I am not the best writer but here goes and I’ll keep it short.
We found some really comfortable and nice places to stay on VRBO and generally moved on about every 4-5 days. A bit hectic but if you want to cover and entire island in your travels it’s what you do.
We did a hop on/hop off in the big cities which were Paris,, Belfast, and Dublin. We didn’t hop off at all in Belfast or Dublin because it was bucketing rain. The struggle for Irish independence looms large in the Ireland tours.
We spent six days in France to hit all the tourist spots. Paris was not my choice to stay but, hey, this was not just my trip. And hit the tourist spots we did, Eifel Tower, Lourvre, Versailles, boat tour on the Seine, Notre Dame, and Normandy beaches. The Normandy beaches were a bit disappointing as for the most part they seem to have become like a mini Wisconsin Dells except for Omaha Beach where US cemetery is located. We paid a tour organizer for this as the beaches cover an extensive area. Pont Du Hoc was the most interesting and solemn. The train to this area was very convenient. We did not have time for Bayeaux as I wanted to see the tapestry but alas. Our tour guide stated his father was in the resistance (no way to verify, obvs) but he was very knowledgable.
On to Ireland. We got our ‘hire car’ and met up with two other folks in Skerries and headed to just outside Belfast. Day 2 resulted in me almost putting the car in a ditch but some very kind locals pulled us out with their old Land Rover. Ah well, onward.
The Titanic ‘Experience’ was another tourist spot but a must see for us. It’s not called a museum because there obviously isn’t much left to put on display.
On to Giant’s Causeway, some pics, some hiking and then to St. John’s Point in ROI. We had a cute little cottage with a nice view of the Atlantic, some more hiking (all of our hiking was easy as we are not young) and went to Slieve League. We passed on the Cliffs of Moher and opted for this instead. We also visited Glenveagh National Park.
On to Whitegate, a tiny little village, to a lovely house on a little lake with a swan family residing in it. This is where everyone came down with colds so activity was a bit subdued but we still managed to visit the local pub a couple times and also the Tullamore DEW distillery where we had whiskey tastings. We also went into Limerick to the castle of King John II (of England).
On to Ballybunion (ha) and found a lovely beach with a nice cliff walk nearby. It’s a beach town with a very touristy vibe and we were glad it wasn’t mid-summer. We did have a run of very nice days without rain or clouds.
We drove through Killarney National Park, which was quite nice, on our way to Castletownbere where we had another nice cottage once we found it. We went to Mizen Head to see the signal station and also to Eyeries to some hiking and amazing views.. We spent a day at Dursey Island (there is a small cable car from the. mainland over the ocean) to the island where we did some more hiking among the sheep. Only 200 people live on the island. I’m sure they love everyone coming over to interrupt they peace and quiet
On to Dunmore East for some more hiking, pub visiting and rain. I managed to talk the boys into visiting the Waterford factory and it was actually interesting. I might have purchased some crystal lowball tumblers.
Our last stay was about 30km outside Dublin (the aforementioned hop on/hop off) and a drive through the Wicklows. By this time we were getting a bit tired and ready to get home. We took the train into Dublin. No way I was driving there.
Then home.
Driving is an experience. I’ve done driving in the UK and Ireland is no different. Narrow, winding roads that often are just wide enough for two cars. Many roads are one car wide. I did manage to panic one time with a huge truck coming the other direction and hit the ‘verge’ which happened to have huge stones in it. Two flat tires was the result. That was an adventure but we got it sorted just in time b/4 the ‘tyre’ shop closed for the day. I had to cough up for the tires which was no big deal, the tow was paid by Enterprise rentals.
I’ll do a separate post of pics as I’m sure you’re all waiting for those. 😊
I splurged for business class tickets over and back. That was pretty darn nice and I figured this is probably my last major trip so WTH.
And that is what I did on my late summer vacation.