Ireland 2013 (1)
(Click on images to expand view)
St Stephen's Green - Dublin, Ireland (2)
Swans on St Stephen's Green Pond (3)
Splendid Day at St Stephen's Green (4)
Trinity College (5)
Queueing up at the Book of Kells (6)
"I'll have another Pint!" (7)
High Street Art (8)
Stained Glass (9)
Tower of St Audoen's (10)
Glendalough (11)
Glendalough Monastic Ruins (12)
Castle at Kilkenny (13)
Cliff Path Loop - Howth (14)
Howth Head Coastline (15)
Cliff Path Loop (16)
Cliffs of Moher (17)
O'Brien's Tower (18)
Quin Abby (19)
Inside the Abby (20)
Old Ground Hotel Entrance (21)
Happy Trails!
To Dublin, Ireland…or
not?
Our International Travel Experience
For the past three years, our National Park Treks have
dominated our travel plans. I have been the primary planner of where and when
we traveled to the 41 Parks we’ve visited to date. This year, Terry and I
agreed that it would be “Terry’s Choice” as to where we ventured.
She’s always had an affinity to travel to Europe. We’ve been
to Amsterdam, Paris and to Madrid over the past several years largely because
of her “flight benefits” with US Airways that has allowed us to travel overseas
“first class”…for a bargain price.
Traveling “standby” is not my cup of tea. However, for a
mere hundred bucks each way, we are almost
guaranteed a seat in “First” whenever we travel internationally. The reason
being that, unlike domestic travel where frequent fliers can upgrade to First
easily and inexpensively, those same frequent fliers would have to pay full pop
for an international first class seat. The cost of that seat would run in the
thousands of dollars; consequently, many of the first class seats go unsold.
This creates opportunity for people like us and is perhaps one of the few remaining
benefits for travel-minded airline personnel!
In mid April, Terry was still undecided as to which European
destination she would like us to visit. We’d tossed around Italy, Germany, Portugal,
going back to Madrid and other destinations that appealed to us. On a working
flight in late April, Terry chatted it up with a fellow Flight Attendant who
said she’d had a great time in Dublin, Ireland.
Dublin is one of the airports US Airways services from
Philadelphia. After a brief discussion, we both decided that our international
destination this year would be Ireland! Being Terry’s year to decide on our
travel destinations, I left all arrangements entirely up to her. Hotels, air
transportation, car rentals (if needed), tours, etc. As for the Hotel, I had
accumulated enough points to allow us to stay at the Conrad Dublin Hotel (an
affiliate of the Hilton chain) for five nights for free! This proved to be a
good start for our overseas adventure!
With regards to the air transportation, we would need to get
to Philadelphia in order to hop on the US Airways flight to Dublin, Ireland.
Since I am a frequent flyer of Southwest Air, I have over the years accumulated
MANY frequent flier points, which would allow me to book a free flight to
Philly. In addition, I have flown so many miles on SWA, that I qualified for a
“Companion Pass” which enables the companion of my choice to fly virtually free
on any flight on which I was booked. Terry, of course, is my “companion of
choice!”
For $5 each way, she can join me on any SWA flight on which
I travel. So we had a choice: Fly standby on USAir for free…or pay $5 to SWA
and have a positive space ticket? (No contest) Being that we had chosen to
depart Phoenix on the Friday of the Memorial Day weekend, the chances of us
getting on a USAir flight as standby passengers was something we did not want
to chance. The no-brainer choice of course was to book us on SWA from PHX to
Philly.
5:14 pm Thursday, May
23.
Terry’s out and about doing some chores. It occurs to me
that I can now check us in and get our boarding passes for our 4pm flight to
Philly tomorrow. I find my flight record, go to SWA’s website and hit the
“check in” button. Because I am an
“A-Lister” (one who travels way too many business miles each year), my priority
number is A-19. For those of you unfamiliar with the way SWA boards their
aircraft, those with a Boarding Pass of A-1 thru A-60 pretty much have the
choice of any seat they’d like on the airplane. A-19 means I will choose an
isle seat in row 17.
Why row 17 you ask? I’ve learned long ago that SWA typically
has three flight attendants on every flight. From a beverage services
standpoint, the three of them divide the plane into thirds. The Flight Attendant
stationed in the front part of the cabin serves rows 1 thru 8. The “2nd”
Flight Attendant serves row 9 thru 16. The FA servicing the rear of the
aircraft serves rows 17 thru the back of the bus.
Hence, those sitting in row 17 typically will get their
drink order early into the flight. On short flights, this is very important! Sitting
in row 16 could mean no service for you!
Once I’d checked myself in, I thought that it would be
appropriate to check in my companion. I searched Terry’s desk for her
confirmation number and came up empty. I logged on to my account to look up her
confirmation number. I couldn’t locate it. I decided to wait until she returned
home from her errands and let her check herself in.
When she came home, I told her I’d checked in, tried to
check her in, but was unable to locate her confirmation number. She said she’d
take care of it so I went into the kitchen to make a snack. After a few
minutes, I heard Terry mumbling a few profanities and then heard her speaking
to a SWA agent on the phone. She had called in to find out what her Companion
Pass confirmation number was as she, too, had trouble locating it.
An explosive F-bomb was dropped in the office shortly after
she hung up the phone. Terry discovered she was not booked on the flight to
Philly! Apparently, when she made my reservation over a month ago, she had gotten
distracted and failed to make her companion pass reservation! And now, the flight was sold out!
Now what? I’ve got a ticket to Philly…but my wife and travel
companion does not! What are the options? It’s Memorial Day Weekend. Booking
travel at the last minute during a major Holiday is dubious at best!
Plan B – Terry frantically checks the US Airways flight schedule
from PHX to PHL for Friday. A small light at the end of the tunnel appears. There
are several flights available. Most of them are oversold, however, as a US Air
Flight Attendant, Terry might be able to hop on one of the empty “Jump Seats.” (A
jump seat is one of those uncomfortable seats that Flight Attendants must sit
on during takeoff and landing.) She calculates there are 8 Jump Seats on the
three flights scheduled to depart between 10:30 am and 2:30 pm.
Terry lists herself on the 10:30 flight. I drop her off at
the airport at 9 am…hoping she can successfully get aboard one of the three
USAir flights that depart for Philly prior to my 4 pm flight. I tell her that
if she cannot catch one of these three flights, I’m not going to Philly without
her!
After dropping Terry off, I take C-Dawg over to Barb
Drummond’s house. Barb is our “dog sitter.” She asks why Terry is traveling to
Philly so early when she knew that our original time of departure was 4 pm and
why I’m not travelling with her. I smile and simply state, “it’s complicated!”
10:33 am. My cell phone rings. It’s Terry. Moment of truth!
Did she make the flight…or not? “I’m on,” she informs me! “I’ve got one of the
jump seats in the rear of the plane…so I’ll see you in Philly later this
evening!”
Later that afternoon, my flight to Philly departs about a
half hour late. I become deeply engrossed in the book, Betrayal in Dallas – a very convincing conspiracy theory book about
the assassination of JFK and those who were most likely involved in it. The
main culprits are JFK’s power hungry Veep, J Edgar, local corrupt politicians
and the Pearl Street Mafia.
My plane arrives in Philly at 11:34pm. By this time I am
convinced that Lee Harvey had nothing to do with the assassination of Kennedy.
After fetching my luggage, I call the hotel shuttle van for pickup. Terry and I
are reunited and can now begin our international trek together!
At 1:05am, our hotel room phone rings. It’s the Front Desk.
The Clerk informs me that he has my wallet. What the? My ID. Credit Cards. A
bunch of cash. What’s all that doing at the Front Desk and not in my room? I
did remember taking my wallet out to get a couple of bucks for the Shuttle Bus
Driver. Apparently, I failed to put it back in my pocket and left it on the
van! A true Samaritan turned it in to the Van Driver. He too a Samaritan turned
it in to the Front Desk. The Front Desk Samaritan let me know that I had
misplaced my wallet!
What an inauspicious start to our vacation! Terry forgets to
book herself on the first leg of our journey and I try to lose my wallet. What
else could go wrong? In the morning, I discover the possibilities!
Flying with Terry means flying Stand By. No guaranteed seat.
Without a shadow of doubt, this is my least favorite mode of
transportation. Flying Internationally with Terry means we will fly “First
Class”…provided there are two seats available in the front of the airplane. Throughout
the day, Terry continuously checked the PBT’s (Passenger Boarding Totals). Of the
12 seats in “First”, 7 seats had been purchased. That left 5 seats available
for Employees and their families.
To qualify for Standby, in Coach or First, the Employee must
list herself and her family members at least a couple hours prior to departure.
The Standby system is based on seniority. Those who have been employees the
longest go to the the top of the list no matter when they listed themselves. On
Friday, when Terry checked the PBT’s and the Standby list, we were numbers 3
and 4 with 5 seats available. “No problem,” says Terry. (“Right!” I mumble
under my breath.)
Our flight to Dublin is scheduled to depart Philly at 9 pm
on Saturday. We’ve got all day in Philly and decide to take the train into town
to visit the city. Before we depart to the train station, Terry decides to
check the PBT’s again. A grim expression covers her face. A family of 5 with
higher seniority has now listed themselves on the flight! We are now numbers 8
and 9 on the Standby List…for the remaining 5 seats!
Now what? Worst case
scenario – we spend another night in Philly and hope to catch the Sunday Flight
to Dublin. Since we really have no pressing commitments in Dublin aside from
our Hotel reservation, we initiate our best Alfred E. Newman attitudes and hop
the train into Philly to enjoy the day. We’ll
check the PBT’s later in the day.
The Train drops us off adjacent to the Reading Terminal
Market – Philadelphia’s historic Farmer’s Market featuring an exotic selection
of eclectic restaurants situated amongst the many vendors hawking their fruits
and vegetables, meats, seafood, poultry, pastries, arts and crafts, flowers and
such.
On previous “working flights” to Philly, Terry was
introduced to a Thai food kiosk at the Marketplace featuring a bowl of salmon
and broccoli on a bed of white rice splashed with a spicy Thai sauce. She
insists we eat our lunch here…if we can only find it! It’s Saturday morning on the Memorial
Weekend. The place is bustling with a multitude of diverse people busily buying
produce, shopping for gifts and noshing on Cheesesteaks.
We weave our way up and down the aisles searching for the
Little Thai Market. We pass Wan’s
Seafoods, Martin’s Quality Meats and Sausage, Tootsie’s Salad Express and Molly
Malloy’s. We make another pass up and down the aisles. We find Hatville Deli,
Iovine Brothers Produce and Old city Coffee…but no Thai Market.
One last pass before I order up a Philly Cheesesteak!
Finally…sandwiched between Salumeria, Downtown Cheese and the Cookbook Stall,
we arrive at the Little Thai Market. This dish was well worth the effort! If
fresh salmon grilled with a slight char and dressed with a sweet and sour spicy
sauce appeals to you, do try this simple meal if ever you find yourself at the
Reading Terminal Market.
After lunch, Terry and I wandered the streets of Philly. She
checks the PBT’s from time to time to see if the standby flight status has
changed. We’ve already checked out of the hotel and when I inquired about
purchasing another night’s stay, the Desk Clerk informed me that the Hotel was
sold out! (I suppose we could sleep at the airport!)
It’s now closing in on 5 pm. Our flight to Dublin is
scheduled to depart at 9. For international travel, it is advised that you
check in 2½ to 3 hours prior to departure. We depart the Market and take the
train back to the airport. We call the Hotel shuttle; pick up our bags and head
back to Terminal A at PHL International Airport.
At 6pm, we pass thru security and find a Vino Volo Wine Bar.
I need vino! As we order up a flight of reds and a cheese plate, Terry checks
the PBT’s once again. T-minus three hours and counting. Where do we stand? An enthusiastic smile appears on Terry’s
face! The family of 5 has withdrawn their names from the standby list! That
puts us back up to numbers 3 and 4. With 5 seats available, we will make the
flight! Another round, Bartender!
Saturday, May 25th,
9:00pm – we’re seated in First Class departing for Dublin, Ireland! Flight
time of approximately 7 hours will have us landing in Dublin around 8:30 am on
Sunday morning. Dublin is 5 hours ahead of Philadelphia and 8 hours ahead of
Phoenix.
Terry insisted I post "the rest of the story"... so here ya go!
Sunday, May 26th,
8:16 am – We’ve landed in the Republic of Ireland ahead of schedule. The
skies are overcast. The temperature outside is cool, yet very pleasant. We
locate the Bus Station and hop on the Airbus to our hotel – the Conrad Dublin.
The streets are quiet this Sunday morning.
After a very restless night’s sleep on the plane, we’re
hoping our room might be ready when we arrive. Not to be. So, we drag our jet
lagged weary bodies to the Hotel restaurant and opt for breakfast. Dublin, like
most every European major city, is not an inexpensive date. Our buffet
breakfast, consisting of runny scrambled eggs, sausages, toast and coffee came
to 48 Euro - $64 US dollars!
After breakfast, we took to the streets to explore. Our
first destination is St. Stephens Green – a beautiful city centre Park located
2 blocks from our hotel that was originally established in 1664.
The 22-acre, rectangular Park is adjacent to Grafton Street
– one of Dublin’s primary shopping areas. On the north side of the Park there
is a sizable duck pond where we discovered a mother Swan and her 8 fuzzy
babies. We lazed around the park until noon. Now exhausted, we made our way
back to the Hotel, checked in and took a much-needed 3-hour nap! (Pictures 2,3
&4)
After the snooze, it was time to get out and explore once
again. This time, our destination was Temple Bar. Temple Bar is located just
south of the River Liffey in central Dublin and is known as the “cultural
quarter” of activity. It’s the home of many Irish Pubs and is famous for its
lively nightlife. So lively, that in
1999 “Stag Parties” and “Hen Nights” were banned (or at least discouraged) from Temple Bar,
mainly due to drunken loutish behavior! The Irish do like their Guinness and
Jamison! If there ever was a “ban” on public drunkenness, the Guarda (local
cops) seem to be oblivious to the “law”.
Upon recommendation from our good friends - the Gill’s and Kirkwoods – we dined this
evening at Oliver St. John Gogarty’s Pub. I’d heard the Guinness in Ireland
tastes much better than a Guinness in the States. Having had a Stateside
Guinness many years ago, I had never acquired a taste for what I considered a
thick, bitter beer. But being that we were in Guinness’s front yard…I felt
compelled to give ‘er a go!
What a remarkable difference between the local Guinness and
the one served in the States! Here, this beer is rich, creamy, full of body and
aroma. We learned that the subtle burnt flavor is derived from the roasted
unmalted barley and the source of the thick, creamy head comes from mixing the
beer with nitrogen when it is poured. (Picture 7)
Our Waitress suggested Terry try a “Girlie Guinness” – a ½
pint of Guinness with a shot of Black Current to take a bit of the edge off the
beer. Now Terry normally does not drink beer. In fact, she rarely drinks
anything alcoholic these days. However, after consuming her Girlie Guinness,
she was hooked!
Dinner had to be Traditional Irish. I ordered the Corned
Beef and Cabbage. Terry the Irish Stew. The meal was delightful albeit the
portions were designed for Rugby players!
Monday, May 27th
- 2:30 am. I’m wide awake! What the heck’s going on here? I’ve only slept
three hours yet here I sit like the night watchman. I read my book. I play my
game. I contemplate waking Terry up but decide against that! Finally, at 5:30 I
am able to doze off for a couple more winks.
Back to the Breakfast Bar. This morning we are told that
breakfast is included at no charge as a perk associated with me being a Hilton
Honors Diamond Member! This creates a curiosity with Terry. Yesterday, we paid
48 Euro for soggy eggs and she was wondering why. She’s on the case and within 8 minutes, she
tells me the Hotel has credited back the 48 Euro we spent on yesterday’s breakfast!
We are now good to eat “on the House”.
After breakfast, we begin our day of discovery – our walking
tour of Dublin. First stop – Trinity
College and the Book of Kells. By the time we arrived at Trinity College, the
“queue” to get into the Book of Kells was far too lengthy! We opted out today
and continued on to Grafton Street, across the River Liffey to the North side
and on to the Leprechaun Museum. (Pictures 5 & 6)
What the heck…we’re in Ireland. Let’s take a peek at the
National Leprechaun Museum! The chap at the ticket counter was one of the many
lively, friendly, helpful Irish people we encountered during our visit. He
happily took our €32 Euro and ushered us into the waiting room where Sarah, our
“Storyteller” would soon join us for our one-hour tour of the Museum. I will
spare you the dreadful details. This was our least favorite stop
during our entire visit to Ireland!
After departing the Museum, we wandered westward down Abby
Street Mid to our next destination – St. Mary’s Abby built in 1190. The Abby
was closed today. We later discovered that many of the attractions are closed
on Monday’s! After wandering the grounds, we headed off to visit the Old
Jamison Distillery. The Queue at the Distillery was similar to that at the Book
of Kells, so rather than see how whiskey is made, we opted for lunch!
After lunch, we crossed back over the River Liffey and on to
the Guinness Storehouse. This place was a zoo as well, however, we sucked it up
and paid the €16 entry fee (each) to discover the secrets of making Guinness.
When we toured the Heineken Brewery in Amsterdam a few years ago, Terry and I
were two of but only a few folks taking the tour. We pretty much had the place
to ourselves. At Guinness, however, there were thousands of visitors crowding
every display! Sadly, making the comparison between the Heineken facility and
the Guinness Storehouse, we preferred our experience in Amsterdam.
After visiting the vast facility and consuming our
“complimentary” Pint (I guess they don’t consider the €16 entry fee into the equation), we headed
back eastward along the maze of streets to visit a couple of the cathedrals.
Speaking of the streets…or for that matter, the street
signs…good luck! Leaving the Guinness Storehouse, we began heading east on Thomas
Street. A couple of blocks later, it becomes Cornmarket. Another block, the
street name changes to High Street. Another block – its’ now Christchurch
Place. One more block –Lord Edward Street. Then it becomes Dame Street, College
Green and finally Pearse Street!
And to find a street sign? Posted high up on the side of the
buildings adjacent to the street you’re on, you may find a street sign. Then again…you may not find one! Your best
bet is to ask a “local” for help. As long as they don’t respond in
Gaelic…you’ll get a warm, friendly response that will be much easier to
understand than the street names or street maps.
Other stops during the day included St Audoen’s Church – the
oldest parish church in Dublin. Originally constructed in 1190, over the ages
the church has undergone many additions and changes; however, it is still in
full operation. Here we were treated to
a “private showing” by one of the volunteers – a fine Irishman who was
delighted to share his knowledge about the church and Ireland with us! (Picture
10)
What intrigues me about structures such at this church is
how the work force of the day managed to build such grand and detailed
buildings without the help of any of our modern day tools. They did not have
electricity to power tools. They did not have trucks to haul materials. But
they did have the ingenuity to craft out incredible works of structural art.
The Architecture of John’s Lane Church was magnificent yet
the most striking element of this church was its stunningly beautiful stained
glass windows. (Picture 9)
After admiring the cathedral craftsmanship of times passed,
we strolled through the Temple Bar area and wound up at Bewley’s Grafton Street
Café. Beyond a doubt – the best coffee in Ireland. We’ve never had a better tasting
Cappuccino!
Tuesday, May 28th
– 2:33 am. Again, I am wide awake in the wee hours of the morning! To keep
from disturbing Terry, I head to the bathroom, close the door and sit on the
tub reading my book. I could not go back to sleep!
Terry wakes up around 7 and asks how long I’ve been in the
bathroom. I tell her “four and a half hours.”
Concerned, she asks me if everything is ok! “That’s a long time to be in
the shitter,” she remarks. I assure her that the time in the head was well
spent and there was nothing to be concerned about!
Today we walk! After
breakfast, we set out on our “long walk.” First stop – the Book of Kells.
Trinity College is located about a half mile from our hotel, about a 15-minute
walk. The Library opens at 9:30. We arrive at a little after 9 and find only a
short waiting line queued up for the Book. By the time the doors open, the line
is formidable! (5,6)
The Book of Kells is a lavishly illustrated text written in
Latin by a collection of artists and scribes who were devoted to capturing and
communicating the study of God’s word via books. Written over twelve hundred
years ago, the Book is believed to have been created by Monks living on the
Island of Iona; however, there are at least four conflicting theories as to its
origin.
The Book contains the four Gospels of the New Testament
along with other texts and tables. It was sent to Dublin around 1653 for
security reasons and has been housed Trinity College since 1661.
From Trinity College, Terry and I walked westbound along the
pedestrian path on the north side of the River Liffey. Our destination –
Phoenix Park! Established in 1662, Phoenix Park is Dublin’s largest urban park
covering 1,750 acres.
The Dublin Zoo is nestled in the southeastern reaches of the
Park is one of the area’s main attractions. The Zoo was opened to the public on
Sept 1, 1831, making it the world’s third oldest Zoo.
Following our visit to the Park, Terry and I went to jail!
We toured Kilmainhan Gaol – Dublin’s former prison turned museum. Built in
1796, Kilmainham Gaol was supposed to be an upgrade to the vile dungeon which
housed the incarcerated.
The Gaol was soon overcrowded with no segregation of men,
women and children. There were often 5 prisoners assigned to a small, dark
cell. The only “heat” came from a candle that each prisoner received and the
candles needed to last two weeks.
Once we got out of jail, Terry and I headed back toward our
Hotel. We will walk over 10 miles today preferring to walk rather than ride the
Jump-on/Jump-off Busses. We simply got their trail map and walked it!
Back to Gogerty’s for another meal, more Guinness and to
listen to traditional Irish Musicians. Since I’d been awake since 2:30, my
eyelids began to sag! We have another full day ahead of us tomorrow, so once we
departed Gogerty’s, it was bedtime for Binky!
Wednesday, May 29th
– Today, I actually slept in til 6 am! I suppose my body has finally adapted to
the jet lag. On Monday, we asked the Hotel Concierge to recommend a Day Trip
outside the city so we could experience the Irish countryside. He suggested we
take a Day Trip to Glendalough and Kilkenny. He contacted Collins Day Tours and
signed us up for the Wednesday Tour.
The Bus picked us up at the Conrad at 9:10am sharp. Good
thing we had reservations as the Tour was sold out! Leaving the city, we headed
southwest toward Glendalough. A quaint town in nestled in the Wicklow
Mountains, Glendalough (Glen of Two Lakes) is noted to be one of the most
important sites of monastic ruins in all of Ireland.
The key features of our stop at Glendalough were a visit to
the upper and lower lakes, a stroll through the wooded grounds and a visit to
the 30 meter Round Tower and the several Monastic ruins which lie amongst the
hundreds of tombstones spread throughout the grounds. (Pictures 11, 12)
Departing from Glendalough, we traveled westward towards
Hollywood, then southwest to the ancient Medieval Capital of Ireland – Kilkenny
City. The countryside was quiet with
rolling hills covered with freshly sprouted grasses.
Our tour’s final
destination is the city of Kilkenny and primarily the Kilkenny Castle. The
original owner of the Castle was William Marshall, 1st Earl of
Pembroke. Castle construction began in
1195 and was completed in 1213. (Picture
13)
In 1391, James Butler bought the Castle and the Butler
Dynasty held title to the property up until 1967 when Arthur Butler, 6th
Marquess and 24th Earl of Ormonde, sold the abandoned and
deteriorating castle to the Castle Restoration Committee for £50. (Approximately
a hundred bucks!)
The Butler family had lived in the Castle up until 1935 when
the upkeep of the Castle had become a financial burden. The Butler family sold
off the contents of the Castle in 1935 for £6,000 and moved to London.
What intrigued me the most about the Castle was the
thickness of the walls. In one of the Castle’s three Towers, I measured the
walls to be 8 feet thick! The walls of the main building were a good 3 to 4
feet thick – made of stone and mortar.
Upon returning to our Hotel following our Tour of
Glendalough and Kilkenny, we asked our Tour Guide for suggestions about other
worthwhile local destinations. She recommended we visit the town of Howth – a
short distance outside Dublin and easily
accessible via DART. (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) The Bay Area’s system is called BART.
Dublin’s is DART. Would the Philadelphia Rapid Transit System be called PHART?
Thursday, May 30th. Today, we're off to explore the town of Howth
– a Dublin coastal village! This quaint suburban fishing village is a half hour
DART ride outside of Dublin and sits on a hilly peninsula. Today, the weather
is fabulous. Nary a cloud in the sky! (Pictures 14,15,16)
Once we exit the Howth DART Train Depot, Terry and I begin
our walkabout by visiting the shops along the West Pier. As it’s still early,
most of the shops and restaurants are not open. Terry is in need of a pee and
the closest public pee station is located at the base of the East Pier.
So…that’s where we’re headed! (Does your wife need to pee every ten minutes
like mine?)
As we approach the Public Toilets it becomes obvious to me
that they are out of service. Barricades and construction workers surround the
facility – this pee station is definitely out of order! And now Terry isn’t the
only one in need of a potty!
Adjacent to the Public Toilets is the King Sitric
Restaurant. It’s got Bewley’s coffee cappuccino’s and a potty. We’ll take
advantage of both! During our rest stop, we studied the local area map and
discovered this area is a haven for hikers! The peninsula offers several Loop
Trails. After studying the map, we have chosen to take the Cliff Path Loop - a
walking trail that hugs the steep cliffs of the Howth peninsula.
From sea level, the Trail gradually climbs up a couple
hundred feet and offers the hiker a fabulous view of Ireland’s Eye (a small
Island just off the coast), the Irish Sea, the steep cliffs and a panoramic
view of Dublin Bay.
By the time our walk comes to an end, both Terry and I are
famished. We opt to dine at Ivan’s, an upscale (and pricy) restaurant located
at the foot of the West Pier. The Fish and Chips and Vino are delightful!
Back to Dublin via DART. Dinner tonite at Isabelle’s. The
best meal of the trip by far! Whereas most all of our other meals in and about
Dublin featured quantity over quality, Isabelle’s had the right combination of
both. I had the seared Sea Scallops. Terry had the Roast Duck. Both meals were
exquisitely presented and full of flavor.
Friday, May 31st
– Today we depart Dublin and head west to Ennis for a couple of days prior to
our departure from the Shannon Airport on Sunday.
We opted to rent a car and take to the roads on our own. If
you’ve ever driven in Ireland (or Great Britain), you would know that they
drive on the WRONG side of the street! Plus, their cars are built funny. The
steering wheel is situated where the passenger is supposed to sit!
Let’s see…drive on the left. Pay close attention when
entering the round-about. Watch out for Tour Busses. Keep you eye’s open for
the occasional road sign. (good luck with that one – rent the GPS instead!) Put
it in drive and away we go!
The good news - the Budget car rental facility was near the
Dublin airport. Upon leaving Budget, I had only to navigate a couple of “Irish
left hand turns”. Terry yells at me again…”Turn right…turn right…not left!”
My mind is programmed as such: Whenever a driver must cross
two lanes of traffic…it's a left hand turn. I’ve been making those turns for
the past 46 years. So here we are in Ireland…driving on the wrong side of the
road…and making turns that cross over an oncoming lane of traffic. In essence,
in Ireland from the left lane, you make a turn, crossing over the oncoming left
lane traffic and merge into your left lane…all in the name of a right hand
turn! I couldn’t quite get the hang of calling this a right turn…so I invented
the Irish Left Turn!
The other interesting point about driving in Ireland is the
width of the country roads. The lanes on the freeways are plenty wide. The
country roads…not so much. Imagine the width of a compact car. Add a couple of
inches on either side. Multiply that by 2. Line either side of the road with an
ancient stone wall. And when I say “line”…I mean literally build the road right
up next to the wall! Read: no shoulder! That’s about the extent of it. Now the
best part. Post a speed limit of 100 km/h on these narrow, curvey roads that
have no shoulders and let er rip! Driving around western Ireland was like
racing on a narrow Go Cart track…at 60 mph!
We arrived at the Old Ground Hotel at 2:15 pm and checked in
to room 522. The lift (Irish for elevator) had four options: 0 (Ground floor)
2, 4 and 5. I wondered what happened to floors 1 and 3! Perhaps 1 and 3 looks
too much like 13 and their superstitions kept them from using them? (Picture
21)
I suppose I should note that we were very fortunate to have
scored a room at the Old Ground for Friday and Saturday nights. On Wednesday,
when we heard that the upcoming weekend was a three-day Bank Holiday, we
decided that rather than “wing it”, it may be prudent to make a reservation
somewhere! True to form, most everything was booked for the weekend, so we were
fortunate to have a roof over our heads! (Note: I like to plan…Terry likes to
“wing it”. Being 8,000 miles from home…I believe planning is more prudent…but what
do I know?)
Parking at the hotel is a joke. Too few spaces…too many
cars. Plus, the Hotel is situated in the tourist section of town so I have to
believe that many of the cars parked in the Hotel Lot were not guests! We had
to park on the metered street. Two hours of parking for €1.3. At 2:25 I deposit
the fare and we’re off to explore the Town.
We have lunch at YOLO (You only live once). The
restaurant/pub was nice; however, my take on the meal: the name should be YOEHO
(You only eat here once) After lunch, we take off on the Historical Trail which
wanders mainly through a residential neighborhood and around the Tim Smythe
Park. Not much to look at.
Tried to have dinner in the Pub…but the place was packed.
Ended up eating our Seafood Chowder in the main dining area.
Saturday, June 1
– Woke up to cloudy skies today with a miserable cold. Head ache. Nose running
like a waterfall. Hacking up oysters. Today, we test out our Irish driving
skills. I drive. Terry navigates…and constantly yells at me to move away from
the curbs and walls on her side of the car. (I bump up against a few curbs…but
never did hit any walls!)
We are off to the famous Cliffs of Moher – the most visited
natural attraction in Ireland. The western coastline of Ireland was what I had
expected. Cold, wet, windy. A light rain is coming down as we approach the
Cliffs. The Cliffs are free…but it’ll cost you €6 per person to park your car
in the only parking lot within miles. In essence our visit to the Cliffs ran us
€12. (Picture 17)
The cliffs rise to as high as 700 feet at the tallest
section and are spread out over a 5-mile stretch along the Atlantic Ocean. The
big attraction at the cliffs seemed to be the possibility of catching a glimpse
of a Puffin – those colorful birds with a clown face. I guess today was too
nasty for the Puffins as we did not see anything but seagulls.
Very near the highest point of the Cliffs sits O’Brien’s
Tower. This three-story stone observation tower was built in 1835 as an
observation platform for Cliffs visitors. And for €2 you can wind your way up
two flights of circular stairs and see pretty much the same sights as those
standing at ground level. Terry chose to waste…er spend the €2. I, on the other
hand…opted out! In fact, after about 5 minutes of freezing my butt off looking
at the drab cliffs…I was ready to opt out of the Cliffs of Moher! (Picture 18)
We thought about taking a look at the Burren but decided
against it and instead, headed to Quin to explore the Quin Abby and Knappogue
Castle. Actually, the ancient old Abby was delightful. No entry fee. Very
photogenic. No crowds. Only a local Dad and his three daughters visiting. (Pictures 1, 19, 20)
Sunday, June 2 –
Off to Shannon airport for our return trip to PHX via an overnite in PHL. Not
much to write about here. First class seats were no problem on the return
flight. Watched a bunch of dumb movies.
Got to Philly around 2pm. Didn’t lose my wallet in the Shuttle Van. Had
dinner at Romano’s. Worst meal of the Trip! Watched golf and sacked out.
Monday, June 3 –
Departed PHL at 12:30pm. Arrived back in PHX at 2:30. 108° today! Only 50°
warmer than what we were experiencing in Ireland! And we get to sleep in our
own bed!
Happy Trails everyone! Next up in June…Camping with C-Dawg!
