Crossing the ferry at Holyhead, England, we headed over to Dublin or a couple nights stay in that large city. This was our first Ireland stop and it was nice to see the city, even though Mark and I aren’t big city people. We fared better in the smaller towns and villages. Dublin was very busy and we took a bus tour that first morning around the city with a guide that told us many things about this historic town.
Dublin mural on a main thoroughfare. This was the day that Mark wasn’t feeling good, so he stayed in the room all day. I had gotten him some meds from a store near our hotel, a powder mixture that our tour guide had recommended, called LemSip. Mixed with hot water and sipped, it helps cold symptoms and it definitely worked for Mark. He sipped all day on those and by evening felt better. We had an Irish dance and dinner to go to that night, so I was glad he was feeling better.
We stopped in a garden area in the downtown for a look at the Oscar Wilde statue and tribute. I loved this this one done on a rock.
Some of Oscar’s well known sayings.
The garden was beautiful to walk through that early morning.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, such a beautiful church.
\
Street scenes in Dublin. After our bus tour was over we all went back to the hotel and I went with a couple of ladies on our tour who were doing a hop on hop off bus tour around town.
We decided to stop off in the Temple Bar District, where all the bars and nightlife are located. With cobblestone streets, and lots of pubs and bars, this area is the heart of Dublin’s cultural life. This was daytime, so we went in a few places. This place said Temple Bar, but it wasn’t THE Temple Bar that is famous.
We did go in and I got an Irish coffee, which was very good and we listened to an Irish guy sing and play guitar.
Then we went to find the famous Temple Bar pub, operating since 1840 and one of the most photographed buildings in Ireland. Check out those window boxes!
The pub was filled with people listening to live music, so we didn’t stay but a minute, but we could say we went inside!
The Hop On Hop off bus. President Trump happened to be visiting Dublin that very day and so traffic was messed up for awhile. We never saw his motorcade or anything related, but traffic was messed up a bit for the buses and we couldn’t go to every stop along the way.
We drove by the world famous Guinness Brewery.
More scenes around Dublin.
The River Liffey goes through the middle of Dublin.
That night, we drove out to the country for an Irish dance and dinner show and it was really lovely. There were lots of bus groups that arrived too and the place was full by the time the show started. I loved the exterior of The Merry Ploughboy.
With traditional Irish music and dance, the show was really good.
Inside the restaurant with all the place settings. It was completely filled up with people.
We had a few choices for dinner and I got the fish dish, which was delicious.
After dinner, the show started and the dancers were really talented in traditional Irish dance.
It was a fun show to take in.
The next morning, we left Dublin for the countryside and stayed in a beautiful hotel out in the country, called The Rose Hotel in a little town called Tralee.
Along the way, we stopped at another castle, a 13th century Norman castle, the Cahir Castle. It’s one of the best preserved medieval castles in Ireland and sits in the River Suir.
Hollywood calls: Because of its pristine medieval aesthetic, it has served as a prominent backdrop for major films and television series, including Excalibur (1981), The Green Knight (2021), and Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel (2021).
It was so interesting to see inside.
I loved this inset window.
View of a church from the top floor window.
Next stop was the Blarney Mills woolen mill with shop and restaurant.
It was filled with beautiful Irish clothing. We tried on a few things. Mark got another hat and I got this pretty wool jacket. It’s very different that anything I’ve owned, so will be fun to wear when it gets cold. They shipped, so I had it shipped home.
The mill is right beside the grounds of Blarney Castle, so we got to visit another castle, this one is very famous.
The grounds going in are filled with flowers.
These old castles are really something to see!
We could have climbed up the stairs to kiss the Blarney stone, but that part wasn’t on our bucket list, so we passed. Several in our group did stand in line and go up to kiss it.
The watch tower out front.
You can see the line going in the castle. The sign said more than 60 min. to get to the top.
I zoomed in from the bottom when we spotted them up top. This was kissing the Blarney stone. You lay back on a table or something flat and hold on to those two iron posts and lean way back to kiss the stone and I guess it’s that underneath stone.
We did walk around the vast gardens of the castle and they were beautiful.
Mark and me.
The vegetation was spectacular.
I love this shot of the castle.
And this one.
Blarney House in the distance. We didn’t get a chance to go in, since I wanted to go back and shop a bit. We also ate lunch at the woolen mill shops.
Scenes along the way back to our hotel, there was so much natural beauty all over Ireland.
So many charming villages along the way.
That night we had a delicious dinner at our hotel that was included. When you go on tours with Go Ahead, not all the dinners are included, but this night was. It was very tasty!
With creme brulee for dinner. We left the next morning for our next adventure, the Ring of Kerry. That was a beautiful drive, so I can’t wait to share that one with you. Thank you for stopping by and enjoying our journey with me!
Leave a Reply