From Cliffs to Mountains: A Family's Journey Through Ireland

Ireland is a country that my sister and I have been hearing about from our father since we were little. He was lucky to live there for a few years and traveled through it by bicycle. The present for the recent Christmas was clear. A week-long family trip to Ireland. My father and sister flew from France and I went from Sweden, where I currently live.

Day 1

We had booked a rental car from Hertz several weeks in advance. However, nothing went according to plan. At the airport, first a 30-minute wait, an hour-long check-in, and a deposit 300 EUR higher than the original reservation.

After arriving in the center of Dublin, we checked in for the night, in a small hotel. We went to eat at a Mongolian restaurant. It worked on the principle that you choose from a wide range of vegetables, meat, seafood, herbs, and spices and the chef grills will make it right in front of you. With a beer each, we paid 78 Euros for three, including a tip. We took my father to the hotel and my sister and I decided to explore the night city.

The Irish are very funny and not just for their accent. We had a great time. A guy was talking to us on the street and was so drunk that we hardly understood anything he said. He was very friendly and kept on hugging us. He said he had a phone repair shop nearby and that if we had a problem we should stop by. Another random guy - homeless, asked us for change for a night's stay and then tried to sell us cocaine. Our last encounter was with a homeless man in a wheelchair. We didn't have any change, so we bought him a baguette and water.

DAY 2

We had breakfast at Frank and Honest. If you ever go to Dublin, I highly recommend you come here. For €4.50 you get a drink (coffee, latte, hot chocolate...) + pancakes or any dessert. After breakfast, it was time to leave the magical Dublin and head southwest. On the way, we stopped in the small town of Kahir. As true tourists, my sister and I took pictures of everything. After visiting the local castle and having a good lunch, we continued our journey.

The roads here are crazy. Although not as bad as in Malta, where it's disastrous, it's not any better here. Anyway, the trip was incredibly beautiful. We stopped at a few places to enjoy the beautiful views of the mountains and the ocean. After a 7-hour journey from Dublin, we finally reached Allihies. Our accommodation is magical. Directly overlooking the ocean and surrounding mountains. It's breathtaking.

I shared a room with my father and my sister was just next door. After a quick unpacking, we went to the nearest town, a 15-minute walk away. We met 4 Czechs in a local pub. They travel around Europe on motorbikes and were as amazed by Ireland as we were. The sun started to set and the sunset was truly incredible. Enjoying the sunset with an Irish beer was an experience I won't soon forget. The entire ocean turned purple. It's hard to describe in words how magical this place is.

DAY 3

We booked accommodation in a Bed and Breakfast, and after testing the Bed, it was time for Breakfast. I had pancakes, my sister had toast with fresh salmon, and my father had an English breakfast. In addition, we had a choice of juices, coffee, pastries, cereals, fruit, and lots of cheese. It was the best breakfast I've had in a while. I sat directly across from the open door through which was a beautiful view of the ocean. Today we plan to go to Glengarriff and from there take a boat to Garnish Island.

After arriving in Glengarriff, we found out that the ferry comes regularly every 30 minutes and since one just got away from us, we decided to go eat at a local restaurant. We had fish and chips with homemade onion rings. We just managed to finish our meal and we already saw our ship from a distance. During the cruise to the island, we saw seals that were only about a meter away from us. My body flooded with incredible happiness. It's hard to explain, but it was great to see seals in the wild.

The island reminded me of a botanical garden. There are lots of trees from Australia and New Zealand along with a huge garden with over 100 different flowers. Greek, Italian, and English architecture was also found here. The whole circuit was very interesting, and even though it was quite short, thanks to the diverse architecture and biodiversity, I felt like I was somewhere completely different.

We waited for the nearest ferry and headed back. We bought some souvenirs in Glengarriff. I decided to send postcards from my travels. If you would like postcards from my next trip, write to me and maybe you'll be lucky enough to get one. After arriving at the B&B, we sat outside on a bench and watched the surrounding waves hit the huge rocks in the ocean. It was so calm. There are no factories around, rarely any cars, and the weather is lovely and warm. Aren't we lucky?

DAY 4

After an excellent breakfast, a new day full of adventures awaited us. The sun was shining outside, so today we decided to go on a day hike. We packed our things and went to the nearest supermarket. We bought some baguettes, ham, cheese and some postcards. I have so many of them that I could cover the whole wall in my room with them. When paying, we started talking to the seller. Apart from that unfortunate moment at the airport when we were renting a car, I must say that the Irish are very nice and kind-hearted people.

Our trail started on top of the mountain and the subsequent descent to a smaller peninsula. The whole time we had a beautiful view of the surrounding nature and the ocean. Local sheep accompanied us on our way. I'm a little jealous of the Irish. Waking up every day with such a view is priceless. After descending, my sister and I observed a smaller island. Of course, we had to go there to see it. We found out that it is not an island as it looked from a distance and we could get there. There was a smaller pool that my father had to use. We were almost halfway. We had a picnic and after breakfast, I went to lie down on the nearby grass. I lay there and just listened to the seagulls flying over. After a while, my sister shouted at me and we went to the other side of the road.

The third quarter of the way was on the main road, but luckily we only encountered a few cars. We could enjoy everything in silence to ourselves. After returning to the B&B. We ate together and talked for the rest of the evening. These are unforgettable moments for me because unfortunately there are not many moments when the three of us are together. My father is always working, my sister lives 3.5 hours away from him in Montpellier and I am now in Sweden.

DAY 5

There is a Buddhist monastery near our accommodation. Sarah decided to go for a 2-hour meditation session. My father and I went to a nearby cafe, where I wrote my postcards. It was raining the whole day.

After my sister's meditation yoga, we went to a local restaurant for lunch. My father had the classic. Beer with fish & chips, Sarah took a burger and I ordered a wrap. The portion was like for a small child, but it was excellent.

The weather improved and we decided to go for a short walk. The whole way was along the coast. My sister and my father felt like going for a swim. We went to the beach and when my father tried the water, he changed his mind and preferred to stay on the beach. Sarah was in doubt for a while but finally jumped into the water. I went for a walk on the nearby rocks and stayed there. The water was very cold and no one would get me there.

DAY 6

Today was our big day. The long-awaited kayak with seals. Even if it felt to be one of the worst days because it was cold and foggy. Our determination was high and we were not discouraged. We got a wetsuit and I put on 4 more layers of clothing. The funniest thing was that the guy who worked there was barefoot in shorts and a T-shirt. We were a little afraid that we wouldn't be able to see the seals because of the bad weather. Our fears disappeared after about 5 minutes when we saw two seals playing together in the water. It appeared to me that the seals were playing hide-and-seek with us, because every time we saw a head, they immediately sank back into the water. This is how our fear of not seeing any seals turned into an almost 2-hour hide-and-seek game. It was great, but I was already looking forward to sitting in the warmth of the car. We spent the evening in Glengariff listening to live music. To end our stay here with a beer and another magical sunset is something I will not forget.

DAY 7

We enjoyed our last breakfast and at 7 o'clock we went back to Dublin. We drove through Killarney National Park. The road through the national park was incredibly beautiful. Too bad we didn't have more time. I would like to walk around and explore this park more. We were pressed by time and slowly but surely we continued to our next stop. It should have been Limerick but we got a little lost along the way which led to the fact that we didn't have time for Limerick and went straight to Dublin. After an 11-hour journey, we finally arrived.

On the way, we stopped at a gas station and had a baguette with cheese and ham. That wasn't enough for us and we had fish and chips right after arriving in the center of Dublin. We found a beautiful park where we could eat in peace. We wanted to enjoy the atmosphere of the capital. We went to several local pubs. We liked Anne's bar the most, which I highly recommend. There was a guitarist/singer and the atmosphere was cool. It was our last night together and we enjoyed it to the fullest. I'm sad because I don't know when the three of us will see each other again. I try to enjoy every moment with my family as much as possible.

THANK YOU IRELAND