Ireland Travels Part One

Well I can not tell you how happy I was to get out of Dublin and see the "real Ireland" and see for myself what all the hype about this country was. Due to time constraints (mainly due by Kate needing to work) we managed to do a one week flyby tour of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Day One: Dublin to Cork

The trip started out as a scary one as I had to drive through Dublin (it was worse than Nairobi!) where I got totted at a lot and had to navigate around the first of many many roundabouts, buses and people (some of which lay in front of buses and cars). It then followed after nearly having a heart attack going straight onto the motorway where you find yourself having to do 120km (this is the speed limit I swear), though people pass you at that speed.

Our first stop was Glendaloch. This is about an hour or so out of Dublin and thankfully got me off the motorway and onto some winding country rounds surrounded by trees. The place is a must see by Dubliners standards (well at least that was what Kate was told). It was nice with trees and forests and some ruins of buildings, but in terms of what we were going to see later, I'd rate it about a 2.75 (maybe a 3) out of 5.

From here it was to Cork. A average size city with a river running through the middle of it. From the brief bits we saw that night, Kate and I could already tell the place had more culture than Dublin. It was however a lot smaller geographically than we were expecting. As per the stereotype people from Cork require a lot of concentration to understand. That night was mostly spent wondering around the streets and watching the world go by. This was mostly due to Kate and I being indecisive in choosing which pub we wanted to go into and suited us (the problem you have when you have too many choices).

Day Two: Cork to Trallee via Mizen Head

Kate and I first spent the morning wondering around the city. First stop was the art gallery which I really enjoyed seeing a collection of statues and monuments and this modern life art exhibition. Then it was off to see the city walls which were a let down as we could only look at them and not walk on them as the gates were shut. Finally it was a quick look around their historic goal (which we both kind of snuck into without paying as time was short and knew we could not see most of it anyway. And yes, I know that should be no excuse).

It was a windy and at times slow drive to Mizen head on many of Ireland's back roads to this mysterious Mizen Head which I only briefly read about and was 2 hours out of the way. Thankfully however the view on the way and the way back were soo worth it as was the place itself. This site ranks about 4.5 out of 5 and it certainly I place I would recommend going to. it was one of the view places Kate and I struggled to stop ourselves taking pictures and from constantly pulling over on the side of the road.

Trallee, will sadly always be tarnished for Kate and myself. Due to crappy directions from our accommodation we spent two hours, a lot of stress and petrol trying to find the place. I can now say I know the town a lot better than I was ever wanted to.

Day Three: Trallee to Tarbet via Killarney National Park

After our free breakfast Kate and I departed from Trallee very quickly and headed backwards to drive around Dingle Peninsula and then to Killarney National Park. The peninsula was again meant to be another one of the must sees of our trip, and again Kate and I were a little disappointed. While there we checked historic houses and became more informed about the potato famine and its impact on society. Before heading off to the national park it was a stop at a historic oratory which is meant to be the oldest and best constructed one around.

Muckross at National Park was where I was meant to get my road tramp. However this was the not the case and was fulled with tourist, bike riders and horse and cart rides. This turned out to be yet another reminder that Irelander's don't do exercise and don't know what a real tramp is. Don't get me wrong the views of the lake were nice and it was good to do some walking out in the open. There was also a nice surprise of this old monastery from the 1300's we were able to walk around inside of. I think its fair to say Kate and I rated this monastery and fairly high and easily a 4 out of 5.

So Tarbet is this small town which has really nothing there (well on the tourist map anyway). It was here however that Kate and I experienced true Irish pub life with the locals. It was a Sunday and the pub didn't get busy until 10pm. While there I had the pleasure of drinking a pint of Guinness while listening to live music. I was also however subjected to be dragged (literally) onto the dance floor (we were the only ones on it) by a 60 year old drunk Irish guy. He managed to keep me on the floor for at least three songs. Not long after this Kate and I was subjected to "dancing" Polish style. Lets just say it was interesting...

Day Four: Tarbet to Galway via Cliffs of Mohir

So the day started off with rain and a lot of it. This kind of put a damper on Kate and I being excited about taking the car ferry across. After a few twisted roads we arrived to tourist fulled Cliffs of Mohir which were still covered by rain. Kate and I left the place a lot wetter and also thinking they were cliffs just like clffs we have at home, just a little bit higher. Later that day talking to some Italians however they informed of they were the most impressive natural environment they had seen. It was here that Kate and I really started to question if our standards in terms of natural "wonders" were unrealistically high.

Once in Galway Kate and found ourselves surrounded by thousands of young(ish) people. Kate and I had not realised we had arrived at the place on the first day of cup racing. In Ireland this is a big deal. To make life more interesting Kate and my accomodation was right on the strip which was surrounded by most of the pubs in Galway. Cant really recall what we did in the afternoon, but know it quickly passed as it the crap weather.

Kate and I spent the evening in a nice Italian restaurant which had a watermill inside and looked out onto part of one of the main rivers in Galway. It was a nice chance for Kate and I to get all dressed up. Afterwards we joined the crowds and walked the streets and took in some of the street shows. What surprised me was while there were a lot of people drinking out of the streets in designated areas, everyone was in a good mood and there was no sign of drunken behaviour which I would expect in NZ. The evening was finished off talking to a Northern Irishmen who had lived and studied here 50 years ago and was trying to track down friends he knew back then.