Honeymoon #2: Adventuring in Ireland!

As we were planning this second reception, I was beginning to realize this might be the last time I get to go to England for a while. A few years, at least. So I convinced Lawrence we needed to make the most of it and go to Ireland. After all, I was taking a week off work, and we'd already done London multiple times, and I didn't really fancy sitting around for a week. So we decided Ireland. It's somewhere that has been on my list, and it's just a hop and a skip from England (they're even in the same time zone.)

Soooo tired

So only a handful of hours after our reception, we folded into a taxi, got on the train, got on the underground, got back on the train, and rushed to our plane with 40 minutes to take-off. We landed in Dublin, but were too exhausted to really do much that day other than laze about on the bus tour of the city. Oh, and eat. There was much eating happening on our trip. Good, hearty, homey food. We had a car at our disposal, the reservation and most of the price included in our tour package.

Our hotel was pretty nice (***) and right central downtown, so it was easy to park the car and walk around.

Our second day, we went to Malahide Castle, just north of Dublin by about 10 miles. It's a beautiful building, with ivy-covered walls and turrets and 17th-century period furniture. We took a tour of the castle interior, learning its history and walking the nostalgic halls. I love gardens, so Lawrence humored me and we walked around them, admiring the blooming flowers and the fresh air. May is still kind of cold in Ireland, it being spring, but we didn't complain, since all the plants are blossoming.

We also toured the Guinness Storehouse. The Guinness factory itself covers about 60 acres and the air smells of over-done toast--that's the barley roasting. The touristy part of the estate is in a giant Guinness glass-shaped building. We learned how Guinness is made and had a Guinness tasting (I think it tastes awful), and learned how to properly pour a pint, we also got pints included with our tickets. (I passed on mine, and Lawrence didn't finish his because he had to drive).

Lawrence learning to pour a pint of "cream"

We stayed at a B&B the second night, just south of Dublin. It was kind of old-fashioned, but nice and comfy, and hey, we got breakfast. Breakfast in Ireland includes bacon, eggs, sausage, and tomatoes (white pudding, too, if you're brave.) We packed up and headed straight for Blarney.

It was only about a 2.5 hour drive to Blarney. We were practically the only people on the highway once we got out of Dublin. We soon learned that Ireland is covered in castles. Every county has a castle, every major city has a castle, there are castles just in the middle of nowhere, but we had to keep our limit to a few. It was pretty cloudy when we arrived at Blarney Castle, and by the time we got in line, it was full-on raining. We also arrived in time to stand in line for about 45 minutes with several tour-buses of older people. By the time we got to the top of the castle, after exploring all the off-shoots within, the sun was out and the sky blue. We both kissed the Blarney stone, it was cold and wet. We then explored the grounds, getting lost in the ancient Rock Close and admiring the poison garden.

The entrance to the dungeons: Lawrence went in there for about 5 minutes.

 

We stayed at a B&B halfway between Cork and Killarney, it was right on a lake, but it was pretty chilly, so we never went down to the lake. Instead, we went to dinner at a French-inspired bistro in Cork.

The next morning, we drove to Killarney, stopped at the tourist center and spent the day driving along the Ring of Kerry, just taking in all the natural beauty of south western Ireland. It did start raining in the afternoon, so we didn't get out and do much walking.

To America!

From Killarney, we drove up to Galway in the middle of rush hour, which was frustrating for us both as passenger and driver, but out B&B for the next two nights was in a village just outside of Galway. It was the nicest of all the places we slept, and the village was quaint. We had dinner at a pub there, and the barkeep was very friendly and talkative.

I'm good at collecting shells

Lawrence is pretty good at skipping rocks

Our last full day, we went up to Clifden where we parked the
car and took a walk along the shore. It was the only complete day we had without rain. It was actually warm and sunny, even though we were near the water (which was frigid) the temperature was pleasant. We enjoyed skipping rocks and collecting sea shells. We continued our hike, hopping over fences on the trail, until we came to the ruins of Clifden Castle. It was incredible to be able to feel the ruins up close and step through all the cold, empty walls. We picnicked there before making our way back to the car, stopping to pet some curious horses and warily eye some cows. We also stopped at Kylemore Abbey

 

We headed into Galway city for the evening, popping in to some gift shops to pick up gifts for our families, and then had dinner. There wasn't much to do in Galway, so we went back to the B&B and enjoyed a quiet, early night.

We drove back to Dublin in the rain. It really came down that day, with the wind blowing, and our umbrellas did nothing to help us. But we had lunch, and tried to walk down and see the Book of Kells at Trinity College, but there was a line, and we didn't really want to stand in the rain much longer. Instead, we picked up more gifts and went back to the car. Unfortunately, we'd gotten a parking ticket/ clamp. Fortunately, we had ample time to still get to the airport and catch our flight.


It was great to just be the two of us, deciding when and where we'd go. It's always great to get to spend time together after so much time apart. It will be an adjustment for us to live together and not feel like we have to go on some big adventure because our time is limited and we need to make the most of it. And yet, that will be great.

~ Lawrence and Shanelle

Off to the next adventure!

 

UK Reception, and on to Honeymoon #2

When we were planning our wedding, we knew we'd have to do two celebrations to accommodate our families. After planning one wedding, I was pretty much over that, so I let Lawrence take the next one into his own hands, it was in his country and for his family after all.

Hour 8? 9? So tired...

Flying east to England from the US is always an overnight flight.  From Salt Lake City, it's about 12 hours, and I always have to switch planes because there are no straight flights from Salt Lake to London. It makes for some pretty heft jet-lag, but I've now started to invest in sleep aids; this time I must have slept more than I originally thought, because I actually made it through the entire first day after I landed, so my jet lag wasn't too bad this time. Which was good, because the reception was the day after.

The reception. I'll start by saying this: Shanelle is not a big socializer. Really. I don't like large gatherings or crowds, and I don't like being surrounded by a bunch of people I don't know. I also hate small talk, and I hate repeating myself; so needless to say, I wasn't much looking forward to this reception, but it went over alright. I mostly just wanted to eat, because I was pretty dang hungry. Lawrence did most of the talking, and I did most of the eating.

I did have the chance to wear my wedding dress again--though for some reason everything seems to think that is fun. It isn't. Wedding dresses are not comfortable, and they take up a lot of space in your luggage, but everyone insisted, so I did it. I had a stand-by dress to change into, though, after everyone saw me in the dress. (Sidenote: getting ready for a wedding event without your girlfriends is really not as fun, and kind of lonely, don't take those girls for granted!)

It was a pretty informal affair, not professional photographer, a cold buffet, no set schedule, Lawrence didn't wear his whole suit, and I wore a cocktail dress half the night. There were a couple of impromptu speeches urged by Lawrence's parents, but I didn't have to say one. We had a live band (well, duo, really) who were very friendly. Lawrence and I spent a good 20 minutes to half an hour chatting with them; mostly because they weren't asking us the same 10 questions everyone else was.

Lawrence's mother made us a traditional English wedding cake; a large fruit cake aged in brandy for two months, covered in a layer of marzipan and a thick layer of solid icing. She garnished it in candy ribbons and fresh flowers.  It was simple, but sweet looking. She also made cupcakes because not everyone (hardly anyone) likes fruitcake. 

We had so much food left over at the end of the night, guests were going away with doggy bags, even the band. (Lawrence and I joke that it was probably the best gig the band ever did, free drinks, free food, and a long break just chatting with us.) Everyone seemed to have a good time, and Lawrence and I were both thoroughly relieved when it was over.

It was pretty late when we got home, and we had to get up really early to get a taxi to the train station for our flight to Dublin. Also, a really long day. Stay tuned for the Ireland Adventure!


~SGC