Hello!

We are heading home today...a mix of sadness to see such a great experience end, but happy to get back to our family and friends, and normal eating and drinking habits, lol!

We are in the Dublin airport waiting to board, so I am updating the blog with the events of yesterday.

We spend the morning walking around Dublin, shopping and of of course eating.  We walked the mile and a half to the Guinness Factory Store.  It was a bit wet, but we were glad to get a few steps in.

The Guinness experience was amazing. We could take our time and walk through the displays, movies and learn about the beginnings of Guinness and the factory today.  A few fun facts - there are 30 million bubbles in a pint of Guinness, the Guinness factory is on year 250ish of a 9,000-year lease and Olivia Guinness (Arthur Guinness's wife) gave birth to 21 children. Unfortunately, they only had 11 children live beyond childbirth, but what a saint!

After the tour, we went to the Guinness Academy and learned how to properly pour a pint of Guinness.  Sean was a natural!  We have certificates to show our accomplishments!  We went to the 7th floor of the factory with houses the Gravity Bar.  You have 360 degrees of Dublin and it was a beautiful day.  We got a table by the window (I had to cut a Swedish woman off at the knees to do it), but enjoyed the view and a pint or 2.

Our final Guinness experience was dinner in their restaurant on the 5th floor.  I had the short ribs in Guinness sauce and Sean had the Guinness Irish stew.  It was delicious and a great meal to cap off our vacation!

We walked back, stopped for a drink and listened to more live Irish music and toasted to a great adventure.

A few pics from the day:

We hope you enjoyed the adventure and we love you all!

Sean and Lori

We are now in Dublin!  We took the train from Cork to Dublin and it was awesome.  The train took about 2.5 hours and we stopped in a few small towns which was a great way to see some of the Irish countryside.  It was a sunny day so the ride was beautiful!

Our Dublin hotel is the Temple Bar Hotel and is right in the heart of Dublin which is a perfect way to spend the last 2 nights.  Last night we walked through the streets and ate steak and ale pie and Irish stew.  We stopped along the way to hear some amazing Irish musicians.  They played a mix of old Irish tunes and a few to make the US folks feel at home!  It is quite busy here with a fun mix of different nationalities - US, UK, Netherlands, Spain, and more.

Today is a trip to Sean's mothership, The Guinness Factory.  We tour the factory, become "certified" in how to pour a Guinness and will have drinks at the Gravity Bar which overlooks the city.  We also have reservations at the restaurant at the factory, so it is a full day...Sean is so excited that he could hardly sleep, lol!

We cant believe that we are at the end of the trip - we leave tomorrow (Sat 10/1) but have had an amazing time.

One more update to the blog tomorrow...but today we Guinness! 

A few pics from yesterday:

                                                 

Love you all!  Sean and Lori

We had a great drive from Tralee to Cork today.    It rained off and on but by the time we got to Monkstown Golf Club in Cork County where we played, it was cool but sunny!  It was a parkland-style course - which means lots of trees and narrow fairways. It was so green and well-manicured - it was beautiful! Completely different from St Andrew\s and we checked another box - playing golf in Ireland!  We had a great time.

We had a nice dinner in Cork and the city center was quite busy for a Wednesday! One of the bartenders said that he has seen quite a jump in US visitors in the past couple of weeks.  Again, such friendly people and always interested in our trip.

Tomorrow we board the train from Cork to Dublin.  A 2 1/2 hour train ride through County Cork sounds so great!  We look forward to it.

A few pics of the drive, golf, and Cork.  We love you and miss you all!  Sean and Lori

 

 Hello!

Today we learned what real rain is all about!  It was rainy and windy most of the day.  We were prepared for this and after mid-day naps :) we decided to go into Tralee and see what we could find.  The town was quiet, but still lots of local people doing what they do at this time of year, shopping, banking, and visiting pubs!  We found a great restaurant for dinner in the bar at the Grand Hotel.  I had sea bass and Sean had the Irish roast.  Our meal was served on a bed of mashed potatoes...with a side of mashed potatoes, lol!

The scenery is so amazing and we can see why the plants and flowers are all so beautiful - they love the wet days! A couple of pics from the grounds at our B&B. Also a few pics of Tralee.

Tomorrow off to golf and a night in Cork!

We love you all!

Sean and Lori

 

Last night was our final night in Galway and we went out to a great local pub called Tonnery's.  Sean now has a new BFF! The picture below is Sean...and Sean!  Lovely people and so interested in how our trip is going.  Always telling a story, many of them singing or sharing a bit of Irish history to keep us entertained.

Today was a drive from Galway to Dingle Peninsula.  It was a 3-hour trip but beautiful scenery.  Sean has been so great about driving and he seems to have the hang of driving on the left side of the road with the car's steering wheel on the right!  I have mastered the skill of telling him how to drive...so nothing new for me really, lol!  We had a great unexpected adventure when we were following the GPS and she said "turn left and board the ferry"!  We drove the car onto the ferry and took a 20-minute ride across the bay!  We even saw a dolphin that you may be able to make out in the pic below.

Dingle is in the southwestern part of Ireland.  It is a seaside village that looks like a postcard.  The beautiful streets and shops are adorable!  We tested the seafood chowder and as expected, it is delicious.  We went to Dingle Crystal (one of my bucket list stops) and dropped a few euros there!  Very cool story of the crystal! We walked around and admired the town and then left for Tralee which is about 45 minutes from Dingle.

We are staying in a bed and breakfast in Tralee.  It is right out of Downton Abbey!  Very elegant and proper.  The picture below is the breakfast room.  It is out in the Irish countryside with pastures, glens, and as our host said, "40 shades of green". Stunning and peaceful!

A few of the highlights:

                              

        

We love you!  Sean and Lori

It was a long day yesterday from Edinburgh to Heathrow, then Heathrow to Shannon in Ireland, and a drive to Galway.  We got into the hotel and went down to the city center of Galway.  It was a Saturday night and lots of people and pubs!  We found an amazing restaurant and had the best seafood chowder we have ever had!

The first day in Ireland was worth it!  We drove through several small towns on a route called the Wild Atlantic Way. Coffee and a scone in Kinvarra, through Ballyvaghan, Doolin, and then to one of Sean's bucket list stops, The Cliffs of Mohr.  It was even more spectacular than we had imagined!  Miles of cliffs that rise hundreds of feet straight up from the Atlantic ocean.  It was a pretty clear day so we could see the Aron Islands which is rare to see in this climate. The ocean stretched as far as we could see.  We spent a couple of hours hiking along the top of the cliffs and taking in the scenery.  We stopped and had lunch at a quaint "surfing" seaside restaurant.  Another spectacular day with the weather cooling but mostly dry!

Tonight, dinner in Galway again before we head south toward Dingle Peninsula tomorrow!

                                           

We hope you are enjoying the ride!

We love you!  Sean and Lori