Photo Friday // Ireland: Days One & Two - Dublin, Baltinglass, Kilkenny

One of my favorite hobbies is photography. For me, a day with a camera in my hand is like a mini-vacation. I love to see the world through my camera lens, as I make a conscious effort to see things in a different perspective.

Each Friday I plan to post at least one photo and a little commentary to share with you. I’m excited! J

I will start off by sharing my recent trip to Ireland with my parents, uncle and gma. It was amazing. There were so many beautiful sites and experiences…it make take several Fridays to cover it all! I’m ok with it, if you are. I will just get to relive the memories longer.

Here we go...

Day One: Dublin

My parents and I landed in Dublin at 7:00am after 12 hours of traveling. We were exhausted. The plan was to get some breakfast, drop the luggage at the hotel, then explore and gather information we needed for the rest of our trip. We accomplished breakfast at a little cafe called Yum Yum's. We then ended up sleeping in the lobby of the hotel until our rooms were ready…followed by more sleeping.

Our hotel in Dublin.

A bread stand in one of the markets.

A traditional Irish breakfast, minus the rashers (ham) and sausage.

My uncle and gma arrived later that day. We ate and slept some more. Haha! Fast forward to ….

Day Two:

We had previously reserved a rental car so we could drive ourselves all over the country. I ended up being the trip planner and tour guide (no, I've never been to Ireland before)! The route I planned for us took us through Baltinglass, a little town south of Dublin. The best site in Baltinglass was the Abbey, which is in ruins except for its little chapel.

Baltinglass Abbey

Inside the chapel at the Abbey.

Next, we drove down to Kilkenny to see the castle. We didn’t have a chance to tour inside, but the outside was grand and beautiful. We also walked across the street to the stables which have been converted to crafters workshops. Today was Sunday, which meant the shops were closed. But it was fun to see the buildings and the beautiful details of the castle grounds.

My uncle and Gma walking into the castle.

Kilkenny Castle and its BEAUTIFUL lawn.

The converted stables across from the castle.

Our last stop for the day was Cashel, which I will save for another post. It is one of my favorite parts of the trip – that means a lot more pictures!