One of the highlights of many years in the past two decades has been family trips with Jana, Mark, and Matthew. We learned from trips early on that Disney and cruises aren't really "our thing", so those were both a one and done vacation.
Fortunately, since those experiments, we've gone on what I believe to be some really fun vacations in cool places in the natural world, including Mount Rainier and Olympic National Park in Washington State, Oregon, various places in California, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Bryce Canyon, Alaska, Everglades, Key West, Hawaii, England, Scotland, Iceland, and others.
With Mark and Matthew busy in schools and jobs in other states the past few years, it's become harder to put these together. But last December, I was really happy all four of us were able to make a week long trip to Hawaii. Frankly, I wasn't sure if we would be able to put together another family vacation this year, but with Matthew home for two weeks between summer and fall semesters, and direct flights from Boston to Dublin, Ireland (and northern Ireland) it is! Unfortunately, Mark wasn't interested in Ireland and declined, but hopefully he'll come on a future family vacation again.
Wednesday, August 14
Arrived Dublin Airport bleary eyed at 8:12am local time (3:12am EDT). Took a shuttle bus to the rental car pickup, where we picked up our 5-door crossover with left-handed manual transmission!
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| Got used to sitting on the right side of the car to the drive, and driving on the left side of the road much quicker this time than two years ago in Scotland |
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| It was the left-handed manual transmission shift that took a little more getting used to, but it quickly became fun! |
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| Of course it does make it easier when you can just follow cars ahead of you on the left side of the road, and it's when you pull out with no cars ahead of you that I have to think for a moment |
The morning driving was pretty easy, as on the very quiet M4 and other motorways in Ireland. As this was my second time driving on the left-side of the road, I felt more comfortable this time. (Not that I didn't make mistakes; more on that later.) Driving with the manual transmission shift on the left side was very new to me. It just felt awkward at first, but I got used to it completely by the end of the day.
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| Day 1: We drove west across "the entire country", which only amounts to about 120 miles between Dublin on the east coast and Galway on the west. |
We would be spending the next few days in SW Ireland, but the highlight of today's trip would be the famous Cliffs of Moher.
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| One of the downsides of the Cliffs of Moher being so famous is that there were a lot of people here |
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| But we walked 4 miles in total, and were able to get away from the majority of people who seemed content not to walk much |
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| It wasn't cold at 64°F, however it was quite windy here with winds about 20mph |
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| The first evening we spent in Limerick |
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| The city itself didn't impress me that much, although this castle on my evening run was really cool |
Thursday, August 14
While the city of Limerick was not my favorite, the hotel we stayed in here (Limerick Strand) was one of the best on our visit. The breakfast buffet did not disappoint either:
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| A pretty big and extensive buffet |
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| "Kippers" |
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| Meats, cheeses, and smoked fish are quite prevalent in European breakfast, with the latter two working quite well for me. "Porridge" (oatmeal) and muesli are also common items that I enjoy, but at least at this breakfast, there were really so many different items. |
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| Day 2: Much less driving today, with a total of only 88 miles |
After a fulfilling breakfast and the short drive to Killarney area, we parked at "Lisleibane" trail head for Carrauntoohil, the highest point in Ireland. Just Matthew and I would embark on this run / hike (mostly a run except for steeper and more technical sections) with about 10 miles of total distance and 3,500' of elevation gain.
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| Start of our ascent. I was hoping the coffee stand here would still be open upon our return, but it was not to be. I asked the employee how to pronounce "Carrountoohil", but it took him saying it a few times before I finally got something close to it. |
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| The trail started out very runnable as kind of a rough dirt / gravel road. |
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| Our first and I think only water crossing. Going up I jumped from rock to rock; coming down I just plowed through the river. |
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| You can see me running up at about seven o'clock in photo, with the dirt double-track long below and behind us. This is about 2.5 miles in, and pretty much the end of my continuous running. |
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| Getting really technical here! Matthew is a ways ahead of me, but clearly visible in this photo. |
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| The trail got pretty muddy and rough in spots! |
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| Sheep as we got near the summit |
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| Some stunning views! |
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| And, alas, the summit! |
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| And here we are at the highest point in Ireland. --- We met some really nice people from Northern Ireland at the top, and the guy who took this photo joked that it would cost us €50! |
Moving time was 2:11, with elapsed time 2:52. Matthew's was shorter, both because he didn't off course on the return, and well, he's faster than me!
It was just a short drive to check in to the Parkavon Hotel Killarney, but by then it was after 6pm, so we just opted to eat at the restaurant attached to the hotel, which wasn't bad.
Friday, August 16
The hotel itself was just OK, but the proximity to running trails and Killarney National Park was superb. Matthew and I went on a 7 mile run through the park, with almost the entirety of the route on a combination of very quiet roads and paved park pathways.
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| We had to get off the paved pathway (Matthew ahead in blue), but it was generally very quiet inside Killarney National Park |
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| Surprised how close we were able to get up to this deer |
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| Day 3: 232 miles back to Dublin, with some stops along the way to break up the ride and also sightsee |
As with the hotel itself, the breakfast buffet at Parkavon was just OK. After the run and breakfast, we checked out, with today being an easier day with just a few short sightseeing spots:
1. Ross Castle, Killarney National Park
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| Ross Castle, with Lough (Lake) Leane in the background, was definitely worth the visit. We took the FREE option to walk around. I would have gladly paid to access the interior of the castle if only we were allowed to self-tour and not to have wait over an hour for a tour to start. |
2. Torc Waterfall, Killarney National Park
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| Short, easy walk to this natural attraction |
3. Muckross Abbey, Killarney National Park
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| First glimpses of Muckross Abbey, a monastery and grounds dating to the mid 1400s, as we approached on the trail |
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| This was much more enjoyable than Ross Castle, as we had unfettered access to all passageways and courtyards |
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| I love these ancient circular stairways! |
4. Rock of Cashel, Cashel, Ireland
Nice stop about halfway back to Dublin.
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| Jana in front of one of the surviving buildings from the 12th and 13th centuries |
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| Matthew (right) and I checking out writing on one of the many tombs |
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| While we didn't have the unfettered access the way we did at Muckross Abbey, you were still able to access many of the building's courtyards and grounds |
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| We stayed in an Airbnb in the quiet "East Wall" neighborhood on the north side of Dublin |
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| The Airbnb was functional if not expensive (~US$350/night), but had to be the most cluttered Airbnb we've ever stayed in |
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| On the other hand, the Airbnb host was extremely gracious and helpful, and she called to make a dinner reservation for us at this pub |
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| Irish pub style food at Elephant & Castle in the Mayson Hotel |
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| Walking back from dinner along the River Diffey in Dublin |
Saturday, August 17
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| A long day today chock full of events, but one of our shortest in terms of driving at just 82 miles |
Run the Ridge 10K. We were up and out the door by 7:30am for the one hour drive south to the race in the Wicklow Mountains, with a 9:45am start. After my first of two driving errors where I drove into the wrong lane (actually a pedestrian lane), the rest of the drive on the wrong side of the road went fine. Checked in, got our bibs (old school chipless) and went for a 2-mile OAB run on the course, which gave us a feel for the starting and ending mile.
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| The course started out with a lap around the "pitch" (grass field), before going out on a CCW lollipop |
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| Essentially a 900' climb to start, and then two long downhills punctuated by a short 150' climb |
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| With Matthew pre-race. Bibs on and ready to go. |
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| I started out pretty far up, with Matthew ahead of me on the front line. |
Race: The race started, and my position kept slipping further and further back as so many runners passed me on the lap around the "pitch". I am not sure if I'm just not good at running on grass or if I went out too conservatively.
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| Finishing my lap around the field before heading out into the woods |
Once we were out of the park and started climbing, the hordes passing me came to a swift conclusion. There were still a handful of runners that passed me on the uphill, but the ratio of me passing vs me being passed swung in my favor.
I didn't actually realize we were going to go above treeline, so that was an added bonus! We had nice panoramic views and it was amazing how many huge patches of purple loosestrife there were. Very attractive.
At three miles in, we hit our high point, and started the descent back towards the finish. This is where the fun really started for me! I recall just one person passing me on the downhill sections, but the number that I passed was more than a dozen. Just such a blast bombing downhill. I really could go as fast as my body allowed, as these were non-technical trails.
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| Passing a group of runners on a slight downhill section, with less than a mile to go. None retook me. (Photo from race photographer) |
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| Doing my best to sprint it in (Photo by Jana) |
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| Finish line! |
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| Race photographer photo, crossing the finish line |
Final result: 45:34, 7th overall of 140, 1st in M60 age group. Full results here.
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| Nice write-up on race website! |
Fun race and fun lowkey trail race vibes!
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Post race we had lunch in the village, and then walked through the Glendalough Upper Lake and Glendalough Historical Monastic Site:
Since Matthew won a gift certificate to a running store in Wicklow village, we headed there on our way back to Dublin and also enjoyed some bakery products and coffee.
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AC/DC concert. The evening's highlight and one of the unique highlights of the trip was seeing AC/DC live in concert on the very last stop of their European tour, at Dublin's Croke Park.
In high school, I had listened to and enjoyed AC/DC’s music, especially when the megahit Back in Black was released in 1980. This was followed by a period of more than a decade when I didn’t really listen to AC/DC at all. I think I had had too much of a good thing and got my fill of it, if that’s possible. Until one day many years later on the radio the catchy beat of Thunderstruck was playing, What is that song? I’ve never heard of it. Well, that’s because it didn’t come out until 1991, much later than most classic rock hits. This ushered in a new era of AC/DC appreciation for me, and I’ve been an even bigger fan since.
When AC/DC stopped touring in 2016 after Brian Johnson’s hearing loss issued, I figured they were done for good. Then with advances in hearing technology, they recorded a brand new album, Power Up, in 2020, and I watched a podcast with Brian and Angus where Brian said they would be back on tour again. Well, a life disruption called COVID-19 came along that year, but alas four years later they were back on tour!
And now it just so happened that we were going to be in Ireland the very date of their final stop of their European Power Up tour! Matthew and I both checked concert seat availability, and unfortunately they were sold out. Darn. About a week later I just happened to be checking the Ticketmaster Ireland site again, and somehow there were 13 sets of two tickets available. (I guess that would be from ticketholders selling their tickets back to Ticketmaster?) Anyway, I tried twice to book tickets only for the screen to pop up that those tickets were now no longer available. About to give up, but the third try was the charm!
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| Not the cheapest, but not bad prices, right? |
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| Yes, in for AC/DC!!! |
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| On our way walking to Croke Park. Saw all kinds here. Roads around the stadium were shut down. |
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| Wow, the inside of Croke Stadium is really nice! |
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| A sold-out crowd of 82,000 fans waiting for the main feature. |
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| Angus himself! Fantastic! |
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| Awesome to see Brian out there belting out hit after hit! (Note: The acoustics were a bit of an issue with some distortion, especially where we were under a metal canopy, but we were still watching AC/DC live in concert! In Dublin!) |
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| The bell dropped at the start of Hell's Bells. It was pretty awesome! |
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| Closing out the night with cannons fired towards the end of "For Those About to Rock". --- So glad I got to see this awesome band perform live! |
Sunday, August 18
Matthew mapped out today's 8-mile run on the Howth Peninsula, just east of Dublin, and the scenery far exceeded my expectations.
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| View of Howth Lighthouse from along the trail |
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| Stunning views of the Irish Sea |
Despite the above views and nice trail, the majority of runners we saw during our drive and run were NOT on this trail, but rather running on cement paths!!! Go figure. I don't get it.
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| Today's drive into Northern Ireland would be our longest drive of 248 miles, but it was broken up with a number of stops |
Northern Ireland, UK
Checked out of our Dublin Airbnb and headed north for the UK constituent country of Northern Ireland. We had our passports out and ready for inspection, but there was no border control at all. We were not only leaving the country of the Republic of Ireland, but in this post-Brexit era we were leaving the EU as well, which I thought mandated hard border controls. Evidently this must have been something negotiated as part of Brexit.
The only differences we noted upon entering Northern Ireland were that distances on signs changed from kilometers and meters to the silly Imperial measurements of miles and yards, and that prices were in pounds instead of Euros.
Today we would be visiting two UK National Trust sites, both in close proximity on the northern shore of the island:
Carrick-a-Rede: The planned highlight today was Giants Causeway. I had actually never heard of Carrick-a-Rede, but after looking into this attraction and seeing how close it was to Giants Causeway, we booked tickets, and were glad we did.
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| Dramatic cliffside views |
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| One-way rope suspension bridge to the small island of Carrick-a-Rede |
The views were spectacular and crossing the suspension bridge was really fun. The only downside to this visit was Sean’s wife, a dour looking mom, who yelled at her husband for purportedly not watching the kids close enough. She yelled loud enough for everyone present to hear, including their two young kids: “Sean, you’re a fu%#!ng idiot!”. Real classy.
Finishing up our visit, we got lunch and before sitting down to eat, made sure to stay far away from Sean’s wife. She still did not look happy at all. Seemed like one of those people that is perpetually miserable.
Giants Causeway:
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| These stones look like they're part of a jigsaw puzzle. 60 million years in the making, through volcanic eruptions, erosion, cooling cracked lava, and glacial activity. |
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| I also learned that this was the filming site of Led Zeppelin's "Houses of the Holy" album |
We finished up our stay with having dinner at the onsite restaurant, including fish and chips cooked fresh to order. Not bad at all.
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| Yes, we're in the UK! London style taxicab at our hotel, Crowne Plaza Belfast. |
Monday, August 19
The penultimate day of our trip was the only day of rain. The rain held off long enough for us to visit the botanical garden in Belfast, but not long enough for our mountain run. Today's three highlights:
Belfast Botanical Garden:
Slieve Donard: Through online research, I had read recommendations not to ascend Northern Ireland’s high point on busy weekends, but rather to visit on weekdays. Between being a Monday and less than optimal weather, while there were more people on the mountain than Carrountoohil, there still weren’t many. We started out at sea level in cloudy weather, 60°F, 13mph wind. But the weather would soon turn worse. Much worse...
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| Picturesque little waterfall along the trail early on |
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| We quickly got above treeline. Slieve Donard is in upper right corner of this photo, ensconced in fog |
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| Well, hello there! No one was around here, but this guy was out on the trail. |
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| With 1/2 mile to go, we reached the Mourne Wall, which fortunately protected us from some of the windiest conditions I've ever experienced. I was glad to have a quarter-zip (which I had bought in Limerick on the first day of the trip) and gloves in my pack, and I quickly put those on just as it started to pour. |
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| Just completely socked in as we approached in summit in wind and driving rain. There won't be any views from the summit today! |
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| I had trouble even standing up at the very summit, as the wind was just insane. |
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| We didn't stick around long, as we were wet from the driving rain and would get cold easily if we stopped. |
Brú na Bóinne: Tickets were selling out quickly for the pre-historical attraction, and we arranged our schedule around what little was remaining two months out, which was to visit Knowth, a series of passage tombs that were built around 5,000 years ago.
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| Irish passage tombs dating to 3200BC. These are the largest passage tombs ever discovered in Europe. More than 200 people from the Neolithic era are buried here. The tombs are solar aligned with sunrise and sunset of the equinoxes. |
Tuesday, August 20
Our Ireland vacation was coming to an end, as we were flying back to the US this morning. This was our last chance to get a run in, and we headed to Phoenix Park at sunrise for a planned out 10-mile run. Our choice of parking lots was closed at that hour, but we were able to reroute to a different parking lot along the route.
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| Arrived Phoenix Park at sunrise, where many deer awaited us |
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| Excellent paved paths within Phoenix Park (The few roads we ran on outside of the park and coming into the park were borderline dangerous for running due to being narrow, busy, and zero shoulder) |
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| Fortunately Matthew (above) had mapped out a route involving a minimum of roads. The route also included this neat small section of the 130km "Royal Canal Way" |
Ireland is one of two countries outside of North America, the other being Qatar, where US customs has pre-clearance facilities. It sounded great and made for smooth sailing upon arriving in the US later in the day, where we simply landed and departed the airport as we would for a domestic flight. But in the meantime, it took an inordinate amount of time to get through US customs and additional security checks in Dublin airport and I think we all worried we would miss our flight. Certainly not an efficient process, with duplicate redundant processes and security checks that could seemingly be streamlined. It didn’t help that two of the US Customs officers we dealt with were not only unfriendly, but rather rude to us. I think they needed a reminder that the same people they were treating poorly were US taxpayers footing their salary.
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Epilogue
Ireland is a safe and very clean country with many interesting historical and natural attractions to visit. I feel we hit many of the highlights on this trip, but there are certainly others we missed that are undoubtedly worth visiting.
I loved the varied car choices on the island. It is my opinion that as Americans we tend to oversize so many facets of life, from our obesity rates, our portion sizes, and our massive SUVs such as Cadillac Escapades and Chevy Suburbans. And as a lifelong manual transmission driver, I just love that the vast majority of cars in Ireland (including rental cars!) are manual, allowing more engagement with the vehicle, giving the driver more control, and let's face it, they're a lot more fun to drive!
On the other hand, the roads in Ireland (excepting perhaps the highways) are quite narrow, especially in remote areas where they often lack shoulders, guardrails, and in some cases require you to pull over to allow oncoming traffic to get by.
My personal trip favorites:
Event: AC/DC concert
Run: Carrauntoohil
Natural attraction: Giants Causeway
Historical attraction: Muckross Abbey
Hotel: Limerick Strand
The lowlights to me were really very few, and just came down to narrow roads with no shoulder (so not great for running - stick to trails and paved paths) and a handful of people, including Sean's wife and the US Customs officials we had to deal with in Dublin Airport, so hopefully those people were just unique to our trip. The hotels and Airbnb were not cheap, but we knew that in advance.
Great country overall. Would I come back? Absolutely!
