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Ashville, NC

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After four months of quarantine in our 800 s.f, condo, Anna, Leia, and I decided we needed a little vacation. Like any true dog parents would do, we planned the trip around our little pup, Leia, and decided to go to Ashville, NC , from 7/12 to 7/20. The drive took us about 10 hours in all, with some gas stops and lunch in between in Cincinnati. Ashville is a hidden gem in the United States, and I am quite surprised how few people have actually visited the city. It is a cute hippy town situated in the blue ridge mountains offering endless outdoor activities, breweries, art, and fantastic food. We booked a cute Airbnb right outside of Ashville, closer to the Blue Ridge mountains in Weaverville, NC . We selected this place specifically for Leia as the Airbnb came with a fenced-in acre for our pup to run around and explore the woods and she took full advantage of this fenced in yard and didn't let one square inch go un-explored. As you can see in the video below, o...

Dublin- Ireland Trip 9/2019

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On 9/6 we arrived in Dublin from Cork, which was about a 3-hour drive that we went straight through. We stayed at Temple Bar Hotel which was in the heart of the city and walking distance to anything you could want to find. Anna's parents' did complain that their room heard the live music at the bar below the entire evening but would recommend the hotel for the location. The first stop we made in Dublin was the Trinity College Dublin where it was orientation weekend for the University and thier was a ton of booths set up for students to join various clubs. The highlight of the College was the Long Room Library which felt like you were walking in Hogwart's Library. After finishing up at the Univeristy we did the Guinness tour which was an amazing tour. It was a little commercialized compared to other brewery tours I have done but it was definitely an experience. The views at the sky lounge at the top of tour were the best views you can get in Dublin. We ...

Cork- Ireland Trip 9/2019

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On 9/5 we left Killarney for Cork. Our first stop was the Blarney Castle and Gardens . It is famous for the stone of eloquence found at the top of the tower, legend has it, if you kiss it, you'll never again be lost for words. They also have several gardens to walk through, the one I found the most unique was the poison garden which contained plants from all over the world from an opium plant to wolfsbane. After the tour, we left to check into our B&B. We stayed at which was about 3/4 mile away from the downtown area. The shopping in this town felt like any major city in America. We ate at COQBULL which had amazing rotisserie chicken that reminded me of a place back home in California, Manny's. We, unfortunately, did not give this city enough time and would have to come back to this city if I ever came back to Ireland.

Killarney- Ireland Trip 9/2019

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On our way out of Doolin on 9/3, before our drive to Killarney, we went to Burren National Park which is famous for its moonscape views. We stopped in a cute town on the way to Kilkarney, called Ennis and ate at a really good pub called Brogans that may have been the best pub of the entire trip. After lunch, we finished the drive to Killarney. We arrived at our hotel where we stayed right downtown at Foleys Townhouse which was in the heart of everything in Killarney. After the hike, we went to visit Anna's family as Sush's family rented an Airbnb about a mile away from the town where we had dinner and some drinks at their Airbnb. On 9/4, we left early for a hike up Carrauntoohil which is the highest peak in Ireland and about 12.7 km hike. We hiked the devil's ladder trail and got some wet weather for the occasion. Noah, Sunny, Anna and I were not dressed for the elements of this hike and could have been better prepared. Sunny did the entire hike with run...

Itinerary- Ireland Trip 9/2019

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8/29 - Leave from Detroit,US to Frankfurt, Germany Flight Detroit to Frankfurt 8/30 - Leave from Frankfurt to Dublin, Ireland Flight Frankfurt to Dublin 8/31 - Wedding Day Activities 9/1 - Kayaking and BBQ 9/1 - Leave Galway Drive from Dublin to Galway 9/2 - Leave for Doolin, Cliffs of Moher Hike Drive from Galway to Doolin 9/3 - Leave for Killarney and tour the city Drive from Doolin to Killarney 9/4 - Carrauntoohil hike in Killarney National Park 9/5 - Leave for Cork and tour the city Drive from Killarney to Cork 9/6 - Leave for Dublin and tour the city Drive from Cork to Dublin 9/7 - Leave for US Flight Dublin to Frankfurt Flight Frankfurt to Detroit If I was to go to Ireland again I would aim for a 12 day trip with the following cities Dublin - 1 day Drive to Belfast Belfast - 2 days , 1 day Glenarriff park(6 miles), Dark Hedges, and Giant Causeway Long Drive towards Ballycroy National Park - 1 day Drive to Gallo...