Europe: Ireland

January 24, 2015 - Dublin Day 1
        So earlier today we were in Zurich (see “Europe: Switzerland” for Zurich details) and now Mom and I are in Dublin!! And even more exciting, we made it to our hostel! That was quite the challenge. To begin our Irish adventures, we found the Hertz car rental counter at the airport. After much discussion, we decided to upgrade to an automatic car instead of driving a manual as intended (considering the stick shift would be on my left side. Yikes!) and rented a GPS for safety’s sake. We then carefully drove out of the airport - left side of the road here we come! We began navigating using my printed Google directions that I spent hours researching, assuming we wouldn’t have a GPS. This worked for a short period of time, but then we ended up on a wrong street. Bummer. I had to turn around which was extremely difficult because my brain kept switching to right-side-of-the-road mode. I told Mom we weren’t going to use the GPS unless absolutely necessary. It would make the trip that much more challenging and rewarding. I did put heaps of time into planning our routes, after all. After discovering the Google directions were crap, we just followed signs for Dublin. And when I say signs, I mean pieces of metal or wood with letters that are impossible to see. I swear we needed binoculars for sign reading. It was pretty much a “I really hope we’re going the right way” kind of deal. When we hit the street we were searching for, we cheered loudly. Think of how you would react if your favorite football team just scored a touchdown. This is how we celebrated. It was a fun time :) We eventually hit the center of Dublin but we literally could not find any street signs. The ones we did see were itty bitty and on the sides of buildings where you could not read them – especially in the dark. We managed to miraculously end up on Queen Street where the parking garage was located. We freaked out and had no idea how this happened. Only one problem…we passed the parking garage and had no way to know how to get back to it. Fffff. We aimlessly drove around hitting many one-way streets and having no clue where we were. But we didn’t give up! After about 15minutes, we again appeared on Queen Street! Someone is looking out for us upstairs. But once again, we discovered this too late. Drats. This time I pulled over as soon as I could to figure out a game plan. It was fool-proof; the third time would be THE LAST time. And wabam! We did it. We parked and walked to the hostel. And boy, was this a surprise! It was like we walked into a college town and found a club! Lots of 20-30 year olds, bars, drinks, couches, and billiards. Where are we?! Are we in the right building? I have never experienced a hostel like this before. I could tell Mom felt out of place and a little uncomfortable. She even made a comment saying she didn’t think she belonged here. I’m sorry, Mom! I didn’t know I swear! She’s being a good sport about it. They even had a Pub Crawl going out in an hour (7:30PM) which I really wanted to do but I figured Mom wouldn’t appreciate that. Instead, we went to the Brazen Head, the country’s oldest pub, which was a fantabulous decision.

The atmosphere there was incredible. And the food was to die for! I ordered the Traditional Irish Stew and I couldn’t keep my spoon down. I was shoveling it in like no tomorrow. I drank a Guinness (had to do it) while Mom had a Tom Crean. Hers was tasty as well. This place was like the Cellar (one of my favorite places in Blacksburg, VA) on steroids. I kept thinking how much my good friend Marcus would enjoy it. The first room we entered had people laughing and standing up having a jolly good time. All furniture was wooden but laced with black metal. Each table had a candlestick and all the tables were pretty close together. This cultivated an atmosphere of friendliness and coziness. A “get to know your neighbor” kind of deal. We then walked through an open-air little plaza area that had bar stools and high tables. This part was relatively empty. We continued to walk toward the sign that said “Food here!” Once we opened that door a whole new world appeared – rooms to the left, down the hall, and a staircase. People would enter one room and exit another constantly. And the wait staff was rushing around constantly. Very popular place! A band was even setting up in one room. It reminded me of when a child has a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese’s and they are designated a room for their party. Every room was hoppin’ with people. Luckily we found a small table for two. The room we ended up in had walls lined with shelves of books. It also had many Jameson bottles. There was a long table close to ours that had two different groups of people sitting at it. Again, creating closeness. Our waitress served us super quick. This is my kind of place! I couldn’t stop raving about it. I wanted to stay forever. Eventually we had to leave and my stomach felt like it was going to explode with goodness. We walked back to the hostel, relaxed, and then went to bed at 11:30PM. Dublin is giving Australia a run for its money and it’s only been 5 hours! This is gonna be a great trip. Oh, and we have our room to ourselves! A nice surprise.

January 25, 2015 - Dublin Day 2
        Journal writing is getting tougher and tougher! Especially after days like today which are jam-packed and I’m exhausted! Ireland is keeping us very busy so far. We woke up at 7:30AM and prepared to head out at 8AM. I realized my purple folder with all our travel plans was missing and we figured I left it at Brazen Head last night. I was truly hoping they had it because I put so much work into all those details! They didn’t open until later so it’d have to wait. We first explored Temple Bar because I wanted to see it during the daytime and how it compared to nightlife. There was absolutely no one in the streets of Dublin. It was like a ghost town. We walked around Temple Bar and we passed maybe 5 other people (3 of which were girls who seemed to have a rough night. One was carrying her heels while the other two leaned on each other for support. Oh. And one was holding a giant inflatable penis. Casual. Got a picture of that of course).

Every single bar/pub/café was closed and cafes didn’t open until 10AM. What is this place?! I guess people party so hard that they all sleep in until noon. We actually heard one pub still bumpin’ music with the gates closed. Party never stops I suppose! It was about 10AM when we checked out Dublin Castle. Thankfully, the main gates were open even though the interior of the castle was closed. This allowed us to walk around and take some good photos.

We then wanted some Irish coffee so we went into a small pub (one of the few open) and asked for two. “We don’t serve alcohol this early. Not until noon.” Say what?! I thought we were in Dublin! We were dumbfounded. After this comical disappointment, we viewed Christchurch and another chapel attached to it. Mom asked an old lady walking by where she could find a hair dryer. The lady mentioned that this isn’t like America and we can’t get what we want whenever we want. Baha. This lady is sassy. We continued walking around the Viking/Medieval area and viewed another church made of stone. Many of the other buildings in Dublin were made of brick so these older structures really stuck out. It was called St. Audgone’s Church. The green grass was SUPER green. It was unreal. All streets in Dublin were made of cobblestone by the way.

Very neat. Our next planned stop was St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 11:15AM for a church service. We sat in our pew and this place was gorgeous inside. Very regal. The service started promptly and the choir walked down the aisle while singing with the organ. It was very moving. The choir was just men and boys and I was thinking they weren’t going to sound as good without girls hitting high notes. Man, was I wrong! The boys hit higher notes than I have ever heard. They literally sounded like angels. I never wanted the songs to end. It brought me to tears at one point. I really wish I was allowed to record it. And the way their voices echoed throughout the entire building…unbelievable.

Definitely a highlight of this entire Europe trip. After service we booked it to the Book of Kells (punny). This was a last minute addition to the itinerary requested by Mom. We had 1 hour before we wanted to be at Guinness Storehouse (2PM). We successfully walked there, saw Trinity College, viewed the Book of Kells, wandered the Long Hall (library), and made it to Guinness at 2:15PM. We were practically running! I don’t generally like to be so rushed but I think it was good we added the Book of Kells. It was very rewarding and being in the Long Hall was extremely cool. We did the tour of Guinness after a fabulous lunch on their 5th floor. It had 7 levels!! Crazy. The 7th was an observation tower with a 360 degree view of Dublin. That’s

where we enjoyed our complimentary beer. The Guinness tour was 100x better than the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam. Very upscale and more interactive. And the tasting portion was incredible. They had a room lit in a dark/mysterious way and you could see the true red (not black) color of the Guinness. After this, Mom and I rushed to the 7th floor, chugged our beers (Mom’s a champ at this!), enjoyed the 360 degree view, and flew down the stairs. We ended up at the Jameson Distillery around 4:30 which gave us 30 minutes to do a tasting. Well it turned out they didn’t close at 5PM after all so there was no need to rush. The 5PM time was for the tours. Drats! Oh well. Even though I don’t like whiskey, this place was AWESOME.

The lighting made it feel like a dungeon and they had chandeliers made from Jameson bottles. Also, neon signs (not too bright, perfect lighting) were hanging in certain areas. We completed the Jameson tasting and I discovered I still don’t like whiskey haha. We stopped by the hostel after this and I messaged some friends the link to the earthcam in Dublin (saying to look for us at 7PM, 2PM their time). We headed to Temple Bar where we danced (ok, just me while Mom laughed and looked embarrassed) for 5 minutes for the earthcam and then went inside to eat dinner. Most people messaged me saying they saw blurred versions of us! Success! I ordered Black Pudding which was extremely delicious. It looks like shit but it tasted like meat.

The pub was really neat. It was illuminated by lights behind empty bottles and we initially sat at a barrel table with short stools. The pub had all sorts of rooms – similar to Brazen Head. In one room, live traditional Irish music was being played. Everyone in the pub was having a blast and beer was at every table. Either in hand, resting, or being hoisted in the air. It was a fun and lively atmosphere. Which, by the way, was completely opposite from the morning; I couldn’t get over the huge contrast. The city was alive and thriving now! After Temple Bar we went to Trinity Bar which caught our eye earlier by displaying soccer cartoons on the window. It said they play all Premier League matches. We showed up and it was completely mellow. This was a very nice change from the last pub. A guy was playing guitar while a girl played recorder. I love how all pubs have live music! There were maybe 15 people in the entire place. It had 3 floors with the ladies bathroom on the 3rd floor. If I were drunk there’s no way I would have made it up 3 flights of stairs, just sayin. We watched some of the Italian league and headed to our last pub near Brazen Head called O’Shea’s. This also had Irish music and an accordion! A drunk man tried talking to us twice and the second time he said I should “take pictures the other way” (as in selfies) because I am very beautiful. Aw. That’s sweet, Drunk Man. After we finished our beer we walked back completely drained. Longgg day! And we accomplished everything we wanted to! We returned to the hostel and I was ready to pass out. Until…I heard salsa music. Bing! I was awake again. Mom went to bed and I danced for about 30 minutes. Early rise tomorrow to drive to Galway!

January 26, 2015 - Galway
        Another crazy day! I’m loving it. I forgot to mention yesterday that we successfully retrieved my purple folder of knowledge! We stopped by Brazen Head on the way to Guinness and I asked someone who worked there. She said “Oh yeah! A purple folder with travel plans inside. I was thinking ‘Oh my gosh they lost it on their very first stop!’” I have my powers again! It felt good to have it back in my hands.
       So, today we woke up at 7AM and hit the road at 7:30AM. Big day ahead! We have to travel across the entire country to the west coast. Getting out of Dublin was a piece of cake (unlike Paris). We hit the autobahn around 8AM and were on our way! I stopped at a gas station to grab a coffee and the most amazing sunrise was in view. As I drove, Mom was oooing and ahhing at the changing landscape. This was the only downside to driving - I couldn’t look around! Stone hedges came into view, gorgeous green grass, and old remnants of castles here and there too.

And then….SHEEP!! Everywhere. The roads were SUPER narrow, sheep were everywhere, beautiful views were distracting me, Mom kept getting excited and wanting to take pictures, it rained off and on, the roads were incredibly bumpy and curvy, and trucks would come within inches of hitting me from the opposite direction. Talk about Stress City! But I enjoyed every minute :) It was so thrilling and eventually the narrow roads didn’t seem so narrow. Most of the sheep we saw were marked with a color to signify ownership. Sometimes they had their little hooves on the side of the road. I almost hit 3 sheep today…but I didn’t!! It was like a life sized video game. The crest curves on the road (excuse my transportation engineering nerdiness) came every so often and took us by surprise. We squealed a little each time. I wish we had the entire drive on video. It would be crazy to watch! I must say we navigated the roads quite well. I think I only had to backtrack once. Thank goodness we didn’t get a manual car – we would have never made it. I was clutching the wheel for dear life at times. The drive was very picturesque and we came across HUGE mountains when we started getting close to Kylemore Abbey. We saw a few rainbows too. Leprechauns must be here! We arrived at Kylemore Abbey and took gorgeous pictures while the sun was out. It was our lucky day. We viewed the Gothic Church which was just down the path from the Abbey and much smaller than all the other churches we had seen recently. We then walked inside Kylemore Abbey which had many rooms. Most were blocked off but the interior was well preserved. Next was the Victorian Walled Gardens. We jumped on the shuttle bus (because it was raining at this point) and the driver immediately took off. Just barely made it! I told Mom that when we got there (1 mile away) I bet it would stop raining. And voila! It was true. The weather in Ireland is so fickle. There will literally be a rain cloud out of nowhere for about 10 minutes and then it will be sunny. Reminds me of Blacksburg. The Gardens were very pretty. Lush green everywhere. I can imagine that in the spring it is very beautiful with flowers everywhere. The place was huge! When we got on the shuttle to go back (again we were last on) it was raining…but when we reached the Visitor Center, it was sunny! It’s a magic shuttle bus.

History lesson: Kylemore Abbey was first bought/built as a castle by Mitchell Henry for his wife. He then sold it as an Abbey. We indulged in Irish coffee and lattes in the little café and then left for Galway! Again, the challenge of driving the Irish roads presented itself. This time, we went through several little towns (after long sections of open land with bends and sheep!) where the cars were literally driving at us! Ahhh. ALSO, school just let out in one town and there were mobs of kids walking through the streets. It’s a miracle we survived. We spotted our hostel shortly after (Salmon Weir Hostel) and found parking in a large garage. It was 30 euros to park overnight! Aye yi yii. We lugged all our stuff down the streets and met our host. He is very nice (Dominque) and the hostel is what I expect hostels to be like – homey, shared kitchen and small living room, tiny rooms but cozy, and welcoming “residents.” Forget all that Generator Hostel business in Dublin. Too much! It was like we stayed at a club for 2 nights and now we have come home :) He told us we could move our car to the lot next to the hostel for free after “half six” = 6:30PM. Sweet! That means we won’t have to pay the ridiculous E30. We relaxed for a bit in the hostel and headed out at 7PM. We walked to the garage to move the car and the gate was closed! Shit! It did mention that it closes at 7PM. Eeek. We walked to a different entrance and it was open - score! As we were pulling out, a worker walked out ahead of us. Hmm. Well, here goes nothing...I entered my ticket and the bar raised. Success! As soon as we pulled out, the worker closed the gate. WE MADE IT! SUCK IT parking garage! 7:20PM. Can’t believe that just happened. We gave each other celebratory high-fives and parked the car in the free (and closer) lot. Next, we hit the pubs. Tig Coili was first on the list and had great live music. We downed more Irish beer and then moved to Dail Bar. We both ordered vegetable soup and I got a hard cider (Bulmers, Irish). By this point I was super tired and all I wanted to do was go home and sleep. It’s been a long and stressful day. Thankfully, Mom realized I needed to go to bed so we just returned home. Later wake up tomorrow (8:30AM) Cliffs of Moher here we come! Hopefully we get nice weather.

January 27, 2015 - Cliffs of Moher/Limerick
        We were able to sleep in until 8:15AM woohoo! My body kept waking up earlier because it was confused. I ran to the parking meter for our car as soon as I got dressed because it was a parking lot that started ticketing at 8:30AM. Mom and I headed out at 9AM toward Galway Cathedral. We walked inside and it was neat because it was made of stones (similar to Hokie Stone) that were somewhat jagged. All the other churches seemed so clean-cut. We then walked the Galway Greenway which meandered along the Corrib River and a very green strip of grass that had another water body next to it. Gorgeous. And very popular - many people were on it. The Corrib River was kinda scary because it was flowing so fast! If someone fell in they would surely die. And the water level was almost flush with the top of the arches on the bridges. It was crazy to see. We then explored the pubs during the day, hitting Tig Coili and Dail Bar to see how they differed in daylight. All pubs were closed at this time and all shops were open. It’s funny how this happens in each Irish city. Pubs = night, shops/cafes = day and there’s a clear change in atmosphere. It seems Galway had much to offer in terms of shopping and loudly colored pubs. We left at 10AM sharp and said goodbye to the lovely Salmon Weir Hostel. Simple and cozy! I had slight issues leaving Galway and had to take out my large map of Ireland. Mom laughed and took pictures of me. I refuse to use GPS :)

We took a different route than what I had printed which created confusion but somehow I magically appeared on N6 (our desired road)! It happened so quickly and the only way we knew was because it was painted on the road. Otherwise we would have had no clue. I went through several series of roundabouts, which I loved, and rounded one of them about 3 times because we couldn’t figure out when to get out. Mom laughed as I did this. Round and round we go. Where we end up, we'll never know! Eventually we hit country roads again and the thrills began. I still get pretty stressed while driving but I’m learning how to cope with it. I think it’s a good exercise for me. I basically hold my breath every time a car opposes me. Thank goodness these roads aren’t too popular otherwise I’d never breathe! I get the most uptight when stone walls are on my left. It makes me feel enclosed. Despite all this, I truly love driving the narrow roads that wind left, right, up, down, sideways because it gives me a sense of adventure and challenge. When a lane widens even a little I can tell. And most times I want it to be narrow again for the thrill.

When flat roads come with no curves I REV IT UP! On our way to the Cliffs of Moher we passed through several tiny towns, each with their own charm. This is when driving was problematic because cars would park on the side of the street and I had little room to pass them. Oncoming cars would slow down so I could squeeze by. We arrived at the Cliffs at noon and right before we pulled in, I had to traverse some gnarly hairpin turns. The rental car did not like them one bit. Thankfully, no other cars were using the road. We ate lunch at the café built inside the Cliffs and had a wonderful pizza with a wonderful view. And it wasn’t raining! We lucked out. It was EXTREMELY windy though. We ventured outside after lunch and took lots of pictures. It was beautiful! You could hear the crashing of the gorgeous teal waves against the sharp cliffs. Sometimes we could feel the spray even though we were so high up.

There were little tiny seagulls sprinkled on some of the cliffs in the distance. This sight was simply incredible. We then bought tickets to climb O’Brien’s tower (supposedly best views) and it wasn’t as great of a view as I had hoped. Near this tower a guy was playing Irish music on an accordion which set the scene perfectly. We decided to walk along the edge of the cliffs (Mom soon became nervous and took the lower path) and this was hands-down my favorite part. I was making muddy footprints on the side of these massive cliffs. The views were unbelievable. The accordion could still be heard in the distance as we walked which made it all even better. Each time I looked to my left, I couldn’t believe how little ground separated me from my death. And even more unbelievable was that I wasn’t scared. In fact, I felt totally at ease and so alive! I guess my fear of heights only applies to certain situations. At one point though, the wind actually blew me OFF the path to the right. I decided to take the lower path from that point on. Mom and I attempted to walk down some slippery steps right along the edge of the cliff.

I was surprised, and proud, that Mom wanted to do it. As we descended, a MASSIVE gust of wind and water threw us into the wire fence on our right. It was so powerful and scared us into turning around. I know my limits and I don’t want to die today. After screaming and squealing during ascent, we took a break in the café. Next, we drove to Limerick. This was more challenging than before due to the rain. Thankfully, due to Ireland’s fickle weather patterns, it didn’t last long and I only hit tiny showers here and there from then on. When we arrived in Limerick, Mom and I first checked out King John’s Castle and a church made of stone (of course). We then walked to the recommended pub/restaurant. It served mainly seafood and was called Curragower. I ordered Fish and Chips because I felt obligated to do so and a Smithwick’s Blonde. Great beer! I then drove us around the city of Limerick and scored a sweet parking spot (after being honked at by another vehicle…oops). We split a pint of Beamish Irish Stout at Tim Collins and then we drove around for a bit to see the sights. We faced many challenges trying to find our route to our next accommodation, The Orchard. We tried leaving at 7PM but the street signs were so gosh darn hard to find. I whipped out my map and buried my head inside. Mom took a picture and laughed. This happened several times haha. Map tent! Eventually we found our way and drove on the dark roads of Ireland. Before, I was thinking driving couldn’t possibly get more complicated. But oh wait. Yes it can. Add darkness and rain. This added a little spice to an already difficult venture. Eventually, we made it to our destination. Mom again mentioned that she couldn’t believe how I got us to our endpoint so easily and we were welcomed by Eileen at her B&B. Compared to our previous room, this place was like a kingdom. She served us water and delicious homemade bread cake as we all discussed a little bit about ourselves. It was lovely. Mom and I retired to our bedroom at 9PM. We told Eileen we were leaving at 7:30AM and so she is cooking us breakfast at 7AM (duck egg omelet for me and scrambled hen eggs for Mom, both getting porridge. YUM! And all local farm crops from her husband). Tomorrow is gonna be EARLY EARLY. Here’s to hoping we make it through the day!

January 28, 2015 – Dingle Peninsula/Slea Head Drive
       Whew wee, what a day it’s been so far! We are currently sitting in Caragh Restaurant waiting for our food. Just kidding, we aren’t waiting anymore. Food time!
       Ok, back to this. I’m sipping on a Murphy’s Irish Stout. Which earlier, an older gentleman said was out of season. Lies. We’ve pretty much checked off all the Irish beers we can. Anyway, we started the day very early. We woke up at 6:30AM and ate a scrumptious breakfast prepared by Eileen. She had so much available and I actually ate most of it! Homemade scones (yum!), bread, porridge, duck egg omelet with mushroom, cheese, and pepper, coffee, orange juice, orange, banana slices. Eileen, I decided, sounds exactly like Mrs. Doubtfire. It was uncanny. The forecast for Dingle & Slea Head Drive changed from rainy to very windy. We’ll take it. The drive to Dingle was absolutely beautiful. I actually had to make several pit stops for photos because I couldn’t continue driving without at least soaking in the views for a bit. Whenever Irish music came on the radio it was absolutely like a fairy tale. The green pasturelands with the stone patterns were overwhelming. And the sun was peeking out! This is how I imagined driving through Ireland would be like and now it was coming true. We arrived in Dingle and tried to first find Chowder Restaurant (since one of our family cat's names is Chowder) with no luck. We went in a Tourist Office and the lady told us it was closed because all the fishermen take off in January. Merh. We then began our Slea Head Drive adventure! Oh my gosh this was definitely a highlight of the trip. We were driving right along the coast of Dingle Peninsula and could see the beautiful teal color of the Atlantic Ocean. Especially when the sun moved across it. We were extremely blessed to have the good weather we did. It was cold and windy but sunny nonetheless.

Slea Head Drive (SHD) was a one-lane road for two-way traffic. That was a little concerning but we only encountered 3 opposing vehicles. On SHD we stopped at the bee hive huts which were pretty neat and warm! When we reached Slea Head a huge storm came through. Little mini hail chunks were being thrown at the car and I felt very unsafe with just a rock barrier between us and the cliff. We pulled over shortly after the storm began and I pulled the parking brake to keep us in place. Ironically, there was a Jesus statue to our right as the storm rolled on. The car even began rocking and I thought for sure the parking break wouldn’t be enough. This is when I was glad we had a bigger car. I was scared shitless that we would fly off the side of the cliff in a big,

ferocious gust of wind. Fortunately, the storm passed in 10 minutes time and we continued on. The incredible views just kept coming one after the other. Almost as good as Cliffs of Moher. We stopped to take pictures of the Sleeping Giant with his hand on his beer belly. It looked so much like a giant. As I was taking photos I heard a “Baaa” and initially thought it was someone yelling at me for pulling off the road. I turn around to apologize and come face-to-face with heaps of sheep! They were all running to the fence and making a ruckus. I guess they thought we would feed them. We of course went photo crazy with them. We arrived back in Dingle and walked the very colorful streets while admiring each building’s character. We soon realized that everyone knows each other in Dingle. A small town with lots of charm. We left at 2:30PM towards Killarney.
       I knew we made it to Killarney when I saw St. Mary’s Cathedral. I added Ross’s Castle to the itinerary late in the game and I’m very glad I did! It was worth the trip. It was the most “castle-y” castle we’ve been to. Stone staircases that led to wooden doors and large towers. While driving to Killarney, I “felt” my way around the streets because there were no signs. My senses proved successful once again and Mom continues to be impressed. It must have to do with me being a transportation engineer :) We explored the castle and then checked into the hostel.

It was a very pleasant place! And the guy working the counter was very nice and helpful (Mike). He actually upgraded us to a suite since no one is really here. Our room is spacious with a private bathroom. He gave us recommendations for pubs and food and we hit the streets. It was 6PM at this point and we first went to Caragh for dinner. Very friendly wait staff and mellow place. I ordered Shepard’s Pie to top off my Irish experience and it came with salad and potatoes. Delicious! Mom had Traditional Irish Stew which wasn’t as grand as the one I had at Brazen Head but it came with delightful garlic bread. Which, I found to match perfectly with my Shepard’s Pie. I would spoon some Pie on the bread and take a bite. Heavenly. I would make a sandwich out of it if I were the owner of the restaurant. Simply to die for. Mom and I then did a Bar Crawl. Sorry, PUB Crawl. We started at O’Connnors where we sat at a tall table with wooden bar stools. The place was chill. After we left we went to Mike’s favorite pub – Hussy’s. It was very small and seemed like a local hangout. I sat next to a fireplace and ordered Baileys on the rocks. It was warm and cozy. Then we went to The Laurel’s to order dessert and beer. Again, I situated myself next to a fire. It’s quite lovely that many of the pubs have little fires to warm the place. I ordered Black Toffee Pudding (yum!) which tasted like caramelized waffles and looked like chocolate cake. Mom ordered an ice cream with chocolate and we shared both. We then topped the night off at Grand. This place was fabulous. Live music, busy but not overwhelming, and enough space to feel comfortable. Can’t imagine what it’s like on a Saturday. It took me 10 minutes to order our Jameson Ginger and Lime (which was delicious btw). We left at 10:30PM exhausted from the long day and crashed in bed at 11:30PM. We are going to sleep in slightly until 7:45AM. Then, Ring of Kerry! Last day :(

January 29, 2015 – Ring of Kerry
       Started feeling sick this day :( Had to happen eventually. That Irish cold. Today was our last full in day in Ireland :( We definitely made the best of it though. We slept in until 7:45AM, packed up, ate a simple breakfast that was provided by the hostel (bonus points for this place), and hit the road for the Ring of Kerry at 9AM. I planned a solid 6 hours for this drive because it was supposed to have some of the best views in Ireland and it was a 3.5 hour drive to begin with. It was kinda gloomy weather when we started. I had to keep my right hand active, switching the wipers from on to off. We first stopped at Ballycarbery Castle which required us to drive on a one lane bridges for two-way traffic. The car who reached the bridge first had priority. When we crossed, two daring ladies were walking across it. I was sure I was going to hit them but it turned out fine. We reached the castle, after driving on a one lane road for two way traffic (cars had to move onto the grass for passing), and I ended up off-roading. Aww yeah!

The mud road ended and so I had to turn around in sticky mud and almost didn’t make it out. I felt like Dad trying to attempt the impossible. Like father, like daughter. We parked and I ran out to take photos. As soon as I returned, it started raining. Just beat it! (This would be a trend throughout the rest of the day). We drove back to the Ring after taking our side trip and passed through many small towns. We drove through some mountains on a windy road which reminded me of the Blue Ridge Parkway. At this point, I was not impressed by the RofK and was wondering why people made such a big deal about it. We eventually reached Portmagee, where Mike told us to cross a bridge, and drove to Brays Head. This provided outstanding views! When we first got there, it was dark and rainy, but after 5 minutes (literally) a blue sky rolled in and it was nice weather. We debated walking to the old tower just up the hill but decided it was way too windy and rain could roll in at any moment. After this, we drove to Geokaun Mountain and Fogher Cliffs. The entire road was only big enough for one vehicle and at every bend I carefully inched around the corner. Once we arrived, we had to pay for a parking pass at an empty kiosk and we literally were the only ones visiting. We paid anyway and began driving up the hill. We reached the first overlook which were some cliffs and we did not get out to walk due to wind. We reached the second overlook and all hell broke loose from the sky. It was a black color and wind rocked the car. It worried me just as much as it did on Slea Head Drive. We moved the car behind a grass barrier to help block the wind from our vehicle. Even then we could feel the car rocking. After the storm passed (again after 5 minutes), I moved slowly to the overlook and stepped out to snag some photos. I was doing well until a monster gust threw me back 10 feet. Holy moly! Mom said it was quite the sight – watching me take pictures and then all of a sudden seeing me being blown backwards along the car. She found it amusing. I found it frightening! I jumped back in and we decided not to drive to the 3rd and final overlook because we were concerned about our safety.

Wind holding me upright

Generally, I wouldn’t succumb to this decision but I was truly scared. We drove back down and witnessed some of the most spectacular views. There was a large body of water shimmering in the sun among mountains and lush green lands. It was picture perfect and was the true Irish experience. (Speaking of Irish experience, theme parks should make a ride called The Irish Experience and have the patron drive a car on windy, bumpy roads with vehicles coming at you). After our mountain adventure we continued on the Ring through the Skellig Ring. Mike was right, taking the bridge from Portmagee was a definite highlight. We then stopped at Kerry Cliffs which claimed to have “the best views.” We parked and paid. Mom asked if it was safe to walk up since it was so windy. The lady said we needed to be extremely careful and then reduced the price by E2. Don’t know if that’s a good or bad sign! We decided we needed to reach the top as quickly as possible since rain could hit at any moment – we were getting the hang of this whole Irish weather nonsense. So what did we do? We began to run.

A 10 minute walk turned into a 4 minute run. I was exhausted after this sprint! Man, I’m out of shape. Mom came up shortly after and we observed breathtaking views. The cliffs were ginormous! I was getting pretty nervous when we walked to the very edge. One gust of wind could throw us over the tiny wire fence and into the depths of the ocean. The water crashed against the cliffs and was a gorgeous teal color. Teal and lush green make the perfect combination. I was loving it. We saw a storm approaching, at which point we decided it was time to leave. RUN!! We made it to the car right before it started hailing. BOOYAH! We continued the drive which took us over the mountains and alongside the Atlantic Ocean. Stunning! The views reminded me of St. Thomas – beautiful water and land with islands in the distance. This portion of the drive blew my mind.

Today's Irish weather forecast: windy

I was now impressed. Forget what I said earlier. I was speechless and really wished I was a passenger. We stopped for lunch at 1:30PM in Waterville (about ½ done in terms of distance) and most cafes were closed. A common trend. We landed in Au Corcorans where I had Homemade Chowder Soup (finally! And yum!) and cappuccino. I was starting to feel real tired by this point – so much driving and concentration. I drove a little faster the rest of the trip. We then came upon HUGE mountains with snow on them. The grass was barren and there was a lake resting at the bottom. It looked exactly like the LOTR tour I took in New Zealand.

Amazing. We were finally reaching the end of the Ring after going through many changes in weather/landscape (jungle, hail, snow, marsh, mountains, pasturelands, cascades, stone). Our final stop was the Torc Waterfall at the end of the Ring. This was technically in the Killarney National Park. The trees were covered in moss which made it creepy and mysterious. The waterfall was a short 5 minute hike. We took pictures and quickly walked back to the car in case of rain. We called it! It rained/sleeted as soon as we closed the doors. Pros. We were very blessed to have the spotty good weather we did. And to time each major viewpoint when it wasn’t raining. I’ve heard that many people aren’t as fortunate and only see parts of the drive due to fog or rain. Someone’s looking out for us.
       Around 4PM we headed toward to Shannon. The drive was long and tiring. Good weather off and on. We left when it was snowing and then it became sunny/cloudy. I was struggling to stay awake near the end and accidentally navigated us into Limerick which added 30 minutes to our trip. Oops. We eventually reached Shannon and I somehow got us to the airport without realizing it. I must have a knack for navigation! We confirmed the location of the car returns and I drove us to our B&B. I literally just “felt” my way through the roundabouts and streets to get us to our destination. We arrived at 7PM which was actually 30 minutes earlier than intended! Dunno how in the world that happened. This B&B is much nicer than The Orchard. And the hosts are much chattier. Spacious and well organized. We met Catherine and Sean, our hosts, and headed out for a late dinner and drink at Shannon Nights (suggested by Cat). It was a very neat place with abstract lighting. I ended my beer intake with a Guinness. Perfect way to end the journey. Mom and I split a pizza and then filled up on gas before heading back to the B&B. Once we arrived, we chatted with our hosts for a bit and crashed HARD. Waking up at 5:30AM YIKES! Plane home at 8:50AM.

January 30, 2015 – Airport Day
       I was too lazy/tired to record anything this day so I will just use Mom’s thoughts :)
“Shannon Airport B&B. Return rental car 6:30AM. Hertz guy drove us to terminal at 6:40AM. Yawn. Julie had Irish coffee. Through customs. Landed at Heathrow 10:20AM ish. Through security checkpoints twice. 3 hour layover. Breakfast at Huxley's, a traditional English restaurant.  I had Yorkshire Pudding and Bailey's Latte. Julie had soup.  Very busy place. Instead of walking onto plane, at end of ramp we went down to tarmac and waited for a bus. Bussed out to airplane in groups. One third of people on the plane were sneezing/coughing, including Julie.”


Post trip thoughts: Mom and I experienced the common post-travel depression for about 3 days and we miss Ireland so much! It was the best mother-daughter trip I could ask for :) I didn’t realize she was such a stellar drinker haha. The whole Europe trip in general was one for the books. And being able to spend it with my parents made it that much more spectacular. Hopefully we can do it again and include Kenneth!