The Emerald Isle, where we almost kissed the Blarney Stone in Cork (yes, almost…), walked atop the parapets of King John’s Castle in Limerick, stood at the very edge of the Cliffs of Moher on the far Western Coast, and felt our mortality while standing inside a 5000 year old monolithic passage tomb at Newgrange! Not to mention the many other amazing sights “along the way” during our recent visit to The Republic of Ireland!
With no shortage of interesting must see places, manageable driving distances between cities, and a long wish list of sights to see in a relatively short period of time we decided driving would be a great way to try and see it all! Picking points of interest about 2 or 3 hours into the route on driving days would give the kids a break from the car and all of us the opportunity to see even more of the beautiful Emerald Isle!
The Blarney Stone
Along the way from Dublin to Killarney… Cork, Ireland 259k from Dublin
The first leg of our road trip around Eire was from Dublin to Killarney, and our midpoint stop was Cork! Home of the famous Blarney Stone located in Blarney Castle! I won’t pretend this is not an incredibly touristy destination, it absolutely is. For that reason Tim wasn’t all that keen on a stop here, but as I always say, “these places are touristy for a reason.” Sometimes good and sometimes bad, but I’m happy to say we all loved our visit, even Tim!
For more than 200 years people from all walks of life have climbed to the top of Blarney Castle and kissed the Stone hoping to gain the gift of eloquence. After some debate, Simon and I decided that although the Blarney Stone is the world’s germiest tourist attraction* we too would join the ranks, brave the germs, and the incredibly long lines and kiss the stone. After all who couldn’t use a little more eloquence, and besides how could we come all this way and not at least give it a try?
All of this sounds easy, but in order to kiss the Blarney Stone one has to lay down on their back and lean backwards over a large opening at the very top of the Castle’s parapets. What I should say is that Simon and I attempted to “kiss” the Stone, but honestly it was so far out, did I mention the very large opening, and the drop is so far down… Even with assistance from the Castle staff neither Simon nor I could reach it without leaning WAY WAY over… and really, don’t I already have the gift of eloquence? Oh well… we almost kissed the Blarney Stone!
Don’t despair lovely readers, our visit wasn’t for naught! The climb up through the Castle to kiss the stone provided lovely views of the surrounding countryside…
The Castle grounds were beautiful, much more so than we expected, with extensive gardens including a poison garden, creeks, and walkways.
We spent about two hours exploring and taking pictures but easily could have spent two more…
Stay tuned for our next stop on our road trip around Ireland…Killarney and Ring of Kerry!
*We’ve now visited #1 and #2 of the world’s germiest attractions! Read about our visit to Seattle’s Gum Wall located in the Pike Place Market!
The first stop on my list was 
After we’d had our fill of old books, we set out for a walk around Dublin and found ourselves in Merrion Square. Conveniently, there were food stalls set up in the park and we enjoyed a quick lunch on the grass followed by a visit to the park’s playground and the Oscar Wilde statue. Both the 
Next up was 
A woman needs a man, like a fish needs a bicycle, good things come to those who wait, and not everything in black and white makes sense, these are just a few of the things we learned during our visit to 
On our last day we decided to venture outside Dublin and took an easy 30 minute train ride to Malahide Village where we met Shane and his children for a tour of 
We stayed in 
New York, Paris, Tokyo… there are so many amazing cities in the world, and lucky me, along with my family, I’ve had the opportunity to visit quite a few of the greats! Of course, not everyone agrees about which of them deserve to be on the Best List even among family members, which we discovered one evening over dinner during a recent visit to Paris. The boys and I thought it might be fun to take the conversation a step further and make a Top Ten Cities list.
A woman needs a man, like a fish needs a bicycle, good things come to those who wait, and not everything in black and white makes sense, these are just a few of the things we learned during our recent visit to 
Floor three showcases 80 years of advertising campaigns, which we loved and afterwards had fun recognizing in all the pubs around town and every other town we visited in Ireland and just about everywhere else! We also posed with the animals and heard a whistling oyster!
Of course you know we couldn’t leave before a visit to the gift shop! They sell everything you can imagine, Guinness crisps, Guinness chocolate (tastes like Guinness), clothing, holiday ornaments, magnets, and on and on… This holiday season I’ll be enjoying my new Guinness tree bauble!
Whoops! Accidentally hit the publish button before I was ready, 
Like many famous attractions the entrance lines can be very long. As soon as you know you’ll be visiting it’s a good idea to purchase your 
Once you get to the top you’ll be treated to some pretty spectacular views! After all the Eiffel Tower is the tallest structure in the City of Paris. Even though our visit took place on a stormy day we were still able to see incredibly far.
I love Disneyland! I really do and I’m not embarrassed to admit it! There’s a reason they call it the Happiest Place On Earth! Lucky for me, we’ve often (okay too many times to count) had the good fortune to visit the parks in Southern California as well as a one time visit to Walt Disney World, but I’d always wondered what it would be like to visit an international Disney park.
A few years ago during a trip to Paris my wish came true! Not only did we get to visit 
Considering we had only one incredibly rainy day to spend at the park I was surprised at how much we were able to see. Though at first look everything seemed somewhat familiar there are definitely differences.
Due to its more northern location the weather isn’t as sunny or hot as the Original Disneyland. The rainy weather and forest like environment reminded me a lot of Seattle. The cooler weather and lack of palm trees wasn’t a negative, but it definitely gave the park a unique feel when compared to Walt Disney World and Disneyland in SoCal which are both located in warm weather locations.
Deep below the streets of Paris their lies a labyrinth of tunnels filled with the skeletal remains of over 6 million people. A not so proverbial skeleton in the closet if you will. A few summers ago we had the opportunity, along with some friends, to explore these tunnels. They are 
As I drag the boys from monument to museum to landmark hoping they are enjoying themselves. I remind myself that the real world education the kids are receiving will more than make up for missing a few days of school here and there. They seem to enjoy our travels, but was I fooling myself? How much of an impact was all this travel really having? As it turns out, quite a lot!
