Ireland! Part 1 - The Photos

Welcome back to us!

OK so we actually got back LAST week, but it took some time to pull together our photos, get over jetlag and generally get ourselves together enough to put two sentences together and update the blog.

I split the Ireland adventures into two postings...this one for photos and the next will be video.

To recap, Ireland was amazing and Lilah was even more amazing with her laid back travel attitude and generally flexibility.

We (Mommy, Daddy, Lilah, Uncle Steven, Aunt Sarah, Bubbe and Will) left Newark, NJ May 30th on a 7pm flight arriving in Dublin at 6am local time (1am DC time). After the three hour drive to NJ and the six hour flight (of which she slept three hours) Lilah was ready for a nap in the car which she got as we tried to navigate our way out of Dublin, driving on the wrong side of the road and learning what a "roundabout" really meant.

Sleeping through our first stop in Glendalough, Lilah woke up in time for lunch getting her first taste of what would be a week of "chips" (fries). After lunch we headed to Kilenny where we would be spending our first night. We visited the Kilenny Castle where the above photo of Jason and Lilah was taken - can you tell we hadn't slept in 36 hours by this point! Lilah had a fantastic time running around the grounds of the castle, then to dinner and BED for everyone. The first photo is Lilah, rested the next morning after over 12 hours of sleep. The one to the left is right before heading to bed - can you tell what a trooper she was! (also can you tell how far north Ireland it that it stays light there till about 11pm......)

After some good sleep we all headed off to Waterford where Lilah showed off her moose to the Waterford bear as well as more "chips" for lunch. We then drove to Cobh (pronounced Cove). While the rest of us were amazed at the beautiful countryside, Lilah settled into what would be her MO for the trip - sleeping while we drive and being in a good mood as we explored.

And in case you are thinking at this point "Wow they threw her in the car and dragged her everywhere - poor kid." do not fret - Lilah got plenty of exercise time with her Aunt and Uncle throughout the trip. Running, kicking, throwing and sometimes even climbing on hundred year old rocks as you will see in a photo below.

Before leaving Cobh we checked out the last place the Titanic left before it sunk and got our first "Boig Family Photo" of the trip. You might also be wondering how come you don't see any rain - it is Ireland after all. Thankfully we have been told we had the best seven (out of eight) days Ireland has seen in 10 years.

Day three brought us right outside of Cobh to Cork and one of the major highlights of the trip - Fota Wildlife Park.

You may notice that these animals do not seem to be in cages - that would be because they were not. Only the ones that might eat us fully in one swoop were restricted with many of the rest free to roam about.


You can imagine all of our delight with this experience - Lilah taking it all in and loving every minute of it. She surprised all of us when - without prompting she yelled "Zebra" at the top of her voice point to EXACTLY where the zebra was. Amazing the things she remembers.























After Fota we headed to lunch and then over to the Jameson Experience which, after realizing we had to wait an hour for a tour, decided to purchase our goods and ditch the rest of the "Experience".

Which gave us enough time to head to Blarney Castle where Lilah got some good shut eye with Bubbe and the rest of us climbed up and up and up to kiss the Blarney Stone. (Full disclosure - kissing was only done by Jason, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Steven).







We also played a game of "Where's Waldo" with each of us popping out different widows in the castle to see how high we could go with Lilah still seeing us.

Finally heading back to our hotel on Day 3 (wow that was all one day!) Lilah got her first Irish bath. You would never know from this photo how much she hates baths - both Irish and American.

Day 4 was our scenic day of exploring starting at Drombeg Stone Circle where Lilah made friends with the rocks, while we debated if you could actually tell the time by the way the stones were set.

Giving new meaning to the phrase "rock hugger."

Heading out from Drombeg we hit highlight two of the trip - the Ring of Kerry. The most beautiful place I have seen in my life, Lilah woke up from her mid day nap long enough to enjoy the amazing sites...take the second Boig Family Photo...go to the beach...and then fell asleep again.


At least she knows her priorities!

Bunking down in Killarney that night, Lilah proved that naps do work as she climbed up and down and up and down the stairs of the hotel, while the rest of us were just looking for our rooms.

On Day 5 we started heading north on the west side of Ireland, stopping at the Cliffs of Moher on our way to Ashford Castle.

Lilah once again reminded us to save our energy for what lie ahead.

Being every bit as stunning as you could imagine (or view if you click on the link to the web site), Lilah got to be a true princess wander the Castle grounds, enjoying exploring the landscaping and sitting in the "big girl chairs" they had spread all around.







We spent Day 6 at the Castle taking in every activity and seeing everything that was available to us, but then sadly as it got close to dinner time we started our trek off the coasts of this amazing country and inland in the direction of Dublin.

Night 6 and early Day 7 spend in Athlone for sleeping and eating (yummy Italian) we headed out early for our last full day in Dublin. Unfortunately our last day brought rain, which did not deter us from visiting Guinness and Trinity College, but did hamper the photo taking for that day.

Getting to bed early to head out early, we left Ireland on Day 8 leaving behind fantastic people and stunning landscape but bringing home some great memories. As good as any toddler could be, Lilah held out well during the seven hour plane ride home playing and walking in between her parents - who only wished maybe she would get a tiny bit tired for a nap.

Getting home at 1pm local time (6pm Ireland time) the Boigs wished goodbye to the rest of the family and headed back to Maryland around 4pm. Lilah gave one big wave and then fell asleep at 4:02pm sleeping straight through until 4:02 am (she did think it was 9am so you can't blame her too much).

Speaking of sleeping I am headed off to do some of that right now. Videos and Part II to come later this week as well as an update on all the words Lilah can say and all the sassiness she can give!