My first trip to Ireland, taken with my father over the last seventeen days, came to an end on Saturday night. In many ways, we couldn't have been luckier: the weather was superb - a rare exception for an apparently rainy year - and we had no problem with the rental car whatsoever. All of our accomodations, with the exception of a couple, were quite outstanding. Given that I'm still adjusting to the time change, and with about 800 pictures' worth of memories staring me in the face as I upload them ever so slowly to this computer, everything is still a bit of a blur at the moment. A very good blur, though.

We flew out of Richmond, Va. on September 9th and connected in Atlanta. We dodged thunderstorms on the flight out to Dublin, and the flight was pretty choppy at times. Like Michele had told me, however, Delta truly spoiled us with their supreme service. The meal was pretty good, and the inflight entertainment was very nice with a large selection of movies and music to listen to for free. The major problem I ran into was that I simply couldn't fall asleep, I guess because it was a pretty bumpy flight. But we landed in Dublin at 9am and, not having slept in over 24 hours, I was worried that I was setting myself up for a shaky first day of traveling. Indeed, as I had been warned by many, Dublin airport is the absolute pits, and I plan to avoid it at all costs on future trips. The fact that it's under major construction right now only compacted the nastiness of it.

We rented our car from Irish Car Rentals, and their kiosk at the Dublin airport is, of course, the most difficult to find. It's hidden in the very corner of the airport with almost no markage. Our quote for 17 days that they'd given me upon reservation was 565 EUR. Somehow, my final bill tallied 910 EUR, and that was with minimal insurance. Here's where it gets good: when I gave them my credit card to pay for the rental, the card was rejected. I knew I had plenty of funds, so I was confused as to what the problem could be. I'd spent an hour at my bank the previous week explaining my trip to them, and they assured me that my card would be cleared for any "suspicious activity" holds. I called the bank's 1-800 line, and of course they had put a "suspicious activity" hold on my card, which took a good 15 minutes to clear up. The car company was very rude about it all, and the personnel were very surly in general. More on Irish Car Rentals later...

My father had to do all the driving because we only signed up for one driver, him being the oldest. As I'm only 23, they said I wasn't eligible to drive the car because they have a 25+ policy. Good for me, but unfortunate for my father. He adjusted very well though, and somehow I believe he does better driving in Ireland than he does stateside (maybe he feels he has to pay closer attention over there?). Getting out of Dublin proved to be sticky, what with the M50 construction and new toll system. Before we even made it to the M50, however, we took a couple wrong turns at roundabouts, and wound up in a lovely town well north of the airport that I can't seem to pinpoint now. Problem was, we were trying to get to Glendalough that afternoon before our two-night's stay in Stoneyford, Kilkenny. We finally made it to Glendalough, later than we'd anticipated, and it was beautiful albeit a bit rainy (the only washout day of the entire trip). The drive from there to Stoneyford was tedious, long, windy, and rainy, and these elements combined with sleep deprivation and an unfamiliar country made times a little trying. The real topper for the day, though, was one that almost prompted me to throw up my hands, call the airline, and book a flight home the next day...

We stopped in a small town outside of Carlow to withdraw some euro from an ATM, seeing as we had no cash on hand. I typed in my pin; insufficient funds. I was too tired for this. I tried again; insufficient funds. So, I called my bank... again. After several minutes of prodding, it turns out that Irish Car Rentals charged my credit card 910 EUR... EIGHT TIMES! Luckily my bank (Bank of America) was very helpful and accommodating, and they erased seven of the charges. Needless to say, Irish Car Rentals got a big earful from me, and I can only advise the rest of you to steer clear of them: they were rude, the car wasn't in the greatest of shape, and they totally screwed up my billing.

Once we settled at Lawcus Farm Guesthouse in Stoneyford, the day immediately improved. The morning and afternoon had been - truthfully - quite horrible, and both my father and I were feeling very strung out about the events of the day. Nonetheless, something about Lawcus Farm settled us completely; it was a magnificent place. Robin, the overseer of the property, took great care of us, booking us dinner reservations in nearby Thomastown. He gave us directions around the area, and sat and talked with us for hours. He was easily one of the better hosts we had in all of Ireland. And the house speaks for itself: it had more character, charm, and beauty than anywhere else we stayed. The walls are all ancient stone, and they practically speak to you.

The area south of Kilkenny "city" is extremely charming. Stoneyford, as was explained to us by Charlie (a pub owner), is a two-pub town, so is quite small. Very quaint, and not at all touristy, to our delight. Kells priory and town were literally a minute's car ride from Lawcus, and we spent a couple hours roaming the grounds. A must-see, I believe. We also spent a good deal of time in Thomastown, and we really enjoyed it. Again, not a tourist hot-spot, but that was really part of the charm. The people were very real, not jaded by tourists, and very willing to talk to us. From there we jaunted down to Inistioge, one of my absolute favorite spots. It was a planned stop after having seen Circle of Friends, and it didn't disappoint. It was very quiet, and almost void of people. I think we saw maybe five people during our couple hour stay in the town. We had a magnificent piece of pie at Circle of Friends cafe, another 'must' for anyone traveling the area. Our last excursion from Stoneyford was to Graiguenamanagh, which we added in place of Waterford (as recommended by Robin). The town itself was a bit dirtier than the others we'd seen, but it has some charm to it. I can't say I'd reccommend going out of your way to see it. For dinner we ate at a hotel pub in Knocktopher, a very tiny town near Stoneyford. Kilkenny city, unfortunately for us, was a bust. We hit town at rush hour, and we never ever got out of the car. We never laid eyes on the castle, either, which was very disappointing. But we made this trip at the end of the day and were perhaps a little too tired to try harder to find it. We turned in early at Lawcus.

For anyone looking to spend a day or two in Co. Kilkenny, I would absolutely suggest using Lawcus Farm as your touring base. It's only 15 minutes driving distance to Kilkenny city, with Kells right next door, and Thomastown maybe 5-10 minutes away. The breakfasts at Lawcus were outstanding, the rooms were beautiful and comfortable, the animals were friendly and plentiful, Robin was an excellent host, and the site is ancient and stunning. A+ accommodation! The Stoneyford area was an A+ stomping ground for us. Thanks a million to Bit for putting me on the trail of Lawcus.

On our way to Kinsale we stopped off at Cashel... a beautiful back-country drive. Cashel was overflowing with tourists, but it definately warrants at least an afternoon's visit. I can't say I'd need to stay overnight, but there's enough to see in a couple hours. Leaving Cashel, we later had to navigate through Cork city on our way to Kinsale, which was a monstrous task for us. Like we did in Dublin, we took a couple wrong turns, but we eventually worked our way out of it and found our way to the wonderful town of Kinsale.

Kinsale was a lot bigger than we'd expected, and it reminded us of an Irish-flavoured version of Charleston, SC with a small dose of New Orelans mixed in. Shops and pubs we aplenty. So were tourists. We probably made a small mistake by stopping off at Kinsale for a Friday and Saturday night, but it was interesting to see a town so a-buzz. There was plenty to do. We saw Charles Fort, a 'must' for visitors to the area. We spent many, many hours roaming the streets and visiting shops. Our best night of live music also happened in Kinsale, with a duo of traditional Irish balladeers who were really excellent.

Our accommodation in Kinsale was at Woodlands B&B. Thank you, Michele. You really do know your stuff. Woodlands was, as advertised, a wonderful place to stay. Our bedroom and bathroom was enormous and very comfortable. The location was superb, and it was nice to be a little bit out of the frenzy of the town whilst still being a very walkable trek. Breakfast here was also one of the best in all of Ireland I do believe, with a great range of options to choose from. Another A+ accommodation, and Kinsale (despite it innundation with visitors) is certainly an A+ location for touring south and west Cork.

While in Kinsale, we drove a short ways to a very nice beach near Old Head. It was a surfer's haven, and a nice spot to walk along the beach with beautiful countryside views to your back. Leaving here, we perhaps made a bit of a mistake by trying to see Courtmacsherry, which although being a short jog geographically from Old Head, takes absolutely forever by road. We did more weaving around ocean and inlets that I could have imagined. The town of Courtmacsherry is pretty and small, but not necessarily worth the time it took out of our stop in Kinsale. We took the inland route back to Woodlands B&B, going up to Bandon and Innishannon before heading back down to the coast.

The morning that we left Kinsale for Kenmare was drizzly, and having driven much of the Cork coastline the previous afternoon, we took the inland route to Kenmare, with an hour's stop in Macroom (a nice little town in it's own right). The drive was nothing to write home about, however, and we were very glad to get to Kenmare. We were a little hesitant about Lissyclearig Thatched Cottage when we arrived, as it was very eccentric and the luxuries were minimal. However, it really turned out to be a nice base for us. It was about a 5 minute drive from town centre, and it was comfortable, cozy, and unlike anywhere I'd stayed in my life. The breakfasts weren't as excellent as they were at Lawcus and Woodlands, but they were filling and satisfactory enough. Carmel, our host, was wonderful to talk to, and very helpful with directions and day-trip planning. I'd say Lissyclearig was certainly a B+/A- accommodation. The best part: 32 EUR per person sharing, and you absolutely get more than your money's worth.

Kenmare (thank you yet again, Michele) was perfect for us. An A+ town for sure. It was right around the corner from Killarney park and town, and it was perfectly situated for touring the Beara, which I'll discuss shortly. Kenmare itself, however, boasts plenty of attractions. The pier is a beautiful spot to watch sunsets and fishermen, and the cathedral at town's square is a sight to behold. The two main streets, connecting in an X-like fashion, are colorful and full of character. After an entire day spent in Killarney, we were delighted to get the heck out of there and back to our comfortable retreat of Kenmare. And there was plenty of nighttime music and craic.

We spent three nights with two real full days in Kenmare. Our first day we set aside for Killarney. The park itself was magnificent with great views and a very definite peace that you don't find in many places. We parked the car about a dozen times on our way into town, stopping for photo ops. Ladies' View is a great stop for pictures. Ross Castle was a fun visit, and Muckross house was nice (but nothing you haven't seen a million times before in virtually any country, I'd bet). Killarney town was a bit too hectic for us, clearly designed for tour buses and visitors with deep wallets. Like I said earlier, I'm glad we opted out of spending any nights there. Kenmare is such a more pleasant place.

Our second day in Kenmare brought us perhaps our favorite day in Ireland: the Beara Peninsula. Michele and Bit (and many others) recommended that we stay off the Ring of Kerry and replace it with Beara. What wonderful advice! We befriended a couple from California that was staying at Lissyclearig for the same nights as us, and they took took to Kerry while we took to Beara. Swapping experiences later that night, it was clear that Beara was the better choice. They described Kerry as cluttered and generally disappointing, while we described Beara as breathtaking and completely remote. We saw almost zero cars during our entire drive throughout the region and we were glad of it. The scenery was the best I saw during the trip, and I discovered a new favorite town: Eyeries. It's tiny and sparsely populated, but it's got to be the most colorful place on planet Earth. It's also clean, flowery, and set amid a rolling country backdrop. I really hated to leave it. Allihies was another nice little treat, and we enjoyed an hour spent on it's beautiful inlet beach. Castletownbere wasn't as great as some had advertised, but it was on our way around the peninsula. We cut off some of the drive by heading back to Kenmare via Healy's Pass, which I recommended any visitor to Beara. It was a steep, winding drive, but the views were panoramic and breathtaking.

Leaving Kenmare the next morning, we continued our exploration of Kerry by driving to Dingle for a two-night stay. We stopped at Inch beach (along with a heap of other tourists) and got in some nice beach-walking time. I was very excited to visit Dingle, and it didn't disappoint. It's a bonafide fishing village for sure, but it's very friendly to visitors as well. The colorful streets and views of the harbor are a feast for the eyes, and the music and pub scene was perhaps the best we encountered in Ireland. We also met the greatest number of true Irish characters in this town, from the old man who ran the Dingle pottery store (who gave us a full dissertation on the state of the universe), to Mazz O'Flaherty (owner of the Dingle Record Shop and a great musician in her own right), and Sean McCullough (a boatman born in Tipperary who'd been fishing the North Atlatnic for twenty or so years). We spent about six hours with Sean one evening, pub hopping of all things. He had a lot to say and I'll certainly never forget him. A truly great man.

Whilst in Dingle we stayed at Heaton's Guesthouse, located on the main street in Dingle but a few short steps out of the bustle of town. It was an outstanding accommodation, and anyone who visits the area really should give some thought to staying at Heaton's. It's a bit pricey (66 EUR per person sharing), but the rooms are immaculate and spacious, with great showers and mouth-watering breakfasts. It's really like a small hotel, with something like 16 guestrooms, but the hospitality is like that of a tiny B&B. The Heaton family are extremely welcoming, talkative, and friendly people. And the view over the harbor are some of the best in Ireland. Next time in Dingle, I'll not think twice about booking at Heaton's. Another A+ accommodation, with Dingle being a wonderful A+ location.

Another great thing about Dingle is its abundance of attractions, either in town or in the neighbouring coastline. We spent plenty of time wandering the streets, visiting shops, and indulging in great pub music and craic. Of course we took a day to take the Slea Head drive. Of course we picked the windiest day on our trip to do this, and the result was an upper respiratory infection for each of us for the remainder of the trip. But it was really worth it: standing on the beach of Ryan's Daughter and enjoying the views of the sea with the odd sight of Slea Head itself. We stopped at famine cottage along the way: certainly not worth the 3 EUR per person that they charge, but we both wanted a look at it so we had no trouble forking out the cash (as we found ourselves doing quite frequently).

Later today - or tomorrow - I'll follow up this post with the second half of our trip, spent in Doolin, Leenaun, Westport, Athlone, and a Dublin. Sorry to all for rambling so much, but I honestly haven't even said half of what I've wanted to! My head is so stuffed with thoughts and memories of the wonderful trip that I can't stop babbling about it.