Ireland: June 15, 2011

This day was one of my favorites! Since learning we would be coming to Ireland, we both looked up different tourist attractions and found one we both liked and hoped we would visit. It was the Cliffs of Moher. I thought it would be chilly, so I bought a hat thing, and a scarf. Well we could talk all about it, but pictures would say so much more than we ever could. So enjoy!

Cliffs of Moher

Zach took really good pictures of the cliffs 

After the cliffs, we crossed the Shannon river on a ferry and headed to the Flying Boat Museum at Foynes. Foynes was the refueling spot for Pan Am's flying boat, the Yankee Clipper. It was also the birthplace of Irish coffee. Which was so yummy!

My hat and scarf

Our luxurious bus

We are so in love <3

Flying the plane ;)

He looks good sitting at the radio

Cheers!

Ireland: June 14, 2011

Drumcliff Church and Graveyard

The next morning, we left our lovely B & B and headed to the Drumcliff churchyard  where W.B. Yeats is buried. On his tombstone you read, "Cast a cold eye / on life, on death / Horseman, pass by!" He was an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. We also visited the gift shop and bought a lambswool blanket, which was pricey, but well worth it since it was cold!  

W.B. Yeats Tombstone

Inside of Drumcliff Church, it reads, "Holy Holy Holy
Lord God Almighty / Do this in
rememberance of me"

I love cool doors :)

I didn't realize how much we did this day. After reading the itinerary and recapping what we did, I just got tired thinking about it! We traveled on to Knock and then Cong, which is the setting of the movie "The Quiet Man" in 1951. We also toured Cong Abbey which was founded in the 12th century. 

Cong Abbey

Ruins of the abbey...and us :)

More ruins

 We then drove to Galway and had dinner at the Rathbaun Farm. Again, so beautiful and peaceful in the middle of nowhere. We watched as the farmer captured a lamb and sheered it. The poor thing! The baby lambs were hungry and we were able to feed the lambs. They drank the milk so fast, and toward the end, the lamb that finished first came over to the bottle I was holding and tried to drink it too! We then had dinner after the show and ate corned beef and cabbage. It was so good and I must have been starving because I ate it all. Including some of Zach's!

Rathbaun Farm

Awww, we're so cute!

We stayed at a hotel in Galway. It was very nice and we had a very interesting time. Apparently the electricity in Ireland isn't as high or good then here in the United States. I used my hair dryer and blew out a socket, I guess. Well I had to tell the front desk. It took about 30 minutes to get it up and running. I felt so terrible, but I would have expected a nice hotel to be able to support my hair dryer!!! 

Ireland: June 13, 2011

Kells

I just liked the blue door

The next day we got up early, ate breakfast, and then jumped on the bus. We were on our way to the town of Kells. It was beautiful with so much history. Us newlyweds had a wonderful time walking up and down the streets and visiting little shops: there was no one in the world but us :) Before we left Kells, we stopped in a candy shop to buy some sweet stuff for our sweet tooth! The lady behind the counter was so sweet and asked us questions. When we told her we had just gotten married, she gave us two gummy strawberry hearts. It was sweet of her and it was so good! 


We left and headed to Belleek in Northern Ireland. They are most famous for the fine china. We were able to take a tour and see how the pottery was made. It was spectacular! The pottery goes through so much and the finished product is beautiful. We ended up getting some vases for our mothers and I got a small jewelry case. 

All these flowers are handmade 

A beautiful finished product

Goes through so many steps to look beautiful and shinny 

Our B & B in Ballyshannon

It had already been a long day by the time we got to our bed and breakfast in Ballyshannon. We stayed in the country away from the town. It was beautiful and green. There was a river that ran through the land. Our hostess was amazing. She cooked the best dinner and breakfast! Our room was beautiful too. We just loved the country. It was quiet, and we were able to walk around after dinner and enjoy the scenery. 

The landscape was breathtaking 

Our beautiful room

I enjoyed every minute!

Ireland: June 12, 2011

The Irish Flag

I wish we would have taken pictures from the sky as we came into Ireland but alas, we did not. Going through customs was quick and easy. We were on holiday, as they say in Ireland. It was chilly and overcast, but we found our way to our bus to get to our hotel. The time difference was about 6 hours and we were exhausted when we got there! The only room available for us newlyweds was a room with a single and double bed, which was fine with us!

The artwork was beautiful

After our rest, we had lunch with our group we would be traveling with. There was a grand total of 16 of us delightful people, and our guide told us there's normally about 40 people! We had lunch and then took our first tour around Dublin. St. Patrick's Cathedral was our first destination and it was just beautiful. There was so much history and interesting facts that we don't remember. But Zach did take lovely pictures. 

We then visited Trinity College which held the Book of Kells. We could not take pictures of the Book, but it was a spectacular thing to see. The care and artwork they put into the Book was beautiful. 

Our tour guide. She was amazing, she
knew so much

The inside of St. Patrick's

A Celtic Cross

Our Trip to Ireland: June 11-20, 2011

Our first travel adventure together was going to Ireland on our honeymoon! It was such an amazing trip, and we traveled the coastline of Ireland and even spent a day in Northern Ireland. 
The time difference almost killed us but the place was so beautiful, we couldn't help but be enamored with the old architecture and lovely landscapes. The Irish people were wonderfully nice and they just loved telling us their stories, which we gladly listen to. 

Being inexperienced, we didn't write down all the places where we stayed. But we will in our future travels!