Just returned yesterday from our first trip to Ireland, and we had the luck o' the Irish the entire stay!  Can you believe, we were there for 7 days in February, and it did not rain on us ONCE??
We found the people to be charming, and the country as beautiful as everyone says. 

I took almost 1000 pictures  during our stay and we made the most of our time there, without trying to push ourselves too much.
My husband managed to catch on quickly to the driving, while I was blown away by the gorgeous, hedgerowed countryside.  (How can it be this green in February??)

We started out from Dublin Airport to the Lough Bishop House, a B&B in County Westmeath.   We stayed 2 nights on this working farm, and enjoyed visiting with Helen (a transplant from England), and her husband, Christopher.  The bed was very comfortable, the shower wonderful, and the breakfast very ample and tasty.  We found we had alot in common with our hosts, and I'm afraid we kept Helen up much too late on our last night there, because we were having such a great time telling stories.   This was definitely the PERFECT way to be introduced to the country! 

While staying at the Lough Bishop house, the first afternoon we traveled to Fore village to see Fore Abbey, which Helen recommended, and was NOT on our "list of must-sees".  It was awe-inspiring to see these structures and ruins, much off the beaten path, but well-worth an afternoon's visit.  Just the thought of seeing with your own eyes something that is medieval makes one realize how very young our country really is!  I couldn't stop taking pictures.  (a bit obsessed by the history of my surroundings, I'd say)

On day two, we traveled a short distance to the town of Trim and walked the castle grounds there, while enjoying the fog off the river Boyne to make our experience that much more authentically Irish    We walked through a few of the small shops and met an elderly shopkeeper who volunteered us an overwhelming abundance of Irish history and pride.  He entertained us with his vision of Ireland, and made us feel very welcome in his little town. 

We went on through Tullamore (just a drive-through.......didn't see anything we needed to stop for), then stopped at Durrow because I saw an old church and cemetery I wanted to snap pictures of.  What a delight it was to find a gentleman there who was working on the geneology of the churchyard cemetery "inhabitants".  He talked to us at length about his work, and all the sights he had seen in the United States, while visiting there.  We had a good laugh because he has been in more of the states than we!  He directed us just up the road to the Durrow High Cross site.  It was closed for refurbishment, so we just glimpsed through the wrought iron gate there. 

On to Mullingar, just for a drive-around, then to a tiny village called Multyfarnham to enjoy a wonderful meal in a charming bar/restaurant called Weirs.  We were early, so got the table right in front of the fire.  Our meals were excellent and the prices were very reasonable.

On day three, we sadly told our hosts at Lough Bishop House goodbye, and headed down to Cork City.  We stopped at Birr to stroll around the castle grounds and enjoy their hospitality. 

After a leisurely drive down from Birr, we managed to find our B&B (Gabriel House) in Cork City easily, and found it was a 5 minute stroll from the city center, so went down to find a bite to eat.  We were a little travel-weary, and went back to our B&B to enjoy some much needed rest. 

From our Cork City "hub" we travelled the first day to the 3 K's, Kilarney, Kenmare, and Kinsale.  We found Kilarney to be a fun town to shop for souveniers, discovering all the side streets and vendors. We steered clear of the Muckross house and Ross castle, in order to take in a couple more towns.

In Kenmare we had a wonderful meal at The Horseshoe Pub, after traveling the rocky, mountainous roads down from Kilarney......an absolutely beautiful trip! (of course, stopped in several spots to shoot pictures).  I found this to be a "Fairy Tale" village full of color and charm.

We got into Kinsale later that afternoon, and walked around, after stopping by some church ruins, and an old cemetery enroute.  Another beautiful drive through craggy country, dodging sheep a few times who had broken through their fences.   (You don't see this in Illinois!)  We had a good meal at a pub called Muddy Maher's in Kinsale and just stayed for awhile to watch and listen to the locals.  A friendly place, with great food.   Then back to Cork to our B&B for a good night's sleep.

We spent the next morning in Cork City, amazed at all the shoppers, and totally enchanted by the English Market there.  We had a wonderful lunch at the Farmgate Cafe', overlooking the market, and found it a spectacular place to watch the people there.  After picking up a boxed cake in the market at Heavenly Cakes, we went back to our room to devour it.  (Indeed it WAS Heavenly!)
 
We then drove down to Cobh, and I'd have to say this was my favorite little town (if you forced me to choose).  The history, the color, the beautiful coastline, and the cathedral on the hill were all I needed to make me say, "I don't want to go home!"  We spent the afternoon here, and my husband had to drag me back to the car so we could take in the sights of Youghal before we left the area the next day.  Another lovely coastal town.  After a couple of hours, we grabbed a bite to eat at The Quay's Bar.  The meal was wonderful, and surroundings warm and inviting.

Out from Cork the next day...............to be continued. 

-- Edited by USA_Michele at 17:03, 2008-02-22