Ireland and Northern Ireland

So Jaime had a week of vacation carried over from last year that she had to use or lose by the end of March.  Clearly that meant we needed to leave the country.  Because of how well the kids did in South America due to similar times we were looking at Central America or the Caribbean initially but the Zika virus scared us away.  We had an extra timeshare week to use so we just browsed all available trading options around the world and Ireland jumped out at us.  Typically timeshares don’t align with our travel style for two reasons: 1) we don’t stay in one place for a week straight, and 2) they are usually located outside of major cities and require a car rental.  The Ireland timeshare was perfect because it was centrally located and we wanted to see a lot of sights around the country.  We added in an overnight in Belfast in the middle of the week to cover the whole island and add a new country.

We took an overnight flight hoping the kids would sleep, but of course Lydia didn’t sleep a wink.  When we arrived, we were exhausted.  It’s about a 90 minute drive to the timeshare, the 13th century Knocktopher Abbey.  They left the keys in an envelope outside for us since we arrived before reception opened but the kids were passed out so we all took a nap in the car for a couple hours.  After unloading the car, we decided to hit a couple local sights and get to bed early.  The first stop was the Dunmore Caves.  Edie was still sleeping so only Lydia and I went in.  The caves were unique in that they were not very deep or far from the outside.  It was more like walking under a hanging cliff after walking down 700 stairs outside.  Our next stop was the nearest big city Kilkenny.  It is a great city and encapsulates everything you picture about an Irish city — old, charming, colorful, and quaint.  We toured the very impressive, completely restored castle and grounds before having dinner and an amazing dessert at Langton’s, a place recommended by a coworker.  A quick 15 minute drive back to the abbey and we slept like rocks.

Our first driving day’s target was Galway on the west coast.  I had planned stops along the way to and from each city to break up the drive.  After a roadside drive-by visit to Ballaghmore Castle, we went to the first official stop, Birr Castle.  The castle is still a private residence but you can walk the grounds which includes the Great Telescope (the largest in the world for 70 years), beautiful gardens, and a kid’s play area that Lydia thoroughly enjoyed.  In Galway, we wandered around all of the pedestrian areas on and around High Street.  We stopped for lunch at the most Irish-sounding place, McSwiggan’s, which we later found out is a well-known and highly recommended place.  After some more walking around, we left to reach our next destination before sunset.  It ended up being much closer than we thought.  When we arrived at Clonmacnoise, a 6th century monastery, it was seemingly closed and the sun was nearly set.  I jumped from the car and snapped what pictures I could.  Within 5 minutes, it was too dark for pictures, but the ruins were quite a sight to see.  The walls have collapsed in very strange ways; we’ll definitely have to explore more next time.

The next day we headed to the southwest towards Cork.  The first stop along the way is marketed as the most visited site in Ireland (even though I’d never heard of it), Rock of Cashel.  It’s an impressive set of ruins on the top of a hill with great views, an old cemetery, and another ruin next door.  After that we continued to Cahir Castle, one of the largest in Ireland.  We practically had the entire castle to ourselves which made it an extra special stop.  In Cork, we just walked around a bit.  It felt very similar to Galway but I think Galway’s pedestrian areas are more extensive.  We had read about an old market called the English Market but it was mostly fresh meats and produce so there wasn’t much for us to do there.  They do have an amazing restaurant along the balcony in one area called Farmgate Cafe where we ate lunch.  Last stop of the day was the famous Blarney Castle.  I had expected it to be extremely touristy though it wasn’t at all.  The grounds are massive but since it was late in the day the ticket taker recommended that we head straight to the castle.  The castle itself is more beautiful than I imagined.  It’s a large hallowed-out tower and the famous stone you kiss is along one side of the top.  An old man holds your leg as you dangle off the edge (there is also a metal grate under your head).  Lydia didn’t like the narrow spiral staircases to get to the top so Jaime went by herself and did not kiss the stone.  After she came back down and traded spots with me, I went up and did it.  Once Jaime saw my cool pictures taken by the castle, she rushed back up to do it before they closed.

Up until today, we had been making a simple breakfast at the abbey since we weren’t in any rush and to save some money.  Today was the day we were driving to Belfast though so we wanted to hit the road asap.  I googled for a random mid-sized city between Kilkenny and Dublin and then searched for best breakfast there.  The city was Carlow but it turns out that the best two places online were out of business so we stopped at the only open business in town — BeaNice.  Luckily for us, it was actually an excellent quiant cafe.  About an hour north of Dublin we stopped at a 5,000 year old prehistoric monument called Newgrange.  It’s a very large circle-shaped monument built out of stones that has been recently restored.  I had seen a few pictures of the outside online but had no idea that you can actually go inside and to the center where there are incredible carved rooms and shapes (no pictures allowed).  Onwards to Belfast after the hour-long tour there.  There are no border controls between Ireland and Northern Ireland.  Just a single small sign that says “Northern Ireland – the sign numbers are in miles”.  So much for a new passport stamp!

Upon arrival in Belfast, it felt noticeably grittier than any of the other cities we’ve been to.  I had foolishly mentioned how the west side of the city was dangerous which spooked Jaime a bit too.  My goal in Belfast was to see the wall murals along the tense border and Jaime’s was to see the Titanic museum.  Unfortunately, it was around 4pm when we arrived and we had missed the last hop-on hop-off tour and the museum would stop new entries by the time we’d arrive there.  We pondered what to do with the remainder of the day.  Jaime was against a self-tour of the murals and it was looking gloomy for walking around downtown.  Just then, a black cab drove by and I remembered the tour my sister and neighbors highly recommended.  I had thought it wouldn’t be possible with the kids so I hadn’t considered it but when I asked the hotel concierge about it, it wasn’t an issue at all.  A cab arrived for us within 5 minutes and we had no idea what to expect.  It ended up being the most fascinating, information-dense 90 minutes ever.  The murals and stories behind them are extremely interesting.  The gates between Catholics and Protestant neighborhoods still close every night.  The Catholics want to be part of Ireland and fly the Irish flag while the Protestants want to be part of Britain and fly the British flag.  This causes an identity crisis for Northern Ireland itself.  I’m sure they have their own national flag but we never saw one.  The cab dropped us off downtown where we ate dinner and walked back to the hotel.

The next morning we started off at the Titanic museum.  It was very well done and well worth the visit.  We then set off to see a few sights along the northern coast.  We took a slight detour to a place I read about called The Dark Hedges.  It’s hard to describe so take a look at those pictures to fully appreciate it.  Next up was a spot Jaime’s friend recommended, the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge.  It is literally just a rope bridge but the area is gorgeous and you have to hike out to the bridge and get to soak up the views along the way.  Once over the bridge, you can explore a small fishing island as well.  It was very chilly and windy so we didn’t stay too long but it was still a great stop.  After that we went to the most well known natural attraction in Northern Ireland, Giant’s Causeway.  The area where the unique interlocking columns are is relatively small and about a 20 minute walk from the visitor center.  There was also a semi-regualar bus that was about a Euro each direction.  We opted for the bus as we hadn’t fully warmed up from the last stop.  While on the bus, Edie made it known that she demanded a diaper change immediately, which couldn’t happen until we were back at the car.  About two minutes after arriving, Lydia saw a tiny worm and demanded to leave immediately too.  Needless to say, we didn’t get to explore much of the area and just waited for the next bus back.  Another short drive away we made a brief stop at the Bushmills Distillery where I picked up some fresh whiskey.  They were closing so we didn’t have a chance to do the tour.  The last planned stop, Dunluce Castle, had just closed too so we couldn’t tour it but it was the most extravagant castle we’d seen yet.  It was mostly built on a small mountain loosely attached to the mainland via bridge and more castle ruins.  Did I mention there is a cave entrance at the base of the mountain that goes under the castle?  Definitely need to plan on visiting this part of the coastline earlier next time.  We had a hard time finding a restaurant open that wasn’t extremely crowded.  I ended up stopping at a grocery store and asking a local for recommendations.   He recommended the Central Wine Bar in Ballycastle, and I’m so glad he did — the ambiance was great and the food was incredible!  It was an uneventful 4 hour drive back to the abbey after that.

Originally we had planned on our last day at the timeshare being a trip to Limerick, a few castles around there, and the famous Cliffs of Moher, though after seeing the similar cliffs along the northern coastline, I decided it wouldn’t be worth 7 hours of driving.  We will save those, plus the Ring of Kerry, for next time.  Our first stop of the day were the exquisite ruins of Jerpoint Abbey.  The caretaker there spoke highly of nearby Kells Priory so we went there next.  Edie was sleeping so we took turns walking to and around the 7 towers and viewing the castle ruins within the walls connecting the towers.  Afterward, we tried to find Santa Claus’ (St. Nicholas) grave but it’s located on private property and it apparently wasn’t open for the year yet.  Next, we drove about 30 minutes south to the coastal city of Waterford.  Being Good Friday in a Catholic country, nearly everything was closed.  We wanted around a bit, had lunch at a cafe within a public music venue, and then toured the Waterford Crystal factory.  We drove along the South East Coastal Road for a bit but it was more near the coast instead of actual coastline so we headed back to Kilkenny for dinner.  We ended up back at Langton’s to have that amazing dessert again.  We didn’t realize that the more well-known restaurant is tucked away from the street and that apparently we just ate from the bar menu last time.  The full menu and ‘real’ restaurant were a great end to the evening.

We checked out of the timeshare the next morning and headed to Dublin.  It was a crazy busy weekend there as people were celebrating both Easter and the 100 year anniversary of the start of the revolution for independence.  We couldn’t find a place for lunch on the way to Trinity College so I stopped in a random hotel and they recommended M.J. O’Neills near the entrance to the college.  It was the craziest restaurant experience in recent memory — insanely busy, first-come tables across 4-5 tiered floors, and counter-service ordering.  After lunch, we wandered around the college campus and saw the Book of Kells in the Old Library.  The book was cool to see but the build-up to see it was more than the book itself.  The Long Room after the book viewing was well worth the price of admission.  200,000 books lined the walls along two floors.  Check out the college pictures to see it.  We wandered around Dublin for the rest of the afternoon, including a brief stop at St. Stephen’s Green, before meeting an old law school friend of Jaime’s for dinner.  The next morning we left pretty early to catch our flight home, which went off without a hitch.

Overall we had an amazing trip.  It was a totally different type of vacation for us.  We didn’t have much of a schedule, stayed in one place for nearly the whole week, and used it as a base to explore more than we would have seen otherwise.  We are used to knocking out whole countries in a couple days so it surprised us that we spent an entire week and didn’t even cover everything we had planned to do.

Up next is a road trip to Yellowstone in June!