Wet, wonderful Ireland!

Despite all the traveling we have done since I arrived here about six weeks ago, our trip to Ireland was the first time I actually got a chance to visit a new country (not true for Daniel though... he has added multiple new countries to his resume since he arrived in April).  One of the many reasons we love traveling is that it gives us an opportunity to explore more of this vast planet.  Whenever we are asked if we have visited a certain place that we haven't been to, our response is always, "No... not yet."  Basically, we are hoping to go everywhere we can while we are here.  So, needless to say, we were very excited about going to Ireland for the first time.

Daniel actually had to take off for the Emerald Isle on the evening of Monday, Sept. 8, but I followed shortly the next day.  Thankfully, I had a travel buddy this time... my friend, Stephanie (who also happens to be the wife of Daniel's boss).  Since we knew our husbands would be both be very busy with the work conference, we thought it would be alot of fun to explore Ireland together.  So after a quick hop, skip, and jump, we found ourselves landing in Kerry, Ireland.  Not surprisingly, it was pouring down rain when we landed... and it rarely stopped the entire time we were there!  But, hey, it's Ireland... I think it would be a little disappointing if it was sunny and 70.  Ireland seems to be the only place were a rainy vacation is perfectly acceptable. And in the end, all the rain definitely did not dampen our spirits.

In order to explore as much of Ireland as possible during our trip, we rented a car at the airport.  I am just grateful that Stephanie was brave enough to drive on the left-side of the road!  Maybe on our next trip I will give it a try.  So off we went to check out the Dingle peninsula, which had been highly recommended by friends and guide books alike.  Since it was raining sheets out still, we weren't really able to stop and take pictures on our way to the town of Dingle, but the drive along the coastline was beautiful.  When we made it to the town of Dingle, it was still raining, but we braved the weather and walked around for a while. 

As you can see, it is a quaint little town.  Lots of colorful buildings and cute little shops.  More than just being picturesque, Dingle has an active fishing industry. In addition to the fishing boats, there are also many sailing boats.

Here are a couple shots of me near by Dingle's harbor.  I am smiling because it actually stopped raining for a few minutes!  Also, here is a pic I took as we were leaving the Dingle peninsula and heading north toward Adare, where we were staying.  Everything is so green and lush.

On Wednesday, we decided to head to the northwest coast of Ireland to see the Cliffs of Moher, which are reportedly one of the nation's most visited attractions.  On the way, we stopped by Bunratty Castle.  We were hoping to go in and see it, but we discovered that you had buy admission to the adjoining folk park to check it out, so we took a pass.  However, I snapped this picture of the castle before we continued our trek to the coast.

Once we made it to the Cliffs of Moher, it actually stopped raining for a while.  But man, was it windy up there!  Even still, we throughly enjoyed the view.  It was neat to think that we were looking back toward the States from the other side of the Atlantic.  Now I just need to go to Asia to visit the other side of the Pacific.  As the photo below shows, the cliffs are dramatic and stunning.  

That photograph displays what the southern cliffs look like.  Also, here is a shot of Stephanie and me as well as a shot of the cliffs while looking north.  The observation tower seen on top of the northern cliffs is called O' Brien's tower.  Finally, here are is a pic looking east back toward Ireland.  As you can see, the sun was even trying to come out at one point!

Wednesday evening we actually had a chance to spend some time with our husbands at a BBQ at our hotel.  I used the word "hotel" lightly because it was in fact a beautiful place called Adare Manor, which is where the Irish Open is hosted everywhere.  While we did not stay in the manor house, pictured below, the villas we stayed in where not too shabby either.  The manor house was built between 1832 and 1852 by the Earl of Dunraven.  The Dunraven family still owns most of the nearby village of Adare, but the manor has since been bought by the hospitable Mr. Tom Kane, whom we met during our stay there.   

On Thursday, we decided to stay close and just check out the village of Adare.  In addition to browsing the little shops and such, we had an opportunity to see the nearby ruins of the Desmond Castle.  It was built around 1200 by the Normans.  It was used as a feudal settlement, and over 800 families lived within its walls at one point.  A couple of centuries later, it was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell.  And across the Maigue River was the pretty Augustinian Abbey, which was built in 1315 and is now used as the local Protestant church.  It was very interesting to learn about the history of the castle and the surrounding area.  

While it is a very wet country, Ireland really is a wonderful place.  The people there are sooo friendly, and the whole county is incredibly charming.  Before we left, I was planning out where we'll go and what we'll see on our next trip to the Emerald Isle.  I am already looking forward to returning.  Well, it seems that all this traveling we've been doing will slow down for a little while, but don't worry, I am already starting to plan our next trips.  We are looking into going to Morocco and Malta over the holidays!  Until then, I will do my best to find fun and interesting things to blog about, so please stay tuned.  Well, I hope you enjoyed this post, and thanks for reading!