In 2014 before we’d even decided to go on our 3 month journey around South Africa, we decided to visit one very special friend of mine in Ireland. She was 8 months pregnant at the time and was about to move back to South Africa, so we had to go while her and her husband were still there.
I love my country, but I had no idea that any other country could be even greener than ours. I was so pleasantly surprised by Ireland, that I spent many an evening wishing I could just move there.
I had to constantly keep reminding Jen that we were just lucky with our weather (we only had about 3 days of overcast and rain) and that in fact Ireland isn’t that nice all the time and we would hate to live with the overcast.
What Luch failed to realise however, was the fact that it wasn’t just the weather that made me happy. Ireland made me happy because it’s people were incredibly friendly and welcoming, we got to watch the sunset at 10:30 pm through glass windows (one of the airbnb stays we had) and walk on beaches that were deserted – more than once. Not only that, but I just loved all the green. Everywhere we went, there were amazing forests and water seemed in abundance as well. I can’t really explain it to someone who has never been to Ireland, but it kind of looked fake, it was that green 🙂
I couldn’t agree with Jen more. The greenery was totally the best part about Ireland. I kept trying to take photos of it, but it never came out as green in the pics, as is always the case I suppose.
We were lucky enough to also have family in Ireland which actually had a house in Swords (just outside of Dublin) which we could then use as our base. It was perfect for when we did day tours in Dublin and then we actually took our hired car and drove up and down the coast stopping in at every small town that we could find along the way.
It actually took us quite a long time to realise that Galway was not only a city, but there was also a county named Galway, so when we saw a site on a map that we’d like to go and see; it actually ended up being much further away than originally planned.
My favourite part about any holiday that we go on is not actually doing the main sights, but actually finding random places to visit that are out of the way and not usually in the guide books. It helps that I often pick up brochures, even though I end up with about a 100 by the time I get home.
We went to Marble Arch Caves (more than once) as we really wanted to go on the boat through the caves, but unfortunately both times the water was too high and we had to walk around the caves instead. That was totally on a brochure I found along the way.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like we didn’t go to the main sites like the Cliffs of Moher:
Giant’s Causeway:
Slieve League:
Ring of Kerry and Beara:
The Dark Hedges:
Glenarm Walled Garden:
We even did Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge (I’m terrified of heights so this didn’t go very well):
We even found our way to the home of the Irish Coffee and the Flying Boat Museum – Foyne’s:
The murals on the walls in Belfast were spectacular:
However, we also found ourselves at magical medieval feasts – Bunratty Castle, admiring amazing crystal sculptures at Waterford Crystal:
And also walking around the Irish National Stud Farm and Japanese Gardens:
By the time we’d seen all the sights, my friend who had lived there for a few years actually asked me for recommendations because they hadn’t been to half the places we had.
All in all, Ireland was amazing and wouldn’t have been complete without a pint of Guinness in the Guinness Storehouse (which is exactly what we did in Dublin). We could write for days on everything that we got to see and do, but I think instead, we’ll just put a whole bunch for photos. I would love to travel here again and I know that Jen feels exactly the same. Until next time! 🙂
I had to constantly keep reminding Jen that we were just lucky with our weather (we only had about 3 days of overcast and rain) and that in fact Ireland isn’t that nice all the time and we would hate to live with the overcast.
