We are just back from the Dotson family feature summer attraction-- drumroll, please ....
10 days traveling around Ireland -- tasting the tastes, seeing the sights, and feeling all the feels. It was simply fabulous. But best of all, the WEATHER WAS PERFECT! The temps were in the 60s and 70s just about every day, and even though some mornings started off hazy or misty, we had loads of sunshine and little to no rain during the entire trip.
We'll get to all that. But first up, our opening act -- 3 amazing days in LONDON enroute to Ireland.
Straight from the airport, we took the first day to finish up showing Simone the tourist sights of London-- Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Westminster Abby. We were all a little travel weary, but managed to squeeze in quite a bit of touring before an afternoon nap.
The next day was perhaps our most special. During the day, the gang split up to do various things -- shopping, touring, museums. And that evening we had the GREAT GREAT pleasure of seeing Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre. The cast was superb -- an electric performance!
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| Tea sampling at Fortnum & Mason. |
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| Shopping on Carnaby St. |
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| Finally scored my Mary Poppins umbrella! |
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| My Burberry baby. |
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Pre-theatre dinner at The Goring Dining Room -- a royal favorite and the hotel where Kate Middleton stayed to dress for the royal wedding.
On our final day in London, we had tea in Harrod's tea room, did a little more shopping, and took a long stroll in Hyde Park all before dinner at The Thomas Cubbitt gastropub.
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| Tony blended his own tea in Harrod's tea department.... |
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| and named it Bubblehead Blend. His creation is now in the official book and ready for re-order on demand. |
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| Perfect, blue, sunny day in London. |
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| A lovely pub with an outstanding menu in it's upstairs restaurant. |
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| Rabbit loin pie. Mmmmmmmm... |
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| Pan fried hake with fennel and dill. |
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And the most heavenly strawberry dessert we've ever had.
We were a bit sad to leave London, but off to Gatwick we went for our flight to ....
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From here recounting day by day would be too tedious and far too many photos. We rented a car, set off to Limerick, Killarney, Ring of Kerry, Dingle Peninsula, Galway, Connemara, and back to Dublin. We hiked, we ate, we shopped, we walked, we relaxed, and....
WE DROVE ON THE LEFT!! (and by we, I mean Tony) Big kudos to both of the husbands for getting us through all the driving with no car damage-- which, for the record, is statistically rare in Ireland.
Here's a big photo dump to give you a sense of some of the highlights in no particular order:
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| Simone enjoying seafood chowder in Dingle. It became a favorite throughout the trip. |
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| Town of Dingle. |
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| Hiking on the Dingle Peninsula. |
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| Perfectly preserved ancient church -- Gallarus Oratory. |
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| Stop along the Connor Pass. |
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| View of the Skelling Islands from the Cliffs of Kerry. |
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| A carriage ride through Killarney National Park on the way to Muckross House. |
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| Killarney National Park |
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| Muckross Abbey ruins. |
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| Muckross House. |
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| Torc Waterfall. |
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| Bunratty Castle |
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| The view from our vacation home in Kinvara. |
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| Simone making breakfast at the house -- one of her FAVORITE parts of the trip. |
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| Hiking from Doolin to the Cliffs of Moher. |
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| Cliffs of Moher. |
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| Kylemore Abby in Connemara. |
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| Gothic Cathedral at Kylemore Abby. |
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| Simone throwing pebbles at the Giant's Wishing Stone. Legend has it that if you can get three pebbles over the stone while facing backwards, your wish will be granted. None of us were able to get all three pebbles over. |
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| A lake in Connemara on our most overcast day -- but no rain. |
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| Connemara. |
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| Along Connor Pass. |
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| Cliffs of Kerry |
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| Merchant's Arch Pub in Dublin. |
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| Hiking the Cliffs of Moher. |
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| Cliffs of Moher. |
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| St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. |
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| King John's Castle in Limerick |
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| Not far from our house in Kinvara was a chocolate factory we couldn't resist. |
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| Creamy, rich, and not too sweet. |
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| Their award winning bakery is on the list of 100 best places to eat in Ireland and in the top 10 cafes in Ireland. |
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| Worth the hype. |
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| Galway Cathedral. |
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| Galway |
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| Tea at Kylemore Abbey |
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| Dublin |
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| Temple Bar in Dublin |
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| Ha'penny Bridge in Dublin |
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| The Long Room at Trinity College |
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| Brian Boru harp--the oldest and most elaborately carved Irish harp in existence. Between 600-700 years old. |
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| Trinity College. |
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| Bubble cones in Dublin. |
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| Inside St. Patrick's Cathedral Dublin |
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| Needs no explanation. |
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| Skipping stones in Kinvara. |
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| After some afternoon drizzle in Galway. |
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| Hiking near Doolin. |
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| King John's Castle in Limerick. |
And natural beauty all around. You lose the scale and grandeur in photos that really can't come close to doing it justice, but you'll get the picture...
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| Fuchsia in bloom everywhere. |
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| Bye Ireland! |
I could go on, but I think you have the idea. We got back a few days ago to some of the hottest DC weather on record, which makes us miss London and Ireland all the more. But we have lots more summer to soak in and more fun times ahead.
