First Trip Abroad

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My family has Irish roots so from a young age I developed a deep love for all things Irish: music, dancing, food, traditions, etc. My sisters and I grew up Irish step dancing (yes, that’s the style of dance made famous by Riverdance) which meant St. Patrick’s Day was often a bigger deal in our house than Christmas. Despite having retired my ghillies and hard shoes years ago, at the first strains of a jig or reel, I still get a flutter in my heart and a twitch in my toes.

First Trip Abroad

Sorry Canada, you don’t count. Having grown up only an hour from the US-Canadian border, I struggle to consider visiting Canada international travel. When I was young, we didn’t even need passports to cross the border. My parents could use their license and just show birth certificates for us kids. Of course all that has changed now, although some states (Michigan, New York, Vermont, and Washington) do offer ‘enhanced’ licenses that can be used at the Canadian border in lieu of a passport.

With that said, it should come as no surprise that my first trip abroad was to Ireland with my family in the spring of 2008. We flew from the Toronto airport to Dublin where we rented two cars to get the six of us (plus luggage) around. Over the next week, we road tripped through the southern part of the country until we reached Galway where we caught a flight out of the Shannon airport to return home. That week was so much fun: full of exploring castles and pubs with all the usual family shenanigans. 

Dublin 

During our time in Dublin, we visited some of the typical highlights of the city. St. Patrick’s Cathedral, founded in 1191, was easily the oldest building I’d ever been inside of. I was in awe of the age and history surrounding me. Drinks were had in Temple Bar, despite a bouncer dragging me outside to check my ID right after we’d walked in the door. My mother was not amused by him. We visited Trinity College’s library to see the Book of Kells, something I insisted we do since I love Celtic knot designs and had spent hours of my youth filling in Celtic coloring books. From there we wandered over to shop on Grafton Street and to walk across the River Liffey on the Ha’penny Bridge.

We got a bit lost wandering around the grounds of Dublin Castle. The pilgrimage was made to St. James Gate to tour the Guinness Storehouse where my dad had way too much fun with the old advertisements (‘Guinness for Strength!’ became one of the mottos of our trip).

On the Irish Roads: Ruins and Castles

After leaving Dublin, we made the 40 mile drive up to Kells in County Meath. As you might guess, this is where the Book of Kells gets its name since the Abbey there is where it was safeguarded for centuries prior to its relocation to Trinity College. While there we were able to see the round tower of Kells as well as the high crosses. We stopped for a quick lunch at McNamee’s Pebbles Cafe before getting back on the road.

The next day found us in Kilkenny where we toured Kilkenny Castle and explored its extensive grounds. Of all the castles we visited while in Ireland, Kilkenny was the most complete and restored.

This is greatly due to the occupation, ownership, and continued restorations made by the Butler family up until shortly before they ceremoniously sold it to the Castle Restoration Committee in 1967 for £50.

We then moved on to the Rock of Cashel in County Tipperary where we were treated to beautiful blue skies and sunshine. The surrounding landscape gave truth to the epithet ‘Emerald Isle.’

I found the site’s mix of architectural styles from different time periods amazing since in the US old buildings are often demolished when new structures are built. Being more than a little bit of a nerd, I spent a great deal of our time there reading all the plaques describing the history and legends of the Rock. I was also udderly utterly charmed by the nearby ruins of Hore Abbey whose grounds seemed to serve the dual purpose of pasture for local cows. That was a bit of culture shock for me on my first trip abroad. The Irish were so blasé about ruins (they have so many, everywhere) that they think nothing of letting their cows graze around them. In the US, any decrepit buildings are condemned, boarded up, and no one is allowed near them for fear of liability for any accident. 

Since one of my sisters had spent a summer studying abroad at Waterford Institute of Technology, we had to visit Waterford. After playing tour guide for the rest of the family around the campus, we had dinner at Holy Cross Bar.

This is where my picky-eating self decided to live life on the edge and order something new off the menu: Irish Stew. This isn’t some wild exotic dish that would phase most people, but for me it was unchartered waters. I’d never tried Irish Stew with lamb which was the meat used at this restaurant. My mother, a fellow picky-eater, watched me intently through the meal to make sure my dinner selection didn’t kill me. I really enjoyed this meal and felt like I had gone on a grand eating adventure on my first trip abroad. The next morning we visited the House of Waterford Crystal Factory, taking a tour of the facilities and seeing how the crystal is produced. Naturally when given the chance we all took some goofy photos with crystal that was worth far more than our entire trip cost.

Continuing on our quest for castles, we headed to Blarney next. We all made the climb up to the Blarney Stone to kiss it in the hopes of receiving the Gift of Gab. It was rather scary to lean out backwards to kiss the stone just holding on to the iron bars and with someone holding your legs, but tourists must do the touristy things.
Since it was a lovely day we were also able to enjoy some time in the gardens which include some interesting sights. Among my favorites were the Witch’s Cave and the poison garden that has a number of poisonous plants like wolfsbane, mandrake, and opium. To do some souvenir shopping, we made a stop at Blarney Woolen Mills before continuing west to find our next bed & breakfast. 

Dramatic Western Coast

We finally hit the western coast and made our way to the iconic Cliffs of Moher to soak in the dramatic views. It was a gorgeous day with sunshine and such clear skies that we could even see the Aran Islands off the coast.

The number of pictures I took was probably a little ridiculous, but I was just so enamored of the Cliffs and in awe of the fact that I was actually there seeing them in real life. I didn’t dare ask anyone to pinch me though since my sisters would have likely been a little too keen on the idea.

On our way up to Galway, we stopped at Dunguaire Castle since it caught our eye out on a small outcrop of land. We only explored from the outside and didn’t enter the castle, but it was restored in the 20th century and there are many events held here including medieval banquets.

While we didn’t spend much time exploring the city, Galway Bay was a must see for us. Our family’s roots are in Galway and my grandfather always spoke fondly of the sunsets over Galway Bay.

We went to the Bay and dipped in our toes since this was the 1st time I had been on the eastern coast of the Atlantic Ocean. This may have also been part of my inspiration for adding ‘Swim in all the oceans’ to my bucket list.

Last Day

On our last day we went to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park which were definitely worth the visit since the castle had been well restored and they host some medieval themed events there. The Folk Park was a great place for families while managing to avoid being overly cheesy. We enjoyed wandering the grounds and seeing what an Irish village might have looked like in years past. 

Since everyone had different places they wanted to see, we split up on the last day after Bunratty. I went with my parents to visit Killarney National Park which was the first national park in Ireland and is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The park was created when the Muckross Estate was donated to the Irish Free State. During our tour of Muckross House, we learned quite a bit about the interesting history including that extensive improvements were made prior to a visit from Queen Victoria. The fortune spent on these improvements is thought to have destabilized the financial situation of the Herbert family.

We also visited Ross Castle on the shores of Lough Leane in the park. One might think that we’d be over castles by this point in our trip, but I don’t know if I could ever get enough Irish castles!

In our exploration of the park we also saw Torc Waterfall, but didn’t follow the hiking trail far since we had to get back to our bed & breakfast to meet up with everyone for dinner.

That night we enjoyed some pints and live music at Durty Nelly’s pub across from Bunratty Castle. When the band played a jig, my mom convinced my sisters and I to jump up and dance along. The pub has an interesting history and is worth visiting if you find yourself in Bunratty.

Like Arnold, I’ll be Back

I fell in love with the lovely people and the gorgeous landscapes of the Emerald Isle. While it may have been my first trip abroad, it won’t be the last time I visit Ireland. Even as we were departing, I began plotting when I might return to do all the things that remained on my Ireland bucket list.

Where was your first trip abroad, or where do you dream of traveling first? Do you have any suggestions or tips? Please feel free to share them with me in the comments section!