Ireland… The land of very pleasant people! Ok, maybe it’s the whiskey, but still.. I can tell you one thing though, it’s certainly true when they say they don’t eat corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day!
My friend and I did a tour to Ireland the week of St. Patrick’s Day. We went with CIE who were fabulous! Everything was well organized. We chose the Irish Adventure package which goes around the entire country, North and South.
Day 1, We met our tour group and did a walking tour of Dublin. After that, we went to Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells, which is one of the oldest manuscripts out there (800 AD) and was created by celtic monks. The library at Trinity College is absolutely stunning!!
Day 2, we traveled by bus through some gorgeous sceneries and eventually made it to the House of Waterford Crystal. Watching them make some of their pieces was pretty cool.
Day 3, we went to Cobh, my favorite part of Ireland, it’s just so beautiful there!! Also, it was Titanics last port of call!
Then we went to Blarney Castle. An incredible sight to see and no, I did not kiss the stone!
Day 4, we drove Irelands most popular scenic drive, the Ring of Kerry.
Then we went right to Killarney, where we had some drinks and enjoyed the evening. It was St. Patrick’s Day and we could not find corned beef on any menu, anywhere! That’s because they don’t eat it! It’s an American thing.. Our whole tour group was baffled and we didn’t know what to eat so we ended up eating the best burgers I think any of us had ever had!! Their beef is delicious!
Day 5, Cliffs of Moher.. A view I can’t even explain. You have to physically see it, pictures don’t do it justice..
We then headed up to Galway…
Day 6, we watched trained sheepdogs rounding up some mountain sheep. It was actually very interesting!! Then did an ancient city tour through Derry.
Day 7, a visit to the Giant’s Causeway which has these huge columns formed by volcanic activity over 60 million years ago.
Then we headed up to Belfast and saw where the titanic was built! That was amazing to see since I am infatuated with titanic history.
We then eventually made our way back to Dublin and the tour ended.
This was such a great way to fully cover the entire coast of Ireland in one shot. CIE tour company, I highly recommend them!!
Just some extras…. Because everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day!
As with everything I love to do with food, I love to get those “luck of the Irish” themes going! Just like these lemon butter drop cookies that I always make for the holidays, I turned them Irish style. A little color change in sprinkles, add some chocolate nuggets and you’ve got yourself a cookie pot of gold!!
On a more savory note, I saw a recipe for these and had to try it! I made them for a party as an app and everyone loved them! So easy to do.. Simmer any type of Shepard’s pie filling you’d like in a separate pot. Bake a bunch of potatoes, hollow them out, make mashed potatoes with the hollowed bits, add them into a ziplock bag with the corner cut. Fill potatoes with Shepard’s pie filling, pipe the mashed potatoes on top (I broiled them for a few just to get a little brown on top) and serve! Bite sized Shepard’s pie. Yummy! Well, maybe 2 bites…
Green and orange spreads are always a party hit
Hung over festive breakfast spreads like this one my sister made one year are also always a hit!
And of course don’t forget to order those fun T-shirt’s!
