What an amazing trip. We left Chicago OHare at about 4pm on Christmas day. We ended up with a layover in Amsterdam and finally arrived in Dublin. We rented a car (which was interesting since they drive on the left side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right side of the car) and headed for Kilkenny. Jim drove us out of Dublin and the snow, where we saw green countryside and a lot of sheep. We made it to Kilkenny on St. Steven's Day. I had read that this was a holiday in Ireland but I didn't know that it was a big "go out and party night" in Ireland. Kilkenny celebrated well into the night. Our first place to stay was at a bed and breakfast above the pub called Rafter Dempsey's. We visited several pubs that night to find one with nice rooms and good prices. A good breakfast was also a must. Rafter's seemed like the best place. Jeff and my room ended up having no heat, very little hot water, a window with no curtain in the bathroom that looked right out into the street, and our room was directly above the pub. We were awoken several times to loud....bumping 80's music. It was an adventure! Thankfully, Jim and Jan's room had heat and hot water! The waiter / bartender Micheal was great and very apologetic when we told him about the room the next morning. We ate bfast in the pub which was totally empty but for us. It was all wooden, quaint, and cozy.
Next, we loaded up the car and headed to the Rock of Cashel. The drive on the tiny streets was unnerving. I squealed a little when I was sure Jim was going to scrape the wall in the left side. He did an amazing job driving and it was fun/hilarious. Once we arrived in Cashel, we parked at the bottom and walked into town for "a spot of tea." We also went into a little shop that was owned by a lovely woman. I will post her name and name of the shop once I unpack all of the goods. She was very helpful and very kind. I purchased a key chain and a poem /magnet for my friend Nicki at her store. Next, we walked up the hill to the ruins of the Rock of Cashel....A very old monastery that dates back to the 11th century.
That evening, we made it (barely) to the small town of Doolin. We stopped in McGann's for a pint and dinner. We checked the cost of their rooms above the pub and decided to stay there. After we ate, we all took naps and headed back down to the pub for the evening. I cannot post pictures of what I witnessed in the pub :) However, I could probably blackmail someone with the pictures! :) But the people that we met in this pub were simply wonderful. I was surprised by the amount of well dressed, under 40 men in there. After talking to them, they were all scientist, conservationists, engineers, etc. Half of them even had PhDs. They were kind, funny, sang songs for us, and even invited us to the after party. So after closing down McGann's, we walked to their hotel and conversed some more. The walk in the moonlight was awesome. That was a good night!
McGanns WebsiteThat morning we all slept in and headed to the Doolin Pier. I was not expecting what I saw. The ocean waves breaking on the cliffs was breath taking and one of the most beautiful things that I have ever seen. The sun even broke through the clouds a little bit.
Then we headed to the Cliff's of Moher.........yet again, words cannot describe their beauty.
That night we drove through the Burren's and visited one of the oldest tombs known to mankind. The tomb dates back to 4,000 BC or older and has remains of over 30 people. The sun was setting and there was a very calm and beautiful atmosphere to the place.
That night we made it to Galway. We ate, stayed the night, and headed out the next day to Dublin.
The next morning we took a quick road to Dublin and returned the rental car. We took the bus into the City Center and found our hotel. It was called the Hotel St. George. When Jeff and I checked into our room, it smelled really badly of cabbage. Not sure why! Then our toilet didn't work so we ended up switching rooms. We settled in and headed to the Guinness Storehouse / factory to see how the delectable brew was made.
