Thursday, June 7, 2012
Well we are back from our trip and trying to catch up on everything. I plan to post some more photos and information such as review of the places we stayed and the things we did. We loved Ireland and would go back. The people are the nicest and most helpful we have ever met. The weather was the best they have had in the past three years, so we were told. I would highly recommend Ireland because of the people and the beauty. More later.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Today started out as a very nice day with the sun
shining. The Hop on Hop Off bus came by
the hotel to take us to the tour. We
rode on top of the double decker bus where it was open air and soaked up the
sun. We decided to ride it around one
loop before getting off. It gives you a
good tour of the city, Dublin, with 24 stops and a guide pointing out the
sites. Very entertaining and fun. We got off the bus at Trinity College and
took in an exhibit of the book of Kells which was very interesting. Our next stop was Dublin Castle where we had
to wait an hour for the next tour. This
was a very interesting tour and the guide was very good as well. We went down into the area that had recently
been excavated that showed the Vikings original wall around the city. We
grabbed a quick bite for lunch before the tour.
Moving along, we went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral and took another
tour. Our tour guide was Italian and
very nice. Very interesting history for
all these sites. Next we went to the
Guinness Brewery. Interesting, but not
that exciting. At the end, you get a
pint up in the Gravity Bar which is an observation room at the top of the
building. It is a glass enclosure and
gives you a 360 degree view of Dublin from above the buildings. Nice view, but it was getting foggy and rainy
by then. Back on the bus we were too
late for the tour of the jail, but rode around to another stop where we got off
to walk through the Temple Bar area. Ate
dinner at Brunos which was very good.
Our waitress was not Irish and we had a little language barrier when I
asked how the chicken was fixed. I
wanted to know if it was baked, but she didn’t understand so she had to get
someone else to help her. It was baked
so I got it and it was very yummy. Ed
had Irish stew. It was raining more and
we decided to head to the DART station for the ride to the hotel. On the way, we heard bagpipes and walked
toward the sound. It was a parade of
firemen with bagpipes leading the way. We
walked a ways to get to the DART train station and finally arrived at our
hotel. A little walk in the rain didn’t
hurt us at all!
Tomorrow we leave for Boston where we will spend the night
and celebrate Ed’s Birthday.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Today we left Galway and headed toward the Cliffs of
Moher. On the way we stopped at
Dunguaire Castle which was located near a bog and also across the street from a
house with a thatched roof. We spent a
lot of time today on very windy narrow roads, so we were both exhausted. Me from hanging on to the seat, door or dash
and Ed from driving! It was a very
beautiful drive, but it is somewhat difficult to get good pics from the road as
the walls are high or the vegetation along the road is high. Makes viewing sometimes difficult beyond the
road. Of course I don’t want Ed trying
to look at the scenery on a windy road.
When we arrived at the cliffs, it was very foggy and the
cliffs weren’t even visible. The
visitors center is in a cave. Nice
center, but the real scenery was outside!
We ate a sandwich at the snack bar and as we were eating, the fog began
to lift making the cliffs visible. Impressive. We spent a couple hours here and took another
1000 pics. The sun came out and there
was some blue sky at times. We were too
late in the day to see the puffins on an island just off the cliffs, but it is
a spectacular place. If we had gotten
here any earlier, we wouldn’t have been able to see the Puffins either since it
was this fog. Pictures don’t do it
justice. Over the years there have been
many people jump or fall to their deaths off the cliff. This has caused the government to secure the
cliffs with barriers made of stone from the area. People from all over the world were at the
cliffs. A German lady started talking to
me about my camera and showing me hers.
She said she was here about 15 years ago and it had changed
considerably. One of the parts of the
cliff had apparently disappeared over the years.
After a couple hours, we decided to head towards Dublin
where we will be staying for the next couple of days. It took more than 3 hours to get to Dublin
and we were getting tired and in need of some caffeine. We got off the main road and thought we would
find something in town to buy some coffee.
We passed up a McDonalds, but ended up going back there because we
couldn’t find anything in town easily. We
drove by Dromoland Castle and took a few pics, before continuing to Dublin.
We grabbed a bite at the hotel and will explore Dublin
tomorrow.
Ed Here: Deb took the night off to catch up on her sleep so I have the honor of bringing you up to date on our Ireland travels. Today was the first really rainy day we have had so far. The original plan was to drive down southwest of Galway to see the Cliffs of Moher. Instead we decided to do that the next day on the way to Dublin (yes I know its really not on the way..cut us some slack..we are from out of town).
Today we drove west of Galway into the Connemara region (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connemara). We first headed into Galway for a last minute camera repair as Deb's beloved Canon DSLR fell off the bed last night right on the front of the lens. The good news is the camera itself is ok because the filter on the camera lens tool the brunt of the contact. The bad news is the filter is cracked and cannot be removed at the moment meaning the lens is useless. This lens will be going into the shop once we return to Dallas. Between the two of us we have some additional lenses so this setback should not be a trip killer for Deb and her photos.
Back to the trip: On the way out of Galway, we stopped at the Celtic Crystal shop
(http://www.celticcrystalireland.com/). If you visit the web site and choose the link for "Limited Edition" you will the most exquisite examples of colored cut crystal. The pieces we saw were just incredible in craftsmanship..and in price! Colored crystal takes 2-3 times longer to create than clear crystal and the price reflects the additional craftsmanship needed to create such incredible pieces of art. I was able to talk to the owner and main designer of the crystal. She gave me a good 20 minute explanation of how the crystal is cut and why the specific shapes and cuts are used. If you have a few minutes I stongly suggest you browse through their web site. Fascinating indeed!
From the crystal shop we continued west until we came to Aughnanure Castle. The literature states this is a prime example of 16th centure Irish Tower house. As you can see by the photos this castle is in restoration phase but we were still able to get a sense of how live might have been in the Sixteenth
century.
From the Castle we continued west until we came to the "Connemara" statue. Initially I thought this was some long lost relic from bygonne days but if you read the inscription you will see the statue was created in 1999 so I am thinking its pretty much a billboard to stop a the gift shop across the
street...which we did!
Moving on down the road, we cut through the loop and got a real view of the "Bog land". This baren land with over 100" of rain annually creates a unique ecosystem. In the past the major source of fuel for fires and such was the land itself. Parts of the "Bog" were cut into sections and dried, flipped over, and dried some more until the brick looking pieces of peat were dry of all moisture. Then the pieces could be used as fuel for fires, cooking, etc. In recent times conservation movements have deterred the use of the land for this purpose to better preserve the rare ecosystem of this region.
Turning off the road we came to the Kylemore Abbey. The ground were picturesque but we only visited a short time due to the mass quantities of gnats and flying bugs! What a shame as the gardens were supposed to be spectacular..we just couldn't take the bugs anymore so we left.
Finally we reached our destination of Clifden. We were told that this region of Ireland has really been at the forefront for the preservation of the traditional Irish music and dance. Sure enough we were met in town by a festival celeberation 200 years of the Connamara region, complete with fiddle\accordion traditional music..and dancers! The children of town would take turns dancing to the tunes played by the local band. All in all a great end to an unexpected day. What we thought might be an uneventful day turned out to be one of the most memorable!
Today we drove west of Galway into the Connemara region (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connemara). We first headed into Galway for a last minute camera repair as Deb's beloved Canon DSLR fell off the bed last night right on the front of the lens. The good news is the camera itself is ok because the filter on the camera lens tool the brunt of the contact. The bad news is the filter is cracked and cannot be removed at the moment meaning the lens is useless. This lens will be going into the shop once we return to Dallas. Between the two of us we have some additional lenses so this setback should not be a trip killer for Deb and her photos.
Back to the trip: On the way out of Galway, we stopped at the Celtic Crystal shop
(http://www.celticcrystalireland.com/). If you visit the web site and choose the link for "Limited Edition" you will the most exquisite examples of colored cut crystal. The pieces we saw were just incredible in craftsmanship..and in price! Colored crystal takes 2-3 times longer to create than clear crystal and the price reflects the additional craftsmanship needed to create such incredible pieces of art. I was able to talk to the owner and main designer of the crystal. She gave me a good 20 minute explanation of how the crystal is cut and why the specific shapes and cuts are used. If you have a few minutes I stongly suggest you browse through their web site. Fascinating indeed!
From the crystal shop we continued west until we came to Aughnanure Castle. The literature states this is a prime example of 16th centure Irish Tower house. As you can see by the photos this castle is in restoration phase but we were still able to get a sense of how live might have been in the Sixteenth
century.
From the Castle we continued west until we came to the "Connemara" statue. Initially I thought this was some long lost relic from bygonne days but if you read the inscription you will see the statue was created in 1999 so I am thinking its pretty much a billboard to stop a the gift shop across the
street...which we did!
Moving on down the road, we cut through the loop and got a real view of the "Bog land". This baren land with over 100" of rain annually creates a unique ecosystem. In the past the major source of fuel for fires and such was the land itself. Parts of the "Bog" were cut into sections and dried, flipped over, and dried some more until the brick looking pieces of peat were dry of all moisture. Then the pieces could be used as fuel for fires, cooking, etc. In recent times conservation movements have deterred the use of the land for this purpose to better preserve the rare ecosystem of this region.
Turning off the road we came to the Kylemore Abbey. The ground were picturesque but we only visited a short time due to the mass quantities of gnats and flying bugs! What a shame as the gardens were supposed to be spectacular..we just couldn't take the bugs anymore so we left.
Finally we reached our destination of Clifden. We were told that this region of Ireland has really been at the forefront for the preservation of the traditional Irish music and dance. Sure enough we were met in town by a festival celeberation 200 years of the Connamara region, complete with fiddle\accordion traditional music..and dancers! The children of town would take turns dancing to the tunes played by the local band. All in all a great end to an unexpected day. What we thought might be an uneventful day turned out to be one of the most memorable!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
On Wednesday we checked out of our hotel and headed over to
Muckross House. This is a huge mansion
that at one time Queen Victoria visited for 2 days. Apparently the owners at the time were given
6 years to prepare for the visit and the preparation bankrupted them. Beautiful and stately the house is now owned
by the Irish Government as the estate was donated after the American wife
died. Gorgeous gardens and views are in
every direction. We spent several hours
here wandering the estate and taking pics.
The house is now part of Killarney National Park. Jaunting cars can be hired to take you to
town around the lake, etc. These horse drawn carriages seem appropriate
given the period of the house.
Once we left the house we went further into the National
Park and walked up to Torc Waterfall.
Again it was a beautiful day with no rain and partly sunny. Dense vegetation and the high moisture
combine to give the ferns and moss what they need to thrive. After another 1000 photos we went back into
town to head for our next hotel in Galway.
Before we could get out of town, we decided to pop in at the
local outlet mall. I know that is
shocking that we would go to such a place, but there was a local mill outlet
that we wanted to see. The mall was very
small and not many stores were open. You
can tell the economy is struggling here, but the people are wonderful. As we parked at the mall, Ed went to pay for
the parking and a lady came over and asked me if we wanted her parking
tag. She said she only used 10 minutes
of it. That was very nice of her so we
accepted. Then as she drove by she
stopped and said not to worry about the time on the ticket as once you had the
ticket no one really cared how long you stayed.
Good information!
After our brief, again hard to believe, shopping expedition
we headed for Galway. We stopped in
Adare along the way. Here there are a
row of thatched roof houses that are very picturesque. We stopped at the TI, Tourist Information,
and walked around a little. I saw the
thatching process on TV one time and it is quite amazing the work and skill
involved.
We finally made it to our hotel and then went out to
dinner. We stopped at a local seafood
restaurant which was very good. I have
had rhubarb here a couple times for dessert.
The food was good and we walked around a little. We saw the Galway Dog Store and will have to
come back when they are open to get the girls a souvenir.
Our hotel is not exactly downtown, but it has a very large
room. More later.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Maybe the internet connection wasn't the only thing that was low last night?! Yesterday while on our bus tour, we stopped along the way for a sheep herding demonstration. No matter how often I see these demos, I am amazed at the dogs and their ability to follow commands. Apparently tourists aren't the only ones that hit the bushes and weeds with their cars. While waiting to get back on the bus, I noticed grass in the left hubcap of the bus. It isn't just Ed!
My internet connection is very slow and unresponsive, so no telling how much I will be able to upload tonight. Ed and I went on a tour of the Ring of Kerry in a tour bus. While Ed was happy he didn't have to drive down these very narrow roads today, the tour bus was a little warm which made us sleepy. Plus the bus did not have a lot of room as it was not the size of a greyhound bus. It was again unexpectedly good weather today which the locals say is unusual with no rain and warmer than average. We drove around the peninsula counterclockwise and saw beautiful scenery, sheep, cows, and horses.
We stopped multiple times around the peninsula and ate lunch at the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was gorgeous. We didn't get back to our hotel until about 5 tonight. Ed took a short nap and then we went searching for dinner. We stopped and ate at a place called the Smokehouse. Ed had a steak and I had sea bass. Very good food, would recommend it. We then walked around town some more and instead of going back the way we came, we ended up walking through a residential area that took us probably 2 miles out of our way. Dark clouds were moving in and I was thinking we might get very wet, but it didn't rain until we got back to the hotel to pick up our slickers. We then went out in search of a pub with Irish music. One was very loud and crowded, so we went back out and listened for music as we walked. Headed down a street that would take us back to our hotel, we heard some music in a pub and it was IRISH! A guitar player/singer and an accorian player were playing. They were pretty good and there was a lively crowd. Once we finished our beers, we decided to go back to the hotel down an alley and get ready for our trip to Galway tomorrow.
We have not seen any Wheaties, but today we must have seen about 5 Westies! So hoping to see a Wheatie while we are here! Stay tuned. Tomorrow we head for our next hotel in Galway which is about 120 miles from Kilarney.
We stopped multiple times around the peninsula and ate lunch at the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was gorgeous. We didn't get back to our hotel until about 5 tonight. Ed took a short nap and then we went searching for dinner. We stopped and ate at a place called the Smokehouse. Ed had a steak and I had sea bass. Very good food, would recommend it. We then walked around town some more and instead of going back the way we came, we ended up walking through a residential area that took us probably 2 miles out of our way. Dark clouds were moving in and I was thinking we might get very wet, but it didn't rain until we got back to the hotel to pick up our slickers. We then went out in search of a pub with Irish music. One was very loud and crowded, so we went back out and listened for music as we walked. Headed down a street that would take us back to our hotel, we heard some music in a pub and it was IRISH! A guitar player/singer and an accorian player were playing. They were pretty good and there was a lively crowd. Once we finished our beers, we decided to go back to the hotel down an alley and get ready for our trip to Galway tomorrow.
We have not seen any Wheaties, but today we must have seen about 5 Westies! So hoping to see a Wheatie while we are here! Stay tuned. Tomorrow we head for our next hotel in Galway which is about 120 miles from Kilarney.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)