The kind of thing little girls dream of

When I first found out I was going to Ireland I was incredibly excited and equally nervous.  The thought of being away from home for four weeks was slightly terrifying - I won't lie.  I of course wanted Bryan to come visit (especially since we had been planning a trip to Ireland with the Whitworths anyway.....) but it seemed like it just wasn't going to work out with Bryan's work obligations. Finally, a little over a week before I left, the most amazing husband in the world bit the bullet, asked off, and booked a ticket.  When I say my hubby has always had his priorities straight, I mean it. During law school, he never let the pressure get to him. And even now, when the pressure to devote every waking minute to work can be overwhelming at times, he is always able to see the bigger picture.  50 years from now, we will look back on this weekend with such fond memories, and you know what?  We probably won't even remember what firm it was he worked for anyway.  :) Only kidding of course. Without further adieu....welcome to the castle!

Feast your eyes on this beauty!  Just a few days before Bryan flew out, I realized the town I had originally picked for us to stay in was just too far from one of our desired day trips.  So in keeping with the "you only live once" theme of the weekend, I threw caution to the wind and booked an amazing castle for us to stay in.  It was simply amazing.  Adare Manor was everything I could have hoped for.  They even upgraded our room for us.  Um, that never happens!!  This place was amazing.

 The first morning, Bryan woke up and whipped open our curtains to see this amazing view.  The contrast of the colors, the manor looking all ancient and charming....what a way to wake up!!

 And of course because Bryan is awesome, he got this really cool perspective out of one of the windows. 

 The first morning, we decided to get some breakfast and then spend the morning exploring the grounds of the castle.  The concierge pointed us to a great walk that took us all around the castle, and into the neighboring town of Adare. It was really gorgeous.

 This is what happens when you try to use a tripod and a clicker to take a portrait.  (And maybe the result of wifey eating a few too many servings of potatoes three times a day....haha)! 

 After exploring the grounds, we had lunch and drove to the Cliffs of Moher.  While we were hiking, we turned around and saw an awesome rainbow.  Can you see it? 

 This hike was not for the faint of heart.  (My in-laws would have probably not enjoyed this very much... ;) ) The trail skirted the edge of the cliffs, and the wind was pretty intense.  Also, please note the two layers of jackets I have on (fleece and rain jacket) - it was pretty cold when the wind started whipping.  But boy, did we have gorgeous skys!  Quite unusual for Ireland. 

 Like I said, the wind was seriously intense.  You'd be walking along and then all of a sudden these huge gusts would come along.  You literally had to lean into the wind to not get knocked down.  Not coincidentally, the wind is why they say not to get too close to the edge. 

 It was about a two hour hike to get to the very end of the cliffs, and this is what was awaiting us.  I believe it's called Hag's Head.  I could be wrong though.  It was beautiful though.  We stopped and sat here for quite a while before hiking the two hours back.

 This was the view we had - pretty impressive! 

 Did you really think we'd miss out on the opportunity to take some fun self-portrait shots?? 

 This pic turned out a little blurry, but I think it perfectly captures the weekend.  Lots of fun and love.

 And conquering some serious hiking.

 Look what we just accomplished!!  We timed the walk so that we could see dusk at the Cliffs.  Totally worth it!

 The next morning, we woke up for an extremely early (but totally worth it) dawn Easter Mass at the Franciscan Ruins.  Everyone had candles, and they had a fire up front to try and keep everyone warm.  This was definitely a once in a lifetime experience, and we're both so glad we sacrificed a little bit of sleep.  The service was very moving, and the I loved the symbolism of the sun coming up during the service.

 A view of the ruins from a far.  I wish we had history like this in the States.

 After the service, we had breakfast at the Manor and then drove down to the Dingle Peninsula.  Of all the places I've seen in Ireland, the Cliffs of Moher and Dingle were by far my favorite.  The scenery on the Dingle Peninsula is unlike that in the rest of the country.  Also, the little town was incredibly cute!  We got a little shopping in, had some amazing ice cream, and ate a deliciously fresh seafood lunch. 

 We also hit up a local pub called Dick Mack's.  How cute is this place?  You really felt like you were stepping back in time as soon as you walked in.  We split a half pint of Guinness.....I can now officially say that neither one of us are beer people.  We couldn't even get half way through it.  I guess I'm just a wine and liquor kind of lady. :)

On Monday, we headed back to my home base.  Here's a picture of me (probably one of the only ones I have) to document that I spent 4 weeks here. 

So there you have it.  A whirlwind Easter weekend, but one we'll never forget.  I think every little girl dreams of having a weekend like that, and this one is sure happy it happened!