Hello West Cork, Ireland!

Popped awake at 2am! I researched more things to do on our trip, got ready, packed up and hit the road. We left the hotel at 3:50am. We headed to Dunmore East for the Coastal Cliff Walk. We arrived at our destination at 4:45am.  The cliffs are stunning. It was early so it was foggy, but we could still see the stunning cliffs, rocks and water below.

Then, we went to the beach at Dunmore East. We wrote in the sand and took photos. The water was gorgeous! There were some really cool shells there too.

We stopped and waited for a grocery store called Costcutter, to open for snacks and coffee. Everything here opens so late compared to America and we were up super early!

Since we were heading to County Cork, we had to stop for gas. Here in Ireland, the green is unleaded instead of diesel. Most shocking of all… you pay after you pump your gas!

I drove up the hill to find Mohan Falls, but it was to foggy to hike. On the road up though, there were a bunch of sheep on the hills and even in road!  When we came back down, we grabbed coffee at a small cafe. A sweet man served us coffee and told us key things to check out while we are here.

We stopped at Fota Wildlife Park. AMAZING! It seemed like the animals were very content. There was a 7 month old baby rhino. Then, we saw a litter of cheetah cubs!! Omg so cute! I definitely enjoyed my visit to that park!

On the way to the park there was a place called Brawny Lodge, we pulled over for lunch. I ordered their special soup of the day which is sweet potato. So good!! For my entree I ordered their braised beef. Whatever sauce they use is to die for. The kale served on the side of the beef and potatoes was smothered in it and that was the best kale I’ve ever eaten. Wow.

We checked into the Celtic Ross Hotel. It has lovely facilities! We jumped in the sauna and then moved into the pool. After showers and refreshing we got ready and headed out for more adventures.

Being so tired from waking up so early this morning, we needed a wake up. We drove to a cute bar called the Leary Inn. I ordered a coffee that was served in a cute glass. We shared a plate of wings that came with salad, fries and coleslaw. Everything was delicious. The chicken wings fell off the bone. I’ve never had chicken wings that were so delicious. The dressing on the salad was amazing and the coleslaw was good too!

Then, we went to Drombeg Stone Circle. This ancient ruin is approximately 3,000 years old. It was beautiful! A nice short hike in the countryside to get there with cows in the distance.

It was still early evening so we moved on to a cool bar in Clonakilty. We chose a place called Casey’s. I got a vanilla coffee and a burger. It came with coleslaw and fries too. The fries were so tender! The coleslaw was much thicker and more creamy than I’m used to but still delicious. It also came with a couple onion rings. They are much softer, not crunchy like in the US. I’m not sure if they put grilled onion or what in the burger patty, but the burger was incredible!! I could only eat half. When I asked for a box our waiter offered to box it up for me. He boxed it up in a way that is esthetically pleasing and even put it in a cute bag for me.

We played Irish bingo!  Way different than American, but it was fun. The Irish play bingo by filling up corners, horizontal lines or black out. Which makes sense, however, their playing cards look different. We talked to a lovely Brazilian man who lives here. It was lovely getting more opinions on what to see. It was a great Irish bar experience!