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)

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!!!!