10 European Vacation Memories

Cliff and I ventured to Europe for the first time.  We spent 5 nights in London, where we rented a flat through Airbnb.  Then we flew to Dublin, stayed there one night, rented a car and drove to Shannon, and met Cliff's two kids and his daughter's husband.  The 5 of us spent 1 night in Shannon, 7 nights in Kinsale (purchased at the basset hound rescue auction last year), and 1 night in Dublin.

The Cliff Notes version... 10 amazing memories - in photos!

1) I swam around Sandycove Island, which is inhabited by wild goats, in Kinsale.  The swim out to and around the island was roughly 1900 meters (about 1.2 miles).  The hard part was that the water temperature was around 56 degrees and I was in my Speedo (no wetsuit).  Definitely a chilly memory that will last a lifetime!

2) We went to Veeraswamy, an Indian restaurant in London, to celebrate our 5th anniversary.  It was a fantastic dining experience.  The service and the food were spot on, and it was a fun and unique dinner.  Plus I'm sitting on an elephant chair in this photo.

3) I asked our Airbnb host for a running route in the Chelsea area, and he suggested Battersea Park.  This was a great (and beautiful) start to each day in London.  I ran 20 miles in London and 37 miles in Ireland.  Not too shabby for a vacation!

4) We visited one of the top golf courses in the world, Old Head, in Kinsale.  The views were breathtaking, and we stopped for lunch at the Club House (near the 18th hole and lighthouse).  The second photo was taken by the front entrance to the golf course.

5) The Guinness Storehouse was not what we were expecting (it was more of a museum than a brewery).  But the view from the Gravity Bar on the top level was spectacular.  And I feel like Guinness deserves a spot in the top 10.  Cheers!

6) I kissed the Blarney Stone for the gift of the gab!

7) Our host was a great guy, and he ensured that we had everything we needed.  He even gave us a tour of Kinsale.  This picture was taken in a beautiful spot overlooking the harbor.

8) Kinsale was a unique town with a lot of history (and numerous restaurants and pubs!).  This photo was taken at the (tiny) Mansion House.  I loved how the buildings were painted with bright, bold colors.  

9) My favorite historical site in England was Windsor Castle.  We did a day trip to Windsor Castle, Bath, and Stonehenge.  I wasn't super excited about going to Windsor Castle, but it turned out to be our favorite of the three.  The grounds were so beautiful, and the inside of the castle was loaded with tons of interesting things to look at.  

10) My favorite historical site in Ireland was the Rock of Cashel, which we visited on our drive from Shannon to Kinsale.  The buildings dated back to as early as c. 1100, and the tour guide told us some pretty amazing stories about the cathedral.

Now that we've been to Europe, we can't wait to go back and explore more countries.