Category: Travel

The next day, I took a ferry across the River Shannon to County Clare to see the Cliffs of Moher, which was a must see for me. The cliffs are one of the most popular tourist sites in Ireland so be prepared for tons of people if you are going during peak season (which I did not). My friend got engaged there, which I think is really romantic (it makes for a great story). It was a gloomy day when I went, but the views were still amazing. Pictures do not do the place justice. I did hike both sides of the trail in order to get different views of the cliffs. O’Brien’s Tower is on one side, which was built by Sir Cornelius O’Brien in 1835. From there you can look out and see the Aran Islands. The Cliffs of Moher have also been in some famous films. It is the perfect place to hide a horcrux (for the Harry potter fans), and it was featured in the Princess Bride (one of my favorite movies). The Cliffs of Moher are a spectacular site, and I highly recommend visiting… You will some time there just to take it all in…

The area that the cliffs are in is called the Burren region, made up of karst landscape (short version: made up of the dissolution of rock and there are underground drainage systems). The area is part of a national park. We stopped to look at some of the amazing rock formations that look like they came out of Game of Thrones. It feels like you are in another world when you visit this part of Ireland…so beautiful!

Since I went out of season it was pretty chilly, so it was nice to stop at an Irish pub, McGann’s, and have some hearty Irish stew. I sat near a fireplace, and also enjoyed an Irish coffee, which was delicious. I recommend not eating at the cliffs, but try a local pub instead.

After that, it was straight to Galway. Galway Cathedral was the first stop on the walking tour of the charming city. It was built over the old jail in the 1960s since the Irish crime rate drastically dropped after the British left. This was the youngest cathedral on the whole tour, so I loved the bright colors; very different compared to the medieval churches we previously visited. First time I saw pink used in a church…I highly approve.

After walking across the River Corrib, we stopped at an older church, St. Nicholas, which was founded in 1320. I really like that they sectioned off a part of the church for Orthodox followers to use, even though it is part of the Church of Ireland. Nice to see that different perspectives can coexist in the same space.

Near the church, I stumbled upon a great market with many things like local art and jewelry, so check out it out when you are in Galway. Lynch’s castle is also worth a look, which is another medieval house built in the Irish Gothic style, and the term “lynching” comes from the family lore. Legend has it that in 1493, Mayor James Lynch Fitzstephen hung his own son from the window for killing a Spanish visitor. Another place with an interesting story is the King’s Head, a 17^th century pub, named after the man that executed King Charles I.  Since no one wanted the job, and when a man was finally found, he received the property as a payment for his services.

Later that evening, I went back to town to check out the live music at Taaffes. Did you know Guinness tastes better in Ireland? I learned this important fact during this trip. Also, the high point of the evening was hearing Galway Girl in Galway. Side note, I love the pub culture in Ireland…how everyone knows the lyrics to the songs…the singing and dancing…It was the perfect way to end an amazing day! Galway is such a great city!

The next day it was off to the countryside see sheepdog trials, a demonstration to show how a border collie herds sheep at the direction of the shepherd. He uses a whistle and different verbal commands, and the collie herds the sheep in response to them. I also learned the origin of the term “black sheep.” Since their wool was useless, black sheep were kept apart from the other sheep so they would not breed. Both the Irish and Scottish tours had sheepdog trials since it’s a popular thing to see, but I enjoyed the Irish farm more since it was much quainter (maybe because he owned his farm versus being a tenant). It was a much nicer farm in Ireland.

I enjoyed the stop in Donegal since I love castles, and couldn’t resist visiting the one there. You can take a self guided tour of the interior and exterior. Donegal Castle was repaired in the 1990s after being abandoned for a couple of centuries. The castle was the in the O’Donnell clan before that; one of the wings was done in the Jacobite style as expansions were made. I had lunch across the street from the castle at a pub that looked like a castle…I’m sure you can sense a theme here. Afterwards, I got treated to Irish coffee again at the Irish House Shop where I got to see a demonstration on the loom. You can buy handmade items there. The place sells beautiful capes and Irish jewelry.

It was was my lucky day since I was plied with Irish coffee, and still no rain on my Irish tour (this would drastically change in Scotland). Thank you for reading, and you can be notified on new posts by liking the Wayfaring Gals Facebook page, and/or following Wayfaring Gal on Instagram. As always, comments and feedback are appreciated!

The next morning the tour left Dublin to go to the countryside of Wicklow, specifically to Glendalough, in order to see the ruins of St. Kevin’s monastery. Kevin left his wealth to seek a life devoted to God, and lived as a hermit before founding the monastery.  Many disciples were drawn to him since he was able to live in the wild, away from the material world. This was a period in history before Rome absorbed the monasteries…they were independent Irish churches. The ruins give us a glimpse of this world.

The area is beautiful, and it’s amazing to see such old structures still standing. The Round Tower can be seen from the distance and is surrounded by a cemetery. There are still ruins from the Cathedral, the Priest’s House, and St. Kevin’s Church that you can go through. You can take a hike to the lake and look at the enjoy the landscape. Ireland has some amazing monastic sites so I enjoyed being able to spend some time at one.

A sad part of Irish history are the famine ships, since so many Irish died on the journey to the “New World.” During 1845 to 1852, a million Irish died from disease and famine, while a million emigrated to escape horrible conditions. Our guide’s perspective was that there was enough food in Ireland, but it was not distributed to those that needed it, so the poor farmers were starved out by landowners. The famine completely changed Ireland, and became a rally for independence from the British.

The town of New Ross has a replica of the 19^th century Dunbrody famine ship. Conditions on the ships were so atrocious that many died on the journey. The ships were nicknamed “coffin ships.” The museum takes you through this period in Irish history, and has actors reenacting characters on the ship. The actors explained the different conditions a first class and third class passenger experienced…Lets just say you’d never want to have to endure a month long journey as a third class passenger. Another interesting tidbit about the town is that there is also a statue of John F. Kennedy in front of the museum, since the ancestral home of the Kennedy family is near New Ross.

After New Ross, we visited Waterford, which is the oldest city in Ireland. I’m not a fan of Waterford Crystal so I didn’t need to see the glass blowing demonstration…I have seen it demonstrated in Venice. Some people on the tour were fans and enjoyed seeing it, and the showroom. We did take a nice walking tour through the town with a local guide. The street art in the town was really good!

Viking raiders first established a settlement in Waterford in 853, and periodically fought with the native Irish for control. One of the most notable features of the city is from the when the Vikings were there, Reginald’s Tower. There is also a replica of a Viking ship to commemorate the town’s history. On the walking tour, we also saw the oldest church in Ireland.

The next day we stopped in Cobh, which is a beautiful small town on the coast of Cork. The town used to be called Queenstown, but was changed when the republic was formed. I love the colored buildings with St. Colman’s Cathedral rising in the background. This town was the final port for the Titanic, and we had a walking tour that talked about the town’s links to the famous ship. I’m not a fan of the movie, and I don’t know why this tour focused so much on the Titanic’s history. In Belfast, we even went to the Titanic Museum.

Many Irish left for the US from the port in Cobh so there is a statue of Annie Moore, the first emigrant to be admitted at Ellis Island. The emigration history of the town was much more interesting than the Titanic stopping there. I would have preferred a walking tour focused more on the history of the town, but our next destination more  than made up for the disappointing tour in Cobh…

The next place, Blarney Castle was the best part of the tour so far! The castle is beautiful! It is a ruin that you can go through, and explore the different nooks and crannies.  I even got to kiss the stone, which is scary since you have to lean back over a ledge while a man is holding you…Since I went during off season it wasn’t a crazy wait; I heard it takes a couple hours during the summer. Whoever kisses the stone receives receives the gift of eloquence, which I believe we can all use. The word “Blarney” means flattering or being able to sweet talk someone. Hopefully, I can put this new gift to great use…

The sun came out that day and it was lovely outside. A heat wave the Irish called it, since it reached 60 degrees. The castle’s origins go back to the 13^th century, specifically to 1446. There is a mansion built by the castle, Blarney House, where the current owners live, and I believe is open to the public. I was too busy exploring the castle grounds and taking advantage of the great weather to go to the mansion.

The gardens of the castle are beautiful, extensive, and worth walking through. There is a poison garden, with poisonous plants along with a couple waterfalls, and rock formations. The map they give you comes in handy since you have to decide what you really want to see. If you go on your own you have more time, and can spend the day there. You need time to explore the beautiful grounds since there are different paths you can hike or take a stroll through.

Blarney has a store called the woolen Mills where you can pick up souvenirs, and a good cafe you can eat lunch. The sandwiches were really good! Afterwards, we headed to the amazing town of Killarney, which I’ll leave for my next post. It gives you something to look forward to. You can like my  page Facebook page for post updates, and follow me on Instagram as well (I’m Wayfaringgal). Thanks for reading!

I decided to take a tour of Ireland and Scotland with CIE Tours after a lot of research. I found that with many tours you pay all this money upfront, and most of your food and excursions aren’t included, which is very annoying. CIE is known for having all excursions, and two meals a day (for the most part) as a package deal. I also had to coordinate all this with another friend’s schedule, so we ended up taking two separate tours during off season (April), which had its good points and bad points…I still had an amazing time and don’t regret going. But to warm you, it can get pretty cold, so bring your winter gear. It also rains frequently so be prepared for that (waterproof jacket and shoes, along with a hat are musts). On the plus side, we saved around a thousand dollars, and avoided crowds. If you are into photography like me, you will appreciate not having other people in your pictures, which would not have been possible during the summer. There are were times when I visited certain castles, and I was the only person in a room…loved having old places like that to myself…

The two tours we took were Irish Adventure and Scottish Dream. They are both eight day tours, and we knew we would not be able to see everything since both countries have so many amazing places to see and experience. So keep that in mind when you are booking your trip: you can easily spend two weeks in each country. The Irish tour had allot of flaws, but we knew that going in since the dates worked with connecting with Sottish Dream. The Scottish tour was amazing as you will see if you keep reading my posts…

We started the tour in Dublin, and came a few hours before it began.  I didn’t like the hotel since it wasn’t at the center of the city…it was a pretty long walk from most places we wanted to go. We were tired, and just cabbed it after a while since we only had one day in Dublin.  I recommend you come or stay an extra day if possible. We decided to go to Phoenix Park since it wasn’t on the itinerary of the city tour we’d be taking later. We walked around the park, and saw the Wellington Monument (the large obelisk you can’t miss), which commemorated the hero of the Napoleonic wars. The park has gardens and even deer roaming it, and you can rent a bike if you want to take a ride through it. Since I went during the spring, there were beautiful flowers and plants to take in…I love giant parks in big cities; they provide a great escape.

After the park, we decided to visit Dublin Castle, which fortunately for us, is free on Wednesdays. This was our first castle on this trip, so we were excited. The castle can trace its origins to the 13^th century when it was just a fort. All that changed after 1922…Since Ireland is a republic, the castle is used for the inauguration of Irish presidents and state dinners. It used to be utilized by the representative of the monarch of Britain, or the Lord Lieutenant.

We roamed around looking at the beautiful rooms, like the Drawing Room, St. Patrick’s Hall and the Throne Room. There are volumes of government journals on display that are massive…moving those around would be a great workout. I also loved seeing the portraits of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, especially after watching the show based on her reign. After walking the grounds of the castle, we spotted Christ Church Cathedral, which is also known for having the oldest crypts in the city. It’s a beautiful medieval church and older than St. Patrick’s. You do have to pay to go in so we passed since we didn’t have much time to make it worth the price admission.

After walking through the Temple Bar district to avoid the evening craziness, we met up with our tour group. Our group was pretty small; only fourteen people, which was really nice. Therefore, we had a smaller bus, which was also nice since it was new and you could charge your phone. Our tour guide was also our driver. He was pretty strange. He didn’t seem to enjoy his job and didn’t talk much. The local guide was great though…every single local guide was great. They were all really engaged and energetic about what they were talking about. Our guide  did redeem himself to me by taking us to some extra places, which I’ll explain later…

Mary, our local guide, took us to Oscar Wilde’s statue and showed us where he lived in Merrion Square. Wilde left Ireland after serving his sentence (he was imprisoned for “gross indecency” and never returned home. He died in Paris. We also got to do a quick stop at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, founded in 1191. Handel practiced the Messiah there. That’s I love about visiting Europe and Asia; you have these ancient temples, cathedrals, castles…it’s incredible!

The best part of the tour was visiting Trinity College to see the Long Room and the Book of Kells, which has been there since 1660. The college was founded by Queen Elizabeth I for Protestant men; now women and Catholics can attend…progress…  The Long Room looks the library from Beauty and the Beast…it is one of the most beautiful spaces I have been in! If you love books and history, this is the place for you. Every book published in Ireland is housed there, consequently, the roof had to be raised to add more space. There are marble busts on display of notable figures like Sir Isaac Newton. You can take a look at some first edition books by Jonathan Swift, a notable Irish author.

The book of Kells, which comes from the Abbey of Kells, is on display at the college and is a site to behold. You are looking at something created in the 9^th century by monks…it is amazing! The book contains the four gospels and uses illustrations of people, animals, mythical beasts, and Celtic symbols to translate the Word. Many people could not read or write so illustrations helped translate the teachings in the Bible. Only two gospels were on display when I visited. I am also happy to say it was not terribly crowded so I could stare at the pages for a while…

After the tour, we went back to the hotel for a welcome drink then we were on our own again. It was strange to not have dinner included, and we honestly could have stayed by the college since we would have been closer to the place we got dinner. Dinner at Umi, a Middle Eastern restaurant, was good and reasonably priced. You’re probably wondering why I did not go to a pub, but my friend is a vegetarian, and would have to suffer through pasta as her dinner option, so it offered some good options. Plus I love any kind of ethnic food I can try. Lastly, I know we did a lot on our first day, but I’m glad we had time to explore before the tour since we were off the next day…Our tour also ended in Dublin since we did a circle around the country, so most people stayed an extra day in the city.  I would recommend at least a couple days there to explore.

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