We arrived at the airport very early!  We relaxed and ate pizza before checking in our bags. A sweet man at TSA said I had a wonderful smile. Wished me well on my trip to Ireland. He said to drink all the beer for myself & for him!

We had a friendly waiter at PF Changs. He recommended visiting his home country, El Salvador. He explained the country has a new leader who made it safe to travel there after so long of it being very dangerous.

Boarding the airplane, we were assigned seats in row 44 of 46. They boarded back to front, so we were the first to board!! We were sat in the middle 3 seats, but no one came to sit in the 3rd seat! So we got to stretch out and relax with a seat between us! That was very helpful when it came to taking a nap on the plane.

The plane left LAX at 8:25pm on April 24. We are in the air at 8:31 pm!

Arrived at Dublin Airport at 2:18pm April 25th.

We grabbed our rental car and hit the road. There was definitely a learning curve for leaving to drive on the right side of the car and the left side of the road! The roundabouts are tricky at first when you’re worried about driving, other cars, finding the right lane and following the road map on the phone. We traveled down some very small lanes, it was very sketchy at some points. As I write this, we are into our third day and I am a confident left side of the road driver.

We stopped at Costa Coffee Shop in Carlow on our way to our first hotel in Kilkenny. We ordered a Chai Latte & Hazelnut Latte. Amazing. Chai is very spicy and delicious. Costa is a chain of coffee shops like Starbucks.

As we drove, there was huge field of yellow! It was stunning! We had to stop and take a photo. It looked like mustard plant, but I later learned that it’s rapeseed crops. It’s perfect timing that we are here now because she explained in a couple weeks it will be harvested and no more beautiful yellow fields. Everything always works out for me!

We arrived to our first destination, Kilkenny! Hogan Hotel check in was very easy! No need to show identification, no license plate number, no credit card on file. So much different from the US.

We asked our receptionist if she could recommend a steakhouse and she went on to recommend 8 restaurants & bars to go to while we are here.

In order to turn on the lights in the hotel, you have to put your key card in a slot and keep it there as long as you want light. So when you leave, you take your card and the lights all shut off. What a wonderful way to save electricity.  The hallways are also kept pretty dark which was different but also so smart.

We ate at a place called Petronella.  My fries were so fresh and salty. It was delicious!  Frank at Petronella was very nice and recommended Hole in the Wall Bar.

The people and the scenery of Ireland are exactly as described and shown in shows and movies. It’s gorgeous here!  It’s like driving through a magazine.

We found our way to Hole in the Wall Bar!  It was indeed small!  When the bartender at Hole in the Wall Bar asked where we were from; we said California. He said I could have guessed that because we have a golden tan. Mike is the owner of Hole in the Wall bar.  He is also the local cardiologist.

Mike enjoyed telling us stories about Bibby the ghost from the 1900s.

Another local patron at the bar learned to play the accordion during the COVID lock down. He very kindly let us play it!  He played some wonderful song for us. We all preformed together and sang songs.  The bartender played the guitar and sang us some rock and country songs.

When we paid for our tab, we paid with US dollars. We used a $50 bill and the bartender said he’d never seen a $50 bill before.

I am so grateful for a lovely start to our trip: meeting lovely people, seeing beautiful scenery, learning new things and experiencing amazing things.

-Cassidy