Trips of a Lifetime: Ireland Part I

I have been fortunate to have taken two ‘trips of a lifetime’ so far in my life. I have many more planned but I’ve been able to make two happen. Those both have greatly influenced my yarn colors. I’d like to share a brief summary of each one (in separate posts); I’ll go into more detail about each one when I highlight certain colors.

First up – Ireland!

My husband and I took a week long trip to Ireland in October of 2013. We started and ended in Dublin, making a loop in the Republic of Ireland. We chose to save Northern Ireland for another trip. We rented a car and drove the entire trip (on the left side of the road!), staying at bed and breakfasts along the way. Here are a few highlights from the trip:

Day 1: Sadly we didn’t do much on this day as we were recovering from jet lag.

Day 2: We left Dublin and headed to County Tipperary to see the Rock of Cashel, which has buildings dating back to the 12th century. This was the seat of Irish kings. There is a really rich history surrounding the Rock of Cashel and the buildings on the property.

Day 3: We saw the famous Blarney Castle. If you wish to kiss the famous Stone to receive the ‘gift of the gab’ you must climb very narrow stairs up to the top of the castle. It is said that if you kiss the Stone you will never be at a loss for words again! While my husband and I did not kiss the Blarney Stone, the views from the top of the castle walls were spectacular!

We left the Blarney Castle and drove on to Killarney, in County Kerry. County Kerry is the largest county in all of the Republic of Ireland and we easily could have spent days there. Sadly we were unable to though. In Killarney we went to the Muckross House in the Killarney National Park. We had to take a ‘jaunting car ride’ (a horse and buggy/carriage ride) despite the rain!

Day 4: We drove north along the coastline to the Cliffs of Moher. We had great weather and could see the Cliffs stretch out for miles. This day was also our anniversary. It was amazing to spend in Ireland with my husband! I could go on for a long time about this day but I’ll just leave that for some future posts with yarn colors that this day inspired. We had an awesome finish to the day with a gorgeous sunset.

There is so much more in all of the small details of our trip but I can’t share them all with you or this blog post would become a book! Check back soon for part 2 of my Ireland trip, with more photos.