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I suppose, like most of us, I both love and
hate traveling. I love the adventure, the incredible people I meet, the stunning
vistas I see. However, I also hate the frustrations, the delays, the
emergencies and the sheer panic when things aren't going correctly.
So far, all of my trips have had more of
the incredible things and fewer of the frantic things. This trip was no
exception - the panic days were only those days we actually traveled to and
from Ireland. Everything in between was serene and beautiful. Sure, there
were small frustrations, but they paled in comparison to the larger ones.
So, without further ado, I shall now
relate:
The
Grand Adventure of Three Ladies in Eire.
This trip began as a grand plan of 8
ladies, all friends, traveling to Ireland. I, being the only one that had
visited before (I'd been there twice) had agreed to do most of the planning
and such, and was happy to do so. However, one by one our travelers dropped
from the plan; hurricanes, finances and family contrived to keep them away
from their vacation, so in the end, there were three; K, T and C (me).
For months I planned; I researched
airfares, rental cars, B&Bs, and sites to visit. I grabbed a one-day
airfare sale on Travelocity for Virgin Atlantic tickets from Miami to
London at $265 plus taxes. I found Aer Lingus tickets from London to
Shannon (departing from Dublin) at $80 plus taxes. I got advice from the
great folks at www.fodors.com, www.flyertalk.com and www.irelandyes.com. We
worked out travel logistics, and I booked our B&Bs and rental car. The
day approacheth.
Friday,
June 23rd: Travel, travel, travel!
My plan was to ride down from Gainesville
to Miami (about 5 hour drive) and fly with my two friends from there. My
husband would drop me off and have a long weekend in the area with some of
his old friends. For the most part that worked, and we got to MIA at 4:30pm
for our 7:20 flight. That's when we found out that Virgin had changed their
carry-on rules as of April 1st - which I hadn't seen since I bought the
tickets back in February. The limit is 13 pounds, so after some shuffling
about, we got it to work. My carry-on was 10 pounds when completely empty,
so I had most of my heavy stuff (video camera, etc.) in my purse, which
they didn't weigh. I moved some of it back in when it had been tagged, and
resolved to buy a much more lightweight carryon! K had the same trouble, though
T was fine, as her carryon was very lightweight to begin with.
We checked in our luggage and made our
way through security with no problems. Our gate wasn't too far away, and we
relaxed with a drink of Irish Creams/Toasted Almonds while awaiting our chariot.
Boarding was a zoo, but didn't take as
long as I thought. We were 3 seats in a 4 seat bank, with the 4th an Indian
girl going to Mumbai for a family funeral. Much of her US family was also
on the flight, scattered around as they were last-minute tickets.
Try as I might, I could not achieve the
slumbered bliss I craved on this 8.5 hour flight across the pond. I had all
the tools - a long day, one drink to calm the nerves, earplugs and
eyeshades, a neck pillow, a blanket - but there was one, small thing that
negated all these carefully planned items. The 3-year-old child who sat in
front of me, sweet thing that she was, had a very active, curious mind, and
asked her mother questions the entire flight in a very strong, high pitched
voice. 'Mommy, are we over the ocean?' 'Mommy, where's my coloring book?'
'Mommy, how much longer?' 'Mommy, what was that sound?'. It seemed that
every time I found the Sandman, he ran away to the melodious sound of
incessant questions. Ah, the curiosity and innocence of youth, how we envy
you.
Dinner was OK, but rather forgettable.
However, I've noticed airlines seem to follow the cardinal meal rule - the
main course can be horrible as long as you finish with a delicious dessert.
And they did!
Saturday,
June 24th - Discovering Irish roadworks
Once we arrived in Heathrow, it was the
mad dash through the terminals. We needed to go through immigration,
collect our baggage, run to Terminal 1, and discover that we were 5 minutes
too late to check in with our luggage. The desk clerk suggested we run for
it (with all our luggage!) and hope they can gate-check it. So off we ran
again… T was in the front, then K pulled ahead as we rounded the bend. C
was in last as she still had a cold and was short of breath. Just as we
thought we had made it, there were more hallways, more bends, more
passages… it never ended! Finally, we made it to the gate…. Just to find
about 50 people still in line for boarding, many having done what we just
did. We paused and panted and panted (and panted), gate checked everything,
and climbed aboard. This flight was more comfortable, in my opinion,
especially the seats. I even managed to nap on the hour and 20 minutes of
the flight.
While the seats were wider, any snack or
drink (even water) was on a cash basis on this flight. Since my Euros were
in my gate-checked carry-on, I had to pass, though I was very dehydrated
from our 40-mile marathon to the gate.
We got through customs upon arrival to
Shannon, and got our luggage. We went down to rent the car, and I made a
horrible discovery, the first real frustration of the trip (we had realized
we'd have a dash in Heathrow). I couldn't find any credit card but one. We
looked through every piece of luggage I had and could only find the one
card I had with my driver's license - which isn't the Platinum Mastercard I
needed to rent the car with (and waive the CDW). I called my husband (who
was still in south Florida) and asked him to search the car for the truant
plastics - no luck. It was still too early for my parents to be up, but
later I would call them and ask them to search my desk at home. In the
meantime, the rental car fee went up from $220 to $550 due to the lack of
that credit card. Argh! Expensive mistake!!!! But, as they needed the
physical card (even though the reservation was made on it) and wouldn't
take a different card, I was stuck. NOTE TO TRAVELERS: make sure you have
your Platinum MC with you if you are going to waive that CDW!
I was rather shaky after the frustrations
(I still didn't know if I had left them at home or lost them somewhere) and
angry at the massive amount this mistake cost me, so K drove the Fiat Punto
out of the lot. It was large enough for the three of us and our luggage,
but only just. By the end of the trip, it was bursting at the seams!
We headed north from Shannon Airport to
Ennis, and K learned the joys of roundabouts and driving on the left. It
wasn't too bad, as it is a wide National (N) road out of the airport, but
it narrowed down as we entered town. The first vistas of Ireland panned out
for my traveling companions, and I delighted to hear them comment on their
first views of Irish sheep, Irish cows, Irish roadworks, and Irish loose
chippings (gravel).
It took us a couple of wrong turns to
find our B&B, which was called Stone Haven , and was
on Kilrush Road. We called our hostess, and she directed us in easily. We
met Marie, and she led us to our upstairs triple. It had three single beds,
an en suite bathroom with shower, and a dormer window facing the street.
The traffic noise slowed down at night, but never really stopped. This was
great for T who liked noise as she slept, but K and I had our solutions - K
slept with earphones and CDs, while I slept with my beloved earplugs.
We settled our belongings in our room,
explored the amenities, and decided to go explore in town. It wasn't really
walking distance, but there was close by parking to the downtown area, so
we wandered. We found several pubs, and decided on Cruises/Queens Hotel
Restaurant for our first taste of Irish cuisine. Since it was approaching
3pm, only Restaurants would be serving food at this point… pubs stop around
2pm.
Downtown
Ennis
K and I both ordered the Irish Stew and
pints of Bulmer's Cider. We also shared a starter of garlic mushrooms. T had
a sandwich and pureed vegetable soup. She liked it, but it wasn't what she
expected. She was looking forward to having potato soup, as that's her
favorite, but it wasn't on the menu today.
The stews were huge, so we had the
leftovers put in a take-away box, and wandered around the shopping area. We
went into Boots for some drugs (T needed some migraine medicine), K and I
went into a local chocolate shop and got some unusual chocolates - made
with lime, chili, and other unusual flavors. There was a neat new age
store, but it was already closed by that time. We went and bought some
pints of cider to try (different brands) and went to our B&B to relax.
We watched some TV, had some drinks, and went to bed around 8pm, exhausted
after a long day and night of travel and travail.
We woke up around 9:30pm, talked some
more, watched more TV, drank more cider, finished off our leftovers. We
liked the Linden Cider, as it was sweeter, but I think my favorite was the
Druid's. It was still twilight by midnight, when we realized we had better
sleep now to get our bodies back on cycle. It wasn't too difficult.
Sunday, June 25th - Full Irish Breakfasts and the Burren
Up around 7:30am, we discovered that the
radiator, which is RIGHT next to the toilet, is on in the mornings (and
HOT!). It is almost impossible to sit on the toilet without touching the
radiator. Makes you VERY careful in the morning.
We went down to our Full Irish Breakfast
- egg over hard, toast, brown bread with butter and jam, cereal, fruit,
bacon and sausage, black and white puddings, potato cake, grilled tomato,
coffee, tea and orange juice. Whew! It was very tasty; K and T were
pleased. T didn't like the puddings, and I don't like tomatoes, so we
traded.
We were headed to the Burren today. Our
plan was to drive up to Poulnabrone, to Ballyvaughn, and along the cost to
Doolin and the Cliffs of Moher. Right. Well, we did make it to many of
those. Luckily for us, the weather was bright, cool and clear for most of
the day.
We started out at the Kilnaboy church,
which we explored and oohed and aahed at. It was a wonderful specimen of
old church in the middle of a more modern town, right at the edge of the
main road through. Many graves were well-kept and recently visited (per the
flowers) while others were crumbling and becoming reclaimed by nature in
all her power.
Next we headed to Caherconnel - but not
without first picking up a hitchhiker. Yes, we know, that was dangerous.
But he was a little old man about 70 years old, and there were three of us.
T is a police officer, she said she could handle him. His name was John
Rafferty, and he was from Edinburgh, walking the lands where his father
came from many years ago. He was on his way to Doolin, so we took him as
far as we were going (which wasn't very far, unfortunately). It perhaps
saved him a half hours walk, but we did our good deed for the day. He was a
very sweet man.
At Caherconnel, we got our first taste of
old, ancient, crumbling and antique. It is an old stone fort, built on a
fairly wide expanse and hill, very impressive. The wildlife and flowers
were delightful, filling in nooks and crannies, elderberries growing in the
gaps of the wall, and frogs jumping over the stones.
The Poulnabroune Dolmen was a little more
crowded, as we had tourist buses to contend with, but that was alright -
they left after a while and it was much quieter. The Dolmen rests on an
outcropping of limestone that appears flat from far away, but is riddled
with holes and nooks and crannies from the glaciers that carved it. It was
a fascinating exploration of the microcosm of nature. We took oodles of
pictures, and found all manner of interesting things.
Poulnabrone
Dolmen on the Burren
After visiting the Dolmen, we headed
farther up into the Burren, towards Ailwee Caves. When we came into views
of the Galway Bay, it took our breathes away. The silver grey limestone
mountain next to the crystal blue bay made the view sublime (ok, pun
intended). The road curved up onto a mountain to the cave entrances. These
caves used to house bears, and T just loves bears, so she had fun. It was
an interesting tour, and I would recommend it for those that like caves
(though it's probably rather simple for the expert spelunker). There is a
farmer's store off the entrance road that had all sorts of neat snacks and
foods, like blueberries in honey, chocolate caramel peanut fudge, mead,
etc. We bought some gifts and snacks, and headed on to Ballyvaughan.
Looking
out to Galway Bay in the Burren, from Ailwee Cave
It was approaching 4pm, so once again we
were hungry. I had heard of Monk's, so we stopped there to eat. It also has
a fabulous view of the bay, the pier, and the cute guys from Kilnefora that
were hanging out on the pier. K and I shared a dish of garlic mussels and
some pints. T had soup, but still only vegetable - no potato for her. K had
thai curry coconut chicken, and I had a marvelous seafood platter, with
prawns and Rose Marie sauce and smoked salmon with capers.
After dinner we drove around the sea
road, along the shore. We stopped at one point and went down to the
beach/rocks to explore. Some locals were fishing for mackerel off the
rocks. We tried to go play with the sheep, but they gave us disgusted looks
and ran off. The melding of the sky and the sea was really fantastic as we
looked out to the Atlantic Ocean. Next stop, America!
Atlantic
Ocean from the north end of the Burren
Young
man playing Uillean Pipes near Ballyvaughan
We drove along through Fanore to
Lisdoonvarna, and tried to stop at a castle we saw, but noticed that it was
gated private property, so went away disappointed. There was a hotel next
to it, and it looked nice, but empty. Instead, we tried to find the
Smokehouse, which of course was also closed. Resigned, we walked back to
the car, and chatted with a local (walking on the other side of the street)
about the fact we brought the beautiful weather with us from Florida.
As we drove down to Doolin for dinner and
a pint, we saw an old church on a hill near the seashore. It had a
beautiful graveyard, all overgrown with weeds and flowers. The church
itself was quite tiny, and definitely unkempt. Those are my favorite kinds,
that nature has reclaimed them as her own. As I was exploring it, I turned
around and took a fright. Behind me there had been a large Celtic Cross
made of black marble. The base was very wide, making it look like a head on
shoulders. It startled me quite a bit!
Small
ruined church near Doolin
We went down into Doolin and decided to
try out Gus O'Connors, as I had heard of that pub in my researches. We
found ourselves a gift shop first, did some touristy shopping, and then
found a table at the pub. First we had a little tiny table near the
bathrooms, but the waitress came by and discovered we wanted dinner - so
she switched us with a larger table. We shared starters of garlic mushrooms
and goat's cheese, brown bread and whiskey/onion marmalade. It was an odd
combination, but it worked. We decided that was all we were really hungry
for, and had some pints. K tried a ½ pint of Guinness, and decided that she
was right the first time, she really didn't like it.
Music was starting up here and there, but
after one song, evidently the musicians got pints bought for them, so they
stopped. : We met some US tourists at the table next to us and chatted a
while, but decided to go on to find another pub, perhaps closer to our
B&B.
We stopped at one called Biddy Early's in
Ennistymon. They didn't have Bulmer's on tap, so we tried it in the bottle,
not bad. They had no food (they had stopped a half hour before) so we
couldn't have the dessert we were craving. We finished up our drinks,
talked for a bit, and then made our way home. We had a midnight snack of
chips & crackers, watched a show on the American West in Irish, and an
Irish soap opera about a dying cow. The Irish shows were subtitled in English
so we could follow along, it was very interesting!
Monday, June 26th: Ferries and cliffs and Ceilidhs, oh my!
Today our plan was to head for the Aran
Islands. We got up and went down for our Full Irish Breakfast. We met another
person staying at the B&B, Tom. Tom was English, and designed engines
for Caterpillar, and was very nice to talk to. We had our breakfast, and
headed out to Doolin via Lisdoonvarna (the only route we knew so far).
We had gotten hold of my mother yesterday,
and determined that yes, the cards were still on my desk at home, and that
yes, she could forward them to us before we left that B&B. Yay!!!
We got to Doolin too late to get the only
ferry going to Inis Mor for day trippers - it had left at 9:30am. So we
decided we'd do the Aran Islands tomorrow, and headed towards the Cliffs of
Moher. The drive up was actually very fun, and we saw a cow standing on the
edge of a cliff on the side of the mountain road.
They are currently constructing better
access to the Cliffs of Moher, and an interactive visitor's centre, so
there were construction crews and scaffolding all around. However, it
didn't impede any wonderful views! We took the long, very steep walk up to
the Cliffs. Part of it was steps, part of it was dirt/gravel path. All of
it was crowded with busload upon busload of tourists.
View
from the Cliffs of Moher, looking north
View
from the Cliffs of Moher, looking south. Those little dots on the far left
cliff are people. We walked there!
It was a beautiful, clear sunny day out
today, and the views from the cliffs were absolutely stunning. Literally
breathtaking - since the path had been so steep! I stopped several times to
catch my breath. At one point there is a sign warning people not to go
beyond that point. The sign was more or less ignored by all. The path
beyond the sign was very narrow, and only about 2 feet from the edge of the
cliff. It was a dirt path, no paving. We walked along it a bit, but not
very far.
200 pictures later, we were on our way
back down, chatting with some Irish nuns on holiday. We also saw some cute
biker guys, and one caught Kim while she was taking a surreptitious picture
of him - he started posing and exaggerating.
We decided to drive down to Bunratty for
the afternoon entertainment, and went into the Creamery to eat. The
upstairs restaurant was closed, unfortunately, but we had a meal in the
pub. It was less than stellar, but sufficient for sustenance. I had the
shrimp open-faced sandwich with Rose Marie sauce, while T had Veg soup. K
made do with just cider. I had called my credit card company just before
lunch, as I'd been getting rejected (this is the one credit card I still
had). They said it should be fine now, there was no problem with fraud
holds, so I tried to pay for lunch - still rejected. I called again, and
discovered the car rental company had put a $1500 hold on the card, and it
would be there for another day or two. It was probably in the contract I
signed, but I was so upset at the time I hadn't read it all - they
certainly didn't mention it to me, even though they knew that was the only
card I had. Since it had a low limit, I was stuck credit-less and had no
debit card. Good thing I was with friends!!!
We did some super-fast shopping (we
wanted to get to the castle and folk park before they closed) at the
woollen mills, and then found out from the visitor centre clerk that the
soup T had been searching for - her beloved potato soup - was a winter
dish, and unlikely to be available during this time of year. Imagine that,
any form of potato being unavailable in Ireland! We were shocked, nay
stunned, by this revelation. What indeed is this world coming to?
We went into Bunratty Castle and Folk
Park, and signed up for that night's Ceilidh in the Corn Barn. We were the
last admission (4 pm) and just made it in time. The stairs up to the
different towers were very narrow, spiral, and claustrophobic. I limited my
use of them as I was not feeling good anyhow - the climbs just took all my
energy and breath. I was really getting sick of this cold that stole my
much-needed oxygen! How can I climb the sites without air?
The banquet hall below was being set up
for the nightly medieval feast, and the Earl's Kitchen was especially
fascinating to me, hung with (replicas, I'm hoping) shanks of pork,
chickens and sides of beef.
We went on outside and went to the
different houses in the folk park - a farmer's house, a day laborer's
house, a tea room, a school house, etc. The village street had a pub (that
served cider, yay!), a linen/lace shop, a millers. The set up was very
nice, and reminded me of Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan.
Small
laborer's cottage in Bunratty Folk Village
For
the Monty Python Fans
Farther on we came across two different
mills (vertical and horizontal), a church, and a beautiful walled garden
filled with incredible flowers. It had a little hobbit-sized door in the
garden that reminded me of fairy tales and Rumplestilzkin.
We also met several animals, including a
donkey, some deer, goats, a horse and cow, and many sheep nursing their
lambs.
Does
the red door mean Elizabeth Arden lives here?
Meeeehhh!!
Baby goats are cute!!!
On our way back, we discovered that we
had stayed too long - the gates back to the village area were closed and
locked! We found one that we could fit under, and crawled back into the
area we were supposed to be. The Ceilidh was due to start soon, so we
headed to the Corn Barn with the other milling tourists. (they weren't
milling at the mill, just in the street - go figure).
Once inside, we were given a drink - our
choice of mead or irish cream (O'Carolan's). I chose the mead, and we went
to our table. We shared our spot with Bob and Ellen from Florida, and
Brian, Paul and Terri from Virginia. They were all very nice folks and we
really enjoyed the conversations. We got some of the extra drinks at our
table, and I tried the irish cream - O'Carolan's is much smoother than
Bailey's, it's my new favorite!
The show consisted of songs, jokes,
stories and dance. Most were very traditional fare, and the costumes were
pretty - but the last dances were a special version of Riverdance-style
that was quite polished and nice. One of the young men dancing was a
champion dancer, and he was our waiter as well.
Our dinner choices included Irish stew
with lamb, and we had potatoes, salad, wine, apple tart, and barm brack
(rings were in them for prizes). All in all, we had a wonderful night!
We got back to our B&B in Ennis, and
tried to tell Marie we didn't need breakfast in the morning as we were
getting up early for the ferry (breakfast starts at 8:30am). She insisted
on getting at least toast, fruit and cereal ready for us.
We watched some late night tv, including
Hong Kong horse racing in Irish.
Tuesday, June 27th: Stone walls and scary bus driving
We were up early to catch the ferry, and
drove a shorter route to Doolin (through Ennistymon). We had our tea, toast
and fruit for breakfast, and got there around 9am, plenty of time to get on
the ferry. The seats were plush and very comfortable, and inside. This was
good, as the temperature and wind were very cold! Despite the clear skies
and warm temperature on land, the sea are was biting cold with the wind.
Ferry
to the Aran Islands
We could see Inis Oirr as we passed by,
as well as Inis Meain. We watched an airplane land as we passed, and could
see three large windmills on the far end of the island. K estimated that
these could provide all the electricity needed for the residents, especially
with the amount of wind that went through there.
As we rounded the bay of Inis Mor, I
noticed the differences on the big island - definitely more touristy and
saturated with people. There were lots of jitney buses, but only one
jaunting car left (and that was quickly taken before we reached it) so we
decided that the jitney bus was the correct decision. We found one for the
day, he charged E10 each. The driver's name was Bertie Flaherty, and he
said they had over 2000 visitors a day on the island during the summer.
Our first stop was Dún Aonghasa, an
incredible ring fort on the edge of a 300 foot cliff. At the base of the
cliffs were several shops and a couple restaurants for food. It was near noon
already, so we decided to eat first. Bertie recommended Nan Phaddy's as
having a greater selection and he was right. T had the tomato soup and
loved it. K and I had chicken sandwiches, and she had a slice of Chocolate
Guinness Cake that was to die for. I had a scone, and it was all delicious.
We were lucky going in right away, because about ten minutes after we got
there the hordes descended. Make the choice quickly!
We went through the Dún Aonghasa visitor
centre and up the path. It is deceptive at first, you can't see the path
until you round the bend of hedges. Then you want to turn back! It was
built by the pre-historic Fir Bolgs, a group that arrived on the island
long before the Celts did. It is a very impressive triple ring fort,
surrounded by a field of defensive spiked stones. Walking up the path took
us over a half hour, and there are a great deal of slippery black stones
(watch out for them!) and loose rocks on the uneven path. Not for the faint
of heart or clumsy!
Long,
steep, winding path up to Dun Aengosa.
See
that small white building way down in the middle? That's where we walk
from.
We went up to the cliff edge inside, and
I crawled to the edge to look down, get some photos and film, and crawl
back away from the edge. I think K tried to as well, but T didn't like the
openness of it, her agoraphobia taking over. Several teenagers were lying
down looking over the edge, singing songs from 'The Little Mermaid' such as
'Under the Sea'.
View
to the right when standing on the cliff of Dun Aengosa
View
straight down from the 300 foot cliff. I had to crawl to get there!
On the way down from that fabulous place,
I only slipped once, and landed on my butt and camera. The butt was fine,
and luckily, so was the camera (butt must have cushioned it somewhat). Near
the bottom, we wanted to laugh at the folks just starting up, with no idea
yet of what was in store for them. One guy was wearing a suit complete with
jacket, and we laughed out loud. Ha!
We shopped a little before the jitney bus
got moving again with our driver. The roads were narrower on the far side
of Dún Aonghasa, so we were treated to a wonderful ride of rock walls both
sides, with no room for passing. We stopped at the Seven Churches to wander
around some. The jitney wasn't concerned for time, we just hung around as
long as we liked. Some got back to the bus sooner than others, but I felt
no pressures. We saw some thatched cottages, miles and miles of stone
walls, sheep, goats and cows, and houses ranging from famine ruins to
ultra-modern bungalows. We could see the land of Galway north of us in the
mists, and the sea glittered in the sun like sapphires and diamonds.
Seven
Churches on Inis Mor
Miles
and miles of stone walls cover the islands
Back at the port of Kilrona, I found a
scarf that matched the shawl I bought ten years ago, same colors and
pattern. I debated buying it though - I live in Florida. When am I ever
going to need both scarf and shawl? I use the shawl a lot, but it's usually
more than sufficient to keep me warm. I let the temptation pass, and only
regretted it mildly later.
K stayed shopping while T and I started
around the pier back towards our ferry, as it was due to leave soon. K just
made it back as we were boarding, and the trip back was hot, stuffy, and
tired. We dozed a bit but it was very stifling.
Back in Doolin, we were determined to
find the smokehouse in Lisdoonvarna again, so we went up and got there just
in time before it closed again. We bought some cheese with whiskey, some
cheese with Dilisk (seaweed), some potcheen, smoked salmon/trout/mackeral,
and some crackers for midnight snacks. When we got back to the B&B we
called Mrs. Nagle to get directions to our rented farmhouse the next night.
I got very convoluted directions to her house to pick up the key. Then T
took out some postcards from her trip to Williamsburg, VA that she brought
along to give as thank you cards to each of our hostesses. We filled out
some comments on it and left it with the B&B fee in the morning.
We decided to go into town once more for
dinner, and found the Poet's Corner, which has been recommended to me
several times. We ordered garlic mushrooms stuffed with brie for a started,
and let me tell you, it was ambrosia. The best mushroom dish I've tasted in
a long time! T asked what the soup of the day was and, glory be, it was
potato! Finally, T could have her Irish potato soup (winter dish, my left
eye!). T and K both ordered the Minute Steak and I had the Chicken stuffed
with bacon and pink peppercorn sauce. All were delicious, and our waiter
was very nice - I would highly recommend the place! World cup game (France
vs. Spain) was on while we ate, but only a few people from the bar paid
attention. From that I gather the rest were American Tourists!
Once we got back to our B&B, we
packed up, totaled up our cash and headed to dreamland.
Wednesday,
June 28th: The two Rathmores
After waking and our last prepared Full Irish Breakfast for a while, we
said hello to the two Belgian girls dining and made our way out of Ennis.
Marie had handed me the Federal Express package containing my missing
credit and debit cards, so I was once again in business! I had had some
cash when we arrived (E200) so hadn't been completely destitute, but I felt
much better with credit power!
We drove around Limerick to Lough Gur,
and found the standing stone circle before we found the visitor centre.
There were baby cows milling around inside and out of the circle, which
lent a rather surreal air to the place. Coins adorned an altar stone and it
was a very intense place, in my opinion. I really liked the different
stones and the trees surrounding the circle.
Lough
Gur - a beautiful recreation spot
We drove around to the centre, and found
an old burial passage tomb that used to house an old lady. It was very wild
and grown over, covered in lichen and vines. The centre had a castle to one
side of the entrance and crannog huts built as the centre itself. There
were scores of children kayaking in the lake, and several folks walking or
picnicing around the lovely grounds. The lake itself and the mountains
surrounding were very picturesque, and for some reason I had to keep
reminding myself that this was Ireland, not Wales. It reminded me of
Snowdonia Park for some reason.
We tried to get to the castle but it is
evidently private property, as a barn and farmhouse are built right next to
it.
We drove towards Mallow, stopping in
Kilmanock. We saw St. John's Castle, smack dab in the middle of the road -
the road was actually built around it to avoid going through the arch. We
stopped to visit a Dominican Friary, but it was closed for spraying. I
presume that's spraying for bugs rather than, say, leprechauns.
We went into a nearby museum, where the
kind lady told us where things were to see, and showed us a wonderful model
of the city circa 1584.
We drove through Charleville and
Buttevant, stopping for lunch at Margaret's Café there. T had Shepherd's
Pie, while K had pork chops and I had a chicken/mushroom pie. We got scones
to go for breakfast at our farmhouse the next morning.
We say Ballybeg church on our way to
Mallow, unfortunately drenched in construction dust from a site just across
the street. However, the church was a lovely old 13th century ruin with
horses grazing in the field.
Ballybeg
Church
Small
church on our way to Ballybeg
We arrived in Rathmore and stopped at a
petrol station/grocery store for some food and supplies for our non-B&B
accomodation for the next four days. We tried to find the Bridge Bar (the
first landmark in our hostesses directions) but alas, we were in vain. We
finally stopped and asked where it was, and was told there are two
Rathmores, the second one is farther down the road. Well, why didn't we
think of that? What an obvious answer!
In the second town we found the Bridge
Bar, and drove down the street near it as per Mrs. Nagle's directions. We
couldn't find her house, though, and stopped to ask a lady getting in her
car. She thought it was on a different road, and gave us directions, but
that wasn't a correct solution either. Finally we went back on the first
road, and found two sweet old ladies out for a walk, and they directed us
to it correctly. We found the key where it was hidden, as well as written
directions to our farmhouse (it is a self-catering place) and drove there.
The directions said things like '1.5 km
to the next turn' when it was really more like 3 km. We have determined to
absolutely ignore any distance an Irish person actually gives, as they are
never accurate. 5 minutes down the road is usually a half hour - 1.5 km is
more like 3km. You get the idea.
Finally we found our farmhouse, called Molly's,
situated on a sheep track with no name, on the side of a mountain. The
driveway was gravel and very steep - we despaired of driving up it on the
way out. The place was very charming, though, and well worth the effort. It
was a two-story, two-bedroom place (two singles and a double). The one
bathroom was downstairs, along with the country kitchen and living room.
There was cable (glory be!) of a sort, and a wood stove heating unit to
supplement the electrical one. Oh, and six matches.
The refrigerator wasn't on when we
arrived, which peeved us some, as the landlady knew someone was coming. It
took us a while to figure out the heating system, but there were good
instructions. A map in and out of town would have been much more helpful,
though!
We decided to see if we could get into a
town by continuing on down the road, as the way in was long and convoluted.
We were successful, and passed many farms and cow pastures. The road came
out in the first Rathmore, near the edge (close to the second Rathmore),
and was much shorter than the first route in, so we determined that this
would be our normal way in and out, unless searching for adventure. The
shorter route took about 20 minutes.
We went into the first Rathmore for some
dinner, and found Cahill's. It was open, but he served no food, 'just
misery'. When asked for a suggestion, he said 'Cork'. Lovely…
We headed into Barraduff and then
Killarney, and walked around the College Street area, ending up in Murphy's
for dinner. After ordering a Steak & Guinness pie, I decided to run to
the pharmacy for some cough medicine (my cough from last week still wasn't
going away). K ordered the lamb stew while T stuck with Minute Steak and
some Potato & Leek Soup.
I wasn't out long, but when I got back, a
strange man was in my chair. His name is Joe, and he decided to join us. He
was… special. He kept repeating things over and over, in several different
ways, but no new information. He did say that K was very pretty, and she
shouldn't let anyone tell her otherwise. He was very keen on getting her
phone number, so T put in the number to the Miami Police Department. The
servers kept coming by and asking if everything was alright, eyeing the
stranger oddly. Finally, one kind server got him up and off to catch his
bus… we thanked her profusely! Sometimes I think we're too polite. The guy
was a bit scary.
We finished our dinner, which was
delicious. The servers said they didn't know the guy, but could see he was
a little odd. We chatted with an American family coming out of the hotel
next door, letting them know that their efforts to shop will likely be in
vain, as it was past 7pm already. While we were talking, who happens to
walk by but Joe? We pretended to be very interested in something in the
other direction, and explained to our companions our sudden interest. They
were kind enough to walk us to our car, but luckily Joe was gone. Yay!
Back at the farmhouse we watched an
interesting show that turned out to be a production of 'The History of Tom
Jones' as well as Highlander: Endgame.
Thursday, June 29th: Daring Dingle Dervishes
We woke up early (7am) and broke our fast with a feast. Smoked salmon,
cheeses, brown bread, scones and apples filled our plates and our tummies.
We went through Killarney to Tralee, and off to Conor's Pass. It was a very
misty, drizzly day, with patches of rare sunshine burning through the fog.
The trip through Conor's Pass from the
north is not for the faint of heart, nor for those afraid of heights. We
chose this direction because we were on the inside (left) of the road,
hugging the mountain on the way up. However, we discovered this mattered
naught, as the road is only one lane most of the way up. Switchbacks is
such an inadequate term for the snake of a road we climbed, without benefit
of any view of what we could be tumbling down. We made the entire trip up
in first and second gear. I am so glad K could demonstrate (if not feel)
nerves of steel for this, I would have been a nervous wreck!
The
evil Conor Pass, in so much mist and fog that we could see NOTHING when we
got to the top!
Yes,
that's how narrow the road is.
And at the top, what did we get for our heroic
efforts? NOTHING! That's right - there was so much rain, mist, and cold
wind that we saw nothing of the promised fantastic vistas of the valley
below. We saw the statue, and the line of rock heading down but that's it.
We were very disappointed!
Heading down towards Dingle, the road was
much wider, and obviously recently improved. This must be the side the
buses take up, as I cannot imagine them daring the other side.
We did take a wrong turn at one point,
and drove through an area that must be the stinkiest area of Dingle - it
was as if all the refuse of every type of animal had been mixed,
concentrated, and dumped in a pile of more refuse. We turned around and had
to go through it again to get to the main road, and into Ballynana. We were
headed towards the Gallerus Oratory.
This
site was very cool - it was anywhere from 1200 to 900 years old, corbeled
construction with no mortar. Even with the misty rains all morning, there
was no dampness inside. The E3 charge for the interpretive center wasn't
necessary to see the Oratory, but had some wonderful information and
scenery.
Standing
stone with ancient Christian carvings near Gallerus Oratory
It started clearing up as we got towards
Ballyferriter for lunch. We stopped at Ostan Cheann Sibeal; K had lamb
stew, I had mutton pie, and T had vegetable soup, which was terrible. It
tasted burnt, and she returned it for something else. The pie was alright,
though not incredible. Our waitress was American, and brought our water
filled with ice (despite the fact we hadn't asked for it and preferred it
without).
Pub in
Ballyferriter where we didn't have lunch
We saw a Jack Russell Terrier who
considered it his right, duty and privilege to chase each car as it drove
through, and an old black Labrador Retriever who found such energetic
pursuits the height of folly. We also sat next to a very nice family from
Bristol, England named the Kelly's.
We drove along the seaside roads and
reveled in the crystal clear waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The rolling
hills and walls of stone made the vista seem out of time and space. We felt
transported to another world, another age.
Cold,
windy beach
We came across the Blasket Island Centre,
and decided to go in for a visit. This was in Dunquin, and T finally found
a book on Irish Castles she was looking for as a gift. We really enjoyed
the poignant film about the residents of this lonely island, complete with
their own legends, stories and kings. The presentation put on in the Centre
was wonderful, informative, and moving.
We stopped by to greet a small pony and
her foal on the way out, and saw a sheep standing on one of the
ever-present stone walls, gazing over all she surveyed, as if to say
"I am the sheep of the mountain! None shall pass!" Farther down
we saw a goat doing his level best to be just as regal, also standing on
his stone wall.
Dunmore Head was one of the more
incredible views I have ever seen in my life. We could see the small, sandy
beach below us, and a surfer trying very hard to catch the small waves
coming in. Such a sunny day but with gentle winds, he was trying in vain. I
think I used 100 shots just on that view, it was so beautiful, so stunning.
The Blasket Islands were clear and omnipresent in the distance.
Lillies
and Blasket Islands
On to the famed Slea Head. There was a
small parking lot filled with tourists gazing out at the cerulean ocean,
and the weather couldn't have been finer for this. One older gentleman was
sitting on the edge, in a break in the fence, making K very nervous. She
thought he was going to fall over the cliff, not realizing there was a
walkway just under the edge where she couldn't see. When I mentioned her
concerns to him, he said 'normally I have to walk on water to make someone
that nervous!' He told us about his hometown in England, where Sir Frances
Drake was born, and we almost forgot to look at the incredible view.
Almost! However, my photographer's bug would not be denied, and I finished
up the memory card then and there.
Slea
Head and a local resident
The
Man Who Would Walk on Water
We drove along a bit more, and came
across a complex of beehive monastic huts, and their caretaker, Maire
Hanrahan. She said she had inherited the job from her husband, whose family
had been watching the place for generations. The nominal charge was E2,
which we happily paid to wander among the ancient ruins, and argue with the
sheep and goats that were now it's only residents.
Monastic
huts, minus normal sheep
We went on to Dunbeg Fort, but were
experiencing a bit of overkill in the stone works department, so decided to
pass on it and head on into Dingle, after waving to a donkey and her baby.
King Goat
in charge of the local stone formation
In Dingle we parked and went into
O'Flaherty's to see if we could find something to eat. Another comedian, he
suggested Cork. Wow, they must have fantastic food in Cork this time of
year! In all seriousness, he sent us around the block to the Supervalue (we
had to stock up on toilet paper for our farmhouse), and got a
recommendation for dinner from the store clerk. She sent us up to Tir na
Ri, a Chinese restaurant whose name means Land of the King in Gaelic. The hostess
told us that the owner's name, Wong, meant King, so a little translation
and there you had Tir na Ri.
T had pineapple/ginger chicken, K had
roasted duck with broccoli, and I had beef satay. I have to say it was all
incredibly good. Perhaps because I only eat at the cheap takeout Chinese
restaurants at home, but I've always found the Chinese food in the UK and
Ireland to be far superior to what I'm used to. We had some deserts,
including chocolate fondue with fruit, profitileres (cream puffs) and fruit
with meringue. Delicious, and highly recommended! The back dining room was
more of a sun room, with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out on a tiny
garden.
After dinner we waddled to our car and
headed out. We thought about going up Conor's Pass again, to see the
previously missed vista (and coming back down the wider side to Dingle) but
we realized that it was getting late, and the clouds were already forming
at the top - it would be an exercise in futility.
Beautiful
view of the sun burning through the mountain mists
Back down we went and took the southern
route back into Tralee. We saw lots of naked, shivering sheep (freshly
shorn) and beautiful, quaint tiny tidy towns on the way back. We got a bit
silly and started making some of the worst puns of the trip on the way. It
was nearing 11pm when we got into Tralee and filled up the tank. It only
took E38 to fill up, and with all the driving we were doing, we were
surprised. The gas mileage is SO much better there!
We got on the road to Killarney and
discovered the total blackness that roads can get at night. Much of it was
new road still under construction, so there were no road markings - thus no
way to tell where the edge was. The locals still got right on our tails
though, so we pulled over to the left frequently to let them zoom on by. We
did see two cars trying to race eachother, and figured we'd see them in a
ditch farther down the road.
We finally made it to Rathmore, and up
our surreal little farmhouse sheep track to home. Good thing we left the
porch lights on, or we would never have found it in that complete stygian
blackness! The road itself was claustrophobic, with tall hedges on either
side and no light from the sky.
Settling in to some TV before sleep, we
discovered that the Brits/Irish love to play game shows that you can call
into. We found a channel called Big Game TV, which worked like Match Game.
You had a clue, such as '____ line' and had to guess one of 10 answers. Not
always the most obvious ones, but what the makers of the game thought were
clever. Things like Underline and Walk the Line were rejected. We watched
for a half hour and no one even got one guess right, so we gave up.
Friday,
June 30th: Pony traps and tourist traps
Today we had leftovers for breakfast and
headed off towards Killarney National Park.
We got into Killarney with no problem,
but had to make about 3 U-turns trying to find Muckross House and Gardens.
Each time we saw a sign, it led us in a different direction. I know that
means there's more than one way to a place, but it got downright
confusticating! Finally we found our way in, and found Ross Castle first.
We decided not to go inside, as the outside seemed much more interesting.
It looked out across some of the lakes, and there were swans swimming by,
very beautiful. We met the local owner (a calico cat) and paid our required
obeisance to him before we took our royal leave.
Ross
Castle
We went on to Muckross House, and decided
to do the touristy thing and rent a pony trap or cart. This was one of the
two-wheel jobs, and getting on it was SO much fun for three fat girls. The
poor horse was named Rosie, and our driver was Hugh, spelled H-U-G-H. (he
was very emphatic about spelling many things). While it was certainly
better than walking the long road to the house, the monologue he gave was
monotone and repetitive. I could truly believe his claim to have been doing
this for 20 years - and likely never changed the spiel. He pointed out the
Lime Trees (not the kind that give fruit, mind you, ladies) on the right
and the Yew (that's Y-E-W) on the left, and there in front of us was Torc
Mountain (that's T-O-R-C) which was 1256 feet tall, that's 1-2-5-6 feet
tall, yes, and on the left are some more Lime Trees (not the kind that give
fruit).
His monologue went on, seemingly without
breath or brain activity to slow it down. We tried hard not to giggle too
loudly at it!
Soon we came into sight of Muckross House
itself, in it's glory. The façade was impressive, and we saw all the pony
carts off to the side, awaiting their return burdens. Inside we discovered
an advertisement for the OPW (Office of Public Works) card, and decided it
was definitely a bargain. It was E21, and covered many entrance fees (not
all) to various sites. We later saved about E40 total using it, so it was
definitely worth it. We could have saved more if we had purchased it
earlier.
'Muckross
House. That's H-O-U-S-E.'
The interior was very lush and opulent,
though we weren't allowed to take photographs of it. The carving on the wood
furniture alone was impressive, as were the paintings and the wallpapers.
The line of bells to summon servants were great, right next to the wine
cellar. Best of all, though, was the kitchen, with shining copper pots and
scullery.
We trundled back to the pony cart for the
ride back to the road, and it sounded like the exact same spiel we heard on
the way in, just reversed. 'And there is Torc Mountain, spelled T-O-R-C,
which is 1256 feet tall, that's 1-2-5-6.'
We went on up to Ladies' View, and did some
shopping in the Tourist Trap store there. The view was absolutely stunning,
you could see layers of landscape; lakes, trees, mountains and hills, set
up like a Bob Ross Painting in front of us. We had some snacks at the café,
including potato and leek soup (that winter dish!), and a ham & cheese
sandwich.
After taking in the gorgeous view a bit
more, we headed back down the pass, riding the clutch all the way. We
stopped at the sign for Lord Brandon's Cottage, and started to walk down
the path. At the small river, I turned back and went to the car, as I
wasn't feeling well again. K and T kept going… and going… and going. When I
looked back at the map, the cottage was VERY far along the path, and they
even went past it and over some wall. It was quite a hike!
The
stunning Ladies' View, Killarney National Park
Since we had heard so much about the
T-O-R-C Mountain, our next stop was T-O-R-C Waterfall. It was a short but
steep walk up to the top, only to find a horde of American tourists
climbing all over the rocks, yelling and laughing. I'm glad they were
having a great time, but it totally shattered any peace or serenity of the
site, and made it impossible to get good pictures.
Once back into Killarney proper, we found
a shop to put T's photo's on CD (right across from Danny Mann's, I think).
They guy was very helpful and made sure they were done right. We went to
check our email at a nearby internet café, but K's Earthlink site wouldn't
come up - evidently that's normal for them. Going back to the photo place,
the guy (Tim?) couldn't get the larger card to read, so he asked if he
could do so overnight off-site. We said we'd be back tomorrow to pick it
up. Since T was still interested in 'afternoon tea', we asked if there was
anyplace nearby. He suggested 'Jams' around the corner, but it looked more
like a cafeteria than a place for a gentile, time-honored tradition.
We went on to the Gap of Dunloe, where we
were planning on meeting fellow travelers from www.fodors.com, B and her
family, that evening. We got lost several times trying to get OUT of
Killarney in the correct direction, but finally found it by heading to
Kilgorlin. We drove up the narrow road and found Kate Kearney's Cottage. It
was about 4pm, which was WAY too early for our 9pm meeting, so we talked to
some folks about taking a jaunting cart (might as well try again, it
couldn't be worse than the first guy!) up the gap.
We so lucked out! We got Tim O'Connell,
and his horse Harry. T and I took the cart, but they made K nervous, so she
opted to ride another of Tim's horses, Susie. It was a great trip! Tim was
very chatty, and incredibly nice. He lived in the gap, as did most of his
family, and he'd been doing this most of his life. He owned five horses,
and his father and grandfather had been doing this as well. We passed his
grandmother's cottage, which was called 'Colleen Brawn'. In Irish, (spelled
caillin bean) it means White Lady, which is an old term for a witch or a
healer.
Kim's
mount, Susie
In the
Gap of Dunloe
K had fun staying on the English saddle
(no pommel to hold on to!), and she had several conversations with Susie
about where she wanted to go. Eventually she won the conversations, but it
was iffy for a while, especially as Susie passed her home. It was a
fabulous trip, and the visions and company were both incredible.
Gap of
Dunloe
Gap of
Dunloe
When we got back, we remember we had two
apples in the car, so we went to fetch those for our hardworking horses.
Then we went in to Kate Kearney's for some touristy shopping and music,
pints and dinner.
I had the smoked salmon with capers,
which was fabulous. K had the bacon and cabbage, while T tried the Irish
stew. I had a sticky toffee pudding for dessert, and oh, my god! It was
divine!!
The music started up around 8:15, and we
finally heard some traditional music, as well as some other stuff. We heard
Raggle Taggle Gypsies, Seven Nights Drunk, a couple Riverdance tunes, Down
to the Sally Garden, and some Irish Stepdancers performed as part of the
show. It was touristy, but it was fun.
B and her family showed up around 9pm,
and we met her husband and mother, who were following the opposite track we
were - they were headed where we had just been, and vice versa. We
exchanged recommendations and advices, had a couple drinks, and left around
10 as the pub closed down. It was an easy drive home and we watched some TV
(Fletch) and off to slumberland. Oh, and we saw a lovely double rainbow
from our front door!
Double
rainbow from the front door of our house
Saturday,
July 1st: The Evil Cyclists!
We were off early this morning to do the much famed and oft times maligned
Ring of Kerry. We determined that we had no problem being behind tour
busses, but would rather not have to pass them on narrow, windy roads, so
we would go the same direction they tended to go - counter-clockwise. I
don't know if that was a good idea.
Morning
cows on the road from our farmhouse into town
T's card wasn't completed yet at the
photo store in Killarney, so he told her he'd leave it at the pub across
the street if we got there after he closed. Such trust! She hadn't even
paid him yet!
We went through Kilgorlin, and off to
Glenbeigh. Going through Glenbeigh, though, we saw our first glimpse of
driving hell - a huge group of cyclists getting ready to do some sort of
charity run. In our direction.
Yes, we found out that we were lucky
enough, privileged enough, to be driving the Ring of Kerry along with about
5,000 cyclists, all for the 23rd Annual Volunteer Charity Bike Run. Several
different charities were represented, and the bikers had one thing in
common. They took over the whole road. No wimpy
sticking-to-the-left-bike-lane for these yahoos! No, they rode 3 or 4
abreast, so any driver who had the sheer audacity to want to go more than 5
miles per hour would have to pass them. And then the next group, 20 yards
ahead of them. And the next group. And the next group. All on small, windy
roads with cars coming the other way.
We had gotten a recommendation from Tim
the pony cart driver to try Rossbeigh beach, but we didn't want to risk
getting behind all the cyclists again. We foolishly assumed they had just
recently started out. Oh, the wee poor mortals we are. They had evidently
been starting | 
