We arrived at 8:30 am Sunday, October 1st in Dublin, Irelandđ¨đŽ  We picked up our car which is where we had the first encounter with the parking brake and also where we were abruptly thrown into left-side driving!  #woof
We managed to make it downtown and find some parking on the street. Â We started off with brunch at a local cafe called the Coffee Bean.
In 3 hours we had checked off our list of what we wanted to see in Dublin.đ  Haâ Penny bridge, Dublin Castle, Temple Bar, Book of Kells at Trinity Collegeâwhich was a really long line so we didnât wait to actually go in, Grafton Street-a popular shopping streetâŚ
and the Guiness Storehouseâ where we took the tour and learned how to taste and pour our own beer from the tapâwe donât even like beer đťđ
The last thing we wanted to see while in Ireland were the Cliffs of Moher (aka: moe-hairsđ)!
So after a fast and furious time in Dublin we ventured out into the countrysideâon the left side of the road that is.  It wasnât long before our highway stretch came to end, our path narrowed and we were winding around bends (you know, like in the movies when they have to stop for the sheep to pass- we only had to once)!  Jess was driving this portion of the trip (as I was pumping #stilldoingthatmomlife) and all I remember hearing her say was, â Iâm closing my eyes everytime we pass a vehicle.âđłđ Haha it was hilarious, but again no collisions to report! (Ok maybe a couple of scratches on our left side from bushes etc, but youâll have that.) #mybad
We had hoped to make it to our Bed & Breakfast in Doolin before dark. We arrived just in time for the westerlies (their term used quite often for the winds) to pick up and for Sean (our host) to welcome us in by carrying our luggage. Â Iâm telling you, if you have seen Ireland in the movies, this was picture perfect!
We found our room then made our way to the nearby village pub for dinner- Gus Oâ Connorâs! Â (It was about 9:30pm by now.) Â We werenât quite sure what to expect as we walked into the pubâ only seeing guys, and only greeted with that typical stare! We quickly saw many other Irish women so didnât feel quite as out of place. Â Let me remind you that this was a Sunday evening, and all of the locals were in having dinner, drinks, and live Irish music. Â This place was packed,why we ended up in a back room, somewhere in the corner!
The food was hearty but delectable at thatâ we split two meals so we could try a varietyâ Fish & Chips and Bacon & Cabbage!  (Not your typical bacon) #hefty We ended up doing dessert here (actually our only time all week that we made time for dessert). #ararityđŚ
We finished up and called it a night as we knew our adventures were only beginning for the week!
The next morning Sean made us breakfast along with the 5 other people staying the night. (all from the statesâNC, NY, & MA) Â It was fun to get to know them and hear about their travels. Â The breakfast was really outstanding compared to a typical b&b. Â They had an assortment of yogurt, granola, pastries, breads and then on top of that you ordered a main entree that Sean prepared for you right there. Â The joke was that he doesnât like people to move his food around, so eat what you order! Â That scared us from ordering the âTraditional Irish Breakfastâ to try because with it came Black Irish Pudding. Â It was described to us as having pigs blood in itâ I really didnât need to hear anymore ingredients, I knew I wasnât going to be able to gag it down knowing that secret ingredient!
Anyway, we ate, said goodbye to our breakfast friends and started on the dayâs journey! Oh and if you ever need a place to stay near the Cliffs of Moher definitely check out Dollâs Cottage. Â You will get the full Irish experience, it was great!
We headed up the road to a viewpoint to which we thought were the cliffs to find this was only a dock, with a view of the cliffs in the distance.
Luckily our breakfast friends were there at the same time to correct us and get us on the right path đ #typicalblondes  We thanked them, gave them a ride back to the cottage and took the other route winding to the cliffs.
Ok so the Cliffs were beautifulâbetter than what the pictures show! #windfordays Cliffs of Moher âď¸
Sean had given us a recommend route for out trip back to Dublin (where we were flying out of) so that we could see some views off of the beaten path. Â One specific stop was this perfumeryâliterally out in the middle of nowhere! Adorable it was, with itâs cobblestone structure & cottage feel! đ
On the road again, we headed back towards Dublinâthinking we might grab dinner downtown before our flight left but we quickly realized traffic wasnât going to allow for that. Â Restaurants outside of the city were hard to come by, but Jess did find this popular among locals, Asian Fusion Restarauntâ Lemongrass. We were pleasantly surprised with the great flavors, especially after we walked in and it was pretty empty. Â Nothing like doing Asian-Irish food lol
Ireland you didnât disappointđđź
Next stop London, EnglandđŹđ§Â Trust me, there is much more to come⌠but until then, as they say in Europe, Cheersđť
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