A Summer trip to Kinsale

So we are back home now after an amazing short Summer trip to Kinsale. I had never actually been in Co. Cork & now I definitely want to go back & see more. Kinsale was really one of the prettiest & most picturesque places that I have ever seen.

                                                 Kinsale Harbour in all its glory!


I literally could not stop snapping pictures - Ireland really is the most beautiful place when the sun shines! 

So we arrived in Kinsale around lunch time on Thursday & we checked into our hotel - The Trident Hotel https://www.tridenthotel.com. This hotel is perfectly located on Kinsale Harbour. We honestly would return to this hotel if we are ever in Kinsale again - the views were spectacular - I have posted some pics below;

Our hotel room was really nice, bright & airy with a large window overlooking the harbour. I really loved the views & you can see more of that & my reaction in my insta story highlights (Kinsale 2018) over on the blog Instagram www.instagram.com/thestyleflamingos/. There is also more insta stories saved there on our trip. The hotel is also perfectly located & central to the town of Kinsale, the shops, pubs & restaurants. We had some lunch at our hotel & I had the battered cod & chips!! It was delish :) 

I also sampled Gordan's pink gin for the first time ever!! I know, I know..I am the last one to join the pink gin fan club!! but I am literally obsessed now - its my new drink!

From there we walked with Isabelle in her buggy & explored around Kinsale. We were simply blessed with the weather - the sun was shining for the entire trip & the heat was like we were in Spain! We were packing the baby with sun block & she had her sun hat on all the time to shade her - so she was nice & cool in the buggy! She loved looking around & smiling at everyone!

I just took so many pictures in the pretty streets & near the harbour - it really was so instragramable! Everyone around the town was so friendly & welcoming. We then found a really nice pub called "Hamlets" - find it here http://hamletsofkinsale.com/. We had a few drinks there & of course I enjoyed a couple of pink gins in the sun!! After a little while we headed back to our hotel with the baby but not without grabbing a bag of chips & onion rings at the famous "Dino's" on our way back - that was a must!! :)  Just the perfect way to end a lovely summer day. 

The next day we enjoyed a gorgeous breakfast at our hotel & all of the staff there were so friendly & helpful. It felt so comfortable having Isabelle with us in the dining room as sometimes certain places may not be so baby/child friendly! The environment at The Trident was so relaxed - it made us really feel at home. We got extra coffee & sat outside on the balcony to take in the view & catch a few extra rays! We chatted there for ages & then had one drink - mine was a prosecco :)  we just had to soak up the Irish sunshine as you never know when it will decide to leave!!

After we went for a walk & then to our hotel's sister hotel Actons Hotel https://www.actonshotelkinsale.com/en/ where we brought Isabelle swimming for the very first time! This was such a special moment for the 3 of us as Isabelle is growing so fast & the time is going so quickly! We really embraced this moment - one of her many "firsts" & we took several pictures!! :) It was a good job we had the pool mostly to ourselves! LOL 

Later we sat out in the sunshine in the terrace of Acton's Hotel - that was so lovely. 

We were starving then so we went to a beautiful Michelin star restaurant called "Fishy Fishy. Before our trip a couple of people recommended that we try here so we said, 'why not'?! 

OMG this place is incredible - girls, you were so right!! This is probably one of the most amazing places that I have ever eaten! The food was incredible. They served us gorgeous tasty breads to start & Michael enjoyed a Murphy's while I had a lovely chilled glass of pinot grigio! 

I ordered Billy Lynch's pan roasted hake served with creamed beetroot, courgette tempura, salsa verde & crispy potatoes. 

This was simply devine, just cooked so perfectly! I love fish - I just wish I could learn to cook like this!! Maybe some day! :) This dish was definitely 5 star. The flavours of salsa verde & beetroot really complimented the hake in just the right amount. Of course the compliment of ice cold pinot grigio sitting on the restaurant's out door terrace made the whole experience complete. Even reviewing this now makes me want to go back!!

Anyway, Michael ordered Billy Lynch's pan fried monkish on spinach risotto, tomato salsa, sweet potatoe crisps & rocket oil. He absolutely loved it & I tasted his too & it was definitely 5 star!

The staff were so nice & the restaurant itself was so pretty. I snapped some pictures of the interior & the quirky quotes which were dotted around the place really added to the overall charm. The terrace where we sat was surrounded by high greenery which made it so private - you can see it here in this picture of Isabelle & I. It was so pretty! 

I honestly cannot recommend this restaurant enough - if you are visiting Kinsale this is a must place for something to eat. If you try it out I would love to hear what you think! Check it out at www.fishyfishy.ie. 

Later we enjoyed an evening stroll around town & a few night caps (pink gin :) ) in our favourite Hamlets before heading back to our hotel.

We always love a late night snack when we are away so later that night Michael popped out & grabbed us a pizza from Vista - it was so tasty & just what I needed to cure the late night munchies!! :)

On Saturday morning (our last day) we enjoyed another lovely breakfast at the hotel, then we packed up all of our stuff (which was a lot!! we do not pack light especially now with the baby!!). Afterwards we took a stroll around Kinsale to soak up all of the prettiness & enjoyed an ice - cream in the sunshine! Mine was Baileys flavour - just yum!!

Just before we left we drove up Scilly road to capture that view of Kinsale Harbour from a height - def. the money shot!! Oh what a view!! We visited Amalfi in Italy on our honeymoon in 2016 & honestly these views reminded me of the Amalfi Coast. 

We stayed in Kinsale for 2 nights, it was Isabelle's first little holiday, our first family trip away & it was really magical. Kinsale is breathtaking, relaxing, pretty & fun. We will definitely be re visiting Kinsale in the future & I cannot wait to see more of Cork. 

Ireland for a stay-cation when the sun shines is simply the best!

Happy holidays everyone :) x

Love Arlene x 


*OOTD pictures below - all dresses, shoes & the Gucci inspired bag are from my fav. Penny's! Oh & sunnies are Penny's too!! #Pennys #Pennyshun