If someone has not been to Ireland, and you try and tell them about how different Guinness is there, you probably will not be taken seriously.  But you are so correct -- completely different.

I can't drink one of these rank amateur brews they call Guinness here, but over there a good switch between of Guinness and Smithwick's keeps me going.

And I concur with the other points you make as well!

But wasn't it great fun?

Best regards,

Monty

-- Edited by Monty on Friday 9th of July 2010 02:33:04 PM

The trip over- June 14-15
We had booked our flight out of Houston, a 3 hour drive from Austin, because I was able to get plane tickets $200 cheaper per person.  The drive and the initial flight leg to Philadelphia was fine.  Unfortunately, the Philly to Dublin leg was a nightmare.  I am generally unable to sleep in airplanes so was expectly a relatively restless evening but unfortunately I had managed to book our seats with 2 babies in the row in front of us, 2 directly behind us and another one behind us to our right.  Ugh, what were the odds?.  To make matters worse, one of the babies was ill and managed to defecate all over her father about 3 hours from Dublin so the combination of smells, intermittant crying and having my chair constantly being bumped by a particularly rampant toddler behind me made this flight probably my worst ever experience on a plane.  Oh, and absolutely no rest.

Arrival in Dublin was a relief.  I found the airport to be rather dirty and it appears to have outgrown its original design so it is quite inefficient.  Dan Dooley's rental desk is rather out of the way and there was a bit of a wait as most of the passengers I arrived with seemed to have rented with them as well.  Overall, my car rental experience with them was good although we are still haggling over my deductable (I bought max CDW so only had a 100 Euro deductable).  They still have not credited it back to me...

Anyway, we got on the road heading north on the M1 to get to the Bru na Boinne center.  As I had anticipated some weary bodies after our flight, I had purposely left some ambiguity in our schedule with very much a "play it by ear" attitude for Day 1.  We eventually arrived at the site and got our first taste of 2 of the characteristics we would come to know quite well over the following 10 days, the tiny, winding roads (as mentioned in my first post) and the truly godawful lack of sufficient signposts.  I pride myself on my sense of direction and actually found the process of getting lost to be somewhat interesting but the insufficient signage (or complete lack thereof) was really, really shocking.  Advice for fellow travellers...rent a car with GPS!!!! 

The Bru na Boinne Visitor Center is really nice and I highly recommend it to others.  We arrived and I asked to buy Heritage Cards (Great deal BTW).  "Sure thing" they said "but a tour is leaving for Newgrange right now, do you want to go and we'll figure out the cards and payment after?" So!  Off to Newgrange we went.  My impressions of Newgrange are that its well worth a visit.  There is a good tour, its set in an absolutely gorgeous valley and the structure itself is really impressive and interesting.  A quality start to the trip.

We returned to the visitor center and got fixed up with our Heritage cards.  I could see energy levels in my group were already starting to flag after the horrible flight so I relectantly ruled out a visit to Knowth.  Desperate to eat, we sat down at the cafe in the basement of the Visitor Center.  Advice for fellow travellors...Don't do it!  Overpriced food that ranged from bland and uninteresting to borderline inedible.

We got onto the road to travel to Trim, the base for our first nights stay.  Depending on how we were feeling we planned on visiting Trim Castle either that afternoon or first thing in the morning.  We drove through Navan (It struck me as being quite charming) and after a wrong turn, got to Trim in about an hour.  I had told Anne at Crannmor House we would be arriving significantly later so when we got to her B&B, she wasn't there!  Decision made: a visit to Trim Castle was in order!

We really liked Trim Castle, a very large castle with an extensive set of grounds.  Our tour guide, Linda, was absolutely outstanding.  She discovered this was my son's first castle visit so she went out of her way to include him in her discussions, prompting him to ask questions and generally making him very involved.  He loved it and Trim Castle was his favorite stop on the whole trip.  From the top of the tower, we were able to see the Hill of Tara, some 30 odd miles away I believe as it was a brilliantly sunny day.  Absolutely gorgeous stuff.

After this we went back to Crannmor House and Anne had gotten home.  I'd definitely recommend Crannmor, the grounds are beautiful (Anne and my wife immediately had a 30 minute conversation on gardening) and the rooms were comfy and Anne is extremely friendly and engaging.  She cooked a good breakfast too.  She recommended we eat at Dunderry Lodge down the road that night which is an interesting place as it looks like you're driving down a country lane to nowhere, then suddenly it appears on your right.  I had my first Steak and Guiness pie (excellent) but the women in my party both got seafood platters.  To their horror, "Platters" apparently means "Irish sushi" and both of them have a deep aversion to raw fish or meat so unfortunately they disliked the meal.  Another lesson learned!

We got back to Crannmor House and forced ourselves to stay up until 9pm or so before all dropping off into deep slumber.  Finally, some rest!

More to come...

Day 2 started with a drive from Trim to Belvedere House just south of Mullingar.  My overall impressions of Trim were, besides the castle, "meh".  An ok town with little to recommend it from our very limited time there.  The castle is worth a look though.  Anyway, on to Belvedere House and we arrived about 20 minutes after opening time.  No one was at the front desk so we wandered into the cafe area asking if we could pay someone...nope, they told us to walk right in.

Anyway, the grounds at Belvedere House are outstanding.  The Walled Garden is beautiful and there is a little mini garden in the far back corner that is geared towards children a bit (lots of hidden faeries and the like).  The rest of the grounds are heavily utilized by locals for walking, jogging and the like as there are miles of trails to meander across.  The house itself is interesting and it has an ok tour (we did the "self" tour since no one was around!) but the view the entrance is stunning.  The house is at the top of a small hill and the view extends outward to the lake and the surrounding area.  Gorgeous stuff.  There are several "follies" on the grounds as well as the original owner was a bit of a nutter and there is some connection the the Narnia books as there were displays all over the place.  Finally, there is a small petting zoo and playground for smaller children.  Well worth a visit overall.

After spending a couple of hours there, we piled back into the car and meandered over the countryside towards Clonmacnoise.  We didn't see much of interest in between Mullingar and Clonmacnoise and managed to miss Athlone altogether.  Clonmacnoise itself is pretty awesome, a sprawling ruined settlement with several towers, churches and other structures in a setting right by the Shannon.  A nice tour was highlighted by the Whispering Arch which, if you don't know, actually works!  Very odd and interesting.

Back into the car and on to Ballyvaughan.  Since we were taking a lot of back roads we managed numerous wrong turns and confirmed that the general road insanity is pretty constant across Ireland.  Off the N66 towards Kinvarna we stumbled on Kilmacnough, a largish ruin in the middle of nowhere that had a small parking lot and a sign stating "If you want into the church, come get the key across the road".  The sad looking little house didn't seem to be occupied but we wandered around for 15 minutes or so.  Pretty typical ruin but neat if you like that sort of thing (like me).

Finally, we arrived in Ballyvaughan around 7pm and made our way to Cappabhaile House about 1 mile south of the village.  Cappabhaile House is a different sort of B&B, more like an inn as it was clearly purpose built and has comparatively huge rooms and bathrooms as well as a spacious dining area and a gaming room with a pool table.  Friendly folks there in a gorgeous setting.  I woke up at dawn the next day and walked outside to see the sun rise in the Burren surrounded by cows.  Very surreal experience.

We ate in Logue's Lodge, which is also a B&B apparently.  The food was excellent and reasonably priced (got a 10% discount as we were staying at Cappabhaile House) and I would recommend it worth a try for those in Ballyvaughan.

It was an exceedingly long and tiring day, 2 major and 1 minor attraction combined with a lot of driving. 

More to come...

Hi Zstep, I just read your first post and it's hysterical! Yes, the Guinness is quite different...love it in Ireland. I laughed so hard at your driving details...I myself drove my mom and dad over 1100 miles in Ireland and only crashed up the car twice...Once was the ROK when a tour bus came flying down the road, twist and turns, blind spots galore...my only option was hugging the rock wall to my left, which took off the passenger side mirror!!! CRUSHED!!! Thanks for the laughs and I can't wait to finish reading!!!

Maggie

Zstep,

Glad you enjoyed the Shores. It is a fab B&B. Did you know that Annette is a self-taught cook? She is just amazing. One thing you should never ask her is where to go shopping. She could be Ireland's shopping guru. You would not believe how cute she decorated her daughter's room. She even found a shocking pink desk chair...in Ireland!

I agree that the Cliffs of Moher are impressive. It is just that I remember them when there was nothing there but nature. The new facilities spoil it a bit for me now.

Looking forward to more of the continuning saga.

Michele

I look forward to your next post! I'm going to Ireland in October and staying just on the north side of Connor Pass. Your comments make me even more excited. I can't wait! Please, finish your story.

Zstep, 

There is a ton more to see around Killarney. That is why tourists are drawn to it like a magnet. Some travel writers dismiss it as being too touristy but I think it is a fine town for what it is. It makes a great base for much of the SW. 

Why do I get the impression that you don't like shopping?  That's why the Irish invented pubs. So the gentlemen can settle down with a pint and the ladies can meet up with them later. 

Michele

Kilkenny

I liked Kilkenny a lot, especially the medieval feel of the central part of town.  Also, my wife informed me that the shopping was significantly better than the other "tourist towns" we had visited on the trip so far (Dingle and Killarney).  Ultimately, I didn't get to spend as much time here as I would've liked (a common refrain on this trip) for a couple of reasons.  First, we were starting to get really tired dashing from place to place.  Second, my idiot uncle in law almost killed himself in a motorcycle accident back in Texas and this proved a big distraction.  We hadn't checked our e-mail in a few days and once we were able to, my mother in law started freaking out.  Apparently the Idiot (as he shall be henceforth known as) decided to take a quick ride to the store wearing a wife beater, shorts and flip flops.  He clipped a curb and crashed, managing to break 2 toes, 4 ribs, 3 vertabrae in his back, 2 more in his neck and crushing his orbital bone on his right eye (not to mention the road rash).  Dumba**.  Anyway, this put a major damper on our arrival in Kilkenny and there was some thought I would need to drive my mother in law to Dublin for an early flight back (she essentially raised him after their mother died when he was 2).  He's fine now and he should be very, very thankful his girlfriend is a nurse who was willing to take care of him 24-7 for a while.

Anyway, like I said, I liked the town.  Kilkenny Castle was an interesting place but certainly is not a castle, more of a huge Victorian/Georgian mansion.  It also had a huge outdoor setting which is essentially a park.  Very good park for the kids too (Junior gave it a huge thumbs up).

We had meals at the Kyteller Inn (a bit campy but amusing and decent food), Marble City (Yummmmmmmmmmm) and Little Italy (overpriced and mediocre).

Driving from Kilkenny, we decided to take a slight detour for some scenery.  The Nore Valley is absolutely stunning.  The stretch from Bennetsbridge to Thomastown to Inistige to New Ross was just gorgeous, especially around Inistioge.  Well worth a look.

From there we progressed to Wicklow National Park and Glendalough.  Coming into the park from the West, the stark mountains were very beautiful and somewhat reminded me of portions of the Rockies at very high altitude.  Fascinating stuff.  The entrance into Glendalough is a bit startling as there isn't much warning that a settlement is ahead until you're right on it.  Once there though, it is easy to see why it was settled.  One of the most beautiful and peaceful settings I've ever been in.  We spent a comfortable couple of hours exploring the near environs and happily packed up for the final leg of the trip to Dublin.

No matter what anyone says to you about traffic and driving in Dublin, it does nothing to prepare you for the reality.  The complete lack of street signs, pardon me, visible street signs, made the experience completely bewildering.  Only by chance did we see a street name that corresponded with a spot close to our destination so we managed to get to Amberley House after only 2 or 3 missed turns.

Amberley House is a cheaper B&B just off the City Centre.  Its in a slightly less desirable part of town (Lower Gardiner and Talbot) but we found it perfect for our needs.  I had to park around the corner in a garage but the customer service was outstanding and the rooms were reasonable enough.  The one negative was the shower was extremely cramped but considering we got 2 rooms for 109 Euro (they had a mix up so gave us too small a room.  Ended up giving us an extra room for 20 Euro) I wasn't complaining, especially considering the exhorbitant prices I found in Dublin.

Ok, only 1 post to go!  Only took me 3 months...

Ok, I think this is my last entry into this thread to complete the trip my family took in June.  (!!!!)  We spent our final couple of days in Dublin.  We were located just off the City Centre so spent most of our time walking around.  On our first day, the girls went off shopping (blast you Annette for all of your suggestions!) in the morning before heading off to their concert in Marlay Park in the evening.  Junior and I meandered about, first stopping at a silly live motion dinosaur exhibit (Junior is dinosaur mad so insisted on going in and seeing it.  Waste of 20 Euro that was) before we took the light rail to the zoo located in Phoenix Park.  It turned out to be quite a walk from the rail stop but we finally arrived for a looksee.  My family are zoo afficionados since Junior is so animal mad but I was extremely impressed by Dublin's version.  It was surprisingly large and had excellent flow (there is a man made lake in the middle with exhibits all around the perimeter) and had a large variety of animals, some of which we had never seen before.  Excellent zoo.

We returned to our B&B where I deposited Junior with my Mother in Law and I went in search of a pub to try to watch the US/Algeria World Cup match.  Sadly, they only showed one match at a time in Ireland and so I got stuck watching England versus Slovenia with a bunch of Irish guys.  It proved to be extremely entertaining as the entire crowd was passionately anti-England and I spent the afternoon talking to a Northern Irish guy named Dennis who seemed to believe every possible stereotype about Americans that could possibly exist.  High comedy.

Anyway, the wife and daughter loved their concert and came home happy campers about midnight.  The next day (our final full day), we walked to Trinity College (nice but I expected more for some reason) and I did the Book of Kells detour.  They have an excellent exhibit leading up to the Book of Kells and I found that more interesting than the book itself which is under glass with only 2 pages visible.  Exiting from there leads you to the Library which is absolutely awesome.  Huge room, millions of books as far as the eye can see, that was worth the price of admission as well.

Leaving Trinity, we meandered about the area, stopping at a couple of museums. Natural History Museum was good- Junior loved the endless stuffed animals but I really enjoyed the National Archaeology museum which had Bog mummies, Vikings, Gold treasure, Egyptians, etc etc.  Really great museum, highly recommended for those of you who like that sort of thing.

We made our way back to the City Centre via St Stephens Green (gorgeous and very relaxing) and Grafton St (shopping insanity).  Whomever suggested the Celtic Whiskey Shop is a genius, really neat place.  I picked up a bottle of Green Spot whiskey there (yummmmmmmmmmm) before we trudged back.  Early the next morning, we flew back to the States.

So what did I learn?  I learned that:
*Dublin is ok but a lot like other big cities I have been to.  The real charm is in the countryside.  People were friendlier in the country too.
*Spending one night a stop is maddening and you don't see 1/30th of what you want to.  Must spend multiple nights in one location (duh)
*I need to see more of: The Nore Valley, Kilkenny, Killarney area in total, The Burren, the SE part of the country in general
*I want to spend more time in: The Dingle Peninsula- absolute favorite part so far
*I've seen enough of: Dublin, Trim
*I didn't see but want to: Galway, the Northwest, Kilmare, Roscrea (Meagher fatherland!!!!)
*People lied to me about the weather.  It was 80+ degrees the entire time we were there and it rained a total of 5 minutes in 10 days.
*The roads are increasingly horrible the farther west you get.
*The food was generally underwhelming.  I'm a picky guy and I'm sure some of it was the locations we ate at but definitely not a strong point.
*Dan Dooley was incredibly easy to work with from a rental car stand point.  I bought some scratch remover the day before I returned the rental and rubbed out all the scratches the car got during our rambles in the west.  No charges upon return.  Also, there is a gas station half a block from Dan Dooley's pick-up/drop off point.  Ridiculously easy to fill up right before I dropped the car off to avoid the full tank charge.
*Confirm that pulling money daily was easiest once my initial store of cash was spent.
*If you're looking for tourist trinkets and that kind of junk for people back home, Dublin is by far the best place to acquire that sort of thing.

I'm sure I'm leaving out loads of other tidbits but I'm think I've recorded most of them in the many entries on this thread.  I want to thank Michelle again for all the assistance she provided me, this site was a real lifesaver.  Everyone else deserves a thank you too, this place is a real font of knowledge about Ireland and its goings on and I wouldn't have as good a trip as I did without it.

Thanks everyone!

Really enjoyed your report, especially the summary of things you learned.  I agree about Dublin.  While much to see there, that is not why I leave the United States to come to Ireland.  If I want to be with large numbers of Irish in a metropolitan setting, I'll go to Chicago!

Great trip report. great read. Thanks.

I read in many reports that Dingle is the place many would spend more time. 2 questions... 1- Is it a huge tourist area? I try to avoid high traffic areas..and 2- would a cottage in dingle be best for 4 friends traveling or other recommendations?