We followed the best night ever with the most difficult night of finding a place to stay so far. We begrudgingly left the castle this morning and headed for Dingle Peninsula. Our waitress suggested it instead of The Ring of Kerry. She said it was just as pretty and smaller from a time perspective. We took off and were on our way yet again.
The beginning was by the coast. We made our way around the edge following the coast line for quite a while. We saw a beautiful double rainbow that was brighter than either of us have ever seen. We ended up seeing numerous rainbows throughout the day.
Before we knew it, we were headed up the mountain on what looked like a goat path. The mountain turned into sheer rock and there were streams rushing down the sides of it in numerous places. We came to a point where there was a parking lot. Tony realized there was a mountain lake at the top of a short climb, and he wanted to see it. There was a fine mist and I wasn't looking forward to getting wet. He insisted.
I knew climbing up was going to be easier than the climb down. The rocks were slippery and wet. Some of the rocks were bigger and we had to pull ourselves up and over them. But the lake at the top was gorgeous. And looking back down the gauley from the top was so pretty. There were three our four pools of water that were below. And I was right, the climb down was more difficult. But we made it injury free and continued up the goat trail.
When we topped the mountain and headed down the other side, the rocks were covered with green grass. We are always so amazed at how one side of a mountain has one scenery and just as quick it changes. We headed to the coast on the other side and found cliffs again. Not as impressive as Moher, but beautiful nonetheless.
We wound around to a seaside town where they drive right out onto the sand. There was a fishing competition going on, but we never saw anyone catch anything. We saw surfers in wet suits in 60 degree weather. We ate at the restaurant our morning's waitress had suggested. I had mentioned to Tony that we could stay there for the night, but he didn't take the bait.
We got in the car and drove on. We headed for The Gap of Dunloe. When we got there, they had the road closed for repairs. Tony was not happy. He wanted to stay until they were done for the night, but it turned out a piece of equipment broke down and it wasn't in the cards. He was NOT happy yet again.
It took some convincing, but he agreed to drive on to the next adventure. We headed to Cork to find a room. I thought for sure we'd find a place easily. That didn't work out. We finally came to a town that had a hotel. We passed it on the first go round so we had to make our way back. Tony had some sort of brain fart and decided to drive on the right side of the road at an intersection. Fortunately, he realized his mistake quickly, and we avoided any calamity. We're happy to be in our room even if it isn't a castle!
Tomorrow we go to kiss the Blarney stone. I'm sure we'll find yet another adventure and beautiful view. It's seems there aren't any shortage of those here even if we couldn't find a B&B tonight.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
Super Spectacular
Super spectacular. My description for the day. Even those words don't properly define my mood right now. More to come on that.
The hostess from our last B&B obviously isn't a morning person. Her chipper and spunkiness was spent last night. She was all business getting our breakfast on and didn't have much to say this morning. We set off earlier than we probably have on any morning so far.
We saw yet another castle ruin and then headed down the coast. I forgot to mention that this is the Atlantic coast. I wanted to get a sunset picture since I have so many sunrises from back home. But our location last night wasn't truly on the ocean, but a bay. It didn't work out.
The Burren was the next sight to see. These are truly the "Rocky" mountains. They are nothing but layers upon layers of rocks. And in one picture, we captured a rock fence that went up and over the top for the cattle. I asked Tony how a cow could manage to make it up the rocks without a broken leg or four, let alone come down the other side. Crazy!!
We found a chocolatier and of course I had to buy some. The building it was in was so adorable. That's what we've found about all of these buildings here. The outsides look plain and simple enough, but when you go in them, the wood work and decorations are gorgeous. We've decided we like Ireland.
We wound our way through the rock mountains back to the coast. Tony wanted to stop and look at this one grouping of rocks along the way. We got out, walked out, and realized it was cliffs on the ocean. The drop was about 75 feet or so. He was all nervous, and I think I may have found another one of his Achilles heels - heights! He doesn't like burning fires either (well, outside of small campfires). I kept messing with him and would get close to the edge. One time he held on to the back of my pants as I took pictures. Funny.
We continued to drive and weave through the small villages. We saw another castle ruin, took another picture, and kept going. I've finally given up on trying to keep track of the names of them. It's a hopeless cause. We finally made our way to the Cliffs of Moher. And OH WOW!!!!
I really got to make him nervous a few times there. On one particular ledge we saw a guy sitting with his feet dangling over the edge. I didn't go that far, but I laid on my stomach and looked over the edge. It was crazy. My Mom would have shot me for sure on that one. She seriously disliked heights. It was about a 150 foot drop. So cool.
We walked and walked and finally turned around to head back. We had taken the "up" route and on the way back Tony asked if we were walking out to the other end. I knew that was his opening for me to say "No" and take the blame for skipping out. I gladly complied. He was relieved and agreed immediately. It would probably have been at least another 2 and a half hours of walking out and back. There was more to see.
We drove to a little town called Limerick. It was too populated and we wanted to drive out of it right away. I've been the route planner since the first day of Tony planning the crazy flight/drive to Edinburgh. We've hit pretty much every major attraction along the way and then some. At one of our B&Bs, another guest mentioned they were going to stay in a castle. A light bulb went off, and I started planning when we could do the same.
I researched all the castles that you can stay in in Ireland. A castle called Ballyseede in Southern Ireland looked like the best bet based on pricing and scheduling of sights. I had put it on today's schedule if it happened to work out. Once Limerick turned into a dud for us, I called the castle. They had an opening and we could get to it by 6 p.m. - our usual stopping time. I said "sold" and off we drove.
I wasn't very good at hiding my excitement. I think Tony knew how excited I would be to stay in a castle. I mean really, what little girl doesn't dream of living in a castle at one point or another as a child?! The thought of living in one for a night sent me over the moon!!
As soon as we checked in, our bellhop brought us to our room. This place is gorgeous. We've stayed in another place back home that's similarly nice, but this one is nicer. The room is huge and in one of the round turret corners. I oohed and ahhed and then it was picture taking time.
Right before Tony snapped a picture with his phone for us to send to the girls, I said I hope our room has a ghost. I took a picture with the big camera and then grabbed his phone to send the text. In looking at the picture, I swear I see a face in one of the windows and an orb in another. We're on the second floor! GHOSTS!!!!
After dinner I saw one of the waiters outside and of course had to ask about ghosts. I love ghost stories and wouldn't you know it, our castle has a ghost. Her name is Hilda and she supposedly appears on March 24th. That just so happens to be our anniversary!! There are NO coincidences!!
I told him about my picture and he said if I'd like he could tell me more about the castle and ghost a little later. We met him and a few other guests at 9:30 downstairs. He gave us a little more information and showed us some pictures previous guests have shared. I told him about my picture but that she was a young girl, not an older lady. I don't think he believed me. Maybe I'll have to find an email address for them and send it. She's there!!!
I'm writing this from a window seat looking out the window. I don't know that I'll sleep a wink tonight. For what we paid for this place, I'm thinking I need to stay up and enjoy every last second. It really is a cool experience, one that I won't forget any time soon.
So, super spectacular!! It's gonna take a lot to trump this day. I don't know that I'll even try.
The hostess from our last B&B obviously isn't a morning person. Her chipper and spunkiness was spent last night. She was all business getting our breakfast on and didn't have much to say this morning. We set off earlier than we probably have on any morning so far.
We saw yet another castle ruin and then headed down the coast. I forgot to mention that this is the Atlantic coast. I wanted to get a sunset picture since I have so many sunrises from back home. But our location last night wasn't truly on the ocean, but a bay. It didn't work out.
The Burren was the next sight to see. These are truly the "Rocky" mountains. They are nothing but layers upon layers of rocks. And in one picture, we captured a rock fence that went up and over the top for the cattle. I asked Tony how a cow could manage to make it up the rocks without a broken leg or four, let alone come down the other side. Crazy!!
We found a chocolatier and of course I had to buy some. The building it was in was so adorable. That's what we've found about all of these buildings here. The outsides look plain and simple enough, but when you go in them, the wood work and decorations are gorgeous. We've decided we like Ireland.
We wound our way through the rock mountains back to the coast. Tony wanted to stop and look at this one grouping of rocks along the way. We got out, walked out, and realized it was cliffs on the ocean. The drop was about 75 feet or so. He was all nervous, and I think I may have found another one of his Achilles heels - heights! He doesn't like burning fires either (well, outside of small campfires). I kept messing with him and would get close to the edge. One time he held on to the back of my pants as I took pictures. Funny.
We continued to drive and weave through the small villages. We saw another castle ruin, took another picture, and kept going. I've finally given up on trying to keep track of the names of them. It's a hopeless cause. We finally made our way to the Cliffs of Moher. And OH WOW!!!!
I really got to make him nervous a few times there. On one particular ledge we saw a guy sitting with his feet dangling over the edge. I didn't go that far, but I laid on my stomach and looked over the edge. It was crazy. My Mom would have shot me for sure on that one. She seriously disliked heights. It was about a 150 foot drop. So cool.
We walked and walked and finally turned around to head back. We had taken the "up" route and on the way back Tony asked if we were walking out to the other end. I knew that was his opening for me to say "No" and take the blame for skipping out. I gladly complied. He was relieved and agreed immediately. It would probably have been at least another 2 and a half hours of walking out and back. There was more to see.
We drove to a little town called Limerick. It was too populated and we wanted to drive out of it right away. I've been the route planner since the first day of Tony planning the crazy flight/drive to Edinburgh. We've hit pretty much every major attraction along the way and then some. At one of our B&Bs, another guest mentioned they were going to stay in a castle. A light bulb went off, and I started planning when we could do the same.
I researched all the castles that you can stay in in Ireland. A castle called Ballyseede in Southern Ireland looked like the best bet based on pricing and scheduling of sights. I had put it on today's schedule if it happened to work out. Once Limerick turned into a dud for us, I called the castle. They had an opening and we could get to it by 6 p.m. - our usual stopping time. I said "sold" and off we drove.
I wasn't very good at hiding my excitement. I think Tony knew how excited I would be to stay in a castle. I mean really, what little girl doesn't dream of living in a castle at one point or another as a child?! The thought of living in one for a night sent me over the moon!!
As soon as we checked in, our bellhop brought us to our room. This place is gorgeous. We've stayed in another place back home that's similarly nice, but this one is nicer. The room is huge and in one of the round turret corners. I oohed and ahhed and then it was picture taking time.
Right before Tony snapped a picture with his phone for us to send to the girls, I said I hope our room has a ghost. I took a picture with the big camera and then grabbed his phone to send the text. In looking at the picture, I swear I see a face in one of the windows and an orb in another. We're on the second floor! GHOSTS!!!!
After dinner I saw one of the waiters outside and of course had to ask about ghosts. I love ghost stories and wouldn't you know it, our castle has a ghost. Her name is Hilda and she supposedly appears on March 24th. That just so happens to be our anniversary!! There are NO coincidences!!
I told him about my picture and he said if I'd like he could tell me more about the castle and ghost a little later. We met him and a few other guests at 9:30 downstairs. He gave us a little more information and showed us some pictures previous guests have shared. I told him about my picture but that she was a young girl, not an older lady. I don't think he believed me. Maybe I'll have to find an email address for them and send it. She's there!!!
I'm writing this from a window seat looking out the window. I don't know that I'll sleep a wink tonight. For what we paid for this place, I'm thinking I need to stay up and enjoy every last second. It really is a cool experience, one that I won't forget any time soon.
So, super spectacular!! It's gonna take a lot to trump this day. I don't know that I'll even try.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Sheep, churches, and castles
Today has been a wonderful follow up to the not so great day we had yesterday. The hotel we stayed in was very nice. We had a pleasant breakfast and then walked to city centre of Galway. We bought a few souvenirs and of course I took a bunch of pictures of the buildings, trees, and anything else that caught my eye. We were surprised to find shops open on Sunday, but I guess we should have remembered we aren't in the Bible Belt. If there's one thing we've discovered about Europe, it is they'll be open to make a tourist buck any time they can. It was a neat area where we walked on the cobble stone streets and milled through a market area.
Speaking of breakfast, here they are all the same. They consist of eggs, bacon (which is more like our country ham), sausage, and toast. Every once in a while, someone will have hashbrowns or potatoes. Many places also have baked beans, sautéed tomatoes, and mushrooms. I've actually been living on the carnivore side and have been eating the bacon each day. So far it hasn't made me sick or anything. It is all good, but we'd like a pancake or waffle thrown in on occasion to change it up. I guess we'll have to wait until we get back home for that.
We finished up our city slicking and headed for the country. Today we went to Ashford Castle first. It is actually a hotel that you can't go into the actual castle unless you're staying there, but you can walk the ground and gardens. It's another castle that's huge, but was done in sections. We couldn't quite figure out how many additions or which side was the oldest. They did a good job of blending things in.
They also had a falconry and while they don't have a presentation, they do have private walks with the birds. We saw a couple out with one and a handler. I got a lot of pictures and we enjoyed the show at their expense - $180 euros for an hour. Ridiculous!! We took more pictures of the castle and off we went.
The next bit was sight seeing in Connemara park. It's a lot of mountains, sheep fields, and country beauty. Again I took a lot of pictures and again they don't do the scenery justice. I've had Tony stop and gets scooby snacks so we can skip lunch each day while we're driving through the beauty. We stopped along the way for out snack and looked through the binoculars at the sheep far up on the mountains.
Our last stop was Kylemore Abbey. We didn't go in because we've reached the point where we've seen so many we can't ooh and ahh any more. It's all just so beautiful. And everything we do here is a fee, so I took my amazing pictures and hopped back in the car.
We took the southerly route back around the lake that we circled today in the direction of Galway. On both the way there and back, we passed through many little villages. Every one had a beautiful church that I wanted a picture of. Again, we got to the point where one is no more or less beautiful than the other. I've learned to just not say anything so Tony doesn't try to find a place to pull over for a photo op.
We went about our way in search of the night's accommodations. We've had great luck so far and it seems that every place we stumble upon is the exact place we were meant to be. I'm a firm believer in that there are no coincidences in life, so I do my best to find the sunny side. Yesterday stretched my limits a bit, however.
The place we decided upon tonight is right by the coast. We saw the B&B sign and started down the road. It was a narrow curvy road that didn't look like it was going to fare well for us. We drove and drove and passed some less than stellar places. The sign kept urging us forward. The very last house on the very last road was the place. And it is a cute little seaside house with a rather interesting hostess. She kept us laughing while we checked in. She even made dinner reservations for us. Breakfast should be entertaining.
Tomorrow is more park and coast exploring. We have been very fortunate that the things we've planned to see are all beautiful and worth the sometimes long trip. We've decided to just forget about yesterday's events (or lack thereof). It sure proved to help us appreciate the beauty we saw today more than we may have without the bump in the road.
Speaking of breakfast, here they are all the same. They consist of eggs, bacon (which is more like our country ham), sausage, and toast. Every once in a while, someone will have hashbrowns or potatoes. Many places also have baked beans, sautéed tomatoes, and mushrooms. I've actually been living on the carnivore side and have been eating the bacon each day. So far it hasn't made me sick or anything. It is all good, but we'd like a pancake or waffle thrown in on occasion to change it up. I guess we'll have to wait until we get back home for that.
We finished up our city slicking and headed for the country. Today we went to Ashford Castle first. It is actually a hotel that you can't go into the actual castle unless you're staying there, but you can walk the ground and gardens. It's another castle that's huge, but was done in sections. We couldn't quite figure out how many additions or which side was the oldest. They did a good job of blending things in.
They also had a falconry and while they don't have a presentation, they do have private walks with the birds. We saw a couple out with one and a handler. I got a lot of pictures and we enjoyed the show at their expense - $180 euros for an hour. Ridiculous!! We took more pictures of the castle and off we went.
The next bit was sight seeing in Connemara park. It's a lot of mountains, sheep fields, and country beauty. Again I took a lot of pictures and again they don't do the scenery justice. I've had Tony stop and gets scooby snacks so we can skip lunch each day while we're driving through the beauty. We stopped along the way for out snack and looked through the binoculars at the sheep far up on the mountains.
Our last stop was Kylemore Abbey. We didn't go in because we've reached the point where we've seen so many we can't ooh and ahh any more. It's all just so beautiful. And everything we do here is a fee, so I took my amazing pictures and hopped back in the car.
We took the southerly route back around the lake that we circled today in the direction of Galway. On both the way there and back, we passed through many little villages. Every one had a beautiful church that I wanted a picture of. Again, we got to the point where one is no more or less beautiful than the other. I've learned to just not say anything so Tony doesn't try to find a place to pull over for a photo op.
We went about our way in search of the night's accommodations. We've had great luck so far and it seems that every place we stumble upon is the exact place we were meant to be. I'm a firm believer in that there are no coincidences in life, so I do my best to find the sunny side. Yesterday stretched my limits a bit, however.
The place we decided upon tonight is right by the coast. We saw the B&B sign and started down the road. It was a narrow curvy road that didn't look like it was going to fare well for us. We drove and drove and passed some less than stellar places. The sign kept urging us forward. The very last house on the very last road was the place. And it is a cute little seaside house with a rather interesting hostess. She kept us laughing while we checked in. She even made dinner reservations for us. Breakfast should be entertaining.
Tomorrow is more park and coast exploring. We have been very fortunate that the things we've planned to see are all beautiful and worth the sometimes long trip. We've decided to just forget about yesterday's events (or lack thereof). It sure proved to help us appreciate the beauty we saw today more than we may have without the bump in the road.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Hurling, sportily, not literally
Today was an epic fail. It started out well as Kathleen, our B&B hostess, reminded us both of our moms. She loved flowers, loved to talk, and seemed a little absent minded. She was very sweet and we enjoyed our breakfast with her.
We headed out for Dublin and all was going well. But as we drove, the road turned into a motorway that had a toll. We needed euros instead of pounds. We exited and spent two hours looking for an ATM that would work with our card. To say it was unpleasant in the car would be an understatement.
We finally decided to take a non toll road and to say to heck with the euros. Of course as soon as we gave up, we found an ATM that worked. Later in the day we ended up going through another toll. It accepted credit cards and had we known, two plus hours of our lives would not have been lost. UGH!!!
That should have been our sign that Dublin was not in the cards today. But instead of heeding the warning, we plowed on. Tony has been staying with a hotel called Ibis while he's been in London. We found one online in Dublin and thought that would be a great place to stay free with his points. We put the address in the GPS and let James guide us.
James is the GPS voice with a British accent. Last trip I practiced my British while trying to be patient (read to avoid killing Tony) because we didn't have a GPS (and he was honing up on his annoying British driving skills). I switched it to him so I could hear how some of the names of things are pronounced. Tony claims it's because the American chick made the faux pas with the ferry deal and I fired her. Whatever the case, the GPS gave him the name James, and I've went with it. I've also continued to work on my British, Scottish, and Irish accent along the way. I'm getting pretty good!
Tony sometimes listens to James, and most times doesn't. James even repeats himself two and three times. But it usually takes me repeating the instructions a couple times, increasing the decibels with each, for him to actually get it. Today was no exception. I was already irritated that we wasted so much of the day that after we got back on track, when Tony missed an exit off a roundabout, I got a little overheated. In turn, Tony got a little overheated. I think both of our valves were a little sensitive to the situation. Nonetheless, I decided I was done being the navigator's assistant, and he'd have to listen to James on his own. Needless to say, that didn't last long.
In trying to get to the hotel, Tony missed the exit the first time. The second time, he didn't want to take James' advice, and went on his own route. Finally on the third time, we made it to the hotel. It only took us 20 extra minutes in city traffic.
Maybe I should have mentioned earlier that we had tried to call the hotel to see if they had availability. For some reason we can't get the cell phone to dial the Ireland numbers. I suggested we ask to use Kathleen's phone. Tony, a.k.a. Mr. Let's Just Wing It, decided "Nah, we'll be fine." Me, a.k.a. Idiot That Still Trusts This Man After Nearly 30 Years Of Numerous Bad Outcomes, said "Okay".
We wheeled around the reception circle to put an end to this awful day. He walked in to find out that not only did Ibis not have a room, but probably no one on that entire side of Dublin had one either since the equivalent to our Super Bowl was going on tonight for their sport called hurling. They suggested the city centre (the equivalent to our Main Street) might have something.
So, he comes out to share the GREAT news. I switched back to patience mode and went along for the ride. That didn't really last too long. Let's just say city centre is NOT the place to be for a city's Super Bowl. I did really well for a long time. But when we hadn't gone a mile in about 30 minutes, I asked one of those questions with an obvious answer that most smart men get right - "Do you give up and want to find a room outside the city?" And of course you guessed it, Tony didn't provide the right answer. That's when things got a little warm in the car again.
Intelligence prevailed and we picked a place on the map to head to. When we got there, we tried a B&B. She let us know that we needed to continue to head out of town for no less than an hour because there wasn't a single room to be had around. UGH!!!
That was not the news that we wanted to hear after traveling all day. But oh well. It is what it is. Good bye Dublin, hello Galway. We traveled across the country from the east coast to the west coast. We've done it before in the US and we can do it here in Ireland. Fortunately here it's only about two hours.
As we were headed out of town, we stopped to eat. This place had a hotel that was also sold out, but this time due to a wedding. We ate and saw the hurling match on TV that had caused all the raucous in Dublin. It's a game that seems like a mixture of baseball, field hockey, soccer, and football. It's a very fast paced game and very physical. We watched and cheered once the waiter explained the concept. We decided maybe not being there was a great thing once we saw all the people. It would have been loud and obnoxious all night long I'm sure.
After dinner, we headed out. To cap off the wonderful day, the Ibis that my internet search said existed in Galway, doesn't. We circled the supposed address a couple of times and stopped at the next hotel. Fortunately our Irish luck kicked in, and they just had a cancellation. Seems there is an International Oyster Festival going on a block or so away and this town is jam packed full, too.
Tony is currently in search for some ice so he can calm his frazzled nerves with a glass of Jack. Personally, I just want a knock in the head. Tomorrow is a busy day of seeing sights. Hopefully we can afford to make it back to Dublin from a time perspective, or maybe not. Maybe that will be what brings me back for the next visit under much better circumstances!
We headed out for Dublin and all was going well. But as we drove, the road turned into a motorway that had a toll. We needed euros instead of pounds. We exited and spent two hours looking for an ATM that would work with our card. To say it was unpleasant in the car would be an understatement.
We finally decided to take a non toll road and to say to heck with the euros. Of course as soon as we gave up, we found an ATM that worked. Later in the day we ended up going through another toll. It accepted credit cards and had we known, two plus hours of our lives would not have been lost. UGH!!!
That should have been our sign that Dublin was not in the cards today. But instead of heeding the warning, we plowed on. Tony has been staying with a hotel called Ibis while he's been in London. We found one online in Dublin and thought that would be a great place to stay free with his points. We put the address in the GPS and let James guide us.
James is the GPS voice with a British accent. Last trip I practiced my British while trying to be patient (read to avoid killing Tony) because we didn't have a GPS (and he was honing up on his annoying British driving skills). I switched it to him so I could hear how some of the names of things are pronounced. Tony claims it's because the American chick made the faux pas with the ferry deal and I fired her. Whatever the case, the GPS gave him the name James, and I've went with it. I've also continued to work on my British, Scottish, and Irish accent along the way. I'm getting pretty good!
Tony sometimes listens to James, and most times doesn't. James even repeats himself two and three times. But it usually takes me repeating the instructions a couple times, increasing the decibels with each, for him to actually get it. Today was no exception. I was already irritated that we wasted so much of the day that after we got back on track, when Tony missed an exit off a roundabout, I got a little overheated. In turn, Tony got a little overheated. I think both of our valves were a little sensitive to the situation. Nonetheless, I decided I was done being the navigator's assistant, and he'd have to listen to James on his own. Needless to say, that didn't last long.
In trying to get to the hotel, Tony missed the exit the first time. The second time, he didn't want to take James' advice, and went on his own route. Finally on the third time, we made it to the hotel. It only took us 20 extra minutes in city traffic.
Maybe I should have mentioned earlier that we had tried to call the hotel to see if they had availability. For some reason we can't get the cell phone to dial the Ireland numbers. I suggested we ask to use Kathleen's phone. Tony, a.k.a. Mr. Let's Just Wing It, decided "Nah, we'll be fine." Me, a.k.a. Idiot That Still Trusts This Man After Nearly 30 Years Of Numerous Bad Outcomes, said "Okay".
We wheeled around the reception circle to put an end to this awful day. He walked in to find out that not only did Ibis not have a room, but probably no one on that entire side of Dublin had one either since the equivalent to our Super Bowl was going on tonight for their sport called hurling. They suggested the city centre (the equivalent to our Main Street) might have something.
So, he comes out to share the GREAT news. I switched back to patience mode and went along for the ride. That didn't really last too long. Let's just say city centre is NOT the place to be for a city's Super Bowl. I did really well for a long time. But when we hadn't gone a mile in about 30 minutes, I asked one of those questions with an obvious answer that most smart men get right - "Do you give up and want to find a room outside the city?" And of course you guessed it, Tony didn't provide the right answer. That's when things got a little warm in the car again.
Intelligence prevailed and we picked a place on the map to head to. When we got there, we tried a B&B. She let us know that we needed to continue to head out of town for no less than an hour because there wasn't a single room to be had around. UGH!!!
That was not the news that we wanted to hear after traveling all day. But oh well. It is what it is. Good bye Dublin, hello Galway. We traveled across the country from the east coast to the west coast. We've done it before in the US and we can do it here in Ireland. Fortunately here it's only about two hours.
As we were headed out of town, we stopped to eat. This place had a hotel that was also sold out, but this time due to a wedding. We ate and saw the hurling match on TV that had caused all the raucous in Dublin. It's a game that seems like a mixture of baseball, field hockey, soccer, and football. It's a very fast paced game and very physical. We watched and cheered once the waiter explained the concept. We decided maybe not being there was a great thing once we saw all the people. It would have been loud and obnoxious all night long I'm sure.
After dinner, we headed out. To cap off the wonderful day, the Ibis that my internet search said existed in Galway, doesn't. We circled the supposed address a couple of times and stopped at the next hotel. Fortunately our Irish luck kicked in, and they just had a cancellation. Seems there is an International Oyster Festival going on a block or so away and this town is jam packed full, too.
Tony is currently in search for some ice so he can calm his frazzled nerves with a glass of Jack. Personally, I just want a knock in the head. Tomorrow is a busy day of seeing sights. Hopefully we can afford to make it back to Dublin from a time perspective, or maybe not. Maybe that will be what brings me back for the next visit under much better circumstances!
Friday, September 26, 2014
Gypsy wanderers
After a fairly decent nights sleep, I thought I'd be prepared to get back in the car for the next day full of sight seeing. About an hour in, my tail was sore, and I was wiggling around. We walked out to a swinging rope bridge that connects cliffs over the ocean. It was gorgeous. But the walking flared up the blister I've rubbed on the top of my little toe with my new tennis shoes. A horizontal comatose position would probably be the best position for me for the next few days. But that won't be happening! We're 1500 miles in and about 2500 to go.
We continued down the coast and found a couple of castle ruins to explore. We drove through countryside and cities alike. We always like it best when the road narrows and traffic thins out. We're drawn to mountains and country settings like magnets.
We're in another bed and breakfast for the night. The little lady is as sweet as she can be. Tony asked for a glass of ice so he can drink his Jack Daniel's. She said she'd look to see if there is any. She doesn't have any, but put some in to freeze. She said she had no idea how long it would take, but she'd check back in an hour. They don't drink anything with ice here. They want everything to be warm because it's always cold outside.
We've actually been very fortunate with the weather. Today the sun has shown all day. While it's not hot by any means, it's not freezing. The wind cuts you in two, but the sun feels good when you can find a cozy spot to get out of it. It's mostly at night when it rains. We were very lucky that the one night we had to drive, it didn't rain. I still have images of Bambi being knocked to the pavement and scurrying to get up. UGH!!
The routes I have mapped out so far have worked out great. Tomorrow we head over to Dublin to see what's over there. We really need to sit down together and map out the next few days. But we're both always so tired when we get in that looking at a map isn't high on the priority list. Tonight it is a MUST though.
With as much traveling as we are doing, I swear we must have been gypsies in a prior life. Maybe I can trick Tony into believing there are a ton of things to do in one area and stay in one place for two nights. I've so wanted to sleep in but at B&Bs they want you up early and out.
We've seen so much that it is all becoming a blur. We pass castle ruins now and don't even flinch. We see mountains in the distance and don't feel the need to drive to them. I'm really glad I'm writing down the things we're seeing and trying to label the pictures I'm taking. I've already forgotten the names of places we've seen and been. Hopefully my future grandchildren will enjoy reading about the gypsy wanderings of their crazy grandparents!
We continued down the coast and found a couple of castle ruins to explore. We drove through countryside and cities alike. We always like it best when the road narrows and traffic thins out. We're drawn to mountains and country settings like magnets.
We're in another bed and breakfast for the night. The little lady is as sweet as she can be. Tony asked for a glass of ice so he can drink his Jack Daniel's. She said she'd look to see if there is any. She doesn't have any, but put some in to freeze. She said she had no idea how long it would take, but she'd check back in an hour. They don't drink anything with ice here. They want everything to be warm because it's always cold outside.
We've actually been very fortunate with the weather. Today the sun has shown all day. While it's not hot by any means, it's not freezing. The wind cuts you in two, but the sun feels good when you can find a cozy spot to get out of it. It's mostly at night when it rains. We were very lucky that the one night we had to drive, it didn't rain. I still have images of Bambi being knocked to the pavement and scurrying to get up. UGH!!
The routes I have mapped out so far have worked out great. Tomorrow we head over to Dublin to see what's over there. We really need to sit down together and map out the next few days. But we're both always so tired when we get in that looking at a map isn't high on the priority list. Tonight it is a MUST though.
With as much traveling as we are doing, I swear we must have been gypsies in a prior life. Maybe I can trick Tony into believing there are a ton of things to do in one area and stay in one place for two nights. I've so wanted to sleep in but at B&Bs they want you up early and out.
We've seen so much that it is all becoming a blur. We pass castle ruins now and don't even flinch. We see mountains in the distance and don't feel the need to drive to them. I'm really glad I'm writing down the things we're seeing and trying to label the pictures I'm taking. I've already forgotten the names of places we've seen and been. Hopefully my future grandchildren will enjoy reading about the gypsy wanderings of their crazy grandparents!
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Country hopping
Our time in Scotland has come to a close. We stayed in Kilmarnook last night and took the ferry from Troon to Larne. Getting on and off the ferry was incredibly easy. We drove into Belfast to see the downtown area. We were going to hit the Titanic memorial site but Tony didn't want to spend two hours walking through it. We saw Belfast castle quickly and headed for the coastal causeway.
WOW!! The Northern Ireland shore is magnificent!! The water is green and the cliffs and rocks are breath taking. There was one road that again was a go cart width up the cliff. I'm just glad we never met an oncoming car. We took so many pictures. The hotel we're staying in has fairly slow internet connectivity and Tony is falling further and further behind in uploading my pictures. That doesn't keep me from taking them, however.
Tonight we're staying in a fairly strange bed and breakfast. It's very pretty and looks castle like, but it's new. But the road coming in to it didn't give us much confidence when there was a sign for a "grave from famine" down one of the paths along the driveway. We didn't ask about it and just hope we don't end up in it by morning.
We both are completely pooped and didn't want much for dinner. We found a pizza place that had takeout and brought it back here. Maybe a good nights sleep will fuel the exploring tomorrow. Who knows what adventures we'll find.
WOW!! The Northern Ireland shore is magnificent!! The water is green and the cliffs and rocks are breath taking. There was one road that again was a go cart width up the cliff. I'm just glad we never met an oncoming car. We took so many pictures. The hotel we're staying in has fairly slow internet connectivity and Tony is falling further and further behind in uploading my pictures. That doesn't keep me from taking them, however.
Tonight we're staying in a fairly strange bed and breakfast. It's very pretty and looks castle like, but it's new. But the road coming in to it didn't give us much confidence when there was a sign for a "grave from famine" down one of the paths along the driveway. We didn't ask about it and just hope we don't end up in it by morning.
We both are completely pooped and didn't want much for dinner. We found a pizza place that had takeout and brought it back here. Maybe a good nights sleep will fuel the exploring tomorrow. Who knows what adventures we'll find.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
So long Bambi...
The day started out a little too early for me. I'm not sure why but I woke up at 6. It more than likely had to do with the snoring cow I was in bed with. At home I refuse to sleep in the same room as Tony. I don't really have that luxury in these hotels and bed and breakfasts. I do have my rain and thunder sound maker on my iPad. I'm sure it's quite confusing for the people in rooms close by that might hear it.
Our breakfast was nice and Mrs. Doubtfire talked with us. We figured out it's not penguins all over the house but puffins. Slight difference. LOL If she said "lovely" and "guud" once, she said it twenty times. Such a happy lot these Scottish. I like them!
We headed to Durness and saw some incredible sights. The coastline is rocky and cliffy. We found Smoo cave and walked down to it. We found beautiful beaches and stopped to take pictures. We were going across one little bridge out in nowhere and Tony wanted to hike down by the water to see it. Again, we meandered our way around the top left edge of the island and saw sights that words nor pictures can ever capture.
The roads through this part of the highlands are nothing more than single track lanes that go carts would traverse. Every 50 feet or so there are what they call passing places. The way it works is that when you see another car coming, the first one that comes to a passing place is supposed to pull over and let the other pass.
This works great when you know what you're doing. For those of us that are new to this fun little activity it seems a lot like playing chicken because of course the goal is to not have to be the one to stop. And let's not forget the added challenge of having sheep and cows in the road. If I don't have bleeding ulcers by the time this trip is over, it's gonna be a miracle!!!
After coming through Durness and heading south, I had to give Tony the reality check of his goal to see Ireland. We made the hard decision to skip Isle of Skye and head south toward Glasgow. It wasn't easy to give up on our planned route, but realizing we could spend a month in the highlands alone we're grateful for what we have seen.
I'm a huge Harry Potter fan so we stopped in to see the bridge the train crosses to get to Hogwarts. It's pretty but off at a distance. The movie production of it is far more glamorous than the hill top view we had. Nonetheless, it was cool to see it and get a picture. Now if J. K. Rowling would get back to writing about Harry. I miss him!!
On the way back to civilization the GPS took us on a "short cut". We were back to single lane roads that were very curvy and had trees. It became a little spooky as night began to fall. We saw a baby deer and got his picture. He sat and looked at us for the longest time. His momma ran out the other end of the road and we shewed him toward her.
We avoided the sheep, cows, and cars along the way. There was a body of water that was to our left and Tony kept looking for the bridge to cross. I told him we must be driving around the end of it because the GPS was counting down to a turn. However, when we got to the place to turn, the GPS said "Turn left and board the ferry". If only we had an in car camera to have captured the look on both of our faces. We just knew we were screwed and would have to travel back the way we had just come. Fortunately the ferry ran every twenty minutes for a fairly small fee.
We made it back on the road after a 5 minute ride across the water. We drove through a glen for the first part of the trip and the car in front of us hit a deer. The rest of the way was pretty much intense, and the planned sleep I was hoping for didn't happen. We're now in Kilmarnock and expect to head to Ireland tomorrow. Let's hope that trip is a little less eventful than today!!
Our breakfast was nice and Mrs. Doubtfire talked with us. We figured out it's not penguins all over the house but puffins. Slight difference. LOL If she said "lovely" and "guud" once, she said it twenty times. Such a happy lot these Scottish. I like them!
We headed to Durness and saw some incredible sights. The coastline is rocky and cliffy. We found Smoo cave and walked down to it. We found beautiful beaches and stopped to take pictures. We were going across one little bridge out in nowhere and Tony wanted to hike down by the water to see it. Again, we meandered our way around the top left edge of the island and saw sights that words nor pictures can ever capture.
The roads through this part of the highlands are nothing more than single track lanes that go carts would traverse. Every 50 feet or so there are what they call passing places. The way it works is that when you see another car coming, the first one that comes to a passing place is supposed to pull over and let the other pass.
This works great when you know what you're doing. For those of us that are new to this fun little activity it seems a lot like playing chicken because of course the goal is to not have to be the one to stop. And let's not forget the added challenge of having sheep and cows in the road. If I don't have bleeding ulcers by the time this trip is over, it's gonna be a miracle!!!
After coming through Durness and heading south, I had to give Tony the reality check of his goal to see Ireland. We made the hard decision to skip Isle of Skye and head south toward Glasgow. It wasn't easy to give up on our planned route, but realizing we could spend a month in the highlands alone we're grateful for what we have seen.
I'm a huge Harry Potter fan so we stopped in to see the bridge the train crosses to get to Hogwarts. It's pretty but off at a distance. The movie production of it is far more glamorous than the hill top view we had. Nonetheless, it was cool to see it and get a picture. Now if J. K. Rowling would get back to writing about Harry. I miss him!!
On the way back to civilization the GPS took us on a "short cut". We were back to single lane roads that were very curvy and had trees. It became a little spooky as night began to fall. We saw a baby deer and got his picture. He sat and looked at us for the longest time. His momma ran out the other end of the road and we shewed him toward her.
We avoided the sheep, cows, and cars along the way. There was a body of water that was to our left and Tony kept looking for the bridge to cross. I told him we must be driving around the end of it because the GPS was counting down to a turn. However, when we got to the place to turn, the GPS said "Turn left and board the ferry". If only we had an in car camera to have captured the look on both of our faces. We just knew we were screwed and would have to travel back the way we had just come. Fortunately the ferry ran every twenty minutes for a fairly small fee.
We made it back on the road after a 5 minute ride across the water. We drove through a glen for the first part of the trip and the car in front of us hit a deer. The rest of the way was pretty much intense, and the planned sleep I was hoping for didn't happen. We're now in Kilmarnock and expect to head to Ireland tomorrow. Let's hope that trip is a little less eventful than today!!
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