One Day More

Ireland - Day 6

One last day in Ireland.

A few days back, a couple of Scotsmen at my B&B informed me that ALL Americans go to Kilkenny while visiting Ireland. Although they couldn't explain why that is, I decided that it my obligation as an American to at least take a look.

While traveling from Oranmore to Kilkenny, I passed through a vast valley flanked on every side by towering mountains, at which point I had a bit of a Dorothy and Oz moment. I was in a place that geographically reminded me of my hometown in Utah, but in technicolor.

It was like a far greener, less densely populated Salt Lake Valley, void of any air pollution. I'm sure you don't believe me, and I wish I had proof. I would have taken a picture while driving, but I didn't want to further tarnish my Irish driving record with reckless driving.

Upon my arriving at Kilkenny I believe I discovered why Americans go there: good shopping. The town provides a wide array of shops filled with traditional Irish items like linens and Aran sweaters, all in one compact area. Since I'd already done most of my souvenirs shopping, it didn't take long to browse the linen, sweater, and craft stores before I was headed back to Adare.

Adare is the ideal place to start an Ireland vacation. It's close to the Shannon airport, the roads through town are wider than most so you can practice driving on the left side of the road, and it's a beautiful town with thatch roofed cottages.

A well-manicured park

And even the ruined castle is picturesque


The best part of Adare is the Chinese Restaurant that gives you the option of rice or chips with every entree. ;0)

Plan B

Ireland - Day 5

Today's plan was to go to Fleadh Nua, a music festival in Ennis. I saw a couple jam sessions, but thanks to last night's dinner consisting entirely of chocolate, I wasn't feeling very good. Instead, I decided to go back to the Burren and see the parts I'd missed the day before.

Like discovering I didn't need to take a plane back to Boston.


Or see a home that's under siege by sheep.


I also practiced my Vanna White skills at Poulnabrone Dolmen, a megalithic tomb. I asked a nice Frenchman to take my picture for this one.


Near lunch time I discovered flapjacks. My fellow Americans may believe flapjacks to be pancakes, but in Ireland the term is used to describe a super yummy oatbar which is sometimes found topped with a layer of chocolate. I'm going to look into flapjack recipes when I'm home, and I'll make sure to post the recipes I like best.

In the evening I head back toward Galway and the Salthills for dinner, and I couldn't stop laughing when I saw the Prom Hotel. Look closely and you'll see that there is no hotel beyond the facade. Me thinks I smell a trap.

Oh and can I just tell you the beaches in Galway are GORGEOUS!!!

The Burren

Ireland - Day 4

"It is a country where there is not enough water to drown a man, wood enough to hang one, nor earth enough to bury him"
-Edmund Lundlow, regarding the Burren-

Today I was off to see to the Burren (pronounced burn) meaning 'rocky place' in Irish. Although the guidebooks highly recommended a visit to the area, they did a poor job of making it sound appealing. Based on their descriptions I was expecting a giant slab of limestone with a bunch of plant life growing in the nooks and crannies. Doesn't that sound exciting? But I have to tell you. I absolutely LOVED the Burren. I drove along the shore line.



and gazed at the white beaches (minus the sand)


And read odd signs in the bathroom


The best part was by far the Cliffs of Moher. Perhaps you know them better as the Cliffs of Insanity from Princess Bride.


Along the edge of the cliffs is a trail that is marked as out of bounds signs and safety warnings. As I was jumping over the wall back into the inbounds area, I heard the quote of the day. One girl was trying to convince her friend to join her on the trail.

GIRL 1: Look, everyone else is doing it.

GIRL 2: And if they jumped off, would you too?

Oh and here's a picture of me by the ocean thanks to the self-timer on my camera.

What's in the middle???

Ireland - Day 3
On this my third day in Ireland I had my first traditional Irish breakfast, something for your inner carnivore. It consists of a couple pieces of bacon, two- links of sausage, a few pieces of unidentified meat pudding, fried eggs, and a bit of toast. Note to self: order a non-traditional Irish breakfast in the future.

The middle of Ireland is beautiful and peaceful. However, I was a bit concerned when at Athlone castle where there is a cannon pointed at the hotel across the river. I couldn't ascertain the source of the hostilities, but when betting on a hotel or a cannon, I'll side with the cannon.



Later I headed over to Connemara in Co. Galway. The sights were stunningly beautiful, but the roads gave me quite a fright. Imagine a typical canyon road; twisty, narrow, no shoulders, full of blind corners, but with a speed limit of 100 km/h (60 mph). I thought surely no one would take these roads at that speed, but as the cars behind me tried to crawl up my tailpipe, I quickly discovered that I was wrong.

There is a fine art of being able to pull into the shrubbery to let the other cars pass without clobbering oneself or others. Not having mastered this skill, I ticked off quite a few Irishmen who were stuck behind me until I found a safe place to pull over. Fortunately, the rear window of my car clearly advertises in big lettering that I am driving a rental car, and are mostly likely a foreign idiot.

Discovering Dublin

Ireland - Day 2
After sleeping in as long as I possibly could, I set out to see Dublin. The first thing I discovered was that the Irish general elections was coming up soon. It was hard to miss since every lightpost far and wide was plastered with faces of candidates. Amongst them all I found the candidate for me.


I don't think his chances of winning are very good, but Bert's not such a bad candidate. Sure he'd have a nervous breakdown at least once a day, but at least you'd know he really cares.

There are a half-dozen main attractions that everyone must see in Dublin. I saw 2.5 of them: Grafton Street, Temple Bar, and Trinity College (without visiting the Book of Kells)

Instead, my top priorty was just looking around and taking in the sights, like the colorful doors of Dublin. Most older cities are a composite of blah colored stone buildings. Although this is also true of Dublin, the doors of each of the buildings is painted any number of cheerful, bright shades. You wouldn't think it would make that much of a difference, but the little patches of color in the city really brightens things up.


Favorite quote of the day: On my way to Athlone for the evening I got lost (go figure), and I stopped at a gas station to get directions.

ME: Excuse me sir, can you tell me where I am?

IRISHMAN: You're in the middle of Ireland.

Lost in Dublin

Ireland - Day 1
My vacation began with a rocky start. As I groggily walked off the plane at 5:30 AM, I was abruptly brought to my senses by the passport guy barking at me because I hadn't filled out a lodging card on the plane.

Then I got my car. If they had secretly filmed me I could have been a wonderful car commercial. Imagine an Irish accented voice saying, "To prove how durable our vehicles are we gave one to an untraveled, directionally-challenged American girl functioning on only two hours of sleep and let her loose in Dublin to find her hotel. Let's see how the car fared."

First, a bicyclist ran into the door. "No harm done," he said. "Just a bit of rubber from the handlebars on the door."

Second, I clipped a taxi cab with my passenger side mirror. The taxi driver came up. "No harm done. You just hit the mirror," he said flipping the mirror back into place.

Third, I clipped a bus with the same mirror. This time the mirror flipped in and the actual mirror popped out.

Fourth, I couldn't find my hotel thanks to one-way roads, hidden street signs, and my lack of maps. I did however see all of the greater Dublin area at least 4 or 5 times.

Fifth, I couldn't find reverse. Who would have thought that you had to do something other than put it into gear?

After 8 hours of driving around Dublin, I pulled into my hotel, parked my car and began checking out the city. My time was limited due to my keystone cop driving adventures, but I at least had a chance to realize that Dublin isn't such a bad city provided you aren't in a car.

My Adventures in the Emerald Isle

I have a really good excuse for not writing recently. I've been visiting my ancestral home... or ancestral country since I don't know where my ancestors lived. Anyway, I've been touring Ireland for the last week.

I'd like to share this experience with you all, but I don't feel like I could do it justice with just one entry so I'm going to do retroactive entries. Each day for the next week I'll be posting one day of my trip. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading about the silly, fun, mundane, and insightful happenings. And at the end I'll give you my advice on how to and how not to tour Ireland.

Ciao all!!!!