brownypoints: Day 5 Emerald Isle: Dublin-bound

We finally had to bid the Beara peninsula and our cottage in Adrigole goodbye. Early on the 5th day, we started our trek eastward to Cork to head to Dublin. It was a tough choice deciding whether to stop at Kinsale or Cobh. I've read wonderful things about both towns, but in the end, we decided that Cobh will have to wait. We visited picturesque Kinsale with its colorful houses, shops and harbor. Kinsale had established itself as one of Ireland's most significant town during the medieval period. We went souvenir shopping for trinkets for the kids, and enjoyed the traditional fish & chips at Dino's, a must-try restaurant when you're in Kinsale. We also visited Desmond castle, which had been turned to a wine museum, but it was closed for renovation. BOO!

Fish & Chips! That's a kids plate?!

The highlight of Kinsale for us is the Charles Fort. It is one of the best-preserved star-shaped artillery forts in Europe, and the view of the town from Kinsale from the fort is worth the visit. The compound is huge, quite ideal for getting the girls wiggles out! And the staff were kid-friendly to boot. Built in the 1600s during King Charles II reign, the fort remained in use until 1922. The exhibits show the how the soldiers lived in the fort. It would have been nice to stay in Kinsale longer and explore other gems like James Fort and the Garden of Remembrance. Alas, we were simply passing through, but grateful for the few hours that we did.

Leprechauns!

Gotcha!

I don't think so!

Finally, we returned the car at Cork and took the train back to Dublin. I was doing the victory dance when I handed the keys over at Hertz rental. (Cue in Theme from Rocky) Woo hoo! I enjoyed the adrenaline-filled drive around south west Ireland, but I'm happy to take the train for the rest of our holiday in the Dublin area. The train ride from Cork Kent station to Dublin Heuston was easy and the view is breathtaking, pretty much just like everything else we've seen here in Ireland. We passed many castles and cattle along the way, and the people we interacted with were friendly. Seriously, I highly recommend taking the train from Dublin to Cork, Limerick, or Galway, if your destination is in the southwest. The roundtrip fare for a family can be "Open", which means you can choose your own return date and time.

Sorry, no chocolate frogs off the trolley, dear!

Do you know that you can book a castle stay on AirBnB? Yup, I had looked into this possibility because I really wanted to surprise the girls with a stay at a castle. Sadly, most, if not all of the castles have a no-kids policy. This makes a lot of sense though especially once you've seen what the castles look like. The staircases are usually steep, slippery and not very safe for children. It was very disappointing, but a friend of ours clued us in on where to stay. As a surprise to the girls, we booked our remaining stay at Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel, a castle converted to a hotel in Dalkey, county Dublin. The castle built in 1740, was also named Killiney Castle before it was transformed to a hotel by the Fitzpatrick family in the 1970's. The hotel is quite charming, and our girls loved feeling like princesses! The rooms were very big, and we were given a room with a view of the bay. (Personally, I think the hotel could use a bit of an upkeep inside, but I wasn't going to rain on the girls' parade.)