where we ate the Burren Smokehouse deliciousness and drank their craft beers. Amazing lunch!!! We sh

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So when we landed in Dublin we were thrilled at the AMAZING weather. It was gorgeous and we were told that it had been awful weather just the day before! We took a cab into Dublin to our hotel - the Westbury. Our driver was a doll, he was a retired police officer and gave us the low down on all things Ireland! We arrived at the hotel and it was heavenly!!!!!
Our room was ready even though it was still early and the front desk staff was soo helpful. We had a choose of 2 rooms and she took us us to show us before we picked. We opted for the king suite with 2 roll-aways for the kids. We were thrilled to have a king size bed - and the kids were just as happy to not have to share their bed!!! We all just wanted to climb into bed at that point, but we persevered and headed out to take a walk and grab lunch.
After the tour - the guide gave us the option to join him for lunch at a pub - where we had our first real Guinness. I couldn't believe I was an instant colonnade hotel boston fan!!!! I could drink these guys as a meal - so creamy and filling!!! I was not as bug a fan of the pub food as I was of the pub drinks!!!
After lunch we headed out to the Old Jameson tour. We hadn't bought tickets in advance - we should have bc we had to wait around over an hour for the next tour that had space to begin. We all enjoyed the tour - even my kids. Who have been dragged to vineyards and breweries throughout our travels. We were lucky enough to get picked as the special tasters!! It was all lots of fun and I started my new education of Whiskey, Whisky, and Bourbon.
After this we were all wiped and went back to enjoy a little downtime in the hotel. Unfortunately by the time we headed out to dinner - all the restaurants had pretty much stopped serving food! And it was only 9 pm!!! Very different from our other trips like in Spain where dinner starts at 10 pm! We had gelato for dinner and called colonnade hotel boston it a night.
colonnade hotel boston The next day we ate our yummy scones again and took a cab to the Hertz location in the city where I had reserved a rental colonnade hotel boston car. We were going to rent a mifi from Hertz and they were all out!!! Big uh -oh!!! Now if we needed directions or a phone - we were out of luck!!!
Once we approached the exit for Kilkenny is where the fun began!! We didnt know where we were going and had to drive through colonnade hotel boston the center of town. It took us almost 2 hours to make it to the B B after pulling over many times to ask for help. SO thankful there was no language barrier!
I had booked us a bike tour of Kilkenny which of course we were late for bc of the delay. The inn keeper, Phil, was so nice and called the bike guy to reset the time and give us a few minutes to breath!
Then it was the long drive to Killarney. We were thankful that we had the super duper insurance on the rental car - bc as we were warned the roads are tiny...but no one mentioned the stone walls and branches!!! THE only think not covered were the tires and rims. Which was really scratched up badly when we got the car and I smartly colonnade hotel boston had the rental place take dated pictures before we accepted the car.
Anyway - there is no way to drive on these roads without scratching the side of the car of these branches!! Especially when giant buses and trucks and coming at your from the other direction!! Also during the trip we were behind the truck that trims the brush that hangs into the roadways. It was funny- they drive while trimming the trees.
We made it to Killarney to the our hotel - Earls Court House. And we hit our first rain of the trip. I had mixed feelings about the hotel. There were pros and there were cons and there was no AC and it was HOT again!!!
We were torn between doing the ROK and the DIngle colonnade hotel boston drive. And in the end we went with Dingle. It was the most insanely gorgeous day which was awesome!!! We stopped in Dingle first to get some coffee, have a snack, and get cash.....
The scenery was breathtaking!!! We made a lot of stops - to take it all in. We stopped colonnade hotel boston at the fort, the beehive huts. We spent a lot of time stopped near the area where they filmed Ryans Daughter colonnade hotel boston just admiring the coast line. SO prettty! We also hiked up through colonnade hotel boston a meadow of sheep to see a Celtic Oghman colonnade hotel boston Stone, which made my 14 year very happy.
We took our time enjoying the views and when we arrived back in Dingle - we needed fish and chips. But we needed the best fish and chips and we were sent to Reel Dingle Fish, which has 4 stools and is a hole in the wall, we were lucky and when our order was ready all 4 stools were vacant. This was really good stuff!!! Highly recommend it!!!
We drove back into Killarney and it was a Sat night - so we thought wed take in some live music at dinner. We again were directed to a pub. We sat - the server was friendly - we had our beers and then our food came - eeks!!!
The band finally came on to play and it was all fun!!! Ironically when he asked the large crowd that had amassed whose from Ireland here - expecting a big cheer - not one person answered back- we were all tourists!!!!!! Funny!!!! The locals knew better about the food!!!!
Then we started the hike. Half the time the cars driving through and the horse carts forced off the road. The other half we found ourselves forced of the path bc of all the horse poop!!! The scenery was beautiful but it was all pretty un-relaxing and we turned around at the first lake.
For dinner we decided we needed a break from pub food and picked Italian.....Dyne was the choice. Its tiny - you definitely need a reservation. The food was really delicious but its all very slow. Everything we ate was fantastic. We ordered another pizza when our meals came bc we decided it was going to be enough, thankfully they put a rush on that pizza so it was ready when we finished the meals that had been delivered to the table.
We checked out of Earls Court and started the drive towards colonnade hotel boston Ennis. The drive was fun and scenic as we passed through Adare and the cute thatched roof homes. We stopped in Limerick to visit St Johns castle.
It was really done very well and helped us brush up on and clarify even more history. The best part was the live Blacksmith in character who had actual swords and armor. He had the kids hold the swords to determine if they were the right size and weight for them. He explained how they would be used in battle (and how movies generally colonnade hotel boston get it all wrong.)
where we ate the Burren Smokehouse deliciousness and drank their craft beers. Amazing lunch!!! We shared the smoked fish platter. I wish I could eat this once a week at home!! So good!!! My kids got the smoked fish sandwiches and they gobbled them up!!!!
Then off to the Cliffs. We spent a lot of time checking them out from every vantage point. I am afraid of heights and I was nervous about the parts with no walls.... I saw so many people jumping over the walls to walk, take picture, etc. I really freaks me out!!! We stayed late until we really had the place to ourselves. I was glad to loaded the car with sweatshirts, jackets, colonnade hotel boston and hats. It gets cold and windy up there!!!
I had read on the boards that people were complaining about having to pay to park. But it isn't just for parking - you are paying to help keep up the visitors center and all its exhibits, which there is no charge to enter.
Oh -- I just saw this - haven't read through yet since I'm in a hurry out the door but saw your screen name and the trip report tag. REALLY looking forward to reading it later and especially when you get to the Scotland bits, since I remember your planning threads and wondering how things turned colonnade hotel boston out . . . (and the 'fight' w/ dulsex . . . he has left the bldg BTW)
What fun! Reading your excellent report colonnade hotel boston took me back to our time in Ireland. colonnade hotel boston It sounds like you had a grand time and I'm looking forward to Scotland. I've never been there so that will be all new for me.