Anita
Unregistered User
(5/1/03 1:09 pm)

Three weeks.....week one

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Well, I spent my first four nights in Dublin, a city that surprised me even though I was warned it is a very busy,expensive city. I will say right now that I didn't like the pace of Dublin, and I found it to be on the dirty side. There seems to be construction everywhere, and I didn't photograph a lot of monuments etc. because they were behind scaffolding or surrounded by construction. On my first whole day I did a day trip with Irish Rover Tours out to Newgrange, Monasterboice, Hill of Tara etc. In the end, this was the best day trip I did. Our guide was terrific and provided a lot of history and other information at every stop. On my second day I visited Trinity college and the Book of Kells. A very good display. From here I hopped on one of the hop-on hop-off bus tours and got off at St. Patrick's Cathedral (very pretty), Dublinia (didn't learn much here, but kids love it), and Kilmainham Jail (a fascinating tour), along with a few other stops including Dublin Castle which turned out to be closed due to some special function (I never got back there). I gave up after my feet said no more! The next day I went into the National Heritage museum. This was probably the best museum I visited. It's not large, but very well done,and free. From here I wandered through Merrion Square and St. Stephen's Green, beautiful, except for the not so bright gypsy lady that keeps asking me for money, even though I've already told her NO! I spent the rest of the day shopping and wandering through places like Grafton St.(too busy and expensive), and Temple Bar (very photogenic). On my last evening in Dublin I did the musicla pub crawl. This was very entertaining.
From Dublin I headed down to Killarney by train. It was a very nice trip through the country, and the train was nowhere near full, even though it was a Saturday morning. When I got off the train in Killarney and walked out into the town I heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed so quiet and peaceful compared to Dublin. I really liked Killarney. Even though it is a tourist town, it was very friendly, and it is in such a beautiful part of the country. I got rained on badly in Killarney, though, and I did a day trip to Dingle and Slea Head in the rain. It was still a good trip though, and I think the mist and rain only made for more dramatic photos.Those steep rock cliffs are made even more stunning with the waves crashing up against them. I also did the Gap of Dunloe tour which turned into a bit of an adventure due to all the rain. The first part of the tour you make a quick visit to Ross castle on the shore of the lake, then board a small open boat to travel across the lake. At some point you have to pass through one of the narrows that join the lakes, and this is where things got interesting. Because of all the water the first route we tried was too much for our little boat and its small motor, so we headed for another route. This one seemed even worse with what looked like two foot rapids running under an ancient bridge. Our guide had us all get out of the boat and we tied it to a tree. He headed out to do a bit of scouting and returned about five minutes later saying he thought we could make it, but we would have to pull the boat! He got a couple lengths of rope and a life-preserver from the boat, then we all hiked up and around the bridge to the other side of the rapids. We then strung the ropes together, tied one end to a tree, the other end to the life-preserver and floated the rope back down to the boat. Our guide then got back in the boat and with the combination of the motor and people-power we got the boat through the rapids. Back in the boat on the other side we were all quite wet by now as it had been raining on and off since we started out. Once we got to the other side of the lake we had the option of either walking the seven miles through the gap, cycling (some people had brought their bikes on the boat) or taking a jaunting car. Four of us got together and took a jaunting car. By now it had stopped raining, and the rain actually held out for our ride in the cart. Our pony, Daisy, was a willing participant, occasionally breaking into a gallop and letting us know why they call it a jaunting car. The scenery was stunning even with the clouds and mist. I wish I had had more time in Killaney as the weather cleared up the day I was leaving, but I guess it's just another reason to back.

Anita.

CatMoore
Unregistered User
(5/2/03 5:55 pm)

Bus/Rail Passes

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Hi Anita!

Did you end up getting the bus/rail pass? If so, how did it work out for you?

Thanks!

Cat Moore

CatMoore
Unregistered User
(5/2/03 5:58 pm)

OOPS!

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I just read your other post about the rail/bus pass... Thanks for the info!!

Cat

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 1460
(5/16/03 10:58 am)
 
Week One

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Hi Anita,

Thanks for your trip postings. It is valuable info for those on a budget who want to take public transportation and stay at hostels. There is nothing like first-hand experience.

They really made you work for your Gap of Dunloe trip. You should have gotten a discount!

Michele