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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.
Doolin
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.
Cold,
windy beach
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.
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 in groups for hours!
This continued all the way through what
would otherwise have been a lovely and relaxing drive. The constant need to
watch the cyclists and attempt to make hair-raising passes made it
nerve-wracking and dangerous. It continued on through to Cahersiveen, when
we decided we'd had enough, and took a detour down to Portmagee and the
Skelligs Visitor Centre. We drove up to Bray Head on Valentia Island and
walked up - but not too far, as it was very cold and windy. Not really
rainy, just a soft sort of mist, but cloudy and therefore cold.
Portmagee,
from Valentia Island
We went back into Portmagee and made our
way around St. Finian's Bay. What a beautiful area! We sat and admired the
view on the beach, and the dead seal on it. We went on to Ballinskellig for
lunch at Cable O'Grady's. It was very relaxing at the table near the back
patio door, but a bit chilly. The sun finally came out and therefore
everyone was enjoying the patio - including the adorable canines (a golden
retriever and a spaniel) that helped themselves to the food the children
deemed unsuitable to eat.
I had the mushroom soup and shrimp
sandwich. The soup was incredibly good, the sandwich was ok. K had the
chicken curry (no veggies, all meat) and T had chicken fingers. I don't
know if it was my lingering malaise that kept me from feeling great or the
shrimp sandwich, but as we went on to the Ballinskelligs Friary, I was
really not doing well. The beach was beautiful but cold, and we wandered
around the Friary looking all around us at the seashore.
Ballinskelligs
Friary
Scary
signs
Eventually we made it to Waterville and
up Coomakesta Pass. This pass wasn't nearly as scary as Conor's Pass! We
looked out at Sheehan's Point, and the view was once again incredible. I
don't know if I could choose which was more beautiful, Kerry or Dingle, but
at that moment I would have chosen Kerry.
Coomakesta
Pass
On to Caherdaniel, where I took a picture
similar to one I had taken my last trip, four years ago. The land and the sea
kissed in a perfectly symmetrical pattern, blue to green, like Yin and
Yang. We went through Castlecove and up to Staigue Fort, but I was really
not feeling well, so K and T went on up to the fort to explore while I
availed myself of the local facilities (luckily fairly new and spacious).
The defensive location of the Fort doesn't look great until you actually
reach it and realize you can see all the way to the bay on the coast from
there.
Recreation
of a 4 year old photo
Looking
over islands near Caherdaniel
We went through Sneem and Tahilla, and
headed over Blackwater Bridge, looking for the Strawberry Field's pancake
house. We went through Derreenarragh, and asked for directions there - we
were on the right path! Now, the question was, would we get there before
the magic universal closing time of 6pm? Yes, we could, woohoo!!! We got
there 15 minutes before closing, and had T's much-anticipated afternoon tea
with delightful, delicious, delectible crepes. We got several types of tea
to share - Strawberry Vanilla, Blackcurrant, and Peppermint Tea. I ordered
a lemon/honey crepe, K had a blackberry and crème crepe, while T had banana
and chocolate chip. I think the owner's daughter was the delightful young
girl who helped serve us - she was very earnest. There was art on the walls
for sale by local artists, which lent the place a bit of flare. There was
also a garden centre upstairs. Definitely a place I'll recommend. I can
still taste those crepes melting in my mouth… mmmmmmmmm.
Ireland,
where the rams are literate!
"I'm
on the menu????"
On the way back we passed by Knocklomena
Mountain, which T said she officially adopted as her own. She just really
liked it. It was near Barfahinny Lake --- what a funny name!
We went towards Moll's Gap, and I began
to fear we were doing another Conor's Pass, but it was MUCH easier. We
found ourselves on the upside of Ladies' View again, and started running
into more cyclists, evidently the last stragglers of the charity ride. We
were so glad that our detour removed us from the thick of them!
Another
shot of Ladies' View
BAAAAA!!!!
This is MY mountain!
Tom was waiting at the pub across the
street to get T her CD. He wanted to make sure she got it alright, which
was very kind. He said he didn't feel right leaving it since it had her
memory card in it as well. We drove towards home and tried to find An
Shrone, an old site where they believe the first settlers in Ireland lived.
Now, one of my fellow travelers gave me excellent maps to the place, but of
course I had forgotten them at home (stupid me), so we saw a sign, went
down a very steep valley into a farm, and turned around - asked directions,
and tried again, only to come to the conclusion that once again, the Irish
were having a joke on us. We never did find An Shrone, though we wandered
around the area a bit. We did find the road to our farmhouse by accident,
as it connected with the road we had gone down. Imagine that!
After a day of misdirection, evil
cyclists and getting lost multiple times, K and I drowned our frustrations
in some cider we had bought earlier, and relaxed to some more inexplicable
'Big Game TV'.
Sunday,
July 2nd: Castles and Cottages
This morning we got up early, finished
the last of our snacky-food (such as the smoked salmon and some little
fruit pies). Our first stop was Cahir Castle, on the way to Kilkenny.
We drove through Mallow and found Cahir
with no problem. Indeed, it was right next to the road through town, it
would have been very hard to miss! The castle itself is very intact, and
the interiors are set up as they would have been several hundred years ago.
The 'open' stairs on the side of the wall were a bit agoraphobic (no
railings on either side, just wall on one side) but doable. I wandered up
to the third floor of the main building. It was nice and spacious, with
very little furniture, but incredibly stifling hot. There were tours going
around in English and Italian. Yes, more Italian tourists everywhere. Some
(about 30) were having a picnic on the interior courtyard grounds.
Interior
courtyard of Cahir Castle
Next we went to the Swiss Cottage, which
was adorable. No, it's not really Swiss. Yes, it is really cute and looked
like something out of a fairy tale. It wasn't meant for anything more than
a day trip stay, so as the guide mentioned, it was impractical for
overnight stays. But charming nonetheless - with beautiful painted
wallpapers and latticework. There are no photos allowed inside, but the
outside is fine.
Swiss
Cottage
We had lunch at a place called Ladywells,
which was down the street from the incredibly crowded (with Norwegian
tourists) The Rock Café. K had chicken liver pate with mushroom and thyme
soup, while T and I tried the pasta carbonara. I think we'll pass on that
again - it was rather bland and didn't sit right with either of us. I
didn't even finish it, which for me is sacrilege. We had just sat down in
the window (where a tree molested K) when a horde of Ohio students settled
upon the place.
On to the Rock of Cashel, seat of Irish
kings such as Brian Boru and the Church for many hundreds of years. This
is, and has always been, a most impressive edifice. We wandered around a
bit, and waited for the German version of the AV presentation to finish;
English was next. I tried several times to get a great shot of a doorway in
a doorway to a cross, but hordes of tourists kept getting in the way.
Finally, I noticed it was clear, and scooted over to take the shot. Took
several, in fact! I also got a really cute shot of an older couple sitting
together in a decorated alcove. I'm going to call it 'Till Death do we
Part.'
"'Til
Death do us Part"
Doorway
into the Soul
If anyone is thinking of skipping the
Rock of Cashel, I'll ask you to reconsider. It really is a marvelous
example of castle-turned-church, and cannot fail to impress in it's
location and sheer size. Despite the crowds of crawling tourists, I was
once again struck (have been there before) by the beauty of the place.
Trinity
The
utterly impressive Rock of Cashel
After we were awed by Cashel, we went on
to Kilkenny, which wasn't far away. We found City Centre, and after I found
the castle, I got my bearings; we found Alcantra with little
trouble. Brigit Holohan, our host, was delightful, and settled us into a
triple room - a double bed and a single. It was very hot, but by the time
we returned in the evening, the open windows cooled it down considerably.
We went into town for dinner, after
getting a recommendation for Langstons from Brigit. I had been there before
4 years ago, and it had been very smoky (we left quickly that time).
However, no more smoking is allowed in pubs, so it was just the 1970's
tacky furniture that looked funny. However, we did eat there, after
checking into the local internet café. T had the club sandwich, I had steak
ciabatta sandwich with portobella mushrooms, and K had the chicken roast.
We had a starter of deep fried brie with berry compote, and it was
absolutely delicious! I really enjoyed my steak sandwich, though it was
definitely the type you ate with a knife and fork. I tried the lemon
cheesecake for dessert, but didn't care for it at all - very dry and almost
no flavor to it.
We went for some pints and tried to find
Cleere's for some traditional music, but couldn't find it anywhere, though
we kept passing by the silly place. Frustrated by our poor navigation, we
gave up and went back to the B&B. There was no TV in the room or
downstairs, so we read a bit. I cleared my photo cards onto my 30G memory
storage with no problems. The traffic along the road behind the B&B
wound down to almost nothing around midnight, and I slept rather well.
Monday,
July 3rd: Expensive laundry, impressive churches
We got going at our normal 7am, and had a
wonderful breakfast. Brigit does Full Irish Breakfast right - complete with
homemade Gooseberry Jam, stewed plums, prunes and apricots, grapefruit and
cereals. She had fresh-squeezed juice (very important to we spoiled
Floridians!) poached eggs, wonderful tea, and the normal fare - black &
white puddings, sausage, bacon, and homemade biscuits! Our company for
breakfast included two couples from California.
We went to find the one laundrette in
town. My it was expensive! E15 a load - E14 if we did it ourselves, so we
just went ahead and left it with the lady at Brett's, and went to Kilkenny
Castle for some touristy fun. The long gallery, with over 150 paintings in
it, was very impressive, as were the beautiful Italianate gardens. The
lovely odor outside the toilets was less impressive.
Kilkenny
Castle
We went to pick up our laundry and headed
to St. Canice's Church and Cathedral. The Church itself was very pretty,
but the Cathedral was more impressive. Again, it was crawling with Italian
school children, all laughing and swinging on the gravestones. There was a
concert going on inside at the time (choral) and it was lovely to hear.
St.
Canice's Cathedral
Celtic
Cross
We drove to the mall parking lot inside
city centre and found (by accident) a small museum called the Roche House.
It is set up as a demonstration of how a local merchant had lived in
medieval times, very interesting. The upstairs gallery was beautiful, with
carved wood furniture. There are several levels in the house, and it has
many displays of old coins, costumes, and such. Definitely worth it!
Entrance
to Roche House
We found lunch at a pub called the Widow
McGrath's, where the publican was young and cute - I had the steak sandwich
while T and K had the BLT. None were great, but they weren't awful either.
We went to the Black Abbey next, a
Dominican Abbey that was gorgeous inside and out. The stained glass was
beautiful, with flame-like designs behind the main altar. The abbey was
built early on, and there was one statue of Jesus from the 1240s near the back.
Stained
Glass inside the Black Abbey
On to St. Mary's Cathedral. This was a
real treat, and was the most reverent place of worship we visited on our
visit. This was a beautiful place, though not more or less than others. It
was the sheer hush of the place, the quiet and solitude that distinguished
it. Simply stunning.
I questioned why there were two
cathedrals in one city, and evidently St. Mary's was Catholic, while St.
Canice's was Church of Ireland.
After our heavy dose of churches we went
to the mall and walked around, people watching. We saw a lesbian couple
making out in one corner, (very young) and several Indian families with
babies around. We went into a music store and got a couple CDs of local
stuff, and then went down to find a converter. I discovered (having relied
upon it working) that my car converter did not fit (was too small) for the
cars here. It worked fine in English cars, so I figured it would work here.
I needed it to recharge my video camera batteries. Found one at Sherwoods
(after going to Agus and Ryan's first) and we went back to the B&B to
sort our laundry out.
We complained to each other a bit about
the poor folding job the laundress did (for that much money, she could have
taken more care). And we rested a bit and then went out to dinner. Brigit
recommended Kyteler's Inn, the oldest pub in town (est. 1342); it was named
after Dame Alice Kyteler, a local witch. Kyteler's menu looked good, but
they stopped serving at 8:30pm, and it was 9 - so we went across the street
to Marble City, which Brigit had also recommended.
The recommendation was much deserved -
the food was delicious and the staff very friendly. K had quiche while T
and I had pannini sandwiches with chicken, brie and garlic mayo. It had to
have been one of the better sandwiches I've ever had!
After dinner (they were closing down as
we finished, but never rushed us) we went across to Kyteler's again, as we saw
some musicians setting up. K had a pint of cider while T and I had some
Bailey's. I tried to open the window, as it was very hot inside; the guy at
the table near it tried to help (he climbed to it like a monkey) but no
luck.
The band, Caladh (which means Safe
Harbor) was great. They played traditional music with a banjo, believe it
or not. www.caladh.com is their website, and we got CDs of their music.
They played jigs, Kerry polkas, The Entertainer (which melded into Irish
music near the end, very strange), the Man who Drank the Farm, Banish
Misfortune, etc. The lead singer, Liam, also told a very bad joke about
Connor Carney, who was always very cold. You know, he was a Chilly Con
Carney.
Brigit had left some tea out for us when
we got back from the B&B so we relaxed downstairs and read for a while.
Coming back in to our room we had a visitor, a result of leaving those
windows open - a mosquito-eating mosquito. We got it to go it's merry way,
and off we went to dreamland.
Tuesday, July 4th: Sheep caca!
Happy Independence Day! Not here in
Ireland! Just another day here (well, aside from World Cup games, of
course). We had our first real rainy day today. So far all the days have
been either bright, cool and sunny, or overcast with brief periods of mist
and sun. Today it was just plain raining, lead skies grey above us. The
night had rung with the sounds of thunder and barking dogs. One of the
other couples at breakfast were all set to go hiking to Inistioge in this.
Poor souls!
I wasn't feeling well again (never was
perfectly well all trip, but usually well enough to sightsee). K and T went
into town for the morning while I slept. They went to the internet café and
made more photo CDs, got some smoothies, and then came for me.
Our first stop was Kells Priory. It was
raining, but not too hard. Which was good, as the place was a virtual caca
minefield! There were a couple hundred sheep and goats running around the
grounds, and the ground was fairly covered with their gifts. The rain made
it more dangerous, slippery and slimy. There was some construction work
going on in the priory itself, so we went to explore the other parts. It
was a huge complex, with dozens of rooms and areas. Most of it was in
ruins, so we could only imagine what this place had been like in its
heyday.
Kells
Priory and it's attendant flock
Kells
Priory
We started back after our explorations,
and just as we did it started coming down harder. However, by the time we
got to Knocktopher, it had pretty much lightened again. We went into the
Abbey (where I had stayed 4 years ago) and tried to eat at the Bistro there
(it was housed in a circular tunnel in the abbey itself) but they weren't
serving lunch, only dinner later that day.
On to Jerpoint! Jerpoint is a Cisterian
Abbey near Thomastown, where we got a very nice, informative tour by Amy.
I've been here before, but liked it just as much this time around. The
carvings on the sarcophagi are incredibly detailed, and the gallery was
impressive.
Jerpoint
Abbey
Corridor
of Time
We were getting hungry, but there was
little in Thomastown to eat, so we went on to Inistioge, the town where
Circle of Friends was filmed. In fact, the restaurant we ate at was called
Circle of Friends, and was on the main square in the center of town. The
lunch was very good, and presided over by two Jack Russells looking out
from a window above us on the patio (their names, per the chef, were Troy
and Lucy). T had the pizza with chicken, tomato and sweet corn, while K and
I had the steak and mushroom special. We had a starter of garlic bread with
cheese, which was like a white pizza and was fabulous!
We saw what might have been the store
used for the film (as the main character's father's shop), and a tower up
on the hill that was supposed to be a watchtower. We tried to find
something signposted 'Swiss Cottage Ruin and Falls' but failed horribly.
Instead, we came across a little road to Coolhill Castle, which turned out
to be on private property. A nice old gentleman directed us there, but it
was all locked up behind fences.
Random
Castle
We drove up to a town called Gramenamagh
and then back to Kilkenny, across several very beautiful and picturesque
bridges (like Bennetsbridge). Unlike out west, there were no signs warning
of 'dangerous bridges' so we lost our fear of being attacked by such
bridges.
Interlude
We went back to the internet café where
we copied photos again and went to the B&B, packing up for tomorrow's
checking out.
Wednesday, July 5th: Gravestones Galore
We checked out from Brigit's, mourned the loss of her wonderful breakfasts,
and headed out to Baltinglass Abbey, our first scheduled site. We found it
without much trouble, and met folks from British Columbia looking for their
ancestors who were buried there. Then we got lost about five times trying
to get to Glendalough!
Baltinglass
Abbey
There are five different routes out of
Hackettown - we took all of them before we found one that would work. We
missed the correct direction, and took a smaller road than we intended. It
was very scenic, but very… lonely. At one point, concerned at our
direction, we stopped a couple of men out hillwalking. Their map was much
better than ours, and showed that we were going in the right direction,
just taking the scenic route of sheep paths. This is new?
Finally we found Laragh, and drove
through it to Glendalough. I have been to this valley and abbey twice
before, and each time was touched by the serenity of the place. That
serenity was hard-pressed to make itself felt this time. That may have had
to do with the hordes of tour buses that descended upon the place on a
regular basis. We were able to get out and explore the areas a little bit,
and I tried to find the spot I had photographed my last trip there (my best
selling shot). Then some rain started coming down rather hard, so we
scooted into the hotel/restaurant next door. We had some sandwiches and ice
cream. T's mint chocolate chip ice cream was great, dairy fresh. My
sandwich was dry and not very satisfying. However, it being 3pm, we had
little choice in our fare.
The
Fallen
On
our way through Enniscorthy, we came across some roadworks.
Nothing new there, but the very attractive, very tan, shirtless
young man directing traffic was very comical, as he tried to
direct a tourist who had started driving through the one-lane
opening when he shouldn't. The man tried to get them to back
up, using body language, while they tried to execute a three-point
turn instead. K got a picture, and then he saw that she was
doing this and posed for us.
We headed up to Powerscourt Falls and
House/Gardens, but found the turn to the House/Gardens first. We went up
the long, scenic drive through golf course fields to the parking lot. There
was a huge Home Depot-style garden center next to the parking area. We went
up to the house, which looked fabulous. Swimming upstream against more
Italian tourist children (we could not escape them!) we went into the house
to get tickets, to discover that the house itself is mostly unrestored (due
to a fire over 20 years ago!). The only part restored is a ballroom, where
they have an AV presentation. However, the gardens were lovely, so we went
to explore them.
There are many little gardens in addition
to the central formal gardens. Japanese, 'dolphin pool', etc. - it is well
worth a couple hours to wander. I loved the walled flower garden to the
right (as you look out the back of the house). Also the roses in the rose
garden were exquisite. There is a little tower near the Japanese gardens on
the left side as well, and Unicorn statues near the pond in the middle.
Fountain
of Youth
Sunburst
Flowers
On to Dublin, the fair city where the
girls are so pretty and the traffic is terrible!
We were closing in on the city, and
crossed a river - thinking it was the Liffey, we thought we had to turn
around, as our B&B was on the southside, near Trinity College. But no,
it was a smaller canal, and we still had a while to go. Finally we found
the street we needed to be on, and where we needed to go - Dame Street.
Alas, we couldn't turn right there, it was a one-way street. Only buses and
taxis were allowed in. Since we didn't have the equipment to morph into one
of these magical vehicles, we found our way around the area, down several
more one-way streets. We came out right next to a pub, and Lo and behold!
It was O'Neill's! Knowing there were a couple pubs named O'Neill's, I asked
the guy standing in front if this was O'Neill's Victorian Pub, and it
was. Yay!
We had to circle around again to get
parking, but we did. Our room was up several part-flights of stairs, (46
stairs total - we counted!) but the room itself was very large, had a TV
(yay!) and three single beds. The bathroom was decent sized, and the
traffic noise wasn't too bad. The buildings across the street seemed to be
either abandoned or at least vacant, so no one would be spying on us. We
had to keep the windows open as it was once again hot and stuffy. Have the
Irish never heard of fans?
We went down to the pub for dinner, and
found out the trick to turning up the volume on the TV (which was mounted
high on the wall in the corner). There are volume controls under the
mounting, so we had to push it back to get at them, while perched on a
chair. The ceilings in this place were very high as it WAS a Victorian
household at one time.
K had the filo lamb pastry for dinner,
while T and I had burgers. We all had drinks! The food was ok, but not
fabulous. The World Cup was on (France v. Portugal) and our Czech waitress
was very nice. She mentioned she and her boyfriend were working in Dublin
to save enough to buy a house in the Czech Republic.
After dinner we went on a search for
soda, water, and an internet café to check our email and send reports of
our arrival home. Finally we found one several blocks away, though it could
have doubled for a sauna. Every internet café we went to was incredibly hot
and stuffy inside.
Back to the B&B for the nights'
sleep. It took me a very long time to sleep over the traffic, as it never
really stopped, though it did slow. Big trucks came through all through the
night, though, and they were loud enough to startle me awake through my
earplugs. This wasn't a problem later nights, but that first night killed
me. If you rent here, ask for a room facing the courtyard!
Thursday,
July 6th: In Dublin's Fair City…
K and I didn't get any great sleep,
though T slept fine (she's the one that likes sleeping with city noises).
Breakfast was OK, though the service was a little curt. The white pudding
was a strange hybrid of sausage and pudding - I only had one bite.
We found a parking lot near a bus stop,
and we went to the nearest Hop-on/Hop-off Bus Tour (the beige/yellow bus
has live commentary, not the red one which has tapes). The guy selling
tickets for the bus was very nice, chatty and helpful, with a bit of a
stutter. The first tour guide was great, and as several elderly ladies were
disembarking, he proposed to one of them as she giggled.
We took the tour around, seeing
Christchurch, Guinness, Phoenix Park, all the usual suspects. We took one
whole run around, noting the places we wanted to take more time at. Our
first stop was Christchurch and Dublinia. I know Dublinia has a cheesy
reputation, but I'm very interested in historical re-enactments, so this
was fascinating to me. The realism in the dioramas and the examples of
medieval and Viking life were well done, in my opinion. Dublinia and the
Church were E5 and E2 respectively, and were not covered by OPW.
Christchurch was beautiful, and the newly renovated crypt area fascinating.
The church carvings and decorations were particularly breathtaking.
However, I didn't get the same reverence we had seen in St. Mary's
Cathedral in Kilkenny - it was much more commercial and crowded. Perhaps
the gift shop INSIDE the church helped with that impression, you think?
Christchurch
Stained
Glass in Christchurch Cathedral
We went to lunch across the street at the
Bull & Castle Pub. Getting there we passed a lovely man who fumbled
with his fly for a bit, then peed on the church fence as we passed.
Delightful! A native performing his traditional acts.
T had the deep fried Mars bar for lunch,
while K had the bacon & leek quiche, and I had the chicken and
camembert panini. It wasn't nearly as good as the one I had at Marble City,
but it wasn't terrible either. K had some Kopparberg Cider, which turned
out to be almost white and incredibly delicious!
We went off to the Dublin Zoo, but
discovered it was already 4pm and it closed at 5pm. We decided that T, who
wanted to attend it particularly (she loves animals) would come tomorrow
while K and I went to the National Stud and Japanese Gardens. Instead,
tonight we headed for the Jameson Distillery, something else T really
wanted to see.
Random
Gargoyle
When we got to the Distillery, it looked
like we were one of the last (if not the last) tours to go through. Our
tour guide, a nice redhead lad named Christopher (with a pentacle on his
belt-buckle) was very funny, and gave a great tour. T volunteered to be one
of the taste-testers at the beginning of the tour (there can be only four).
The tour was through some very warm rooms, but it was rather fascinating.
IMHO, it was more informative than the self-tour you get through Guinness,
which I had gone through in 2002.
The taste testing was at the end, where
each participant was asked to taste four drinks - two types of Jameson,
Johnny Walker and Jack Daniels. Of course, as long as you say Jameson was
your favorite, you get a certificate as an official taste-tester for the
Distillery. Everyone got a shot of whiskey, but I'm really not a fan of the
hard stuff unless mixed with hopelessly sweet things (like punch). They did
offer some mixers, such as coke or juice.
We got back to the bus stop, and got off
near O'Connell Street for some shopping. We actually went off the street to
LUSH, which K had never encountered before, and I told her she would love
it. I think she spent an hour in there, and emerged with far too much - as
did I. T discovered that it was a great spot for people watching, as the
perfumes in the place were much too strong for her (I sympathize, as I had
to leave a couple times myself). It was very busy and crowded, sort of like
being in Disneyworld on Labor Day weekend.
We wandered through a book store, as K
was looking for a gift for her nephew - a primer in Irish. We noticed a
very poorly stocked scifi/fantasy section, and then finally wandered back
across the bridge. We found our car park with some help from T's sense of
direction, paid our daily fee (E25!) and took a scenic route back to our
B&B (via St. Patrick's Cathedral). We parked and went up to our room to
regroup and get ready for dinner. We tried next door at Trinity Pub, but
they were not serving food, despite the chalk board full of menu (that was
for lunch). So we hustled back to O'Neill's in time for getting our orders
in before that kitchen closed. C had the pepper steak, K had the pepper
burger, while T had a regular burger. The steak was great, as it didn't
have to be burned to a hockey puck. The burgers were, well, charred at well
done as they are evidently required to be by law.
We went up to our room for a relatively
early night, as I was exhausted from last night's lack of sleep. We read a
little, it was much cooler out, and I slept much better than the night
before. Yay!
Friday,
July 7th: Ancient Burials and Tourists everywhere!
We got off on an early start this
morning, as we were headed towards the north and ancient burial sites. Many
of the places we were planning on visiting I had been to before, but 10
years before. I was especially interested on the differences to the Hill of
Tara, which I know will shortly undergo a change as the surrounding roads
are widened.
We found the N1 with only a few errors,
and took the M50 to the N3, north to our first stop, the Hill of Tara. We
made it there around 10am, and went up to the hill before anyone else was
there. It is, and always has been, an incredible view from the hill. You
feel as if you can see the entire island from your vantage point, laid out
in front of you like a patchwork quilt of fields and sheep.
I climbed up the Mound of Hostages, and
managed to recapture some of the thrill of my first visit. The place was still
quiet and powerful, though somewhat less urgent than the last time I had
visited. My solitude was short lived, however, because several German
tourists arrived in a bus, and started climbing the hills.
Lia
Fial stone, from which the Stone of Scone was carved, according to legend
We explored the various hillworks, the
mounds, the stones, the sheep, and the stunning view. We wandered the steep
paths and steeper hillsides. Finally, the OPW clerk came out to let us know
the English AV presentation was about to start, so we fell in and followed
her back to the little church which housed it.
The AV presentations we saw throughout
our trip were very informative, and had very lush photography, interesting
commentary, and relevant data. Everything from computer graphics to
archeological dig photos was shown. T inquired in several places whether
the set of them were for sale, and was told the request had been made
several times - in vain.
We saw a sign as we were leaving for a
Holy Well, just down the road from Tara, so took a detour to explore it. It
was a small enclosure, fenced away from the cows but with an area where
they could drink from the troughed stream. There was a small pitcher,
evidently for filling bottles with from the water. It was set up very
simple, and very quiet. I believe the well was dedicated to St. Patrick.
View
from Newgrange
We went on to Navan, and around the city
to Newgrange. When I was here 10 years ago, there was no visitor's centre,
and visitors parked right up near the path to the tomb. Now you enter the
centre, which is extensive, and take a bus to the tomb. The centre has some
wonderful displays on pre-historic life, and a nice little AV presentation.
You get your time of visit when you
arrive, and it gives lots of time to wander the centre and gift shop before
you have to walk along a path (and over a bridge) to the bus stop. Then the
bus takes about 10 minutes to the site itself. You go within the tomb still
on the tour, though it's rather claustrophobic. I am a fat person, but
still managed to squeeze inside some of the smaller sections of the passage,
but just barely!
We were allowed about 15 minutes after
the passage tour to wander around, which in my opinion wasn't nearly enough
time to walk all the way around, examining the stones and decorations.
However, our tour inside was delayed by the last group being late, so I
suppose we would normally have had more time afterwards.
Getting back on the bus, we were second
to last in line. The guy behind us (dragging his wife with him) was so
concerned about getting on first that he pushed ahead of us and several
other people - only to be turned away on the first bus. He was first on the
second bus, though, and I gave him a dirty look for queue-jumping, as it
got him very little in terms of saving time. We all got back at the same
time, after all!
Back at the centre, we started towards
Malahide house, after several wrong turns and R roads. Malahide is a
wonderful 18th Century manor house, restored with beautiful carved wood
panels and lush tapestries, wallpaper, and furnishings. The grounds were
fantastic, and I wish we had more time to explore them, but we were rushing
to get into the house before closing. There was a wedding we passed on the
way here, and as we left, we saw the bride and groom having photos taken on
the grounds. That's when the Italian school children came again!
Photography wasn't permitted inside, more's the pity.
Door
in a door in a door, Malahide House
We asked for a recommendation on dinner
from the gift shop clerk, who mentioned Smyth's in Malahide itself. We
found Smyth's parked around the corner, saw the bridal party again (in a
car this time), and ordered dinner. Smyth's is decorated like a retro
American bar, which was really odd. T and I ordered the garlic butter
steak, while K tried the cajun steak. Mistake! I tried to warn her never to
trust the European idea of cajun, but she didn't listen. It was awful. The
steak itself was full of gristle and the seasonings terrible. She asked
for, and received, a garlic butter steak instead. Those were great.
We headed south to Howth, but were
waylaid by a nice set of stairs going down to a rocky beach. There was a
sandy portion, but lots of limestone rocks around, filled with seashells
and seaweed. We collected some, watched a mother and her son swimming,
watched the mother change on the beach (she wrapped a towel around her as
she changed, but wasn't too concerned when it slipped). It was a very
peaceful spot, despite the cars driving by on the road above. It was around
7pm and the sea was restful, gently lapping waves against the rocks in a
soothing rhythm.
Seaside
serenity
We kept driving along the seashore route,
out to Howth. There were some beautiful houses, though few with much land,
as I'm sure it's at an incredible premium here. There were a couple more
nice beaches, and we stopped at a marina to have some ice cream. Our first
choice was closing as we approached, so we went on to Maud's. T had berry
ice cream, I tried the truffles and cream, while K had something colorful
that I don't remember. It was all rather good, and we had a window seat
looking out at the boats and children playing. We met a young lady and her
sister (they were perhaps 6 and 4 years old) dining with their
grandparents, on holiday up from Dublin.
Sunset
on Dublin Bay
As we came back into town, the road we
were on became Amiens road, which became Moss road, which stops just at the
corner our B&B was on. How convenient was that? We slept well after
such a full day.
Saturday,
July 8th: Studs - need I say more?
We woke up early for an early start, but discovered
that breakfast wasn't served until 9am this morning. Oh well, we went back
to the room to pack for the morning. It's not like the time was wasted!
We got into breakfast, and Hughey (one of
the owners, evidently) asked how things were. We arranged to meet with him
that evening to settle up, as we would be leaving much too early for humans
the next day (4:30am for our 7:30am flight).
After some fun with more one way streets
and crossing back and forth across the Liffey, we dropped T off at the Dublin
Zoo for the day, and arranged to meet her at around 5pm in the same spot.
Then K and I headed off to Kildare to the National Stud and the Japanese
Gardens, as well as St. Fiachra's Garden, all of which are in the same
complex. On the way in we saw a sign for St. Brigid's Well, which we
resolved to visit on the way out.
The admission into the complex was E9,
not included on the OPW, but well worth it, IMHO. The gardens were
stunning, each area representing a different stage in life. There was the
Easy Path vs. the Path of Life, there were sections marked Disappointment,
(after Marriage, of course) and the Chair of Old Age, etc. The paths went
in and out, around and through the gardens. I met Tim the Gardener, and we
chatted of weather, Florida versus Ireland, house prices, and career paths.
We both agreed that you have to find something you enjoy doing, and you
won't mind the hours you put into your career. Otherwise you are just
imprisoned by your job.
Japanese
Gardens
We traveled on to the Stud area, where
there was a small tour. We managed to get through the Japanese gardens
before the horde of, you guessed it, Italian school children came through.
Were they following us???
The horses were interesting to me, but K
is a horse nut so she was much more fascinated. When there was a choice of
going out and greeting the horses in the fields or walking around St.
Fiachra's Gardens, we split ways. St. Fiachra is the patron saint of
Gardeners, and this area was set out as a natural garden, emphasizing
random natural beauty. The place had a waterfall, swans and ducks, weeping
willows, and some manufactured monastic huts in honor of the 7th century
saint. Inside one of these huts was a rather disappointing 'crystal
garden'.
St.
Fiachra's Garden
When I read about the underground crystal
garden, I imagined something grand, crystal all around, lit from
underneath, in natural formations and shapes. Instead, there was a small
4'X4' box set in the ground, covered with glass, with some cut crystal from
Waterford in it. Lit from below, yes, but thoroughly unimpressive.
Foals
and Dam at the National Stud
Despite that, the gardens themselves were
wonderful. A family was exploring near me, and I could hear the father
trying to teach the 6-year-old daughter how to quack like a duck. I hooked
back up with K near the end of the gardens, when it began to rain. This was
only our second day of heavy rain on the trip, of which we were very glad!
We headed towards the restaurant for a
late lunch, but it was crawling with those Italian school children. Most
were done eating, but their bus was not yet there, so they took most of the
tables. We ate inside, since most of them were outside. (most, not all!).
K and I both had the steak & Guinness
pie. I tried a delicious salad with feta cheese and broccoli, while K had a
cucumber salad. We made up for this relatively healthy side by sharing a
slice of some meringue/fruit/cream dessert that was sweet and fluffy.
We shopped a bit, realizing that it was
our last day in Ireland, and I got the last of my required gifts. The we
went onto St. Brigid's Well. This is by far the most impressive holy well
we saw, complete with a statue of St. Brigid holding up a flame, a wishing
tree, and several alcoves for blessings and wishes along the area. The
water tasted clear and sweet, and while we were there, a chatty man from
Dublin and a Franciscan Friar greeted us. The Friar was very nice; though
dressed in plain clothes he had a wooden pendant that evidently identified
him as such. I asked him about his opinion on the bits of paganism still
showing strong in Celtic Christianity, and he said that it was pretty much
accepted as part of the belief system.
St.
Brigid's Well
K and I both gave some gifts to the
wishing tree, and as we were leaving, some of the Friar's friends were
pouring some of the Holy Water into small labeled bottles. They gave us a couple,
as well as directions to another Holy Well nearby to visit, called Father
Moore's Well.
We got to this well by driving through
the city of Kildare, and it was very different from St. Brigid's well. Hers
was very solemn, but light and full of, well, presence. It was very
reverent. Father Thomas' well felt much more… plastic, I guess. It
certainly had a much more Catholic feel than pagan/Catholic (like
Brigit's). There were offerings, shrines, tombstones, remembrances, and a
dirty, muddy pit that must have been the well. We didn't like the place
much at all, and left rather quickly. The fact that it was raining harder
may have helped our decision!
Very
odd sculpture, evidently satirizing Irish roads -- with good reason!
We drove back through Naas, on a sudden
urge to find a shopping area, but we searched in vain, finding nothing
worth stopping for. We made it back into Dublin in short order, and picked
up a soggy T from the zoo. We went in search of shopping in Dublin,
convinced that we would find some. Indeed we did, on Grafton Street, a
short walk from the Car Park we found (Setanta). We stopped in a couple of
shops, but they were all starting to close as it was past 6pm. We were
really frustrated with this early close thing! We knew about it, but that
didn't make it easier to deal with. We had money to spend, darn it!
We smelled some really good cooking, and decided
it came from Bocca Italian off Grafton Street. We had to wait about 10
minutes for a table, but once we were sat it was cozy. For starters we
ordered the antipasti. The description said it had meats, cheeses, olives
and artichoke hearts. They lied! There was one slice of one artichoke heart
on the top. Since I can eat a whole jar of the things, I was quite
disappointed! The olives were normal green and black ones, but the meats
and cheeses were delicious.
I had the spaghetti mare, K had the pollo
vesuvio and T had the pasta carbonara, despite her earlier encounter with
this dish. Everything was delicious, and the service (once we were sat) was
great. K had the amaretti ice cream for dessert and loved it. We were blown
away by seeing the first real pepper mill of the trip!
We got back to the B&B at 8:45pm,
which was, IMHO, plenty of time to walk down the block to meet a fellow
Flyertalker and his family also traveling in Ireland. Alas, I looked at the
sheet of paper that had the hotel name, and it was 8pm we were supposed to
meet, not 9pm! I felt like such an idiot. That for all my planning!
We were exhausted after a long day, and
had an early traveling day tomorrow, so we packed and went to sleep.
Sunday,
July 9th: Travel heaven and hell
Up before light? Not in Ireland in the summer! 4am and it was already false
dawn out. It was light by the time we were in the car and on our way to the
airport. We got there at 5:30am, expecting it to be rather deserted. HA!
There were crowds of people everywhere! The kiosk to drop our car keys in
the car park was closed as it was too early, and we couldn't find the
in-airport desk in time. We waited in the line to check our luggage (Aer
Lingus to the UK) and waited for about an hour. We started getting worried
about checking in on time, but we were fine. The gentleman working 'triage'
at the check in line was fantastic, efficient, and had a great attitude. I
wish I could remember his name, but he had a feeling of the military about
him, like a drill sargaent. The flight from DUB to LHR left on time with no
problems, and arrived on time in London.
Our trip into the Virgin terminal was
less hectic than last time, but still hampered by two working elevators
(out of 4) and a huge amount of people trying to use them. We got to the VA
check in kiosks, checked in, got our luggage tagged and our boarding
passes. No gate was assigned yet (it was 10:15 for an 11:30 flight) but the
boarding pass said boarding started at 10:15???
We went to the gate section, and finally
saw our gate assigned at 10:30, and started booking it down the terminal to
gate 88. And booking, and booking, and booking! We made it with plenty of
time, and they started boarding. Down the jetway, onto… the tarmac. Onto… a
bus??? This is the first time that ever happened to me! We were standing
room only on a bus to our plane. Very odd!
A hectic ride under the runway, through
tunnels, through airport traffic, dodging larger busses and we made it to
our plane. It was rather tough as we were packed together like sardines,
and I can't stand for long periods of time. Walking is fine, but standing
is agony. I was ready to drop after that ride!
We walked over to our plane and up the
stairs, found our seats, and sighed. Then we crossed our fingers! We had
three of the four seats in the center section, and were hoping that fourth
seat remained empty. We waited while several busloads of folks got on. And
waited. And waited. We were due to take off at 11:30, finally leaving at
12:45. They were good about making announcements about our delay, but we
soon realized that they were not very helpful in terms of information.
The flight itself was fine, though the
little girl behind us kept asking for Stuart? Stuart? Stuart? Stuart? In a
loud voice. Halfway through the flight both K and I felt kicking on the
back of our seat, and I very politely turned around and asked the mother if
she could ask her daughter to stop. She said the daughter did nothing
wrong, just put the tray table up, but there was no more kicking after
that. I doubt that the tray table going up would be felt in the bottom of
my seat. :
The pilot kept making announcements
throughout the flight, including the World Cup half time and full time
scores, this being the finals. I could have done without them, but understand
than many cared. They also listed them on the IFE units.
We arrived at 5:05, about 45 minutes late
- and too late, evidently, to catch my connecting flight from MIA to MCO. I
tried to push through, leaving K to collect my checked luggage, but was much
too late. I ended up waiting in a line to re-assign me for about 45
minutes, my luggage long gone home with K. An Office Palomba? was very
helpful and kind. Finally I just asked to use the phone, as I found out all
the flights were gone to MCO for the night, and they couldn't help me until
tomorrow. I waited 20 minutes just to use the phone! (mine had SIM card
problems and wouldn't work). I called my DH, told him to meet me in Palm
Beach, and went out to rent a car (at $120 for two hours!!!!) and drove up
to meet him.
The ride home was long and I got home at
2am. I had to be up in the morning at 7am to go to work, so I collapsed.
I'd been up for 26 hours, and was exhausted!
My luggage was Fedexed to me the next
day, and arrived Tuesday, all intact except a missing pair of scissors.
Even the chocolate wasn't melted!
All in all, despite the problems in
logistics and travel, I had a wonderful time. I will return to the magical
isle some day!
My main impression is that Ireland is
indeed changing. For the better or the worse, I cannot say -- but it is not
the same island I've visited in the past. The people are still wonderfully
friendly, and the hills are still lush. The faces are changing and the
'feel' of the land is as well.
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