THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2019

picturesque towns from county limerick to county cork

We started out this morning by heading on the bus to the picturesque town of Adare in County Limerick, where we did a quick go-around of group introductions in a lovely park before taking some time to wander around the fairy tale town with its thatched roof homes and shops.

This is not color-corrected. Ireland is SO GREEN.

We then continued on to the city of Cork, Ireland’s second biggest after Dublin, where we visited a local market to wander around and have lunch. Walking across the river felt exactly like walking across the Liffey in Dublin - I’d have a hard time telling the two cities apart at first glance.

After Cork, we continued on to the cute little town of Kinsale, where I wandered into a chocolate shop with two of my fellow travelers and found an elusive iced coffee!

From Kinsale, we continued on the bus on the way to our hotel in the town of Rosscarbery in County Cork. It was a beautiful drive!

For our first night out in County Cork, we headed to the town of Clonakilty for dinner, followed by live music at a local pub. Musicians just show up with their instrument of choice and everyone sits in a circle and plays. I would learn soon enough that these traditional music sessions clearly happen all over Ireland every night, but this was a great, authentic introduction at Shanley’s.