Italia

Sometimes I still can't believe that I have been exploring/galavanting all over Europe for the last 4 months. I got home just 48 hours ago from an 8 day trip to Italy with friends...it's absolutely unreal. Going to the country of pizza, pasta, and ancient history has always been something I dreamed about. So for the last week before exams began, Sarah and I, along with two of our other friends, went to Venice, Florence, and Rome.

At the end of my last post, I mentioned that as of Friday morning, my plan had been to just travel to Rome for 4 days. Originally, the we had all planned to do the three cities, and the other three of my travel buddies were still following that itinerary. After I had already bought my ticket to Venice, Trinity exams schedules were released, and I had one Monday April 27 and another Wednesday April 29. Trying to be responsible and aware that my time in Ireland is slowly drawing to a close, I decided to just meet them in Rome early Wednesday morning. When I tried to change my flight, Ryanair told me that the change fee was at least 30 euros. Since my Venice ticket only cost 36 euros, I didn't bother jumping through their hoops and simply bought a new ticket to Rome.

So Friday night, when friends were over before Trinity Ball, I realized that I could be in Italy within 24 hours. How could I pass that up? I asked Sarah if it was even possible for me to piggy back on their hotels in Venice and Florence (had they gone with hostels it would not have been), and she said it was definitely possible, not taking me seriously--maybe thinking it was just the wine talking. At 9 PM I checked in, and had made up my mind. Ladies and gentleman I am proud to say I spontaneously decided to go to Italy 12 hours before the flight. Unpacked and a little panicked about what I had just done, we left for Trinity Ball. The next morning was a bit of a fiasco, but by 1 PM I was on my way to Venice.

Venice

I have heard that some people don't like Venice; I was definitely not one of them. Getting lost in the twisting streets with canals and bridges around every corner was beautiful, inevitable, and so much fun. The first night we had out first of many Italian dinners followed by gelato, and walked through the more touristy streets. On Sunday, our full day, we wandered for a few hours, seeing St. Marcus's Square and Basilica and covering about half of the island. That night before dinner we splurged and did a Gondola ride--we wouldn't have been able to forgive ourselves otherwise!

Monday we had a late afternoon train to Florence, so Sarah and I spent a while looking through different shops and souvenir stands. Then for a few hours we sat on the edge of a bridge overlooking a beautiful and busy canal, our feet dangling fifteen feet above the water. It was relaxing and so pretty. Before leaving, we following our hotel's suggestion to a small restaurant that locals like to visit. It ended up being one of my favorite meals in Italy! For only 10 euro each, we were surprised to receive fresh bread, bottles of water, a bottle of wine, and delicious homemade pasta. The waitress then asked if we wanted the second course, which none of us had room for.

Florence

After a quick high speed train, we were in a city that had an entirely different feel to it than Venice. After dropping stuff off at the hotel, I met up for dinner with two of my best friends from WashU--Rachel and Megan--who are architecture students studying for the semester in Italy. We caught up over some delicious pizza and wine, and I got all of the insider tips on what to do with two days in Florence.

We woke up relatively early Tuesday morning and headed to the Accademia, which is the museum housing The David. The hour and a half long line was worth the wait, because even though I am not much of a museum person the huge sculpture actually exceeded my expectations. Next we visited the famous Duomo, one of my favorite buildings in Europe, and climbed up to the top of the dome. An absolute must do! The view from the top was beautiful; florence from above is not to miss. The rest of our day sped by with a visit to the Bargello (a sculpture museum in an old castle/prison), visiting a big central market, and just exploring Florence. One exciting find: Eduardo's, the best gelato we had in Italy!

One tip Megan gave me was to watch the sunset from Piazza Michaelangelo with a bottle of wine. Sarah and I found a pretty 5 euro bottle of Tuscany red wine, which ended up being the best we had in all of our time in Italy. The four of us headed out to find the Piazza, having no idea what to expect.

It was one of the most beautiful things I have seen in all of my travel abroad, definitely near the top of my list. Photos in no way can get close to doing it justice. Piazza Michaelangelo ended up being on a hill overlooking the entire city of Florence and the mountains surrounding it. Watching the sun set over an already beautiful city was breathtaking.

Rome

Wednesday afternoon we left Florence in a high speed train, bound for Rome. Since I jumped on the first half of the trip at the last minute possible, I had to buy my train tickets only a day or two in advance. Somehow for this ride it worked out in my favor, because I randomly got bumped up to first class! With ten other passengers in my car maximum  I had cushy leather seats, and a few minutes into the ride a man came around with wine and chocolate. Living the life!

Our first full day in Rome was amazing. In the morning we spent a few hours in the Coliseum, which was unreal to see in person after growing up watching Gladiator with my parents. Afterwards we went to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum, an impressive display of ruins from Ancient Rome. Following our pasta filled lunch break, we stopped by the Pantheon (which in my opinion was nothing too special) and took a break overlooking the Spanish Steps. We tried to see Trevi Fountain, but it was under construction for our whole stay.

After dinner we decided we should see a little bit of nightlife in Rome, and opted for the touristy Ice Bar. It was completely made of ice, at -5 degrees celsius which meant we had to wear these ridiculous looking thermal coats. Even the cups holding our ice-snow-cold themed drinks were made of ice! It was a very cool experience :) (that pun has not been made enough I assure you...)

We didn't stay for too long, but on our walk home stopped by the Coliseum. It was amazing to see at night, and we sat on a ledge looking over it for a long time. Friday while our two friends slept in, Sarah and I sat outside a small cafe people watching and sipping Italian lattes. Once they woke up, we walked across Rome to Vatican City.

We spent an hour walking through the Vatican Museum, not lingering because the rooms were pretty crowded. The map room was my personal favorite, though of course the Sistine Chapel was gorgeous. We got to skip the line since we precooked tickets, but the line for St. Peter's was dauntingly long.

Luckily we didn't have to wait in it! My dad had given me an Italy guide book he and my mom used on their trip, and in the Rome section was a handy little tip. If you pay for tickets through a tour group, there is a small special access door at the back of the Sistine Chapel that leads right into St. Peter's. Technically for tour groups only, the author suggested trying to just walk through. So it was the Catholic with three jewish/nonreligious people that suggested sneaking into one of the holiest places on the planet.

It worked! We simply walked through with a tour and got to bypass the two hour long line outside in the heat. For me, St Peter's was the highlight of the Vatican. We even got to go below ground and see the tombs of past popes. The basilica itself was the prettiest and most magnificent I have ever seen, and in the last four months I have seen lots of impressive churches. The whole basilica had an awe-inspiring and humbling air to it, and I was sad to leave.

We spent a few hours sitting in both St Peter's square and a nearby cafe, taking a break from our long day of walking/lines/sun. I had heard multiple times about a small restaurant near the Vatican that my parents loved from their trip, so we decided to try it for dinner.

The Holy Canoli
(yes eaten in Vatican City) 

The definition of a whole in the wall, it was one of my favorite meals in Italy! Antonio the owner was really friendly, and we were the only ones in the restaurant for most of the meal. On his suggestion I had spinach ricotta ravioli in walnut sauce...yum!

Deciding we wanted to see a new part of Rome, we stayed north of the river and walked towards a wine and chocolate bar Sarah and I had found online. It ended up being in a very young, chic, and local part of the city that we wish we had explored more. A few words on this bar...it was not at all what we expected! Everything was served in chocolate glasses--which was awesome--but innuendos ran rampant. It is not the place for those easily shocked/to go with your parents, but was hilarious and a great time.


On Saturday, Sarah and I again went to a small cafe while the other two slept in. Once they met us downtown, we went to the top of the Victor Emmanuel Monument (huge white building) to see a birds eye view of Rome. While not nearly as impressive at that of the Duomo, I really enjoyed it. We followed it up with a few hours of souvenir shopping, which is always fun.

On my last night in Rome, I got to see St. Peter's Square at night, which was one of the prettiest places I have been so far. Seeing it lit up and very much emptied out was beautiful.

In an amazing stroke of fate, one of my best friends Glenna happened to arrive in Rome Saturday night...on her 21st birthday! We went to a late dinner where I had perhaps my favorite pasta dish (gnocchi in gorgonzola sauce) and got late night gelato as we caught up for a few hours. It was amazing! Who would have ever guess I would be spending my freshman floor mates birthday with her in Rome.

Overall it was an amazing trip. I am absolutely in love with Italy, and can't wait to go back one day.


Thanks for reading!

Good Irish Craic

The day my family left, I went to my last day of classes at Trinity College.

And today, I had my first exam.

In between I had just over three glorious weeks of freedom to hang out in Dublin, explore more of Ireland, and take an 8 day vacation to Italy (which you will be able to read about in my next post). Putting it in Irish slang, it was definitely good craic.

After my grandma, dad, and sister left, it was Easter weekend. To celebrate on Sunday, I went with Maggie to a service at St. Patrick's Cathedral, which neither of us had been inside of yet. It is a beautiful church, but the mass itself was an experience. It had little speaking, a lot of singing, and felt almost more like a performance than an Easter mass. It had a weirdly cold tone to it. On the handed out booklet, there was even a note saying that when the choir sings it is a time for meaningful and silent reflection...not exactly inviting you to join in. Still, it was worth it to see the cathedral! Afterwords we met Connor and Michael for a nice brunch at a nearby restaurant, celebrating both the holiday and the end of classes with mimosas and french toast.

On Tuesday, Kristina and I woke up bright and early (after two hours of sleep each...) to catch a 7 AM bus for a day trip down to Waterford, Ireland. Outside of being home to the famous House of Waterford Crystal, the town actually was the first ever to be founded in Ireland, by Vikings in 914. It has a lot of important history behind it that we discovered by wandering into a few medieval museums. The highlight for me though was definitely the House of Waterford factory tour.

From my grandma and my mom, I had already been familiar with Waterford Crystal. But I had no idea how famous it really was. They make the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball, give the US President annual gifts, receive orders from the Queen of England, and produce lots of sport championship trophies. In the tour we got to see all of the different stages of the crystal, to its original shaping as seen below, to the final hand carving process. Afterwards we explored the attached store, but sadly I didn't bring enough money for the $40,000 bear sculpture.

The rest of the week was spent relaxing in Dublin, including my first official rugby game, and picnics in both St. Stephen's Green and St. Marion's Park. The next Sunday, Sarah and I went on a trip to the west coast of Ireland in county Sligo. We spent two days in the absolute middle of no where...to call a taxi you called someone's home phone, there were two restaurants within five miles, and neither cell phone service nor ATMs existed. However it was gorgeous, and we were there to go horseback riding!


We both had said we were relatively beginners, because even though I took lessons for awhile when I was younger, my horseback riding days are few and far between. And this stable was  definitely not for beginners, whatever they told us! It was a lot of fun but definitely an adventure. The terrain was often very steep and rocky, with horses that very much liked to run. Staying seated on an english style saddle (aka no horn to hold) when a horse is bouncing down a 45 degree angled slope is slightly terrifying.

On the first day we got to ride on an amazing beach, which is definitely a dream come true. I say that even though: On the way back, there was legitimately one bird on the beach. As my horse and I rode past, it took off--as birds usually do. My horse must not have seen it, because she suddenly spooked pretty badly and threw me off. Yes I actually fell for the first time off of a horse. Sarah was lucky enough to be riding behind me, and got to watch the show. I was told it was a pretty graceful fall, but my tailbone was not happy with me for a few days. The rest of the ride was comparatively uneventful, and the beach was the highlight of horseback riding for me.


Continuing the trip, I am proud and slightly shocked to say I have found my favorite place in Ireland: the small coastal town of Strandhill. It was surrounded by everything you could imagine: giant dunes, mountains, the ocean with huge waves crashing on rocks, and a calm bay with the prettiest beaches I have ever seen.

In the afternoon I hiked up the mountain shown below, Knocknarea. The way up was mostly stairs leading through a forest, and the top was fairly flat and huge. The next day I went two more hikes, taking me around the peninsula into the prettiest cove of beaches imaginable, surrounded by mountains with crystal clear water. I have never been somewhere that seemed so untouched by people, almost like it was from another time. On the way back I went over giant dunes, which were a lot of fun to slide down and gave some more great views of the bay.

Strandhill

Sarah had taken an earlier bus home to study for exams, but I planned on catching the 6:30 PM bus out of Sligo. I arrived at the station around 5:30 to be safe, and waited outside since it was so nice out. The buses have big electronic displays in front, displaying their destination. I waited for the one reading Dublin to finally pull in, and around 6:45 got concerned because they are almost always on time. I asked inside...and the lady told me it had pulled out right in front of me. I was shocked and positive that it had not happened. In the end it turned out the bus driver forgot to change his new destination display, so no one waiting outside had gotten on the bus. They told us that there was one more bus that night...at 1 AM. #strandedinsligo

I was not up for waiting 6 hours at a tiny bus station with no wifi, and looked around to see a Best Western right behind the station. Lucky enough they had an open room, and I decided the 65 euro for a bed and free breakfast was definitely worth it. I slept in a king size bed and took the noon bus the following day. Having so much free time and no responsibilites is the life of luxury, though study abroad and my bank accounts are not getting along so well!

I got home Thursday afternoon, and had that night to relax. On Friday my roommates and I all woke up around nine because we had to go pick up our tickets for that night downtown...to Trinity Ball!

Trinity Ball is an annual TCD tradition in which the school brings tons of bands and artists, usually with a few big names in the mix, to campus for a late night concert. Why is it called a ball? Because the dress code is black tie! Most of the Irish guys were wearing tuxes, and the girls wore a mix of long and short cocktail dresses. The four of us picked up our tickets, and headed to Grafton Street to find Sarah a new dress and a new pair of shoes for me. After two successes (and a personal victory for Nicole who convinced me to buy adorable 6 inch wedges to wear on cobblestone), the three of them got their hair done at a blow dry bar, while I decided to do my own (after having just spent an unexpected 65 euro...). We followed the morning up with froyo, and headed home to clean up and get ready before hosting a preparty for a bunch of our friends.

The day was so much fun, and Trinity Ball itself was enjoyable but to be honest nothing too special since we didn't know any of the artists, and it was freezing by midnight. The coolest part by far was seeing Trinity's campus, which is always clean and plastered with stay off the grass signs, turned into a giant festival ground.

Friday morning, my plans were to be in Rome Wednesday to Sunday. Saturday afternoon I was on a plane to Venice. Stay tuned for that story, as well as to hear about an amazing trip to Italy!

As always, thanks for reading!

The Dynasty Arrives

Once upon a time, three generations of Knowles stormed the Emerald Isle.

Day 1

Almost three weeks ago, my dad, grandma, and younger sister Laura landed in Ireland. I met them bright and early Saturday morning to begin a fun and busy week (prepare yourself for another long post). After the fiasco that is renting a car, we headed up into Northern Ireland to drop our bags off at the castle that was going to be home for the night.

Narrow Water Castle

Narrow Water Castle is a still functioning castle; the current resident has had the castle in his family for over six generations, though his uncle currently holds the title of lord. We were staying the night in an apartment in what used to be the servants' quarters. After the hour long car ride that had me nervous the entire time--my dad was driving on the left side of the road after being awake for over 24 hours...--it was a welcoming sight.

Fit for royalty

Laura immediately dropped into one of the beds, and we didn't see her again for at least three hours. My dad, grandma, and I decided to take a short walk into the enormous grounds, where we found gardens, an old treehouse, and lots of sheep. Once we got back, my dad too decided to take an hour power nap. Only my grandma remained, and she was hands down the winner in beating jet lag.

Once everyone was awake, we drove over to a small coastal town called Carlingsford so they could experience their first Irish pub of the week. After a nice dinner at a local restaurant, we headed back to the castle. With just a single episode of NCIS, all three of them passed out by 10 PM.

Day 2

The next day we woke up bright and early by Laura standards...aka around 8. After a quick breakfast of homemade brown bread and fresh coffee, we drove into Belfast to go to the Titanic museum.

A good looking bunch

The museum was fantastic. There were around nine different galleries, exploring all the way from why Belfast was the perfect location for its construction, to how the Titanic's story is represented in movies and literature today. For me, the most powerful exhibit was the gallery holding the only first-hand and real-time records about what really happened that night in 1912. On the walls of a dark blue, winding room were the exact telegraph messages exchanged between the Titanic and other ships/land stations nearby. They spanned from early messages of everything is well, all the way to one last attempt begging for rescue. It cuts off in the middle, and was the last anyone was ever to hear from the Titanic.

Afterwards, we ate lunch in a cute french inspired cafe near Queen's University, and headed back to Narrow Water.  Since the castle is still functioning, its almost always closed aside from weddings. However we were lucky enough to be there on a rare day that it was open for a few hours to host a wedding tour, so we actually got to go inside!

Inside it truly looked like something out of Downton Abbey. We headed downstairs into the basement, which had stone walls, arched door ways, and little tables of wedding photographers, caterers, dress makers, etc spread out for visitors to explore. After seeing more of the castle, I thought the coolest part was the old paintings on the walls of people who had lived in the castle over time, going back hundreds of years. The current owner's ancestors!

After packing up our bags, we said goodbye to Narrow Water and headed to our next stop: Cabra Castle. Though not a functioning castle, Cabra is still decorated with some original furniture and tons of old portraits, but also has a nice restaurant and pub inside. We were again staying in the old servants' quarters, though this time we had three separate rooms. They were incredible, and the nicest rooms I have ever stayed in! After settling in we headed to the pub for a pre-dinner drink, and then headed up to the restaurant for a delicious four course meal with after dinner tea that was legitimately fit for royalty. Laura and I adventured outside and happened to find one of the castle's two irish wolfhounds, and he was almost up to my waist! (and incredibly smelly since I think he lives mostly outside)

Cabra Castle

Day 3 (My favorite day of the trip)

After another delicious meal in the restaurant, we packed up and said goodbye to Cabra Castle. I think we all wished we had been able to stay a little longer; it is definitely my favorite place I have ever stayed. The dream: having my wedding in their fairytale giant ballroom. Anyway, today was dedicated to seeing still standing house that both my grandma and her father grew up in, as well as their little hometown of Shercock. It turned out to be a place where not only did everyone know everyone, everyone remembered the McMahon's (my grandma's family), even though they had left Ireland over 60 years ago.

Our GPS got us to the town center (consisting of maybe two restaurants, a pub, and an ice cream parlor, and one or two shops), but from there we needed to ask directions to Pat Ruxton's. Pat, who I am distantly related to in some way, bought the house from my great-grandmother and has kept it standing at her request, though it's now used as a storage shed. After an adventure that involved hailing the postman down for directions, to being at Pat Ruxton Junior's house instead of Senior's, we finally pulled into the right drive.

Pat walked out of his barn and greeted us like old friends, though he had no idea who the strangers that had randomly pulled into his backyard were. After a moment he recognized my grandma, who had been by a few times in the last thirty years. We got to go inside my grandma's childhood home, and see where the kitchen, living room, and bedrooms had once been. It even had the original roof. It was amazing to see a standing part of our family's history.

Afterwards Pat invited us in for tea, and refused to take no for an answer. With traditional Irish hospitality, he laid out biscuits, put a kettle on the stove, and called his daughter in law to bring over milk because we simply couldn't have tea without it! Once his wife got home from the store, she apologized profusely for not having freshly baked cookies or scones ready for us, even though we had dropped by unannounced.

As we chatted, it came up that we were also looking to visit a man named PJ O'Hanlon, who used to own a store in the next town over. It was no longer there, so we weren't sure how to find him, and
neither were the Ruxtons. So Pat spent at least half an hour calling the entire town looking for PJ. He rang a neighbor, who suggested another neighbor, who thought maybe this man would know, and so on.

Burns Pub

The mission ended in success, and we had an address to find PJ. However our short visit had turned into a few hours, so we decided to save it for another day. Before leaving Shercock, we continued our adventure by stopping to visit an old family friend who had just turned 102 (also involved tea and brown bread, we almost couldn't take anymore hospitality!), and the town's church where my grandma's 11 year old brother had been buried. Another example of Irish kindness was when we couldn't find his grave in the pouring rain and freezing wind, and a random older gentleman braved the weather to help us find it. Before saying goodbye to Shercock and driving back to Dublin for the night, we went to Burns Pub. When my dad and grandma visited in the late 90's, not only did they have a fun afternoon there but actually stumbled upon another distant relative!

Today was one of my favorites in my stay, because over and over again we experienced true Irish hospitality. My sister and I also got to see a real piece of my grandma's childhood and our family history, which (not to be cliche) was priceless.

Day 4

Day 4 was dedicated to Dublin. We headed to breakfast at a local cafe, where my dad was to become a short term regular. Afterwards we walked to Trinity College, so my family could get a tour of where I have been studying this semester.

Main Square and the Library

Though shopping was my grandma's idea, Laura and I were more than happy to go along! So we headed down Grafton Street, a bustling pedestrian street lined with shops and performers in Dublin center. Laura and I both ended up with Trinity sweatshirts from my dad, and jewelry from my grandma was was sweet of them both. The weather was again not great--the five days they were here were not joking or exaggerating five of the worst I have experienced in Dublin--so we decided to drive to Howth for lunch, a seaside town 20 miles outside of the city.

After eating at yet another pub, my grandma took refuge in the car while my dad, Laura, and I braved the weather. We climbed a wall overlooking the ocean, and getting almost knocked over by wind was worth the view. We walked along the pier, and actually saw some wild seals in the harbor! Finally we ran laughing back to the car once the wind turned the rain into little needles. It was a great afternoon, that continued with a stop at the Guinness Storehouse for a tasting and tour.

After a break int the apartment, we headed to the Brazen Head, the oldest pub in Dublin. A late night dinner was well worth it, because we got out own table in the room that filled up quickly, because live music is played every night. Advertised to begin at 9:30, following with the relaxed Irish culture the band started a little after 10. It was maybe six or seven men, all ranging in age and instruments, performing traditional and lively music. I think that this was everyone's favorite night, and I am proud to say that my grandma outlasted me in a pub.

Day 5

On the last day of their Ireland vacation, we drove out the Carrick Macross, the town where my great-grandmother grew up. It is also the home of PJ O'Hanlon, my second cousin twice removed, who still owns the house she grew up in along with his grandfather.

PJ and the house

We dropped by his house unannounced on a workday, and were lucky enough to catch him at home. Then PJ apologized to us for having to go to a meeting, but was able to make time for us in the afternoon. After grabbing lunch at the Fiddler's Elbow, we met back up with him. We made a pitstop
at his mother's house--who keeping up with Irish hospitality offered us a drop of brandy--and then drove up to the house of my great-great-grandparents. It was in great condition, and had a large open kitchen, a bedroom for my great-great-grandparents, and two bedrooms shared among nine kids. It was amazing to see, and you could almost picture growing up there with plenty of land for horses, cows, and sheep, a well across the road to get water, and miles to the nearest town.

Childhood home of my great-grandmother

PJ then took us to the graveyard where my great-great grandparents are buried. My grandma had never been there before, and was definitely moved.

One of many

Following our routine, we drove back to Dublin and took a break at the apartment. For our final night out, we headed into Temple Bar, a few square touristy blocks filled with pubs. My grandma's birthday was only a few days away, so we surprised her with a brownie and candle, as well as a new charm for her pandora bracelet of a little castle. We went to a few more pubs before calling it a night.


Day 6

With a flight at 11:30, we headed to breakfast at my dad's favorite cafe for one more Irish meal. Now I have been in and out of Dublin airport plenty of times, and the longest it has ever taken me to get through security was maybe 25 minutes. So I told them that leaving at 9 would give them plenty of time...not thinking about how they had to go through a second round of security known as Customs. They barely made their flight, and my poor grandma had to literally run through the airport. A fitting ending, because the week took of running and we never had a dull moment.

Overall the week with my dad, grandma, and Laura was one of my favorite in Ireland. We met relatives, saw places where my ancestors and even grandma grew up, stayed at gorgeous castles, traveled through beautiful areas of Ireland, and went to 12 pubs in 5 days. Definitely a success.

As always, thanks for reading :)

County Kerry

Imagine the photos of Ireland featured on postcards, and you are picturing County Kerry. Touring this beautiful south western county of Ireland would have been challenging without a car, but luckily the American program I am studying through--IES--offered a weekend trip for us in mid March. We left Trinity on a nice coach bus bright and early at 7 a.m., and arrived in Killarney National Park by noon.

Our trip began with an hour long boat tour, leaving from Ross Castle and taking us through three different lakes. As we glided across the clear, mirror-like water, we were surrounded by mountains on all sides. There was a layer of mist that gave the trip a mysterious and kind of mystical feeling.

Once we reached Lord Brandon's Cottage, we began a roughly seven mile hike that took us over a mountain, into a valley, and across farmland that had sheep pretty much every two feet. Afterwards our bus took us to our hotel in Killarney, a quaint town that has been one of my favorites so far. Markie was my roommate at an incredibly nice hotel, such a change from hostels! 

The next morning IES took us to Inch Beach, on a tour of the Dingle Whiskey Distillery, and to a pottery making lesson--all before lunch.  I had been skeptical about using over an hour of our tightly scheduled time on a distillery tour, but it actually ended up being one of the highlights of the trip. Not even three years old, the company is actually set to sell its first barrel of whisky in a few months, and is the first distillery to open in Ireland in over 125 years. We got to see the actual distillation process, learn about Irish whiskey history, hear how the company started, and taste samples of their homemade gin as well as un-aged whiskey.

Gorgeous Inch Beach with sand reflecting the sky

We then had an afternoon to explore Dingle, a super cute little town on the coast. After sampling some of the famous Murphy's ice cream (Salted Caramel + Caramelized Brown Bread), Markie, Connor and I checked out a small book store and then just wandered around for a while. We decided to make a pit stop for "lunch" at a small cheese shop, which was 100% the right decision because for around 4 euro Markie and I split a cheese board which was amazing. We spent the end of the afternoon sitting on some rocks in the sun right next the the harbor.

The next morning, Markie, Connor, Julia and I went on a self guided hike that took us back to Ross Castle and a little but deeper into the national park. By noon it was time to board the bus and head back to Dublin. Overall it was a really fun weekend, and County Kerry held many of the most beautiful sites I have seen in Ireland yet.