Ireland and Northern Ireland 2013
Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland, 2013. ©2022ClaraConnell
Disclosure: I have not been compensated or sponsored in any way for any of the mentions in this post. I just f*ing love them.
“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
Ireland holds a special place in my heart. It was my first road trip with a manual on the opposite side of the car, first big trip with my man, and where we got engaged.
An amazing adventure.
Engagement Photo. Taken by a sweet, local lady in Derry, Northern Ireland 2013.
The Photography: For this trip, I stuck with my trusty Nikon D3200 DSLR with the standard AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 18-55mm lens. Also making the trip, my Patagonia bag and scarf camera strap (see my post on Australia for the details).
I had a little more time to play with the settings and some of the landscapes turned out better than I had hoped.
Dublin: Our first stop. We picked up our rental car and headed to our first B&B (Bed and Breakfast). We had the smallest vehicle I have ever been in! We dubbed him “Tiny”.
To give you a visual, it only needed one windshield wiper. This clown car was so minuscule, you had to stand outside to take off your jacket.
There is a ton to do and see in Dublin and I feel that the best way to get the feel of a new city is to walk around. Taking the opportunity to synch up your internal clock with your new time zone is a side benefit of taking the first day slow.
Belfast: This may be an unpopular take, but we actually didn’t mean to end up in Belfast.
Fortunately, “Tiny” had other ideas. Belfast is home to the Titanic Museum (which I did not know prior to this trip). Having steadfastly refused to jump on board the Titanic-fan bandwagon in high school, I didn’t see the movie until college. But this museum was worth all the hype.
The history is amazing! The self guided tour really gave you an idea of the scale of the ship and the truly massive amount of work that went into building it.
Titanic Museum, Belfast, Ireland, 2013. ©2022ClaraConnell
On our way further into Northern Ireland, we were beguiled by signs for the Bushmills Distillery. Who doesn’t want to sample a hot toddy on a cold Irish day? ‘Twas perfection!
We also had the pleasure of partaking in the Jameson Distillery tour (in Dublin). The active distillery is in Southern Ireland which we did not get to on this trip. Next time!
Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey…mmm…Delicious.
Jameson Distillery Tour, Dublin, Ireland 2013 and Me. Taken by Matt Connell.
Ballymoney: We had booked a sweet little B&B here to start our Causeway explorations and visit with friends. ( Psst…this is also the engagement site! )
Having a home base for day trips was a really relaxing change of pace. Tiny car living is not my bag.
Side benefits of a B&B:
Breakfast is serious business. Such a spread!
No one knows local treasures like the locals themselves! Great resources there just for the asking.
We adventured over Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge (not child friendly), the Giant’s Causeway (excellent walking tour), and castle ruins galore.
ADARA: I put this on the itinerary because it was on our way and am I glad that I did. This was our first thatched cottage experience. It was adorable! The family that runs this cute little B&B was so welcoming and their kids were so sweet.
We had “biscuits” (cookies) in a tin as a treat, a cozy peat fire stove, hot water bottles with cozies for our feet if we needed them, and the most delicious full Irish breakfast ever made! Seriously, a “full Irish” is now my favorite thing to eat wherever and whenever I can get it.
This location is more for the nature lovers than for city dwellers. The hiking and the local lakes were gorgeous and we bought some locally made wool socks from the weaver in town. They were very kind and gave us a short demonstration on their loom which I geeked out over.
What can I say? I love a good crafting moment.
Teach Ceann Tuí, Adara, Ireland 2013. ©2022ClaraConnell
I could go on and on about Ireland! There will definitely be a second trip here in the future.
It was hard to narrow down which pictures to include in the write up, but you can check the rest out in my portfolio!
Let me know if you have any favorite photo spots or experiences in Ireland.
Cheers!
Clara