This was actually my third trip to Ireland, but I'd never gone much farther than Dublin. What a beautiful country and such wonderful people. We even found the place where we want to retire! (Watch for it on my 70 by 70 list.)
Every day of this trip was incredible, but here are just a few highlights:
We flew into Dublin and drove north, where we stayed in an adorable little town called Portrush, but the reason we were there was to see the Giant's Causeway, which is a series of basalt columns created by lava during an ancient volcanic eruption. The photo doesn't do it justice, but it actually brought tears to my eyes, it was so magnificent. I know it sounds cheesy, but sights like this are literally the reason that art exists. It explains why Ireland is so rich with folklore...how would you explain this is if you just happened upon it 1000 years ago?
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| Giant's Causeway with boys |
After that amazingness, we headed southwest, stopping at the gravesite of W.B. Yeats (where my boys will proudly tell you they had some good ice cream) and ending up in Galway. After a night in Galway City, we headed farther west to spend our 13th wedding anniversary in a CASTLE near Connemara National Park. Yeah, we're fancy.
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| View from the castle grounds |
From there we headed to the Cliffs of Moher, which have to be seen to be believed. I don't know if there's a more fitting use of "breathtaking." Plus, because it's not America, they let you walk straight out to the edge of the cliffs, with nothing more than a sign telling you that the ground could give way. I really did have to question why I would walk my kids to the edge of a cliff so nonchalantly and my only explanation is that you just had to try to take in as much of it as you could.
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| Cliffs of Moher |
From there we went farther south to the Dingle Peninsula. I had no idea I was about to fall in love, but wow, that place is gorgeous. Picturesque. Perfect? It's like the perfect combo of being amazingly beautiful while also feeling like you could actually live there. I'm not kidding, I want to live there someday.
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| Slea Head Drive, Dingle |
After some additional meandering through the south part of Ireland - including rush hour in Cork City (boo) - we then made it back East to Kildare, where we stayed one night before heading back toward Dublin for the remainder of our trip. We couldn't skip the Wicklow Way, tho. You'd think we would have been tired of rolling green hills by then, but no...I don't think I could ever get sick of this.
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| Wicklow Way |
There are hundreds of other highlights I'm not mentioning here, but let's just say that it truly was a dream trip. I've been referring to it as the Ireland Sampler Platter because we only spent one night in each place except Dublin. It was exhausting and thrilling and amazing. I'm so thankful that we were able to make it happen. The 40 by 40 list really was the catalyst...sure, I dreamed of doing it, but having it on that list really motivated me to do it now. Thank you again, 40 by 40 list.
Sláinte!
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