The Land of Eire: Part 1

Last fall a few of my friends and I took a trip across the pond during fall break. We were in Ireland for 7 whirlwind days. We successfully saw most of Ireland though we weren’t able to go north of Dublin and Galway. 

Ireland is a beautiful country. It’s green and lush though there aren’t a lot of trees for the most part. When you’re driving you’ll see a lot of trees as hedges on both sides of the road which makes driving as an American an adventure because you’re driving on the wrong side of the road and visibility isn’t great. Oh and the speed limits seem off sometimes given how narrow the roads are. We had a wonderful driver, Jordan*, even if he struggled at stick shift sometimes.

Our trip was based off a package we purchased through Great Value Vacations. It included our flights, hotels/B&Bs and our car. The hotels were set in stone based off the dates of our trip and we were able to select the B&Bs where we wanted to visit. The package helped us plan our trip but we picked where we went for the most part. There were some additional options  that we decided to take advantage of like a bus tour through the Ring of Kerry.

Now enough boring logistics. Time for the fun stuff!

Day one was spent in Kilkenny. We started our day off with the Smithwicks Experience (here’s their website). I enjoyed this tour. It was small, well put together and explained the beer/ale making process.  It was also fun to hear the history of this band since we hadn’t heard of it prior to planning this trip. They have 3 different ales: Red, Pale and Blonde. Our favorite was the Red. 

After we finished our ale, the next stop was an unplanned one but so worthwhile: The Cathedral Church of St Canice & Round Tower (pictured right). This was the first of a few churches that we stopped at. Being inside the church was different because the floor was stone that had been worn down through the centuries. There were different nooks and crannies which held special meaning to the people who attended the church along with pretty stained glass windows. 

We were able to climb to the top of the round tower (which has a pretty shallow foundation but it’s not leaning). There were a series of 7 landings that went back and forth as you climbed. On top you could see Kilkenny and the surrounding country side. This is probably my favorite tower we climbed because the view was unobstructed at the top. You didn’t need to make your way around anything and can just look at the view.

From there, we were off to the Blarney Castle. When we got there, it was raining in true Ireland fashion. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect coming here. I thought it would be just a castle. But it was so much more! The grounds of the castle were much large than any of us anticipated. We were able to climb to the top of the castle and kiss the Blarney Stone but bending down to kiss it was difficult and a little sketchy though I can’t imagine doing it without the bars that have been added. As you climb the castle and come back down, you go through different rooms and see the purposes of the rooms. I could never have cooked in the castles kitchen. We explored the gardens around the castle and spent a lot of time in the poison garden. It was humorous to see the different plants they had put in the garden like tea, poison ivy, pot, catnip, etc. The poison garden wasn’t there when the castle was active but it was a fun stop.

Day two was spent in Cork. We started the day off by going to Shandon’s Bells and Tower at St  Anne’s Church (pictured right). We explored the church a bit before we climbed the tower and rang the bells. It was fun to be able to ring the bells and try to play a song on them. The view from the top was really pretty too! Cork is a much bigger city than Kilkenny so there wasn’t as much greenery to see but being able to see the city from up above was fun. Plus Cork just has a fun feel to it.

After we finished ringing the bells, we went to the English Market. This is basically just a big in order food market but so much better! We discovered a meat and fish section, produce, restaurants and cute little shops here. I loved being able to walk about and see what options there were. There were so many cute shops that we looked at as well. I think we all got gelato from one shop in the back. If I lived in Cork, I would be there all the time. It seemed like locals and tourists shopped there so it wasn’t just a tourist trap.

The last thing we did in Cork was look at St. Finn’s Barre’s Cathedral. This was my favorite church we went to. It’s a Protestant church but looks nothing like what I normally expect a Protestant church to look like. It was grand, large and decadent. There were beautiful stained glass windows and masonry along with mosaics and alters. The grounds had a small cemetery and a prayer labyrinth. If you’re ever in Cork, I would highly recommend looking at this cathedral because it’s so different. If you wanna see some pictures of it, I would recommend googling it.

From Cork, we went to Bandon which was a quaint little town that we explored quickly before heading down to Baltimore. In Baltimore, we went and looked at The Beacon which I think was a highlight for everyone. It’s right on the southern coast but you can’t quite see the Atlantic Ocean. It was fun to visit at sunset and see the ocean. We could also see the town and country side from the Beacon because it’s a little bit above the rest of the rest of the area.

Day three was our Ring of Kerry bus tour. It was an early start and Jordan had to drive us through some intense roads. Irish roads are narrow to begin with (think about a lane and a half it felt like when you’re not on a clearly marked road). Add in sharp curves, blind curves, high speed limits, and no guardrails and you know you’re in for  an interesting ride. It was beautiful but heart pounding. We made it safely though the entire trip.

The bus tour itself was relaxing. It was our first time really having to listen to locals talk which challenged all of us. The tour took us all around the Ring of Kerry. We saw a traditional bog village, a Charlie Chaplin statue because he really enjoyed the area (if I remember correctly), a church, some famous mountains among other things. The tour ended by driving through the Killarney National Park. I love national parks and I wish that we could have spent more time exploring. There are some really beautiful buildings and lakes in the park. It also has a really old forest which is rare in Ireland mostly with yue trees. I hope I can go back there one day and explore this park more. 

The last two pictures are from the Ring of Kerry tour. To hear what happened with the rest of the trip, check out the next post.

*Names have been changed for privacy. Photo credits to Jordan, Evangaline and Day.