I was so busy before we left that I had no time to plan practically any of this trip. The most I did was plan places to sleep. I looked a map of Ireland and planned a driving ring around its outer edge. Then I went on AirBnB and found places to stay.

This was really, really hard for me. I plan everything. What we’ll have for dinner, what I’ll wear on Thursday, EVERYTHING.

But here’s what happened with this, the biggest, and unplanned trip of my life? Everything was a surprise. From the bad (dirty, dirty Dublin) to the good –the magic of Glynn’s Wellington and the wonderful people we met at the Taste of Dublin festival.

Even though I planned four nights in Dublin, we had enough the morning of Day Four and left, without a plan, simply pointing ourselves in that direction because guys we met in a pub the night before said to do so.

When we turned a corner and we saw the fishing village of Kinvara I burst into tears. It was the iconic Ireland I had been waiting for. We pulled over and found a B & B run by the sweetest Maura I’ve met yet.

Then we headed toward Dingle, and Dingle is going to get its own post, but I have to say that I was so glad I didn’t even know the beauty we were about to absorb. The entire Dingle peninsula has a population of less than 2000, but there are more than 19,000 sheep.

Slea Head Drive needs its own post as well, but let me say here that even if I had looked at photos in anticipation, they never could have shown me what the experience is really like. When we crested the top of the hill and I saw the cliffs, the turquoise blue water, the beach, the hillside with sheep and cottages, the burren, I lost my breath.