up. Wine wrapped in clothes and carefully put in suitcases.
Started driving towards Wicklow and when we got there, parked in town to find the Black Castle. I was really looking forward to this ruin. Followed the directions I had found online past Hopkins Hardware along the harbour and up the hill. Once we got closer we just couldn't miss it - huge black ruins rose up from the edge of a cliffside. Really awesome place. Very dramatic/romantic. Lots of cannons surrounded the ruins as well. I really enjoyed that we had the ruins to ourselves. It made it a lot more personal and gave me another sense of belonging.
Started driving north towards Dublin and stopped at Avoca where we got many a thing for friends and family including an Irish wool scarf for me! :-) When we realized town would be a mess because the Queen was coming to town the following day. So we couldn't go to Guinness but drove around Dublin and back up to Newgrange/Bru
na Boinne to see Knowth! Took our time at the visitors centre and had a sandwich. Got on our tour bus, met some ladies from Canada and had our tour of Knowth. There were only 5 of us on the tour. It was great. Very interesting how it's construction coincides with Newgrange and Dowth. VERY windy! Got to climb to the top of the main chamber where the settlers used to live. Neat perspective. On the way out of Bru na Boinne, we stopped in Duleek at the Woolen Mills store. I got a gorgeous grey, Irish wool cardigan and another scarf. Fantastic!
Drove back south towards Dublin again to look for a place to stay. Wound up at the Premier Inn in Swords. Had dinner at the restaurant downstairs. Nothing spectacular but it was very filling. I had the fish & chips (huge fish!) and DH had the curry chicken! Got a bottle of mediocre Cabernet Veneto. Profiteroles for dessert which was awesome.
Packed everything up. Wine wrapped in clothes and carefully put in suitcases.
Ireland: Day 12
Our last day in Ireland! Super earliy in the morning we drove over to Avis and returned the car faster than I thought it would take. Got through the insane amount of security in the Dublin Airport and then had to wait for 2 hours because something was malfunctioning. Had a snack at the cafe and met a nice Irish guy going to the states to see his daughter who had been in a car crash. DH used up his euros on some Bushmill's whiskey from the Duty Free shop while we waited.
After several gate changes we got on our plane and headed to Charlotte, NC, USA! Got to Charlotte and heard about the bomb threats to the Queen on her visit to Ireland. Kinda scary... Had some American junk food - boy did it taste good!
Got on our plane for Baltimore and sat there for an extra half hour due to snarly weather on the eastern seaboard. Finally got back to Baltimore. Watched with trepidation as our bags came down the baggage claim belt. Thankfully, none of them were dripping with wine! So we were happy. :-) Took a taxi back to our car which was still sitting there waiting for us (thankfully). Then drove over to pick up the Plottador from her sitters house. Scary driving on the correct side of the road again!!! Lucy was SO happy to see us! That made leaving the Emerald Isle so worth it.
After several gate changes we got on our plane and headed to Charlotte, NC, USA! Got to Charlotte and heard about the bomb threats to the Queen on her visit to Ireland. Kinda scary... Had some American junk food - boy did it taste good!
Got on our plane for Baltimore and sat there for an extra half hour due to snarly weather on the eastern seaboard. Finally got back to Baltimore. Watched with trepidation as our bags came down the baggage claim belt. Thankfully, none of them were dripping with wine! So we were happy. :-) Took a taxi back to our car which was still sitting there waiting for us (thankfully). Then drove over to pick up the Plottador from her sitters house. Scary driving on the correct side of the road again!!! Lucy was SO happy to see us! That made leaving the Emerald Isle so worth it.
In conclusion -
We had an amazing Irish experience.
The people were so gracious and the scenery unbelievable.
We had an amazing Irish experience.
The people were so gracious and the scenery unbelievable.
I wouldn't go back and change anything about it, the good or the bad.
These three blog posts will serve as a fun reminder of our belated
honeymoon/2nd anniversary adventure to the Emerald Isle. 
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