Dublin, Blarney, Galway and Mohr! Part two.

We left Dublin after a quick breakfast and made our way towards Cork, thank god for the GPS as Dublin roads are a nightmarish maze of one way streets and heavy traffic,but once onto the highways things were easier going, except for the narrowness of the roads.

First stop was the town of Kilkenny which houses an amazing castle and is famous for it's beer (Kilkenny ale) and the catchphrase from SouthPark. We wandered around town for a bit checking out a local art fair before stopping in for our first pub lunch and a drop of the local ale. We then had a bit of wander around the castle grounds watching the locals play a bit of Gaelic football and the girls did the now custom “ask to pat the passing dog”before we again setting off for our accomodation in Blarney.

Blarney travel went smoothly and we checked into a great B & B just up the road from the castle. The lady who ran the placed introduced Ethan to the hurling clubs near the front door, so we all went out front to have a hit before heading down to the local pub for a real pub dinner and tap Guiness.

Next day we went for a visit to the Blarney Castle and our chance to kiss the Blarney stone and thus inherit the gift of the gab, (myself, I think its a cruel joke played on tourists by the Irish, they must so enjoy seeing us all hang upside down over a 100 metre plus drop to kiss a dirty old stone. And the things I've heard the locals do to it at night.....).

Any way we all made it up to the top of the castle and Julie and I had our turn. The kids were a bit reluctant to have their go, but the big two made me walk around the top of castle again after working up some courage. Ashie remained too scared to have a go until a couple of days later when she asked to return. Good thing she didn't kiss it though, we never would've kept her quiet. Later that afternoon we trekked down to Kinsale and visited Charles Fort. This is an old seaside fort with battlements facing in all directions of the harbor and nearby landscape. Kids had a blast with the cannons and were able to run up and down the forts walls which was fun.

Following day we made a trip out to Cobh, (formerly Queenstown and formerly though still pronounced Cove) which is quaint seaside village and best known as the final boarding place of the ill-fated Titanic. We took the kids through a museum covering the history of the Titanic and other shipping disasters but also covered Irish emigration and the convict transportation to Australia. Ethan was amazed to see reference made to Rouse Hill (Vinegar Hill uprising) as he had been studying this in school recently.

Following morning we bid farwell to Blarney and the county Cork, but not the rain which continued to drum down on our trip and made our way off to the next leg of the Irish trip, Galway....

We took the long and scenic route up to Galway on the advice of the publican back in Blarney. We stopped in a walk around Killarney before heading for lunch at Ross Castle, quite a beautiful building on the shores of a lake filled with swans which the kids had fun feeding the left over sandwiches to. We then pushed on towards a seaside village called Dingle, which I believe I read is the most westerly inhabited area of Europe. The rain and cold was still with us but it didn't stop the locals from surfing and bikiniing at the nearby Inch Beach (barking mad these Irish).

Dingle was a great place to stop and they were holding a rowing regatta on the day which the kids had a lot of fun watching and wanted to take part in once they heard the prize money on offer. We spent an hour or two in Dingle before setting off north for the ferry across the Shannon river and a scary drive through the rain on single lane roads (not sure if they were on way or not) further north towards Galway. We eventually arrived after 10pm after getting a little lost due to the GPS maps not being up to date, to a very warm welcome at our last B & B. The owner Anne was completely lovely and went out of her way to make us all comfortable the entire stay.

Monday we spent the day checking out the city of Galway, starting at the river feeding the swans then wandering through the streets and alleyways before finally heading out to a nearby suburb of Salt Hill where the kids got to build sand castles on the beach.

Tuesday we headed off to see the Cliffs of Mohr and drove through a region called the Burren. The cliffs are pretty awe inspiring to see, though due to state of the weather we didn't venture beyond the enclosed area as the ground was very slippery and there is no barricades to stop you plummeting over the edge should you venture too close. My only complaint was the cost of the parking, but after paying a 5 Euro note blew in front of on the walk back to the car (talk about luck of the Irish). The Burren area looked like a moonscape, just a vast area of hills and mountain covered in boulders, very pretty place to drive through.

Wednesday, was pack up day and a nice cruisy drive back into Dublin for a final pub dinner and pint before the flights to Germany the next day. Feel like I have missed so much of the Ireland trip in this blog so you'll all just have to wait for the photos when we return. The one clear thing in my head is the rain, lots and lots of it.

Damien

Ethan kissing the Blarney Stone

Ashlen at Charles Fort protecting the harbor from pirates

The Swans an the ugly ducklings in Galway

Just like home

Posted this one for you Mum - Cliffs of Mohr plus Fluffy Bumblebee