Beautiful Ireland: What I’ve Seen

II originally started writing this post when I saw this video from a Canadian couple who spent 3 weeks in Ireland and then put together 19 minute video of their recordings and pictures. It’s beautiful and if I’m completely honest it made me cry a little. It reminded of how wonderful Ireland is, all the different things to do and places to see. This week, Failte Ireland released their #IrelandInspires video and it reminded me of this post.

These videos brought back the idea local tourism, how I, along with my boyfriend, friends and family, have tried experiencing local attractions, things we wouldn’t normally visit because it’s too close to us, and other places around Ireland. I thought I’d link to some of the posts I’ve made so far about this.

Staycation Post. First time I posted about places I’d visited in Ireland, this one dealing with a weekend away to the sunny South East. Dungarven, Mahon Falls, Cahir Castle and Rock of Cashel all got visited that weekend.

Local Tourist Part 1. In this post I talk about my boat tour along the bottom of The Cliffs of Moher.

Miss Courtney’s Tearooms, Killarney. A whole post on the beautiful Miss Courtney’s Tearooms in Killarney.

Guinness Store House in Dublin on a glorious sunny day

Surfing in Lahinch with Lahinch Surf Experience

Aran Islands on another glorious day (see, we do get good weather in Ireland at times!)

Loop Head Lighthouse

Just showing these posts makes me realise I have so many more experiences to share! So hopefully I’ll finally get around to making those blog posts in the future, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t have already!

Some other pictures I have that aren’t in any other posts

 

Sunset in Lahinch, Co.Clare; Bluebells in my uncle’s garden

 

Giant’s Causeway, Co.Antrim; Costa Del Clahane Summer 2013 Heatwave

 

Donkey at Falls Hotel, Ennistymon; Clare win All-Ireland Hurling Championships

Finally, I leave you with a post I made back in 2011 for St. Patrick’s Day and Why It’s Great to be Irish.

Have a fantastic St. Patrick’s Day everyone. I’m looking to going home for a visit in a few days. Taytos, here I come!

25 Before 25: Take a Random Roadtrip

So ideally, this would have gone down something like this: boyfriend and I would decide to go somewhere to stay overnight without booking before hand, fill up on petrol and hit the road with no destination in sight. Though as I approach the deadline for this I realise it’s not going to happen (neither is visit a country I’ve never been to before unless I win the lotto or someone wants to pay for me to go abroad! *cough*).

So Saturday morning I had to drop my aunt off to the bus station early and I bought along my friend K who was staying with me for the weekend. We decided instead of heading straight back home we’d go on a drive, deciding where to stop along the way. Which lead to a mini tour of South and West Clare.

The first place we hit was Lissycasey, where we drove past this pub and then promptly turned around for some photo opportunities.

Next main place we hit was Kilrush, where we decided to visit the Vandeleur Gardens. Unfortunately, seeing as we were up so early, we were 2 hours too early to enter. Instead we went for a quick stroll in the woods.

And then off went again! Next we hit Kilkee so we decided to stop at the West Clare Railway at Moyasta. And would you believe it, it was also closed! (are you beginning to see a theme here?!). So I took this quick snapshot of the office and cafe.

From there we decided to head onto Loop Head Lighthouse. We looked up on K’s iPhone that it was open until early September. We weren’t sure if they would be open or not seeing as it is now mid-September! But we decided to take the gamble. And luckily it was open!

After we went for a quick walk around the cliff edges.

After our lovely walk, we continued on, deciding on a whim to stop in Doolin in the Tea Rooms. Unfortunately it was closed! Moving onto Quily we stopped at Seafield beach to look at Mutton Island.

We were then going to play some arcade games at Sugar Island Cafe but it wasn’t open yet! We figured that was the final sign to head on home and put our feet up!

25 Before 25: Visit the Aran Islands

Another 25 Before 25 post! I’m enjoying seeing things crossed off the list. But I should really get a move on and complete some more!

The trip to the Aran Islands was the day after surfing and boy did we pick a good day to go! It was so sunny and warm, just lovely! We chose to go to Inis Mór mainly because, if I’m honest, I wanted to go to the Supermacs there! Come on, who doesn’t want to go to Supermacs on the Aran Islands!

We left from Doolin on the Doolin2Aran Ferries. First we passed Inis Oírr and got to see the shipwreck from the opening credits of Father Ted!

When we arrived on Inis Mór, we decided to rent some bikes. Unfortunately this dinosaur helmet did not fit me!

We cycled around the island until I got too tired and whined that I didn’t want to cycle up any more hills! So we went to the seal beach but unfortunately there was no seals around then. Boo!

And I was thoroughly amused at the Bank Of Ireland they have there.

And finally we got to go to Supermacs! YAY!

And had a drink in the American Bar.

Horsey outside the bar.

And of course, me being the amadáin that I am, I forgot to put on sun cream and got scalded. For shame really, as I’m ALWAYS hassling people to put on sun cream. I usually always put it in but in my sleepiness that morning (and the fact that it was cloudy when we left the house), it completely slipped my mind. Needless to say I will not let that happen again!

25 Before 25: Try Surfing

I’ve been quiet last week, mainly because I was busy playing tourist with my friends K&K. I had a great time bringing them places and trying new things. And one of those things was surfing!

I’ve wanted to try it for a while, considering I live by the sea and know several people who surf, it’s a bit of a joke that I had never tried until now! We went with Lahinch Surf Experience to rent our equipment (they also do lessons but since K&K can surf they said they’d teach me). And while they did a great job with that I unfortunately just couldn’t stand. No matter how hard I tried. And boy did I try. I did manage to stay on waves though and it was one of the greatest feelings! I can only imagine how much more intense it is standing up. It definitely makes me want to go again and hopefully I won’t leave it a long time before heading out again. Beware though, this really makes your arms ache the next day!

Guinness Store House

I’ve spoken before about being a tourist in my own country (here and here). So when I heard a friend of mine was going to the Guinness Store House I thought it would be a great opportunity to try out something ‘touristy’ that I had never done before. It was a beautiful day too and it was great to get out and enjoy the weather.

Lovely brick buildings.

Once you’ve gone through and paid, you come to a tour guide who gives a brief speech about Arthur Guinness and the lease that was signed. And that’s the end of tour guides then. You get to see the lease in a glass display in the ground.

Loads of different Guinness bottles from the years gone by.

For there you progress through different parts of the building which deal with things such as how Guinness is made and the ingredients, how it’s stored and transported, different advertising and memorabilia, various things Guinness sponsors, interactive computers with test your knowledge of alcohol, cafes, bars etc.

Indoor waterfall

Entry to the Store House also includes one free pint of Guinness. This can be redeemed either at the Pour Your Own Pint bar or else at the Gravity Bar (where they pour it for you). However, if you want to do both, you can buy an extra ticket for the Pour Your Own Pint for a fiver and your original entry ticket for the Gravity Bar. I decided to use mine at the Pour a Pint bar. Here you are taught the main steps in pouring a perfect pint of Guinness. Very interesting!

From there, we went to the Gravity Bar. What a beautiful day for a beautiful view!

The Spire looking massive!

I had a great day at the Guinness Store House, it was very interesting and well worth it. I’d recommend it to tourists and locals!

Miss Courtney’s Tearooms, Killarney

I was in Killarney, Co. Kerry at the weekend and when I remembered Miss Courtney’s Tearooms was there, I couldn’t wait to go! It was first opened in 1909 by the current owner’s great-aunt.

It was a rainy day, so my boyfriend and I were glad to get out of the rain. The place was busy and we had to wait for a seat but we didn’t mind. First thing that struck me was the decor. It’s amazing! I loved the retro vibe, the old black and white photos on the wall, the table cloths, the china cups hanging off the chandler. I’m a sucker for places like this, it reminds me of a cafe closer to hand called The Potter’s Hand in Kilrush, Co.Clare.

There was lots to choose from on the menu, the list of teas alone takes up a whole page. While the afternoon tea was tempting, I had missed breakfast and wanted something more. So I went with the scrambled Eggs with griddled pancetta and toasted focaccia.

Himself had vegetable soup and brown bread. I loved the way the butter is shaped.

I couldn’t resist a cake so I decided to go with the coffee one (even though if I’m honest, I would have tried them all!).

One of my favourite things about Miss Courtney’s is the fact that all the china and cutlery are all miss-matched. It adds a certain charm to the place.

 

I’d love to go back to Killarney again some day and when I do, this place will be top of the list!

Local Tourist Part 1

Kat from thedemuremuse.com hit the nail on the head when she commented being a ‘local tourist’ on my Staycation post. That is what I have spent a good chunk of this summer doing, exploring my local surroundings and tourist attractions. It’s always something you aim to do but never get around to. It’s such a shame too, cos when people ask you what there is to do when visiting, you can usually rattle off a number of different places of interest to visit. Which naturally leads to their next question ‘Is it any good?’ and the reply is usually I don’t know, I’ve never been/haven’t been there since I was a child.

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Ireland is The Cliffs of Moher in Co.Clare. I’ve been there a few times before and all recent enough. But when a friend said she wanted to a do a boat tour along the bottom of the Cliffs, I leapt at the chance!

We left from Liscannor Bay, after getting a deal on the price of tickets and set off in the speed boat. I was glad I wore my jacket, as there was a good breeze when out in the water! We were lucky that it wasn’t raining though I say it would have still looked as beautiful as it did. To see the Cliffs from a different perspective was amazing, they looked almost majestic.

 

One of the most exciting parts of the trip was seeing the caves used the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince film.

 

Hopefully you can see from the above photo the colour of the water. It was incredible, a gorgeous emerald green that I desperately tried to capture on picture but couldn’t truly capture the brilliance of no matter how many pictures I took.

Another thing I loved about this tour were all the birds! Millions of them, on the cliff side, in the air and in the water. We tried to sneak up on some puffins on the water but they were wise and flew away.

The trip was well worth it and I was easily go back again, especially if it was sunset as I think that would be even more beautiful.

Staycation!

So I have been away for such a long time! And there’s a reason. I had planned to write up some posts last weekend but as a last minute surprise, my boyfriend decided to whisk me away on a weekend break! We went to Dungarven, Co. Waterford, where two of my college friends are from. We met up with them on Friday night and had a few drinks (some more than others so it seems!).

              View from hotel window

Saturday was a lazy day of relaxing. Luckily the weather was very nice! The day was spent shopping, visiting King John’s Castle and walking around the town.

  Dungarvan Harbour

Sunday was another beautiful day. We went to the beautiful Mahon Falls and walked about half way up.

                          Mahon Falls

I also dipped my toes into the water! Next we went to Cahir Castle, Co. Tipperary. I had been there many times travelling back to Kilkenny on a Sunday night last summer and the castle always intrigued me. We managed to tag onto a tour and hear the interesting facts about the castle. After that, we went to eat some food.

                    Cahir Castle

Last but not least we visited The Rock of Cashel. Contrary to what I previously believed, there is no rock or rock monument there that is The Rock of Cashel, but rather it is the rock on which the old round tower, cathedral and other buildings stand now. We managed again to tag along with another tour, which just tickled the history nerd in me pink!

               Cathedral and Round Tower

After a busy day of touring, we travelled the long journey home. I really enjoyed my ‘Staycation’, I thoroughly recommend it. I can’t wait to explore other areas in Ireland I’ve never been to before!