Drinking Guinness and driving on the wrong side of the road...

The title says it...

For the past couple of weeks I've been drinking the REAL Guinness and driving on the wrong side of the road... in Ireland! What a blast! Irish Guinness is much, much better than American Guinness!

We landed in Dublin... spent a couple of days... then rented a car.

Then cross-country through Mullingar, Longford, Carrick-on-Shannon then onto Sligo.

From Sligo a bit farther North, almost as far as Bundoran, then back to Galway (spent the night).

From Galway, traveled along the coast around the Burren to the Cliffs of Moher.

Continued along the coast until we were about due North of Kilrush... then headed straight for Kilrush.

We headed for the Tarbert Ferry (Co. Clare to Co. Limerick across the Shannon), caught the last ferry.

We spent the next couple of days visiting with family in Tullyleague, Glin, Co. Limerick.

Then, made a loop through the interior back out to the West coast...
...Tipperary, Mitchelstown, Mallow, Kilarney and Tralee (spent the night).

Toured the whole of the Dingle Penninsula and ended up back at Kilarney.
Next... the Ring of Kerry. Somehow got confused... ended up being lost for a few hours. It didn't matter too much at the time... as everything is so beautiful... everything is worth seeing!

Eventually got my bearings and had us back on the road toward the Ring of Kerry...

We had planned to drive the entire Ring of Kerry... but, we lost too much time... next time.

Made our way to Kenmare, Glengarriff and then to Bantry (spent the night).

Then straight South to Ballydehob, Skibbereen, then along the coast to Kinsale.

From Kinsale, North to Cork, then to Blarney Castle... and kissed the Blarney Stone!

Back through Cork to Youghal and then Dungarvan (spent the night).

Headed for Waterford... famous for crystal... passed on the crystal - checked out the Hardware Stores.

From Waterford, headed South to Dunmore East. Came back up along Waterford Harbour.

Ran into a very small, very secluded, very beautiful, little town, -with an incredible, little beach-, named Woodstown.

Back into Waterford then onto New Ross and Wexford. Time was getting tight at this point...

From Wexford, along the coast (on the main highway) through Arklow, Wicklow and Bray.

Then took the M50 Bypass around Dublin to Swords on the North side of town, near the airport.

Spent the night in Swords... and then left Ireland early the next morning.

We did what we could with the time that we had... but, as always, there's never enough time for doing everything one wants to do, is there?

About 1300 miles of driving in about 8 days...
Gas... about $6.50 a gallon! OUCH!

American drivers would do very well to learn the Irish way of driving... they are the best, most sensible, and most courteous drivers I've ever seen! They totally understand the idea of letting traffic be as efficient as possible! They have internalized the idea of... "the fast lane is for passing!"... if you ain't passing... then get the "F" out of the way! Even the old-folks get it!

And get this... if the road has only 2 lanes, one in each direction, as soon as you pull up behind, they will pull off the road, at the very first chance, to let you pass!

And yet, despite this sense of efficiency that they have regarding the highway, they can't understand why we Americans work ourselves as hard as we do! In this respect, they think we are absolutely NUTS!

In driving cross country, I can atest to the fact that Ireland just doesn't seem to wake-up until about 8-ish, or 9-ish.

It's an absolutely wonderful and beautiful country!

This was our first real vacation in over 30-years... it was worth the wait!

We're gonna do it again, next year, with 3-weeks vacation! Then, we'll land in Shannon and do the Northern Route through Northern Ireland. You can still smoke in a pub in Northern Ireland.

Ireland is one of the places that I find myself wanting to return to visit, even live for a couple of years. Though I only visited once for a week in Dublin and outskirts, I want to experience more.

So, I'm guessing you enjoyed it, Terry?...



-Eric

Did you ever see the movie "Local Hero"? If not rent the video. I always envisioned Ireland as a rather enchanting place, in part due to the movie, and stories told by the "old folks". Somewhere I have a peice of sod my grandmother dug up from the "garden". So far it's been the closest I've ever got to the place. (I'm the only one in my family who's not been there). Some day.....

What can i say, you just wake a little bit of envy in this person of me...

jstolaruk...
As I indicated, we landed in Dublin and spent the first couple of nights there. However, it wasn't until we left Dublin for the middle-lands that I came to recognize that, while Dublin is impressive in its own right... you can not judge Ireland by what you see and experience in Dublin. The difference is almost as dramatic as when Dorothy opened the door and stepped out of the farmhouse and into the land of Oz. I kid you not! (This is not to say that Dublin is drab and grey like Auntie Em's farmhouse... far from it... but the difference is similar.)

If you do go back... be sure to get out to the country side... Ireland is surprisingly small... we drove from Dublin to the West Coast in about 6-hours! Stay away from the larger towns and spend more time in the smaller, out-of-the-way, towns and villages.


Eric...
Yes, we had a good GREAT time! There were only a few very minor down-side issues... the worst being the coffee situation... It is very hard to find a good cup of coffee in Ireland. (Now that I think on it a bit... that's not really just a minor issue... is it?)


Mike...
"Local Hero" takes place in Scotland. However, Scotland and Ireland are connected more tightly than either might be willing to admit... I would imagine that the physical characteristics of both places must be very similar... and, except for the heavier Scottish accent, I would expect the people to be very similar... so... I agree that "Local Hero" presents at least a very similar image.

However, the quintissential movie regarding the American perception of Ireland is supposed to be "The Quiet Man", starring John Wayne. It takes place, on location, in County Mayo (Northwest Ireland). It certainly gives a decent presentation of the beauty of the local town and the country side.

Another that comes to mind is "Waking Ned Devine"... Ned is a resident of a small fishing village, Tulley More. He wins the Irish Sweepstakes and has a heart attack on the spot. The residents of the village enter a pact to keep Ned "alive" so the prize can be claimed... and shared. This is more interesting for the people.


Sapoleon...
All I can say is... make it happen if you can! (...and even if you can't!)

Terry, I believe you. We went to a few castles within an hours distance but the number of historical places to visit in Dublin was overwhelming and it was difficult to prioritize which ones to visit. The site I found most interesting was viewing The Book of Kells at the Long Room in the Old Library at Trinity College.

Terry,
glad you enjoyed
I found a site for Guinness once that said the stout sent to the states was shipped in a tanker ship. I hope it's last cargo wasn't Iraqi crude - but that could explain the difference in taste.

Small fieldstone walls everywhere and The Emerald Isle aint no joke

Oh, and if your lady friend can line-dance Texas style all the pints are free

mutton stew - yumm

You DID take a PL06 with you so it would be a business trip, right?
RFID tagging of sheep is being done there I believe

Rod

I stayed in a small hotel close to town of Maynooth once. It was just a small three-storey former hunting lodge of some sort: old and beautiful. No TV, thank you very much. Green fields and a stud farm nearby. Silverware actually made of silver in the restaurant downstairs. A wine cellar appreciating which was way beyond my humble means, not to mention being on business trip (anyone think of putting $2000 a bottle fine Australian on corporate expense report? I don't think so). Unbeleivable strong tea and homemade bread for breakfast. "Thank you very much indeed" from the staff.

And the smell. The homely smell of peat stoves. Love that country. Wish could see more of it.

I have never talked to anyone that vacationed in Ireland that didn't thouroughly enjoy the experience. The land, the people, the history, the food, the .........

My wife and I took our first vacation alone (as in without the kids) in about twenty years there. Our experience was similar to yours, except I got lost in the Burrens instead of on the Ring of Kerry. We entered and left from Belfast, spent two glorious weeks driving about, and we both would go back in a heartbeat!

For your information, the Guinness is even different from the stuff we get in England.
And Terry............. I would have been sure you kissed the blarney stone years ago.

Goody said:

For your information, the Guinness is even different from the stuff we get in England.

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That might be debatable Goody, since Guiness shut down their brewery at Park Royal, West London, all Guiness is brewed at the St James Brewery, Dublin, so the Guiness we get in England has come from Dublin, it should taste the same.

Paul

The Guiness is better in Ireland because they don't chill it.

When I was in Ireland they served Guiness at room temperature or almost room temperature. They had a slightly chilled version but I didn't try it since I wanted to have the real deal. Before I tried Guiness at room temperature I thought room temperature beer was barbaric. Now I know better. Some beers are meant to be served at room temperature. Unfortunately, most of us Yanks are not as worldly when it comes to beer temperature and I can only get Guiness cold now. Guiness cold does not have the same head nor do the bubbles last near as long the the authentic Irish Guiness. Guiness isn't as good in Canada or New Zealand either

Guiness is very good however my favorite beer in Ireland is Smithwick's. They pronounce it like Smiticks. I tried every beer I could while I was there. Since I was working I didn't have the time to see the rest of Ireland but at least I got a chance to sample the beer.

I stayed at the Castle Troy across the road from the Univeristy of Limerick.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g186621-d212866-r3025999-Castletroy_Park_Hotel-Limerick_County_Limerick.html
Very nice with a gym and I remember good coffee. Terry didn't try the Irish Coffee. That is good too.
Limerick is up the Shannon river a few miles from the Shannon itself. There is a economic developement zone there were US company have set up their European head quarters and manufacturing. Because the Univerisity is near by there are plenty of skilled people. A smart move for all. I was helping a division of a US company that used a lot of our controllers in TI555s. There were many machines and each one had 4 or TI555s and each TI555 had 4 of our motion controller cards that support 4 axes. That is a lot of motion. What is strange is that the integrators were Japaneese. We communicated using an interpreter when available and by writing code in C when no interpreter was avaiable. I know only a little Japaneese. Yes, no, some numbers and how to ask for beer which did no good in Ireland.

Finally, if you fly to Europe you should consider flying into Shannon. It is a relatively small air port that is hassle free. There is a large hotel across the road maybe 100 meters away that has a great bar. I found the place relaxing after a week of training and getting machinery to go.

Peter,

For years I used to lunch at the local watering hole with a chemist from Stroh's. Tom gave me lots of tips on home brewing, and repeately advised me that if I really wanted to taste the full flavor, enjoy it at no lower then 50 deg.F. Most of the darker brews were better that way, while the lighter ones seemed better chilled, (to me anyway). So eventually I brewed darker batches for the fall/winter, and lighter ones for the spring/summer.

Then I got married......and so ends the story.

Guiness is very good however my favorite beer in Ireland is Smithwick's.

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And Harp, and Kilkenny, and ??????


They are all good.

Guiness isn't as good in Canada or New Zealand either

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It is pretty good in Ozz if you get the real thing but served colder than it should be. In the real place it is definately the best.