Mon - October 27, 2003

How to read about our Ireland trip


Since I used my blog to put this up, you need to work your way from the bottom of the page up to the top. The entries are sorted in reverse chronological order. Sorry for any hassles with this!

Posted at 10:43 AM     Read More  

Sun - September 14, 2003

Final Drink Count


Drew:
Guinness: 16
Murphy's: 7
Paddy's: 1
Jameson: 3
Baileys: 1.5

Diane:
Bulmer's: 20
Baileys: 2.5

Posted at 07:09 PM     Read More  

Sat - September 13, 2003

Last full day in Ireland


We had breakfast at a coffee house near the River Liffey and then changed some money at the huge Bank of Ireland building across the street from Trinity College. We walked the shopping districts of O'Connell Street, north of the River Liffey. We ate fish and chips (fresh cod) @ Bushels Traditional Fish & Chips. Very yummy and filling.

After some purchases, we ended up back at the Hairy Lemon, drinking on the ground floor this time. We read our newspapers and enjoyed people watching. We walked around a bit more, did some window shopping, and then quickly recharged at the hotel.

We ate at Cafe Gertrude in the Temple Bar for dinner. I had a margherita pizza and Diane had a beef tortellini. We stopped at Reilley's on the way home to get some drinks. We listened to a beautiful local musician play songs as many men in the bar sung along. Very cool moment.

Posted at 07:08 PM     Read More  

Fri - September 12, 2003

Museum of Modern Art & Guinness Factory


We got up at 7:30 and got prepped for the day. We went to a cafe across the street for breakfast and had pain au chocolat & espresso to get our day going. Then, we did lots of walking to St. Patrick's and Christ Church Cathedral.

We arrived at the Ireland Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) at 10 AM and enjoyed a free visit. Beautiful pieces in exhibit of Cristina Iglesias. Wow! Her best pieces, IMHO, were of a cardboard town she built which she then photo-lithographed onto copper plates. Wow. Other exhibits were good, but check these out if you ever get a chance!

Off to the Guinness Factory tour. The facility used to be the old factory, but the inside was gutted to install a seven floor celebration of Guinness. They included how Guinness is made, how it is advertised, sold, etc. On the top floor is the Gravity Bar, where everyone gets a free pint of Guinness and can enjoy an almost panoramic view of Dublin. Diane drank her whole first pint of Guinness! Believe it or not, this was not my favorite pint ... O'Donaghue's was the best.

We walked back to the hotel to deposit our Guinness Storefront merchandise and were off again. Too late to change currency, so we went to the Hairy Lemon, an excellent pub near the Temple Bar. We sat in an alcove overlooking the ground floor and drank Guinness and Bulmer's to our heart's content!

We walked up the street to "Taste of India" for dinner. I had the HOTTEST vindaloo in my life. The owner told us it was closer to real Indian spice levels, although our waiter said it was still tame. Diane had the lamb saag and even that was very hot to the taste. We spent so much time chatting with the owner of the restaurant (who had just returned from a business trip to Las Vegas), that he bought us a round of Bailey's on the house. Very cool.

Posted at 07:03 PM     Read More  

Thu - September 11, 2003

To Dublin!


We drove straight through to Dublin and returned our car at the airport. We took a 20-30 minute taxi ride into the city center with a flamboyant driver. He was a reformed alcoholic, but told us where all the great pubs were.

We tried out his first, O'Donoghue's, on Merrion Row, which is a famous pub for launching the careers of local traditional musicians. It is also reputed to be one of the best pours of Guinness .. and it was! This might have been my best Guinness yet. I had my 8th/9th pint and Diane had her 13th/14th Bulmer's. We walked around the shops on Grafton Street (reminded me of the Plaza del Sol in Madrid or the main strip through Lyon in France). We then walked to the Temple Bar area for dinner. We ate at Cafe de la Med. Awesome Mediterranean fusion food.

We stopped at Reilley's, next to Foley's restaurant for our 10th Guinness, 15th Bulmer's. The Guinness was "extra cold", per the emblem on the tap, so it wasn't as good as earlier in the day. But, it was a nice pub that was filled with very amicable locals.

Posted at 06:52 PM     Read More  

Wed - September 10, 2003

Kinsale to Kilkenny


Got up late this morning, at around 7:45. I slept in while Diane got prepped for the day. Breakfast in the hotel was followed by a quick walk to the Craft, a silversmith store run by Mr. Dolan and his son. They both make all the jewelry in the store. He's a 7th generation silversmith and his son is the 8th. His granddaughter has her own small hammer in the shop too. But, the son wants her to become a lawyer to make money.

Mr. Dolan is an artist, stopping one line of jewelry as soon as it becomes popular. He is very sociable and we talked for quite a while. They have a website and use a Mac to run the site and the whole business (Go Apple!). We chatted about porno emails filling up our email inboxes! But, we'll have to send him some email once we get back to the States. Diane bought a beautiful, smooth silver ring, inset with an amethyst.

On our drive to Kilkenny, we stopped at a castle and church graveyard. No reason, we just stopped. The grounds were off-limits, but we still got some good pictures.

We arrived at Kilkenny, drove around, and parked in a multistory car park. Our room wasn't ready, so we walked to St. Canice's Cathedral, a Church of Ireland place (protestant). Then, we went back to our hotel and had some sandwiches across the street at Kafe Katt. We checked in and got a room that was insanely beautiful, immense, and very reasonably priced. It was the Hibernian Hotel. After scoping out our room, we walked around some more. We saw St. Mary's (Catholic) Cathedral, Kilkenny castle (official tour), and the Dominican Black Abbey.

We went for drinks to Syd's pub on High Street. I had my 6th & 7th Guinness and Diane had her 11th/12th Bulmer's.

We ate dinner at a nice Italian place called Ristorante Rinuccinis. Nothing spectacular, except for the insanely drunk ugly American who was harassing an old Irish couple sitting across from her.

After dinner, we went to the Hibernian's Bar. We had three Bailey's on ice and I had a Paddy's whiskey on ice. I think that Jameson's is much better.

Posted at 06:47 PM     Read More  

Tue - September 9, 2003

Blarney, Cobh, and back to Kinsale


Enough of Irish breakfasts! I just had toast and some cornflakes!

We drove up to Blarney Castle, northwest of Cork and "did" the grounds. Climbed up the narrow staircase to the top of the tower. We walked around the stone garden afterwards. Very peaceful.

From there we drove east through Cork to get to Cobh (pronounced "cove"). It took us a few times driving back and forth to find the right exit, but we made it. We walked around the small town and enjoyed the waterside and faux-Gothic cathedral. It was a bit rundown while we were there, shops closed. But, some look permanently closed, not just closed in the off-season. Looks like an economic downturn.

We returned to Kinsale and grabbed some curry chip's at Dino's on the waterfront. To Die For! Then, off to grab some newspapers and back to 1601. Cool woman was still pouring behind the bar and there were some great tunes. I had my 6th and 7th Murhpy's and Diane had her 9th and 10th Bulmers. We sat and read our papers and thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon.

We went to Shrimps for dinner at 8pm. It was very nice and had a cool server from South Africa. Diane had double sea bass filets over potatoes with a bechamel sauce. I had scallops with chilis and lime. Wow, hot but perfectly done. I had my 3rd Jameson's this night!

In Kinsale, we also learned that Bulmer's is from Clonmel and Murphy's is from Cork. So, don't see as much Guinness in the south and south west, and don't see much Murphy's as you get closer to Dublin.

Posted at 06:28 PM     Read More  

Mon - September 8, 2003

To Kinsale, via Bantry


We left Kenmare (sadly) and drove through the Borlin Valley mountain range. One lane, if even, no guard rails, and up about 200-300 meters! We took the back roads to Bantry! Damn street signs! We were driving out of Kenmare and saw a sign for Bantry. We took it and passed a small motor car museum. After that, the road got smaller and had no other cars on it. Later on we found out that the Bantry sign we saw was probably only there to draw people to the museum. If we had stuck on the main road for about 1-2 more kilometers, we would have seen the regular highway to Bantry. But, we had fun, nonetheless.

The cliffs through the valley were insane. Saving up to have a pint in Kinsale! Sheep slept in the road and we had to stop so they could get up, look at us, and move off the road. They did this readily, if reluctantly. We obviously weren't the first four wheel vehicle these sheep had seen.

Bantry house was a beautiful house on the south side of the city, straddling the bay. It was a restored mansion, although the house was closed for repairs. We did walk around the grounds and stopped in an old building where there was a self-guided exhibit on an underwater archaeological site just off the coast where we were. It was of a French military vessel that sunk while it was trying to aid the Free Irish through off the British during the 1700s. Pretty interesting.

We stopped at Bromberg Stone Circle. Unmarked and way off the beaten track, we finally found it. Drove behind a car and lorry filled with stones, going very slowly! Longest trip to just get to this circle. But, it was a beautiful scene, one well worth spending the time getting there.

We arrived at Kinsale and found parking. We needed an hour disc (parking permit), so Diane popped into a grocery store to purchase one. We checked into the Blue Haven, our hotel, and went to the hotel bar. Diane had another Bulmer's and I had another Guinness. Not as good as previous ones, since it was served extremely cold. That's an option for Guinness in some pubs, based on what was written on the taps.

We changed some cash and went to 1601, my favorite pub of our trip. The name commemorates the Battle of Kinsale. Cool club music played. Pierced bartender served us more Murphy's and Bulmer's.

After, we walked up the hills of Kinsale, past Desmond Castle and St. Multose Church. Back to town and dinner at a Thai restaurant. I had two Singha's with dinner! Very good, then back to the hotel for a relaxing evening.

Posted at 06:17 PM     Read More  

Sun - September 7, 2003

Last night in Kenmare


After the Ring of Kerry, we walked around Kenmare, checking out our options for dinner. We then walked up the back street behind our hotel to the Stone Circle, an old Druid circle of stones. Very nice but quite small. Kind of like the Stonehenge model from "This is Spinal Tap". The rain had finally stopped.

Then, the rain started up again as we searched for a pub that was open on a Sunday afternoon. Most opened late, so we returned to Davitts where we had some drinks. I had my 3rd and 4th Murphy's and Diane had her 5th and 6th Bulmers.

We went to D'Arcy's for dinner. Lonely Planet called it the best restaurant in town, and I believe it is! Beautiful restored home that held a B&B as well. Diane started with a carrot and sweet potato cream soup. She had Kerry lamb for dinner, while I had Irish sirloin steak in a pepper sauce. We enjoyed dinner with a Chilean cabernet. Dessert was a Wellbake apple tart for Diane and a mille feuille crème brulée with orange and red grapefruit for me. Diane finished this off with a Bailey's coffee.

We walked back to Davitts and had a nightcap. A chardonnay for Diane and my second Jameson's on ice. Wow!

Posted at 06:02 PM     Read More  

Ring of Kerry


We got up at 7.10 and ate breakfast. Wonderful toast with melted Irish cheese, accompanied by tomatoes and mushrooms.

Diane drove in varying light and heavy rain that day. We drove west out of Kenmare, through Sneem. Drizzle, pour, drizzle, pour. We stopped at Staigue where there was a 2,000 year old stone ring fort. We parked, walked through the rain up a hill covered in sheep dung to the ring fort. As we crouched down and walked into the ring, the rain stopped. A transitory moment of perfection. No sounds, not a single one, but the quiet wisp of breathing in air that had flowed through this circle for two millennium.

Pushing onward through the rain, we stopped at various vantage points along the way. We stopped in Waterville, by the seaside to get some sodas and walk around a bit in the rain. Small fishing village (~ 500 people). We continued on, skipping the Ring of Skellig. [By now, I've exhausted the "nature" part of my trip!]

We continued on to Kilgorgan, then back into Killarney for a quick pit stop at a public loo. Then, back to the deadly drive from Killarney to Kenmare, this time with Diane driving. Pulled over a few times foor a look over the edge of the roadway out into the mountains and plains wrapped around their bases.

Posted at 05:50 PM     Read More  

Sat - September 6, 2003

Kenmare First Night


We walked around the four main streets and looked at various restaurants and cool shops. We went back to Davitts, changed, and headed out to Mickey Ned's for another pint of Murphy's and some wine for Diane. It was a cool, modern looking pub just down the street.

We chose to eat at Foley's for dinner. Diane had a Caesar salad and salmon with prawns. I had some Kenmare Bay mussels and lasagna. We washed all of this down with a nice bottle of Chianti.

Posted at 05:41 PM     Read More  

Davitts's Guesthouse in Kenmare


We arrived in Kenmare around 5:30. It was the most beautiful, picturesque town in all of Ireland! Check in was insanely easy, without a credit card swipe or any ID. Our room was wonderful: modern, very clean, all up to date, and spacious. Wow, what a deal! We went down to the pub for my first pint of Murphy's and a pint of Bulmer's for Diane. We watched Ireland and Russia play to a tie in a Euro 2004 game.

Posted at 05:38 PM     Read More  

To Kenmare via Bunratty & Killarney!


We checked out of the Queen's Hotel after a Friday night blitzkrieg of music. Slept okay after the nightclub beneath us closed at 2 AM.

We drove about 20 minutes southeast to Bunratty Castle and folk park. It was kind of Disney-esque, but the castle was still wonderful. It had been restored by a rich Anglo-Irish gentleman and given to the country to celebrate its past during the 1960s. The grounds reminded me of Colonial Williamsburg in the US. We spent about 2.5 hours wandering around the site before the tour buses started to arrive. Most of the tourists were speaking German.

We drove from there to Killarney, arriving by 2:30 PM. We walked around the three main streets of the old town and market section. We ate lunch at a funky cafe called "Jam". Diane had a ham & cheese on Irish brown bread and I had an improvised jambon beurre. Most excellent.

We left Killarney around 4:30 and had an insane one hour drive to Kenmare through the mountains just south of Killarney. The road was about 1.5 car lengths wide (and small cars at that!), sheep in the middle of the road, and tour buses approaching at high velocity from the other direction. It was a beautiful, if scary, drive through the mountains and lakes.

Posted at 05:30 PM     Read More  

Fri - September 5, 2003

More Ennis


After the Cliffs, time to eat and drink...

We visited the Ennis Friary, founded in the 1240s, though most of the current structure was from the 1300s. Beautiful old structures.

We did happy hour at Brandon's Pub. I had my 4th and 5th Guinness and Diane had two pints of Bulmers. This pub was awesome. Very old structure with three levels separated by about a step or two. We grabbed a table and relaxed.

We ate dinner at Cruises Pub. I had some Irish stew and Diane had the lasagna (house special). The food was okay, but the service wasn't that great.

For a nightcap, we went back to Brogans, where we ate on our first night. But this time, we went in the side entrance which was more of a bar area. I had my first Jameson's Irish whiskey. O M G ... It was excellent. I'm hooked! Diane had a tasty Bailey's and coffee.

Posted at 01:42 AM     Read More  

Cliffs of Moher: Highlight of the trip


The Cliffs of Moher. What can one really say? You have to see them to truly experience them.

Diane drove from Aillwee cave up to the Cliffs. We stopped in Doolin, a tiny seaside village (pop. 200). You can see the Cliffs from the edge of the water, and boats go out to tour the cliffs from a lower vantage point. We took some nice pictures there.

Diane drove up the road to the cliffs and we parked. The cliffs were beautiful. Four wedge-shaped cliffs jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean. There were warning signs everywhere along the walking path, alerting people to potential falls and other harm that might come if you crossed the line.

But, I wanted to look over the edge of the cliffs and convinced Diane (who also convinced herself) to try it out. We went past the barriers (as others were doing) and walked out onto a flat limestone area along one cliff. The method was to walk near the edge, lie down on your stomach, and slither up to the edge. We both did it and the view down (~ 203 m) was to die for! What a rush. Diane took some amazing photos!

Posted at 01:23 AM     Read More  

Aillwee Caves in the Burren


We got up in Ennis, had breakfast (black & white pudding and country bacon). I drove north out of Ennis and headed up to Aillwee caves. These caves are in the Burren, a magnificent landscape of limestone as far as the eye can see. The caves lie beneath one of the hills of limestone. We had a guided tour (by a Frenchman) through about 600m of the caves. It was pretty cool, although nothing that one couldn't see in a lighted cave elsewhere. The beauty of the Burren was above ground!

Posted at 01:23 AM     Read More  

Thu - September 4, 2003

Ennis, County Clare


We drove from Galway down to the small town of Ennis and put our car in a public car park. We checked into the Queen's Hotel on Abbey Street. The site was a setting in James's Joyce's Ulysses.

After checking into our room, we headed down to the pub attached to the hotel. I had my second pint of Guinness (yum!) and Diane had her first Bulmer's hard apple cider. This was a good thing for her since we could drink and be equally paced since we both had pints

We walked around the town and ate dinner at Brogan's on O'Connell Street, a few blocks from our hotel. Most excellent food. Diane had a funky mixed salad and some locally farmed salmon. I had Irish West Coast mussels, probably the best I ever had, for an appetizer. Then I ate a chicken curry (also one of the best ever) for dinner. I had my third Guinness at dinner!

Posted at 01:15 AM     Read More  

Galway, County Galway


We passed Ennis on the highway and drove into Galway. After looping the inner city once, we found a multi-story car park and ditched our Micra. Galway is a medieval city with narrow streets, very old buildings and shops, and a few cobblestone drives. One of the main streets reminded me of Amsterdam, especially the Leidseplein area near where we stayed.

Since we were there so early, most of the shops were closed or just opening up. Diane took a picture of a cool building on the corner of one of the streets. Without realizing it, we would return later that day to eat at that pub. We sat outside, just between the two doorways shown on the picture. When we later got to Ennis that afternoon, I looked up the pub in my Lonely Planet guide book and the pub turned out to be one of the highly recommended ones. It was called the Seáan Ua Neáhtain. Diane had a ham and cheddar sandwich and I had a BLT with that lusciously thick Irish bacon. I had my first Guinness at this pub!

After lunch, we walked around the city, passing the Spanish arch from 1584. This arch was an entry way into a market place, which was fed goods from the adjacent River Corrib. From there, we walked along a canal and up to the Galway Cathedral.

Posted at 01:06 AM     Read More  

Red-eye flight from BWI to Shannon Airport


Diane & I arrived at the Shannon Airport at 7 AM. We exchanged some traveler's cheques, bought some coffee and picked up our rental car. The car was a beat up old Nissan Micra with the steering wheel on the right side. Driving on the left side of the road was a trip! Within 80 odd kilometers, I eventually got a hang of it. But, throughout the trip, I always went to my right to shift gears, and ended up banging my hand on the driver's side door (on the left!).

Posted at 12:57 AM     Read More  

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