Road-tripping Ireland
I’m just here for the pubs and potatoes
Exhausted and tired from our long flight, we made it to our hotel, Croke Park Hotel in Dublin. The staff was super kind and caring, and they made sure we were well taken care of by having our room ready before the check-in time and answering all of our questions. Since we were three people, they gave us a room with three beds, making it look small but accessible for all of us to sleep separately. We had our breakfast at the hotel, and of all the breakfasts I had during my trip, this place had the best one. I’m sure you can find much better breakfast restaurants than hotel food, but Hotel Croke offered amazing pancakes that satisfied me. According to Wikipedia, the hotel is next to Croke Park, which is “a GAA stadium located in Dublin, Ireland. Named in honor of Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is often called Croker by some GAA fans and locals. It serves as the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Since 1884 the site has been used primarily by the GAA to host Gaelic games, most notably the annual All-Ireland finals in football and hurling.”
Boxty House was the first restaurant we had dinner in Dublin, Ireland. The restaurant has two levels, the first and the basement. It’s cute and has a charming feel. The food is decent, nothing fancy, and filling.
As Wikipedia has mentioned, The rock of Cashel is one of the most remarkable collections of Celtic art and medieval architecture to be found anywhere in Europe. It’s a great stop on the way to Cork from Dublin. And the mini-town around it offers cute restaurants and coffee shops where you can make a stop and grab something to eat.
When we arrived in Cork, we had dinner at the Oyster Tavern. The quality f the oysters are excellent, and I highly recommend it. Even the restaurant is named OYSTER. We sat at the bar and chatted with the bartender.
We tried other places for drinks and some more appetizers and spent the night talking with locals.
We stayed at the hotel River Lee. A fantastic hotel located by the river in the heart of Cork. This hotel is considered luxury and chic and provides that service level. The staff is super friendly and nice. Our room was immaculate, was big enough for the 3 of us, and we got a beautiful view of the river. I enjoyed their eggs benedict. You have the option to order from the menu or enjoy their full continental breakfast. They also have a super outdoor area where you can enjoy the river while sipping on some drinks. The dinner menu looked so tempting, but we decided to stay out and explore the city rather than stay at the hotel. If I had more time, I would have stayed at the hotel to try their dinner.
Blarney Castle is located outside of cork, so we stopped at this beautiful, jaw-dropping place on our way to Killarney. This place is not just a castle. And it's a massive ground with gardens and many mini walking areas. If we had time, I would consider a mini picnic in its stunning park. Blarney Castle is known for being the home of the Blarney Stone, which according to folklore, bestows the gift of flattery and eloquence on those who kiss the stone. Did I kiss it??? Noooo. I don’t need it; I have it. Lol. But seriously, the line to get to the stone was so long that I decided to get ice cream from the mini coffee shop they have rather than wait in line.
On our fourth day, we headed to Killarney National park, where we stayed at The Lake Hotel. The hotel is so beautiful. As the name suggests, it's by a lake and within walking distance of the park's entrance. On our arrival, we booked an afternoon tea and enjoyed some small sandwiches and pastries with our tea. After our tea, We spent the afternoon walking inside the National park, and by dinner, we were super hungry—Ready for a good meal.
The Lake hotel offers fine dining meals and a menu. Many locals visit this place for romantic dinners or date nights. The food was incredible, and we ended the night with a bottle of wine.
If I go back to Ireland, I would add one or two more days around Killarney, and that is because I love nature and hiking, and it would be a fantastic experience to bike around the park and hike the longer distances.
Back on the road, heading to Galway. But before getting to the city, we stopped at this super cute farmhouse to see the Valais black nose sheep. The owner was excellent and explained everything about these adorable sheep. We could go inside the gated area, play with them, and feed them—so much fun.
Most of our trip was spent driving from one location to another, which was the whole point of this road trip. The cities and towns are beautiful to see and explore, but they are small, so you don’t want to spend too many days in one place. Instead, you want to go from one town to another and see everything.
We arrived at our next hotel, Glenlo Abbey, a super luxurious hotel where people have their weddings. And it features the Orient Express train as part of their experience. They have part of the train set in their outdoor area, where you can enjoy fine dining inside the train. Why did we book this hotel, you ask? Well, mainly because we wanted to see what it's all about and how it feels to be in a 5-star hotel/estate. And YES, it was terrific. Would I go again? I would highly recommend it, but my next fancy place will be a stay inside a castle.
Cava Galway is a must, in my opinion, and it’s a Michelin-guided cute little tapas place. Their menu offers small plates we picked a few and a bottle of wine to enjoy the taps with.
The one spot that comes up on all the blogs and “places to see” for Ireland is the cliffs of Moher. It is a long cliff in southwestern Ireland, and many travel to walk the cliffs. This is where we did a 10 miles walk/hike. We also took the wine and some cheese to enjoy the view. It was a fun idea but also super windy, so we ended up not staying for long and continued our hike.
Aniar, a Michelin star restaurant for over ten years, was our dinner at Galway. We had 19 dishes to eat. At some point, I lost count. We had a blast. I like the idea of a fixed menu. We all try the same things, and we can give feedback and say what we want and dislike about each dish. I would go back again.
On our way to Belfast, we stopped at Hargadon Sligo bar. A traditional bar/restaurant built in 1868 and a must if it’s on your way. The walls and Decor are full of old-school stuff and pictures. Cozy and dim, You can feel that you are in a place with a rich history.
OX was the restaurant we picked in Belfast for our dinner. We wanted to treat ourselves on this girl trip. Choosing nice and fancy restaurants and hotels, and the dessert was phenomenal.
Sawyers Deli in Belfast was our pick for a bottle of wine and some cheese and meat to have another picnic in the park in Belfast. The food quality is so good that you want to try their local deli and just eat it someplace cute like a park, and that’s exactly what we did.
Crow Street Dublin was a restaurant we picked randomly. We did not have dinner plans and searched for good restaurants around us. We saw the pictures, and this one came up. We decided to try it out. It is a local modern restaurant that I would recommend.
Teeling whisky society. James whisky is a well know whisky in the country of Ireland. Many tourists or even nontourists drink it, and they visit the distillery. James distillery was fully booked when we wanted to book a tour, so we decided to tour Teeling. I am not a whisky drinker, so I can not comment on the quality of the whisky, but the tour was excellent; not only did we have a fun experience, but we also learned so much about the process of whiskey making.
Restaurant Patrick guilbaud. A two Michelin star restaurant that we made a reservation at without knowing it’s a Michelin star. We were so embarrassed because we wore our sporty clothes and were not dressed up. We had a great experience. It’s a restaurant for special occasions. If we knew, we would have planned it differently. We went to so many lovely and fancy restaurants that we were tired of it. I would recommend this place for a romantic date or something.
Restaurant old mill. A must-go for trying authentic food. You have to go.
