Brent had an academic conference in Galway Ireland this summer, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to tag along and go to Europe for my first time. Once we started planning our trip and added London and Paris to our itinerary, we decided to bring along Ava so she could enjoy all the Harry Potter things in London. Our parents were so nice to watch the younger three kids so that this was all possible!
Brent flew from Hawaii to Ireland the last week of June and was there 4 days before we got there. Ava and I flew out on July 1 from SLC and got there on July 2- the last day of his conference.
Our flight from SLC to NYC was delayed and we cut it pretty close for making our connection. It took them about 40 minutes to connect the jet bridge to the plane (it was having issues) and in the meantime, our next flight was about to board. Luckily we made our connection, but we had no time to grab dinner in the airport and had to rely on the snacks in our bags. Many people were watching the US match in the World Cup and their seat back TVs and the whole plane erupted in cheers when there was a goal. That flight over the Atlantic was rough- the pilot said at the beginning, "I wish I could tell you it's going to be a smooth flight, but it's not." It felt like we were on a bumpy road, or worse, the entire flight. Ava and I were both feeling kind of yucky, and we were so happy to finally land in Shannon Ireland!
I had to be the one to pick up our rental car and drive us about an hour north to Galway, where Brent was. I was so nervous to drive on the left side of the road! Luckily the drive was basically a straight shot on the freeway, so it wasn't too terrible, but I was gripping that steering wheel like I was holding on for dear life. After only a few minutes of driving I caught on that everything is switched, which means the slow lane is the left side and the passing lane is the right side. We made it in one piece to Brent's hotel and took a nice nap while Brent finished at his conference. We hadn't seen Brent in a little over 2 weeks so I was so excited to see him!
Brent took us on a walking tour of Galway. I was so surprised that there are so many old castle ruins just sitting there on the side of the road in Ireland. This one looks so pretty next to the river.
Beautiful Galway. We watched street entertainers, went souvenir shopping, ate dinner at a Chinese restaurant (was so yummy), and we walked back toward our hotel along this river.
We took a picture for a group of about 10 middle aged ladies right here, and they all posed like this in a row, with their knee popped. They were on a girls trip together, and having so much fun, giggling and chatting. They wanted to take our picture too and told us to pose in the same way. Haha. Brent said very seriously after, uhh I want to hang out with them!
I took this picture of a cute house! I always find it fascinating to see what the normal neighborhoods and houses look like everywhere I travel. I always pick out which house I'd like to live in.
On Friday we woke up early, had yummy breakfast at the hotel, and then hit the road for the Cliffs of Moher. I had to drive the hour and a half because Brent wasn't added to the rental car yet. This drive, unlike the one the day before, was so terrifying because it was on narrow, windy, country roads. There were no shoulders on these roads- instead there was either a rock wall or shrubs directly next to the small lane. The road was not wide enough for the buses coming towards us and our car, so I'd see the buse's wheels over the center line on my side of the road, and I'd have to get over as far as I could next to the rock wall and pray we didn't have a head on collision. Over and over. To add to this, the speed limit on these roads was insanely high- varying between 60 to 100 kmh (40 to 60 mph)! WHAT!?! Luckily Chat GPT had given me an excellent tip and I had rented the smallest car.
We stopped at this gorgeous overlook. Everything in Ireland was green, green, green. With little rock walls separating properties.
Notice the sheep? Ava bumped her bum against the fence and got a big SHOCK!
After the Cliffs of Moher we headed south toward the Ring of Kerry - a 2 1/2 hour drive. We stopped at the airport in Shannon on the way so that we could add Brent to the rental car agreement and he could take over driving. Phew! Thank you Brent!
We arrived at the Cliffs of Moher with no accident (pat on the back for Jen). These are the famous cliffs that everyone probably thinks of when they picture Ireland. It was in the 60s, so not too chilly if it weren't for the wind.
The cliffs are about 700 feet tall and so gorgeous.
The cliffs are in a few movies like Harry Potter # 6, and we found the exact part of the cliffs that were featured as the "cliffs of insanity" in The Princess Bride.
We stopped and grabbed hot paninis at Cafe Solo in Shannon to eat on our drive. The Ring of Kerry is a scenic driving circuit with many stops along the way and takes a full day if you're doing the full circuit. We only had the afternoon so we just did the stops along the top part of the route, but I really loved everything we did. I think this was my favorite thing we did in Ireland.
First stop- Ross Castle. We took pictures around the outside and then decided to do the last tour of the day (about 13 euro for the three of us).
This castle is from the 15th century.
It overlooks the lake, Lough Leane.
I'm really glad we ended up doing the tour because we learned so much about how the people lived back in the day in these castles! They would marry early, like age 14, and have a lot of babies, and then die in their late 30s or early 40s. We were interested (and often disgusted) to learn the details of how they didn't have any comforts of life. For example, all the kids slept on the floor huddled together and the parents would sleep in bed sitting up because they had bad lungs from inhaling smoke from all their fires. Brent snuck a picture inside.
Next stop was Muckross Abbey- this was Brent's favorite.
This is a 15th century friary that we could just walk through.
This beautiful yew tree grows in the center of the courtyard.
Stunning details still preserved!
The next stop was Torc waterfall. It was a very short walk to see a pretty waterfall. It reminded us of Oregon so much!
Next stop was the Ladies View. When Queen Victoria visited this area, her ladies in waiting were so enchanted by this view, that it's named after them. It's hard to capture in pictures just how gorgeous the scenery truly was. We were very lucky to have some sunshine and no rain!
We then turned around on the Ring of Kerry loop and started heading back toward our bed and breakfast since it was 7pm and we still needed to check in. Luckily it stays light until after 10pm this time of year! On our way back we stopped at Muckross House and took a few pictures. Very beautiful 19th century Victorian mansion.
Our bed and breakfast (Murphy's Farmhouse) is run by two sisters and it was so adorable. Here we are out front. We arrived a few minutes after 8pm and discovered that no restaurants in the tiny town are open that late for dinner. Luckily we found a yummy hamburger joint in the next town over for dinner. And then we all crashed for the night. Ava and I still had jet lag and this was a very full day!
Our cute room:
The living area of the B&B. Oh, it was the 4th of July, so Ava wore her patriotic shirt. Happy 250th USA!
Cher had told me her favorite thing in Ireland was a horse carriage ride through the Gap of Dunloe. So we left our B&B and went straight there. Thanks for helping me plan our trip Cher!
Stunning details still preserved!
In the morning we had delicious homecooked breakfast. Highly recommend!
The Gap of Dunloe is a glacial mountain pass that kind of reminded me of scenes from the Sound of Music. Here's some more scenery that is hard to capture in pictures, but it was stunning. Again, we were lucky with sunshine.
The man who drove our carriage grew up just a few miles away from this location in a small town and his accent was thick Irish. I had to ask him to repeat himself many times.
While we ate our lunch (The Fish box take-away) we watched a sport that is very big in Ireland- hurling. It almost looked like lacrosse.
At the very steep part we had to get out because it's too hard for the horse to carry us up this hill. Quite a few people were hiking this road, but I was glad we had a horse. :)
What a memorable 4th of July!
The wishing bridge- can you see it?
After our carriage ride we drove to start our loop around Dingle peninsula. Here is the town of Dingle:
Brent loved this car:
The Dingle peninsula also has a scenic route with many stops along the way. It's quite a bit of [scary] driving between each stop, but so beautiful. This is the white cross:
Coumeenoole Beach
Brent wanted to hike up the mountain here to get better views, so we all went up the mountain side..
It was so beautiful, but there were some parts on the edge of the mountain that were making me nervous!
Star Wars: The Force Awakens was filmed here. Fans have put stones here from where the beehive huts were in the movie.
Gallarus Oratory: This is an old chapel, or oratory, built by laying stones on one another. It has no mortar, yet remains waterproof. It was built between the 7th and 12th century. Like, what?!
After Dingle we had to drive about 2 1/2 hours back to Shannon, to our hotel for the night since our flight to London left very early the next morning. We arrived late at night and got a simple dinner of turkey and rolls at the grocery store and then fell asleep right after eating. Our hotel was a funky hotel. It was a castle theme but kind of dark and almost like a labyrinth inside. It wasn't our favorite, but we were literally only at the hotel for like 7 hours. Next post will be London!
Here you go in case you don't remember :)
After Dingle we had to drive about 2 1/2 hours back to Shannon, to our hotel for the night since our flight to London left very early the next morning. We arrived late at night and got a simple dinner of turkey and rolls at the grocery store and then fell asleep right after eating. Our hotel was a funky hotel. It was a castle theme but kind of dark and almost like a labyrinth inside. It wasn't our favorite, but we were literally only at the hotel for like 7 hours. Next post will be London!
