The more I read about Ireland the more convinced I became it was the countryside I wanted to experience. Not that Dublin wouldn't have drawn my attention especially since I'm a city girl at heart and I LOVE city life. But I felt drawn to every photo I saw of the sea, rugged mountains, dangerous cliffs, and the experiences that go along with being in small towns. And of course time wasn't working with me. A week just isn't long enough. So we skipped the big cities and focused on quaint little towns. And to maximize our time we flew from Dublin to Cork where our journey began.
Ah, don't you just love those images from the window seat. Before there was a Lil' C I usually opted for this seat but now I'm happy to let him enjoy the show. Lil' C was soooo incredibly excited about flying. His eyes lit up when we took off and you could just see how he loved feeling the pressure when the plane left the ground. I think I was just as excited when I saw my first images of Ireland and the blue skies. lol! I was concerned we'd be greeted by the same dreary, wet weather we'd left behind in Belgium. But luckily that wasn't the case.
Our first day we spent exploring Kinsale, a beautiful little medieval town that is well known for many reasons among them being it's fabulous gourmet restaurants. That's right... you can't forget about the food and beer. lol!
The next morning we drove out to Old Head per a recommendation from the owner of the B&B we were staying in. Old Head was exactly what I pictured when I think of Ireland.
Photo compliments to Lil' C. He did a great job!
The view was stunning. Although S & I were pretty anxious since there aren't any fences to prevent someone from falling off these gorgeous cliffs. Poor Lil' C didn't really get a chance to explore much on his own and those feelings came through in some of the photos.
Right over that dirt area behind us is this...
Beautiful but a little scary.
Before we left we did let Lil' C walk around a bit (like for 2 minutes! lol!) on the other side of the hill where there was a nice big field but believe me we were watching him like a hawk!
We got back into the car and drove to a nearby beach.
Lil' C had a blast running around and picking up rocks. We found the most unique rocks. I especially loved all the flat, smooth, black rocks with decorative white strips.
Lil' C had fun creating some beach art while I collected some rocks to take home (which most were unfortunately taken away by airport security on our flight home). ;(
S started getting cold so we left the beach and drove to Blarney Castle. 
One of the traditions of visiting this castle is to kiss the Blarney stone as it is said to give the receipient the "gift of gab"! I'm not sure I really needed to do this especially when I saw how high we were and how much they lowered you to kiss the stone. S went first and of course everything went well but I had some reservations. Lately I've noticed heights scare me a bit. I mean it's a long way down. 
But then I thought when am I going to get this chance again. So before I could change my mind again I went for it.
I tried to take the easy way out and lower my head and give the stone an air kiss but the stone keeper wasn't having any of that and told me I had to go lower! Of course everyone is laughing but me. So as I close my eyes tightly I continue to bend lower and finally he tells me to kiss the stone. It was a quick peck but hopefully it was enough to receive the gift of eloquence. lol!
Lil' C had a ball walking through the castle. He kept making references to the rooms being similar to some of the rooms in his fairy tale stories.
The grounds surrounding the castle were beautiful too. Lots for young kids to explore.
Our first full day in Ireland was great. We ended the day with a nice dinner in Kinsale and ready to see more of Ireland.
Comments