Hello, hello!
I cannot believe today is our last day in Ireland. Time is absolutely flyin’ and we’re making the most of it, that’s for sure! I last blogged about our second day which we spent at Kilkenny Castle and Blarney Castle, so I have some serious recapping to do!
Now for the second part of our second day…
After we kissed the Blarney Stone, we hopped in our rental car and drove to Kinsale, a small fishing village located in County Cork in Ireland.
Several of you encouraged us to stay in Kinsale and I must thank you because we absolutely adored the little village!
And thank you to those who recommended The Old Presbytery bed and breakfast.
We were able to book a last-minute stay at this family-run bed and breakfast and have nothing but wonderful things to say about Noreen and Philip McEvoy.
When we checked in and dropped off our bags, Noreen greeted us and showed us to our room, which was outfitted with a beautiful brass bed and cozy decor.
The bathroom was also completely updated which was really nice. (We appreciated this even more after a less-than-stellar experience at the next bed and breakfast we stayed at the following night… No toilet paper!)
Once we were settled, Noreen told us to help ourselves to some treats and late afternoon tea which sounded perfect after a long drive.
Noreen’s daughter made all of the treats that day and I had a mini cappuccino cupcake and piece of carrot cake bread and both were fantastic.
The weather was quite cold and dreary outside, so sipping tea and chatting with Noreen and another guest in the common room was a great way to pass the hour or so before we were ready to head out to dinner.
When it came time for dinner, Ryan and I really wanted fish since Kinsale is a fishing village and we heard that the seafood in Kinsale phenomenal. We bundled up and made the very cold walk through Kinsale in search of fresh seafood!
How cute is Kinsale!?
When we stumbled upon Fishy Fishy, we knew we found a winner.
Right after we were seated and I scanned the menu, I knew I wanted oysters and ordered half a dozen to start.
Talk about fresh!!! They were fantastic and I didn’t have to do too much persuading to get Ryan to try his first raw oyster. He was a fan!
For my entree, our waitress talked me into a big bowl of the seafood chowder.
It was incredibly hearty and full of fish. I was in heaven! And the crème fraiche they served on the side? Delicious!
After dinner, we put on our cold-weather gear and headed back outside in search of a local pub to grab some drinks.
We ended up spending several hours at The White House and had the best time talking with locals.
The drinks were fabulous, too! The bartender did a great job recommending some delicious drinks to me. My only requirement was that I wanted something warm.
My favorite drink of the night was a creamy hot chocolate made with Bailey’s.
(And yes, Ryan ordered a Galway Hooker. The bartender said Americans love ordering that beer! Ha!)
I also loved the warm port that the bartended made with lemon and cloves. It reminded me a lot of the mulled wine I had at the bar that was decorated head-to-toe in Christmas decor in New York City last December! So delicious.
Our second night in Ireland was definitely a fun one!
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I read this entire post (in my head) in an Irish accent.. 😛
Last day? Oh damn, don’t you hate that? Well sounds like a great trip and we look forward to having you back- even if you don’t haha
I love the neon yellow and teal!!
It all looks so cute and inviting! Specially meeting locals!
The thing is, the weather in Western Europeis like this since October. It’s already half a year that we are bundled up, that it can start snowing any time and that seeing shiny yellow ball on the sky is a rare event. You can see people comming to the streets and staring at it. 🙂
This does not keep me from going outside, we even went for a hike on Sunday (was 0 cellsius and windy), but you gotta have very warm clothes. And there is a lot of warm cute clothes on the market here. When I saw your cute short leather jacket from the first post on Ireland, it thought “Oh my, you are going to be frozen in 30 seconds”
Have fun in London!
Looks like you’re enjoying your trip so far! Loving your updates!
There’s a bit of sunshine in the south of the UK today, so fingers crossed you get to experience Springtime in London! 🙂
I love the brightness of the lime color! I want to stand out during my workout!
I would love the PINK pair! 🙂
Never been to Ireland but this place Kinsale looks awesome!
I’ve been looking for the perfect new pair of sneakers. I love the lime green ones! I’d probably love the blue ones too(:
How fun! I think sitting around a bar and chatting with the locals would be such a great evening. What a cute town!
Ahh, I’m glad you’re having such a great time (except for the missing toilet paper
Kinsale is adorable. I love going into the pubs and talking to the locals 🙂
You are eating and drinking such delicious things, I’m jealous! I love talking with locals while visiting a place, it makes a trip so memorable.
Isn’t Europe such a different world? It’s great to be in a place that is so removed from what we are used to! I can’t claim Irish roots at all (Dad is from Munich, Ger and Mom from Whales) but….. I was born on St. Patrick’s Day, haha!
Can’t wait to hear the story of no toliet paper!
Kinsale is adorable! And that hot chocolate with Bailey’s looks amazing!!
The Bed & Breakfast looks adorable and it’s so cool you got to have tea! I always read about having tea in all of my English Literature books haha
So glad y’all stayed at the Old Presbytery. We chatted with Maeve (the owner’s daughter) for a long time when we stayed there- she is lovely as are her parents! We had dinner at The White House, too- their food is delicious. Can’t wait to see the rest of your recaps- they’re making me miss Ireland so much!
Spiked hot chocolate is the best! I could go for some right about now (as I’m sitting in my office cubicle with my space heater running! haha)
I have always wanted to visit Ireland, I’m so enjoying your trip recaps! Thank you for sharing hopefully I will get there soon and will rely on your tips as a guide!!
HAHA when I went to Greece we stayed in so many hotels that didn’t let you flush toilet paper and you had to throw it away in the trash can. Strikes me as extremely gross, but I guess it’s better than stressing the super old plumbing they have over there. Sounds like you are having a blast!
I love the neon yellow ones! I am in desperate need of cross training shoes, all I currently own is running shoes. Would love to win these 🙂
What a cute town! I would love to go to Ireland one day!
I would love the Neon Yellow! So darn cute!!! 🙂
We stayed at the Old Presbytery too! My mom and I absolutely LOVED Kinsale and all of the little waterfront shops! Such a cool atmosphere.
Did you get to see the McEvoy’s fat little chihuahua Scampi? He’s a cutie!
Ahhhh so much good food! I always love seeing what you enjoyed at a restaurant because of the time you and I seem to have similar taste, especially when it comes to fisshhhyyyyy stuff! Can’t get enough of oysters so I’ll definitely binge post-pregnancy, lol. And I’m curious Julie, not sure if you mentioned it already…but are the prices of food, shelter, etc. high in Ireland? Or are they pretty average?
Oh shoot! I didn’t realize Kinsale was on your itinerary. I would have begged you to get a little trinket for E’s best friend — her name is Kinsale! 🙂 Sounds like a great trip.
I loved Kinsale! My family and I toured the coast of Ireland in the Summer of 2007. It was amazing, beautiful, delicious, fun, etc. etc. etc.!
Kinsale was one of my favorite villages that we stayed in. We also ate at Fishy Fishy and had drinks at the White House… I think we stayed two nights there. So much fun and exploring the town was great too!
Gotta go GREEN!!
I would take any color at this point. I am in desperate need of a new pair of kicks. I LOVE them all!
Green!!!!!!!
What a cute town! I love bed and breakfasts with charm!
LOVE the blue!! 🙂
Love the presentation of the seafood chowder!
Hi Julie
As an Irish reader I was looking forward to reading your posts! I’m from Wicklow and currently live about 15 mins from Powerscourt. My boyfriend and I go to Kinsale every year for my birthday in August and we always stay in The White House. I previously lived in Boston and Kinsale reminds me a lot of Newburyport or Gloucester…an awesome little seaside town! Glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂
Lime green ones are too cute!