Irish Beats, Riverdancing, and some Chill Time

In Galway, we stayed at the Clayton Hotel which was a 10-minute drive from the center of town but it was a nice hotel so we didn’t mind….and it had a much needed gym! ☺ We spent the day walking around town, doing laundry, having a yummy lunch at Food for Thought (totally vegetarian friendly and mostly organic), and dodging rain with a pit stop at Quay’s for a mid-afternoon Guinness.

Galway is a great little town with shops, a ton of pubs, and cute cafes. It is known for its music scene and since we all love music we were on a mission to find some good Irish beats. Unfortunately by evening time it was pouring! So we went to the bar our car driver (and Lonely Planet) suggested even though we knew there were more local ones across the river (in the less touristy section of the city). But the bar, Tig Coili, was packed and the music was excellent….and honestly we wouldn’t have known if the peeps were local or not. ☺

The next day we made it back to Dublin. It was nice to drop the car off….I’m sure even nicer for Darsh. We had a relaxing day walking around Trinity College and Grafton Street, a great shopping street, and having lunch at Bewleys Café. We saw the Book of Kells sign but not the actual book as it was closed….oh well it's almost the same thing! This time in Dublin we stayed at the Conrad, which is South of the River Liffey, a really pretty, upscale part of town. (Our first night we were North of the River which I guess is the “keeping it real” part of town….definitely edgier!) I’m glad we could experience both.

We were lucky enough to get tickets to the Riverdance show at the Gaeity theater. It was AMAZING! It was definitely a highlight of the trip for me. The dancers feet moved so fast….unreal! My dad loves music and dance just as much as I do so it was great to be able to see Riverdance with him in Ireland.

Our last day in Dublin (and in Ireland) we dropped my dad off early morning so he could catch his flight back home and then we met up with Fiona and Kiran. We learned the story behind the “perfect pint” at the Guinness Factory and then drove around Dun Laoghaire, Dalkey, and Blackrock (neighboring suburbs just south of Dublin). Dun Laoghaire and Dalkey are super cute seaside towns (Bono lives in Dalkey…..we drove by his house!) And again, everything is so green and perfectly manicured!

We had dinner in the Dublin Hills at Johnnie Fox's, a really cute, traditional pub. We actually all had grand plans to go out on the town in Dublin but we were tired so ended up chatting away at our hotel. It was nice to just chill and catch up with Fiona.

I can’t believe our Ireland journey has come and gone. We really had the best time here. The culture and the peeps were some of the best we’ve experienced on our trip!

Thanks Dad and Fiona! xoxo

Friends, Family, Guinness, and Driving on the Wrong Side of the Road

We walked into our hotel in Dublin and were greeted by my Dad! How fun! He had gotten there hours earlier, checked in, and had already explored the area. It was so good to see him (although it was a bit surreal)!

It was raining and we were tired but somehow both of us were totally energized. The second we got into the Temple Bar area (Dublin’s main party district) we both wanted a drink even though I swore I was detoxing. ☺ Just something about being in Ireland! Of course, our first drink had to be a Guinness. I’m totally not a Guinness drinker (or really any kind of beer) but it was actually really good….they seriously just taste better here!

The next day, our good friend Fiona came to meet us for a coffee with her son Kiran and niece Kelly. It was so good to see them….again totally surreal….even though she’s one of the reason’s we came here! It was a short visit and unfortunately all she did was end up waiting at the car rental place with us because they totally screwed us by giving our car away. ☹ We were both pissed but somehow it didn’t seem so bad since we had Fiona and our Dad there to hang with. ☺

Luckily after a 2 hour wait we were finally on our way. And of course, the second we got into the car it started raining….just in time for Darsh to learn how to drive on the wrong side of the road. Even though I wasn’t driving it was just weird! Fiona gave us the best advice though – just remember you (the driver) is always in the middle of the road.

Despite the rain and learning how to drive all over again we made it to Kilkenny with no problem....well thanks to our driver and handy GPS. Thanks Darsh for all the driving! ☺ Kilkenny is a cute little town and it’s main attraction is the Kilkenny Castle which was exactly what you would think an Irish castle would be – a huge medieval building with perfectly manicured grounds that went on forever. We also walked by St. Canice’s Cathedral which was a bit eerie in the late evening with a cemetery on its grounds complete with creepy crows….we didn’t stay long!

After a long day of driving we finally had a chance to sit down and eat at Grapevine, a cute tapas place. And then we just chilled at our B&B, Rosquil House. Our room was lovely, and the service phenomenal. Even better was the breakfast the next day. It was one of the best stays we had on our trip!