"Gaelic" force winds

A lovely combination of fierce winds, rain, and fog did a spectular job welcoming us to Ireland.  And we couldn't have been happier.

From an amazing dinner with my cousin Laurie in her quaint London neighborhood, to a Thanksgiving meal prepared on the Isla of Man by our hosts, the Curries, we had a wonderful welcome to Europe!  We did our best job seeing the city of London in one day and toured the stunning Isle of Man while being surrounded by a hazy shade of grey.  Maybe it's because we knew we were coming to Europe in the winter, but we were quite active even though a fireplace and board games were mentioned a time or two!

When we arrived in Dublin and had to put on our sunglasses, we were like two kids in a candy store.  To the point, I thought it'd be a good idea to rent bikes...ask Ben how that went!   Long story short, the grey and mist quickly moved in, but with a new hat and stubborn spirit, we toured the Guinness factory, drank a few more at a pub and finished the night with music and singing.
We then started our Irish adventure boarding our first train to Cork to explore the southwestern part of the island.  Renting a car we took off to Kinsale where we loved our B & B with the pier view every morning, especially when the sun was out making for a wonderful Sunday.  We took the scenic coastal drive taking in all the incredible castles and green countryside and ended our evening with traditional music in a village called...Baltimore!  We fell in love with this area...can you imagine why? 

We continued to move along the coast through Kenmare and on to the Ring of Kerry.  The weather did get the best of our views, but we were warmly greeted by Jackie the owner of a B & B on Valencia Island.  I fell in love with her homemade bread, warm fireplace, and constant cups of tea.  We ended our Ireland journey traveling through Dingle & onto Doolin, hoping to hear its acclaimed local music.  But as we've often encountered, these parts of Ireland are rather quiet in the winter time.  However what we didn't hear was made up for by what we saw...the Cliffs of Moher were incredible! Maybe because it was 9am and we were the only ones there, but we were in awe of this area! Bens wish of golfing in Ireland was granted our last day on a course that butted up to the ocean...he smiled for hours after playing nine holes.

I think I've realized what made us so happy in Ireland besides the quaint towns, wonderful people, and pints of beer...it was that everyday we didn't know what we would see and when the fog lifted or the clouds separated we were blown away by the beauty of this island. Without a doubt, Ireland will see the return of the McFerrons.

Onto Edinburgh & Amsterdam....until then,

Xoxo
Abby & Ben

Ps. Pictures are tough...I will figure it out, but my stubbornness has gotten the best of me resulting in this overdue blog! Enjoy