Ireland, 2017

Our son was born in 2017 and before what we feared would be a (temporary) end to our long adventures, we snagged some cheap tickets to Ireland and spent some quality time on the Emerald Isle.

As I’ve mentioned before, when we’re on vacation we want to see EVERYTHING! For our Ireland trip, this meant circling the entire island and hitting nearly every national park.

Day 1: Landed in Dublin, explored Trinity College
Day 2: Dublin Castle, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Phoenix Park, Dublin Zoo, Jameson Distillery
Day 3: Wicklow Mountains National Park, Kilkenny Castle, and the Rock of Cashel
Day 4: The English Market in Cork, Blarney Castle, Killarney National Park
Day 5: Killarney National Park, Burren National Park, Cliffs of Moher
Day 6: Connemara National Park, Kylemore Abbey
Day 7: Glenveagh National Park, Marble Arch Caves
Day 8: Giant’s Causeway
Day 9: Fly home

We only had a little time in each place, but the time we were able to spend in each was well worth it.

We spent a day and a half in Dublin, hitting many of the sights. We toured Trinity College, Dublin Castle, and Jameson Distillery, and visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Phoenix Park, and Dublin Zoo.

Trinity College was our first stop, and we were jet lagged and were quite tired so I don’t remember a ton of specifics, but I really do recommend the walking tour – I remember it being interesting and full of fun stories. The library was probably my favorite stop – with the long hall and all the old books, it felt like walking into a Harry Potter novel.

That night we had to visit an obligatory Irish pub – we were maybe the only patrons there, but the food was delicious and it almost felt more intimate because it wasn’t a complete tourist trap.

The next day was go, go, go! We started off the morning with a classic Irish breakfast at the Kilkenny Cafe, and then headed to Dublin Castle for our first (of many) castle tours! After the castle tour, we hit up St. Patrick’s Cathedral, stretched our legs in Phoenix Park, and visited the Dublin Zoo.

Finally, our last stop was at the Jameson Distillery, where we got a tour and were able to sample and compare various whiskeys. Alex was pregnant, so I had to drink her samples! At the end of the tour, we got some drink tokens and I tried their rhubarb sour – it was delicious and I had two.

Even with all of that going, we were able to get around the city using the public transport, which was good – just walking around was dangerous enough, I’d hate to have had to drive around the city. Jaywalking is pretty par for the course when walking around, but warning – they drive on the other side of the road, so be sure to look the right way!

We saw and explored at least six castles while in Ireland: Dublin Castle, Kilkenny Castle, the Rock of Cashel, Blarney Castle, Ross Castle, and Glenveagh Castle.

Blarney Castle is what it is – a tourist trap, but it felt like a must see either way, a bucket list item. The grounds were very pretty and there was a lot to see outside of just the castle and the Blarney Stone – once you are ready to climb up the castle, be ready for a long stand in line. I want to say we were in line for about an hour before we reached the top.

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Both Dublin Castle and Kilkenny Castle were interesting tours, with some extravagant rooms and interesting history. Definitely more of a history tour, so if you’re not into that kind of thing, might be worth skipping. If you do go, one of the best sights is the Long Hall at Kilkenny Castle – a long hall lined with paintings and an impressive vaulted ceiling.

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Perhaps our fondest memory though, was exploring the Rock of Cashel. Although this was the least restored of the castles, that almost added to it’s appeal – it was more like exploring ruins of a castle. There were also some trails to walk around, surrounded by sheep – it was perhaps the most Irish experience ever!

Check back for the next post, where I’ll discuss the National Parks, major sights, and other miscellanea about our time in the land of the leprechauns.