It rains in Ireland?!?! I wish someone would have told me!
Greetings all!
I'm still alive! I've been driving in Ireland now for 4 days. It's been an adventure.
Sunday morning was a beautiful morning. I woke-up quite early and left my hotel in Dublin, to go stand at a bus stop for almost half an hour...but eventually the airport transfer bus came and brought me to the airport and eventually my rental agency.
After waiting in line for again almost half an hour I got my car and was on the road. Well...almost. First thing I did was open the drivers side door to get in...and realized it was the passenger side...that's right they drive on the right over here...But I played it cool like i was just dropping my purse on the passenger seat.
I waited for my GPS to load and then made my way out of my parking space. On the first roundabout I came to, I took the wrong exit, this was still in the car rental area of the airport! Since then though I have successfully navigated all of the roundabouts I have encountered.
My first stop was the Gardens of Powerscourt. Its a beautiful old house with some truly spectacular gardens. I was a bit disappointed that the house wasn't available for tours, but it's hard to tour a house that's been made in to shops... But the gardens were amazing. I mean look at this!
There was the Italian Gardens, a Japanese garden, an old castle tower, a rose garden with absolutely HUGE roses (see below) and even a pet cemetery. I (having watched the Stephen King movie) did not visit the pet cemetery.
After Powerscourt, I drove through torrential rain to get to Kilkenny. Now I don't care to drive in torrential rain at home, in my car on roads I know, but here I'm sure I ticked off a bunch of other drivers with my grandma speed. Oh! And you know how here you're supposed to pass on the left, but if you're going slower than the person in the left lane, you'll pass on the right? Here, they don't do that! First off the left lane is the slow lane, and the right is for passing ONLY, if people behind you are going faster than you, they won't just move over and pass, they'll pile up behind you until you move in to the slow lane! Sorry Irish drivers that were stuck behind me for a little while on Sunday!
So Kilkenny, it's as cute little town, but I was there on Sunday, when damn near everything is closed. Luckily the Castle was open so I got to tour there. It's a beautiful castle that they are still in the process of putting back to it's original splendor. But you can't take pictures inside so I can't show you that...
I eventually made it to Waterford and my hotel for the night. After FaceTiming in to Meredith and Thomas's party, which was fun, I needed some dinner. Well It's sunday so again damn near everythign is closed. Waterford is a huge hill, and my hotel was at the top of the hill...I wandered down the hill to find dinner and thought I had found a place, only to realize my wallet was back in my hotel room! So I hiked BACK up the hill and ended up getting chicken strips from the fast food place kitty-corner from my hotel, but I brought it back to the hotel and ate it at the bar with a pint of Harp. Harp is delicious. I do believe it's my new beer of choice.
Monday morning I awoke to grey skies that threatened to rain. I toured the Waterford Crystal factory, which was pretty cool. I've never seen glass blowing before, and it's quite the process to make any of their products. The tour of course ends in the show room/shop where you immediately feel poor. Seriously everything is so expensive! I kept joking with Tiffany that I was going to get her a Waterford crystal punchbowl for her wedding, well I found one! But for 1200 euro, she can buy her own! I didn't buy anything.
Given the rainy weather I didn't go to tour the Dunbrody Famine ship like i had planned, but I suppose I'll just have to come back sometime...
I arrived in Cobh on a bright beautiful afternoon. Cobh was the Titanic's last stop before heading to America. 132 people got on the ship in Cobh. There's an attraction there in Cobh about the Titanic and it occupies the original White Star Line building. The original pier is still there (mostly) where the passengers would have boarded tenders to get to Titanic, which couldn't come into the harbor. When you buy your ticket, it has a name on it of someone who boarded in Cobh, and which class they were. At the end you can see if you survived or not. I did not.
The next morning upon leaving Cobh I drove to Muckross House, which is beautiful, its decorated how it would have been when Queen Victoria visited there. It reminded me a bit of Downton Abbey. There are beautiful gardens there too, but again it was raining so I didn't tour the gardens. On the drive to Muckross House I was a bit worried. I had my GPS but that thing took me on some backroads! Holy monkeys! At one point I was praying I didn't meet anyone. Most of the road looked like a bicycle path in the states. I kept thinking, there's NO WAY this is supposed to be a two-lane road! But it was! Irish drivers be crazy! Oh! and did I mention the "speed limit" on this road was 100kmh which is approximately 62mph! I felt like i was almost out of control at 60kmh (37mph)!
One the drive from Muckross House to Kenmare, I was AMAZED at how beautiful the landscape was. I drove through several natural "tunnels" where the trees have grown over the road. It's just one amazing panorama after another, but of course I couldn't take pictures of anything because there was NO WHERE to pull over and take a picture! That's why you need to visit Ireland with someone else, so while you drive they can take pictures!
Kenmare is a beautiful little town that just feels very Irish. There was a pub there called Crowley's. Now Crowley is my grandma's maiden name, and apparently near Cork and the surrounding area is where the Crowley name comes from, so I could have been walking past a distant cousin and never known!
Wednesday morning dawned beautifully. It was a great day for a drive! I started my day with a nutella and strawberry crepe made by the landlady of my B&B! It was AMAZING! and way more than I normally eat for breakfast!
Then it was on to the Ring of Kerry. Now nearly a decade ago, I met an Irish boy in an Irish bar in Barcelona. Now he told me that I had to visit County Kerry, because it was very beautiful there. And he wasn't just talking Blarney. It's hard to put in to words how beautiful the scenery is here. Let me show you...
Really even the pictures don't do justice to the natural beauty of this place. But that's not even the best part of the Ring of Kerry. At the end of the Ring is another Ring, the Skellig Ring. Now it's a good idea to take the Skellig Ring, because then you won't end up sharing any of your roads with the huge Tour buses on the very narrow roads. Now out at the end of the Skellig Ring, is Skellig's Chocolates. It's a chocolate factory! You walk in and the smell of chocolate just overtakes you. It's quite a small operation and you can see them making everything. But the best part is: They do a tasting for everyone that walks in the door! They let you taste basically every item they sell. I'm not a dark chocolate person, but I actually enjoyed their dark chocolate. They pair it with things that really cut the bitterness. I had to reign myself in. I wanted to buy one of their chocolate high-heeled shoes, but I didn't know how to get it home in one piece. Instead I bought some truffles, and a brittle, and a couple of sea salt chocolate bars. YUM!
Which brings me to Tralee. I scheduled a rest day for today, figuring I would have been in the car all day yesterday so I'd rest today. Well...I don't really feel like I need a rest day, but I have reservations that I need to keep. So I'm having a very chill day. I went to the Kerry county museum, and did some laundry. It's hard to believe I come home in only 10 days! I've been gone a month. How weird is that, in some ways it hasn't felt that long, but in some ways it's felt longer. I miss home. I miss my house and my bed and cooking my own food. And as I said on Facebook, I want a hamburger, and American diet coke, a s'more and cakey-fudgey brownie. Or a polish on a bun, or just something that I cook!
Well i'm off to see if there's anything else to do in Tralee, but the brochures tell me I've pretty much visited the only thing in Tralee...oh well, tomorrow I'm off to Galway, maybe I'll run in to a Galway boy who's hair is black and his eyes are blue...
I'm still alive! I've been driving in Ireland now for 4 days. It's been an adventure.
Sunday morning was a beautiful morning. I woke-up quite early and left my hotel in Dublin, to go stand at a bus stop for almost half an hour...but eventually the airport transfer bus came and brought me to the airport and eventually my rental agency.
After waiting in line for again almost half an hour I got my car and was on the road. Well...almost. First thing I did was open the drivers side door to get in...and realized it was the passenger side...that's right they drive on the right over here...But I played it cool like i was just dropping my purse on the passenger seat.
I waited for my GPS to load and then made my way out of my parking space. On the first roundabout I came to, I took the wrong exit, this was still in the car rental area of the airport! Since then though I have successfully navigated all of the roundabouts I have encountered.
My first stop was the Gardens of Powerscourt. Its a beautiful old house with some truly spectacular gardens. I was a bit disappointed that the house wasn't available for tours, but it's hard to tour a house that's been made in to shops... But the gardens were amazing. I mean look at this!
There was the Italian Gardens, a Japanese garden, an old castle tower, a rose garden with absolutely HUGE roses (see below) and even a pet cemetery. I (having watched the Stephen King movie) did not visit the pet cemetery.
After Powerscourt, I drove through torrential rain to get to Kilkenny. Now I don't care to drive in torrential rain at home, in my car on roads I know, but here I'm sure I ticked off a bunch of other drivers with my grandma speed. Oh! And you know how here you're supposed to pass on the left, but if you're going slower than the person in the left lane, you'll pass on the right? Here, they don't do that! First off the left lane is the slow lane, and the right is for passing ONLY, if people behind you are going faster than you, they won't just move over and pass, they'll pile up behind you until you move in to the slow lane! Sorry Irish drivers that were stuck behind me for a little while on Sunday!
So Kilkenny, it's as cute little town, but I was there on Sunday, when damn near everything is closed. Luckily the Castle was open so I got to tour there. It's a beautiful castle that they are still in the process of putting back to it's original splendor. But you can't take pictures inside so I can't show you that...
I eventually made it to Waterford and my hotel for the night. After FaceTiming in to Meredith and Thomas's party, which was fun, I needed some dinner. Well It's sunday so again damn near everythign is closed. Waterford is a huge hill, and my hotel was at the top of the hill...I wandered down the hill to find dinner and thought I had found a place, only to realize my wallet was back in my hotel room! So I hiked BACK up the hill and ended up getting chicken strips from the fast food place kitty-corner from my hotel, but I brought it back to the hotel and ate it at the bar with a pint of Harp. Harp is delicious. I do believe it's my new beer of choice.
Monday morning I awoke to grey skies that threatened to rain. I toured the Waterford Crystal factory, which was pretty cool. I've never seen glass blowing before, and it's quite the process to make any of their products. The tour of course ends in the show room/shop where you immediately feel poor. Seriously everything is so expensive! I kept joking with Tiffany that I was going to get her a Waterford crystal punchbowl for her wedding, well I found one! But for 1200 euro, she can buy her own! I didn't buy anything.
Given the rainy weather I didn't go to tour the Dunbrody Famine ship like i had planned, but I suppose I'll just have to come back sometime...
I arrived in Cobh on a bright beautiful afternoon. Cobh was the Titanic's last stop before heading to America. 132 people got on the ship in Cobh. There's an attraction there in Cobh about the Titanic and it occupies the original White Star Line building. The original pier is still there (mostly) where the passengers would have boarded tenders to get to Titanic, which couldn't come into the harbor. When you buy your ticket, it has a name on it of someone who boarded in Cobh, and which class they were. At the end you can see if you survived or not. I did not.
The next morning upon leaving Cobh I drove to Muckross House, which is beautiful, its decorated how it would have been when Queen Victoria visited there. It reminded me a bit of Downton Abbey. There are beautiful gardens there too, but again it was raining so I didn't tour the gardens. On the drive to Muckross House I was a bit worried. I had my GPS but that thing took me on some backroads! Holy monkeys! At one point I was praying I didn't meet anyone. Most of the road looked like a bicycle path in the states. I kept thinking, there's NO WAY this is supposed to be a two-lane road! But it was! Irish drivers be crazy! Oh! and did I mention the "speed limit" on this road was 100kmh which is approximately 62mph! I felt like i was almost out of control at 60kmh (37mph)!
One the drive from Muckross House to Kenmare, I was AMAZED at how beautiful the landscape was. I drove through several natural "tunnels" where the trees have grown over the road. It's just one amazing panorama after another, but of course I couldn't take pictures of anything because there was NO WHERE to pull over and take a picture! That's why you need to visit Ireland with someone else, so while you drive they can take pictures!
Kenmare is a beautiful little town that just feels very Irish. There was a pub there called Crowley's. Now Crowley is my grandma's maiden name, and apparently near Cork and the surrounding area is where the Crowley name comes from, so I could have been walking past a distant cousin and never known!
Wednesday morning dawned beautifully. It was a great day for a drive! I started my day with a nutella and strawberry crepe made by the landlady of my B&B! It was AMAZING! and way more than I normally eat for breakfast!
Then it was on to the Ring of Kerry. Now nearly a decade ago, I met an Irish boy in an Irish bar in Barcelona. Now he told me that I had to visit County Kerry, because it was very beautiful there. And he wasn't just talking Blarney. It's hard to put in to words how beautiful the scenery is here. Let me show you...
Really even the pictures don't do justice to the natural beauty of this place. But that's not even the best part of the Ring of Kerry. At the end of the Ring is another Ring, the Skellig Ring. Now it's a good idea to take the Skellig Ring, because then you won't end up sharing any of your roads with the huge Tour buses on the very narrow roads. Now out at the end of the Skellig Ring, is Skellig's Chocolates. It's a chocolate factory! You walk in and the smell of chocolate just overtakes you. It's quite a small operation and you can see them making everything. But the best part is: They do a tasting for everyone that walks in the door! They let you taste basically every item they sell. I'm not a dark chocolate person, but I actually enjoyed their dark chocolate. They pair it with things that really cut the bitterness. I had to reign myself in. I wanted to buy one of their chocolate high-heeled shoes, but I didn't know how to get it home in one piece. Instead I bought some truffles, and a brittle, and a couple of sea salt chocolate bars. YUM!
Which brings me to Tralee. I scheduled a rest day for today, figuring I would have been in the car all day yesterday so I'd rest today. Well...I don't really feel like I need a rest day, but I have reservations that I need to keep. So I'm having a very chill day. I went to the Kerry county museum, and did some laundry. It's hard to believe I come home in only 10 days! I've been gone a month. How weird is that, in some ways it hasn't felt that long, but in some ways it's felt longer. I miss home. I miss my house and my bed and cooking my own food. And as I said on Facebook, I want a hamburger, and American diet coke, a s'more and cakey-fudgey brownie. Or a polish on a bun, or just something that I cook!
Well i'm off to see if there's anything else to do in Tralee, but the brochures tell me I've pretty much visited the only thing in Tralee...oh well, tomorrow I'm off to Galway, maybe I'll run in to a Galway boy who's hair is black and his eyes are blue...
Gorgeous photos, Carrie!
ReplyDeleteawesome.
ReplyDeletethe titanic thing sounds just like the titanic place in branson. you get a card with someones name and some info, and at the end find out if you lived. i did. jeff didnt. ironically, we both got minnesotans. ha!
i will definitely be willing to treat you to a bbq or something when you get home. :P
1600some $!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! holy crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete