There Are No Strangers Here…

Posted on July 7, 2013 by isherri

Hello friends! My trip around Ireland has nearly come full circle, but I managed to squeeze in a bit more adventure first!

I decided to take a scenic route to Belfast and drove up through Sligo towards Ballyshannon. That route took me past Drumcliffe, the burial site of Yeats.

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The church sits right up against the road and surrounded by a cemetery with some very old graves so of course I stopped.

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St Colmcille founded a monastery there but the road crosses the original site. The only existing remains are the Round Tower, built between 900 and 1200…

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And the cross, erected in the 11th Century.

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There is also a nice tribute to Yeats.

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Back on the road, I drove towards Moneymore, Northern Ireland. A land that uses MPH so those of us in rental cars that only display KM and forgot to change currency will be doubly confused!

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So as I’m driving along, humming my favorite Tossers songs (no auxiliary port, see previous posts!) and zipping through roundabouts suddenly the cars in front of me came to a screeching halt. I was all, “oh look, a parade!” Sitting on the side of the road in my Ka and waving as they walked by…

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Until I realized that the only people in it were men. They all had pins that said LOL but they did not look happy. At all. In fact, a lot of them were glaring at me as they went by. I stopped waving and smiling when it suddenly occurred to me these were the Orangemen and they were not having a parade so much as marching. And I was sitting there in a car with Irish tags. This is probably what the boys from Galway were talking about.

After they passed I continued on to Moneymore, the home of Springhill House.

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I found it and then discovered that they don’t take Euros, so I had to backtrack and find a bank first. When I finally got in, I discovered there was a guided tour but I was the only person who was attending. A private tour, yay!

My guide, William, knew a lot about the house. We walked through 6 rooms and it took about an hour. What was most interesting about the Springhill House was that the family who built it were from that plantation period and everyone seemed to think that was just swell.

The house was owned by the Lenox-Conyngham family and 10 generations had lived there. They originally lucked into the land because they were cronies of Cromwell. The house was actually built as a result of a prenup. One of the first Conynghams wanted to marry a girl from a neighboring town but her father wouldn’t agree unless he built a “2 story house with the proper outbuildings”. What a sweet dad!

Part of the tour included a visit to the haunted room. William demonstrated the pose we might catch the ghost in, the same pose she struck when she discovered her husband’s body after he shot himself, although he admitted he hadn’t seen her yet. Still the room was about 2 or 3 degrees colder than the rest of the court. That is in Celsius, folks, it’s a lot. Creepy!

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Afterwards I visited the costume collection. That was the entire reason I made the stop, to be honest. Sadly, the only costumes they had on display were Titanic wear. And there wasn’t much of that.

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Apparently the entire country has gone Titanic crazy, which seemed like a good time for me to head over to…

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Titanic Belfast! This is a new, state of the art museum that takes visitors through the boom town of Belfast at the time the Titanic was constructed until the discovery of its wreckage. The museum is ginormous and truly interactive and state of the art. I totally recommend.

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My favorite part was the ride through the shipyards. Mostly because it was a mile walk from the Hilton just to get there so it was nice to sit! There is also a sort of IMAX viewing of the wreckage that was pretty cool and involved sitting also.

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By the time I returned to the Hilton I was tired and decided to enjoy the executive lounge, post this blog and call it a night. Tomorrow I return my rental car. I’ve actually grown kind of attached to it and I will miss the constant adrenaline rush of driving in Ireland. I’ll have to make up for the loss with a distillery tour! Wish you we here!

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Getting Schooled in Sligo

Posted on July 6, 2013 by isherri

Sligo, Ireland is a veritable treasure trove of super smart tour guides. Today’s journey was perfectly timed to take advantage of their astounding stories.

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I got an early start but it came to a screeching halt when I nearly drove by one of the very few McDonalds I’ve seen in this country. Everyone knows the Golden Arches are the international symbol for free wifi, and the wifi at this McDonalds was lightening fast!

I had a Bacon Roll, which is not something on the American menu, but quite tasty. After I uploaded the blog and got back on the road, I drove straight to Parke’s Castle.

The drive to the castle winds around Lough Gill, and while it’s no Corkscrew Hill (which has become my new measure of driving difficulty) it’s still full of “dangerous bends” and blind curves.

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There were a few people who arrived just before me and had just formed a group to have a tour. I joined the group and away we went.

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Our tour guide was not the tour guide Pee Wee found at the Alamo. I kept waiting for her to tell us there are 1,000 ways to charge the poor tenants rent and I am about to tell you each one.

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Anna Mai was born and raised in one of the two room traditional thatched cottages (or vernacular cottages) and didn’t move out of it until 1973! No running water or electricity. Two rooms. Thatched roof.

Part of the castle was hollowed out and filled with what one would typically find in one of the vernacular cottages. Some of the plucky Scottish tourists with us volunteered to demonstrate the “head, toes, head” sleeping arrangements of the Irish “day bed” when Anna invited us to “give it a go”.

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She told us about the Irish Plantation Period, when the English “planted” landowners to take over the Irish lands and then collect rents from the now tenants. Lord Parke was one of those who received the land when the previous owner Sir Brian O’Rourke was hanged at Tyburn for sheltering a few survivors of the Spanish Armada. See! Educational!

Anna Mai told us how cheeky Lord Parke was when he tore down the O’Rourke manor house and used the stones to build his own. As a result, we got to the only spiral staircase from the 17th century designed for lefties. Parke was left-handed, obvs.

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Super nice for Parkes, who could run down the stairs swinging his sword. probably not so easy for the poor soldiers who worked for him. She took us to the forge where we learned how to thatch a roof. Really, if you’ve got any roofing needs, call me.

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Then she took us to the 11th century steam room built on the shores of the lake. She crawled inside and then invited us to give it a go. Anna Mai is only 4 foot 10. The rest of didn’t want to tempt fate!

I went from there to Sligo. I walked around town looking for lunch (with wifi) and stumbled across “the heart of Sligo”. Free wifi and fantastic quiches!

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After a quick bite I ventured on to Sligo Abbey. Founded by Dominican Friars in the mid 13th century, it lies in ruins in the center of town today.

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Inside the Abbey is the only carved stone alter table that has survived in Ireland.

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And lots of tombstones.

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The abbey was really creepy in a wonderfully Gothic way.

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I decided to skip Knocknarea after I found out it actually involved hiking for at least an hour up the side of a mountain. Ain’t nobody got time for that. I took a picture instead.

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It looks like a tiny dot on a hill, but in reality its the largest cairn, I think ever. And its on top of a big ass mountain. Then it was off to Carrowmore.

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Once again the luck of the Irish was with me and I got there as the tour group was forming. Our tour guide Austin was like a combination archaeologist/storyteller.

Carrowmore is a passage tomb cemetery and from what Austin said, though County Sligo only has 4% of the land mass on Ireland, it has 40% of the megalithic tombs. We walked the circumference of the main part of the cemetery and Austin explained how the tombs we constructed.

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Even better were the folk tales he included in his stories. He pointed out the cairns on the mountains surrounding us. On The Little Witch mountain it’s said that the Winter Witch captures the goddess Brighde each year at Samhain and imprisons her until Beltane. When Brighde escapes she brings summer. Yay Brighde!  Looking at the range of mountains, you can see that they form the silhouette of Brighde lying down.

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If you look close and squint maybe you can see it? Her head is on the far right. The next peak is one breast. The peak after that is another breast. The next peak is her belly. The rest are legs. And apparently the top of Knocknarea contains Queen Medb’s cairn where she was buried upright her shield in one hand and her spear in the other, facing her enemies. That’s how I want to go! What a woman!

The central tomb on Carrowmore had been built so each year on Samhain and Belthain, the sun will rise in the saddle of the Ox Mountains and slowly illuminate the stones one by one. This guy who used to work with Austin discovered it. He’s a real world Indiana Jones. Sadly the tour ended before I could find out if Austin’s friend was single.

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Finally headed south to my B&B in Ballymead. It looked much closer on the map. But as an added bonus, it’s right around the corner from the Ballymead Castle ruins. They’re closed to the public but you can stop in the car park and have a quick look.

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The B&B was lovely. They set me down and served tea and whisked my bag up stairs. There isn’t much in the town besides the castle ruins, so I decided to drive to Strandhill for dinner. This was an excellent decision since it’s on the shore and the muscles I ordered were so fresh they must have gone down and harvested them right after I arrived.

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The wifi was working as well, so I uploaded my photos to prepare the blog. I realized during dinner that I haven’t had any Irish Coffee yet and there is NO WAY I would drink a drop of liquor before getting on the Irish roads, so I’m heading back to the hotel to park and upload and walk to a pub.

Tomorrow is Belfast. The guys in the pub last night warned me not to tell anyone in Belfast how beautiful the rest of Ireland is, they said they would hold it against me. Sounds ominous! But I’m looking forward to seeing Northern Ireland and plan to hit the Titanic Experience, which even the Galway boys seemed to think was a good idea. Wish you were here!

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Inconceivable

Posted on July 6, 2013 by isherri

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The Cliffs of Moher were first on tap today. It was hard to get an early start after dancing most of the night with Ian and Mick at the Fire in Cairo concert. Fire in Cairo is the Cure tribute band that was playing across the alley from my hotel. And for the record, Limerick just became my second favorite town.

But I asked the hotel to please have my breakfast ready at 7, so I felt sort of obligated. And even though it was hard to get started, it was totally worth it!

I drove right to the Cliffs.

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I walked to the top of the north end and the view was magnificent.

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I also paid the extra Euro to walk beside the electrified fence to get to the “special” viewing area. That seems a bit risky to me, it took me a bit to figure out it wasn’t part of the official tour, but by that point I was fully committed.

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Ian and Mick told me the view is even more impressive from the bottom. Since the only way to see that is by boat, I went to Doolin to buy a ticket. In my mind, I was already replaying the scene from The Princess Bride where Vizzini took Buttercup right up to the Cliffs of Insanity and the Dred Pirate Robins sails right in behind them. Such a beautiful, peaceful journey for those who stay on board, and of course I wasn’t going over…

While I was in Doolin, I stumbled across a cafe called Sonas! I would have asked them to take a picture of my new neck tattoo under their sign, but it was a popular place and they were very busy.

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Anyhow, Ian and Mick already assured me it meant happy, though we’d had a bit of Guinness first, so I’m still after a sober second opinion.

So I only had an hour until the boat left and I still had to find the dock.

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When I did find it, there were tons of people already waiting to board. I asked the attendant which boat it was and it told me the John B and then he said “it’s quite famous”. I should have asked why. Was it for rescuing the most people who fell over? For tipping over less than all the others? For tipping over more than any others? We will never know…

While we waited on the pier, a dolphin swam over and played around right next to us. I’m not saying it was Fungie, the famous Dingle dolphin that I never got the chance to see, but perhaps Fungie was feeling the loss as well?

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So the boat pulled up. It was shiny and white. Hundreds of people started boarding, much like the Titanic. Turned out it wasn’t my boat. I was kinda sad watching the big ship steam away into the distance, but then our little boat appeared. Yes, friends, the John B is small but mighty.

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Those of us that were left on the dock quickly boarded and suddenly I realized there was a God. As we left the dock, pitching and bucking with each of the swells, I found out some amazing American tourists were sitting beside me, and they’d survived the trip before! After they talked me down, I found out one of them was a local PTA President from Alpharetta, Georgia (Go Raiders!)

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The opportunity to “talk shop” on the voyage not only distracted me from the violent washing machine spin cycle like motions, it also let me recruit another PTA unit to our newest program, the National PTA School of Excellence. You can find more information at PTA.org/excellence. (Hello tax write off!)

Eventually the crew members came and opened the door and told us we could go out on the prow of the boat. My compatriots had wisely told me it wasn’t as bad out in the open air so I bravely strutted out. And by strutted I mean I just about crawled, clutching the railing and the opposite wall as I inched along. I almost gave up when I had to try to climb the steps. Mostly because the violent pitching was making it hard to put my foot on the step. I did it though and climbed out to the magnificent view.

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The kids from Georgia were all leaning over the railing and laughing and enjoying the ride which also helped settle my nerves and definitely made me want to appear to enjoy the hellish jostling.

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Eventually the seas calmed a bit until we only had about 30 or 40 meter swells. I’m guessing. I don’t do metrics. It was less rough enough for me to even stumble back to the bow to take a few more pictures.

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After we made it safely to shore, I drove back to Lisconnar to have a bit of tea at Egan’s.

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My  coworker Chris told me her in-laws would be there and I would love it. Her in-laws weren’t but I did. And their wifi system gave me a chance to plot a route from Lisconnar to Galway by way of the Burren, because sometimes you need just a little bit more excitement to remind you that you are alive. Or as I like to call it Corkscrew Hill.

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If you’ve read my earlier blog entries, you know that the roads here tend to be a bit narrow. And windy. And steep. Corkscrew Hill makes them look like the Talladega straightaway. It’s like Lombard Street on speed. I zig zagged down at a snail’s pace. The Burren was interesting too.

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I finally arrived in Galway at rush hour, totally appreciating the lack of a stick shift in my car back home. My hotel was actually in Saltview and since I assumed the ring museum was already closed, I went straight to the hotel. Parking is in the public beach lot a couple of blocks away but right on the banks of Galway Bay.

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I got a recommendation for dinner and a pub and settled in to update all of you and check my mail.

Sadly, each pub in Salthill had wifi that seemed to work long enough for me to order a pint and upload one photo and then  quit. While that gave me an opportunity to visit each of the pubs, it made uploading my epic post impossible!

Thankfully I found a McDonalds on my way out-of-town. after I update you, I will be heading to Sligo where I hope to see Sligo Abbey, Parkes Castle, Knocknarea, and possibly the inside of a laundromat. Wish you were here!

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There Once Was A Girl On Vacation

Posted on July 4, 2013 by isherri

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The first part of my day was a short trip to heaven. I left Dingle and headed west. The sun was peeking in and out of clouds as I drove through the twisting coastal roads. I got behind a big tour bus for a while and that was nice since the road was only one and a half lanes wide. Most of the oncoming traffic just pulled over and let us pass.

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I stopped at the prehistoric beehive homes. It was 2 Euros and a VERY steep walk up a rocky hill but totally worth it. The homes were like tiny rock igloos and even though its summer here, the wind was whipping up the hill and it was 15 or 16 degrees. I don’t know how cold that really is, I don’t do Celsius, but take it from me, it was nippy! I don’t know how the prehistoric people survived, they must have been a hardy bunch.

I continued up the coast. The next overlook was on a hairpin curve that stuck out over the ocean and had a giant marble crucifix on the other side of the road.

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I stopped at all of the pull off areas until I got lost. All of the signs are in Gaelic, they aren’t easy to follow. Thankfully I am a human Tom Tom and somehow ended up on the road back to Dingle. I was behind a tractor on a gravel road going straight up a mountain, but it worked.

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Next up was a trip through Connor Pass. It’s the tallest mountain pass in Ireland. It winds around and many parts are only one lane. It’s kinda terrifying when you see the “Danger” “Turn Back” signs at the start and I was a little worried I wouldn’t be able to see anything when I got to the top because I couldn’t see the top, it was covered in fog.

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It was misty, or soft as the Irish say. But still beautiful. Then I went down the other side, which it turns out is only slightly more terrifying than the way up.

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When I got to the bottom, I noticed a sign that pointed to the beach and there were tons of cows milling around by the water. I thought, “great photo shoot” and made a quick turn. Halfway down the one lane dirt road there was a car stopped to take pictures. When they saw me they moved forward until we all got to the end and realized that the dirt road just stopped when it hit the beach. They were in front of me and there was nowhere to turn around.

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I hopped out to take my cow pictures, cause it looked like we were all going to be stuck there, so why not?

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The ladies in the are ahead of me got out as well. It was three Italian ladies on an 8 day holiday. They had spent the day before driving the Ring of Kerry but were really disappointed because it was foggy and rainy and they couldn’t see anything. I told them weather was sunny and nice on the other side of Dingle. We said our good byes and then I BACKED ALL THE WAY UP THE DIRT ROAD. Did I mention there were ditches on either side? And that I was backing up my stick shift UP A HILL? And there were curves? Impressive, no? Its a lot easier when you know how to put your car in reverse. Wish I’d had witnesses…

It was past lunch time and as I drove I found a pub on the side of the road with a large sign that said wifi. That always appeals to me, so I stopped for lunch. I had bangers and mash and tea. I wasn’t prepared for any Irish driving on Guinness.

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That was seriously the best bangers and mash I have ever had though. Seriously.

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I continued on to Limerick. The city apparently consists of a maze of one way streets and billions of pedestrians who don’t respect the cross walk.

The Boutique Hotel is on one of the one way streets that probably should only qualify as an alley. Naturally I drove past it a few times. Also, I had to park in a parking garage a block away. I don’t remember that from their website. They buzzed me in and gave me the key to my room which was again on the attic level. Since there was no lift, I had to lug my bag. Good thing I only packed a carry on! I couldn’t help but notice the interesting art.

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My room is above the pub. I’m thinking about going there until it closes, since I don’t think I’ll be sleeping!

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It was too late to see the castle, but the shopping district was still open. Since I haven’t found/had time to look for a laundromat yet, I picked up a few necessities. Then I found a pub for dinner/blogging. Tomorrow is a big day, wish you were here!

 

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Words Fail Me

Posted on July 4, 2013 by isherri

West of Dingle is a bit of heaven. I have no words. Only pictures. Enjoy!

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Pub Fun

Posted on July 4, 2013 by isherri

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I wondered why I haven’t found any tea shops but there are pubs on every corner. Now I know!

Last night I was feeling so much better, I decided to have dinner in the pub and timed it so I could stay and enjoy some trad. I had a pint and some beef and Guinness stew while I waited for the music to begin.

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Here’s another lesson for you, friends. You will make plenty of new Irish friends if you sit in a seat that blocks the access to the cigarette machine! Lot of smokers here, though they do it outside so I’m not complaining.

Anyhow, I had to get up every time someone needed a new pack and stand there and wait for them to get it and go before I could resume my dinner. The first young guy was very sweet and super apologetic about delaying my supper. He told me Slea Head was fantastic and not to miss it.

Next was a couple from County Kerry. The wife was so interested in learning more about my travels and was misfeeding the machine over and over. Her husband really wanted to smoke bad and kept telling her to concentrate, but she just wanted to know if I’d met Obama, or better yet Clinton. Turns out she’s a big fan, of Clinton that is. She thinks he’s hot. They got their cigarettes and left but she told me she wanted to come back and have a drink with me later.

Next I met half the band. He wasn’t after the machine, he wanted to plug in the speaker, but I was blocking that too.

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Finally, I met a mum on holiday from her three kids! Jennifer was from County Meath and asked if she could share my table since she was on holiday alone too. We had a lovely chat. And then the band began!

The Shenanigans are two older guys one played a guitar and sang and the other played the accordion. They started without of my favorites Whiskey in the Jar, and then played bunch of other songs many in the pub knew. One of my favorites was Burning Ring of Fire. Jennifer liked that one as well, said it was one of her kids favorites.

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I stayed until the pub closed and when I went to pay my tab, the bartender told me I was not going to enjoy Limerick. Said there wasn’t much to do there. He seems like an authority on fun cause everyone had a great time in his pub, so I’m going to spend a bit more time West of Dingle and traversing the Connor Pass along my way. Wish you were here!

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Dingle All the Way

Posted on July 4, 2013 by isherri

I enjoyed a long, restful night, tucked away in my cozy little attic nook. When I finally went down for breakfast, hoping to get an early start, I discovered someone had blocked me in and I had to sit around waiting for them to leave before I could go. I killed time checking Email (Internet finally worked) and eating another fine Irish breakfast. Really, if you have reduced your carb intake, the Irish breakfast is the way to go.

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The Blarney Stone Guesthouse was only about $60 and included parking and breakfast. The room was small but plush. There were Waterford chandeliers throughout and the breakfast table sparkled with crystal, linen and silver. It was delightful and I wasn’t even bitter that the French couple who blocked me took forever!

When I finally left, my first stop was the Muckross House, recommended by my coworker Chris. She married an Irish man and comes to Ireland quite often to visit the in-laws. I’m hoping to meet them when I get to Egan’s on Friday! Anyhow, I thought I might also walk to the Muckross Abbey while I was in the neighborhood.

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Muckross House is a really, really large Victorian home on the banks of the middle lake in Kilarney National Park. The views are breathtaking and the house is majestic. I bought my ticket, but they only had guided tours only so I had to stand around and wait for the tour to start.

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By the time it started, there were dozens of people, including a few older, slower moving folk and several families with small children. The tour guide told us don’t touch anything, don’t take pictures, yada, yada, yada.

We then advanced from room to room. I was on a tight schedule because of the delays in getting started and usually made it to the next room first, in spite of tripping over the children who were running in circles between people and touching all of the furniture. Then I had to wait for the slow ones to catch up before the tour guide would begin. The house was beautiful with lovely furnishings, but being slowly herded from room to room was killing me!

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It took so long and the weather looked so gloomy, I decided to skip the Abbey and press on to Dingle.

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The ride was exhilarating. It was a lot like riding on the Pacific Coast Highway in California, only at twice the speed on narrower roads with a constant stream of tour busses heading right at you. It would probably be a lot safer if your car had working windshield wipers, but the lack thereof just adds to the adventure, I guess.

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I stopped at the first overlook (and there aren’t many) and when the tour bus pulled in behind me, the driver kindly offered to take my picture. He also suggested I visit Slea Head before I leave for even better views.

The Quayside Inn I had originally booked, which is right in the middle of Dingle surrounded by pubs and across from the marina, had overbooked and emailed me last week to tell me they were moving me to their “superior” property The Dingle Harbour Lodge. It’s a few blocks from all the fun and up a very tall hill. By the time I made it there, the drizzle had intensified so I decided to check in and explore the town and wait to see Slea Head tomorrow.

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I’m not sure what the Quayside Inn is like, but the Dingle Harbour lodge can best be summed up as “rustic”. I unpacked the car and then walked back into town.

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Dingle is a tourist shopping hub! Lots of pubs and souvenir shops across the street from the Harbour. I popped into Murphy’s pub for a late lunch of seafood chowder and a pint. That’s when I discovered we’d all been lied to our entire lives.

I had never been a fan of the Guinness. It was just too harsh and bitter for my taste. But I felt like I had to try one while I was here just to say I had.

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Imagine my surprise when I realized its the best fucking beer I have ever tasted! My friend Rich LaBelle tells me that’s because it’s been pasteurized everywhere but Ireland. Why? For the love of God, why? And why have I wasted so much of my first four days drinking tea?!? No longer, my friends. Tonight at half nine I will launch my rediscovery at a number of Dingle pubs. That’s when the trad music starts and now that I’m cured I can’t wait to hear some live shows. Wish you were here!

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Downton Abbey Comes Alive

Posted on July 2, 2013 by isherri

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Slept in today and it made me feel better but totally forced me to adjust my plans. After another lovely full Irish breakfast, I hopped in the car and set out for Waterford. Although it wasn’t on my original itinerary, I’ve come to realize the potential for seeing a lot of beautiful sparklies at the Waterford Crystal factory and thus adjusted my plans.

It was a lovely drive, mostly freeway, but I have totally gotten the hang of driving here and it was more good practice. I rolled into Waterford and found a spot to park and set off to find the factory. On the way I found Reginald’s Tower, part of the Treasures of Waterford tour. Who wouldn’t want to see some treasure?

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I climbed three flights of treacherous medieval spiral stairs so I could start at the top and work my way down. Turns out Reginald’s tower treasures are all bits of Viking pottery and shit. I moved through quickly and then walked up the hill to the Bishops Palace.

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The Bishops Palace is the second part of the Waterford treasures and in my opinion the best part. I paid for my ticket and entered the house. Suddenly, the butler, Mr. Watwhy came down the stairs to greet us. He warned us about the housekeeper, Mrs. Rickards and then she appeared as well. As they led us through the house and pointed out the various pieces, they also included bits of Irish history. The stories were fascinating, Mr Watwhy and Mrs. Rickards were very entertaining. It was like living an episode of Downton Abbey. Definitely the best tour to date!

Inside the Bishops Palace, there was a Waterford Crystal chandelier worth over a quarter million euros. God only knows how many dollars that is, I can’t do that kind of math. Lets just say a lot. So when the tour ended, I walked across the street to the Waterford Crystal factory. I was kind of hoping there would be a sale rack so I could send all of you gifts. Sorry!

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But I did get some fantastic decorating ideas for my new condo.

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I decided I needed to push on if I was going to try to reach the Rock of Cashel so I skipped the rest of the treasures and left town. I wish I could take pictures of some of the terrifying hairpin turns on tiny little winding roads bordered by massive medieval looking stone walls so you could fully appreciate my talent. Suffice it to say I appear to have mastered this whole driving in Ireland thing. Even with giant tour buses coming at me and two lane roads that are in reality only a one lane road with a line down the middle.

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By the time I got to the Rock of Cashel the rain had let up. It’s an amazing site to see the rock and ruins rising from the city surrounding it. I parked the car and hiked up the very high hill to the gate. I arrived just as another tour was starting. The lovely young tour guide was not an actress in character, but she knew an awful lot about that rock!

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We toured the restored choir boy quarters and then walked around to the back of the ruins. There were very old tombstones all around us and flocks of crows circling above. That’s because it’s nesting season and they have apparently taken over. The view was amazing, which is probably why the ancient kings claimed it!

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The only other part that is still intact is the chapel. We went in there, though the building was constructed entirely of limestone which has caused it to mold. A lot.

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I decided there wasn’t enough time to visit the Blarney Stone. Also, I heard that it was just a place with bus loads of American tourists and people who visit are mercilessly mocked. I drove to Cork instead. My accommodations in Cork were at The Blarney Stone Guesthouse. It’s charming. The decor is very elegant.

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I had an attic room. They don’t have any lifts, so that meant hefting my adorable suitcase up four flights of stairs. They gave me the code to the Internet, a key to the front door, and a brief suggestion for where to go for dinner. I couldn’t get online so I grabbed my iPad and trudged down the stairs. The first place I came to wasn’t open so I kept walking, but the neighborhood seemed sketchy. I finally turned around and returned to the Serendipity Cafe. I don’t know if you know this, friends, but Cork is foodie heaven. The menu was simple and I picked some sort of fish dish while I logged on to their free wifi to work on my blog. After the food arrived, I realized why Cork has earned it’s reputation. That was one of the finest meals I have ever had. Seriously!

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Tomorrow is Dingle, with a stop at the Muckross House on the way. Wish you were here!

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The Road to Kilkenny

Posted on July 1, 2013 by isherri

It was another glorious day in the Emerald Isle and today I began my journey all the way around. The first thing I discovered was that the Aircoach goes right from the Conrad to the airport. And for slightly more euros than a city bus, I could sit in a plush leather seat, surf the web, and not worry about having to transfer. Win, win, win!

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When I arrived at the airport, I caught the shuttle to Hertz and picked up my car. The first car they tried to foist off on me was a Panda. I don’t know who manufactures those but they don’t even have outlets to charge a GPS or cell phone!

I had to take it back and ask for another. The next car was a Ford Ka. It didn’t have an aux jack but I thought they might be getting tired of me at the counter and I should just go with it. Besides, surely they’ll be playing U2 on the radio, right? Wrong!

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I was feeling pretty good about my ability to shift with my left hand and stay on the right side so I hit the highway. I zoomed along, the wind in my hair, the BBC news blaring (most of the radio channels don’t play any music). But I was really dehydrated from all of the cold medicine so I decided to stop at a gas station and get a sparkling water and some lunch.

I pulled in and parked facing a little retaining wall, just like everyone else. I got a bottle of water and a Chicken and Stuff sandwich. I got back into the car and tried to leave, but the car wouldn’t back up. I turned it off, got out, walked around it and got in and tried again. Still nothing. I cursed a bit and hit the gas and clutch together. A few cars came and went. I tried to put it in different gears. They all worked. However, nothing I did would make it go into reverse.

A Ford van pulled up next to me and the driver got out and went inside. When he returned I leapt from the car ran over to his window and knocked, scaring the shit out of him. I apologized several times and told him my car was broken and wouldn’t go into reverse. I asked him if he could call someone for me. He kindly got out and offered to take a look and pulled the almost completely hidden knob down on the gear shift and backed it right out. He was very sweet and didn’t even laugh at me while I was still standing there. And that’s why you should never leave the rental car lot without asking for a manual!

As my trip resumed, I made great time to Kilkenny. My hotel was right along the tiny little main road, so I pulled right in and parked in their car park. They were kind enough to give me a room right away so I headed over the bridge to Kilkenny Castle.

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Kilkenny Castle is glorious! Did I say Malahide Castle was just the right size for me? Cause this one was even better! My favorite part of the tour was reading about a bunch of abandoned castles. Currently there is an exhibit at the castle called Abandoned Ireland. They have photos and stories from dozens of abandoned mansions throughout the country. Fascinating! Check www.abandonedireland.com/#

I also enjoyed walking through the restored rooms of the castle. Originally built over 800 years ago, Kilkenny Castle was owned by the Marquess of Ormonde until he sold it to the people of Kilkenny for 50 Pounds. It makes me cringe to think of that compared to the price of the condo I just bought! Although, granted their upkeep is a bit higher than mine…

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Afterwards I strolled through the city and browsed in a few shops. I walked by some very old and very Gothic churches and did some recon to scout out a pub with live music.

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I got back to the hotel in time to have tea on the side of the river overlooking the castle.

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Since my cold was worsening, I went to my room to take some medicine and when I awoke an hour later it was time to head over to one of the pubs for dinner and some live music. I walked around the town for a while and ended up at Matt the Millers. The music was lame. Not U2, and definitely not as good as my own Tyler Wilson. But dinner was fantastic. I had some sort of famous chicken dish on a bed of mashed potatoes with a side of fried potatoes.

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I ate as much as I could but I started sneezing and hacking and feeling a little feverish so I gave up and returned to the hotel.

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Tomorrow is Cork and possibly Waterford, I’ve heard good things! Wish you were here!

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A Day in Dublin

Posted on June 30, 2013 by isherri

A full Irish breakfast at the Hilton found me ready to tackle the Irish public transportation system and navigate my way to the next hotel.

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The Conrad Hilton is located just across from The National Concert Hall and just down the road from St Stephens Green. Turns out Bus 15 is a straight shot, literally door to door!

My room wasn’t ready, so I dropped off my bags and picked up a map and set out to explore the city. I walked through St Stephens Green on may way. Beautiful gardens, fabulous fountains, and lots of locals out for a stroll.

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I had planned to see Dublin Castle. Sadly, they recently assumed a leadership role in the EU and are closed through July.

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I headed up the street to Christ Church. I’m gonna blame the marathon travel day, obvious jet lag and ever worsening cold for the fact that I had no idea it was noon on Sunday. You know what they do on Sunday in Ireland? Church! So my rotten timing, which had me arriving just as mass began prevented me from seeing the interior, but I did get to hear some amazing bells!

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Not being a church goer, I headed up the road to Temple Bar instead.

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At first I admired all of the colorful rainbow flags all over the city, thinking wow, they really like to play up that leprechaun thing. As I walked through Temple Bar I realized yesterday was Dublin Pride, which makes much more sense when you think about it! I guess most people were still recovering, because there weren’t many people wandering around at all.

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The next stop was Trinity College. I walked along the River Liffey and then down along Dame Street.

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At Trinity College I bought a ticket for the guided tour and a glimpse of the Book of Kells. The tour was fantastic. Marc, our tour guide, was a fourth year student at Trinity and is finishing up before he heads to Columbia in the fall. He was even patient with the obnoxious American tourists who couldn’t wait to tell him how much he would love the states. (He lives at Trinity College! Come on!)

When the tour finished I queued up to see the Book of Kells. Sure, it’s a treasure and all, but if any of you remember my post from viewing the Declaration of Independence, you’ll understand my reaction. Dimly lit, surrounded by glass, mot much to see really. If you ask me, the Long Room was a far greater treasure.

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The Long Room simply screams Hogwarts. It’s 65 meters long and has over 200,000 books. The most interesting thing about the Long Room is that books sorted by dimension and color. While that makes it significantly harder to find a particular book, it looks fantastic! Dewey ruined the aesthetics of libraries, in my opinion!

The sneezing, runny nose, and watery eyes were making it harder and harder for me to stand in a crowd, so I decided to try to find a pharmacy and head back to the Conrad.

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Since my room wasn’t quite ready (totally my fault for being so early!) they sat me in the bar and insisted on providing me with tea. I really, really, really love tea.

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When my room was ready, I headed up to collapse. It was easier when the staff brought me a small tray of gourmet chocolates.

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Tomorrow I pick up my rental car and head out to explore the countryside. I’m much more nervous, having ridden on the city buses, but hopeful that the countryside has far fewer crazy drivers. Wish you were here!

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