Day 1 – Céad Míle Fáilte

We arrived in Dublin, Ireland.  We checked in to the Westin Hotel.  Explored the city on foot, and ended the day with our meet and greet dinner to meet our fellow adventurers.

Day 2 – Life on the Liffey

Explore Dublinia (a museum of Viking days in Dublin), then on to the Guinness Storehouse for lunch and a tour.  Then on to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells.  It also happened to be “Culture Night” in Dublin, so we explored many of the cultural offerings of the city, including: RoboArt (an art show of Robots), the General Post Office (a historic building), and St. Patricks Cathedral.

 Day 3 – Celtic Kingdoms

On to Killarney, but first a stop at Cashel.  Spent part of the day exploring the city of Killarney, and then had dinner with the group at the Killarney Spa & Resort.

Day 4 – Cycle of the Kings and Queens

A jaunty ride (horse drawn carriage) through Killarney National Park to the Muckross House.  Then a visit to Ross Castle, followed by a hike through the park back to Killarney, then more exploration of the city.

Day 5 – Ring Around the Kenmare

Started the day with a walking tour of Killarney National Park.  Then we headed out to Kenmare bay where we had an “eco boat tour.”  Went to the stone circle and had lunch in Kenmare.  Back to Killarney where we learned Irish Dancing.

Day 6 – Limericks and Leprechauns

Visited Inch Beach at Dingle Bay.  Visited the town of Adare for lunch.  Then on to our final and most exquisite hotel Dromoland Castle.  Then to Bunratty Castle for a Medieval style dinner where I was named King of Linchester. 

Day 7 – Ever-Moher

Visited the Cliffs of Moher, followed by lunch at Monks Pub.  Then on to Rathbaun Farm for a demonstration of sheep herding and sheering.  Explored the castle grounds, and then had our farewell dinner at Dromoland Castle. 

Day 8 – Erin Go Braugh!

Depart back to the states from Shannon.

Another year and another Adventure by Disney.  This time it was “The Emerald Isle” trip, aka Ireland.  Once again Disney lived up to our expectations, with another 2 terrific guides, Sarah & Courtney.  We really outdid ourselves with photos, between us taking 3,511 photos (David: 1,575 & Amber: 1,919) and 17 videos totaling over 5½ GB of memory.   Aren't you glad this website only has our favorite 202 of them?

This adventure was far less “adventurous” than the last two.  With less hiking and less physical activity.  There were also less “new things” to try.  Maybe that’s because we’ve already tried so many new things.  But the most “adventurous” new thing I tried on this trip was oysters (hated them, they’re off the list), and that was on the very first night. 

The Irish people really do love their Guinness and their potatoes.  We had potatoes present at every meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner) for the duration of the trip.  We learned that the Guinness plant produces 3.75 million pints of Guinness per day, and that they export 1.75 million pints of it.  Leaving 2 million pints to be consumed within Ireland, having a population of 4 million.  You do the math…  I also found it interesting that just about every restaurant was actually a pub, that’s just the way it is, you go to pubs to eat your meals. 

This group was significantly bigger than our last 2 groups, having 38 people in it.  So we didn’t get to know everyone as well as we knew everyone on the previous adventures.  But we did meet everyone and they were all friendly and outgoing, overall a fun group to hang out with. 

Next years adventure is already booked, Wyoming in the fall (that tour is already full, so it’ll be another big group.)