Tuesday Cathy and I and our cousins went by the grocery store to buy supplies. Then Cathy and I headed out. A lot of our adventure was just the driving and exploring. We would pass something and randomly decide to stop. We tended to avoid bigger cities b/c we prefer the small villages. Some things I took pics of, I'm not exactly sure what they are. Anyway, we drove through Dublin and then through the Wicklow Mountains. We spent about 2 hours exploring Glendalough. Glendalough is a glacial valley located in County Wicklow, Ireland, renowned for its Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin, a hermit priest, and destroyed in 1398 by English troops. It was magical and mystical and beautiful. We stayed at a bed & breakfast nearby for that night. It was quite big with 2 separate rooms and a cute, friendly dog outside. Actually, every B&B we stayed at had a cute dog. We had a great view overlooking the Wicklow Mountains. We went to a pub for dinner and started with some Guiness. I LOVE Guiness. I don't like how it tastes in the states but it tastes wonderful fresh from Ireland.
Glendalough:
Wednesday morning we went back to Glendalough and hiked for another 2 hours. Then we headed past Kilkenny and Cork and landed in Kinsale on the water. Kinsale is a historic, medieval town on the coast. It has adorable narrow tiny streets. We capped off our night grabbing some drinks in a local pub with some Irish live music.
Kinsale
Castle in Kilkenney
An old Abbey in a town somewhere
Thursday morning we set off for the Beara Peninsula. We opted for this peninsula rather than the Ring of Kerry or the Dingle Peninsula because it is a lot less touristy. Cathy and I dislike tourists :) It was absolutely breathtaking. The drive along the coast and around the mountains was absolutely unbelievable. Cathy and I never booked in advance for a room. We just kind of relied on luck. I guess the tourism is down in Ireland because we never had a problem. We stumbled on this lone B&B up on a hill with the most beautiful view of the bay and Ring of Kerry. Cathy and I grabbed our bottle of wine, sat in 2 chairs outside, and enjoyed the view. It was surreal. It was by far my favorite day.
Stone Circle!
Beara Peninsula
Cathy and I drinking wine, sitting outside our B&B on the Beara Peninsula
Cathy scolding the dog on the wall away from the wine. She's such a meanie!
Beara peninsula beach near our B&B
Beara Peninsula down the street from our B&B
Friday we set off for the Lakes of Killarney in Killarney National Park. We got there a bit late (because we tend to really take our time) so we found a B&B on a farm (never could find any farm animals though). We walked around the city of Killarney for awhile. It is quite cute and very vibrant. Irish towns are just beautiful. So clean and so peaceful. The people are so nice.
Saturday we hiked to a waterfall and then took a jaunting cart ride to the Muckross House, a Fransiscan Abbey, and the park. It was quite relaxing and very Kilkarneyish.
Torc Waterfall
One of the lakes of Killarney
Muckross House
Paddy and Tommy - the jaunting cart ride
Old Abbey
Then we left to find a beach along the coast near the Cliffs of Moher. Cathy decided to splurge so we ended up staying in a hotel on the water at the Spanish Point in County Clare.
Beach near our hotel near the Cliffs of Moher
Sunday we drove through the Cliffs of Moher which are the tallest cliffs in ireland. They are magnificent.
Then we drove over The Burren which is miles and miles of exposed limestone where no trees or much vegetation can grow. It's quite strange looking.
Then we drove back to Dublin. I know I left out most of the details but I'm absolutely exhausted and have to get up in 5 hours. On to Germany!
Noel and Cathy at the MacMahon bridge near Noel's flat in Dublin
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