Ireland 2013

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 “2^nd” 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 25^th, 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 26^th, 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 27^th - 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 28^th – 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 29^th – 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, 1^st 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, 6^th Marquess and 24^th 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 30^th.  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 31^st – 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!