Dublin & beyond – Part 2

We spent very little time in Dublin after our first day, and made day trips to The Cliffs of Moher + Galway (Wild Rover Tours), The Ring of Kerry + Killarney (Railtours Ireland – part train, part coach), and Belfast Titanic + Giant’s Causeway + Dark Hedges (Finn McCools Tours).

See/Do

When the lights go on in Dublin
Officially The Spire. Unofficially Stiffy on the Liffey!

The Cliffs of Moher

Quite breathtaking. You can take short or long walks along the cliffs.
O’Brien’s Tower
Beyond the tower…
Repeat, because it never gets boring!
Dunguaire Castle?

Galway

We spend a few hours walking around Galway
A pretty, pretty place it was.
The Galway Girl, in person
Galway had a charming Christmas Market
Things were just getting started when we visited

Ring of Kerry

This entire landscape (McGillyciddy Reeks, Dingle Bay, Kenmare Bay, the Killarney National Park, Ladies View, the lakes, as well as the villages – Glenbeigh, Waterville, Sneem) is extraordinarily beautiful in a way that the camera really couldn’t capture. It also seemed a little underdeveloped (relatively) from a tourism perspective, and that’s a good thing.

The Red Fox Inn, situated right next to the Kerry Bog Village Museum, the first attraction in the Ring of Kerry tour.
Waterville Bay
Whitestrand. There was a postcard at every turn.
Around Upper Lake, Killarney
Torc Waterfall

Killarney

Killarney is another quaint town that we just wanted to hug! It plays host to the citizenship ceremonies – the final step to becoming a ‘natural’ resident of Ireland.
Just so colourful and pretty!
Everything you need, packed into a few streets
I thought a famous time machine had malfunctioned, but apparently this is a health initiative.

Giant’s Causeway

There is a rugged beauty to this place.
That’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site you’re looking at
Difficult to recognise it, but this is Dark Hedges, famous in another world as King’s Road. #GoT
Gracehill House, built around 1775

Belfast

The most bombed hotel in the world.
Titanic Belfast, the place where the ship was built
Now a museum. While that’s done well enough, I admit to being a little queasy about converting a tragedy into ‘Disneyland’.
Belfast reminded us more of Glasgow than Dublin.

Eat/Drink

Some great Ice-cream to be had at Murphy’s. This was shot in Killarney.
But we had the ice-cream in Galway. This is Whiskey Chocolate.
Recommended by our guide for whiskey tasting
A good old-fashioned pub
Helped me choose the whiskey to buy.
D tried the Irish Coffee but wasn’t very impressed. But then, she is neither a whiskey person, nor a coffee person. I think it has its uses.
The place we stopped at for lunch during the Ring of Kerry tour.
Somewhere between a pie and a stew
Fish and Chips need no intro
The homemade pudding that we absolutely loved.
If whiskey is your thing, then a visit to Palace Bar is in your interest
Salmon in Dublin
Our last dinner in Dublin. This was recommended by all the guides as the local hangout. Absolutely loved the vibe and the service.
This place is an absolute TARDIS. You would never be able to guess the amount of space it has from the outside. Just goes on and on!
What better way to end than a Guinness and an Irish Hot Whiskey.

I thought Ireland had a raw, unspoilt beauty to it, which stands in contrast to the finesse that Scotland’s landscape has somehow acquired. If we do visit again, and we do want to, we would spend a few days each in its smaller towns.

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