This nugget is most certainly in my very near future, too!

Day #1 complete. :)

Yep. I’m way too immature to ignore this gem of a storefront. :)

Trinity College was beautiful. We saw the Book of Kells, which Eion told was was simply a way for the Celtic monks to show off.

The Long Room was used as inspiration for Hogwarts as well as the Jedi Archives. Trinity College considered legal action for the latter.

The oldest harp in Ireland.

We noticed that several pubs had gorgeous floral displays. This is just one with an added bonus of a side shot of Eion and Matt.

Dublin’s own, Phillip Lynott was a founding member of Thin Lizzy. As many rockstars of that period, he died of a heroin overdose. His mother died just a few days ago.

We learned about the huge Viking presence in Ireland and saw a handful of relics from those days. This small walkway depicted an outline of a typical Nordic home.

Ireland is largely Catholic and Protestant. At one point, Catholic Churches we’re permitted; however, they could not be built on a major road. (I took several pics of churches but I won’t lie - I can’t remember which was which. Eek!)

This is the back of St. Patrick’s.

Random sites...

Our tour concluded with a visit to this statue of James Joyce, one of Ireland’s most famous residents.

Steps walked today: 19,298 (updates)

It was a wee bit windy up there today. :)

Next stop - the Hill of Tara. \240

This is believed to be an ancient burial/ceremonial ground and reminded Matt and me of the Serpent Mound in Ohio (which I’ve never seen in person, by the way...)

And then there’s this...

And this...

And lots and lots of green.

And cows.

And more green.

Signs in Irish and English are so cool.

The best part of today, though, was catching up with Hannah who happens to be in town with Pink so we got to have dinner together. The only thing missing was Moo! \240❤️

Total steps walked today: 12,309.

We met a sweet furry friend, too.

The next stop was a specially prepared picnic lunch complete with lovely flowers and faux champagne. The park Fergus chose was better than anything we could have imagined. As \240Matt said, “this is the best picnic I’ve ever had”. Same.

After our delicious lunch, Fergus picked us back up for our next adventure. We stopped by the bridge made famous in the John Wayne movie, The Quiet Man.

Neither Matt nor I have seen the movie but Fergus assured us that our older relatives probably had. :)

Connemara is known for its abundance of sheep. While they’re adorable from afar, those creepy little eyes of theirs keep me from wanting to get too close. Eek!

The scenery was exactly they way I expected Ireland to look. The rolling hills, the GREEN, the stone fences.

During this portion of the trip, Matt and I busted out our most serious poses.

We checked out the bogs, which look and feel a lot like peat moss. Walking across them feels like gelatinous mud. If that’s a thing...

The final stop was Kylemore Abbey. It was most recently a boarding school for girls and finally closed in 2010. In 2016, the University of Norte Dame teamed with the Abbey (to the tune of $30 million). It will fund a learning center for select students of the university. Go Irish, indeed!

The gardens were a true work of art. It felt like a nursery rhyme that came to life.

We met these two piggies today, too. Damn, they’re huge. And grunty. And toothy. And kinda awesome.

We ended the day having dinner at a teeny but charming and tasty restaurant named Kai.

http://kaicaferestaurant.com/

We’ve crawled in bed, finally, but even at 10pm, it’s still light out. Thank god for dark curtains!

Tomorrow, we’ll take time to explore Galway.

Total steps walked today:: 7,676

We passed JFK Park and the flags of the tribes of Galway. The Kennedy family still has a strong impact on this country.

When I was a kid, my mom often referred to Fibber Magee - as in, don’t be one. I guess I always though she just made that up... Until today!

Little did I know that Ireland also has Buckeye trees! That makes me love it here even more!

Swans... So. Many. Swans.

The gorgeous landscape certainly speaks volumes all on its own.

The best part of rainy sunny days is definitely the rainbows. 🌈

We capped off the night at Hooked for some tradiotal fish and chips. Perfectly light, fluffy and crispy. ❤️

Until tomorrow...

Total steps walked today: 14,618

Next up was a visit to McCambridges for a whisky tasting. Matt and I don’t drink anymore but it just seemed awfully impolite not to take a few sips, so I took one for the team.

I’m pretty sure I left with burned off eyebrows and a healthy patch of hair on my chest!

We stopped at Griffin’s Bakery for some tasty treats while Sheena told us a tale of one of their most popular breads that involved the owner, a nasty attack by an eel and a promise to “destroy” that eel every single day by way of a long loaf of bread.. True? Maybe. Entertaining? Absolutely.

http://griffinsbakery.com/

Moving on...

Chocolate? Yes, please! Next on the tour was Hazel Mountain Chocolate. We sampled hot chocolate, that was just pure chocolate melted down with hot water, lavender and caramel-infused delights.

https://www.hazelmountainchocolate.com/

From chocolate to tea! Our next stop was Cupan Tae. The shop was a dainty and flowery and perfectly Mary Poppins-like.

https://www.cupantae.eu/

Our final stop on the tour was a restaurant inside of a movie theater, where we were treated to a yummy pork belly delicacy.

https://www.merrow.ie/

Sheena was a charming host and guide!

The rest of the day was spent strolling through town and taking in more of the sights. The weather was mostly sunny and wonderfully cool.

We ended our day with a lovely dinner at Ard Bia. It’s small, homey and casual. Perfect!

http://www.ardbia.com/

Total steps taken today: 10,682

Our next stop was a beautiful perfumery called The Burren

https://burrenperfumery.com/

Their scents are inspired by the local landscape. The shop is absolutely adorable to boot.

We were greeted by this cutie patootie.

All of the perfumes smelled so lovely that I couldn’t settle on just one so I purchased a small sampler.

The gardens and flowers around the shop were so pretty!

With chocolate in our stomachs and light floral scents filling the car, we moved on to our next stop, a sheepdog herding demonstration!

https://caherconnell.com/sheepdog/

This was so much fun! We watched three Irish sheepdogs (Lee, Lynn and Rose) herd sheep in various formations based on whistles and/or voice commands.

Once the demonstration was over, we got to “meet” the dogs. Yay!

As we traveled to our next stop, we happened across a trip of donkeys grazing on some treats. How cute are they??

We also stopped and took pics of more gorgeous flowers.

And by “we”, I mean me.

Next up was Burren National Park. It showcased a barren, rocky, “moonscape” terrain.

https://www.burrennationalpark.ie/

Our last excursion was a hike around the Cliffs of Moher. Pictures simply can’t capture their magnificence! (But I tried!)

After a ride on the “ferry to Kerry”, we soon arrived at our hotel. It’s been a long and incredible day today!

Our view for the visit.

Total steps taken: 11,702

Our hotel.

Total steps walked: 2,622

Next was a barrage of green wonderment.

We arrived into the town of Dingle and weren’t disappointed with its charm and beauty.

The 12-year old in me had a field day. :)

We drove to a beehive hut, whose exact construction date is unknown.

Moving onward, we visited our second beach of the day. As expected, we caught some major wind.

We passed Dead Man Island, which does look like a man on his back.

The next stop was a filming location for Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

That wind... \240:)

We stopped by a pottery shop with a cafe inside. The pottery was gorgeous, the tea was hot and the scone was tasty. Perfect stop.

https://louismulcahy.com/

Some additional sights on our drive...

We drove down Conor Pass, which is a tight, single-lane road that goes down the mountain. Traffic does go in both directions which calls for creative pulling over. It was certainly cringe-worthy and the rain didn’t help. Thankfully, our driver was a pro.

Once we safely made it down the mountainside and onto wider roads, we took a quick tour of the Blennerville Windmill.

http://www.blennerville-windmill.ie/

All along the route were color flowers that stood out brightly against the cloudy sky.

For dinner last night, Matt and I chose Mac’s. We both had cottage pie which was the best comfort food.

http://www.macsofmainstreet.com/

Total steps walked today: 8,701

Another view of our hotel...

I LOVE these colorful row houses/businesses. They feel so distinctly European to me.

We capped off the day with another visit to Murphy’s for some Irish soda bread ice cream (for me) and Irish soda bread AND Kieran cookies ice cream for Matt. Yummmmmmm

Total steps walked: 9,302

While we waited for our room to be ready, we had a quick lunch and took a short look around the grounds.

Our room is fabulous and has a bathroom that id definitely want in our own house!

At 3pm, we met Caroline and her Harris’s hawk, Ophelia, for an hour of falconry. This was certainly a highlight of the trip!

We walked through a bit of a meadow while Ophelia flew to each of our gloves. (Little niblets of raw meat helped!) She is beautiful and just 4 years old. They can live to approximately 25 years old.

Caroline took us to the aviary where a saw several hawks, falcons and owls. We got to hold and pet this sweet little owl, Pickles.

After resting for a bit and getting cleaned up, we had dinner in the Earl of Thomond restaurant at the hotel. We opted for an 8-course tasting.

The silverware placement alone was pretty impressive.

I took a picture of each course but got a little too excited a couple of times and got the shots after a bite (or two) had been taken.

The final course was supposed to be petit fours but instead, Matt was serenaded and brought a cake!

We spend the rest of the evening walking downtown paths and through gardens. Sunset doesn’t happen until about 10pm, so while it was well after 9pm, it was still pretty light out.

We came across a group of stray cats who had zero interest in any interaction with us.

These pictures were all taken between 10:00 and 10:45pm.

Today was such a great day.

Total steps taken: 8,618

The weather was sunny, warm and fabulous so we had lunch outside at The Fig, located at the golf clubhouse.

Because I can never get enough of the flora and fauna, I had to get even more pictures!

My mom always had hanging baskets of fuchsias in the summer. They’re everywhere here.

It’s really rough to have a view of your castle’s shadow from your bedroom...

We capped off the day with a pony and trap tour of the grounds with our guide, Sean, and his trusty steed, (well, pony), \240Popeye.

Sean told stories about the estate ranging from t \240he original owners to a portion of the castle built specifically for a visit from Queen Anne (who never showed up, by the way) to time-traveling portals, druids and structures lining up in the exact formation of the Pythagorean Theory.

One tree, in particular, was brought to our attention - the yew tree. (Minus the ivy.) Sean explained that one bite of it would kill the ponies. He went on to say that a breast cancer chemo drug, Taxol, is derived from its bark and extracted from its needles.

I had Taxol as part of my treatment for breast cancer. It reduced the size of my tumors to nearly nonexistent. For that, I’m incredibly grateful. I’ve also had a host of other health-related issues due to Taxol. Love/hate relationship at its best.

The sky at 10:30pm looked as if it was on fire. Indescribably beautiful.

Total steps walked: 6,904