Ireland – fortykay.com

May 13, 2013December 19, 2015

Spotted in Ireland

Throughout this trip, Nick has diligently “checked us in” via the application Foursquare, thus making it easy to retrace our steps and see where we’ve eaten, drank, lodged, as well as what sites we’ve seen. The asterisks that can be found at the end of locations indicate my favorite places, and the more asterisks the better. Although we were only in Ireland for a short time, I feel this list speaks to our commitment to see the country.

Food:

Caulfield’s Hotel, 18-19 Dorset Street, Dublin

Mugs Café, Castle Street, Dalkey

The Queens, 12 Castle Street, Dalkey*

Malone’s Fish & Chips, Dame Street, Dublin

Kyteler’s Inn Restaurant, Kilkenny

Market Lane, Cork**

Café Mocha, Kenmare, Kerry

The Quays, Galway

Kai Café + Restaurant, Galway**

Leo Burdock, 2 Werburgh Street, Dublin*

galway-restaurant2

Drinks:

The Workman’s Club, 9-10 Wellington Quay, Dublin

The Temple Bar, 47-48 Temple Bar, Dublin*

The Palace Bar, 21 Fleet Street, Dublin

The Stag’s Head, 1 Dame Court, Dublin*

An Bodhran, Cork*

An Brog, Cork

The Kings Head, Galway

Taaffes, Galway

The Crane Bar, Galway**

Gravity Bar (at Guinness Storehouse)

The Brazen Head, 20 Bridge Street, Dublin*

W.J. Kavanagh, 4-5 Dorset Street, Dublin

cork-bar2

Activities:

Killiney Beach & Killiney Hill Park

Kilkenny Castle, Kilkenny

Blarney Castle, Blarney, Cork*

Ring of Kerry, Killarney, Kerry

Staigue Fort, Sneem, Kerry

The Burren, Clare

Cliffs of Moher, Doolin, Clare**

Kilmainham Gaol, 2 Inchicore Road, Dublin**

Guinness Storehouse, St. James’ Gate, Dublin

cliffs-moher

Lodgings:

Imogen’s Lair via airbnb, Dublin

Ambassador Hotel, Cork

Prague House, Galway**

May 10, 2013December 19, 2015

A wee bit of learnin’

Today, the tour of the Kilmainham Gaol, the former Dublin prison, enlightened us about the last couple centuries of Irish history. The prison, which was built at the end of the 18^th century, housed many an Irishman, especially through the troublin’ times of the potato famine. Also, it wasn’t always a pretty site, as it became the site of many public hangings. Through hearing about the history of Kilmainham Gaol, we also learned of the Irish struggle for independence from the United Kingdom starting mostly in 1916 and the controversial treaty that was signed in 1922 that began a very messy Irish civil war. Ireland hasn’t exactly had an easy history, and the bumps and bruises worn by this prison can tell much of it.

dublin-jail

The other part of our educational day happens at the Guinness Storehouse. We learn of all the ingredients that go into this fine beer: barley, hops, water, and of course the propriety Guinness yeast. The barley is milled and then mixed with hot water and mashed. The grain is filtered out, the hops and barley is added, all of which is followed by the whole concoction being boiled. Arthur’s yeast is added to ferment, everything is allowed to mature for a while, and finally the beer is then packaged, shipped, and drunken. “Guinness is good for you.” ~Guinness’ slogan

guinness-ad-fitted

guinness-bar

May 10, 2013December 19, 2015

VW Caddy

In only a short time, we cover a fair territory in our rented VW Caddy, from Dublin to Cork to Galway and back. The roads are beautiful even if a bit narrow and with cars on the wrong side. We pass countrysides filled with farm animals, forests in the Ring of Kerry, and rocky rolling hills in the Barren. We sing along to the great tunes of our youth (the 90’s), laugh to comedy tracks, and otherwise just give each other a hard time. Susie announces each animal, Nick checks us in, Chris captures the moment on CMOS, Megan guides us, and Gabe and I alternate between driving and navigating. As far as teams go, this one ain’t bad.

ireland-map

VWCaddy2

May 9, 2013December 19, 2015

Cloudy with a chance of rain

As it turns out, the luck of the Irish doesn’t always extend to the realm of weather. Our first day in Dublin and Dalkey may have been more an anomaly; however, being day one, we didn’t fully understand the magically delicious weather we had. Day two starts still sunny, but by the end of the day when we arrive in Cork, our luck had run out. And by the end of day three, the heavens open up as we walk home the two blocks to our lovely B&B in Galway. Our faces are pelted with small water pellets and enough wind to make it look like we had a healthy sunburn.

driving-to-kerry

Nonetheless, rain cannot stop us. We will visit the sites, explore the town of Cork, tour the Kilkenny Castle, and drive around the Ring of Kerry all the while stopping in small towns along the way to find delectable bites of stew, fish ‘n chips, and pork served in every which way.

kenmare-outdoor-mkt