Return to Dublin

Return to Dublin
Once we left the city of Cork, we headed to Kilkenny, making a stop in Waterford that, in my opinion, was not even worth the stop. We were intrigued by our guide who had highly recommended the visit of a famous glassware. Truly, it's a big store where old men on vacation love to wander between a crystal elephant and a crystal glass, which they will probably buy just to bring some souvenirs at home.
Disappointed, we continued on our way, but it was really difficult to find the accommodation that we had reserved by phone a few hours before. Our efforts were rewarded though, because the B&B it was really nice, set in an Ireland green environment, so green that it blinded us!

Kilkenny
The city of Kilkenny is famous for its elegance, unique in Ireland, and for its medieval charm. It’s famous for its paved pedestrian alleys overlooked by the windows of antique shops, leading to mysterious and distant environments. In reality, however, it is very easy to end up in trendy bars, boutiques and very elegant restaurants. One of the main attractions of the city is the mighty Kilkenny Castle, which stands majestically on a bend of the River Nore.

May 30
We spent the whole day quietly in Kilkenny. Maybe even a little too quietly, since we “quietly” parked the car in a forbidden area, getting a fine of 40 euros!
In the evening we went to a pub where we listened to traditional Irish music. I didn't like that music that much, but the guy was so good that we felt bad about leaving after only 10 minutes. It would have been rude, so we stayed there, putting up with that music, for quite a while.

2006 © Giovanna Puccia. All rights are reserved. 
Kilkenny Castle

2006 © Giovanna Puccia. All rights are reserved. 
Japaneese Gardens

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May 31
We left Kilkenny early in the morning because within 13 hours we had to be in Dublin to return the car to Hertz. Along the way, I proposed to stop and visit the Irish National Stud to see the Japanese gardens, expecting to find many bonsais (even if she doesn't like bonsai). Actually, I was a little disappointed as well because there were maybe only 2 or 3 bonsais. It was more like a garden ...just like the name said...

From May 31 to June 5
We spent the last day of our holiday in Dublin. We stayed at the Abbey Court Hostel for the modest sum of 44 euro for a room with private bathroom, a broken shower and a bed with a V-shaped mattress. Basically, a dump. But this dump was the least expensive option in all Dublin.
In my opinion, five days in Dublin are more than enough, because after the third day we had already seen everything that was interesting to see. Definitely worth a visit are the Guinness Store House, the old Old Jameson Distillery, Phoenix Park, which is the largest in Europe, Trinity College (even if now it's all very commercial), O'Connor Street and St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Dublin is divided into two parts by the River Liffey, the more touristic and crowded area is definitely the south. Here you find the Temple Bar (at night it is ironically called Temple "Barf" = vomiting), Trinity College and the streets with more shops and pubs. It’s a very busy, dirty, and expensive city, but it is definitely the Night capital of Europe. It is difficult to enter inside "in" the premises, if you don't have appropriate clothing. We were bounced almost anywhere because of her clothing!
On the 4th day, we had decided to go to the '"sea" in Dun Laoghaire, outside Dublin. Of course don’t expect to find long beaches and crystal clear sea...let’s say that it's a pleasant walk and it’s reachable by train in half an hour.

2006 © Giovanna Puccia. All rights are reserved
Dublino, O'Connor Street

at the Guinness Store House

On the seafront in Dun Laongaire

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The Kerry peninsula

9:57: her words while "leaving the B&B: "Giovanna took the wrong lane, causing chaos among the drivers in the area”. My thought: there was only one car around… she always exaggerates! After leaving the B&B, we headed to the Cliffs of Moher but, as usual, the weather was very bad.

The Cliffs of Moher are one of the wonders of Ireland, rising up to reach a height of 214 meters. They are sandstone and sedimentary rocks that formed millions of years ago. They are very steep and rugged. On limpid days, the view is spectacular and you can see the Aran Islands, but we were unlucky. We stopped just long enough to visit them briefly, because with the bad weather, it makes no sense to walk through the many paths that surround the cliffs.

Our next destination is Kerry county, with its beautiful Skellig Michael Islands.

Cliff of Moher

Skellig Micheal Islands

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May 28, Caherciveen
After sleeping in the house of the witches, we went to Portmagee, a small town where you can take the ferries to the islands. The ferry's price is really high. Catching the ferry was a real hard task, as we had to jump on the boat with the rough sea, and if someone fell in the water... well it was their problem! The island was beautiful and probably it was the place, in all Ireland, that deserved to be visited the most.

These islands are located in the Atlantic Ocean at 12 km from the coast. We visited only St. Michael Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It really looks like the last place in the world where someone would want to land. Yet a group of monks in early Christian times survived on the island until the thirteenth century. The monastic buildings can be reached by climbing 575 steps carved into the rock. The cells where the monks lived are just 4.5 meters wide; this suggests that men were used to live in confined spaces. Outside the cells, there is also a small cemetery where the monks are buried.

On this island, we met Sara and Eros and with them we went to Cork, where we spent the evening together and the following day. Because of Eros, or at least of his not-so-appropriate clothing (he was wearing a jump suit), we were not able to enter in any place because of the selections at the entrance. Finally, we found a nice pub where we spent the night in good company.

We didn’t stay in Cork for a long time. The following day, we made a quick tour of the city center and we reached the cathedral, but we didn’t get inside because to me it's unacceptable to have to pay 3 euros to enter a church!

The only thing that seemed interesting to visit was the old prison of Cork.

Cork's city centre

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Galway and the Aran Islands

10.25 am: Departure from Sligo (horrible town) towards Galway, which is 138 km away.

Galway is one of the largest cities in the country and is considered by many to be its cultural capital. For us, the main attraction is its nightlife. Here you can find all kinds of pubs and discos and flowing rivers of Guinness everywhere as well as traditional music.

As soon as we arrive, we immediately look for the tourist office, where a very kind receptionist gives us a nice room in a B&B by the sea. Once we drop our bags, we immediately go out to discover the center and to do some shopping. I find a beautiful, warm sweater, made of pure new wool coming from the Aran Island: I fall in love and I buy it even if the price is a bit too much for my pocket.

In the evening we have dinner with fish and chips at Fat Freddy Restaurant and then we spend a quiet evening in the pub.

Galway

May 25

The Aran Islands are three small islands (Inishmor, Inishmaan and Inisheer) that emanate a special, exciting atmosphere. Peaceful and far away from the modern world, they are characterized by intense landscapes, formed by small fields separated by an impressive network of stone walls. We get to visit them in the best time of the year, spring, when they aren't mobbed by tourists.

In Inishmor we take a bus and have a quick tour of the island, stopping only for the necessary time to visit the ruins of Angus' Fort. I refer you to Wikipedia to learn about the history and culture of these strange islands.

Inishmor

What a terror looking down!

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May 26

It was almost a wasted day, as we were unaware that the things we would have done the following day do tomorrow, we could have done them the same day. We went around the Burren, visiting the Dolmen and the Ailwee Caves, but none of these places was spectacular. I was particularly disappointed in the Dolmen because I thought I would have been in front of a huge, mysterious site like Stonehenge and instead I found myself in front of a little stone :)

In fact, the Dolmen is a kind of prehistoric megalithic single-room tomb and, along with the site of Stonehenge, it is one of the most well-known megalithic monuments.

This day is remembered (at 6.11 pm) only for the fight she almost had with motorists who then told her to get lost, saying: "You should not be driving."

The Dolmen

Landscape of the Burren

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From Dublin to Northern Ireland

11.00 am: to find Hertz we asked two policemen for directions. They wanted to send us in the opposite direction. Luckily, we’re both stubborn and we didn’t pay attention. We took a taxi.

2.00 pm: we left from Dublin, after riding around the same round a couple of times we made it to the M50 North towards Belfast, which is about 154 km away. Along the way, between Loome and Ballymena, we stopped to take pictures at a cemetery. The Irish style is creepy. While she was taking the pictures, I tried to move the car. I tried to change gears with my right hand, I started driving with the change in third and instead of gently slowing down, I slammed on the brakes… I have to get used to driving on the right.

8.45 pm: we arrived in Portrush, in Northern Ireland. After zigzagging all day because she kept going the wrong way, we arrived in this small town and we found a very nice Guest House at 70 pounds per night. It's a bit expensive but we were tired and we gladly accepted the accommodation. The place was nice, right on the coast and at a 5-minute drive from the Giant's Causeway that we would have visited the following day.

11:17 pm: after a miserable Guinness, we got back to the hotel. She tried to open room 204, which was NOT our room! If those people hadn’t woken up at the sound of the key trying insistently to open the door, surely they woke up because of our laughs!

Portrush

Typical Celtic cemetery

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May 23

Here in Northern Ireland our actual tour began. Our first stop was the mysterious Dunluce Castle, about ten miles from Portrush. After the castle, we visited the Giant's Causeway, a vast expanse of hexagonal columns made of basalt stone, thick and irregular. This is one of the most beautiful places in Ireland and is considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't on our side, as it was raining and the wind was very strong. When we arrived at the Carrick-a-Rede, we were lucky enough that the sky opened up and the clouds disappeared. In fact, you have to know that, if the wind is too strong, the bridge gets closed for obvious safety reasons. However, I was still scared while on the bridge, because the wind was just strong enough to make this little bridge made of rope swing.

At the end of the morning, after we visited the main points of interest, we left and we headed towards Galway. The distance that separated us from the goal, however, was very long so we stopped to rest in Sligo. Sligo is really a small town with little to offer and little to see. I wouldn't recommend it.

To the Giant's Causeway

The Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge suspended at a hundreds of meters’ height

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Keep reading.... My travel story continues in the next post!