WE'RE OFF TO IRELAND......AGAIN

Tuesday we left for Ireland.....again!  The first time I ever boarded the ferry in Cairnryan to head to Ireland I seriously thought it would be the only time I would ever do it.  Now, for the third year in a row we have boarded a ferry headed to Ireland. Only this time we are sailing in to Belfast and heading down the coast to spend two days in Dublin before headed to the south coast to tour the Wild Atlantic Way. 

Instead of the usual ferry, P&O which sails to Larne, we have to take the Stena Line to sail into Belfast.  Still it's a very nice and fast ship, two hours, into Belfast and before you know it we are driving down to Dublin.

A first class view from "first class" as we sail away from Scotland.

A crowded ship but we are able to exit quickly.

It's two hours to Dublin and Gordon takes the first hour shift driving through and out of Belfast.  I was glad he was driving from there.  Little did I know that the drive in to Dublin would be 10 times harder and it was on me.  We got to Belfast at 4ish pm but with rush hour traffic....it took an hour to arrive at The Shelbourne at St. Stephen's Green.  It's a Marriott Renaissance Hotel which is so lovely and the scene of the 1916 Easter Rising. 

First thing on tap (literally) after checking in is a drink.  After an hour of Dublin rush hour traffic and millions of one-way streets and listening to the Scotsman trying to tell me what to do I think I (we) deserve it!

Wonderful that they serve vodka's other than Smirnoff too!

Bad shot but the exterior of The Shelbourne

We shower and change outta our driving clothes and head to a cute concierge recommended restaurant just steps from our hotel.  But first, we need Euro's.....

Gordon at the cash machine!

This is Hugo's and we HIGHLY recommend it.

We are trying to stick to fish and vegetables while we travel and tonight was no exception.  The food and service at Hugo's was exceptional.  A bottle of wine later and we are off for an evening stroll past The Shelbourne.....

to Grafton Street and a recommended pub!  Grafton Street is a fun, trendy area filled with pubs, restaurants and nice boutique shops. 

We kinda overslept the next morning due to blackout curtains so we got a late start on our only full day in Dublin but we took the Hop on Hop off bus to get the lay-of-the-land and then hopped off at the River Liffey to walk over the Ha'Penny Bridge to the Temple Bar area of Dublin.  The hip-happenin' spot.  Only it wasn't evening, it was 11am and not quite so hip-happenin'. It's the old original town built on the River and quite an area to see.

Up and down the River Liffey.

Temple Bar Area with cobbled streets.

There it is, The Temple Bar built in 1656.  It's kinda old!

After our stroll through the Temple Bar area we hightailed it over to Trinity College so we could see the Book of Kells , which we did though you are not allowed to take any photos.  The book dates to 800 AD and is so intricately drawn by scribes from a Monastery in Ireland.  It's a book though and it lays in a glass box which is surrounded by dozens of people.  So it's a little hard to get a great look at it for any length of time!  But we did.  It's Ireland's greatest treasure.

Next we went to see the Long Room at Trinity College.  The Library which houses 200,000 of the Library's oldest books is about 75 yards long!  It's fascinating and beautiful.

Each "cubby of books" is two stories and comes with two ladders, one on each side, that slide along the rows of books.

We had a quick lunch and then hopped a cab to St. Patrick's Cathedral.  Beautiful but underwhelming.  Sorry Paddy!  Gordon and I have seen a LOT of cathedrals and, have to say, if you've seen cathedrals in Italy and Spain, well, Ireland left a lot to be desired.  Still happy to say we've been there.

Don't know who this couple is and I was kinda waiting for them to move on but....

Partial interior of St.Patrick's

It was a long walk back to the The Shelbourne but on the way we passed through St. Stephen's Green, a fabulous park across from our hotel also historical for the 1916 Easter Uprising.

It was a long day and our feet and legs were tired so after a nap and baths we investigated the local area for a seafood restaurant and came up with Matt the Thresher.  It has wonderful reviews and was only a few blocks further than the restaurant we ate in the evening before.

Matt the Thresher!  Such a funny name but what an excellent restaurant. Awesome service and delicious oysters!

Some other notable diners of Matt the Thresher!  Who knew?

Before we left for Kenmare this morning I took several pictures of the Hotels interior entry.  There are lots of crystal chandeliers and ornate moldings.  Very beautiful.

Check out the hydrangeas!

The 27 Bar.

The drive to Kenmare will take 4 hours but we knew at the halfway mark we'd take advantage of seeing the Rock of Cashel.  Legend has it that St. Patrick went to the Devil's Bit, a mountain north of Cashel to banish the devil himself from Ireland.  After confronting two black adders and a sly devil, St. Patrick drove the devil from his cave dwelling but as the devil flew away he bit off the top of the mountain and dropped it 20 miles south in Cashel.  That limestone mountain is called the Rock of Cashel and is home to a Round Tower dating from 1100;  Cormac's Chapel also from the 1100's; a Cathedral from 1235 and a Choral built in the 15th Century.  The Rock affords a wonderful view across the "golden vale", a verdant valley facing west.

Our "wow" view from the car as we came around a corner

The Cathedral

The Round Tower and Cemetery

A far off ruin in the Vale

The Chapel is currently being dried out and restored.  There are paintings covering the  walls that are barely visible and they will be completely restored.

You can see the old paint colors and carvings.  It's a lovely little chapel.

The backside of the Cathedral and Round Tower.

The "Rock" is vanishing into the clouds and fog.  The ice cream is just vanishing!

 Quick fortification for the next two hours....my driving shift and, of course, it starts to rain! 

We arrive in Kenmare and check in to our cute accommodation, O'Donnabhain's. 

 We had a very late pub lunch/early dinner of fresh sea salmon and Gordon had bangers and mash which looked yummy.

Then we toured the little town of Kenmare.  It's rainy out and we are tired tonight from a long day.  Tomorrow we tackle the Beara Pennisula!

Who says?  Mr. Guinness?

It's a quiet night for us tonight.  Goodnight from the very south of Ireland.