cjmford
Unregistered User
(9/10/03 11:12 pm)

Back from trip in August

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Ok, I ‘m going to try this again. Spent two hours one night writing about our trip. Went to send it. Had a problem. Lost the entire message. Is it possible to save messages on your forum, Michele and proceed another day?

Returned from our 12 day trip August 13 – 25 with my husband (Irish) our 18 year old son (into Irish ancestry) and his girlfriend (also Irish)

Loved:

The Irish people – their hospitality, happy, friendly demeanor

Getting to meet my husband’s cousins and learning about the genealogy – his family welcomed us (unannounced – no listing in phone book) to their farm in Gilchreest, Co. Mayo. We saw a real (Muckross-type) farm, with pigs, cows, border collies, chickens, turf, and a special treat- a two-day old calf. We saw the thatched-roof, stone cottage that his grandfather was born and raised in, and his grandfather’s baptismal font – that was salvaged from the nearby church after a fire. His cousin had traced the family history to a women and child down the road back to 1750! We “took a drink”, shared stories, had tea and sandwiches on white bread with crusts neatly cut off. My son met his counterpart (third?) cousin Brendan – his age. It was a wonderful day for my husband. He was so jazzed after that visit. I’m in tears writing about it! (His mother died when he was eight and he was raised in his grandparents’ home. When we went to Dublin, many of the row houses looked much like his home in Middle Village, NY. No wonder his grandparents settled there.

The Rock of Cashel

Dingle – the town, peninsula, Conner Pass (especially having to maneuver past two RVs stuck in one particularly narrow section). We saw them the next day and knew they made it through. Gallarus Oratory, Krueger’s Pub, Slea Head, Inch Strand.

Killarney National Park - Torc Waterfall, Ross Castle, Muckross Farms, Friar’s Glen B&B, Molly Darcy’s Pub

Galway – the city center; pubs & music Trad for us, Rock for the kids; Knockrea B & B

Kylemore Abbey – even though it rained through the Connemara

Dublin – Hop on, hop off bus tour; city center; Clontarf Castle Hotel, Book of Kells; excitement of Gaelic football semi-finals

Kilkenny – city tour with Padric; the feeling of medieval times

Pub music, conversation and camaraderie


Guinness – didn’t discover it until halfway through the trip; but it reminded me of Starbuck’s Iced Americano – three shots!

Irish Coffee – OHHHH the cream. Best one I had was at Durty Nellie’s in Bunratty

All of our B & B selections (Prices as near as I remember them):
Launard House - Kilkenny ( E32 pp) – scary narrow (walking) road to town
Friar’s Glen – Killarney – dark, scary, narrow (walking) road to Molly Darcy’s Pub. Beautiful setting in the Nat’l Park, nice rooms – E50 pp
Dunlavin House – Dingle E32.50pp – watch out for the eaves in the bedroom. I almost knocked myself out getting into bed. Still have the lump on my forehead.
Headley Court E30pp – but this is the furthest B & B from Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. I would choose something closer, like Bunratty Villa.
Knockrea Guesthouse E37.50pp – easy walk to town center and Galway Bay
Four Winds – Castlebar – E29pp no reservation, Mary Pierce – lovely hostess
Holiday Inn – Dublin Airport – the nice thing about this is that you can walk to the airport for a bus to Dublin and we had one room to a family, which made it less expensive. We used Priority Points. E189/room – rack rate w/o reservation; E109/room internet special. Shuttle to the airport
Clontarf Castle Hotel - Dublin– E99 –internet special with breakfast – very nice Thanks Michele for this find!

The unusual warm weather we experiences

Michele’s Book and these forums - Highly recommend

Hated:

Driving in Ireland – the roads, signage, everything! We drove 998 miles and I hated every minute of it. There are no numbered addresses in Ireland, just poles with 30 B & B signs pointing in every direction. I did like the signs painted on the road itself that said SLOW…..SLOWER…..VERY SLOW. This is what I was yelling to my husband!

Irish pay phones – never could get the hang of them. I lost a lot of money trying to figure out what numbers to dial, how much and when to deposit coins (AFTER they answer, NOT before.) US prepaid cards do not work in public phones, only in B & Bs. Michele, your book could use a whole page on this issue.

Not being able to find a place to stay in Navin and missing Newgrange – only one of two nights we didn’t have reservations and there was an outdoor “Red Hot Chili Peppers” concert in Slane and no place to stay within 50 miles. We drove to Dublin and paid rack rate at the Holiday Inn. We were happy to find it. My husband and son were checking out a field to sleep in.

The humidity in Dublin (due to the unusual warm weather)

The plane trip home – we had a German family with two toddlers seated in front of us, who screamed, kicked, yelled and misbehaved for 11 hours.

The showers – terrible pressure, very tiny, but hot, most of the time. Now I know why Europeans don’t shower much, including the couple in front of us on the return flight.

The exchange rate

Gasoline prices

Tips:

I did extensive research
Vouchers are more expensive than making reservations over the internet and you have more flexibility.

Our best car rental was found on Aer Lingus website, through Hertz. We used M/C platinum for insurance and saved hundreds of dollars. We were upgraded from automatic compact (Corolla) to mid-size (Allero, I think). It was a bit scratched-up, but nobody noticed the few extra scratches we added from the hedgerows.

Don’t expect much room in the trunk (boot). We each had a carry-on roll on and a back pack. The roll-ons fit in the trunk like a jig-saw puzzle – only one way and two backpacks stayed with us in the seats. Plenty of seat room, though.

Don’t bring $100US bills to Ireland. Banks will not exchange them. Use CC whenever possible, ATMs next and I wouldn’t bother with traveler’s checks.

Irish food – I have a very fussy family – We filled up on Irish breakfasts – juice, fruit, toast, eggs, bacon, yogurt, cereal, sometimes French toast, coffee/tea. Then we did either late lunch or early dinner, mostly pub food – toasties (grilled ham//cheese sandwiches); soup and brown bread (soup always creamed); chicken, chicken, and more chicken – always good; pizza – ok, as long as you’re not from NYC; baps – sandwiches on rolls, mostly chicken, veggies, ham or cheese; Irish stew if you like lamb, otherwise no; some pasta and steak (filet – only ok, not great); chips, chips, chips…(French fries). We had a couple of good dinners in restaurants – Kathleen’s in Bunratty for one, and a disastrous expensive Chinese dinner in Kilkenny. We got fries with Chinese food! Oh by the way, I was the only one who had fish. In Ireland Scampi means fried???? Good, but not what I expected.

Buy a gallon (couple liter) jug of water and a few sports bottles and fill up in the car. We also snacked on fruit, cookies, gas station fast food and ice cream while we drove long distances.

Buy Connemara marble in Connemara. We never saw much of it after we left the Connemara, even in Dublin.

If you want to listen to Irish music in pubs, get there early. It much nicer if you can see the musicians and you can milk a drink. There are no waitresses for drinks that we could see and no one pressures you to buy drinks, like they do in the states.

Don’t believe Irish estimates of “walking distances” unless you’ve seen the Quiet Man a few times! The distance is not too bad, but the roads may be treacherous.

Bring a flashlight or two for those “walks to the pubs” on the dark, narrow, dangerous, roads.

Have fun.

All in all we had a wonderful trip. Thanks Michele for your wonderful book-- helpful advice personally and on the website.

Chris

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 1862
(9/23/03 1:47 pm)

Re: Back from trip in August

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Hi Chris,

Thanks for your great trip report and suggestions. We were delighted to help with your trip on the forum. I loved your lists of what you enjoyed and didn't!

Michele