The Fun of Navigating Ireland's Roads- Photos From Our Irish Holiday

I know I have been slow in sharing photos from our trip... And I apologize as I know you all have been patiently waiting. But between getting back in the groove, the 4:30am wake-ups for a week (thank you, Caelan), getting pictures downloaded, and sorted... Well, these things all take time.

As I said over at my travel blog, renting a car and driving is the best way to really experience Ireland. As you may remember, we had to upgrade our vehicle this last trip as a mini-van and a "7 passenger vehicle" are not the same thing. In our upgraded Land Rover we were one of the larger vehicles on the road. Which made for some hairy experiences.

Driving really doesn't describe the experience of travel on Irish roads. You hurtle. Speed limits on roads like the one below are about 80k- or just under 50 mph. It feels very fast...

We actually met a car coming toward us on this road. We both stopped. As there was a widening in the road behind the oncoming car, he backed up. Note: this was a marked road on our map. Until quite recently (the mid 90's) Ireland didn't have many large highways as the majority of the population didn't have cars. With the surge of the "Celtic Tiger" Ireland has become the fastest growing economy in Europe.

I love these roads and was sorry to see so much road construction. But such is the way of growth, I suppose.

This was probably my favorite road sign of the entire trip. This is just past the Cliffs of Moher...

The only thing you can't see is the sign just ahead of it letting you know that the speed limit had just increased to 100k...

And this next photo was taken as we drove near the Gap of Dunloe. The clouds were so thick they covered the highest peak in Ireland.