Ireland Day 6- Gardens and Howth Head

Day 6 was our last day in Ireland!

That meant saying goodbye to:

beautiful landscapes

kind people

gorgeous accents

delicious food- potatoes anyone?

history

&

a dreamy place I never thought I would visit

It was fun to visit the country and city.

On the last day we signed up for a tour of a super old castle that was still being lived in, and Howth Head that was by the sea. It turns out the castle was closed for renovations so we went to another old house that had beautiful gardens and was still being lived in. They had a little farm with pigs and we walked around the big, beautiful grounds. It reminded me of a few books I've read and we loved picturing the boys running around there if we were the lucky owners...

I loved this hedge room!

We climbed a trail to see a view of the house, gardens and city.

After the gardens we went on a tour of the house- just part of it since the family is still living in it.

I have to admit it was just okay, nothing spectacular. Everything was really old and collected from other countries, just kind of an eclectic collection.

I did love this window though!

The only place we could take pictures was in the sun room- kind of cheesy, but you can see the pretty gardens outside.

After salmon and potatoes for lunch in a pub, we walked down the street to the sea. We left our coats on the bus thinking they would just be outside, but they weren't, so we walked in the chilly air. Again- thankful for the sun on this day!

I'm not a fan of myself in these pictures- 5 months pregnant so I am carrying some extra weight- although, compared to my big belly now- these aren't so bad. (Still not a fan!)

We walked along the pier to get a glimpse of Howth Head.

We signed up for this tour that morning, so I thought we would be standing on Howth Head to see the ocean, but that is it in the background... still a pretty day at the harbor.

Back on the bus. 

Another glimpse out of our hotel window in Dublin.

Collecting change for the boys back home.

That night we went to a closing dinner with our whole group. We got on these huge buses that maneuvered their way through these tiny, busy Dublin streets. It really was a miracle we didn't hit anything! The next four shots are from the bus window.

We went to the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, which was really an old veteran's retirement center turned art museum now. It was gorgeous.

Adam, Bryan, Jen

Our food were works of art- check out my salad!

Adam's steak and veggie bundle with a tornado of potatoes.

My salmon fritter with potato cake and green bean bundle.
I was sad I was too full to finish... this never happens.

White chocolate and chocolate mousse with fruit.

We watched traditional Irish dancers and singers after dinner and headed back to our room for travels the next day- some heading home but we were on our way to London!