Green hills, grey stones, and Guinness: Ireland 2006

China Cat · Veteran Member

Green hills, grey stones, and Guinness: Ireland 2006

Michele Erdvig · Host

China Cat,

Thanks so much for starting your trip report. I am enjoying all the details. I'm glad to hear your husband did a fine job driving. Those tour buses are arrogant and think they own the road. My husband plays chicken with them. It gives everyone a thrill!

Sorry to hear you didn't sleep much in Dublin. It can be a noisy city. That is why I prefer sleeping in the suburbs and going into the city for the day.

I'm looking forward to the next chapter. Keep it up!

Michele

China Cat · Veteran Member

Tuesday morning we went to Hertz and picked up our rental car. We had a pre-paid rental through O'Scanlain. I don't remember the exact price, but we rented a full size automatic transmission, and it was roughly $700 for 12 days. This was the best price I found by far, even beating Auto Europe. And they gave us a larger car than we booked. If you do rent through Hertz, use O'Scannlain, not Hertz directly. Prices are better, and some of the terms of the deal are better (more on this later). Overall, we were quite pleased with them.

MrC is a Boston driver. This is quite suitable training for Irish driving! In Boston, the streets are narrow and unmarked, the drivers are insane, and the street plan was laid out by wandering cows. In Ireland, the streets are narrow and unmarked, the drivers are insane, and the entire countries street plan has been laid out by sheep. We felt right at home! The only difference is that in Boston, there are no longer cows wandering the streets. In Ireland, the sheep are still laying claim to the territory!

We escaped Dublin with no incident. Mom and I reminded MrC often to drive on the left, but he became accustomed very quickly. At one point, we found ourselves behind a large tour bus. This was actually a good thing, we thought, because we were positive this bus was also going to Glendalough, and we would be able to follow it. And it would clear the way in front of us, as tourbus drivers own the road, and all those in their way must drive into a ditch. but we did run into a little problem. We were driving through a small town, and got to a not-quite-perpindicular 4 way intersection. The bus (and us) wanted to drive straight across. There was an 18 wheel truck on the other side that also wanted to come through this not quite straight intersection. It has already pulled out so far, that it is now blocking all 4 streets, but cannot make the turn past the bus, given how narrow the street is (and the line of cars and buildings on either side). The truck needs the bus to back up. We are behind the bus! so we back up as far as we think we can. Mr C is still a little unfamiliar with this SUV, and is uncertain where the back of it is. There are many cars behind us now. The bus backs up a little bit.

now, from behind us, a taxi driver zips out of the lane and at 50 mph, squeals through the opening between truck and bus. Taxi drivers are jerks no matter where you are!

the truck pulls forward a bit, but still cannot fit through the intersection. The bus driver gets out of the bus, and comes back towards us. MrC opens the window "We need some room. Can ya move back?" he asks. Mr C replies he's willing, but is unsure how much space he has behind him. "I'll help you out, go ahead then" and he gets behind the car and starts motioning us to back up. Mr C slowly drives in reverse...the bus driver keeps waving him "you've plenty of room, keep going!" We roll back a little more, a little more...then THWACK! we've hit the car behind us. The bus driver calls out "Well, that's it for YOU then!" and hops back on to his bus. Hmmmm....we really hope he doesn't back up his bus the same way he guided us! I'm a little paranoid as the bus rolls back towards us. but he stops. And the truck manages to get through the intersection.

After that we often use the "touch" method when parking, or backing up. It seems to be expected :}

We finally arrived at Glendalough around 11:30. What a fantastic place! When I saw the tour buses in the parking lot, I was afraid that the crowds would be a downer, but it wasn't so. Its such a large area, that it was possible to sort of get between the tour groups, and have a nice look at things. And the setting is so beautiful. We just walked around and admired the buildings for a while.

We had lunch at the hotel restaurant right near the grounds. I ordered a very odd sandwich. It had tuna (canned), pesto, roasted red pepper, and corn on a panini, toasted. No mayo or anything. It was very good, but seemed like a very weird combo to me. Considering the place was clearly a tourist trap, I thought it was fine.

After lunch we made the short drive up to the parking area at the upper lake. It seems a bit crazy that they charge you 4 euro just to park at the upper lot, but there you go. There weren't very many people up here. We stayed a few minutes, to enjoy the peace, and the view. The lake was smooth as glass. It was overcast, and the mist was floating down the hillsides.

]

After leaving, we drove on to our B&B in Kilkenny. Before we left, I printed out directions for each leg of our trip using the Ireland Roadwatch route mapping site. I had a section in my trip notebook devoted to these route plans. And they were great...we actually never got lost. We missed a turn occasionally, bu we always knew when we missed it. I also had the Ireland Survey map book. The combo was great for getting around. You can order maps direct from Ireland here: Ordnance Survey of Ireland

Anyways, late in the afternoon we arrived at our B&B, Alcantra. Its a very nice, small b&b. Our price was quoted as a block: 2 nights, 2 rooms for 3 people was 230 euro total. Quite a good value, I thought. Our room was cheerfully decorated, and looked out on the garden. Mom's was a twin room, that looked out on the front of the house. Beds were comfortable. And the breakfast here was very good. I particularly liked the fresh squeezed orange juice, and the home made sesame seed scones. (None of us was all that big on Irish breakfast. I don't like any of the meats or puddings they serve, generally. We ate a lot of eggs). Also, Brigid made real coffee, in a french press. this was the best coffee we would have, and the last time we would have really good coffee on the trip (with one exception). It was a nice touch. The b&b would be a long walk into town. We drove, and had no trouble parking in a big lot.

We drove into town for dinner and ate at a pub our innkeeper had recommended called Marble City Bar. I had a burger with some kind of local cheese on it. It seemed sort of like brie, but I don't know exactly what it was. Tasty though. We also tried the local beer, called Kilkenny Ale. I liked it, but not as much as Smithwicks. Actually Smithwicks, Kilkenny and Guinness are all from the same brewery, and I believe it was originally headquartered here in Kilkenny. So we made sure to taste all 3 local brews. Smithwicks (pronounced Smit'icks) is my favorite.

Wednesday -- was the day for Kilkenny. After breakfast, we drove into town and parked the car. We walked up to Kilkenny Castle to take the tour. Once more, no indoor photography allowed :(

The inside was nicely restored, and furnished. But the grounds and outer architecture was probably more interesting. There is a fabulous rose garden.

After that, we walked around town. I had downloaded Corey's Kilkenny Walking Tour, and it was very helpful in guiding us around town. We liked Rothe House, which is a small tudor merchants house, with some historical displays inside. And we visited St Canice Cathedral, which has excellent stained glass. It has a round tower which one can climb for great views of the city. But most descriptions said not for the out of shape, or claustrophobic. And as I am both, I declined to climb. Looked like it would be nice though. And we were enjoying a very sunny, clear day.

Dinner that night was at Langton's, the restaurant inside the hotel of the same name. A nice meal, but nothng special. I did try Bailey's cheesecake here for the first time. It was pretty good, but even better was the butterscotch sauce they served on it!

China Cat · Veteran Member

Thursday -- we left Kilkenny, heading south out of town. Nice winding country roads until we arrive at Jerpoint Abbey. We were having a typically "soft" Irish morning, with showers. When we arrived at Jerpoint, we looked at the indoor exhibits briefly, waiting for the rain to stop, and the tour guide to arrive. It was nice that they had umbrellas here to loan.

The guide at Jerpoint was the best we had at one of these sites. She was really charming and knew her stuff. I suppose it was helped by the fact that the 3 of us were the only ones on this tour...it was early, and perhaps rain scared off the other tourists. She showed us carvings, and told us stories about her favorite apostles, such as the ones show in the sculpture below:

Jerpoint is a really nice Cistercian abbey ruin, with a partial cloister, and some interesting decorative carving. Its definitely worth making a side trip to.

From there, we drove on to Cashel. We would stay that night at Joy's Rockside House (80 Euro/night double; 60 euro/night single). If you look at their website, you can see they are literally a stone's throw from the Rock of Cashel. We got there too early to check in, but we could park the car and go find lunch at a pub in the town of Cashel. We walked around a little bit, visited the tourist office, peeked in the shops. Then around 2PM we walked up to the Rock. And it started to rain again. But this couldn't put a damper on our enjoyment of this site. The rock is one of the most imposing castle/church ruins I've ever seen. And like Tara, its a place that is so rich in history and tradition, you can't help but feel it.

It was however, quite crowded, with several busloads of tourists. We did go on another guided tour here, but it wasn't the best. Maybe cause it was drizzling on us the whole time, maybe because there were 40 people on this tour, but I would have skipped the guided tour, if I had to decide again. But I wouldn't skip the Rock!

We had dinner at Legend's Restaurant, a fairly well known and expensive restaurant right around the corner from our b&b. I had a salad with baked goat cheese, and rack of lamb, and a chocolate steamed pudding for dessert. I was unimpressed with the food, at the price. It was okay, but pretty indistinguished for an expensive meal. Also, the service was very slow. And as we had tickets for the Bru Boru that evening, it was annoyingly so. We arrived at 6:30, and barely got out before 9PM. It took them 20 minutes to bring dessert! which I wouldn't have ordered, if I knew it was going to take so long.

After dinner we went right along to the theater at the Cultural Center for the Bru Boru, billed as an evening of music, dancing and fun. I had reserved tickets to this, because I knew we wouldn't be hitting too many pubs, and I really wanted a chance to see a bit of traditional music. I'm SO glad I did. We absolutely loved the show. Its not real long, but they have a bit of everything. The tenor singing Irish ballads was really fantastic. The dancing was very nice. We heard all the different instruments...Irish flutes, bodhrans, uilean pipes. And the performances were all excellent. I highly recommend this show. After the formal part of the show, you can head to a barn like room downstairs where you can order an after dinner drink, and there is a more interactive part of the evening. People are invited to sing or play a song. They will teach some of the traditional dances. We watched for a little while, but none of us felt like getting up and dancing so we left after a short time.

Our room at Joy's was on the castle side of the house, so as we went to sleep that evening we could look out the window at the Rock all lit up! I tried to take a picture, but it didn't come out very well. Joys is a very nice place to stay, I must say. Our hosts were nice, and breakfast was tasty. I had pancakes here, which was good because I was getting tired of eggs already.

Michele Erdvig · Host

China Cat,

You can actually walk between the visitor's center at Glendalough and the lake. There are pathways but it is a longish walk. It would avoid that pesky parking fee. I do that all the time.

It sounds like you developed a taste for Smithwick's (my favorite). They are now importing it into the USA but it is pricey.

It's nice to hear you enjoyed Alcantra and Joy's Rockside. You will have to let Corey know how you liked his walking tour of Kilkenny. I believe he has a feedback form on his website.

Michele

China Cat · Veteran Member

Michelle,
yes, we actually considered walking to the upper lake, but decided against since we weren't sure how long it was. I think it would have been a nice walk.

They actually sell Smithwicks and Guiness in Fenway Park, here in Boston. I always drink Smit'icks when I go to a game. Of course, its even more ridiculously priced at the ballpark! I also developed a taste for Guiness during the trip but I don't think the American stuff tastes as good.

I wanted to mention, in the end most of our accomodations were recommended on this site. And we were really very happy with all of them. I wouldn't hesitate to choose any of the places you recommend in the future.

Melissa5 · Guru

China Cat, I am enjoying a leisurely read of your trip report. I have a good solution to those b&bs which don't have shelf space for your toiletries. Rick Steves has a web-site with some practical travel items for sale. He has 2 sizes of toiletry bags on www.ricksteves.com. I have both the larger size and the smaller size. Both come with a hook which enables you to open the toiletry carrier and hang it over a door knob or on the back of a door or on a towel rack...perfect for those bathrooms without shelves. They also both come with a small mirror inside. I prefer the smaller sized toiletry bag, because it is easier to fit in a small suitcase. You just leave your shampoo/deodorant/toothbrush etc. inside the toiletry case, and hang the whole case on the doorknob...it works great!

Your description of the atmosphere at Tara makes me want to put it on the list for my second trip...in 2008 or 2009. (What do you mean I'm planning too far ahead? I live to travel

) The reason you aren't satisfied with your photos is probably that you can't photograph ghosts...truly...some of the places we saw gave us goose-bumps. I mean this in a good way. The past is in the present in Ireland...and the present is in the past...

I'm glad you shared about noisy dublin because I was sad that I left dublin off of our first trip...when I see Dublin on our second trip, I think we will just stay at Beechwood house in Malahide and take public transportation into Dublin... Beechwood is nice and quiet...we spent our last night there before flying home on this first trip.

Thanks for sharing!

-- Edited by Melissa5 at 22:01, 2006-07-26

-- Edited by Melissa5 at 22:17, 2006-07-26

China Cat · Veteran Member

Melissa, you know, I've seen those toiletry bags. I may have to get one of them. Good idea!

China Cat · Veteran Member

Friday morning we left Cashel in the direction of Caher. We stopped at Rossa pottery just outside of town. We had seen his work at the Kilkenny Shop in Dublin but hadn't bought any, and both Mom and I were thinking we'd missed out. So I was glad to find his workshop and go there. His pottery was very nice and unusual. Here's the piece I bought:

And the prices were better at the workshop. Plus, the potter was a crazy man, so the stop was very amusing. He chattered with us the whole time we were shopping about various things. And somehow he and MrC got on the subject of cars. Well that got him going, he was really nuts about cars. In fact, he told us he would trade his house, shop, land and everything for a Ferrari.

From there, we drove on to Caher to see the castle. I think this was the best castle of the trip. Now, in general, Irish castles aren't as varied as Welsh and English ones. They tend to be simple square fortress structures. Also, most of them were blown up when Cromwell went raging through the countryside. The only reason Caher castle is mostly intact is because its owner was a coward (or perhaps he was sensible, depends on your point of view). When Cromwell came and told him if you leave, he wouldn't blow up the castle, the lord up and left. Leaving behind this lovely building for us to explore.

From Caher we drove the famous and scenic Vee drive to Lismore . the views were lovely, although not as spectacular as some of the passes in the west. We got to the town of Lismore right about lunchtime, parked and found a pub for lunch. Actually, this pub had a beer garden in back. Which turned out to be a really cute little walled garden with a few tables. Today was the sunniest day of perhaps the entire trip, so we were pleased to find this charming little spot to eat. you would never know to look at the front of the pub, that it had this oasis in the back!

After lunch we went to visit Lismore Castle Gardens. If you are a fan of gardens, and you visit Ireland, make a point of stopping here! The castle itself is closed to the public, but the grounds are spectacular. All the flowers are huge. The upper grounds are a more formal, Jacobean garden. The lower level is more natural, a woodland garden. Since it was late June, lots of stuff was blooming. There are a number of photos of the garden in my collection.

Next step was driving to Killarney. It was getting late in the afternoon by now, so we drove the most direct route, through Mallow, and didn't stop, just admired the scenery along the way.

When we got to Killarney, we checked into our guesthouse, ]Earl's Court]. This was the most expensive place we stayed, at E150/night for a junior suite E90/night for a single. We were going to be here for 4 nights, so I really wanted a nice place and a little space, so I splurged on the bigger room. And it was great. Our room was in a brand new wing of the building. I think we may have been the first to stay in it. The room was huge, with a sittiing area, fireplace, and flar screen TV. And we had a great, 4 poster king-size bed (and that's the American version of king size, not 2 twins stuck together), with fine linens, and a great mattress. The bathroom had 2 sinks, a jacuzzi tub and a separate shower. And the room had a lovely view of the mountains. We also had the best breakfasts of the whole trip here. And, they had a PC in the lounge with internet access for guests (from where I checked in and said hello). I thought this place was worth every penny we paid for it. Mom's room was a bit smaller, so she may not have liked it quite as much as I did. But here's a shot of our room:

The other amusing thing about Earl's Court was the elevator voice. Seriously, there was a recording that said "level one" and "level two" as you reached each floor, and it was an incredibly sexy voice. Something about the way he said "level two..." with a little inflection at the end, making you want more. the accent sounded like Irish crossed with French. Mom and would giggle every time we rode the elevator. And I'm not alone...one day there was an English couple standing inthe elevator when I got in. And I said something about how slow the elevator was. The guy said "yeah, but I love the voice...he sounds so relaxed". wish I could've recorded it for you.

That evening we had dinner in town at a restaurant called Flesk. It was a simple, family sort of place. Nice fresh fish though. And then we drove out to ]Kate Kearney's cottage where we met up with Green Dragon and her travelling companions. We'd corresponded a couple of times and realized we had pretty much the same itinerary in reverse, so we met up in the middle of it. It was nice to sit, and have a pint, and share experiences and tips with another traveller.And we listened to a little of the music as well. Oh, and Kate's makes the best Irish Coffee we had in Ireland. we had it again later, to fortify us for the trip into the Gap of Dunloe.

I'm glad we stayed in Killarney. A lot of folks recommend Kenmare, and I have to agree, Kenmare is a nicer, more charming town. But Killarney is very convenient, and I think we cut down on driving by staying there.

Saturday morning we set out to see some of the national park. First stop, Muckross house and its gardens on the lake. Once again, we were not allowed to photograph the interiors. but its a very lush and beautiful stately home. And the setting is spectacular. Its sad to learn that original owners bankrupted themselves to entertain Queen Victoria, with the hope that she would bestow a title on them. When Prince Albert died, she forgot all about them, and they never got the title. They ended up bankrupt and selling the property.

There are many jaunting cars right outside the house, and one could take a ride around the lake. We did not, and were a little annoyed by how pushy the drivers could be. Every time we tried to enter the park anywhere, the drivers would swarm us asking if we wanted to take a ride. they didn't seem to want to take no for an answer. We were content to walk or drive where we wanted to go for now.

After the guided tour of the house, we walked around the grounds and garden taking some pictures. We had lunch in the on-site cafeteria type place. It was really very good. In the US, a restaurant like this would be horrible and expensive. This place was neither. Also the giftshop here was fun. There is still a woolen mill and weavers on the premises, so there were lots of wool goods to look at.

After lunch we drove up to Muckross Abbey. And then on to Torc Waterfall. By now, Mr C was pretty comfortable with the driving, so we decided to go off the main roads a little bit in search of better views (okay, I know...walking would have gotten us to better views too...). We found ourselves winding up an incredibly narrow road, through a field. When a car came barreling down, we both had to make pretty abrupt stops. the other car was kind enough to back up until we reached a spot where he could pull off the road, and we could continue on by. One of the benefits of driving a largish car...we almost always won the face off on narrow roads, and the other driver would pull back. Finally we got to the view point we were looking for, and were rewarded with this fabulous view of the lakes:

That evening we ate at Bricin. This was the best meal we had in Killarney, and I highly recommend this restaurant. Their specialty is an Irish dish called boxty. Boxty is basically a large potato pancake, served with a filling, kind of like an omelette. Mom and Mr C both had theirs filled with lamb curry. Mine was filled with chicken and veggies in tarragon cream sauce. Yummy. And the restaurant is really cute too, with stained glass windows. And a nice, inexpensive wine list. Make a reservation if you want to go there, though. It was popular and crowded.

Michele Erdvig · Host

China Cat,

I'm delighted to hear that you enjoyed all my lodging recommendations. As I told Melissa on another post I'm fussy. I would never recommend a place that I wouldn't stay myself or recommend to close family or friends. I also check back periodically to be sure standards are being maintained. I'm sure they love to see me coming with my "white glove test".

Isn't Rossa Pottery unique. I met the owner a few years ago and agree that he is a character. It looks like a face on your dish!?

Michele

China Cat · Veteran Member

Sunday -- Sunday was a road trip day. I had seen pictures of the Beara, and Healey pass, so we decided that was the ring we would do. Ring of Kerry was just too long! for that matter, we wouldn't even manage the whole Beara Peninsula in one day.

The first part of the drive, through Moll's gap is spectacular. We stopped at Ladies View for photo ops. Then again at the top of the pass. There's an Avoca store at the Moll's Gap pass that was a nice place to shop. Then we continued on to Kenmare. We stopped there for a little while, so that we could see the stone circle on the edge of town. It was going to be a hot and sunny day today, so I was glad it was not a long walk.

We left Kenmare, and started out along the northern shore of the Beara Peninsula. Our first side trip was going to be Glen Inchiquin park, because there was another stone circle there, and a nice waterfall. The park is just a little distance west of Kenmare. We saw the signs, and turned off the main road onto a tiny side road, to make our way in to the park. Now, I'm not sure I would have made this sidetrip into the park, if I had realized how far it was. It was probably 10 kilometers on 1 lane windy road, where someone had to backup quite a distance every time you crossed a car coming in the opposite direction. Also, our timing was bad. What we should have done was pack a picnic, because we ended up in the park during lunch time, and we were hungry, so we didn't do any of the walks. It would be a GREAT place to have a picnic lunch, or to hike. There were some serious walks that looked like they would be nice and there were lots of walkers about.

When we finally arrived at the park, we drove up to a small house with lots of cars parked around it. A man came out to greet us, and told us where we could park our car. And then he showed us a trail map, and let us know where we might like to walk. Now we were mainly interested in seeing the waterfall, so he opened the gate for us, and let us drive down to a lower parking lot so we could see the waterfall. He wanted us to walk the nearby nature trail too, but I didn't think we really would have time. So we drove down into the vale below the waterfall to check it out. This is a truly spectacular spot.

After taking some photos and walking around a little, we drove out and down more windy roads until we found the stone circle. And then, finally, we drove out of the park. We were really hungry by now (it was about 2:30), and we were pretty much in the middle of nowhere. We decided to stop at the first pub we found. We saw signs for a restaurant with lakeside dining, and attempted to stop there, but there was no parking. Guess everybody was hungry! so we kept on, through tiny towns and winding roads, until we got to the tiny fishing port town of Laragh. As we drove up we saw a pub right near the towns pier. And out in the harbor we could see the telltale buoys that mark mussel farms (we recognized them from last years trip to Prince Edward Island). So we parked and went into this tiny pub and asked the hostess if they were serving lunch. "We have mussels!" she answered. They also had sandwiches, and Mom ordered a ham and cheese. Mr C and I decided we had to have the mussels. I mention all this, because these might have been the best mussels I've ever tasted. And we made some awfully good ones in PEI last year. I wish I'd asked her for the recipe. But my suspicion is they were steamed in hard cider. They had a slightly sweet, slightly vinegary taste, with chopped parsley and maybe chives. And incredibly fresh. If you are ever in the neighborhood, stop at Paddy O'Sullivans Pub in Laragh. Order the mussels. You won't be sorry!

Next, we drove through Healey Pass. It was just as spectacular as we expected. We stopped many times for pictures and to admire the view. So we didn't try to go all the way around the Beara. It was already getting on in the afternoon. I was sorry we didn't really have any more time for stops. I wanted to take the ferry to the little island near Glengarrif (the name escapes me) where there is a garden, but it was 4PM by the time we got to Glengarrif, and we decided we would have to had back to the Caha Pass, and head for home. We did stop at Molly Gallivan's cottage in the Caha pass, for a cup of tea and a rest. More fabulous views. There's a famine cottage and some other displays behind the cottage, but we didn't walk all the way up. Then it was back through Moll's gap, and back to Killarney.

Monday is our final day in Killarney. It's a little gray and drizzly today. I've been trying to convince Mom and MrC to take the Gap of Dunloe trip, but we aren't sure we want to spend the entire day at it, especially if the weather is bad. So we decide to start the day by visiting Ross Castle. We take the guided tour here, and it is really an excellent restoration. You get a better feel for what life might actually have been like in the 14th century, than you usually do at such places.

Afterwards, we go out to the pier behind the castle, to find out if we can get a boatride to Innisfallen Island. Sure enough, we can hire a small motorboat and driver, to take us across. It's just a 10 minute ride, and he will wait for us to see the abbey and bring us back. For 7 euro/person, this seems like a bargain. the lake is smooth, and clear as glass. The boatman gives us a little history as he takes us across. There doesn't seem to be anyone else at Innisfallen, so we have the place to ourselves to walk around and explore the ruins. We spend a bout 30 minutes there. It was originally a leper colony, and later a monastery. Here's a view of it from the boat:

After we got back, we went into Killarney for some shopping and some lunch. I bought a gorgeous Irish linen tablecloth. It was way more than I should have spent, but I'm thinking it will last forever, at least it better!

Finally, we went out to Kate Kearney's to try a jaunting car. We just took the short ride, into the gap and back. And yes, it was a tight squeeze for 3 large people, and I was sorry for the poor horse who had to drag us. And yes, I'm allergic to horses, so by the end my eyes were just starting to swell up. Its probably just as well we didn't go farther, even though I really wanted to. It's a fantastic ride, even on a cloudy day. And while there were some people driving through the gap in cars, its better to do it in a horse cart. Our driver was a nice woman, with 4 children, who chatted with us about growing up in the area, and how tough it is.

Tuesday -- Happy 4th of July! today is a driving day, and a rest day. We reluctantly check out of our room in Earl's Court, and say good bye to the sexy elevator voice. We drive to the Dingle Peninsula. We stopped briefly at Inch Strand, and were thinking about having a cup of coffee, but about 8 buses had the same idea, and it wasn't pleasant. In fact, from now on the tour buses begin to be much more annoying. Somehow, up till now, even though there are always tour buses about, they don't bother me much. We can get away from them. But in Dingle, and later in the area around Doolin and the Burren, tour buses will become a constant presence.

On the way towards Dingle town, we have to stop briefly, because there are sheep in the road. You saw my picture above. The flock actually surrounded us, it was a riot. A genuine Irish traffic jam. We giggled for the rest of the afternoon over this.

We drove into Dingle town, arriving in time for lunch and a walk around. We do a little bit of shopping, although Dingle seems to have more tacky souvenir shops than most. Also, the only pubs open at lunchtime are the ones near the harbor, and they are positivily full to the brim with tourists off the buses. We do find a nice place ot have lunch and order steak and guiness pie. Its very good here.

Afterwards, we just drive to our b&b, The Shores, which has been so highly recommended on this site.. It's near Castlegregory, which is the north shore of the peninsula. That means we get to drive the Conor pass to get there. And its pretty foggy today. That makes it extra scary. But Mr C is an old pro at the roads by now.And besides, this has nothing on driving the Mount Washington Auto Road in peasoup fog, so we're okay. Not much view from the top, just hills and fog.

We arrive at the Shores around 3PM and check in. We ask our hostess, Annette, if she would be cooking dinner that evening. Well, it seems another couple had asked her as well, so she will if we can order in the next half hour. Sure! I've heard about her dinners, and for sure this does not disappoint. I know the secret to Annette's cooking...it's the butter. its that good Irish butter, and LOTS of it. Everything is delicious. We start with filo pastries filled with blue cheese and grapes. Then, for the main course, rack of lamb. It's perfectly cooked, and served with a buttery sauce, a little like hollandaise, but not so lemony. It's flavored with a bit of coriander. And there's a tangy, vinegary mint sauce served on the side. Its a fun place to have dinner. The dining room is cozy, and elegant. There's only the 3 of us, and the other couple dining. Annette's teenage daughter does all the serving while she cooks for us. We actually bought our own wine, although she does have some available. And she has the most interesting shaped dishes, which adds a flair to the presentation. The 3 course meal costs 33 euro per person! Its a fantastic deal. For dessert we have something called a "Bailey's Irish Dessert". Its sort of something akin to tiramisu, or trifle. Lady fingers flavored with coffee, custard flavored with baileys, sliced fruit, whipped cream. It's really yummy. This might be my favorite dinner of the entire trip.

After dinner we are all stuffed, and we haven't done much walking today, so we walk the 1/2 mile or so down to the beach. This is a beach that really is nicer from a distance than up close. But its good to get a little exercise. And we're fascinated by the plants along the way. I really want to grow one of those fuschia hedges we've been seeing all over the place. they are in full bloom, and they're gorgeous. I wonder if they are hardy enough to grow in New England? I bet not...I don't think Ireland gets the hard freezes that we do.

Our room that night is small, but beautifully decorated. And the bathrooms have great water pressure. Breakfast is no disappointment either. particularly, the french toast is excellent and a nice change of pace. We paid 150 Euro/night for 3 people in 2 rooms. I think this is a tremendous value. I'd recommend it to anybody.

yesiree · Guru

Thank you for the great details. Glad you found the Kilkenny walking tour useful. The round tower climb can be a big undertaking and it's especially challenging when there are people trying to go up and others trying to go down at the same time...there just isn't any place to go.

It sounds like you managed to really pack a lot in without overkill. Looking forward to reading the rest.

Michele Erdvig · Host

China Cat,

That meal at The Shores has my mouth watering. I had the same dessert when I was there and it was fabulous. Do you know that Annette is a self-taught cook? Maybe her sister has given her some pointers as she owns Gaby's Seafood Restaurant in Killarney.

Looking forward to more...please!!

Michele

China Cat · Veteran Member

I'm a little bit of a cook myself, and really appreciate good meals. I was just very impressed with how well Annette did everything, especially working by herself in the kitchen. the whole evening was just so nice.

and I had to order grapefruit for breakfast, just to check out the bowls. She serves it in a white porcelain bowl that is shaped like a giant soup spoon...it was so cool. I loved all the interesting shaped dishes she had.

she definitely puts even the nicest restaurants to shame.

China Cat · Veteran Member

Wednesday morning we drive back through the pass, to Dingle town. We are meeting up with the Scuirid ( for the record, its prounced a little bit like 'skewered, only withiyt the 'w') archaelogical tour (booked a couple days ahead, 20 euro/person if I recall). This is another one of those 14 person van tours, to see some of the archaelogical sites. Now, overall I give this a very high recommendation. The tour guide, Michael, absolutely knew his stuff. Even my mom was impressed. He knew about recent DNA studies and current archaelogical theories, and was fascinating. Here he is, explaining some carvings on an ancient Celtic stone:

We had not quite a full van load for the tour. I think there were about 8 people, plus the guide. It was kind of an interesting group. A mother travelling with her 10 year old son. A man, in his 30's I think, by himself, carrying more camera equipment than me. A family with 3 generations represented, grandma, mom, dad, and teenage daughter. The guide was very patient with all of us, answering lots of questions. Normally, I would find this a fine quality in a guide. But in this case, I think we missed out. It seemed like the tour did not visit as many sites as I expected. In part, this may have been because we spent a long time at each site, while the guide answered questions. Which wouldn't bother me, if a particular person on the tour would have actually LISTENED to the commentary, rather than walk away and then ask questions which had just been answered. Or ask incredibly ridiculous questions. I was reminded of a Simpson's episode, where Homer is trying to get some information, and he asks questions like "so, how much is this free stuff? and what color is the red ballon? For example, we were looking at a stone fortress when Homer asked: "so where did the Irish get all this stone? did they ship it from somewhere?" I think the guide thought he was joking, he looked at the man incredulously. And then, with great restraint he stopped himself from saying "have you looked at the landscape, fool?", and instead answered that the Irish never had a problem finding stone. In fact, they had a problem figuring out what to do with it all, even after they built mile upon mile of dry stone wall.

When told that Cromwell had blown the hole in the side of the fortress, he asked if he'd done it from a ship. The harbor must be 2 miles away as the crow flies. I'm sure in the 15th century, Cromwell had mortars and cannons which could carry that distance, aren't you?

Later, when we were looking at Gallarus Oratory,Homer was asking all sorts of questions about the construction of the beehive. Homer's mother (the grandmother) came over to me and said "he's asking all these questions, because he's going to build one of these in my backyard." The scary part is, I think she was serious.

For the entire rest of the trip, when we saw stone walls, or buildings somebody would ask "so where do you suppose the stone came from?"

After lunch, we headed off on our own, to see the rest of the Dingle peninusla. We wanted to drive out to Slea head, and see some more beehives and earthworks that we had missed in the morning. The scenery was great, again, but I think we were almost getting immune. I didn't find Slea head as impressive as I expected. And the 3rd time through Conor pass it was positively old hat.

Dinner that night was at a very cute pub just down the road from The Shores. They had very good food here, although it had nothing on Annette's cooking.

Thursday: From Dingle, we drove north to Doolin, taking the Tarbert Killimer ferry along the way. We arrived at our hotel late int he day, and tired, so we just rested an ate dinner there. We were staying at theBallinalacken Castle Hotel, so named because it has a castle near the grounds. We paid 140 euro/night for a double, and 140 Euro for a single as well. So this was the first place were there was NO discount for one person. On the other hand, Mom got a gorgeous room, with a 4 poster bed, and a fireplace and a nice view, so she didn't seem to mind. Our room was sort of pedestrian, a little disappointing after the other well decorated places we'd stayed. The carpets and linens could have been in any old Marriot in the US. But it was a comfortable king size bed. And we did have a distant view of the cliffs of Moher.

The restaurant was quite good. And so convenient. We ended up eating there twice. Sometimes you just don't want to go anywhere at the end of the day.
.
Friday -- we made a minor miscalculation today. We thought the weather was going to be overcast and drizzly, so we decided to spend the day exploring the Burren instead of taking the boat to Inishmore. Unfortunately, the weather Saturday was going to be far worse, so we would never make it out to the Aran Islands. I'm bummed to have missed out on that. Oh well....something to save for another trip!

We started out in Kilfenora, to see the Burren Visitor center, and also the lovely ruined cathedral. There were a couple of very interesting and old Celtic high crosses in here. The next stop was Caherconnel, the stone ringfort. There is an excellent audiovisual presentation here which gives a lot of information about other ruins. The fort itself is pretty interesting, and has more in-tact walls than most any other we saw.

Next, we decided to make a little side trip to the Burren Perfumery. Now I have to admit, none of us were certain that this was a worthwhile side trip. We're not much into perfumes. But the Perfumery is an absolutely charming little hideway in the woods. And they have a tea room, which had by FAR the best coffee we had in Ireland. And homemade oatcakes! All sitting outside on a patio in a garden. We also bought some gifts...the perfumed soaps and lotions were really nice. It was defintiely a pleasant place to while away a little time. There's a lovely herb and flower garden in the back.

Fortified with coffee and oatcakes, we went back to the main road to see the Poulnabrone Dolmen. It sits out in the middle of the bare limestone fields, it feels almost like landing on the moon. except for all the greenery poking up between the rocks.

Then we continued up the road into Ballyvaughan where we had lunch at the famous Monk's. Excellent seafood. I liked the chowder, which I'd heard was the best.

We drove around the point at Black Head, and enjoyed the views. We stopped once or twice to take photos, and walk on the rocks along the shore. There was supposed to be another megalith around here, but I think it was too far off the road. We never saw any signs, so probably it was impossible to get too.

Finally, on to Liscannor to see the Cliffs of Moher. Now, its true I'd seen a million pictures of them. But still they don't fail to impress. I add them to my list of most impressive natural sights I've ever seen.

We had a very nice dinner at McGann's in Doolin that night. We didn't stay for the music, just too tired. McGann's was another place with awesome homemade toffee ice cream. Have I mentioned that the Irish do ice cream right? especially anything with Baileys or butterscotch...yummM!

Saturday-- last day. and the weather absolutely sucks. it was a downer of a day. We started out by trying to go to Inishmore. We actually waited for the 10:30 boat, sitting in the drizzle. But when the Captain arrived he said he was headed out to Inishmore, but the weather was getting worse and he would "most likely had back at 3PM". 'Most likely'??? Well, we couldn't risk 'most likely' since we had to fly out on Sunday. I mean 'most likely' also means 'possibly not'. And they said absolutely the weather would prevent the boats going on Sunday. So we would be stuck....mmmmm...maybe its not the worst idea. Okay, yes it is. we won't go. We'll hang about locally. But MrC is pretty tired of driving too, so we aren't going to go far.

We ended up driving about the Burren a bit more. We went to Ailwee cave. Of course, since it was raining, so did everybody else in the area. We paid for the tour and waited around for our turn to go into the cavern. Now, I may have mentioned earlier, I'm a bit claustrophobic. But I've been in caves before, and its been okay. but something about the passageway leading into this cave really got to me. Or maybe it was the fact that there were some 40 people in our tour group. But we got to the first stop, when the guide was getting ready to speak, and I turned to Mr C and said I've change my mind...I'm leaving. "Ha, ha, ha" said MrC. "No seriously, I'm out of here. Enjoy the tour". And I made a beeline for the exit.

So I got a cup of tea at the snack bar, and since the tables were crowded, I asked a young woman sitting by herself if I could share the table. Sure she said. And she asked me if I was with a tour. I said no, just my husband and my mom, and they were in the cave. i had come out because of claustrophobia. "really? so did I!" she said. Her husband was also in the cave on the tour. They were on a long weekend, they live in County Kerry. And she was totally panic stricken in the tunnel. We both felt much better, having someone to commiserate with. And we sat and drank our tea and chatted until our spouses came out and found us there. It was actually pretty nice, I enjoyed talking with her. Mom and MrC did enjoy the cave, although they both said they've seen better. At least it was a dry thing to do.

We did some more driving around. Visited another ruined abbey (who's name escapes me now), and the Burren smokehouse. We got back to Ballinalacken pretty early, so we could rest and pack, and get all our souvenirs and such organized. We had a nice final dinner in Ireland at the hotel that night. They really do have a nice dining room. Worth a side trip even if you are staying elsewhere, if you get tired of pub fare. (also, they had 1985 Vintage Fonseca for 8 euro a glass!! 8!! I had a glass every night! if you are a port drinker, you know thats a great deal, I think it would go for $25/glass in the US)

Sunday -- pack up the car, and drive to Shannon. It took us maybe 90 minutes to drive there, and we went to Hertz to drop off the rental car.

Now a word about our one run-in with the car rental agency. We dropped off the car at about 10:50AM. We had picked up the car that long agon Tuesday at just before 10AM, prepaid for 12 days. As we dropped off the car, the checkout person charged us 46euro as a late fee. We protested and said there was a grace period, and they said it was 25 minutes. We were being charged 50 bucks for being half an hour late. Now, this is outrageous enough. And they put the charge right on our card before we could even register our complaint! But to make it worse, my paperwork specifically says we have a 2 hour grace period. And I KNEW this and had planned this way. So MrC goes into the office with the contract, to complain. He pulls out the paperwork, and the agent says "oh, you have an O'Scanlainn rental". Well, yes, we do, so? "We have a special deal with them" and they proceeded to credit my card with the 46 euro.

so the moral of the story is: if you are going to rent from Hertz, use O'Scanlainn. And KNOW YOUR CONTRACT, because they'll charge you without checking if they can!

We did LOTS of duty free shopping in Shannon airport. I bought Waterford crystal for a wedding gift for my nephew...prices are better at the airport, than in Dublin. We bought Irish whiskey. And Bailey's truffles to share with our coworkers.

Now Shannon airport has another odd thing. More than an hour before our flight, we are called to the customs area for boarding. See, you actually go through US customs in the Shannon airport. The weird thing is once you go through you have to wait by the gate until actual boarding for about 45 minutes. And there are no bathrooms back there! and then there is some turbulence, so they keep the seatbelt light on right up until they start the beverage cart. Well, people were getting pretty antsy it was about 3 hours since a bathroom had been available. That's ridiculous! so people got up. And the flight attendants kept trying to get them back in their seats!

so I'm no fan of aerlingus. But we did get home safe, and without any issues so i can't complain too much.

If you made it this far, thanks for staying with me. I hope you enjoyed the report, or find some tidbits of useful information when planning your trips. Ireland is a wonderful place, absolutely beautiful, and the people are as friendly as I've always heard. I hope to go back someday.

susan · Senior Member

Hi China Cat
I really enjoyed your trip report.We stayed at The Shores in June and loved it.I am also a little bit of a cook myself,how about Annette's kitchen! When we came home I mentioned how nice it would be to redo our kitchen like Annette's(and the bathroom).My husband looked at me and said you better start renting out rooms.
Susan

China Cat · Veteran Member

her kitchen is fabulous. When I went downstairs to order dinner the first night I spoke to her in the kitchen. Then I had to tell MrC to check it out when he had a chance. So after dinner that night we knocked on the door to thank her, and he was just looking at it, wishing we could have one just like it.

And thanks everyone, for your nice comments on my report. Glad you liked it. If I might be permitted a little tiny plug, you can find other reports (mostly non-Ireland) from fellow travelers at www.travelerstogo.com

Melissa5 · Guru

China Cat, I'm enjoying reading your report. It's interesting to read about your experiences both at places we saw as well, and at places we missed.

I totally agree that AER LINGUS is cramped and uncomfortable! I was amazed they would fly planes with seats that small all the way from LAX to Dublin (our flight.) ( When we flew to Italy on Lufthansa, it was much more comfortable.) But my husband said that on the way back from Dublin to LAX, even though it was equally uncomfortable, 10 hours is amazingly short considering how far you are going between continents!!! We noticed that when your flight leaves in the morning, you arrive feeling much more refreshed. But when your flight leaves in the evening, you are already tired, and since you can't sleep on those cramped Aer Lingus seats, you arrive feeling all achy and grouchy!

Anyway at least Aer Lingus get you to Ireland, right?! And serves a great cup of Irish tea.

You know, I didn't try any ICE CREAM in Ireland at all! Sounds like we missed something special. We were too busy having more Banofee Pie! Next time I'm going to try toffee ice cream...sounds tasty.

Funny you would mention having yucky coffee at Trinity Lodge in DUBLIN. We fell in love with the good hot cups of Irish tea and so had tea everywhere, even though I often drink coffee at home. I only had one taste of coffee my whole 2 weeks in Ireland, and that was at Craig Park b&b, where David gave me a taste of really good coffee made in the french press style.

Trinity college and the book of kells and the old Library are the sights I really regret missing because we didn't have time for dublin at all. I want to see them on our next trip. How many nights would you recommend we spend seeing DUBLIN on our next trip? (After hearing about your sleepless nights, we may just sleep in nearby Malahide and take public transportation into Dublin!)

It does sound gross but my daughters would have LOVED seeing those BOG PEOPLE at the National Museum. I guess they were a temporary exhibit which might not be there when we make it to Dublin someday?

You saw three sites which sound very beautiful and very Irish: TARA, GLENDALOUGH, and THE ROCK OF CASHEL. I very painfully cut those out of our first trip's itinerary. There wasn't any other way we could make it all the way from Dingle on the southwest of Ireland all the way up to Northern Ireland! (Had to see Northern Ireland where my Irish grandmother grew up.) NEXT TRIP those are on my list.

I think I know what you mean about wishing you had skipped the GUIDED TOUR of the Rock. When we got to Dunluce Castle ruins up in County Antrim, there was almost nobody there and the lady said there would be a tour at 4:00. Luckily I went around on my own and enjoyed the peace and atmosphere and scenic views at Dunluce...because once 4:00 came, a crowd arrived for the tour, and it wasn't the same at all! Even though you learn things on the tour, you lose something in the atmosphere. So when I see the Rock of Cashel on my next trip to Ireland, I'm going to go around and see the place on my own before the crowded tour...I will remember what you said...

I also want to see the show at the BRU BORU Cultural center...It sounds great. We went to lots of pubs in Ireland and only one had a bodhran player while we were there!!!

Love your photo of the herb and flower garden behind the Burren Perfumery. It looks like it would make a nice picture hanging on your wall.

I just have one more question...you know how everything in Ireland seems to be built out of stone? Where do you suppose all the stone came from?!

Thanks for sharing your experiences with us!

China Cat · Veteran Member

Hi Melissa,
thanks so much for all your comments. I'm glad you enjoyed my report, I know its really long. I've been enjoying yours as well.

you know, I only found banofee pie on a menu once, so thats the only time I had it. It was awesome, I wish I could have had it again.

The whole question of itinerary is so tough, I can understand why you had to leave off some places, I had to leave off the entire north! I particularly wanted to get up to Connemara but couldn't fit it in. Well, we're just going to have to go back.

We had 3 nights in Dublin, but only really spent a day and a half sightseeing in the city. Of course, the half day was our arrival day and we were too tired to see much. I could have used one more day, in which to take the hop-on hop off tour and see the gaol, and Dublin Castle. So I think 2 full days, or 2 1/2 would have been about right.

Also, I could have easily filled up more time in the areas around Wicklow, Kilkenny and Cashel. I felt like we barely scratched the surface of all the places around there I wanted to see.

the bog people were a special exhibit. There is one bog body on display at the British museum in London, but I don't think it was as interesting as these. Also, some day I want to see the ice man at the archaelogical museum in Bozano, Italy. Yes, these are the strange things you get interested in when your mother is an anthropologist.

I think they may have dug up all that stone here in Massachusetts and shipped it over. We have lots of stone here in my yard. If they need more in Irealnd I shall send it there .

Melissa5 · Guru

China Cat, wow, if you missed all that even with 3 nights in Dublin, I think I might need 4 or 5 nights in the Dublin area! But I'm not sure I'd like staying right in the city. I might stay in one of the surrounding cities like Malahide and take public transportation into the city.

Some people say that dublin is so built-up and getting so cosmopolitan that it hardly seems like a city in Ireland any more. But it sounds like you found it to be plenty Irish?

Well it sure is a shame that we both had to leave out all those places from our first itinerary, which pretty much forces us into a return trip to Ireland, huh?

Funny how that worked out!!!

We zipped right through Connemara, literally, on our drive between Ballyvaughan and Westport. We had no time to stop. My husband was very intrigued by Connemara and wants to see it on our next trip...I'm not sure when that will be since he wants to see the world! But I know I'm going to get back to Ireland, even if I have to go by myself! The glimpse we had of Connemara was of wild open spaces...the kind of place I could write poetry about.

I think you should for sure see that ice man in Italy before he thaws out!

It would be interesting having a mother who is an anthropologist. Both my daughters have considered majoring in anthropology (and creative writing and philosophy and.....)

Nice chatting with you, China Cat.

Michele Erdvig · Host

China Cat,

What a great trip report. Thank you so much for sharing it with us all. I think we get our "Ireland fix" through others travels while we are in between our own trips to Ireland. I missed my spring trip this year because I was incredibly busy doing itineraries. My husband went through Ireland withdrawal. (I was too busy to join him in it.) I will make up for it by spending a month in Ireland shortly. I can't wait.

Michele

China Cat · Veteran Member

Actually, I know exactly what people mean when they say Dublin doesn't feel very Irish. For one thing, we almost never heard an Irish accent in the city. The vast majority of the people who interact with the tourists...waitstaff, hotel staff, for example...come from Eastern Europe. They were Poles and Czechs and Croatians. I think the only Irish person I met was the taxi driver who drove us from the airport.

The city itself reminded me an awful lot of Boston. But that shouldn't be surprising, since Boston is practically an Irish city anyways

I do want to go back sometime. but like your husband, there are just so many places still to go. it will probably be a few years till I manage it. For now, I will enjoy vicariously through everybody else's great reports too!

Melissa5 · Guru

China Cat, that is interesting that you heard very few Irish accents in Dublin. I will remember that, and then I won't be disappointed. In Dublin it is mainly the great museums I want to see..also the Killmainham Gaol.

I am wondering one thing...is there truly any spicy food in Dublin? We found no spicy food in all of Ireland. Once my daughter ordered Mexican food in Ireland, and it was quite funny. Coming from San Diego, we have some authentic Mexican food. In Ireland, instead of spicy salsa, they used sweet American-style barbecue sauce... I guess you would call that Irish-American-Mexican cusine!

China Cat · Veteran Member

I didn't have any spicy food in Dublin, but then I didn't go to the types of ethnic places where you would look for it. I didn't eat Mexican, Chinese or Indian. But I have found that Mexican food in Europe is generally pretty bland and too sweet. Indian, on the other hand, can be far spicier than here. At least in London this was true.

I know Green Dragon ate Chinese food in Dingle, we should ask her if it was spicy, if they had Szechuan.

Dude · Guru

I think the spiciest food we had was lasagne, which was all the rage in '03 when we were there. And it had a different taste from what we were used to in the States, though I can't put my finger on just what the difference was. But it wasn't black or white pudding!

Melissa5 · Guru

Dude and China Cat, we enjoyed the lasagna in Ireland too, and you're right, it wasn't like the lasagna in the USA. But the lasagna we had in Ireland wasn't spicy...it was creamier than our lasagna in San diego.

As long as we are talking about food, I can tell you that my husband and I enjoyed an Irish breakfast last weekend at a real Irish pub transported piece by piece from Ireland to San Diego! Our waiter was originally from Ireland, and his accent was still detectable. The restaurant/pub is called The Field in case anybody is visiting San Diego and it's in the gaslamp district. I think they have Irish music in the pub some evenings so we're going to try that too.

I ordered boxty...which I never had in Ireland by the way... and it was good. My potato pancakes were filled with eggs, bacon, and cheese...there was a choice of fillings. They were great! My husband liked the Full Irish breakfast...the black and white pudding had some different spices...we think it was sage...which he liked.

Anybody hungry yet?

Melissa5 · Guru

Michele, oh boy, a whole month in Ireland!

Will you be able to spend time in every county, or do you have certain counties where you will spend extra time? Or is it a secret? I am so excited for you! I think it's really cool that your husband enjoys Ireland as much as you do. What a recipe for a great marriage!

Do you have any favorite sites in Ireland you are especially looking forward to seeing (again?!)

Michele Erdvig · Host

Melissa,

I don't actually have my itinerary planned yet. Everyone else comes first! However, I hope to do self-catering for a week in Northern Ireland if they still have availabilities when I know my exact dates. My husband and I are both looking forward to staying put in one place for a whole week. Since I am always checking out new places I usually only spend a night in each accommodation, even though I may spend a few days in each town. It is a bit like being a gypsy. But I have to make the most of my time when I am there.

Ahhh...tough job but someone has to do it.

Michele

Irrover · Veteran Member

Melissa

Glad you took my advice on the Field. It is one of the few "pub in a box" that I would recommend. There music is alright but nothing extraordinary except for on Saturday night when Carly Hennessey sings, she was billed as the next Irish singing sensation or the Irish "Brittney Spears" (not that is much of a compliment these days). She waits now at the Field but used to be put up in marina del rey on the record company's dime. If you type her name in google, she has become a college business case study on how messed up the music industry is now.

Michael

Ventura CA