NO place like home..

Travelling is amazing, but there is no place like home.  I spent 7 days in total travelling to Ireland. Grandma was with me, we had quite the journey. Discovering the culture, driving on the wrong side of road. Learning new foods and ways of life.
 It was amazing, but exhausting.

For those of you that haven't travelled before,  you should know that by the time you get home, you are more tired than when you needed the vacation.  Exploring is exhausting. You are constantly on the go!   You kinda have too, considering you have such a short time to see it all.

Is it worth it?   YES, of course.  However, it took me three days to get back into the swing of home life.  3 days to get over needing a nap mid day to get myself back on schedule.  Jet leg you say... perhaps but it is more adjusting to  work, home life and  daily responsibilities again.   I think you don't' realize how much you do till your away from it all.

I miss Ireland..... and this yummy bag of chips I discovered LOL, but I am  truly happy that I have a wonderful place to call home, a good home life  to come back too!.

Awh... Guinness, What more does this title need.

Today we toured the Guinness Storehouse, Grandma and I  that is. What an incredible tour. Worth every penny!   I can't remember the street it was on but it was just a about 10 minutes way from Jervis street ( amazing place for shopping affordable and  of course very close to the Temple Bar. One of the more famous tourist traps and well know bar in the area.  

The Guinness building is amazing but the historial information of how it came to be, the inovative ways  they brought ingredients in and  the success like no other is truly amazing.  

 Quick moment to say how AMAZING guinness Irish stew is. Hearty and  delicious!

Guinness has been ahead of the game in amazing advertising for years... and this display is just one more example of this. Video screen put into barrels. So cool! 

I have to tell you one of the highlights is the tasting class. They give you the cutest little glass and a lesson on how to drink it and why. Very unique and honestly fun! 

Final part of this impressive self guided tour is having a pint up on the 7th floor ,  A pub with loud music, filled with amazing people from all around the world and  360 degree views of the city!    If you ever go to Dublin, even if you are not a big drinker, your going to love this tourist attraction! 

Cheers! 

To finish our day off, just outside of the storehouse, we took a horse drawn carriage ride to Jevis street, to finish off the day with shopping.

#Guinness #Dublin #travelbog #travel #Ireland #GrandmaandI #heritage #fun #middaydrinking #drinkinginIreland #horseandbuggy #museum #Irish  #pint

Something out of a Disney Movie - Rock of Cashel, Ireland

If you have ever seen a disney movie you  have forever linked  Castles to fairytales. I can tell you when you first see this castle, you feel you are seeing a something so unbelieveable.  Fairytale castle like no other.

Rock of Cashel is a huge historical place, but most don't truly take in that info . They are just too enchanted by this stunning piece of Architecture!

This amazing structure  is thankfully being saved and even while I was there you could not see  the cathedral part as it was under reconstruction and off limits to most.  Still,  you didn't feel like you missed seeing any of it.  Even the graves are impressive !  Large carved stones with celtic knots and gothic looking  details. 

THe view.. rolling hillsides as well as the little village of Cashel can be seen from up her . Clearly it's location was picked for this reason as well as control. You can see danger from any angle.

Here you also get to see the classic vision you might have in your head of Ireland. Lush green rolling hills with sheep everywhere.  I sat her at this location, just at the foot of the castle  and by an impressive stone  wall and watched little baby sheep nursing their mom. Such a beautiful site and truly  what I had expected to see in Ireland. It didn't disappoint.

Oh the crows... this impressive structure  is medival and  all the graves surrounding it .... and watch the crows fly around and onto it on a gloomy day such as this gave it an erie feeling. I think if it was evening, I would have been slightly creeped out.  

Truly love this location! So glad I got to see it!

I loved the graves... creepy, yet so impressive.

#rockofcashel #photography #Talkwithchrissy #graves #Castle #travelblog #Ireland #Stpatricksgrave  #travelblog  

Forgot to watermark all images in a hurry to post, but all taken and rights are to Crystal Kirk

Downtown Dublin - It is as if time stood still.

Time stands still  in downtown Dublin.   Cobble stone  roads,  historical buildings filled with
amazing  shopping.   When enjoying the city, it is hard not to admire the architecture even if  it usually isn't something you notice.   Huge stonework,  bonnets over doors and  if I could put it into just one word , it would be historical.

The streets are crazy busy, this shot was an odd one, most streets are filled with more people than I would  expect in New York City. Everwhere we went, we were bumped into, hip chucked or even elbowed. I didn't enjoy parts of it... but  because I was so mesmerized by the buildings  and the amazing accent of people we met. I soon forget the crowds and all its unpleasant moments.

If even in Ireland, take a tour down O'Connnal Street, Grafton street and college.  So much in just a relatively small area, worth a  few moments of your time.

Lastly, I should mention although we had a rental car downtown is not something a new driver should tackle. So, we took the " hop on , Hop off bus".  Drivers are  aggressive to say the least, the braking was scary if you were not holding on for dear life.   Affordable, you bet.. just a few dollars per ride.    I will note that you can't just get on one and it wil take you back, we had a bit of a hard time  finding the one that will take you home was not easy, infact we had to walk quite aways  to figure it out.  OK, so we might not have done it on our own, kind people were most helpful in helping us get the right one.

#Downtown #Ireland #Dublin #citycentre #Travelblog #TalkwithChrissy

Clayton Hotel, Ballsbridge Dublin

Clayton Hotel, formally known as Bewleys Hotel Dublin. This 19th Century mansion is stunning and is chalked full of historial moments.

The building originally opened as a masonic girl’s school in the 1880s by The M.F.O.S. In the early 70s, it was bought by the Royal Dublin Society and it was renamed Thomas Prior House after one of their founding members. It was then bought by Burt Allen in the late eighties and converted to Bewley’s Hotel over the last number of years.

 In 2008 The Moran Hotel Group bought all Bewley’s Hotels in the UK and Ireland. Work began straight away in restoring the assembly hall, now known as Thomas Prior Hall. In September 2008 Thomas Prior Hall was launched with the filming of the final episode of “The Apprentice” and has been an extremely popular venue due to its uniqueness ever since.

Our trip  to hotel was  bit of a rush, learning to drive on opposite of the road is  at first  almost an impossible task. The round abouts are a nightmare and although traffic isn't  too bad, drivers honk like crazy and are a bit impatient.   Roads are small and often parking actually is in the lanes, you just have to move over when the traffic isn't coming at you.   NUTS!!  Luckily a nice police officer assisted us  at one point to help us with information, a  escort to right direction and some kind words and advice.  ............ Now fastforward to  check in.  Staff was helpful and very kind. We arrived hours before check-in and yet they got us in our room right away.   Rooms are clean and nice. Nothing extravagant but lovely just the same.  
Plug  ins are different here , but vending machines have adapters  in the hotel.   I love that you have to put a card in a slot in the room to turn on hydro, kind a neat!

One weird thing... no washcloths. The chamber maid  seemed to not know what it was I was asking for... so funny.

Breakfast buffet is filling. Delicious and the coffee is amazing in restaurant. IN the room... NOT SO MUCH, actually instant coffee. eeewww.

This historial hotel is not full of amenities we are used too, such as gym's and a pool..however, truly a great place to say and beautiful.

#Claytonhotel #Ballsbridge #Dublin  #travelblog #TalkwithChrissy

Dublin castle, Ireland

Oh, that court yard is breathtaking. I can easily see in my mind all the amazing events that would have taken place.  Stone walkway is another  thing I admire!

Inside the castle you get a glimps of what life might have been like.   Formal tables,  stunning pieces of elegant furniture and  we must not forget to mention the incredible  ceilings!

If you ever get to Dublin, this is worth a look!

#Ireland #Irish #history #DublinCastle #Castle #travelblog

Today is the big day

Today is travel day.. eek!   SO many small things to do. Pack, don't forget anything, get parkNfly code,  leave on time..LOL.

Grandma and I are going to have the experience of a lifetime, thank you to  all my readers who will follow along and share this adventure with us.

We are blessed.!   #TalkwithChrissy #Ireland #tripofalifetime #makingdreamsareality #photography

On the plane ride over, it becomes Grandma's 79th birthday... I am hoping the whole plane will sing to her!

#happybirthday #backtoherroots #Irish
We plan to see many things, but if any of our readers know of a place to see.. Please post or email us!

The round-abouts

Our trip is coming up soon. Feeling pretty relaxed about most things..... EXCEPT those darn round-abouts.  Already driving on opposite side of the road, and now I have to deal with round abouts that also have multi-lanes. I can feel my blood pressure rise!

Now , I am sure after a day I will have no issue but to  get to our hotel, the road has many of these to tackle. Adverture, I would say!

Traveling is such an adventure, creating memories that will last a lifetime... so either way, this trip will be amazing!   #Ireland #driving #adventure #travelblog