Just like this title says, Ireland is literally full of
rainbows, we saw on average 2 a day, in fact probably more like 3.
Unfortunately rainbows only come with rain, but we are not complaining we love
them, but we are still a little miffed on where the pot of gold is...
Unlike Scotland we chose to do Ireland in one post mostly
just to save us time, but really it was because most nights we were not in our
room blogging we were out tapping our beer glasses on the table to some
fabulous local Irish music in the pub.
There was a lot of driving in Ireland and not a lot of time
to explore towns and cities properly, but we were able to get a glimpse of the
Ireland highlights and a snapshot of what it has to offer. To be honest this
part of our journey has been the toughest for us so far. We are 2 months in and
we think a bit of the excitement adrenaline has dropped off, meaning it’s
harder to go go go the way we have been and to keep up the 'see all the things
in 5 hours' approach. We are in no way saying we are not excited by our trip or
loving it, just that our bodies are telling us to relax a little and perhaps
take a day to just stop. It genuinely feels self-indulgent saying that we need
a break on our 8 month holiday from reality. Perhaps we should stop calling it
a holiday and just call it an adventure after all adventures can be more fun
than holidays but are often a little less comfortable and have the tendency to
be draining.
Thankfully we had booked a really nice place in Dublin at
the end of the trip, this along with the King sized bed had us feeling like we
were living the dream.
Galway
The drive to Galway from Londonderry was one of the longest
driving days we’ve had so far. About 6 hours total behind the wheel. So we didn’t
do much sightseeing the afternoon we left Londonderry. It was curious to note
the lack of any border recognition.
You simply all of a sudden are in Ireland with kilometres instead of miles and
Gaelic on every sign. Fuel is much cheaper in Ireland as well which was a
welcome boon. Another point to note is the motorway speed limit in Ireland is
120kph (Britain is 70mph). Australia being approximately 1000 times larger than
Ireland, with identical roads, is stuck with 110kph. Something backwards going
on there (in our opinion we should be going much quicker on the highways but
that’s another story).
We checked into our Inn for the evening and wandered into
town as there was a bit of a festival going on. We got there too late to catch
it so after some wandering around the pubs and streets we headed back to the Inn
to get a blog out and get a good sleep. Simon had his first proper Guinness here and whilst it is better than back home it’s not his
favourite.
Rising early to make up for the day of seeing little the day
before we struck out for a packed day. Before leaving Galway though we went to
the old harbour where the fishing boats come in and looked at the pretty
seaside houses and old boats. It was a beautiful morning with the sun out.
Leaving Galway and following the coast line we headed to
Irelands surf beaches. Yep surf beaches complete with sand. There were people
in the water despite the strong breeze and after nearly being blown off a cliff
we set off for our next stop.
Further down the road we visited the 3rd largest stalactite in the world. Obviously in a cave. The size of the thing is impressive, it weighs 23 tonnes and continues to grow.
Back up the road was the days highlight. The Cliffs of
Moher. Despite initially baulking at the price to park (6 euro per person, not
per car!) we walked up through the visitors centre (Ireland loves their
visitors centres!) to the ‘edge’ of the cliffs. Breath-taking! The sheer height
of them alone is incredible but the combination of colours, rough seas and very strong wind made for a sensory
experience unlike any other. It was also here that Simon got to experience
simulated sky diving. The wind was SO strong that you could lean into the wind
and not fall over. Arms stretched wide there was a growing crowd of people
having fun with the most ferocious wind we’ve experienced. It reminded Simon of
riding his motorcycle through rain it was hitting that hard. Hilarious fun when
Amy’s beanie blew off and we had to chase it!
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| The grass gives you an understanding of the wind! |
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| This gives you a better understanding of the wind! Best free fun available! |
Departing the incredible cliffs we wound our way across back
rounds and winding highways through the dark to get to our nights stay at
Dingle.
Dingle Peninsula and
the Ring of Kerry.
Dingle is a regional peninsula on the south west of Ireland
and is said to be where you will find ‘the real Ireland’. To put Dingle into
context the town has 1500 people, the peninsula is home to a total of 10,000
people and its also home to 500,000 sheep, that’s a ratio of 1:50 people to
sheep. It has the number of pubs to service more like the number of sheep than
people, but that’s just part of the Irish culture, we don’t know how they all make
money. To be sure we found a fantastic town full of character and fun. After a
nice dinner we went in search of live music and ‘the craic’. After settling
into a small pub we listened to a 2 piece band crank out some fantastic
traditional tunes an taking in the atmosphere. It was fabulous and one of the
most memorable moments in Ireland, especially when drunk Kevin took the stage
and belted out some of his favourite tunes. Tears of laughter were flowing down
everyone’s faces.
The next day we toured the Dingle peninsula. Being only 10
miles across and 40 miles long this only took the morning but some of the stops
we made, taking in the scenery with the crashing waves, jagged shores and in
some places secluded sandy beaches were just amazing.
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| 'Inch Beach' - not sure how they got this measurement |
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| The most perfect secluded beach we have ever stumbled upon |
The rest of our day was spent exploring The Ring of Kerry, a
very popular loop of road around the next peninsula taking in small towns,
panoramic ocean views, high mountains and winding scenic roads. Not much needs
to be said except that you can take a few days to do the ring and we did it in
about 5 hours capturing as much as we could, but this is pretty normal for most
tourists. In the fading light of the ever shortening days we completed the loop
at a 1400 year old ring fort before making our way through the darkness once
more to our nights stop at Killarney. It was raining most of the day, making shots a little tricky, but it was beautiful.
Killarney
Before bed we went into town for a feed and again in search
of music. After wandering the Aran wool outlet and deciding that buying Irish
wool would feel traitorous we found a pub with a trad session (Irish music) and
settled in pint in hand for another listen.
The next day we rose and hit the ground running. Killarney
is a massive tourist hub being close to the ring but with also plenty in its
own backyard to have tourists flocking in every year. Firstly we drove back up
the road we had come in on as we had missed some great lookouts in the
darkness. Coming back towards the town we stopped at “Ladies View” lookout
followed by the Torc Waterfalls and lake before going further down to Castle Killarney
Castle. The wild weather of recent days indicated by the localised flooding of
most of the car park and several of the lakes smaller boats submerged bows
pointing out of the water.
Moving out into the countryside we stopped at the Gap of
Dunloe. A beautiful mountain pass that is accessible by single track road. You
can drive it but instead we opted for the tourist option of horse and trap ride
given by local farmers. We don’t do cliché tourists stuff much so when we do
its still quite fun and we have a great giggle. Our guide was fantastic, a
fourth generation horse driver, yep driver, who took us up the gap and back
whilst having a great chat (granted his accent was so thick we could hardly
understand him at times).
One of our last stops was at another scenic lookout where
some tour bus had gathered for a group photo and the poor bus driver proceeded
to work his way through no less than 20 cameras taking photos of the group,
have you heard of email people?
By this time the light was dimming and we drove on to our
next destination, Cork.
Cork
Cork likes to call itself “the real capital of Ireland”.
Whilst we’re not disagreeing with them we think that’s big noting yourself
somewhat. Our guest house here had the smallest bathroom ever, you could not fit
two people in there even with one in the shower. Actually you could not fit one
person in there comfortably.
In the morning we drove out to Blarney where the famous
Blarney Stone resides within…. Blarney Castle. Real simple naming conventions
in Europe! The Blarney stone is said to imbue all those that kiss it with the
gift of eloquence. This tradition has been going on for over 300 years with
records of tourists and visitors from France in the 1700s being taken to the
castle to kiss the stone. It is not that easy to get to as it is at the very
top of the castle on the outer wall. To kiss it you need to be held by the legs
and hold onto bars whilst arching your back hard and smooching a now very
smooth stone. Whilst we’re not doubting the powers of the stone we are still
waiting for it to kick in...we are not sure on the timing of the effect of the
stone. The rest of the grounds have beautiful gardens including a very cool
poison garden with some of the deadly and dangerous plants of the world. A
massive manor and an arboretum are also on show.
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| You have to go a long way down to become eloquent |
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| Not sure why Simon was in here un-accompanied... |
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| We think the manor is better than the castle |
Once back in Cork and feeling hungry we lunched at the
English Markets in the centre of Cork. These are similar to the Queen Victoria
Markets back in Melbourne but much smaller with fresh meat, fish, veg, baked
goods and a few other things. Still in the original Victorian era building they
are really a bit special and unique to wander. On the second floor is a
restaurant that uses only produce from the markets below and we had one of the
best dining experiences in Ireland from simple sandwiches.
Feeling like some normality we spent the afternoon wandering
the streets of Cork, popping in and out of stores and browsing book stores. This
was really nice to just chill out and have some down time. It was Halloween
night and there was a frenzy in all the pop up stores for costumes with people
rushing about with ghoulish make up on already. Returning to our tiny room we
got changed and went back out to be part of the buzz.
People take Halloween seriously in Ireland with just about
every store decorated in spiders, witches, webs, ghouls and ghosts. After
dinner in town we sought out a bar with some music and settled in to listen to
a great band that we ended up finding on Spotify (Vinnies TV). On our way back
to our place we passed what can only be called a small army of costumed party
goers on their way out for a big night of Halloween fun.
Kilkenny
Glad to be leaving the worlds smallest en-suite behind and
hitting the road we struck out for Kilkenny. Along the way we made some stops,
firstly at Lismore. All along the way we have passed through towns that are
paired with other towns internationally, just like Canberra is with Beijing and
Nara. Well Lismore, Ireland is paired with Lismore, NSW. Well done guys,
outside the box thinking.
Lismore Ireland has a fairly modern castle which we could
not figure out how to access, all the roads were closed. So we crossed the
river and got some shots from there. The town itself is very cute with little
shops and seasonal restaurants.
Next stop was Waterford, home to Waterford Crystal. You’ve
probably heard of it or own some yourself. We visited the show room and marvelled
at some of the incredibly intricate creations. Deciding to take the factory
tour we went through and saw how start to finish these incredible creations are
made. The crystal masters usually start at 16-17 years of age do a 5 year
apprenticeship in creating the crystal and will usually stay in the company
their entire working lives. Watching these guys work it was obvious that they
are passionate about what they do and the skill and care that goes into every
handmade piece is amazing. Opting not the buy the 18,000 Euro crystal
chandelier, given we couldn’t fit it in our packs of course, we left Waterford
and drove to Kilkenny.
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After checking in we drove back into town and after
wandering the old streets for a while settled on a pub feed where Simon forgot
these lesson learnt in Scotland and ordered a stir fry. Amy had a magnificent
chicken dish with potato and pumpkin mash and Simon had the most average stir
fry in memory of food. Hopefully its sunk in now, don’t order anything but pub
food in the pub.
After a bit of a lie in the next day we visited Kilkenny
Cathedral and Kilkenny Castle. Not having the desire to see the inside of another
of either variety of old stone building we opted to visit the design district
across the road instead. In here there are all sorts of artisans working on
everything from gold working to pottery to linen to painting with of course, a
massive gift shop. It was enjoyable though to have poke through all the
beautiful things.
There was a rugby game on at 2.30, Australia vs England that
Simon was keen to see so we hustled to our next and final Irish destination,
Dublin.
Dublin
After a swift passage down the motorway we checked into our
next hotel. In planning we had decided that Dublin should be a nice stay seeing
as its our longest stop anywhere since London a month previously. Staying 4
star for us is a big deal and our room did not disappoint. We caught only 20
minutes of the game due to a disagreement over what game to watch in the hotel
bar but despite that we had a nice afternoon and evening consisting of Chinese
take away on our giant bed and catching up on our favourite TV shows.
The next day we followed good friends Sarah Jewell and
Darren Byrne’s recommendations on some things to do and places to eat and
drink. Starting disastrously with Simon navigating not once but TWICE in the
wrong direction a solid hours walking was wasted so we flagged a cab for the
first time on our journey and got a lift into town. We had brunch at the Queen
of Tarts which is a wonderful bakery filled with delicious things and mellowed
a little after the rough start.
Crossing the Liffey river we went to O’Connell Street which
is the main promenade in Dublin. Central to it is the highest sculpture in
Europe, the stiffey by the Liffey, the erection at the intersection but most
commonly called simply, the spire. It’s an enormous pointed spire in the centre
of town and makes a great meeting point. Which is convenient because there we
met old mate Anthony. Anthony was in Dublin for 2 nights at the tail of his
business trip to Belfast so we got the band back together went exploring.
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| Stiffey at the Liffey |
After cruising up and down O’Connell Street we walked across
to Trinity College, our friend Sarah had studied there for 12 months previously
so we were keen to see it for ourselves having heard so much about it. It is a
beautiful campus and our student guide took us through the history of the
university and the campus before depositing us at the Library which contains
the Book of Kells. The Book of Kells is actually four books created in the 8th
century by monks off the coast of Scotland and they are illustrated copies of
the four gospels of the Bible. They are in a word, incredible. Putting into
context how hard creating books, inks, materials and everything else involved
was these books are a marvel of ancient work.
Upstairs is the long library, it is the largest single room
library in the world and it is stunning. The roof is covered in oak panelling and
the books, all classic leather bound, beautifully stacked floor to ceiling. The
library is lined with busts of famous Irish contributors to literature. An awe
inspiring room, to be sure.
The sun setting at 5pm these days makes things feel a lot
later than they are. Heading back across the Liffey we went to Beshoffs fish
and chips on the recommendation of Darren. We were not disappointed. Second
only to the fish and chips we’d had in Durham at the national finalist chippy.
After a bit of wandering Temple Bar and a warm up round in
Anthonys conveniently central hotel room we hit the town to try as many of the
combined 13 recommended drinking establishments. We managed 3. Doyles, The Auld
Dubliner and The Dames Tavern. Each with their own character, charms and
quirks. After a good night of chatting, drinking and exploring the streets we
picked up our things from Anthonys and walked up the road home, Simon
successful navigating this time around.
We started our day at Kilmainham Gaol with a top 3 trip
advisor rating and huge recommendations it did not disappoint. The gaol plays a
pivotal role in Irish history and Australia’s, with it being a transportation
gaol for those off to Australia for their crime of stealing a loaf of bread. Many
people who failed at revolution attempts were kept or hung here. There is an
exhibit in the main area of the gaol of womens bonnets made by Australian descendants
of deported women showing the tens of thousands of women deported from Ireland
to live in our great country.
Hoofing it back to town we caught the Sandemans walking tour
for the afternoon, this 3.5 hour great wander of Dublin was fantastic and
helped lock in a few more pieces that we had learnt about that morning. A few
highlights were Dublin castle, Temple Bar and some of the smaller lesser known
places and stories. In case you didn’t know the shamrock (3 leaf clover) was
used by St Patrick to teach the principle of the ‘3 in one’, God, Jesus and the
Holy Spirit.
The story we must share
with you is about 2 young men who put up a fictitious plaque in 2004 on a main
bridge in the city. The plaque (see picture) had many people in Dublin feel
sorry for this man who had died and they brought flowers and light candles to
show their respect. It was only in 2006 when the inaccuracy was found out and
brought to the Dublin Councils attention that the pranksters owned up. What
happened to them? Nothing, the council found it amusing and they left it just
where it was. This story highlights the Irish belief that ‘the truth should
never get in the way of a good story’. The best part is there are still people
in Dublin now who don’t realise it is a hoax.
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Freezing from our day outside, we warmed up with some hot
chocolate and then enjoyed some Irish stew on our last night before aiming to
tick off the remaining 9 pubs on our list. We managed one pub on the list and
one other but it was a cracker! The first was McDaids followed up by The Arch.
The Arch was playing live music by a two piece band of guitar and banjo (Hot
Whiskey) and they were going a hell for leather pace. It was incredible. We
were quickly wrapped up in the atmosphere, stomping our feet, clapping our
hands and eventually doing our very worst jigs to the music. We reluctantly called
it at midnight as we had an 8am ferry to catch the next day.
We said our farewells to Anthony and wished him a safe trip
home. Thank you so much for the fun mate it was an absolute hoot.
Rising at stupid o’clock in the darkness we unwillingly left
our comfortable room (realising it was probably going to be one of the nicest
on our journey) and found the harbour, boarded the ferry and settled in to
write this blog.
Final Thoughts
You hear so many clichés about Ireland, rainbows,
leprechauns, shamrocks, green everything and of course Guinness. Well they’re
all true! Maybe not the leprechauns but there are some short people about.
Driving around we found green everywhere we went, saw shamrocks on everything
and of course Simon drank the local brew, the black Guinness (which IS different
here). We had expectations of pretty scenery and friendly people and Ireland
did not disappoint on either, with some of the most incredible scenery to date
and some of the most genuinely friendly people we’ve met so far. Our whip
around the island was a great taster of what there is to do, see and
experience.
Ireland is an incredibly diverse place. You can go from a
pumping, hip and fun city to a completely relaxed rural town in 30 minutes. The
coast is never far away and there is always a pub within a stones throw. The
pub scene is unrivalled, best in the world we would bet. We loved the natural
beauty of the countryside and the range of things to see and do all over the
place. The people are friendly, genuine and welcoming. Yes there are raging
clichés everywhere but that’s part of the fun, the weather is at times
despicable but you go prepared and you’ll still have a good time. We are sad we
did not get to see any Hurling or Gaelic Football.
Ireland is for the good times, the relaxed times, the fun
times and the rowdy times. This will not be our last visit to Ireland there is
too much fun to be had on just about every street and in every pub. Thanks for
the memories.
Simon and Amy xoxo
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