Hollandmoon: Dublin part 2

The second half of our time in Dublin was spent just like the first half, touring the must-see places of the city, walking everywhere, and actually getting some down time which was much needed after our adventures in the south. The nice thing about Dublin, and specifically our hotel, was that we were smack in the middle of everything which made our long to-see list really easy to accomplish in only a few days. 

Our hotel was located right across the street from Christchurch Cathedral so we got to wake up every morning to it's beauty. Once inside it was just as stunning and very similar in construction & architecture to St. Patrick's. The one part that was different was that there was a crypt underneath that was restored to it's original state and I have to admit, it was pretty creepy down there. 

Connected to the church was the Dublinia exhibit which explored the history of the vikings on the island of Ireland. Granted it was pretty focused towards kids and we didn't actually learn that much but one of the best parts of our trip was that we could just explore together. Even if that meant weaving through school field trips and playing dress up with my husband. 

Even though we had already visited the Jameson Distillery in Middleton we decided to stop at the place in Dublin too. Originally Jameson was made in Dublin and the distillery was later moved to the south so we thought that this museum might offer something different than the first. Unfortunately, the tour in Dublin wasn't as interesting and impressive as the one in Middleton but it gave us another opportunity to do some whiskey tasting. This time I ended up volunteering for the "extra tasting" where we were given 3 different types of whiskey to taste and compare. Jack Daniel's from the States, Johnnie Walker Black Label from Scotland and Jameson from Ireland. I have to admit, I am definitely a Jameson fan. 

Our last stop was, of course, the Guinness Brewery! You can't go to Ireland without going here. The tour was self-guided and really interesting. You walk through all the different processes of beer making and the history behind the brand and the coolest part is that the building is situated around a 10-story tall pint glass. At the very top is the Gravity Bar, a 360-degree glass bar with amazing views of the city, where you enjoy your free pint of beer. I'd only had a few pints of Guinness before our trip so I don't know if it's true that Guinness in Ireland tastes better than anywhere else but it definitely did taste delicious!

Previously:

County Cork Part 1

County Cork Part 2
County Kerry Part 1

County Kerry Part 2

Dublin City Part 1

Hollandmoon: Dublin part 1

We're still in "adventure mode" as we're settling into our new life here in CO, especially since we still don't have our furniture from the moving company yet which means this blog is a little behind schedule. I can't wait to show you what we've been up to in our new house but until then, I want to get the last of our Hollandmoon recaps finished. 

In case it's been a while since you've read these recaps, at this point in our trip we had made it back to Dublin via train for the last leg of the trip. Most of the things we decided to do in the city were touristy but what can I say, they're touristy for a reason because we definitely wanted to hit some specific places.

First up was a trip to Trinity College. As Ireland's largest university and my nerdy obsession with seeing campuses this was a must see for us. We signed up for the guided tour which was given by a current student and learned so much about the history of the school. The ringing of bells to signal finals week beginning, the wine cellar that only honors students know about, the lack of bathrooms in many of the older housing units. We were just fascinated by all the old age of the campus.

Located on campus is also The Old Library which houses all of the oldest books of the school as well as The Book of Kells. The Book of Kells is regarded as one of the oldest written accounts of the New Testament and is one of Ireland's greatest national treasures. The library itself was absolutely stunning inside. The books are ordered by size, not alphabetically or standard Dewey decimal, which makes librarians' jobs that much more complicated I can imagine.

Next up was St. Patrick's Cathedral. There unfortunately wasn't any type of tour inside which left us feeling like we didn't quite take away everything from this historic place as we could have. But it was absolutely gorgeous inside so that definitely made up for it. The detail on the tile work, the age of some of the pieces inside, the stained glass and the overall architecture was something you'd never see in the states. Services are still held inside which added to the cathedral's charm and elegance. 

One more recap and I can no longer relive my honeymoon. 

Previously:

County Cork Part 1

County Cork Part 2
County Kerry Part 1

County Kerry Part 2

Hollandmoon: County Kerry part 2

One of the things we would have done differently about our trip was to spend more nights in Killarney. We only planned a single night here which left us wishing we had more time to explore and scrambling a bit on our last day.

We woke up nice and early, checked out of the hotel and visited The Gap Of Dunloe which is a mountain pass that leads to the south end of the Killarney Lakes. There are no cars allowed along the gap which makes for a nice, leisurely stroll through the mountains filled with sheep (who talk back to you if you baa at them) and of course, gorgeous views. Unfortunately, due to our lack of time that morning, we were only able to make it part way and never got to the lakes before having to turn back.

Before we left Killarney we wanted to stop at Ross Castle which sits right along the lake. They have guided tours where we learned all about the history of the Ross family and they even have some of the original furniture from inside the castle which dated back to the 13th & 14th centuries! The way these castles were made, always factoring in protection and the possibility of attack and still containing amazing stonework and beauty is incredible. And to think of how old they are is absolutely amazing. (I guess that's what a typical American thinks since our country is so young.)

After our tour we quickly dropped off our rental car, randomly parking it in a handicap spot that the dealership said was fine and basically ran our way to the train station. We took the train back to Dublin for the rest of our trip and enjoyed the ride with snacks and naps until we arrived.

Previously:

County Cork Part 1

County Cork Part 2
County Kerry Part 1

Hollandmoon: County Kerry part 1

After our time in Cork, we headed north into County Kerry with the town of Killarney as our destination. We left bright and early on day 4 to make the hour drive north and to get an early start on The Ring Of Kerry. The Ring is a 5 hour drive around the Iveragh Peninsula and is typically the reason people visit County Kerry because of the stunning views and quaint little towns along it's route. We made many stops to get out of the car and made detours off the main road that lead us to areas where Gaelic was the only language. The scenery here topped every where else on the entire trip and we had such a great time exploring.

At the very end of The Ring we made a stop at Ladies View, named after Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting as they were in such awe of the panoramic views of the Killarney Lakes from this spot. Our last adventure of the day was to the Torc Waterfall and some incredible views of the lakes from the other direction. We finished the day with a walk around town, a little bit of shopping and a delicious dinner before calling it a night. 

Previously:

County Cork Part 1

County Cork Park 2

Hollandmoon: County Cork part 2

After our late lunch/early dinner in Kinsale we decided to take a drive. We didn't know exactly where we would end up but that was part of the adventure. With our trusty GPS (that only led us down a one-way street a few times :-/ ) we hopped into the car and headed southwest. 

This was actually one of my favorite parts of the whole trip, quite possibly because we didn't have a specific plan or destination we had to make. If there was a road that looked interesting, we'd take it. If there was a gorgeous beach we found, we'd get out of the car and explore. We ended up driving from Kinsale to Skibbereen that day before heading back to Cork for a night out at the pub. And seriously, it was really this beautiful. Normally I do some enhancing/editing to pictures but these are straight from the camera. Also, my new camera's self-timer is awesome, used it SO much this trip. 

The next day (what is it now? Day 3?) we drove east of Cork to the city of Cobh, located in Cork Harbor. Cobh is a seaport town that was as cute as can be. We were there on a Sunday which meant the town was pretty quite and we were one of the few couples walking the streets among the ringing church bells and mist from the ocean. Cobh is famous as being the last port for the Titanic before starting on it's maiden journey so we did the touristy thing and stopped in The Titanic Experience.

Then it was finally time for some whiskey! The Jameson Distillery is located in Midleton and gives guided tours of the "old distillery" throughout the day. Whiskey is such a tradition in Ireland and it was really interesting to learn this history of the brand and how the process here is different than other places around the world. I will admit that we were referencing the show Moonshiners on Discovery between the two of us as we walked around, no shame. And of course, who would say no to a free drink at the end?!

This was our last day in Cork before moving on to another adventure so be sure to stick around for more.

Previously:

County Cork Part 1

Hollandmoon: County Cork part 1

We left for Ireland on Thursday morning from San Diego. Our flight left around 11am and we had a layover in Philly that was just long enough for us to have dinner and get buzzed before our red-eye flight to Dublin that would land Saturday morning. The flight was pretty miserable especially since we were already feeling the effects of changing time zones and there was a screaming child behind us but we'd finally made it to Dublin. We were able to navigate from the airport to the train station and get on a train to Cork City for our first destination of the trip. 

There are no pictures of any of this because we were so wrapped up in figuring out a new country, exchanging money/getting through customs and were incredibly sleep deprived that we were pretty much like zombies. The train ride took around 3 hours and after getting a bit of sleep on the train we decided to hike it up the hill to our hotel after sitting for so long. We stayed at The Ambassador Hotel and really enjoyed the 3 nights we stayed there. Instead of taking a nap (which was really hard to resist) we decided to make something of the afternoon and headed to our #1 must-see of the trip, Blarney Castle. 

A trip to Blarney wouldn't be complete without the tradition of leaning over backwards to kiss the Blarney Stone so of course we partook. We wandered the castle, marveled at the stone work, were in awe of the castle grounds and Blarney House, walked the Wishing Steps with our eyes closed, and absolutely froze. Needless to say we weren't quite dressed appropriately for the weather and it just so happens that that first night was the only time we got down-pouring rain the whole trip. 

After sleeping until noon the next day (something neither of us EVER does) we made our way to pick up our rental car and explore the southwest. Driving on the left of the road, on the wrong side of the car while shifting the manual car with your left hand was incredibly complicated and I'm so thankful J was the one who drove us around. Our destination of the day was the city of Kinsale and it didn't disappoint! 

We stopped at Charles Fort and took a guided tour of the grounds. It was incredible to hear all the history of the military fort and imagine how life must have been back then. Our tour guide was full of knowledge and kindly informed us that no, moats never actually have water in them. Apparently Warner Bros made that one up (and the crocodiles that live in them too). We headed into the city center and enjoyed the best fish & chips dinner I've ever had before continuing on with our journey.

Be sure to stick around for more Hollandmoon recaps! 

There's plenty more gorgeous sites to be seen.