Ireland 2015

6/16 – 6/17
Off to a bad start when we couldn’t find Bella and had to leave the back door open with her “who knows where.” Fortunately, Jordan texted us later that she was home and fine. Drive to Newark uneventful other than a few downpours. We got to the airport in plenty of time, then had to wait for hours as our flight was delayed twice… eventually taking off about 2 ½ hours later than expected, which ate up almost all of our dreaded 3 hour layover in Toronto. Fortune smiled upon us, and with the help of the Air Canada staff, considerate fellow travelers, a sprint across the airport, and helpful people at the airport, we took our seats on the airplane to Dublin with only minutes to spare. Luckily (for us) some unfortunate people on our flight had to be left behind, which created a further delay that allowed our baggage to accompany us on our flight.

We arrived in rainy Dublin at about 10:45. Totally relieved to see our suitcases at baggage claim. Taxi to our hotel – The Morgan Hotel in the Temple Bar/downtown area. Too early to check in so we walked around for awhile, had lunch at one of the hundreds of pubs in the area, and then returned to the hotel for a nap. Another walk (poor planning on Lisa’s part…. Needs to learn to read a map), then rested for a while with a cup of tea before venturing out for dinner. Port House Pintxo - chose for tapas style food and it was fantastic. Everything was delicious including the wine, a Tempranillo from Rioja. Favorite plates: foie gras, jamon iberico, spinach/chicken salad with a chorizo crumble that was delicious, albondigas, grilled shrimp with chilies and garlic. … So delicious. Only misstep was the wine, which although excellent, was a bit too warm. Misfit said 3.4 miles of walking today! Ready for a good night’s sleep!!!

Walking around the streets of Dublin

6/18 Beautiful morning in Dublin. Our plan was to walk to the Kilmainham Jail (Gaol) then to Christ Church Cathedral, so we set off shortly after breakfast walking in the general direction of the jail, but not knowing how far it was. An hour or more later, after passing an entire block of Guinness buildings we finally made it to the jail for an interesting tour. Many sad stories about the rebels executed there because of their role in the Easter Rising and other rebellions; as well as children and others jailed during the famine for stealing a loaf of bread. Robert Emmett, who led the uprising in 1798 was also jailed here before his execution (story told in the excellent book, Tread Softly on My Dreams).

Heading back into the city center, we had lunch and a beer, then discovered that the Cathedral was closed in preparation for an event the next day, so we head back to the hotel for a much needed rest. A little later, we walked down Grafton Street and then around the beautiful St. Stephen’s Green; then to The Duke Pub for the Literary Pub Crawl, an interesting performance by two actors as we visited several pubs and Trinity College. Then a quick bite before falling exhausted into bed. According to my misfit, we walked 8.8 miles today!

Famine Memorial at St.Stephen's Green

 6/19 Another beautiful day! Who says Ireland has lousy weather??? Picked up our car and headed south to County Wicklow. First stop: the Powerscourt Estate, where we strolled around the gorgeous gardens. Had a snack, then back into the car and deeper into the Wicklow hills to Glendalough, the valley of two lakes. Walked around the medieval ruins on the site where St. Kevin first founded a monastery in the 600s; then took a lovely walk around the upper lake.

The Round Tower at St. Kevin's Monastery, Glendalough

Checked into the Stirabout B&B in Rathdrum; then headed out to the Bates Restaurant just up the street for a great dinner. Misfit said we walked 4.5 miles today!

6/20 Our plan for the day was to go to Ardmore with a stop in Kilkenny on the way. The Kilkenny Castle proved to be very interesting: it has been almost entirely reconstructed by architects and others intent on preserving the as much of the original buildings from the 13th century, as well as additions and changes made from the 14th through 20th centuries. Then on to Ardmore, a small seaside village with dramatic views of the cliffs surrounding Ardmore harbor. Walked around St. Declan’s Monastery, site of the 30 meter round tower built in the 12th century, ruins of a Romanesque cathedral, and St. Declan’s oratory, which presumably marks Declan’s grave.

Ruins at St. Declan's Monastery

We had hoped to go listen to some good Irish music and headed out to a pub not too far from where we were staying, but by 10:15 the music hadn’t started and we were tired, so we left. But although we haven’t heard music in a pub yet, one of the great things about Ireland is that there is music everywhere. Buskers on the street and on forest paths… even young kids. Both of us were sore from all the walking the previous two days, so we took it easy … only 2 miles!

6/21 Headed to Killarney by way of Cork; hoping to catch up with Beth and Meghann Haney, but it didn’t work out. In Killarney, we had lunch, then headed to the Muckross House in the National Park. Beautiful walk to the Torc Waterfall (another musician – this time a bagpiper – busking on the trail); then around the gardens of the estate.

at the Torc Waterfall, Killarney National Park

Checked into our home for the next 2 days: The Old Weir Lodge. It was raining, but we headed down the street to a bistro called Kaynes and had a very nice dinner. Walked 4.2 miles today!

6/22 Ring of Kerry. We made the mistake of using as our guide, Back Roads of Ireland, although we decide to go counter-clockwise, the same direction as is taken by the tour buses, rather than clockwise as the book suggests. The first few stops were great: Ladies View and Molls Gap. The Iveragh peninsula is every bit a beautiful as everyone says.

Ladies View, beautiful despite the smudged lens!

We got into trouble trying to get to the next stop, Ballaghbeama Gap. The roads are extremely narrow, with many blind curves. Fortunately, there were not many cars on that route so we lived to tell about it, but it was without a doubt a harrowing drive. BIG MISTAKE. We took another detour from the Ring that proved much more successful – to Valentia Island and Skelling Ring Drive. Amazing views at Geokaun Mountain. We only made it through about half of the Skelling Ring Drive because by that point Garrett was frazzled with driving, Lisa was terrified, and neither of us were very happy. Next time: hire a driver!

Stopping for a snack on Valentia Island

Dinner at The Cellar Inn, which was very disappointing, but at least we could walk there!

Misfit says we walked 2.7 miles today, not bad for a "driving" day!

6/23 Drove from Killarney to County Clare. First stop at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park for an interesting tour of the castle and stroll around the grounds. Then we drove out to Kilkee and walked along the cliffs, which are said to rival the Cliffs of Moher. We started at the Diamond Rocks, which are really interesting flat limestone rocks; then the cliff walk. The views were stunning and it was cool to be able to walk right up to the cliff’s edge and look over at the interesting rock formations.

Kilkee Cliffs

Then we drove to Ennis and checked into our B&B. Tiny room, but at least close enough to town that we could walk to dinner at a restaurant called Town Hall, which was very good, but as usual, way too much food. Hard to believe that anyone can eat the quantities of food they serve. But it comes down to either leaving half of the food uneaten or getting overstuffed. We heard music coming from next door, the Old Ground Hotel, so stopped in there for a couple of pints. Great traditional Irish music by two guys – one on the accordion and one on banjo or guitar. Fun times! 

Walked 3.9 miles today.

6/24 After a big breakfast (again, too much food!), we headed towards Ballyvaughan, where we intended to see the Burren and Cliffs of Moher. As it was raining, we decided to stop at the Ailwee Cave and Bird of Prey Centre. The cave tour was really interesting; and even though it there was a light rain, the raptor handlers gave us a super interesting and informative flying display with a hawk (Batty), owl, and falcon. Lunch in Ballyvaughan at Monk’s; then we headed to Poulnabrone Domen, a Neolithic portal tomb dating back to somewhere between 3800 and 3600 BC. The surrounding limestone terrain was fascinating, with amazing and diverse flora in what at first seems a desolate area. We spent some time talking to a guy from the Office of Public Works who was basically watching to make sure people didn’t destroy anything, but also giving out information. For example, he told us how archaeologists think the capstone was placed on top of the portal stones. Also interesting is that cattle graze on these rocks and are essential to keeping some of the more invasive plants in check.

Poulnabrone Domen portal tomb

Next we went to Caherconnell, which is an active archaeological site as well as a working sheep farm. Demonstration about the sheep (and cattle) dogs was fun and informative – border collies are so smart! Then we did the self-guided tour of the Caherconnell ringfort. Checked into our B&B – the Cappabhaile House… so much nicer than anywhere else we’ve stayed, although a bit too far from town to walk for dinner. Drove out to the Galway Bay coast – Black Head Rock and beyond, but decided we had had enough driving so we skipped the Cliffs of Moher and Hags Head (recommended by our host), and went back into town for dinner at Logues Lodge (very good). Music at nearby Greene’s Pub wasn’t starting until 10, so we headed back to the B&B instead. Only 2.3 miles walked today.

along the Galway coast

6/25 We drove all the way to County Meath today, checked into our B&B at Lougher Farm in Duleek, and headed straight for the visitor center at Bru na Boinne to see the neotlithic burial mounds at Newgrange and Knowth, which predate the Great Pyramid at Giza and Stonehenge. Knowth was really interesting, in large part because of the fantastic tour guide, Mary. She really brought it to life. At Newgrange, it was cool to be able to walk into the passage tomb and stand in a chamber built to last some 5,000 years ago.).

Burial mound at Knowth, with entrance to passage tomb

After our visit, we returned to the B&B, rested for awhile and then drove to nearby Drogheda for a surprisingly good dinner (and nice bottle of wine). Walked 2.3 miles today.

6/26 On to Belfast this morning. A rainy day, but we drove mostly on the motorway so it wasn’t too bad. Headed into the center of town and parked the car; then got out and explored the downtown area. First stop was St. George’s Market, Belfast’s version of the Reading Terminal Market but with more tchotchkes, clothing, and junk. Then we walked to the Titanic quarter to see the Titanic museum, but the 25 GBP admission price convinced us to just look at the building and surrounding harbor. Then back to the center of town for lunch and a visit to St. Anne’s Cathedral. Among the many beautiful features, my favorites were the mosaics, especially the domed ceiling in the baptistry. The St. Patrick Mosaic was also stunning, as were many of the stained glass windows. Another highlight: the Titanic Pall, a gorgeous tapestry that commemorates the 1517 people who perished when the ship struck an iceberg in 1912. Very beautiful.

Mosaic roof at the Baptistry of St. Anne's

We then drove to our lodgings for the next 2 nights – the Ravenhill Guest House. Beautiful home in a nice section of South Belfast. We walked only a few blocks away for a fantastic dinner at the Shed Bistro. Walked 6.1 miles today.

6/27 After a great breakfast at Ravenhill, Paddy Campbell picked us up for a Black Cab tour of Belfast and Giants Causeway/Antrim. Paddy first drove us around the Protestant and Catholic areas of Belfast that have been the site of so much violence over the past few decades. Very interesting to see the peace wall, which separates the two sides, and the many political murals commemorating the martyrs and innocents who have died fighting for either Irish independence (the republicans, mostly Catholic) or loyalty to the King (the loyalists, mostly Protestant). Paddy did his best to present both sides fairly.

We left our mark on the Peace Wall: #LoveWins

Paddy then drove us north to Antrim. Our first stop, was Ireland's smallest church. Then, on to the Giant’s Causeway, beautiful and interesting but quite different from what we expected and also crowded. We walked across the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge for some stunning views. It was crowded but still enjoyable, and not TOO scary. We stopped to see the Dunlece Castle ruins; and then drove to the Dark Hedges, one of the sites where Game of Thrones is filmed. Although quite beautiful, it was sad to see how the old trees are dying; some diseased trees have been removed.

A view from the rope bridge at Carrick-a-Rede

Dunlece Castle

Dark Hedges

Walked 4.1 miles today!

 6/28 After another nice breakfast, we left Belfast and headed south towards Dublin, taking the scenic route along the east coast of the Strangford Lough. Stopped at the Mount Stewart House and Gardens for a beautiful walk around the grounds; then back in the car to the southern end of the peninsula where we crossed on the ferry to the mainland, then stopped in Newcastle for lunch. Touristy beach town with lots of kids and families. Reminded me of Atlantic City.

strolling around the lake at Mount Stewart

We then drove down to Kilkeel for views of the Mountains of Mourne, but with a light rain falling and the promise of more narrow winding roads, we decided to forego the drive up the mountain and headed back on the motorway to Dublin instead. Stopped at the hotel and checked in, then went to return the car to Hertz. We (that would be Garrett) drove a total of 1964 km, or 1220 miles total, on the left side of the road. Next time: fewer miles and longer stays at each location!

After dropping off the car, we decided to take a cab to Hemingway’s, a restaurant we had picked out for dinner, which was a very expensive mistake owing to a very long cab ride (driver said he took a long route to avoid traffic from a football game). We had a good dinner, then a much shorter cab ride back to the hotel. Neither of us slept well… too much noise and light. Walked 2.8 miles today.


6/29 A long trip home. Up at about 6:30 (actually earlier since neither of us could sleep), then to the airport for a 9 a.m. flight. Looonnnng lines… remind me again never to take Air Canada! Plus our flights had been changed so rather than going from Dublin  Toronto  Ottawa  Newark, we went Dublin  Toronto  Montreal (with a 4 hour layover)  Newark. Lots of walking around airports: .5 miles today!

Then the long drive home to be greeted by Bella and OC, and collapse in our own bed!