Of course, this trip would not have happened if it weren't for Jake. So thank you honey for all of your hard work to make this trip possible. And thanks to ADP for putting us up in a 5 star hotel called The Shelbourne. Apparently John F. Kennedy stayed here when he visited Dublin.
So let's go day by day:
Day 1 & 2 (8/16 & 8/17)...Due to bad weather in Chicago, they delayed our flight so that made us miss our connection to Dublin. So we had to take another flight all the way to Frankfurt, Germany then on to Dublin. So 24 hours later, we arrived in Dublin....without our luggage. They lost it. So not only did we miss a full day in Dublin, we didn't have any fresh clothes either. Argh! Day one, not so good. So instead of arriving in Dublin Monday at 8:30am, we got there Monday 7pm. So we made the best of it and walked around the Temple Bar area and went to our first pub for dinner, "Quay's Bar". I didn't care for the Clam Chowder but Jake loved his lamb and mash.
Day 3...Tour of Dublin CityOur good friends the Watts were able to fly out to Dublin as well so we met them at the Dublin Castle and off we went to explore. Here's Jake and I at St. Patrick's Cathedral built in the year 1192. Wow, it's hard to imagine that this country is 1000 years old.
We went to the Guinness factory to see how the stuff is made. They gave free samples and of course we did not partake. But it was fun to see how it was made.
We got hungry and went to lunch at the oldest pub in Ireland, "The Brazen Head". It was built in 1198.
Here we are in front of the River Liffey.
In front of the famous "Temple Bar". It was a fun day with the Watts. We're so glad they could make it out.
Day 4...I slept in til noon (jet lag) and when I woke up I went down to Grafton Street and did some shopping. Jake got up that day at the crack of dawn and went golfing with Tim and Brandy. It was an ADP event so it was paid for by them. It was a good thing because to play a round of golf there, it was $300. 
Later that evening we went with Tim and Brandy up to a little town called Howth (pronounced hoat) for dinner and to walk around the pier. We had to take the DART to get there.
Is this not gorgeous. When we got to Howth, it was pouring rain but by the time dinner was over, the rain had stopped and produced this beautiful rainbow. There was this cute little lighthouse right on the water to make the perfect picture.
Day 5...Jake and I went on another ADP excursion and went on a bus tour down south to Wicklow County (part of the movie Braveheart was filmed there). They had this super old cemetery there. On one of the gravestones it said that someone had died in 1750. I still can't get over how old that is.
The scenery was gorgeous.
The scenery was gorgeous.
This used to be the oldest church back in it's time in the 1500's.
Then we went to the Powerscourt Mansion that was built in the 1500's. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing this place was. It was SOOO green and the grounds were so neat and clean. I can't remember how big this place is but I do remember that about half of the town back then was made up of the people who took care of the grounds. Beautiful.
Later that night we went to the goodbye dinner for ADP. It was pretty fun. They had bagpiper's playing and they had irish dancers came in and did a traditional dance. Jake's time went by really fast and I was so sad to see him go. But I was looking forward to having my mama join me in Dublin.
Day 6...My mom got in at 8:30 that morning so Jake and I took her to breakfast and a local joint on Grafton Street. Then Jake left us on our own and went home. So mom and I checked in at our first hotel, The Maldron Smithfield. We then went off to explore Dublin a bit more. Here's mama in front of the Liffey that flows right through the city's center.
We wondered around Grafton Street for a while, walked through Europe's biggest square, St. Stephen's Green," and listened to all the talent on the streets.
This guy was my favorite. I'm pretty sure he was American. He was singing oldies from the U.S. and he had the best jazzy, soulful voice...amazing. He's definitely making the cut on the Ireland video I'm making!
That night we went to the Gaiety Theatre off of Grafton Street and saw "Riverdance". Now this is the best of the best riverdance. These kids were the second generation of the original cast. I can't get over the fiddler, tap dancers, Irish dancers and the singing. Beautiful and I'll never forget it. Really good time...I seriously couldn't keep my mouth closed because my jaw was constantly on the floor. The talent on that stage was amazing. Thanks for buying the tickets mama. I had a blast.
Day 7...The Cliffs of Moher Rail Tour.
Have you ever wondered where the saying, "The walls have ears" came from? Well back in that century the soldiers/guards were on the second floor while the king had his parties on the first floor. So the guards would listen to all of the guests through a hole in the wall to be sure that the king wasn't being talked about negatively. If he was, the guard would run downstairs to inform him. Look at the pic and you can see on the right hand side right above the picture the hole that was cut out in the wall so the guards could hear. Hence, the walls have ears.
The staircases were SO narrow and always went up counter-clockwise. They were that way because when the enemy would intrude on the castle they would come up the stairs with their swords in their right hand (not many lefties back then) and because of the narrow staircase, their sword would continually hit into the wall on the way up making it hard to come upstairs. But it was easy for the defenders coming down.
When daughters were born into a family, they were given a big chest when they got married (usually 13-14 yrs of age) but those chests took about 14 years to make so when a daughter was born, the chest began to be made. Isn't it gorgeous?
Then we drove to the Cliffs of Moher (pronounced MOE-her). Absolutely the most breathtaking thing I saw on this trip. The pictures don't do justice of course but here they are anyway. They stand at 700 feet and drop straight to the ocean. It was kinda scary at first...very overwhelming but once that ended, I really enjoyed myself. Very windy!!!
O'Brians Tower at the top.
At the top of one of the cliffs, sheep were just hanging out. I guess there's a fence over there!
This sign was everywhere. I told you it was dangerous. I guess this is where people go to, you know, end their pain. Our bus driver was telling us stories...very sad.
Then we were off to the Burren. Appearantly this place was underwater a million years ago and then became a glacier. When said glacier melted the rocks rolled down to create a very interesting landscape.
Day 8...Exploring Dublin. We went to Trinity College built in 1592.
Later that night we went to the goodbye dinner for ADP. It was pretty fun. They had bagpiper's playing and they had irish dancers came in and did a traditional dance. Jake's time went by really fast and I was so sad to see him go. But I was looking forward to having my mama join me in Dublin.
Day 6...My mom got in at 8:30 that morning so Jake and I took her to breakfast and a local joint on Grafton Street. Then Jake left us on our own and went home. So mom and I checked in at our first hotel, The Maldron Smithfield. We then went off to explore Dublin a bit more. Here's mama in front of the Liffey that flows right through the city's center.
We wondered around Grafton Street for a while, walked through Europe's biggest square, St. Stephen's Green," and listened to all the talent on the streets.
This guy was my favorite. I'm pretty sure he was American. He was singing oldies from the U.S. and he had the best jazzy, soulful voice...amazing. He's definitely making the cut on the Ireland video I'm making!
That night we went to the Gaiety Theatre off of Grafton Street and saw "Riverdance". Now this is the best of the best riverdance. These kids were the second generation of the original cast. I can't get over the fiddler, tap dancers, Irish dancers and the singing. Beautiful and I'll never forget it. Really good time...I seriously couldn't keep my mouth closed because my jaw was constantly on the floor. The talent on that stage was amazing. Thanks for buying the tickets mama. I had a blast.
Day 7...The Cliffs of Moher Rail Tour.Oh my goodness, what an amazing day this was. We decided to explore other cities in Ireland and take the train to the other side of the country. We went to the city Limerick to see the Bunratty Castle built in 1425. Can you believe it? It was the first castle we had ever been in and it was amazing. Different royalties lived here but later the castle was abandoned because the family didn't want to live in such a big place anymore. Then a short while later the roof caved in and was later restored in the 1900's and was furnished with different artifacts from the 15th and 16th centuries. Very interesting.
Have you ever wondered where the saying, "The walls have ears" came from? Well back in that century the soldiers/guards were on the second floor while the king had his parties on the first floor. So the guards would listen to all of the guests through a hole in the wall to be sure that the king wasn't being talked about negatively. If he was, the guard would run downstairs to inform him. Look at the pic and you can see on the right hand side right above the picture the hole that was cut out in the wall so the guards could hear. Hence, the walls have ears.
The staircases were SO narrow and always went up counter-clockwise. They were that way because when the enemy would intrude on the castle they would come up the stairs with their swords in their right hand (not many lefties back then) and because of the narrow staircase, their sword would continually hit into the wall on the way up making it hard to come upstairs. But it was easy for the defenders coming down.
When daughters were born into a family, they were given a big chest when they got married (usually 13-14 yrs of age) but those chests took about 14 years to make so when a daughter was born, the chest began to be made. Isn't it gorgeous?
Then we drove to the Cliffs of Moher (pronounced MOE-her). Absolutely the most breathtaking thing I saw on this trip. The pictures don't do justice of course but here they are anyway. They stand at 700 feet and drop straight to the ocean. It was kinda scary at first...very overwhelming but once that ended, I really enjoyed myself. Very windy!!!
O'Brians Tower at the top.
At the top of one of the cliffs, sheep were just hanging out. I guess there's a fence over there!
This sign was everywhere. I told you it was dangerous. I guess this is where people go to, you know, end their pain. Our bus driver was telling us stories...very sad.
Then we were off to the Burren. Appearantly this place was underwater a million years ago and then became a glacier. When said glacier melted the rocks rolled down to create a very interesting landscape.
Day 8...Exploring Dublin. We went to Trinity College built in 1592.
We saw a lot of different colored doors. Back in the day, because every house looks the same, people would try and go into the wrong house after a long night of drinking. The irish love their guinness.
These flowers were hanging on almost every building...so gorgeous.
Croppy's Acre...In the 1798 rebellion, soldiers died and the ones that weren't known were buried here. Croppy Acre is reference to the crew cut style that the soldiers wore.
Trinity College.
On the double decker tour bus...great way to see the whole city.
Christ's Church...Dublin's oldest building was built in the year 1030. What? I love the history of this city.
This is the Stilhetto in the Ghetto or the Rod to God as the locals call it. It's a big needle to show the city's center.
It got a bit windy up there on the top of the bus.
We went to dinner at The Oliver St. John Gogarty pub. It was so much fun. We ate dinner then listened to traditional irish artists perform. We actually bought there cd. So cool.
Oh how my mom and I loved this old guy. He's well known in the music circle...been around for many a year.
Yep, us Mormon's sure know how to party in Ireland. I think we're the only two in the whole pub who are drinking a water and a diet coke. Bring on the guinness...jokes, just jokes.
Day 9 and 10...2 day Cork, Blarney Castle and Ringo of Kerry Tour.
These flowers were hanging on almost every building...so gorgeous.
Croppy's Acre...In the 1798 rebellion, soldiers died and the ones that weren't known were buried here. Croppy Acre is reference to the crew cut style that the soldiers wore.
Trinity College.
On the double decker tour bus...great way to see the whole city.
Christ's Church...Dublin's oldest building was built in the year 1030. What? I love the history of this city.
This is the Stilhetto in the Ghetto or the Rod to God as the locals call it. It's a big needle to show the city's center.
It got a bit windy up there on the top of the bus.
We went to dinner at The Oliver St. John Gogarty pub. It was so much fun. We ate dinner then listened to traditional irish artists perform. We actually bought there cd. So cool.
Oh how my mom and I loved this old guy. He's well known in the music circle...been around for many a year.
Yep, us Mormon's sure know how to party in Ireland. I think we're the only two in the whole pub who are drinking a water and a diet coke. Bring on the guinness...jokes, just jokes.
Day 9 and 10...2 day Cork, Blarney Castle and Ringo of Kerry Tour.We went on another rail tour. This time it was a two day tour. Of the two tours this one was my favorite. It was just so much fun to get to know all the people on the tour with us from all over the world. We had the smoking German, the crazy old Irish lady and Tim McGraw (seriously looked JUST like him), and our best buds Bob and Darlene from Canada.
We started our trip by railing down to the City of Cork to see the Blarney Castle. I can't even tell you how much I loved this place. It was by far my most favorite castle in Ireland (of the one's I saw of course). It was so old and I LOVED it. It was built in 1446, the third castle to have been erected on this site. The first two were torn down to be reconstructed into what you see today.
One of the rooms in the castle.
Here's the dungeon where they kept there prisoners.
Mom and I outside the castle just before I went up to kiss that Blarney Stone.
I got to the top and really enjoyed the walk up. I got scared a couple of times, it was so old I just couldn't believe it was still standing.
The witches kitchen...oh look there's the witch...more jokes. This was the home to the first irish cave dwellers. If you come to this place early enough in the morning you can see the embers of the dying fire paid for by the wishes that were made on the wishing steps. The witch lights the fire every night where she fights to stop shivering from her nocturnal escape from the witches stone...if you believe that sort of thing.
Now here is the witches stone. Every day at dawn the witch is imprisoned in the blarney stone. Can you see her face on the left side? How can you miss that nose...it's huge!
The Druid Stones. These stones form a circle and if you stand inside that circle it is said that the evil spirits cannot harm you. Here I am standing in the circle, very happy to be safe from evil.
In Ireland they don't believe in Leprechans, but they believe in ferries. All over Ireland are ferry trees and apparently noone cuts them down...seriously. The ferries get mad if you do. I'm not joking. The irish people are serious about their history!
Anyone want to buy a castle? This ones for sale!
After all that mystical stuff, we headed to Cobh (pronounced Cove) where were learned a ton about the immigration that happened back in the mid 1800's. Did you know that from the years 1847 to 1849 over 1.5 million irish people left Ireland? That's a lot of people in just two years. 
Row of houses known as the "deck of cards."
My name was everywhere in this country so I had to get a pic of one of them.
The town of Killarney.
The famous Lakes of Killarney.
I think this is the Dingle Penninsula. Either way, it's awesome.
This was an old house of someone famous who helped liberate the irish people. It still stands today...only with a bit more foliage.
I think this wall was a berrier where men fought in one of the wars....heck, I can't remember.
There were sheep EVERYWHERE. There are more sheep in Ireland than people. Crazh huh? They wer just walking in the streets like that was normal.
Mom and I at the "Ladies View". Queen Elizabeth came here in the 80's and since then they named this spot Ladies View.
One of the rooms in the castle.
Here's the dungeon where they kept there prisoners.
Mom and I outside the castle just before I went up to kiss that Blarney Stone.
I got to the top and really enjoyed the walk up. I got scared a couple of times, it was so old I just couldn't believe it was still standing.Kissing the Blarney Stone...So I laid down and scooted to the edge and grabbed on to the railings.
apparently I wasn't hanging over the edge enough so he scooted me out even farther and I was literallly dangling 100 feet in the air. I could see the ground below me. See in the pic below how my shirt is way on the mat...
Not anymore. I reached as far as my neck would go until the guy told me where the stone was and I kissed it! Now I have the gift of gab.
The view down the center of the castle.
After the castle we head to the Rock Close which is a mystical piece of land on the site of an ancient Druid settlement. Very interesting stuff.
apparently I wasn't hanging over the edge enough so he scooted me out even farther and I was literallly dangling 100 feet in the air. I could see the ground below me. See in the pic below how my shirt is way on the mat...
Not anymore. I reached as far as my neck would go until the guy told me where the stone was and I kissed it! Now I have the gift of gab.
The view down the center of the castle.
Here's the Murder Hole. Located on the second floor just above the entrance, the murder hole was used on unwelcomed visitors. When intruders came in the soldiers would shoot arrows, throw rocks or drop boiling liquids on the enemy to kill them. Nice!
After the castle we head to the Rock Close which is a mystical piece of land on the site of an ancient Druid settlement. Very interesting stuff.Here are the wishing steps. You make a wish as you go up them and your wish will come true. I forgot to wish.
The witches kitchen...oh look there's the witch...more jokes. This was the home to the first irish cave dwellers. If you come to this place early enough in the morning you can see the embers of the dying fire paid for by the wishes that were made on the wishing steps. The witch lights the fire every night where she fights to stop shivering from her nocturnal escape from the witches stone...if you believe that sort of thing.
Now here is the witches stone. Every day at dawn the witch is imprisoned in the blarney stone. Can you see her face on the left side? How can you miss that nose...it's huge!
The Druid Stones. These stones form a circle and if you stand inside that circle it is said that the evil spirits cannot harm you. Here I am standing in the circle, very happy to be safe from evil.
In Ireland they don't believe in Leprechans, but they believe in ferries. All over Ireland are ferry trees and apparently noone cuts them down...seriously. The ferries get mad if you do. I'm not joking. The irish people are serious about their history!
Anyone want to buy a castle? This ones for sale!
After all that mystical stuff, we headed to Cobh (pronounced Cove) where were learned a ton about the immigration that happened back in the mid 1800's. Did you know that from the years 1847 to 1849 over 1.5 million irish people left Ireland? That's a lot of people in just two years. We also learned about how the Titanic made its final stop in Cobh before heading off to the great big sea to meet its demise. 123 people embarked from Cobh and most of them died when the Titanic sank that dreadful night at sea.
After that educational experience, we were off to the Ring of Kerry. It was gorgeous. It was about a 2 1/2 hour ride around this big ring. We left from the town of Killarney (pron. kill-ARE-nee) and ended up back in the same town when done. There were some gorgeous sites along this ride. I'm so glad we did this tour, it was so amazing, so beautiful and very educational.
I can't remember where any of these pics were taken along the ROK tour so just enjoy the sites.
Row of houses known as the "deck of cards."
My name was everywhere in this country so I had to get a pic of one of them.
The town of Killarney.
The famous Lakes of Killarney.
I think this is the Dingle Penninsula. Either way, it's awesome.
This was an old house of someone famous who helped liberate the irish people. It still stands today...only with a bit more foliage.
I think this wall was a berrier where men fought in one of the wars....heck, I can't remember.
There were sheep EVERYWHERE. There are more sheep in Ireland than people. Crazh huh? They wer just walking in the streets like that was normal.
Mom and I at the "Ladies View". Queen Elizabeth came here in the 80's and since then they named this spot Ladies View.
Oh what an amazing trip this was...one I will never ever ever forget. Happy Birthday mom!!! I hope you had a great time. It was so much fun spending every day with you hanging out just like old times. I love you so much and I'm glad we could have this experience together.
Jake, I love you and thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you do for this family. You are the foudation and we couldn't survive without you :)
11 comments:
YEah for posting on Ireland! What a fun trip you had! I read the WHOLE thing - you took some pretty good notes!
I love the fairy trees! We saw a couple on our trip out to Limerick too!
Good times!
Wow what a trip that was. I love reading about the beautiful castles, looking at the scenery. Ireland is definitely a beautiful country with rich heritage. Aren't you glad you are part of it!! Glad you had a great time with your hubby, the Watts then your mom. Beautiful post!Glad you got home safe and sound!
AMAZING!!! I am SO jealous! I am glad you had a great time. What a wonderful trip for you and your mom. Can't wait to hear all the details in person, although you did a pretty good job explaining everything in this post. Loved it!
Hey Erin, welcome back! Looks like you had an amazing trip! Ireland looks so beautiful. Thanks for sharing the photos and stories!
What a beautiful place. Definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity. Your pictures are gorgeous!
Yay glad to finally see the pictures, they are all so beautiful!! It looks like a trip of a lifetime for sure, you saw so much that's wonderful. By the way I think you look adorable with hats you should wear them more often. Sorry you had issues with your luggage and the flight but in the end it was all worth it and the trip turned out AMAZING!!
By the way I love that we finally get to hangout and talk every week at dance class, it's been so fun getting to know you and become better friends : )
What an amazing experience, Erin. And what a memory that you will and your mom will treaure FOREVER!
I love the little sheep...so cute!
Oh my goodness- I can't believe you remember so many details from your trip! Love all the pictures and wonderful descriptions. What a special trip with your mom, too. I can tell how close you are. She's a lucky woman to have you as a daughter!
How Beautiful!!! I want to go. I am so happy you guys had such a great time what an amazing thing to be able to do. Good job Jake on working so hard! Im glad your mom got to come how fun is that. Well we need to be seeing you guys soon:)
sOO AWESOME. The whole thing looked so amazing!! I love all the pictures and info. We are trying to talk my parents into a trip there. I agree you look darling in your hats! Sorry about the flight stuff i hate it when that happens! gLAD YOU HAD A GREAT TIME.
I felt like I was right there with all your amazing pic's and narrative! I would love love love a trip to Ireland, or anywhere foreign at this point in my life!! Ireland is a beautiful place, you fit right in with your gorgeous red hair!!!
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