Ireland Trip Journal

IRELAND   

from our journal

May 20, 2002        

 So here we are waiting for our plane to Boston .  I have never flown over that much water but for some reason I’m not too nervous.  BWI is busy and we must have waited 45 min. in the check-in.  Of course we got the “new person”.  Earl realized we were not sitting together to Boston so I corrected that and have to change it in Boston for the flight on Aer Lingus.  Security went well.

 We took this small commuter plane to Boston .  About 14 rows – one person on one side two on the other.  We flew over NYC.  Actually it was a nice flight.  Logan is a mess – in mid-reconstruction.  It looks very old – little seating but most of the people seem nice.

 We boarded Aer Lingus about 7:45 .  It’s an Airbus 330.  Some mouthy kids are about two rows in front of us.  There is a man we keep running into.  He’s taking his son to Ireland to golf.  Our flight takes off and we fly over Bangor , ME and Halifax , Nova Scotia .  The flight is going well – we are eating and we hit terrible turbulence near Newfoundland , We went up and then really dropped.  I was waiting for the oxygen masks to fall out.  The flight attendants weren’t seen for about an hour.  I think I slept but not much and not soundly.  

May 21

 We landed at Shannon Airport about 6:30 their time about 1:30 our time.  We got our car from Dan Dooley – a Ford Festive  -5 door.  Earl – I know is leery of driving- Shannon is in a rural area so that is help and the road is like Alt. 40 and the Dual Highway (faked us out). While driving from the airport we saw our first castle – Bun ratty in the village of the same name.  It is a tourist haven  - there is a folk village and shops.  We also saw a castle ruin. Earl did well and we were about 10 miles from the 2 Mile Inn where we are spending the night.  We checked in about 8:00 and slept until noon .  Paul and Pat Elba suggested that and it was probably the smartest thing we did.   The showers are different and so is the rest of the plumbing – good but different.

 We decided to go see Limerick – with directions from the very nice staff we had no problem finding what we wanted to see.  First stop is King John’s Castle on the River Shannon (largest river in Ireland ).  The river was swollen and moving very fast.  The castle has a long history being built in 1200-1200.  It played a large roll in the history of Limerick and the surrounding area.  We saw several slide shows and toured.  There is also a great deal of archeological digging going on.

 Next stop was St. Mary Cathedral – it’s the oldest building I’ve ever been in built in 1168.  Ti was Catholic but Henry VIII changed that and so it’s still Anglican.  The stained glass windows are beautiful.  There was a carving done in 1401 that we could touch.  There are many people buried there.  The alter is the longest in Ireland , the ceiling is wood but all of the walls are masonry. We just kept finding new things to see in the Church.  They charge a fee to get in and I would assume since 90%-95% of the population is Catholic not too many people go to the Anglican ( Church of Ireland ) Churches.

 We just grabbed a burger at this snooker parlor near the castle – actually the pubs were closed until later.

 When we went back to the hotel we went to an Irish Coffee reception held by Scepter Tours (we booked through them) Glad we did – the woman who talked to us really made sense and we realized we weren’t going to get to see all we wanted – so we dropped the Ring of Kerry.  She warned – told us about the roads – waiters don’t expect tips and other info.

 For dinner we went to Bunratty Castle and had a medieval banquet.  We were usher in and served mead – wow is that good.  The castle is established on land that the Vikings established - this rendition being over 500 years old.  We had parsnip soup- smoked spare ribs, chicken with potatoes and mixed vegetables.  The only eating tool was a knife and we were served soda bread which we were to find out must be the national bread – served everywhere.  It’s brown and actually looks as if it were made with oatmeal.  We were entertained by a violinist and a harp player (national instrument).  The waitresses were singers who entertained after dinner.  I thought the violin play was weird - he never made eye contact with the crowd and just acted odd.  Of course if I had to do that 5-6 nights a week I’d be odd (odder) too.  It is a real tourist thing but was fun and a nice way to celebrate my B-Day.

 May 22

 We got up and ate at the Two Mile Inn.  Free for Scepter Tours .  Off to the Burren.  We took the food to Ennis N18.  Lovely town and of course narrow ” Main St .”.  Earl’s doing well staying on the wrong side of the road.  We located at “Burren” info center in Kilfenora- that was a bust.  We saw a lovely castle on the way to the town of Carran , Lemancagh Castle .  Carran is the home of the Irish Perfumery.  It’s been in business for 31 years.   We walked around the grounds – pet the dogs and cat.  They have all kinds of herbs and flowers.   They had a good slide show on the Burren.  There are 28 different kinds of orchids that grow there.  It almost has a tundra look and is covered in many places with rock.  The pamphlets tell it much better.  A large part of County Clare is taken up by the Burren.  When the British occupied Ireland – County Clare area helped keep their Celtic music alive.  There are many Celtic crosses in the graveyards.  There is a grave in the Burren that is 5,000 yrs. Old.

We could walk out on the rocks to see it.  The rain stayed away until we finished our walk.

We had lunch in Ballyvaughan, on Galway Bay – very lovely spot.  Earl had his first Guinness – really dark.  He had seafood chowder and I had crabmeat on open sandwich.  It was very good and served with salad.

 The Burren still seems to rule the landscape.  Off to the Cliffs of Moher, We drove along the coast and saw dolphin- the coast is very rocky here and lots of water splashing against the rock – breathtaking scenery.

 The Cliffs were crowded but beautiful.  Six species of birds live there but I didn’t see any Puffin (admen). 

Several idiot people walked out on a ledge.  At one point the wind was so strong that I could not take a picture – it kept moving my hands.  We noticed a lot of German tourists.  There is a castle type building near the top of a hill on the Cliffs.

 On to Tralee and our first B&B.  The roads weren’t the best- make ALT, 40 seem wonderful and the Irish drive way to fast.

 We came down the coast to meet the car ferry to County Kerry , which is across the River Shannon from County Clare .  The River Shannon is the largest in Ireland .  Some the secondary roads are pretty bad.  We think we didn’t take the main road to the ferry because the road was awful – narrow.

 Made the ferry in Kilimer – 12 Euros – which we thought was a little high – it was a short trip.  Took N69 to Tralee .  On the way to  Tralee we went though a town called Listowel.  It’s a lovely town and a heritage town.  Wish we could have toured it – running a little late.

 Drove in town passed the B&B and had to come back.  The Dooley’s run it.  He makes Julianne Pipes.  They have a lovely home and she’s gracious.  She served us coffee and/or tea and cookies upon arrival.  Mrs. Dooley told us about Stoker's Pub– great dinner.  Irish coffee was very good.  We walked around the down town area of the town.  Some really nice shops and many pubs.   The town was larger than I thought it would be.

 May 23

 Had a very good breakfast.  Scrambled eggs – bacon that is more like ham, orange juice (which is served a lot) toast (not the soda but white bread soda bread is still served).  They have the best coffee and you could have cold cereal.  Tomatoes are served with breakfast – Irish tradition.  Mrs. Dooley is wonderful.

We set off for the Dingle Peninsula .  We had wanted to do the “Ring of Kerry” but we just don’t have the time.  Next time.

The Bay of Tralee is lovely and we rode along it on the way to Dingle.  The road is not the best but the scenery is spectacular.  Mountains dotted with sheep - I never saw so many- the ocean and the houses and farms.  People paint a spot on their sheep – we assumed in case they got out it would be the only way to identify your sheep.  The mountains are lovely.

 Dingle is an old fishing village and tourist spot.  Lovely town.  We went into a produce market.  They have everything and it looked great.  Bought Peggy a necklace in a jewelry store that was made by a local artisan.  As we continued driving away from Dingle we could see the mountains on the Ring of Kerry across the bay.  The mountains looked like they were carpeted in green.  Of course we had some rain but not awful.

 We are on our way to Cashel and we want to find the Blarney Woolen Mills in Blarney .  I drove a little on good road.  We ate lunch in Macroon – nice meal we shared a table with an elderly couple as the place was packed.  That is the first time noticed how the Irish eat.  I thought for a moment that the four people at a table were left-handed then I noticed that they hold their forks in their left hand turned over and use knives to help push food onto the back of the fork.   I really don’t understand that since the fork has such a shape as to holed food almost bucket shaped.

 We found the woolen mills and skipped Blarney Castle and kissing the stone.  Earl said he’s always wanted a sweater from the Aran Islands .  They are signed buy the maker.  I got a wool coat.  I believe the mill sells a little of everything made in Ireland .  There was Waterford crystal – it just shines.  There were all kinds of linens and crocheted things.  It was a real good place to shop.  We are having our purchases mailed home and that seem to be a good choice.  I got a sweater coat-long.

 We drove around Cork and it’s the second largest city in Ireland .  It’s the only town/city so far that the road has not gone through the Main St. areas.  In most of the towns we’ve been through you could step out the front door and be in the road in three steps.

 We drove into Cahir.  We wanted to see the castle but we were too late to tour.  The castle was on the River Suir.  The rivers seem to have strong currents but they also had a lot of rain.  The castle was used in the movie “Excalibur”.  There were new home on the road into the town – must be growing.

 Houses here are larger than I thought they would be, not sure how the Irish afford Ireland .  Gas is over $4 a gallon.

 We are spending the night in Cashel at Ashmore House- in town.  We walked to the rest/Pub.  I had fried cod and chips-very good.  The fish was lightly breaded and pan-fried.  Had Diet Coke in 12oz. bottle.  Talked to several American couples there- one couple docks their boat in Solomon’s Island .

 Cashel is a larger town then I thought.  The Ashmore House is very old and has high ceilings with a wide foyer and long stairway.  The gentleman of the house was in the Merchant Marines and traveled a great deal.  The house is over loaded with bric-brac and lots of junkie things.  It needs cleaned out – too many pack rats live here. 

 We got gas this am and it was 35 euros which is about the same as the dollar- I think the euro is 8 cents less.

 May 24

 We had a nice breakfast and are off to Navan after visiting the Rock of Cashel.  Last night on the news the weather said that a large, strong storm went through the area and expect some gale force winds – sounds good.

 We are walking to the rock and the weather person was more than correct – I thought we’d get blown off the hill.  St. Patrick is supposed to have tried to spread Christianity and preached there.  I bought a book on the Rock.  We went into a coffee shop on the way back to get our car.  It was also a bakery – darn.  The coffee shop was on the second floor and more pastries too.  I got a crème and Earl had a scone.  It was a lovely spot.

Off to Navan.  We stopped at Port Laoise(leesh) to see the Rock of Dunsmare.  It was a very old castle/church – and like a real castle it was at one time an enclosed town on a high mountain in the middle of a plains area.  The view was wonderful and the wind died down some.  An Irish character named Strongbow received this castle from his father-in- law. This would be in the

Dunamase is a very important part of Irish history – I looked it up when we got home and printed out paper about it.  It needs work done on it and is miserably labeled.  We ran into – rather Earl did to two women from Wales .  We enjoyed talking to them. One of them was in the States on 9/11 – her son lives in San Francisco .  

We have to take the beltway around Dublin – everyone says not to drive there.  We finally figured out the M before a road number means Motorway – actually a dual lane highway and bypass.  Going through Kildare was awful.  It is Friday and there was quite a back up from Dublin .  At least we are going the other direction.  The main problem with the roads here is that they all go through the towns and of course that slows everything.  We took the M50 around Dublin .  There was a lot of traffic even stoplights at the turn-about.  We found our Rt. N3 to the B7B in the village of Killmessan near Navan in County Meath .

 On the way Earl stopped and took a road going to the Hill of Tara.  The mounds are as old as 1100BC.  The pagan Kings of Ireland used Tara for religious ceremony and also political causes. Many people over the centuries are buried there.  Tall fences were built around the mounds.  There are ridges remaining were fences were built – replaced generation after generation.  The wind almost blew us off Tara .  I don’t think I was ever outside in a wind like that.  Hurricane force.  There is a church near Tara and it’ an un-concerted Church of Ireland (Anglican).  It was Catholic before HenryVIII.  It’s called St. Patricks.  He preached at Tara and there is a statue there of him.  The church is used as an information center and has a wonderful film on the “Hill of Tara” (nothing to do with Gone With the Wind).

 We asked directions to Killmessan and found the Village B&B.  Very nice place – great room.  We were directed to the Station House for dinner, a 4 star restaurant.  It was wonderful. 

 Teresa who runs the B&B has done a history of the area and there is a copy for customers.  It led us to Becktive Abbey – just down the road.  It’s located on the River Boyne.  It was the second Cistercian Abbey in Ireland .  Jan 14, 1147 is said to be the date it opened being in existence 20 yrs before the Normans .  We went through a gate within a gate keeping Holstein cows in a field.  We crossed the field and climbed over a stonewall on small stone steps.  There was some guy in the abbey – gave me the creeps but Earl toured the cloister and I waited upstairs.  It’s a beautiful location.  

They did a dinner for two for 39.99E.  That included appetizer- soup – meal- dessert and coffee.  I had penne pasta – Earl had baked cod.  The waiters/waitresses wait on everyone – no assigned areas.  Of course we looked like hobo – wind blown etc.  When you go in there is a bar area and you sit there – we were a little early for service.  Have a drink and then someone gives you a menu and comes back and takes your order.  When you are escorted to your table a person with a basket of bread comes and offers several types  - I got walnut –yum.  I ordered penne pasta and Earl got baked cod. We got a bottle of wine from Chili – very good CYT.  While I had walnut bread Earl got sun-dried tomato and of course butter.  I ate more butter this week than the past 5 years.  There is also a hotel at the Station House that I’m sure is wonderful,  in fact it’s mention in our Ireland for Dummies book.  When you go to leave you pay at the main desk and you’re billed for the number on you table.  In Ireland tipping is not expected, but we did ask the man to add 20% for the service.

May 25              Dublin Day

 We asked our hostess the best way to get to Dublin other than driving.  We were going to take a local bus but she suggested going to this town - Blanchardstown and taking a town bus because they come on a regular schedule.  Teresa was surprised we even wanted to go because it seems a lot of the people think there is not much to see.  The bus was a double decker and we sat in the front row on the top (it was enclosed).  The cost was E 1.40 one way.  What an adventure.  We left from in front of the only shopping mall we’ve seen.  

Dublin is pretty much what I thought.  The River Liffey runs right through the city.  We arrived about 10:30 .  We found our way to Trinity College in search of the Book of Kells.  We paid for a tour and that included admission to the Book, Our guide had been at the college for 18 years and we’re not sure what he did for a job (tour guide I guess).  He was pompous.  He talked about how old the college was being made into a college by Q. Elizabeth I.  He talked about the different additions and how many students go there today –15,000.

 We toured the Library world famous because of the millions of books and that for every book published in Great Britain – one goes to the library.

 The Book of Kells is 1000 years old – had written on----------------------- by Monks.  They used semi-precious stones ground up to color the book.  They used semi-precious stones ground up to color the book.  It’s written in Latin.  The book was know to exist but had been stolen.  It was found in a field near Limerick .  We walked through the “Long Hall” of the library and it’s lovely.  In the Library is a harp thought to belong to Bru Boru once a king of Ireland .

 Then we walked to find “ Christ Church ”.  All of the Cathedrals were Catholic until Henry VII and so with Christ Church and it’s a wonderful Church.  There is a charge to tour – they explained by saying the Church’s receive no help from the government.  I think the Anglican Church probably has a small attendance because this part of Ireland is very Catholic. The stained glass windows are glorious and Earl can’t get over that you could touch a carving done in the 1420’s.  The church was built in 1120. The church has a very large crypt and absolutely lovely Celtic design tile floors.

We walked around an area called Temple Bar.  We had lunch at an open organic food vendor sale.  About 20 vendors were selling from oysters-meats- baked goods-candy and hot foods.  Earl got vegetable curry.  I had a pastry with mozzarella cheese- olives and peppers- very good.  We went to a coffee shop and we were the oldest people in the shop – I think.  Other than Centennial Park during the Olympics and DC after the 4th of July fireworks – I’ve never seen so many people in one place.  It’s wall-to-wall people.  The little side streets are full of shops-pubs and cafes.  In Dublin (where we were) there is not only a pub on every corner – there is one every other building.  We walked over HaPenny Bridge over the River Liffey.

 We located our bus #39 back to Blanchardstown .  Actually we missed the parking area Teresa suggested and we parked near a Mall.  Honestly there was a mob of people there too.  We got a Coke at a Burger King-also saw a Pizza Hut and McD’s.  We were hunting an Irish Whiskey Jim Zepp asked Earl to find for him.  While driving through Blanchardstown I’d seen a liquor store and they seem to be scarce.  Earl made it back to that store  - not sure how he did that.  They had one bottle and they’d sold one in 4 yrs.  So while we were there another man did say we could follow him to another of the Malloy liquor stores.  He hopped in the car-our mouths dropped – we thought we were following him in a car.  Of course we had witnesses who knew him.  He was from Scotland and came to Ireland 4-5 years ago for work.  He’s ready to go home.  Anyway no more whiskey for Jim – must be the last bottle in Meath.  

We found our way to N3 and back to Dunshaughlin where we found an Irish Chinese Rest.  Every table was reserved except one.  It was pretty good- I liked it more than Earl.  It seems every town has at least one Chinese eat in or carry out.    This place seemed rather upscale or so they thought.  We managed to find our way back to the B&B.  There are two wonderful castles near Killmessan.One of them is Dunsany Castle which is used today and lived in as a home.  We did drive through their gate and up to the castle before we realized it’s occupied.  The other castle is Killeen , which is only open by appointment, but to me it is the most beautiful castle that I saw.  It was far off the road but looked just like I would picture a castle in my mind.

 The Village B&B is pretty much located in the center of the Kilmessan and a good location to tour County Meath .  It’s very close to the Hill of Tara and we never would have seen the castles and abbey.  We want to get an early start tomorrow.

 May 26

 We left the B&B around 8:30 off to New Grange.  On the way we saw another abbey near Screen.  It’s a ruin but nonetheless wonderful to see.  We got to New Grange f- you can see it in the distance-the mound and the white quartz stand out.  There is a wonderful visitor center – in fact the very best one we’ve seen on our trip.  We walked through part of the exhibits waiting for our 9:45 tour.  You can tour both New Grange and Knowth but that’s a “3 hour tour” so we really thought we’d just see New Grange.  We walked out to meet the shuttle bus.  We crossed the River Boyne.  What a lovely valley.

 The tourism folks did the right thing controlling the crowds with shuttles and you actually can be delayed getting into the visitor center if it becomes too crowded.

 We had a great guide – she explained about the burial portal mounds and how many there are – New Grange being the only one you can walk into.  It’s 5,000 years old- older than the pyramids (they love that one).  They found some bones in the chamber.  The people were mostly farmers.  They used the closeness of the river to move giant stones in a type of boat and to the quartz the used.

 Near Dec. 21 around 9:00am the sun comes in a portal over the entrance door for 17 minutes it illuminates the chamber.  There are circular carvings on many of the rocks and zig zag markings.  The dirt on top of the chamber weighs about 300 tons.  They built it and placed the rocks so that water runs away from the chamber and it was and stays dry.  Which is amazing since the River Boyne below was almost over its banks.  There was a calm feeling to be standing in the chamber.

 We chose a good time to come because by getting there early we beat the busses.  We left about 12:30.

 Off to Trim to visit a castle.  It’s the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland.  We had lunch in Trim in a little eatery.  I had a chicken w/cole slaw and onion on a baguette about the length of a sub roil.  The chicken was in cubes – very good.  Had a Diet Coke in the small bottle again.  Earl had ham and we shared chips – a good thing since they gave us tons.

 Off to the Castle.  We had another good tour guide.  The castle was built in the 12^th century by Hugh de Lacy who also built Dunsany near Killmessan.  His son ended up adding and at one time many people lived within the walls for protections.  It’s located the River Boyne.  There are no floors left so catwalks have been used and we used the winding stairways.  We saw where one of the rooms had a toilet type set up.  The waste went outside to a slop pit – it had to be stirred and the ammonia that is caused by the waste helped kill fleas and other germs and bugs.  The castle was a set in “Braveheart".

 Off to Port Laoise for our last night.  We ate in town at a rest/pub.  My dinner was stuffed shells with mushrooms and bacon and 5 lbs. of cheese – yum.  I got dessert – ice cream – Earl had Irish coffee.

 Mrs. Saunders our hostess was very nice.  She and her sister own a vacation home in southern Spain.  She said many Irish live in Spain in the winter.  She has traveled a lot but not to the States even though she has family in Connecticut.  We want to get a good start in the morning – afraid traffic will hold us up.

 May 27  

We get up about 6:30 even though our flight is at 1 and we’re only 95 miles from Limerick.  We don’t want to be held up in traffic, which Mrs. Saunders says can be awful.

 We stop for breakfast next door to the Two Mile Inn.  We were early for the rest urant though they serve breakfast.  Traffic is okay and we’re early.  We checked in the car – that went fine.  Mirrors are intact and no accidents.  Plenty of dirt from the mud in the car.  

We shuttle to Shannon Airport.  Checked in – went thought security.  Bought more Irish whiskey and a jug of Bunratty Mead for Judy and Jim at the duty free shop.  The worst part – carrying it. 

 Plane was much better flying home than going.  The worst part is landing at Logan Airport in Boston.  What a mess.  We have to get an American Eagle to BWI.  It has about 14 rows – one person on the right and two on the left – just like we flew up on.  I didn’t cry – almost.  Actually it was a smooth ride.  I swear we flew over Ocean City.  We did fly over Annapolis and the Bay Bridges.

 Customs in Boston was random and we didn’t get checked.  Earl had to empty his carry-on.  Mostly whiskey.  Two hats got left- damn.

 Our truck was fine.  It had water in the bed so we trash bagged our stuff – good thing because we had a terrible storm near Ellicott City.  Ate dinner at a Chinese Buffet (shocking) on RT. 40.  We lost 5 hours so we got home about 3am Irish time.  We’re pooped.  What a great adventure.  Beautiful country – good company – nice people –great experience.

 Ready to go back but I would have one day where we did nothing.  IRELAND IS WONDERFUL !!!!