Day 1

Our first “real” trip with David- Ireland! We boarded our RyanAir flight Wednesday afternoon excited for the relaxed adventure ahead. The forecast was 100% rain our entire time there, but we figured that was to be expected when it came to springtime in Ireland. David was absolutely wonderful on the flight and before we knew it, we were gathering our teeny tiny rental car and zipping down the LEFT LEFT LEFT!!!! side of the road towards our adorable AirBnb just outside of Killarney National Park- about a 5 minute drive from downtown Killarney. While being able to walk to restaurants downtown would have been nice, there was a spacious parking lot in Killarney we were able to park at and easily walk to everything downtown. We stocked up on beer and snacks at a local grocery store so we could relax at the AirBnb while David took a well-deserved nap. That night we were off to dinner at Quinlan’s Seafood Bar - recommended as the best place for fish & chips by our AirBnb hosts. They did not lead us astray.

Day 2

We meandered over to Killarney National Park starting at the Muckross House. Anxious to explore we deferred a tour of the home for a potential “rainy day” plan that we ended up not needing. We wandered along the lake soaking up the views, entered the woods and made our way to the Torc waterfall. While beautiful, I would not list it as a “must see”- the walk there and back was more enjoyable than the waterfalls themselves.

Next, we hopped in the car to check out the Gap of Dunloe. When you “enter” the north entrance of the road there is a restaurant, parking lot, lot of horses drawn carriages for hire and a huge sign that says the road is closed to general traffic and only available to walkers, horses and vehicles belonging to people living there. We ignored this sign since we came here on the recommendation of a friend and decided to try our luck. The road is really a one lane, two-way road with tiny pull offs every so often. So of course, we had to keep yielding to horse carriages and traffic- which in our defense seemed to be mixed tourists and people who lived there - based on their annoyed countenance as they passed. Ultimately, we decided the stress was not worth it, so we doubled back, parked and hired Buster the horse and his trusty Irish owner to take us on a ride through the Gap of Dunloe. This ended up being a fabulous option as we conversed with Busters owner (somehow we missed his name) who apparently owns a huge plot of land between the road and the nearest mountain. The government pays him to raise sheep on the land to keep it looking nice for (basically) tourism. Kind of crazy! He actually loses money on their wool- there is too high a demand for synthetic fabrics these days that the wool from the sheep is worth less and less- so they actually cannot even sell the wool for as much as it costs to hire someone to shear them (which is vital to the well-being of the sheep.) We always love a good chat with locals and thoroughly enjoyed the lack of language barrier. Upon our return we saw the horse gentlemen turning away tourist vehicles from entering the Gap so we must have just been lucky earlier to drive on it at all.

That evening we enjoyed more Irish fare at the Celtic Whiskey Bar & Larder followed by ice cream at Murphey’s- one of the most delicious ice cream shops I have EVER been to. Irish dairy is no joke and the flavors were superb- hello sea salt and strawberry ice cream with butterscotch flavored whipped cream on top!

Day 3

Friday, we enjoyed a traditional Irish breakfast at a small tucked away restaurant, Desire Café. It had good reviews but was a bit strange… and they were out of scones. (shrug) With full bellies we were off to the Dingle Peninsula. First stop, Inch Beach, where the weather held out beautifully and we were able to venture out onto the beach for a few photos and Michael even dipped his toes in the FREEZING water. Here we enjoyed a few beers on a patio overlooking the beach while I breastfed David. Funny thing about traveling with a 6-month old: you will breastfeed and change diapers in the most unusual of places- but it’s all part of the fun! Next on to Dingle where we actually sat in the car for a bit because I finally got a call from my cousin Rebecca who had just had her sweet baby boy, John Amos, 3 days prior. I sat in the car and laughed and cried with her over her (long and difficult) birth story. Moments like this make it sad to be this far from family, but I was so grateful for her call and to have a few moments to catch up.

Into Dingle we went where we enjoyed some really fabulous views of the harbor there, yet another delicious Fish & Chips meal, this time from Reel Dingle Fish Co (take out only), more yummy ice cream from Murphey’s and a new children’s book for David! (We like to purchase one everywhere we travel as our family keepsake.) That evening we relaxed at the AirBnb with our grocery store snacks for dinner so David could make it to bed on time- this may sound like a concession for our sweet baby- but really it was a treat for us as well. Nothing like a little relaxation mid-trip.

Day 4

Saturday we were up bright and early (yet almost not early enough) to tackle the infamous Ring of Kerry. We opted to do it clockwise so as not to get stuck behind any tour buses which ended up being a great choice because I don’t think we crossed the path of ONE tour bus, and hardly anyone else for that matter. The weather was not exactly on our side but we had managed to dodge the rain quite nicely up until this point so we embraced a little precipitation- after all it just gave the day that much more of an “Irish” feel. First stop- Ladies View. I must say, while very beautiful, we had better views on other moments of the trip, but this still gave us one of my favorite photo ops in the misting rain with the camera set up on a timer on the roof of the car. Moments later we got attacked by this swarm of biting flea insects that followed us into the car! We had to ride with the windows down and kept finding and killing them on the roof! So strange.

Next, we took a quick stop in Sneem for some coffee and this insanely delicious oat, date, butterscotch bar of delight. Onward to the Staigue Stone Fort. Michael checked out the fort while I fed David but unfortunately, we couldn’t linger as the weather was pretty poor and we were trying to make our 11am Sheep Herding Demonstration. We booked this $18 Sheep Herding Demonstration through AirBnb experiences that ended up being the highlight of our trip. We visited the home and family farm of Sinead and her father Tim where we watched their Sheepdog Rose corral a small herd of sheep into a corner where we paused for an up-close look at the sheep and their lambs while Sinead and Tim told us all about raising and breeding sheep, their life on the farm, how Rose works and so much more. They were a wealth of knowledge and while they were simply telling us about their daily life, they knew that it was completely foreign to us, and so very interesting. We asked so many questions and they were very patient in their answers. We also got to feed and hold a baby lamb, see a 3-day old calf, pet Rose who was quite the ham, and they even sent us home with fresh eggs from their own hens! We again learned so much about the history and culture of this area of Ireland as well as their sheep raising operation.

From there we followed their recommendation for lunch and ended up at the Sea Lodge Hotel & Restaurant in Waterville for another delicious and hardy meal. They were coincidentally preparing for a wedding which was exciting to see- especially what some of the groom’s family was wearing- bright red, pink and yellow dresses with matching hats! (Kentucky Derby anyone?) After a windy walk in the sunshine of Waterville we continued around the ring with a spur of the moment stop at St. Finian’s Bay to check out the beach. It was tucked away from the wind and actually nice and warm. Unfortunately David had his fussiest moment of the entire trip sitting on the beach (he skipped his nap interested in the sheep and got overtired) so I rocked him to sleep on my chest, leaned back on a big rock in the sand and David and Michael shared a 40 minute nap time while I gazed at my surroundings and took in the sounds of the Atlantic Ocean hitting the shore. This was probably my favorite moment of the entire trip. Guess I really am a beach girl at heart- and I was pleasantly surprised by how many we found just in our little corner of Ireland!

Our last stop on the Ring of Kerry (simply because of time constraints- there is more we would have liked to see but we move at a much slower pace with David) were the Kerry Cliffs. There is a 4 Euro charge to make the 10-minute walk from the parking lot out to the cliffs but WOW is it worth it! Your eyes can hardly take in and appreciate how EXPANSIVE the view is and just how high up you are! It is incredible and very much worth the stop. That evening we picked up pizzas and opted for another dinner in the AirBnb so David could get to bed at a decent time. He was such a trooper the entire trip, extremely flexible with his schedule and really could hang in there for dinner if we kept him entertained, but we really did not mind a quiet dinner with our lovely view in our PJ’s. (We must be adults now.) We also happened to click on cable television for the first time all year and catch Eurovision- Europe’s largest singing competition. If you have never heard of it, it absolutely deserves a quick Google search and 15 minutes on YouTube. You will be VERY entertained to say the least.

Day 5

Our last day in Ireland was spent roaming a different section of Killarney National park while David snoozed and a picnic lunch overlooking the lake. Then off to the tiny Kerry Airport to catch our flight home. Ireland was the ideal destination for our first trip as a family with a 6-month-old baby- beautiful, laid back and on our own schedule. (Check back soon for a post on traveling with baby!)