Ireland Vacation

We woke up today to awful rainy weather. We visited the Muckross House in the Killarney National Park. Queen Victoria visited this site too. We walked around the grounds but headed out quickly due to the rain.

Here's Alan trying to stay dry.

We left Killarney and went to the Rock of Cashel. This is an ancient cathedral that St. Patrick visited in the 4th century.

Here's the view from the road of the Rock of Cashel.

We ended our trip in Dublin with dinner at a Mexican restaurant (we had had enough of meat and potatoes). We enjoyed a few pints and Irish coffees at the Temple Bar district in Dublin. We leave tomorrow morning to fly back to Chicago. Thanks for reading!

We started the day with a visit to the Bunratty Castle and park. We walked in and around the castle and saw buildings representing how people lived in Ireland in the 13th century.

We visited the town of Adare for lunch. Colleen loved all the houses with the thatched roofs.

After lunch we walked through this beautiful park in Adare.

We arrived in Killarney and headed out to the Lough Leane and the Ross Castle. This picture is in front of the lake. This is a part of the Killarney National Park.

This is the Ross Castle.

We finished our night with traditional Irish music and a pint at Hannigan's pub.

Today was the most beautiful day. As we were driving, we saw many beautiful castles off the side of the road. Here's the first one we visited.

We stopped as we reached the Atlantic and took this picture.

We stopped in a small town called Doolin. At lunch and sat outside with our beers overlooking this river.

We stopped at a wrong turn (ended up being a great mistake) and saw the Cliffs of Moher in the distance. The surf was so rough.

We found another castle off the side of the road overlooking the ocean.

We reached the Cliffs of Moher, hiked around, and saw some amazing views.

Here's the view straight down.

The Cliffs of Moher...beautiful!

Tomorrow we are going to another castle and to Killarney. Should be another great day. Thanks for reading!

Day 2:

In front of Athlone Castle

Galway Downtown

Our hotel

Day 3:

Celtic cross in the Canamara Loop

Sheep on the side of the road

Kylemore Abby...does Kyle Moore know he has his own castle in Ireland?

Sorry about no pictures again. Hopefully tomorrow! Today we drove out by the coast in Connemara. This area is comprised of beautiful lakes, tall mountains, green pastures, and a ton of sheep! We stopped in the small seaside village of Clifton. We are here in the off season so it is fun to be amongst Irish, not Americans. We ended our day in Westport. This was an adorable Irish town with great bars and shops. We finished the night with a pint of Guinness and Smithwick's. We are now at the hotel and Alan is in the bar watching the local soccer game. Tomorrow we are leaving County Mayo and heading to County Clare. We will be going to the Cliffs of Moher on the coast. Can't wait! Thanks for reading.