1 Week in Ireland- What to do and Where to Stay

Along with reviewing Michelin Star Restaurants, we'll also be sharing itineraries, tips, and suggestions for the different places we go. The first one will match with where our previous post was,  Ireland.

I had a work conference in Cork, Ireland near the end of August and we decided to extend our stay early starting in Dublin and working our way counter clock-wise through the country. After sharing my itinerary with several people since I've been back, a few who are from Ireland, they all agreed that making the trip to North Ireland was the right decision, and was one of our favorite cities.

Because my work conference was in Cork, that is where I spent days 8-14 of the trip, but will be focusing on the first week. When I was doing research I found a lot of different options, so this is a similar itinerary I'd do if I were to do it again.

Day 1: Arrive in Dublin, Ireland (sleep in Dublin)
Day 2: Belfast
Days 3 and 4: Galway
Day 5-7: Killarney

Day-by-Day Breakdown
Day 1: Our flight landed early, and we didn't have much plans for the day. We went to the Guinness Storehouse which was very cool, and stumbled upon the Book of Kells which was an awesome surprise. We saw a Globe statue around there and were told there were a few others all around the world, and recently saw another in Italy by accident.

Day 2: Woke up pretty yearly to start our drive to Belfast. We went to Tollymore Forest Park, Inch Abbey, and Castle Ward (Game of Thrones stops)

Dark Hedges

Day 3: We left Belfast pretty early to head to the coast. We went to Randalstown, Cushendun Caves, the Dark Hedges, and Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, and Giant's Causeway.  At the Giant's Causeway we did splurge on the audio guide tours which we enjoyed, and skipped on the busses going up and down- the walk wasn't that bad. The weather wasn't good and the Rope Bridge was closed, but it was still worth going to look at the views. We arrived in Galway late afternoon/early evening.

Giant's Causeway

Day 4: We woke up in Galway and walked around the town. We dropped into random pubs, shopped in boutiques, and walked along the river, and ate at our Michelin Star restaurant

Cliffs of Moher "no climbing" sign

Day 5: We woke up and left Galway and went to the Cliffs of Moher. It was sort of rainy so we spent some time in the museum area, and then headed to Killarney at around 2 p.m.

Torc Waterfall

Day 6: We slept in, had a nice breakfast at our hotel, and went to Killarney National Park for the day. We went to the Muckross House and hiked to to Torc Waterfall (about a 30 minute hike).

Ring of Kerry had a lot of beautiful beaches

Day 7: Ring of Kerry- we decided to drive it and made stops whenever we felt like it. We could easily do it in one day, and this was a great way to see everything. If I did two days, I would have done some horseback riding on a beach, or some more hiking.

"Lady's View" is a must see in the Ring of Kerry!

Josh getting eloquence from kissing the Blarney Stone

Day 8: We walked out to the lake near our hotel and sat and enjoyed the views for a bit before checking out and heading to Blarney Castle to kiss the stone and arrive in Cork. From here, Josh left the next day to go to school, and my conference was getting ready to start.



Getting Around Ireland
We decided with the amount of cities we wanted to see, renting a car would be our best bet. We were able to find a pretty good deal at Dollar, and my credit card (Chase Sapphire Reserve) included CPI Insurance, which means we saved a few hundred dollars by not needing to purchase the insurance from the car company. Our total was about $600 for the two weeks. I have rented cars several times abroad, and this being an English speaking country we felt confident in our navigating capabilities. Driving was pleasant, the round-a-bouts throughout Ireland became an adventure, and even the few wrong turns were all fixed very easily.

We landed in Dublin and had a pretty easy time getting a car. We had proof of insurance from my Credit Card Company, and put Josh as an authorized driver as he would be doing most of the driving. We downloaded the maps on our phone, and GPS proved to be no problem. Unfortunately, night one in Dublin led to a little adventure- we got hit by a drunk driver.

Neither of us, or my friend who happened to be in Ireland at the time who we were driving home after dinner, was hurt too badly- but I was definitely nervous how this process would unfold. Luckily, many witnesses stopped and told the police what happened, and we ended up not being liable. Unfortunately, Chase's coverage did not cover a part of what the rental car company charged us (Loss of use while under repair), so we ended up spending an extra $1000 on rental car. If I had to rent a car again, I would just pay the extra $300 to use the rental car's insurance as Chase was a huge problem to work with, and took about 6 months to get reimbursed.

The drive time from Dublin ti Belfast was 2 hours, Belfast to Galway was 4 hours, Galway to Killarney was 3 hours, and Killarney to Cork was 1.5 hours. Both of us flew out of Cork at the end of the trip.

Car crash in Dublin

Accommodations
Dublin: We stayed at an AirBnB near Dublin. We picked it because they had free, designated parking, but unfortunately once we got there it was only street parking. The main tip I would give here is get a meeting spot in Dublin other than the actual address, like a nearby store, because things were very hard to find in Dublin.

Belfast: We stayed in this great Air BnB. Jon was a great host, and after a brief tour and some recommendations, we didn't see him again. He is an architect/contractor and his house design is really, really cool and spacious. The views from his backyard are phenomenal, and at $109 a night, this was a great deal.

Galway: This was probably my favorite AirBnB I have ever stayed at! The place was cute, cozy, and a great location. The owners over-communicated and made it super easy to find the location, included lots of maps, and recommendations for great food and drink! This is when we ate at Aniar, which helped make this city our favorite in Ireland. After fees, this was about $150 a night.

Kilarney: We stayed at The Lake Hotel Killarney. This was a beautiful property with a beautiful room, and was the splurge of our trip at about $255 a night. While beautiful, we had a lot to do in Killarney, and didn't get to spend too much time enjoying the beautiful hotel- so if you can budget for this I'd recommend it, but there's so much to do here its ok to find something cheaper.

Aniar: Ireland's Must Visit Restaurant

Country Decision Making Process (Emily's Choice)

Our Michelin Journey began when I found out I had a work trip in Cork, Ireland last August. This was right after Josh would be done with his summer internship, and didn't start his final year of law school until later that month. We got Josh his passport (tip: if it's two weeks out and you still haven't received it, send an e-mail to your local senator and they'll get it out to you within 24 hours), and we were on our way. You'll notice a trend in our travels, basically I get to "pick" the country or state we go to based on my work, and Josh does the research.

Restaurant Decision Making Process (Josh's Choice)

Deciding on where to eat for our first Michelin Starred Restaurant was a daunting, yet exciting task. Thankfully, because Emily had created a thoughtful itinerary for Ireland, the choices became somewhat limited. Galway became the only city that would realistically work, so this limited our choices down to 2 restaurants - Aniar and Loam. Nothing against Loam, and I'm sure it is a fantastic restaurant, but Aniar seemed more established, so I decided to choose Aniar. The reservation was made through the website about a month in advance, and there was no pre-payment needed.

First Impressions

Emily: When Josh had told me about the Michelin Star Restaurants, my expectations were quite high. However, we missed the restaurant at first on this quaint little street. When we arrived, there were 8 or so tables spread around and we were greeted very promptly and friendly. They complimented my dress that I got earlier that day at a boutique in Galway, and I was feeling really excited. We were walked to our table corner, and given a menu. I remember being very confused as the menu was extremely vague, but I'm not a picky eater so I was excited to see what we had in store.


Josh: It was raining during our walk to Aniar (I know, shocking for Ireland), but it somehow added a positive connotation to the restaurant. Aniar prides itself on serving the best quality Irish food, and the rain added to the Irish experience. The building and the inside of the restaurant are both unassuming. There is no feeling of grandiose, but instead a warm and contemporary atmosphere. Any nervousness that we would not fit in to the Michelin Star crowd immediately dissipated.



This photo of Aniar Restaurant is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Menu/Ordering

In attempt to get a good feeling of all the different restaurants we go to, we decided to default to the tasting menu and wine pairing whenever it is an option. We decided to do this here as well.

The Food and Drinks

Curds and Whey
Picture by us

Emily: The food and beverage pairing was amazing. At the time of writing this review, we have been to several other restaurants since, and this restaurant still is the one that we find ourselves comparing the others to. The Curds and Whey is one of the top appetizers, and I had to steal some from Josh. My favorite course was the beef tartare. When our server put this down in front of us, I had to ask if I heard right as I didn't know this was a thing. They explained that since they know the farm that the cows come from, they are able to get an exception and serve this course. Even though I love sushi and other raw foods, I was very hesitant to try, but everything about it was amazing and I wish I could go back to Ireland for this dish alone.

Aniar's Beef Tartare
Picture by us.

The beverage pairing was so creative, and is the only place that offered something other than strictly a wine pairing. The sour beer paired with the vegetables seemed like they were both created to go together.


Josh: This being the first time that I ever experienced a tasting menu, I was unsure of what to expect. I assumed the food would be really tasty, but Aniar blew me away. It wasn't even when I was eating the beef tartare (which was probably the best dish they served us) that I realized this restaurant was in a different league than anything I ever experienced, it was when I tasted the butter. That's right, butter. The butter had this wonderful salty and creamy combination that made you want more. At that moment, I realized that if they could make bread and butter taste this good, I was in for a fantastic meal. As for the drink pairing, I thought it was very cool that the drink pairing was not limited to wine. We enjoyed some beer with one of our dishes, which added to the feeling that this was not some stuffy, uppity restaurant.

The Experience

Emily: With this being my first true fine dining experience, I came in with a lot of questions. This was not needed, however as everyone who helped us volunteered so much information that it really was almost like a dinner with a show with how much I learned. At the end of the meal, I asked what distinguished them as a one star, as I was so blown away, and what it would take to get them to another star. They let me know there are some requirements that will make it very difficult to ever increase, as they are a small restaurant and, for example, the table we were sitting at is too near a door (something that did not bother me, nor were were that close to). We stayed for several hours, and found ourselves leaving energized, in good spirits, and a little (a lot) tipsy. They also gave us a menu to remember our visit with, and this is what started our attempt to have a keepsake from every restaurant.

Josh: The experience was wonderful, and I could not have hoped for a better introduction into the world of Michelin Starred Restaurants. There was never a feeling of embarrassment for asking how to eat a dish, or for even asking what you were eating. The staff was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the restaurant. I also throughly enjoyed discussing the Michelin rating process with our main server. She was very candid about it, and she enjoyed talking about working at a Michelin Starred Restaurant with normal people.

The Price

The all-in price for this meal was $538.13.
This included:

• The tasting menu
• The Beverage pairing
• Two glasses of Champagne (that we ordered extra)
• Two coffees

The Final Reviews

Emily: I felt the food was fantastic and made using local suppliers, but has experienced some more creative Michelin dishes. If you are going to Ireland, this is a must-add to your itinerary, and won't break the bank!

Josh: A perfect introduction to the world of Michelin Starred Restaurants. The food was incredible, the service was impeccable and the company was nice too (I think Emily will read this). If you can afford the price tag, it's definitely worth a trip!