Part one of our journey through Ireland and Scotland | Ireland Destination Elopement Photographer | Ireland Wedding Photographer | Destination Wedding Photographer
My mom and I just got back from our second tour around Ireland (plus Scotland this time!). We had four days in Ireland before taking the ferry over to Scotland to spend a week there. It was the trip of a lifetime and I’m so glad that I could to do it with alongside my mom!
This trip was inspired by our ancestry, as my mom has recently become really interested in our ancestry, and after both doing the Ancestry DNA tests, and tracing back our family tree to the eleventh century! Through that tracing, my mom found out that we have some Irish but are heavily Scottish. In fact, it turns out that my 15th great grandmother was Queen Anne of England! WHATTT #royalty. So we decided that we had to go see the lands for ourselves.
Before heading to Scotland, we spent two days in Dublin and two days in Belfast! In part two of this post I’ll discuss what we explored in Scotland, but for now, here is Ireland!
Day One: Day one we arrived early in the AM. Luckily I slept through the flight and was feeling pretty refreshed and ready to explore, but Donna, not so much. We found ourselves some Irish breakfast, walked around the city center, and did the Guinness Storehouse Tour before heading to dinner and crashing for an early night.
Day Two: We were feeling a bit more refreshed today! We had (another) Irish breakfast - this will be a recurring theme ;) - before heading out on a free walking tour around Dublin! Our guide, Patrick, was SO knowledgeable. We explored all over the city - it was honestly one of the best walking tours I’ve been on! After that we headed over to the Irish Whiskey Museum for a distillery tour and tasting. SPOILER ALERT - still hate whiskey. Towards evening, we made our drive to Belfast, and ended the evening at a super delicious restaurant down the street from Queens College, with a few Guinness and some frosted flake cake (best thing I’ve ever had).
Day Three: By day three we were feeling a bit more caught up on our jet lag. We cruised the St. George Market, where there are over 150 local food and craft vendors. We spent about 3 hours in here, each bought Celtic cross rings and tasted a Belfast Bap! (Basically a breakfast sandwich). We spent the afternoon in a Black Taxi tour and then explored the Titanic Museum. After the Titanic museum we hopped in a taxi and told the (friendliest) driver to take us to his favorite place for dinner, drinks and live music! He dropped us off at the Crown Bar - where Prince Harry and Megan had been THE DAY BEFORE!! We ended up meeting a sweet couple, and spending the rest of the night with them listening to some KILLER Irish music in the back of Fibber Magee. Oh, and I was swirled around on the dance floor by a little ancient Irishman that I couldn’t understand!
Day Four: Our last day in Ireland was probably my favorite. We roadtripped along the Antrim Coastal Route which was nothing short of STUNNING. We hit the following sites:
-Ballygally Castle (One of the most haunted castles in Ireland!!)
-Carnlough Fishing Village (for ANOTHER Irish breakfast)
-Cushendun Caves (filming location for Game of Thrones!)
-The Dark Hedges
And a few more spots in between! It was a packed day full with some incredible views and sights, and the landscape photographer in me was having a hay day. We made our way back to Belfast to take the ferry over to Cairnryan. This ferry was legit the nicest ferry I’ve ever been on. It was ten floors and had everything from a spa to a movie theatre to multiple restaurants. Highly recommend taking the ferry to Ireland - quite the luxurious journey!
And that’s it for Ireland - Part Two about Scotland will be up shortly! If anyone is thinking about an Ireland destination elopement or Ireland destination wedding, get it touch! I’d absolutely LOVE to photograph a couple on those rolling hills! Get in touch, here!