Hi All!
Today we opted to go full tourist and are hopping on an Irish tour bus that is taking us on an all day adventure to the west coast of Ireland – the main attraction being the Cliffs of Moher.
We had an early departure from Dublin at 6:50, so we pit stopped at Keogh’s Cafe to grab one of there famous scones for breakfast along with some coffee and tea.
We hopped on the bus and were underway driving through several county’s of Ireland, learning about Irish history along the drive by our tour guide, Billy.
It’s a 3 hour drive from Dublin (east coast of Ireland) to the west coast of Ireland, where the Cliffs of Moher are. The drive was broken up by making stops here and there along the way.
Once we finally reach the Cliffs of Moher, the sun was out, but the wind was whipping in at 20 mph, which made it pretty thrilling to walk around on the cliffs and see the waves crashing in below.
After we finished exploring the Cliffs, we headed back to the tour bus. Upon boarding we heard a couple had just got engaged! How adorable and what a beautiful place and memory to have! The whole bus cheered and wished them many happy years.
On we went toward Doolin to stop for lunch, along the way we saw more of the Ireland countryside. We saw lots of green pastures filled with cattle, horses or sheep, along with properties separated by low stone stacked fences.
Once in Doolin, we stopped at Fitzpatrick Pub, where Zaq and I split Fish n Chips and Irish Stew along with a couple pints of Guinness. We noticed workers were prepping the large terrace area for something and we asked the waitstaff for what? Apparently this weekend is there annual Folk Festival. Bummer! We fly home tomorrow and we’ll miss it! An authentic Irish music festival at a pub, sounds like a great time.
Onward we went after the bus was full toward Kinvara where a lot of Limestone sits exposed by the sea shore. We got out and explored all the cool rock formations and small plants. This limestone used to sit on the bottom of the ocean and you can tell by some of the fossil marks from embedded sea critters.
We decided to also bust out our acro play at such a beautiful place.
Back on the bus we made our way to Galway, which is the college town of Ireland, therefore has quite a youthful vibe. We walked the streets for a bit exploring and came across this awesome looking pub, O’Connell’s Beer & Gin.
We stopped in for a pint and did not regret it. The place was happening and had lots of good local beers on tap. We paid for our beers then went to explore their terrace.
We also went and explored the Galway Cathedral, like most churches, it was very ornate and impressive outside and in.
It was getting late and we had a few hour drive back to Dublin ahead of us, we the tour bus started back east.
Once back in Dublin, we headed over to a pub that our taxi driver recommended to us when we landed. It’s on Hanover street, called Mulligan’s and it’s been there since 1782. Walking there it seemed out of the way and down this side street, but once you entered the pub, it was a ruckus of laughter and chatter. It was difficult to navigate to the bar to get our beers. Once we did, the best option is to stand as best out the way. We loved the experience as it was brimming with locals.
We headed out to find a place for dinner before we turned in xand right next door to Mulligan’s we noticed a small restaurant called The Vintage Kitchen. The place was small and the food looked amazing. We walked in asking if we could be seated and apparently the place is so popular it’s reservations only. However, the host mentioned that he had a party of two that had not shown for their reservation yet, but he couldn’t give it away for another 30 minutes.
The smells and atmosphere of this restaurant convinced us we should wait it out. We went back next door to Mulligan’s for another pint while we waited.
It must have been our lucky day, because we got the table for two. This was quite possibly the best meal we’ve eaten this whole trip. We started with the small plate of goat cheese, basil crispy rice, Guinness bread with caramelized onion & grapes.
It was lip smacking good, plus the platting was incredible. Second course we had surf n turf & a lemon roast chicken with chorizo gnocchi.
It was so much good food we couldn’t fit dessert, although it all sounded amazing.
We had a very long day and we were fading fast, so headed back to our Hostel to turn in.
Until tomorrow!
~A&Z
A & Z 