Kathy45
Unregistered User
(8/12/01 7:17 am)

Home Again

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I spent 18 days in Ireland, traveling with my husband and my two sisters. We rented a car at the Shannon airport and drove to the Cashel area where we spent our first night in an IHH hostel. The view of the Rock of Cashel was spectacular and we could also explore the ruins of Hore Abbey which was located right across the street. What a great beginning for a great trip.

We stayed 7 Bed and Breakfast locations and three hostels. We spent two to four days in each location. We always wanted at least one more day in each place.

Some of the busy tourist places such as the Cliffs of Moher and the Giant's Causeway have so much space that the full parking lots did not in any way hinder our enjoyment. In other places going first thing in the morning was important. ie Newgrange, Bunratty, and Muchross House.

We bought the Heritage cards on our first day and it was well worth it. There were some places not on the original itinerary that we visited because of the cards. Most often they were wonderful additions. One in particular was the Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetary which we would have missed. Just down the road was a wonderful beach with a golf course between the sand and the green cliffs.

We spent four days in Skerries which is quieter than Malahide. We were able to watch the sun come up over the Irish Sea and later watch it come down over the harbour. There were gray seals following the fishing boats into the harbour to dine on the scraps. We were able to take an express train into Dublin from there.

I know that we will return to Ireland. We loved it.

irrover
Unregistered User
(8/12/01 9:36 pm)

Strandhill Beach

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Kathy,

Glad to hear you had a great time. Your report reminded me of Strandhill, the beaches by Carrowmore, what a delightful place. I'll definitely have to stop there next week. I arrive in Killala, which is just down the road, next Tuesday. I just can not wait. Also to see Maeve's mound on the top of Knocknarea. I have a painting of Knocknarea that I bought the last time there, so this time I'll finally have to make the climb to the top.

Michael

Kathy45
Unregistered User
(8/13/01 8:37 am)

Strandhill Beach and Maeve's mound

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It's good to hear that you had the same feeling for the area. It is a place I definately would like to return to. In addition to the great scenery we had a chance to photograph the soft ice cream 'sculpture' that we had seen in so many places. My sisters are enjoying the 'creamies' with the beach as a backdrop.

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 190
(8/13/01 5:05 pm)

Thanks for the Report!

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Hi Kathy,

Thank you so much for posting your trip report. As you can see everyone enjoys reading about other people's trips to Ireland! Glad to hear that you are thinking of returning to Ireland in the future. If you have any questions on future planning you are welcome to post them here.

Last time I was in Ireland one of my best memories was going to Strandhill on a hot (yes hot!) day and eating ice cream while watching the surfers. The sea breeze and the ice cream made it the coolest place around.

Happy travels,

Michele

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 191
(8/13/01 5:09 pm)

Michael - Enjoy Your Trip!

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Hi Michael,

I hope you enjoy your trip to Ireland. Please let us know how it goes. I really think you will enjoy climbing Knocknarea. If I can do it anyone can! The view from the top is great. Have a wonderful time.

Happy travels,

Michele

Irrover
Unregistered User
(8/13/01 5:37 pm)

Climbing Knocknarea

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Michele,

Thanks, I'll definitely will report back. I'll be spending two weeks in Killala for my cousins wedding so I'll have time to do several daytrips and an overnight or two (Achill and Donegal or Clifden). I've climbed Croagh Patrick which is twice as far (although I'll be chasing my two year old this time). I definitely want to go to Achill for the Cruinniú Bádóirí Acla Yawl Sailboat Race (my other hobby besides Ireland.

Then we have three nights in Dublin at the Conrad (free plus near some nurse friends who have moved home) and then one in Malahide for our last night. Hoping to catch Brian Friel's Translations plus will be there for Irelands world cup qualifier against Netherlands (win and there in I think, tie or lose still have a chance)

Take care
Michael

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 195
(8/13/01 10:44 pm)

Climbing Knocknarea With a Two-Year-Old!

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Michael,

You will want to keep a careful eye on your two-year-old at the top of Knocknarea as there are cliffs on one side that could be dangerous. Also, last time I did the climb there were tall ladders (stiles) that had to be climbed over to cross the stone walls. You might want to carry your child over them.

Enjoy the wedding, relatives, sailboat races and old friends. And especially enjoy being in Ireland. It sounds like a fabulous time. I hope the weather cooperates for your outdoor activities.

Happy travels,

Michele

Kathy45
Unregistered User
(8/19/01 9:26 am)

Home Again

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When I wrote my trip comment I forgot to add that I visited nine of the top ten spots from Michele's list. we had to miss Kinsale which we will visit on our next trip to Ireland. We were fortunate enough to have spectacular weather for most of the high points. The only rainly day was when we were in Kilkenny.

When we were driving on the Dingle Peninsuala we had an interesting experience watching a large tour bus trying to negotiate the narrow curving roads. We sat at the top of the hill by Ryan's Daughter Beach. The bus was large and people had to get out and run ahead of the bus to make sure that cars approaching from the opposite direction had pulled over. About five cars had to back up and move our of the way. It took about 45 minutes for the bus to make it around the corner. He then turned around and headed back towards Dingle Town. I don't know if that was always intended or if he decided that he would not be able to manage the Connor Pass.

We had a good pair of binoculars that came in handy in many of the places we stopped. We are going over our trip and planning where we will go next time. Kathy

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 208
(8/20/01 11:56 pm)

Dingle Bus Driver

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Hi Kathy,

Thanks for the additional info. If you think of anything else we would enjoy hearing about it. I hope you enjoyed the nine out of the top ten that you saw. That bus driver does not sound like a pro. But I'm sure it made for an interesting traffic jam. You never can tell what you will see on Ireland's roads!

Michele

Kathy 45
Unregistered User
(8/28/01 8:04 am)

Bus Drivers

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Although we did our own driving, we saw many buses and most of them were absolutely amazing in how they handled the large buses. It was generally the 'other' drivers who created the small problems. In Clifden there were the usual double parked cars that made the transit through town quite slow. At the end of circle there was a tractor double parked. The bus in front of us drove slowly through the narrow opening with the sides of the bus softly touching the tractors tires.

I think it was more difficult for the tourists who rented cars to negotiate the parked cars. I saw quite a few broken mirrors. Getting a good idea of where the left hand side of the car is while you are shifting with your left hand took some getting used to.

By the end of the trip the roads that we thought were narrow began to look like quite wide. Kathy

FlyHigh
Unregistered User
(8/28/01 11:52 am)

Double Parking

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I love this forum ! It reminds me of past adventures in Ireland. I remember driving through Summer Cove near Kinsale on a weekend. Some chap doubled parked his car on a one lane road in front of a pub. The traffic was backed up for miles. Several people tried to pass his new shiney car only to strip off the mirror and body molding. Several big guys (including me) got the idea to pick the car up and put it in a proper parking space where it should have been all along. Just when we were making progress...the owner of the car came out of the pub...looked at the damage and said a few not-so-nice words...and drove off. I sometimes wonder about these young guys with their fancy cars...if they are so smart to buy one...they should have some common sense on where to park it. Fly-High!

P.S. Michele...I see you got rid of the pop-up adds...THANKS!

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 225
(8/28/01 4:50 pm)

Adventures Driving in Ireland

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Hi Kathy & Fly-High,

Driving in Ireland is always an adventure. One time my mirror got broken off by a cow! We were stopped to let a herd go from one pasture to another when the cow sideswiped us! You never know what you will see or what will happen.

Yes, the ads are gone. I wanted to try out the forum first to see how it worked for everyone before commiting the money to get rid of them. They were very annoying and I'm glad they are gone.

Michele