A few Ireland pics

St.Patricks Cathedral

In front of the Guiness Storehouse

Castle Ross in Kilarney National Park

A cool tree I saw in the park

Some nice Irish countryside

Ireland

After visiting my great grandfathers burial place it was off to Ireland. TO get there we did what all good Europeans do and flew with Ryan Air. It was cheaper and quicker to fly than to go any other way. It was nice to get there so quick, but the landing was quite rough and gave us a bit of scare. We landed safely though so I can't complain to much.

Ireland was great, and we both loved it. Our first day we spent going around Dublin seeing the sights and when you think sights in Dublin the number one sight to see is the Guinness Storehouse. It was a really great time, a bit pricey, but well worth the money as they take you through the entire brewing process and history of Guinness. The best part though is that you get a pint at the end, Melanie even drank hers (much to my disappointment). Dublin is a really nice city, friendly people and easy to get around. We saw St.Patrick's Cathedral, but they wanted five Euros to get in so we admired from the outside.

On our second day in Ireland, we took a day trip down to the south. We still had a day on our rail pass so it was a cheap way to see some of the countryside. We couldn't decide where to go, to Blarney Castle or Kilarney. We asked a couple of locals on the train and they gave a resounding answer of Kilarney. They said, "What are you going to do in Blarney kiss the stone than what?". Well we followed their advice and am glad we did. While there we stopped at a local pub I has some Irish Stew and a Murphy's (you are right dad Murphy's is good). Kilarney was absolutely beautiful, we went for a walk in the national park and it was great. There was the typical Irish countryside, mountains, and even a castle on a lake. I only wish we had more time to spend in Ireland.

I can see why people love Ireland so much. Maybe its just because it was the closest thing to home so far, but we had a great time and felt really comfortable while we were there. Definitely have to go back someday.

Trying something new...

Well, I have decided that posting regularly has not been something I have done lately, and I need to make a change. So for now on instead of trying to put up posts following the route that we are going to take, I will post differently. I received three different guidebooks for Christmas and thought that I might be able to post more often if I post interesting information that I read in them and post any other interesting things I find out during my preparations. I need to read the books so this should help me get through them as well. So here is a neat budget saver that I just read.

Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART)

This a neat trick on how to get a scenic trip around Dublin. The way you get to see Dublin is by boarding the local rapid transit system or DART train as seen above, which is laid out on a track along the bay. The trick is when you by your ticket you tell the cashier that you are going to the next station, but you don't get off right away. The rail line runs back and forth, so you can simply ride the entire system and then get off at the station you bought the ticket for once it comes around again. The entire trip costs 89p. How cool is that! Since we will be visiting Dublin towards the end of our trek, this may be something that we choose to do to save a few pounds.

Hope you liked the new posting idea.