Hi Michele (with one L),

Welcome to my forum! There will not be a lot going on in the Westmeath area at the time of year you will be there. You should check on opening times before making a long trip for sightseeing. You will be quite near Fore Abbey and also Loughcrew passage graves (if you are into antiquities). South of Athlone is Clonmacnoise monastic site, which is well worth seeing. To the east is Bru na Boinne with Newgrange and Knowth. I believe Trim Castle is open on weekends at this time of year. There is Locke's Distillery in Kilbeggan. Birr Castle Gardens are open all year as is Belvedere House.

I, too, am wondering about the Cork portion of your trip. Perhaps you will elaborate on your plans? 

I am with Bob on Limerick. There are some interesting things to do and see in the city such as the Hunt Museum and King John's Castle. But it is not worth going out of your way for. 

From Lusk you will need to get a bus into Dublin City. If you were staying in Malahide you could get DART.

Give me some more info and I will help.

Michele

Michele:

I concur with Bob and our forum host -- one can certainly stay clear of Limerick -- although there is some valid historical intrigue, to me it is one of the dirtiest, most unappealing places in Ireland. And King John's Castle is an over-priced tourist trap -- many other castles in Ireland are much more interesting than that one, which is commercialized and surprising boring.

Although County Cork has some wonderful things to see, I personally wouldn't stay in the city. In my opinion, to get a real feel of Ireland, you need to get into the small villages and talk to the people there and experience that charm. Some of the communities in West Cork and on the southern coast are just great, and you will enjoy the people there.

Have a tremendous trip!

Sid

-- Edited by Sidz at 10:45, 2008-01-28

I've had two trips to Ireland, the most recent in September. I've never taken traveler's checks. I use our ATM card (has to be cirrus or plus) and withdraw from the machines in Ireland. It draws from your checking account. There are ATM machines in the airports and all larger towns. Most places take credit cards. If you get euros here in the states, you won't get a good exchange rate.

Have fun planning.

Merlene

There are ATMs everywhere, and that is indeed the way to go and the best rate. Many B&Bs will also take credit cards, but it is good to always have some cash on hand for those in the smaller areas that don't.

When using credit cards for purchases, always make sure they charge you in Euros -- not dollars. There is conversion trickery that goes on if it is charged in dollars.

Here is how Michele explained this matter last year:

When you are in Ireland if you let merchants charge you in US dollars it is called dynamic currency conversion. They will add on a percentage for themselves and thus make extra money while you pay extra for them to do the conversion. If you charge in euros (or pounds sterling) they do not get an extra percentage from you. That is why many of them insist on doing it. Unless you feel like handing over an extra 3 to 6% to these kindly merchants who are doing you a BIG favor by helpfully converting it for you, DO NOT LET THEM DO IT!

-- Edited by Sidz at 16:52, 2008-01-28

Thanks, Michele,
We're reading and trying to absorb as much of your helpful info as possible before we arrive in Ireland.  Being first-time overseas travelers, it's alot to take in.  Your tips are so helpful! 
~Michele

Just returned yesterday from our first trip to Ireland, and we had the luck of the Irish the entire stay!  Can you believe, we were there for 7 days in February, and it did not rain on us ONCE??
We found the people to be charming, and the country as beautiful as everyone says. 

I took almost 1000 pictures  during our stay and we made the most of our time there, without trying to push ourselves too much.
My husband managed to catch on quickly to the driving, while I was blown away by the gorgeous, hedgerowed countryside.  (How can it be this green in February??)

We started out from Dublin Airport to the Lough Bishop House, a B&B in County Westmeath.   We stayed 2 nights on this working farm, and enjoyed visiting with Helen (a transplant from England), and her husband, Christopher.  The bed was very comfortable, the shower wonderful, and the breakfast very ample and tasty.  We found we had alot in common with our hosts, and I'm afraid we kept Helen up much too late on our last night there, because we were having such a great time telling stories.   This was definitely the PERFECT way to be introduced to the country! 

While staying at the Lough Bishop house, the first afternoon we traveled to Fore village to see Fore Abbey, which Helen recommended, and was NOT on our "list of must-sees".  It was awe-inspiring to see these structures and ruins, much off the beaten path, but well-worth an afternoon's visit.  Just the thought of seeing with your own eyes something that is medieval makes one realize how very young our country really is!  I couldn't stop taking pictures.  (a bit obsessed by the history of my surroundings, I'd say)

On day two, we traveled a short distance to the town of Trim and walked the castle grounds there, while enjoying the fog off the river Boyne to make our experience that much more authentically Irish    We walked through a few of the small shops and met an elderly shopkeeper who volunteered us an overwhelming abundance of Irish history and pride.  He entertained us with his vision of Ireland, and made us feel very welcome in his little town. 

We went on through Tullamore (just a drive-through.......didn't see anything we needed to stop for), then stopped at Durrow because I saw an old church and cemetery I wanted to snap pictures of.  What a delight it was to find a gentleman there who was working on the geneology of the churchyard cemetery "inhabitants".  He talked to us at length about his work, and all the sights he had seen in the United States, while visiting there.  We had a good laugh because he has been in more of the states than we!  He directed us just up the road to the Durrow High Cross site.  It was closed for refurbishment, so we just glimpsed through the wrought iron gate there. 

On to Mullingar, just for a drive-around, then to a tiny village called Multyfarnham to enjoy a wonderful meal in a charming bar/restaurant called Weirs.  We were early, so got the table right in front of the fire.  Our meals were excellent and the prices were very reasonable.

On day three, we sadly told our hosts at Lough Bishop House goodbye, and headed down to Cork City.  We stopped at Birr to stroll around the castle grounds and enjoy their hospitality. 

After a leisurely drive down from Birr, we managed to find our B&B (Gabriel House) in Cork City easily, and found it was a 5 minute stroll from the city center, so went down to find a bite to eat.  We were a little travel-weary, and went back to our B&B to enjoy some much needed rest. 

From our Cork City "hub" we travelled the first day to the 3 K's, Kilarney, Kenmare, and Kinsale.  We found Kilarney to be a fun town to shop for souveniers, discovering all the side streets and vendors. We steered clear of the Muckross house and Ross castle, in order to take in a couple more towns.

In Kenmare we had a wonderful meal at The Horseshoe Pub, after traveling the rocky, mountainous roads down from Kilarney......an absolutely beautiful trip! (of course, stopped in several spots to shoot pictures).  I found this to be a "Fairy Tale" village full of color and charm.

We got into Kinsale later that afternoon, and walked around, after stopping by some church ruins, and an old cemetery enroute.  Another beautiful drive through craggy country, dodging sheep a few times who had broken through their fences.   (You don't see this in Illinois!)  We had a good meal at a pub called Muddy Maher's in Kinsale and just stayed for awhile to watch and listen to the locals.  A friendly place, with great food.   Then back to Cork to our B&B for a good night's sleep.

We spent the next morning in Cork City, amazed at all the shoppers, and totally enchanted by the English Market there.  We had a wonderful lunch at the Farmgate Cafe', overlooking the market, and found it a spectacular place to watch the people there.  After picking up a boxed cake in the market at Heavenly Cakes, we went back to our room to devour it.  (Indeed it WAS Heavenly!)
 
We then drove down to Cobh, and I'd have to say this was my favorite little town (if you forced me to choose).  The history, the color, the beautiful coastline, and the cathedral on the hill were all I needed to make me say, "I don't want to go home!"  We spent the afternoon here, and my husband had to drag me back to the car so we could take in the sights of Youghal before we left the area the next day.  Another lovely coastal town.  After a couple of hours, we grabbed a bite to eat at The Quay's Bar.  The meal was wonderful, and surroundings warm and inviting.

Out from Cork the next day...............to be continued.