Easter

April 5, 2013 by 3 Comments

Easter was one of my favorite days of our trip to Ireland. We got up early to go to Easter mass (there were the cutest babies there!) and then headed over to my husband’s grandmothers house to see her one last time before we headed home the next day.

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We then went to Carlingford to have dinner with most of Fergal’s immediate family. We ate at Carlingford Arms and it was delicious. I had a fabulous dish called “Chicken in black pepper sauce”. If you are ever in the area I would recommend it! Having dinner all together was a great way to spend our last day in Ireland. We are already excited for our next trip over (The timing of which is still to be determined!).

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Lough Eske Castle

April 4, 2013 by 2 Comments

I have mentioned a few times that my husband and I stayed in a Castle during our recent trip to Ireland. The Castle I am referring to is a restored Castle on Lough Eske in Donegal. It is a truly fabulous resort, and I think that someone could go on vacation there, stay a week, and still not do all of the exploring in and around the castle.

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We arrived at Lough Eske in the evening on Thursday and were immediately blown away by the beauty of the Castle (they also had a sense of humor, as you can see with the dragon they have hidden in the drive as you approach the castle).

inside

Once inside, the resort is beautifully done over, maintaining the castle-like feel throughout. There was a lovely bar where we had cocktails, and a amazing restaurant. Our room was gorgeous, and came with heated floors. I was going gaga over the bead board they had on a few of the walls. It gave the room such a nice feeling.

bike ride

We took a bike ride on Friday morning (yes, it was VERY cold!) and couldn’t believe how great the views were. I was so excited that we had such sunny weather on the vacation, because it meant that we could see for miles where ever we went. We even came across a famine pot, that would have been used to feed numerous people during the famine.

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A Castle Hunting We Will Go

April 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Last year when we went to Ireland, I was slightly disappointed that we didn’t see any castles up close. This year we decided to stay in a castle overnight. While driving there we also decided to stop at every Castle that we saw a sign for. This turned out to be a ton of fun, and it was so cool to see castles in different states of repair.

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We drove around in this tiny little blue car. It was kind of scary to be driving around on the wrong side of the road for so long, but in the end I relaxed and just enjoyed looking out the windows.

Tully Castle

The first castle we went to was the Tully Castle. It was gated off so we couldn’t explore the inside of it, but was in pretty good condition considering its age. The views from this castle were breathtaking and I can see why someone wanted to build a castle there!

tree covered castle

If we thought the Tully castle wasn’t maintained well, we reconsidered after the second Castle we stopped off at. I forgot to write down the name of this one, but it was so covered in trees it hardly counted as a castle in my book anyway. The only thing that was in good condition was part of the surrounding wall, which was about half a mile from the castle itself.

Donegal Castle

We also went to the Donegal Castle that is located in the heart of Donegal Town. It has been up kept and partially restored. I really liked this castle because there was so much information on it, and it was fun to read about the people who had lived there and what rooms were probably used for.

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This was the last Castle that we saw, and we actually stopped back on our way home from Loche Eske, which I will blog about tomorrow. Castle Monea was my favorite of the ruins, because it was so secluded, but in great shape.

I think that (for now at least!) my craving to explore castles has been sedated!

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A Trip To Ireland

April 2, 2013 by 2 Comments

Over Easter my husband and I took a trip to Ireland to visit his family. We took a 5 day trip, and it couldn’t have been more fun. Last year when we went at about the same time, the weather was overcast and drizzling the whole time. This year, although it was very cold, we had blue, clear skies almost the entire time. I couldn’t get over how pretty everything looked!

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The first day we arrived we spent the day hanging out with family and friends, and it was so wonderful to catch up in person. Skype is great, but there is nothing better than being in person.

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On a quick walk before dinner, my husband and I snapped a few photos of the surrounding area. I love all of the wildlife, farm animals, and great views that surround the area where Fergal grew up. It is so picturesque!

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Passing Ships lead to… a Castle?

March 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

This week the Mr. tried something new. He is an electrician, and he signed on to do the night shift for a few nights. He worked from 6pm – 1am on Sunday night and Monday night, then he had Tuesday off (but had night classes), and then worked the day shift the rest of the week. Let me tell you … it was weird! I didn’t see him (except when he was sleeping next to me when I crept out of bed in the morning) for basically 3 days – we were passing ships. I think that the strangest part was that he was THERE… just not awake… when I was.  I was relieved when the Mr. decided that night shifts weren’t for him and he will be working regular shifts from now on.

I have been in a weird funk all week, and I honestly think that this change of schedule did me in. It is funny how another person’s schedule can do that to you. I guess that is what happens when you are married!

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I think that the best way to get out of this funk will be to stay at a Castle with the Mr. so that is what we will do (I find it hilarious I just said that…).

I am so excited (aka counting down the days) that we are going to visit the Mr.’s family soon, and am also looking forward to the one night side trip that the Mr. and I will be making to the Lough Eske castle. It is going to be so pretty (knock on wood… I hope it doesn’t rain or snow!)

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