Exploring the Irish Countryside.
I have always felt a sense of pride in my Irish heritage and I have always felt drawn to Celtic art, music and symbols. I love mountain views and I feel that there is nothing more peaceful than being in nature. Ireland seemed to fit the very nature of who I am and I always knew it was a place I wanted to visit. I grew up dreaming of the day I would feel the crisp air of Ireland around me, feel the peace of being in a place that I felt inexplicably connected to. However, I went on many other adventures before ultimately going to Ireland with my husband.
While planning our trip to Ireland, I
researched and came up with a list of the places that I knew I needed
to see. The ring of Kerry was number one. I also knew that I wanted
to go horseback riding in the mountains as well as hike and walk
anywhere and everywhere. I wanted to see the views, hear the accents
and feel the awe that being there would offer me. My husband wanted
to have a chance to explore and then be able to relax in a great
space. I knew that I wanted to stay somewhere that was surrounded by
mountains and rolling hills. While researching places to stay, we
decided that renting a home would be romantic and private. I had
actually found a lovely place that I had wanted to stay at a couple
of years before, when I was thinking about making the trip. I
immediately reached out to them and I felt like everything fell into
place when they happily informed me that they had availability for
our dates.
Our trip started by flying from NYC to
Shannon airport. From Shannon airport, we took a small charter
plane to Cork. The flight from NYC to Shannon was long; I slept while
my husband did not. We had a short layover and the airport in Shannon
had a great variety of shops and eateries to pass the time. The
flight to Cork was short and it was a small airport. We were
immediately able to secure our rental car and the process was easy. I
was impressed that my husband drove like he was a natural at driving
with the steering wheel on a different side of the car than he was
used to. We enjoyed the drive from Cork to Sneem and I loved pulling up to
the gate of the place that would be our home for the next 13 days.
Paul driving on the right side.
The Valley of the Hare was incredible.
We had the whole house to ourselves and plenty of space to spread
out. The mornings were perfect, waking up to those incredible views
and the nights were relaxing. The bathtubs were incredible. The
heated floors forever changed my appreciation of flooring. To this
day, I often recall how beautiful it was to have the living room
doors wide open and the vast land and views visible, while the air
moved the curtains and the sun shined in. I'd also find myself
staring out of the window in the top bedroom, feeling a sense of
peace and wonder. I would stay there again in a heartbeat.
The view from the living room.
Sneem itself was an adorable town with
brightly painted buildings. We favored one restaurant while we were
there called The Blue Bull. The food was great there, although the
chicken wings my husband had ordered came out exactly like a chicken
wing. They were not like the small, folded chicken wings in most
American places. They looked exactly like a chicken's wing, in shape
and in size. We were surprised and while it was off-putting for me,
my husband enjoyed them. There was a cute convenience store downtown
but it was akin to an American 7-11 so we made our way to Lidl and
Supervalu in Kenmare to stock up on some groceries. I was impressed
that there were more organic things than not and that even the
processed food had minimal ingredients. We only needed to make the
trip there once but it was a fun adventure to check out a place the
locals frequented.
Entering town of Sneem.
Kenmare was a great town to visit, not too far from Sneem. We checked out some of their restaurants, bought
some presents for our loved ones and enjoyed a wonderful little
coffee shop there. My favorite place to eat in Kenmare was Jam, which
had the most flavorful food we ate in Ireland. It was small café that
had great variety and energy. We enjoyed being able to relax in the
quietness of Sneem but being able to easily travel to Kenmare when we
wanted a different vibe or different eateries.
Ross Castle
Muckross Castle
Yew tree at Muckross Abbey
It was an gorgeous trip from Sneem to
the ring of Kerry with mountain views, beautiful forests and animals
roaming free. The windy roads made me throw up every time we
traveled, due to early pregnancy. Yet, the drive was a part of the
trip that I loved the most because we were able to see the views as well as pull over
and explore. We pulled over a lot to take walks and we explored a few
different towns and castles.
After several more days exploring
towns, waterfalls, castles, the Ring of Kerry and relaxing at The
Valley of the Hare, we made our way towards the area of the Cliffs of
Moher. We stayed in Doolin at a wonderful Bed and Breakfast. The
views from our room and the deck were picturesque. We arrived early
enough to spend the afternoon exploring The Burren, which we enjoyed.
It reminded me of our visit to Maine a few years before. After a day
exploring the Burren and spending a wonderful night in Doolin, we
made our way to the Cliffs of Moher. We parked at the lot and made
our way to the cliffs. They were breathtaking in person and even
though I had seen them in pictures, there was something about their
beauty that couldn't translate from pictures. We spent the day there
and then made our way back to the Valley of the Hare.
The Burren.
For the rest of our time in Ireland, we
enjoyed exploring the grounds at the Valley of the Hare and staying
local to Sneem and Kenmare. We took long walks, explored forests
between Kenmare and Sneem and relaxed at our cottage. We spent time
thoroughly enjoying the bathtubs and the views before heading back to
the airport to head home. It was a incredible trip with wonderful
memories and I would recommend this trip to anyone looking to enjoy
the Irish countryside.
View from walking outside of our cottage. Our cottage is visible in this photo!
View from walking Valley of the Hare grounds.
**** All pictures taken by Nicole Roberti unless noted otherwise.
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