After Portmagee, and a hitch hike back to Killarney, the next few days became a blur of local pubs, countless Guinness, the Irish countryside, amazing lookout points, so many sheep sheep, and the good luck o’ the Irish.

Here’s a tip if you are traveling on the road and give in to the experience without having a plan for every day. We did not book any hostels/hotels until pretty much a few hours before we would arrive. If you’re feeling adventurous then try it! On this trip I used the hostel world app  and of course booking.com to book the places we stayed.

Also, while we were waiting for our ride back to Killarney I was able to pick up one of my favorite art pieces of the trip, this picture of the skellig islands made with inlaid wood. The only think is that I ended up dragging it around with me for the next 30 days. It was worth it, but man I wish I would have found it on the last day! 😉

I am not exactly sure what all we were thinking when Justin and I decided on our route, we just did what was best for our schedule, what we wanted to see and do most, and also focused on seeing the countryside. After Killarney, we really wanted to stop by Cork. Luckily, for road trips in Ireland, you can find interesting things within just a few hours, so it’s not hard to find things to do and see.

After checking into the hostel, we went and checked out the town but just enjoyed a quiet evening. The next morning we drove over to Blarney Castle for a stroll around the grounds, to have a peek at the manner house and of course to kiss the Blarney Stone, because why not?

I would mention that most people just stop in at the castle and to wait in line for the stone, but if you have extra time you should walk the grounds. There are gorgeous gardens, the manner house which looks just like one of mansions on the mansion walk in Newport Rhode island, a babbling brook, and even a pet cemetary.**Kiss Kiss** Some say that kissing the stone can give you the gift of gab, something I can’t say I have ever needed although now maybe it is even worse. hehe.

Birds sitting in the window while we waited in line at the castle. There are tours you can wait to go on at the castle, but we didn’t bother with all that. We had a look around at the ruins ourselves and opted for a stroll around the grounds instead.

Have I mentioned how much I love trees? Weirdly I do and I really liked the coloring in this photo.

Approaching the manner, there was really no one even meandering ever here so we were able to take a few pictures for ourselves.

You couldn’t walk around back, but the manner was very well maintained.

After we finished at the castle and stopped and had lunch, we decided to drive from Cork to the Dingle peninsula to spend a night or 2 in Dingle. The Dingle peninsula is very scenic and I can highly recommend to add this area onto your road trip if you have the time.

Dingle is a quaint little town that is located at the end of either a winding mountain overpass or N86, which is a highway, but can be slow going depending. It’s a pulsing city with a very good vibe. We found a place to stay right on the main road above a pub and you ended up watching a football game and laughing with the owner and some locals that hang out there.

Although Ireland is well known for Guiness I might also add that many of the towns have their own gin. “what what”

Ladies and Gents I present Dingle Gin, try it if you’re in town. Served with tonic water and an orange slice. It was very good.

We walked around to all the shops, although most of them closed before we were out, stopped into pubs along the way. It was a really fun night in Dingle. I really liked the vibe there, especially for a place off the beaten path.

The next morning we woke up and were on the road again. This time towards the Cliffs of Moher and this was a very scenic part of the trip that also involved a ferry ride.

I really like this photo. We had just stopped at an overpass to take a few pictures of the scenery.

I love the easy and quickness of a good ferry. We were loaded and crossing the water in minutes and barely had time to get a snack before we were docked and wizzing up the Western coast of Ireland.

Originally, we had booked a boat ride under the Cliffs leaving from Doolin, a town just North of the cliffs. This unfortunately was cancelled because of bad weather. Had we known, we would have stopped for hike to a pass inaccessible by car, however, we did not get word about the cancellation until we got to Doolin. Alas, what can you do?

Have you ever driven in a car on the other side of the road on very narrow winding roads? I have a time or two, but Justin told me I was making his asshole pucker a few times with my fast paced and erratic driving. whoops.

We did make it to the cliffs of Moher and after a walk along the trial we headed back to the car and on to Doolin.

Like I said the boat was canceled, but here is a picture of some ruins on our way down to the ferry station.

Once we realized the boat was cancelled, we decided to just continue on to Gallway. This was our longest day driving and it was really nice to get to Gallway and check into a hostel in the heart of the city and enjoy our evening out. Gallway is much more populated and the the party vibe was legit. I want to go back to Gallway!

I really love Ireland. There is so much to do and see.

After sleeping in a little, we were up buying whiskey, shopping for gifts, and walking around the town. In the early afternoon, we were back on the road again and off to Dublin to stay in a hostel right around the corner from my favorite bar, Darky Kellys.

We did all of the iconic things, the Guiness tour, Trinity College, cribbage games while drinking dutch gold, and of course stopping by the Temple Bar.

Man I just love a good library. Something about all those books…

I even took Justin for his first Wagamama. It’s pretty much irrelevant but I do like that place if I’m not in Japan.

Travel cribbage!

This was an extremely fun week! Unfortunately it was time for Justin and I to part ways. Him to head back to Pittsburgh, and me to continue North.

This article was seen first on The Cassey Excursion.