Sisters' Visit!

So we met up in London, but then flew into Shannon after two days. Stayed in a hotel in Limerick and had Easter dinner over at the McGinns. The next day we rented a car from Shannon and we went to Lemonfield to see Mammo's property, the Limerick cemetery, Thomond Park, and then to Kitty and Timmy Kellys. It's much easier getting around by car now, then by bus! We had a great time at the Kellys catching up and hearing stories of our family. Definitely going to try to see them one more time before I ship out of Ireland. We checked out of our hotel the following day and headed into Co. Clare. We stopped by Bunratty beforehand to see the castle and old medieval grounds. We then drove up to Lahinch, which was a beautiful beach. Would love to be here in the summertime. From there we went to the Cliffs of Moher and then up to Doolin. We stayed in a hostel up in Doolin and were able to hear some trad music at McGann's pub. The next day we caught a ferry over to the Aran Island, Inisheer. The island is very remote and quiet. We checked out most of the things to do there. Molly said that they have an intense summer program to master the language of Gaelic; sounds pretty interesting to me! From Doolin we drove all the way to Cork. Stopped by Tesco to pick up supplies for a tasty dinner. Had a nice relaxing night and then met up with some soccer friends for a beer. Headed back for our early day. We drove down to Kinsale with perfect weather conditions! Last time I was there, it was stormy and you could barely see in front of yourself. We checked out the James and Charles Fort. We had to grab some lunch because Kinsale is the capital of food in Ireland, but that means a pricey meal! Shopped for some gifts for family and friends and then trekked off back to Cork. We went to the English Market to pick up some more goods for dinner that night and the market is a must visit when you're in Cork! Headed to Blarney Castle afterward and Molly and Noreen kissed the Blarney stone! Figured I didn't need to since I've been a victim of the stone once before. Wandered through the poison garden next to the castle, yes a poison garden. Be careful not to breath too close to any of the plants! They all have warning signs of terrible effects. Quite an interesting garden though. We went back to my apartment and made a big dinner again and relaxed for the night, chit chatting about our trip so far. The next day we took a quick trip through my school and then headed to Co. Kerry. We drove all the way to Dingle, but stopped at Inch beach on the way (on Dingle Peninsula). Inch beach was class just as Lahinch. Dingle is an awesome little town! Again, would love to spend some more time here. Everything is in Gaelic (so that class sure came in handy). Didn't have enough time to see Fungi the Dingle Dolphin, but were able to walk around a bit. We took the Connor Pass (which is the highest mountain pass in Ireland) which becomes one lane at points winding around mountain cliffs! It gives you quite an amazing view! They have a stone up there dedicated to Doolin's sister city - Santa Barbara (a little taste of California). We took the N69 route that goes along the Shannon River to Limerick. We made it back to Limerick and hung out at the McGinns for the night. The following day, we returned the car and made our way to Thomond Park for Munster's semi-final in the Amlin Cup. Unfortunately Munster lost, but the experience was fantastic! This weekend was Limerick's River Fest, so many things were happening. We met up with the McGinns for dinner and then went to an outside event with music. We waited until the fireworks were to go off over the Shannon and we took a walk to the River. The fireworks capped our night. The girls were off early the next morning. The Limerick marathon, half-marathon, and 10k were going on the next day. So I stuck around to see Christina run the 10k, congrats Christina! I think my sisters and I made great use out of 99s during their visit! We had one almost everyday. Avoid the tourist spots though because they like to change the motto of 99 cents to 2.20 Euro. All in all, we managed to cram in a rather large number of places and had a fantastic time!