Exploring Ireland

We arrived in Ireland after a short flight from Venice and were happily greeted by Nana and Grandpa (my in-laws). After our busy, non-stop exploration of Rome and Venice, Ireland was a nice change of pace. Since Pat and I had been there before we kept things mellow and enjoyed our time with his parents at a slower pace.

Our trip to Ireland was quite a bit different from the first time we visited years ago. When I think of Ireland—besides imagining sheep blocking the roads, castles, rolling green hills and beautiful scenery—I think of Guinness and Irish Whisky. I found out I was pregnant a couple of weeks before we left for our European vacation so all alcohol was out of the picture. Only seven weeks pregnant I didn’t want to risk anything by taking even a sip of wine or whisky. 🙂

We explored castles. You can’t go to Ireland without visiting a castle or two!

Blarney Castle was Piper’s favorite, and mine too. We skipped kissing the Blarney Stone this trip. Pat and I kissed the stone last trip, after which I’ve developed a really big fear of heights.  There was a swing set looking over a field of sleeping sheep. Piper loves swings and this setting felt magical, straight out of a storybook.

Blackrock Castle was turned into an observatory where they actually communicate with another observatory right around the corner from us in Palo Alto, CA. Small world! It was a fun place to explore and learn about the solar system.

Pat was thrilled when we went to the Jameson Factory and took a tour. It was pretty interesting learning about how they made whiskey before they had all the fancy technology we have today.

The days were beautiful. We spent time at the beach and took in all the amazing scenery.

Nana and Grandpa live on a dairy farm in Kinsale. The cows were fun for Piper to watch. I had an interesting experience in the milking station that I’d like to forget. Let’s just say cows have a lot of disgusting bodily fluids. Yuck!

 Morning walks were beautiful.

We had an amazing, peaceful time in Ireland. It really is a beautiful country with a lot of history to explore. We had a great week with my in-laws.

Thank you for hosting us Linda and Bill! We miss you!

Xo- Alia