Ireland - Dublin, Kilkenny, Kinsale, Killarney, Dingle, Galway
Original Post: November 5, 2018
Traveling in the company of those we love is home in motion.
After one month of being independent and living off whatever food I could find in the dining hall - let me tell you, pureed vegetable soup every day, or ever, is not the best - my parents had finally come to Ireland to take me to good restaurants!
Or, as they liked to think of it, had finally come to visit their daughter who had been working hard studying abroad for the semester.
We had spent the night in Dublin, and of course ate at a sushi restaurant - what better food to get in Dublin? - to celebrate their arrival. The next morning, we rented a car from Hertz in Dublin and reached Kilkenny an expeditious two and a half hours later. That is, once my dad figured out how to drive the car on the left-hand side of the road and not get hit by oncoming traffic.
My mom, being captivated (some may say ‘obsessed’) with the American travel writer, Rick Steves, and his book on all things Ireland, made sure we went to places he recommended. Our first stop in Kilkenny was a restaurant called Petronella, in a historic alley named Butterslip Lane.
A 5-minute walk along the canal later, and we were at Kilkenny Castle, a 12th century fortress and 19th century stately home. The castle was home to the Butler family until as recently as 1967, and Ireland’s Office of Public Works has restored the castle to carry on its story.
That night, we decided to stay outside of the city center of Kilkenny at Mount Juliet Estate.
After driving in circles around the estate for about 15 minutes, we finally found the entrance. The estate consisted of multiple historic buildings laid out on rolling hills; a view of golf courses, a river and horse farms. We wandered around the residence and ended up at the Manor House, where we had pre-dinner drinks in a small sitting area. We moved on to dinner at the restaurant and went to bed before heading on to Kinsale.
By afternoon, we had made it to the Rock of Cashel, on the way to Kinsale. The monuments serve as a reminder of the medieval centuries when the Rock of Cashel was an important refuge of the faith in Ireland.
In Kinsale, we stayed in Tierney’s Guest House on Main Street, placed right between rows of shops and restaurants. We went to a restaurant called Fishy Fishy - so good, they had to name it twice - for drinks and an appetizer of seafood platter.
Too early for dinner, we decided to walk around the fishing town of Kinsale and explore. The sunset was one a person could only dream of; it looked as though it arose from the water and up into the sky as one.
There were colorful buildings lined one after another, named as homes, storefronts and restaurants. As we walked to the top of the hill, we could see what felt like the entire town, all the way down to the river.
We then went on to Blue Haven Hotel’s restaurant for dinner; a cheese platter and fish tacos to share. The next morning, we had breakfast at Lemon Leaf Cafe right next door to our inn. We walked through a food market and shops, and continued our journey.
The drive to Kilarney was filled with miles and miles of rolling hills, narrow roads with hedges around each corner, fields of cows and sporadic horses. There were only about five small towns along the way, stretching around one mile long each. We ate lunch at a restaurant called Salvador’s, where I opted for the less traditional Irish meal of a Greek salad and seafood chowder. We strolled through shops and into St. Mary’s Church of Ireland, and drove on to our hotel.
The Rose Hotel in Tralee was our place of lodging for the night, and it just so happened that our home neighbor’s friend was the owner.
We had drinks in Dot’s Bar and dinner in the Rose Room - I had the chicken with a goat cheese and tomato tart, and it was the best food I’d had since being in Ireland.
The following morning, we drove all over the 40 kilometer long Dingle peninsula. At a stop along the way, we walked up to the Irish Famine Cottages, which showed what life was like during the period of mass starvation and disease in Ireland in the 1800s. We also passed Dunmore Head, the westernmost point in Europe.
We had lunch at Murphy’s Pub in the town of Dingle, where I got vegetable stir fry served with fries - because every meal in Ireland seemed to be offered with some form of potato. We spent the night back at the Rose Hotel in Tralee, packed up our things in the morning and traveled to Galway.
Driving to Galway, there are small cities, often consisting of one Main Street with a few stores and restaurants stretching about a mile long.
Compared to the abundance of neighborhoods and overdevelopment in the United States, Ireland is mostly a house, another house, a giant grass field, a grouping of houses, another grass field, and a few more houses sporadically laid out between main cities.
Although less common, we did still see occasional housing development neighborhoods on the way to Galway from Tralee.
In Galway, we stayed outside of the city center in the Salthill Hotel, where we requested a room for my parents and I - and somehow ended up getting four beds and a private room connected to the main room.
We took a taxi to Quay Street in Galway city and ate at the Quay Street Kitchen for lunch - along with traditional Irish food, they also had many vegan and vegetarian options. We then walked around Quays Street and Eyre Square and bought souvenirs - how would you remember where you went if you didn't buy something from there?
The night ended with pub hopping, where we had drinks and appetizers at The Front Door pub and the 1520 bar.
Our trip was coming to an end, as we drove to our final destination the next morning: Dublin - coming full circle.
We checked into the Trinity City Hotel and walked to the restaurant called The Bank on College Green for lunch - a restored bank from the 1800s. Trinity College was our next stop, where we went through a tour of the Book of Kells. On our way to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, we stumbled upon the South City Market / George’s Street Arcade, which housed food stands, booths with desserts, wine and cheese, postcards, clothes and more.
Needing a boost of energy, we decided to get some food - we found a sushi and bento restaurant called KuRaudo, right around the block from our hotel. That evening, my friend’s family had also been staying in Dublin, so after our dinner we went to the Temple Bar area and met them for drinks at Norseman.
On my final day with my parents for the next couple of months, we explored Grafton Street and had lunch at Busyfeet & Coco Cafe. We went to Dublin Castle and then to The Brazen Head - the oldest pub in Ireland. Almost about to walk out because it was so crowded, we found someone getting up and immediately sat down at their table. Wanting a quieter place to get appetizers after, we went to The Oak lounge and bar.
Then, all of a sudden, the week was over and it was time to part ways with my parents once again.
It was an amazing experience to share my study abroad journey with my parents. Living over 3,000 miles away from family can have its challenges, but when they’re in your company, you know you’re home.