Ireland, Day 3

And another amazing day in Ireland ends. It is going by so quickly! Today we spent a ton of time in the car, but we also saw a lot of amazing things. We ate breakfast at our B&B & then hit the road. We drove from Dingle to Kenmare. The route we took is called the Ring of Kerry, & it took us all along the coast of Kerry County. It took longer than it would have normally, but was definitely worth it. Our first stop was Dunbeg Promontory Fort. It was built in 500 B.C. & was really cool. Even better, we had a great view of some cliffs from the Fort.

After spending some time at the Fort, we hit the road. We stopped off multiple times when we got to somewhere that had a good view & took lots of pictures. Ireland is so beautiful! At one of our stops, we made friends with a dog (see below...). He was adorable! We stopped in a small town & grabbed some lunch, & the headed toward Staugie Fort. On our way down a super narrow road (see below... it's not a one way road either) we nearly ran over a group of baby lambs. They were so cute! They ran from us though. Once again... They are pictured below. Anyways, we wandered around the Fort for a bit (which by the way, they believe was built in 1000 B.C., but aren't positive...) we finally headed to our destination... Sallyport House. That is where we are spending the night tonight. It is a nice place. It only has five rooms. It is so strange staying at these super small places. Normally you can basically be anonymous at a hotel. After we checked in, we went to the main street in Kenmare & ate at an Italian restaurant.

Well tomorrow we are headed to Kinsale, which is in Cork County. Not too sure what is on the agenda, but I will keep you posted. The weather today was super windy/rainy. We have been lucky thus far & have pretty good weather. Anyways... Bye!

Ireland, Day 2

We are in Dingle, Ireland & it is beautiful, just like the rest of the country. I love this place! Me & Ang saw a house for sale that was adorable & tried to talk our parents in to moving here... I don't think it worked. Anyways, we ate breakfast at our hotel this morning & then hit the road. We first went to Corofin, Ireland to an O'Dea Castle. It was built in 1480 and then restored in the 1980's. It was also the site of an archaeological dig, so Ang really wanted to see it. It was really cool. We were able to walk through the entire castle & even go up on the roof. Afterward, we went & saw Dysert O'Dea an old monastery near the castle. The archway at the monastery was carved in the 12th century, which is pretty amazing.

After leaving the castle, we then headed to Min Aird Castle. On the way we stopped in Adare, grabbed lunch, & wandered around for a bit. We made it to the castle & it was gorgeous. It was right on the beach with all these massive sandstones. The castle was built in the 1600s & then was damaged in during an attack by Cromwell's army in 1650. We climbed all over the rocks, went down to the beach... It was great. After the castle, we headed to our hotel in Dingle. We are staying at Greenmount House & it is super nice. It is right by the water & our rooms are huge. They both have a terrace & a great view of the ocean. After arriving at our hotel, we checked in, & then headed to the tourist part of Dingle. We walked around & wandered through some shops. Then we ate dinner at Murphy's Pub. It was pretty good. We even got to listen to an Irish band called the Shenanigans. It was actually quite entertaining.

Well tomorrow we are off to Kenmare. This has been such an amazing trip. Driving around the coast is great because we get to see so much. I love this place! Ang wants to look into grad school here because she loves it as well. It is so green & everyone is so nice. Plus they have amazing accents! There are cows & sheep everywhere, too. They are so adorable. Anyways, that's all for now. So far we have good luck with the internet... Hopefully that will continue. Bye!

Ireland, Day 1: Pictures

Well I got some pictures to load this morning... Here they are!

Ireland, Day 1

We are in Ireland! I can’t believe we are actually here… It is amazing! So beautiful & green… We left our hotel this morning at about 7am & took a cab to the London airport. We checked in, ate some breakfast, & the boarded our Aer Lingus flight to Shannon. It was quick & comfortable & before we knew it we were in Ireland. We got off the plane & went through passport control… Which means… Another stamp in my passport! Hooray! I was pretty excited. After that we got our rental car (which is a Renault) & hit the road. It is a manual car & not only do you drive on the left side of the road, but the roads are really narrow. Needless to say we’ve had a couple of mishaps…

After we left the airport we drove straight to the Cliffs of Moher. It was so windy! I have never been in wind like that. It was pretty funny. Anyways, my dad didn’t want to walk up to the cliffs because of the wind so he waited in the car. He definitely missed out though because the cliffs were amazing! When I think of Ireland I think of cliffs, so it definitely felt like we were Ireland then. After the cliffs, we got back in the car & headed to our hotel. We are staying at the Bunratty Castle Hotel. Basically it is just a hotel next to a castle, but the hotel is really nice & the castle is pretty adorable. So we checked into our rooms (which by the way all have adorable old-fashioned doorbells…) & then we went walking around the local shops & went to the castle. Afterward we ate dinner at the Creamery Bar. It was pretty good & the waiter had an adorable accent. Me & Ang decided that accents tend to make people cuter…

Well we are back in our rooms now. We are thinking we’ll call it a night because everyone is way tired. Also my feet are bugging me. I have gotten two blisters on the same foot & before I left home I smashed one of my big toes while I was helping Adam garden. Anyways, tomorrow we are going to try & hit the road pretty early. Every night in Ireland we will stay at a different hotel, so we will travel every day. That way we get to see as much as possible during our trip.

So far Ireland is amazing! This trip is going by so quickly. Me & Ang meet up with UVU in less than a week! Crazy! Anyways, that is it for today. We have some internet at this hotel so hopefully we will have it at the rest of them... Farewell!

PS> I headed down to the lobby to get a better internet connection to no avail. So no pictures today! Sorry!

London, Day 3

Well our final day in London is over. It has gone by so fast! Today we got up really early & took a train to Kingston Over Thames, London in order to visit Kingston University. It was really great to see it. Maybe me or Ang or both of us will attend school there in the future. Who knows? After walking around the town for a while (& saw some funny signs...) we took the train back to London & then visited the National Gallery Museum. Then we walked to the Lyceum Theatre & saw the Lion King. It was a lot of fun. It made me really want to watch the cartoon because it has been forever!

After the play we went & ate dinner at a little Italian restaurant. It was pretty good. I got gnocchi. Yum. We wandered around a couple of shops & then went to Hyde Park. We walked around the park for quite a while & saw the Kensington Palace & the Princess Diana Fountain Memorial. We caught a taxi back to the hotel & called it quits for the day. We all worked on organizing our luggage for the morning & then me & Ang walked to Ben & Jerry's to get some ice cream.

Well it is nearly eleven & time for bed! We have to leave the hotel early in the morning in order to make it to the airport for our flight. We will arrive in Shannon, Ireland around eleven & grab a rental car. Then we hit the road! London has been amazing & I will be sad to leave. But it's on to the next adventure! I'm not sure how much internet we will have over the next week, but I will blog if I can. Farewell for now!