The Ireland Post!!!

By Ryan LuckieUncategorized
I’ve been very lax about getting this post done.  I’d be lying to blame it on bad internet at site… in fact, internet at site has been so good lately that I’ve been able to stream Parks & Rec and The West Wing on Netflix.  A combination of long hours at the office and netflix inspired laziness in my room has resulted in a 4 week delay in getting this post up.

Upon arriving back in Saudi Arabia after the honeymoon I was notified that I would likely be on through the end of October… (more on that later)… as a result a new R&R needed to be planned.  Ireland had been on our list from the start, and would have been part of our British adventure, had I had a little less sense (would have meant a much busier itinerary).

We mixed things up a bit this time around and did the unthinkable… invited our parents to join us.

We’d done our share of driving on the wrong side of the road on our British adventure, so this time around we decided to take a guided coach tour around the southern loop of the country. (Dublin, Blarney, Cork, Killarney, Galway and back to Dublin.

We couldn’t be happier with our choice.  It was a great stress free way to see the country and provided excellent value.  I’d highly recommend seeing Ireland with CIE tours if you ever get the opportunity.

I am in very real danger of missing my flight if I don’t go now, so I’ll add some captions to the pictures and put them in better chronological order in the next week or so.  I promise.

The Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge.
Cliffs in northern Ireland.

Amanda crossing the bridge.

The Giant’s Causeway.

Amanda’s boots at the Giant’s Causeway.  

Outside Dublin Castle.

I don’t remember if this was staged or not.

 Blarney Castle.  It was oddly apparent throughout the whole trip that Irish castles are a lot taller than Scottish castles.  

 Climbing up through Blarney Castle. 

We’ll be including this gem in slideshows for years.  Vince Luckie, kissing the Blarney Stone.

We saw a sheep dog demonstration at a wool mill, and then Google decided to show off how smart they are.

The ring of Kerry.

I believe maybe a bit before Galway?
The Lyles at the Cliffs of Moher
Mom & Dad

Mom jumped the barrier wall at the Cliffs of Moher in order to take the picture of us below. 

 Avery, if these two ever tell you that you can’t have ice cream for lunch pull up this picture.

 Before dinner one night we stopped by a local bar, had a Beamish, and Amanda got to experiment with aperature.

Tea Time at the Connamera marble factory.

 The banquet at Bunratty castle was one of the surprise highlights we likely would not have experienced without the tour.

 We had a great dinner in Temple Bar on Mom & Dad’s last night in the country.  
I enjoyed the craft beer selection, Amanda enjoyed the colorful tap heads and lighting. 
 On our last day together in Ireland Amanda and I visited Guinness & Jameson in the morning.

 The gravity bar offered a beautiful view of downtown Dublin. 

I participated in a whiskey tasting comparing Johnny Walker Black, Jack Daniels, and Jameson… They then blatantly pressured participants to say Jameson was the best, and I obliged.

And one last group picture, taking us back to the cliffs of Moher.