We just got back from ten days in Ireland...and thank you again for all of the help I received on the board!!

Kilkenny - We stayed at LawcusFarms Guesthouse...and what a treat that was. It was so beautiful and peaceful, and only a few minutes out of town. I think that this was the most beautiful and hospitable place we stayed for our trip. We loved Kells Priory, and walked all over Kilkenny looking at Abbeys and we took a tour of Kilkenny Castle. A suggestion was made by our hosts to check out the old Mill that was behind Kells Priory...we took a ton of pictures and walked all over, it was a great experience.

Killarney - The drive to Killarney was great...we took our own path and made it in a half a day. We stayed at Friars Glen and what a beautiful place...right in the Killarney National Park. We received tea on arrival and Bridgette gave us great ideas and advice on things to do. We drove over to Muckross House and walked to Torc Waterfall. That night we had met a local at the 98 in town and ended up over at Courtneys to listen to some great music and have a few pints. The next morning (after an AMAZING breakfast) we walked to Muckross Abbey. We were going to do a tour of the farms in that area but decided to drive to Kenmare instead. That was an amazing drive...by far the best scenery we had experienced yet.

Galway - the drive to Galway was a hard one...I didnt want to leave Killarney just yet...it took us a good portion of the day to get there, even with the ferry, and we got lost trying to find the B&B - but once we found it, we were in heaven! We stayed at St Martins, and let me tell you - what a gem! Mary was so wonderful, by far my favorite host yet, and so funny. She had me smiling from the minute I walked in the door. We spent a lot of time exploring Galway, ended up in some pubs listening to traditional music and meeting great people. We even managed to catch the Muenster rugby match, that was great fun. Our last day in Galway we drove to Doolin (Eek, that was an insane drive...but very fun). We got stuck behind a tour bus and missed our tour to Inis Orr by ten minutes, but after a quick talk with the tour director, we had booked the cruise under the cliffs.

This was an amazing experience for me...I was in awe the whole time...I think my mouth was actually hanging open for most of the boat ride! If anyone has a chance to do this...please please do it, you will NOT regret it.

After the cruise we drove up to the top of the cliffs...this was a little harder for me because of the wind..I am very afraid of heights and I felt like if I made the wrong move the wind would pick me up and throw me over! So we took a few pictures and made our way back down to the car quickly.

Dublin - Our first day in Dublin was a wet and rainy one...the only rain or bad weather we had experienced yet. We stayed at Abberley House. I have to say, although the place is very nice, I felt that the location was very misleading. Luckily we had been pretty good with money up to that point, because we ended up taking cabs into city center and just walking all over town from there.  Our cab driver also had NO idea where the place was, even with directions, andw we ended up driving all over Dublin for an hour trying to find the place.  Luckily he only charged us for about half of what it would have been.  

Despite this small disappointment, I really liked Dublin. We saw some amazing things, including the Book of Kells and that gorgeous library upstairs (the Long Room)at Trinity College. We also went to the Chester Beatty (name escapes me now if that isnt correct) Museum, Temple Bar, Guinness Storehouse, Jameson Distillery, and much much more.

All in all, we had an amazing trip, one I will never ever forget. Thank you all for your advice and information, you helped this trip go off without a hitch. Thanks to all who read this, I know it was quite long.

Now, time to start planning my next trip to Ireland! :)

-- Edited by Loelle at 14:56, 2008-06-03