Dublin, Kilkenny, & Cashel, Ireland

(Written August 2014)

So it's been just over a year since we moved out of Italy and back to the United States, but that doesn't mean the travel stops, right? Believe it or not, there are about five different areas of Europe that Jon and I had on our "list" that we didn't get to in our two years of jet-setting around the continent. Ireland, various Scandanavian cities, Scotland, Western France, and Iceland. We were all set with a deposit on two different cruise lines to a lot of Scadanavian cities, but I just didn't want to leave the baby for the 15 days it would take for us to complete it all. Ireland was next and we figured that we could do a nice eight day trip starting in Dublin, working our way south and west, and flying out of Shannon. It's also less than a six hour flight from Newark and only a five hour time difference. I planned for the trip to have a nice balance of sightseeing and relaxation since the last nine months with a new baby, while utterly amazing, didn't leave a lot of room for downtime.

Our flight arrived in Dublin at around 6:00am. After going through customs we picked up our rental car and were ready to start. Driving on the left side of the road was... different. The roundabouts were tricky at first and anytime we had to make a turn we looked both ways multiple times because we just kept forgetting which way cars were coming from! There are signs all over the right side of the roads that say "Wrong Way" and "Turn Around" for everyone not from the area. It was pretty entertaining. Jon did an amazing job!

What do I do???

After dropping off our luggage at the hotel we made an early visit to the Guinness Storehouse. We figured it wouldn't be that crowded at 9:30am (it wasn't) and we wanted to enjoy it while we were fairly awake. We learned all about the history and brewing process of making a true Guinness and even got a certificate for perfecting the perfect pint of Guinness - meaning they taught us how to properly pour a pint. It was a fun and informative hands-on experience!

After walking through the storehouse we went up to the rooftop bar with our beer and enjoyed the panoramic views of Dublin.

We walked outside to find ourselves in a rainstorm. Rule number one when visiting Ireland: Always carry an umbrella or raincoat. There is always some passing shower overhead! We took a cab to another area of the city and went to a delicious restaurant based on the recommendation of local. After lunch we went for a quick walk around Trinity College. We were so tired from our overnight trip (and not sleeping) and our heavy beer and lunch that we went back to the hotel afterwards and crashed until dinner.

The next morning after breakfast we walked to St. Patrick's Cathedral, a beautiful cathedral dating back to 1191. We opted not to go inside, but the outside was very impressive.

(This part written January 2015 - no time to write while chasing around a crawler/walker!)

After walking around the city a little bit more we checked out of our hotel, got in the car, and headed towards Kilkenny, which is about 1.5 hours away. Kilkenny is a busy, but charming town built on both banks of the River Nore. We really wish we had more time here, rather than rushing off to spend the night in Cashel (more on that later), but I don't think we realized that there was so much going on here.

We took a two hour bike tour of the city in order to get a quick overview since we didn't have much time. We used scenic riverbank paths as our roadways, which took us not only to the town center, but to sites such as Kilkenny Castle, the Design Centre, Shee Alms House, The Tholsel, St. Mary's Church, Rothe House and Gardens, The Courthouse (Grace's Castle), St. Francis' Abbey, The Black Abbey, and St. Canice's Cathedral. We had a really nice time with the diverse group of travelers and our fun guide!

Inside the Black Abbey

The Black Abbey 

Our last stop on the tour was to St. Canice's Cathedral and the Round Tower. The site was founded in the 6th century and worship has taken place here for over 800 years! The Round Tower is the oldest standing structure in Kilkenny and we were able to climb to the top and take in some nice views!

We were hoping to get to Smithwick's Brewery after the bike ride, but we ran late and JUST missed the last entrance for the tour. Since we had reservations at a bed and breakfast in Cashel that night we couldn't stay in Kilkenny to tour the next day. Instead, we bought some beer glasses and went on with our journey!

We were so excited to be back in travel mode and even more excited to be back in Europe after a year of not living there. Dublin and Kilkenny were great cities to start our trip with, though we wish we had more time in both. But, we had decided to focus more of our time in the west, and with a limited amount of time something has to be cut, right? Next up Cashel, Cobh, and Cork!

Final Thoughts

A few days ago we made our journey back to the U.S. Our two year stint in Italy is finished and we are back on American soil to stay. We had quite a day of traveling - for those of you that remember our initial photo when we left for Italy we had an exorbitant amount of luggage... this time we were able to remove one bag from the mix, but with Maya it still seemed like a ton of stuff! Maya did well on the plane and we're happy that we don't have to put her on another flight again. Albeit a little jet-lagged, she is adjusting very well and is enjoying the wide sidewalks and grass to walk on again.

Our going away picture two years ago. This year we were able to do without the bottom bag.

Everyone has been asking us how we feel about moving back. The perfect phrase to describe it is "bitter-sweet". There are so many things that we loved about being in Italy, so many things that we are going to miss, and I know that we will hold those things dear to our hearts for the rest of our lives. We may even sound a bit snobby if we decline going to the chain Italian restaurants in the U.S. or pronouncing bruschetta as "brusketta" when ordering the appetizer. We'll miss the proximity of the many different countries, hopping on a flight under two hours long and ending up in a completely different culture, even if just for a weekend - and not needing to squeeze everything in on a vacation, knowing that it is so easy to come back to if we wanted. We'll miss the fresh produce at the markets, still dirty from being picked out of the ground from someone's garden. We'll miss being able to converse in Italian, trying to perfect it each time we speak again... and just when we had gotten over a plateau, it's time to leave! We'll miss our neighbors who made us homemade food to take with us for lunch, and in return we made them tacos, brownies, hamburgers, and roasted marshmallows for smores. Oh and the view! We'll miss our view!

View from our house. Capri is in the far back.

But the sweet part overtakes the bitter part. We really have been on a two year vacation (me especially) and we're itching to get back to reality. We still couldn't get used to the three hour dinners that start at 9 - we would at least like the option of having something shorter or earlier... sometimes you're just hungry at 7! We can't get used to everything being closed from 1-4pm. The inefficiency of Neapolitans drives us crazy and it forever feels like people are dragging their feet in order to get something done. We're excited that doing laundry doesn't involve an entire day of washing, hanging, and fluffing. What am I going to do when the laundry is washed AND dried in one hour?! The constant crime, trash, and gruffness of the Neapolitans makes us wonder whether living somewhere else in Italy would yield this same urge to come home. We think not. Taking a walk down the street became a contest of whose locked-up, non-exercised dog would yield the loudest bark - from every house - and if their gate happened to be opened you better have a water bottle or squirt gun to protect yourself with or you'd be looking at a nice dog bite (3 bites in 1.5 years for me, 2 for Jon). And the ever classic question, "Will our car fit down the road we're going through?" is not something we want to experience with our new cars at home. We just never realized how much easier everyday life is in the States and I don't think we'll ever take it for granted again. Internet down for a few minutes? Meh, try living in Italy with their abysmally slow and spotty internet. Electric bill high? Is it really? Try 750EUR (~$1,000) per month in the summer with only the air running at night in one room. See I told you, we already sound snobby. Will we be back to Italy in the future? Definitely, but not for a long time! Back to Naples? Most likely not.

We are forever grateful that we had this opportunity to live here and of course we will never forget it. Thank you to our Italian tutor Giusy who for almost two years has taught us Italian, cleaned up what we learned outside of her lessons, and became our friend. We hope we're able to cross paths again with you in the future. Thank you to VIP Pet Sitters and Laura Lounsberry for taking such good care of Maya while we traveled around Europe. Most of these experiences would not have been possible without your care. Thank you to all of you readers out there, however many. We enjoyed documenting our time here and it was so nice hearing your words of support. Finally, thank you to the beautiful country of Italy for allowing us to be guests in your exquisite land - we will miss you greatly. Grazie mille a tutto e non vi dimenticheremo mai!

Arrivederci Italia!

Last Trip to Tuscany

Since the first weekend trip we took when we arrived to Italy was to Tuscany, we think it's very fitting that our last trip during our time here was also to this region. This was our fifth trip to Tuscany so we decided to hit a favorite city of ours first, Florence, and then move on to towns that we hadn't seen before - Pienza, Montepulciano, & Montalcino.

The drive to Florence took us just over four hours. Since we have been to this city many times in the past we decided to stay a little outside the city center in a more residential area. We really just wanted to take in the atmosphere of Florence, enjoy the food, and shop at the leather market. We did some damage at the market and we each ended up getting a leather coat... among other things :)

The next morning after breakfast we drove to a very small town outside of Greve in Chianti called Montefioralle (maybe 45 minutes from Florence). There is a small winery here owned by a lovely family. We sat outside in the shade with Fernando, a grandfatherly type, while he poured us tastings from some of his bottles.

After that we drove down to Montalcino and visited San Polo, a winery just outside of the town. The estate prides itself on not only having very good wine, but also because it is very eco-friendly. They are the second winery in the world that has received the CasaClima certification for ecological, environmental, and economic sustainability. The winery is both impressive in design and attention to its surroundings.

Montalcino

Wind tunnels for the cellar below

The natural humidity chamber.

We then drove to Pienza where our agriturismo was located. The agriturismo was situated in such a picturesque setting. High up on a hill with cyprus trees lining the dirt road, we were able to see the countryside for miles and miles. Breakfast was served each morning outside our room, with fresh eggs taken right from the chickens in the coop! It was simply gorgeous and it was the perfect place to end our time here.

View of Pienza from the agriturismo

Our breakfast area

The next day we went to Montepulciano. Montepulciano is a medieval and Renaissance hill town that sits about 2000 feet up. The area is very well-known for its wine and for its regional cuisines including "pici" pasta, lentils, honey, and pork. We walked through the town, climbed the steep hills, and window shopped.

Inside an underground old wine cellar

A sleeping cat

After lunch we went back to the area of Montalcino and went to one more winery. This was a pretty interesting experience as the one who was giving us the tour was giving us tastings directly from the barrels and barriques in order for us to taste different years in the aging process. Another reason we were tasting from the different barrels and barriques is that we were also tasting the differences between the Slovenian oak and the French oak. Even though I wasn't able to taste as much wine as I would have liked (Jon is now drinking for three) I was still able to taste the differences. It was pretty cool!

Pouring directly from the barrel!

Getting samples from the barriques.

We left Pienza around 11am on Sunday morning and started the drive back down to Naples. On the way down we decided to stop in a city named Tivoli, about 18 miles outside of Rome. Just outside the  city is a complex of ancient buildings built in he 2nd century by the Roman emperor Hadrian. Villa Adriana, or Hadrian's villa, consisted of over 30 buildings covering about 250 acres. We were amazed at just how large this complex is - we definitely didn't expect it when we decided to stop by. As impressive as they were, we were done after about 20-30 minutes... after two years of seeing many many many Roman ruins they really all start to look the same and start becoming less spectacular. With a shrug of the shoulders and the words, "Eh, it's more ruins" we called it quits. We hope we haven't become too jaded in our thinking...

Teatro Marittimo

Salla dei Filosofi (Philosopher's Room)

Heliocaminus (Baths)

We could not think of a more serene setting to spend our last weekend in Italy. We tried to take in as much as we could from gobbling on Tuscan specialties like ribollita, pici pasta, and wild boar, drinking the famed wines of the region - Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and driving through the rolling hills and winding roads of the region. We could not have asked for a better end to our time here.