The Pantheon is one of my favorite structures in the entire world. The fact that it is so beautifully preserved, unique and FREE combine to make it an all-time favorite. During my three visits to Rome I felt like I wound up passing by the Pantheon multiple times and going in at least once or twice a day as the interior changes as the light changes. There really doesn’t need to be an introduction for each picture as they speak for themselves.
After a fun evening in Galway my wife and I woke up early the next morning to get a jump-start on the day as we wanted to make it to the Cliffs of Moher fairly early before the larger crowds arrive.
We departed Galway around 7:30 AM and drove south towards Lahinch, Ireland (near the Cliffs of Moher). The drive took about 2 hours even though our GPS indicated a drive time of 1 hour and 30 minutes, guess it didn’t account for the cliffs/stone walls/hairpin turns on the roads to Lahinch! The scenery on the way was amazing though as we passed through the Burren (extremely rock landscape) and across some large hills lining the coast. Here is a picture from our drive near the top of one of the hills (if you look closely you can see the hairpin turn):
Lahinch is approximately 4 KM from the Cliffs of Moher and there is a don’t miss attraction in Lahinch, the golf course (luckily you drive right past it on the way to the Cliffs of Moher!). The Lahinch Golf Club is ranked by Golf Digest as one of the Top 50 Courses in the World. It was amazing and I tried to snap as many pictures as possible while we drove past it (I know I shouldn’t be taking pictures while driving but it was so cool). Here is the best one I got but it is still hard to see how impressive this course is:
Lahinch Golf Club (*** – Beautiful course and luckily it is on the route to get to the Cliffs of Moher)
As I mentioned above you have to drive about 4 KM past Lahinch to get to the Cliffs of Moher visitor center. I am not sure if there is another place along the cliffs that doesn’t charge to take in the view but the price was 6 Euros per car to park and that included tickets to the Museum (we didn’t go since it didn’t look like it had that much to offer. The parking lot for the cliffs is directly across the road from the visitor center and the walkways to the cliffs. I must say that the Cliffs of Moher might be the most visually stunning natural formation I have seen in my life. It was incredible. Here a two pictures and I know they don’t do it justice but it is incredible, trust me:
Cliffs of Moher (***** – Absolute must see in Ireland)
After leaving the Cliffs of Moher around 10 AM (we spent approximately 45 minutes there, no need to stay too long) we drove towards Limerick with a stop in Bunratty (50 minutes from Cliffs of Moher) to view the castle there. We had browsed through a few guidebooks prior to our trip and some highly recommended it while others said to avoid Bunratty. After visiting and paying the 15 Euro per person entry fee to the Bunratty Folk Park (should have been my first clue) I can certainly agree with the books that say to avoid it. It may be one of the worst tourist values in the entire country, if not Europe. I can’t even explain my dismay upon entering the castle and seeing plaster on the walls from the “restoration” in the 1970’s. This is definitely a stop made for mass-produced tour buses. However, if you are looking for a picturesque (from the outside) castle to photograph it isn’t a bad idea to stop by as it does look real from the outside and it is right off the motorway into Limerick.
Bunratty (0 stars – not deserving of time or money)
After leaving what had to be the biggest disappoint of our trip we made our way into Limerick (15 minutes from Bunratty) to have lunch. Limerick was interesting in that it was not a touristy town so we got more a perspective on Irish life outside of tourist zones. The city had a nice walkable area downtown and we quite enjoyed the few hours we spent there. We had lunch at O’Connor’s ($$) which was pretty good (we picked it due to the number of local businessmen inside).
O’Connor’s in Limerick ($$)
After lunch, we strolled through Limerick some and the atmosphere was quite good, I guess being sunny and upper 60’s will bring the crowds out in Ireland. Around 2 PM we decided to make our way to Tralee. We had decided on Tralee due to the convenience of its location at the beginning of the Dingle Peninsula. Unfortunately, that did not translate to a very vibrant town. When we got there around 4 PM it seemed as if everything was already shut down for the evening and later that evening the only restaurant in town that was open was the one attached to our hotel, luckily it was quite good. We booked rooms based upon reviews from Tripadvisor and this may have been the first time I have been let down by Tripadvisor. The room was adequate and clean but did not meet the expectations I have for how positive the reviews were.
Interior of Room at Grand Hotel Tralee (90 Euros per night)
That was all for Day 2 adventures, please look forward to Day 3: Dingle Peninsula, being published early next week. Cheers!
In what I hope will be a continued series going forward I am going to give a full trip report of our recent 8 day trip through Ireland. I plan to do a day-by-day account of our trip with tips on sightseeing, hotels and dining options in each place we visited. I will also try to include as many pictures as possible in order to illustrate what I am discussing. Today’s post is just the outline for the future posts and I will try to get them up here in a reasonably timely manner. Here is the daily itinerary for our trip and also the order of the posts:
Day 1, 9/2 – Arrive in Dublin, rent car and drive to Galway
Day 2, 9/3 – Leave Galway early AM and drive to Cliffs of Moher. From there a quick stop in Limerick and on to Tralee.
Day 3, 9/4 – Depart Tralee early AM and tour Dingle Peninsula. Spend night in Kenmare.
Day 4, 9/5 – Travel from Kenmare to Kinsale, stay near Kinsale that night.
Day 5, 9/6 – Depart Kinsale early AM to travel to Powerscourt Estate with a quick stop in Cashel. Spend night in Powerscourt.
Day 6, 9/7 – Depart Powerscourt and return rental car, spend day in Dublin and stay in town.
Day 7, 9/8 – Spent the entire day in Dublin
Day 8, 9/9 – Early morning departure for return flight to States.
Look for each day to be a detailed post in the coming weeks!
So, no excuse for going almost a month without any new posts but it is what it is. Today I am going to feature a town that we almost skipped on a May, 2010 trip. Unfortunately, I think a lot of other people end up skipping it as well. This town is Lindau, Germany on Lake Constance near the border with Austria and Swtizerland. Lindau does not have the depth of historical sights that some other places offer but it does offer some impressive sights all set in a beautiful setting on the edge of Lake Constance. If you are passing through the area it is well worth your time to stop in for a quick stroll or for a bite to eat. (The old town of Lindau is an actual island so it is required to park on the mainland but the parking is cheap and it is only a short walk across a bridge to the old town) On to the photos:
Back of the old town hall
Interior of the “Cathedral of our Lady”
Tower near the waterfront (with lighthouse in background)
Lighthouse on Lake Constance
Lighthouse
I hope to dramatically increase my blogging in the coming month as my wife and I are traveling to Ireland soon. I will try to give a detailed day-by-day description of our travels. Hope you enjoyed today’s post!
Today I am back with another installment of my travel photos series from Vatican City in Rome. Vatican City may be small (110 acres) but it more than makes up for it with stunningly impressive sites. Since words can’t properly describe the sites I will jump right into the pictures I took in April, 2011 during a trip with my wife.
St. Peter’s Basilica (***** – Regardless of how little time you have in Rome, St. Peter’s should be on any schedule)
Close view of St. Peter’s (if you look closely in the center steps in front the basilica you can see Pope Benedict XVI performing Easter Sunday Mass)
Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square presided over by the Pope.
St. Peter’s Basilica (this picture was taken from the top of the Castel Sant’Angelo)
View of St. Peter’s from Castel Sant’Angelo
Interior of St. Peter’s Basilica
Castel Sant’Angelo (*** – Worth it for the views alone)
Passetto (Pope’s passageway from the Castel Sant’Angelo to St. Peters Basilica)
Tip: The Vatican Museum is probably one of the best in the world and with that comes extremely long lines during peak travel periods. To reduce wait time (and therefore increase your time spent doing more enjoyable activities) get there very early when the museum opens if possible. This will allow you to spend the rest of the day sightseeing in Rome, versus waiting in the heat to get in!
traveling4numbers 