This was our last full day from my Irish adventure. Breakfast at the Castlenock Hotel was wonderful as usual, and made us ready to head out even if the weather did not look promising at all.
Today we were planning to take the ferry to the Ireland’s Eye Island, to observe the sea birds. Well this in the end turned out to be unsuccessful since the ferry seems to operate only in the busy days, so it is best to check with them if they run the day you want to visit
We walked for about one hour on the east peer of the Howth Harbour, and after that had a short walk on the cliff path trail.

Slowly it started to rain, so we returned to the car with the thought of visiting Newgrange megalithic tomb, another place in my “1001 historic places to see before I die”.
After a lot of trouble we took to find the right road leading to Newgrange due to some construction, the personnel at Newgrange sent us somewhere else for the tickets, meaning some few km out of our way. We gave up the idea and just headed back to Dublin on a heavy rain. Quite disappointing to be there and not be able to visit, unless you took a bus from another place.
No visit in Dublin without some shopping and dinner in the Temple Bar area.
We bought again quite a few books and were amazed at the size of the stores. Dinner was at Quays Bar Restaurant, a very nice and lively restaurant/pub.
Along with more rain, we went back to the hotel to take care of our luggage and get ready for our flight back home the following day.
In the end…I believe I am starting to fall in love with the ever green Ireland.

Today we are heading back to Dublin, to complete our trip with a few more stops here and there around the capital of Ireland.
We decided to spend the night to the Ring Farmouse B&B, which was built on the place of a former castle. An aerial view shows it being in the middle of a circle, quite neat. The host was nice and friendly, and the place looked wonderful with all the family photos on the walls, making you feel like at home.

The first stop of the day was the Birr Demesne Castle. The weather was quite dark, so I was doubting at first that it would be a good visit. It turned out to be a very charming castle with a lot of interesting things to see. The castle itself is private, but the gardens, Ireland’s historic science center and the World’s Famous Great Telescope are open to visits…

While we were there some sort of event was taking place, and all these wonderful epoque cars started pulling in one by one.

The Camcor river passing through the gardens gave the place a mystic look.

We made a very short stop in Roscrea to see the castle and some of the heritage. No over stops until we reached Dublin.
Of course had to do a bit of shopping, and mostly we had to buy an extra suitcase for all the books Cosmin bought. Ok I admit it, I bought quite a few as well.
After two more visits in the bookstores we checked in at the hotel, and had dinner at the Vineyard Restaurant in Blanchardstown. If you want to spend your time in a nice intimate but yet lively restaurant with great service, but medium prices, do not bypass this wonderful Bar & Restaurant.

You can find this place at: The Vineyard, Main Street, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15; phone: 01 821 3109

Today we will start to return slowly to Dublin, of course with a few stops on the way.

The Ashbrook Lodge turned out to be nice, even if we had to share the bathroom with my friend Gerry. The host was nice and she talked so fast that I had a tough time understanding her.

On the way we stopped at the Turoe Stone, but there was little to see since for its protection the stone is in a closed shed with 2 little windows. The pet farm also located there seems a fun place to take your children.

Another place marked from the “1001 historic places to see before you die” is Clonmacnoise. It holds some of the High Celtic crosses, temples and a cathedral. A very interesting view of the Round Tower with the river Shannon in the background.

After a stop at the Mongam Bog where I could see the turf harvesting machine doing its job and a small bog train, we choose to visit the Portumna Castle.

This stop is one of the nicest we had in this trip. Surprisingly there were not many tourists, considering the beauty of the place. The garden looked perfectly restored to its past glory, while the Kitchen Garden impresses with its plant variety and vegetables.

The castle is still ongoing restoration but panels show you the impressive steps taken to bring it to its present form. My recommendation…if you are in the area, please take the time to visit this wonderful place.

Our stop for the day was Birr where we checked in at “The Ring” B&B, built on the site of a former castle.

We had a very nice dinner at a Chinese restaurant, in downtown…

Tomorrow…Dublin awaits.

Another late morning start. The irish breakfast was wonderful as usual, but our host seemed quite confused: my friend received another name, and more surprising is that she did not know what was the capital of Romania. And even if she was offered the opportunity to visit Romania for a wedding, she decided on Portugal instead.
We had a walk through downtown Galway and enjoyed some interesting, or better said amazing futuristic art work. In about 10-15 minutes we saw a masterpiece being created with graffiti sprays and few pieces of old paper. You can see the result here…as I said…amazing…

Also here, after the usual entry in a bookstore, I managed to buy two heavy books, which are helping me prepare for a life of adventures: “1001 historic places to see before I die” and “1001 nature wonders to see before I die”.
This day initially was planned as a light one, but we managed to make it quite busy. First we decided to go to the Twain Island, near Oranmore, but after a lot of wrong turns we left towards Athenry. Here we visited the Priory, the Castle and the Cathedral.
By this time I noticed that Ireland has very poor and confusing road signs.
We then headed to Poulnabrone megalithic tomb, but of course with other stops on the way. The Dunguire and Newton Castles filled our historic view of Ireland and its heritage.

At Poulnabrone I was shocked and outraged to see some tourists climb up on it for some photos, regardless of the signs saying not to. We roamed around a bit more through the Burren until we decided we were hungry enough.

We had dinner at Logues Lodge in Ballyvaughn, which I can definitely say it is a charming place with good food and value.
After the wonderful dinner, we watched the sunset going down over the land and the old church in Ballyvaughn.

A long day ahead of us. After a wonderful breakfast, we said our goodbyes to our host and headed to the Doolin peer.
The boat ride to Inisheer, the smallest of the Aran Islands, was smooth and when we arrived to the island we were surprised at the beauty of the place. It was exotic: white sandy beaches, clear blue water, the stone walls separating the fields, the Plassey Wreck, a lighthouse… all made up for the magic of the place.

After walking around for about 3 hours, we had to return to the peer, where some irish representation was taking place.
Our Jack B ferry, was delayed , giving me the chance to admire the Galway Hookers, which were docking in at the small peer.

For an extra 5 euro, the ferry gave us a 20 minutes ride under the Cliffs of Moher, but despite the wonderful landscape in the end I don’t think it was such a good idea.

Got all wet from the waves, and the boat was shaking quite a bit, so I got sea sick, and did not manage to take good photos, due to the number of tourists pushing everyone for that one PS photo.
I was glad when we reached land again.

Our next stop on the list was the Burren, and on the way, we made a stop to see the Cathedral and High cross in Kilfenora.

In the Burren we spent about 4 hours walking until sunset and after drove to Gort for dinner. Chinese food this time.

Our accommodation and the final destination for the day was Ashbrook Lodge in Oranmore.

This morning we decided to be a bit more lazy than the other days, and it gave me the chance to work a bit on the at least 500 photos that I took the previous day.

Today we are heading from Tralee through Listowell and crossing with the ferry at Tarbert, over the river Shannon, to finally reach Cliffs of Moher.

On the way to the Cliffs, we made a short stop in Listowell, a charming little town, with very colored buildings. Took a few photographs of the cathedral and decided to see what was for sale in the local open market in downtown. We left from there with strawberries, which did not last that long.

Not after long we reached the big river Shannon at Tarbert where we crossed with the ferry.

The Cliffs looked just as I remembered, with the only difference that this time I could see the birds nesting. Thousands and thousands of birds, making a loud noise…it was an amazing view.

After walking for a few hours on the edge of the cliffs, we went to Doolin peer to see if our ferry booking for next day has been processed, and since it was too early for dinner, we drove to Lisdoonvarna in the search of an open restaurant.

We had a quite meal, while watching the Romania-Italy soccer game on TV. It was a tie, but Romania won more point to get to the semi final…not that I know anything about soccer.

Our accommodation was at the Bay View Farmhouse, and indeed as the name said it, the room had a view over the bay and Aran Islands.

The host was very helpful and as my friend Gerry said, the most charming we met the entire trip.

Dingle Peninsula with its astonishing landscapes is among my favorite, so this morning we head towards it.

A stop at the Inch strand is a must.

After waiting for about 2 hours in the Dingle harbour, we boarded on the Eco Tour boat of the Blasket Islands. Enjoyed a 3 hour tour around the Islands, with stops to see Fengi the dolphin, gray seals, gannets, puffins and even a shark. The most impressive in the tour is the Cathedral towers.

The boat went with a pretty good speed, enough to leave a serious trail of waves behind and splashing salty water all over its passengers.

Last stop at the Dunquin beach, watching the surfers.

Leaving our interesting accommodation in Shanagarry (The White Lodge), we decided to have a short stop in the small charming harbor of Ballycotton, and then continue our trip towards Cork and finally Killarney.

In Ballycotton, a few fishermen were trying to catch some fish, while the seagulls were having a morning rest on the small boats.

After getting back on the main road towards Cork, 2 more essential stops: Barryscourt Castle and the Fota Island Wildlife Park. This Wildlife Park is quite impressive due to the fact, the animals are roaming freely next to the people, and you can see them in real time, with no fences in between. It is amazing and definitely you should visit. You won’t regret it.

After arriving in Killarney, Ross Castle was on our list, and Torc Waterfall brought some freshness to the unusual warm day. To complete the day as it deserves we took a boat ride on the Muckross and Upper Lakes, enjoying the wonderful view over the mountains.

Another short stop was made to explore some of the plants growing in Killarney National Park.

The city of Killarney is still as lively as I remember it from last August, the shops being open even at 10 pm. Dinner was at Cronin’s restaurant (9 College St. Tel: 31521, Killarney), a great cozy restaurant, with wonderful food and service.

We checked in at the Wayside House B&B, which turned out to be quite nice and cheap, and close to just about everything.

The exploration of Ireland coast continued with Lady Island Lake and an incursion into Ireland’s History, by visiting the Irish Heritage National Park, which turned out to be quite a great place.

Some photos:

Another stop was at Hook Lighthouse, the oldest still functioning lighthouse in the world. The surroundings are quite amazing, and the landscape is beautiful.

Crossing the ferry at Ballyhack turned out to be quite a fast thing, and in no time we were exploring Dunmore East, passed the Metal Man Tower, and continued our scenic drive towards Dungarvan. To complete the day we stopped in Youghal for dinner, and retreated to a small B&B (White Lodge) in Ballycotton.

Our coastal adventure begins, with the exploration of Wexford’s Wildfowl Reserve. A wonderful place with sand dunes, fine sand beach, warm water, a lot of shells to collect, and a place where we managed to get…SUN BURNED…Yes sun burned in Ireland…I would have never thought it would be possible.

No visit to Wexford without trying their strawberries, which can be easily bought from the side of the road.

For those interested in the marine life, a great place to observe a few things is Rosslare and its long sandy beaches, when the tide goes out…We managed to enjoy the sight of big crabs, star fishes, the funny razor shells, some shrimps, big fishes feeding close to the stones ….

And since close to the beach is the golf course,…we got a few golf balls, as souvenirs, which landed on the beach.

The day ended at Rosslare Harbor, with dinner in a local pub in Kilrane, where we also had our accommodation in a very nice B&B, the Clover Inn.