Finale (with pictures!)

We took advantage of our last full day in Ireland by trying one of the Wicklow Mountains bus tours that left from O'Connell St (main drag in Dublin) Our intent was to try the Grey Line option, but we ended up on a slightly cheaper one, hoping for the best. It turned out pretty well and the day was filled with sunshine, perfect for the ride we took.

We had some gorgeous views of the mountains, valley and Irish Sea...

















We were shown a famous lake that Paul McCartney walked around in a morning of 1962 and had a song come into his head that he called "Scrambled Eggs" (it was later renamed "Yesterday".) This lake was used in a Guinness commercial and because they wanted a beach to be used for the "head", sand was imported from France.
















We took a scenic walk through the monastic ruins and natural setting of Glendalough...
















It was an action packed day filled with many sites outside of the greater Dublin area. Our bus driver was a character, giving us a lot of interesting trivia about Dublin and Ireland. He pointed out neighborhoods where U2, Enya and the Chieftains lived. We drove through the home town of Daniel Day Louis as well.

After one last stroll through Grafton street and the Temple Bar area, along with dinner at The Boxty House (touristy, but very good actually), we decided to bring our fun to a close by gathering our belongings and heading out to the hotel we had reserved near the airport. It was the end of a fantastic trip that started in...

Galway...Here's a picture which illustrates why it may be called the Venice of Ireland
















Our stay in Galway and nearby Salthill included a great trip out to the Aran Islands, the highlight being a trip to Dún Aengus
















We then traveled on to Dingle, which included a stop at the Cliffs of Moher
















There were many highlights in Dingle, the best being the athletic activities

The bike ride around the peninsula




and Golf at Dingle Links




We traveled back east across Ireland to make stops at the Rock of Cashel

















We stayed in Kilkenny and visited a Victorian-aged castle

















then it was off to Dublin, which included some great sight seeing and nice walks through places like St. Steven's Green and through Grafton street
































We went on a fun musical pub crawl, which started at Gogarty's Bar and took us to the Ha' Penny Inn and Brannagan's across the river
















We squeezed about every ounce of fun that we could have out of this vacation, braving the elements when we had to
















but the weather gods were in our favor as we had much more sunshine to work with than rain
















And this is pretty much the end of the line for this blog. Here are the rest of the pictures from the trip, all 400 plus of them

Thank you to those who have read this blog. I hope it's been fun to read.


Cheers!

A-stumblin' in Dublin and next thing ya know...

a weird and a wonderful show! (from Colin Meloy)

Remember how I thought my bike ride around Peninsula would be tough to beat as the top highlight of this trip? Well, I think it's still going to be tough to beat, but I think I found a worthy competitor.

Last night, my dad and I decided to try the musical pub crawl at Gogarty's Bar in the Temple Bar area, arguably Dublin's liveliest area when it comes to night life, and probably where the most night life oriented tourists flock to when the sun sets. We found the red bricked area filled with revelers as we left Luigi Malones, a spot we had picked out for dinner (not a bad change of pace for those in the mood for some pasta).

As we approached Gogarty's we became slightly leery as we noticed a large, boisterous crowd in side. There was a young French woman handing out brochures and menus outside of the entrance and we asked her if she knew anything about the musical pub crawl that we had read about in our bible, Rick Steves's Ireland. He had given it a three triangle rating, which is his highest for a sight or activity. She had no idea what were talking about, but thought that perhaps Gogarty's would be playing some live music "some time soon, I think". Merci.

After wandering around down the bar for signs of this pub crawl or stairs (it was supposed to be upstairs), I found some stairs going up, just outside on of the entrances/exits. Upon surfacing on the second floor, we found our sign. "Musical Pub Crawl 12 euros" Hurrah!

After paying our dues and getting a chance to nurse yet one more Guinness, we f0llowed the exiting crowd heading down the stairs. Most of us Guinness drinkers didn't realize we'd be leaving the pub right away, so there was some serious guzzling going on before we went out onto the street, where our pub crawl musician/leaders were waiting for us.

With instrument cases in hand, they introduced themselves as Des and Larry. They said they'd be taking us to two pubs, where we'd be spending an hour each. And so we followed them through the Temple Bar street, wading our way through those revelers I spoke of, who looked with wondering eyes at our crowd of about 30 as we were all clearly headed to the same place.

That place turned out to be a place called Brannigans, which wasn't too far away. We were upstairs again, where our crowd reloaded on Guinness, cider and whatever else tickled their fancy for the evening. As with most two level bars that I've been to Ireland, both floors were well equipped with the same taps.

The floor we were on had plush benches and chairs along with some small tables, which brought up a first point made by Larry. He said that if you come into a pub and feel as if you've walked into someone's living room, you've probably come into quality pub. Other places, mostly abroad and renovated areas of Dublin, had what he called a "pub in a box" style, which just wasn't the same experience. Brannigans is the genuine article.

He then went on to explain that the intent of this musical pub crawl was to expose people to traditional Irish folk music. He said most of what you experience in the touristy areas of Dublin,Temple Bar included, is an "Irish show" put on my typically very good musicians, but playing shallow hits like "Whiskey in a Bottle", "Danny Boy" and "Molly Malone", which he said most Irish musicians have stooped to at one more times in their life. Their intent was to get us away from the genre of music and expose us once again to the genuine article.

We were in for a treat. With Larry on fiddle and Des on Guitar, they played a jig, then a reel for us. A jig is something that's done in 6-8 time, Larry explained, so "rashes and sausages", while a reel is done in 4-4 ("black and decker"). Later they would play polka, which he said is very popular among the social dancers of Ireland and is done in 9-8 time "rashes and sausages sausages". By the way, a "rash" is bacon in Ireland.

Back to that treat...They were fantastic, weaving their way through jigs, reels and polkas as we sat and tapped our foot on the ground. Larry explained that the percussion in traditional Irish music is typically produced by the dancing and that unlike your typical rock music, the rhythm is produced by the melodic instruments, not a drum. He did eventually introduced a hand-held goat skin drum to the performance, one I am forgetting the Gaelic name of, but is indigenous to Ireland (along with the Irish bag pipes and harp, 2 of the other 3 indigenous instruments), but it had a little more of a melodic sound to it as he stretched the skin and tapped his fingers.

Des turned out to be the balladeer of the two. He was from northern England and had come to Ireland because of the country's love of folk music and the large, tight-knit community of musicians. He explained that most traditional Irish folk music had been passed down orally between musicians, typically in places that we were currently being entertained. Larry added that what was interesting about learning music this way is that a lot of times musicians often learned songs from musicians that played different instruments, which could effect how they played. For instance, he said he had built a lot of his knowledge from Irish bag pipers and had to improvise his fiddle playing to reproduce some of the effects of the pipes.

Des sang his first ballad in Gaelic and afterwards explained that the language was having a resurgence in the last 15 years, having some all Irish schools and some schools in the west who forced reluctant kids to learn until the age of 16 and 17. I noticed in Dingle that a lot of road signs for towns and sites only used Irish (e.g. An Daingean for Dingle). There has been some controversy around what language(s) should be used. I feel that anything that can be done to preserve the Irish language and culture should be encouraged.

After some more ballads (which sounded wonderful) and music, our musicians packed up and we made our way to the other pub, which I'm kicking myself for not knowing the name of. To get there, we crossed the pretty Ha' Penny bridge, which arches over the Liffey river (falsely rumored to be used in Guinness). This gave us some time in the northern part of Dublin, an area that I haven't spent much time.

Again we were upstairs in a living-room like pub. Along with more wonderful music, we were asked to partake in a "noble call", which means people from the audience would offer songs from the area that they were from, much like is done in traditional Irish pubs (typically rural). This led to a lovely ballad, sang by a Scottish tourist, then a less pleasing Swedish song (he said you typically sing this when you've had too much to drink), then the Illinois fight song sang by an alumni. I know, I know...I countered with On Wisconsin, right? Wrong...I don't know all of the words! Very embarrassing and definitely a low point in my trip here. (Note to self: Learn "On Wisconsin").

The awesome evening ended with our two musicians recommending some pubs for good traditional folk music and also selling a CD that they had recently contributed to (produced by someone who had done the sound track for Gangs of New York). My dad and I each picked one up, having been blown away by their performance.

So that I do not overwhelm you, gentle reader, with more words I will list out the other sites my dad and I have hit before and after this pub crawl:

Rock of Cashel - Very interesting visit to this ruin on our way to Kilkenny

Kilkenny - Neat little medieval town where we visited a nice Victorian castle.

Guinness Warehouse - Very cool...learned how to pour the perfect pint and enjoyed at the Gravity Bar, a place with a 360, panoramic view of Dublin

Kilmainham Gaol - Historic jail, known for as the place of execution for the leaders of the 1916 uprising. Very moving exhibit.

Hop on, hop off Grey-line bus - Nice way to see and learn about the Dublin, especially in the rain.

Biking, Golf, Music and Hiking

My last post ended with some hopes of getting some opportunities to partake in the four activities in the title. Check, check, check and check.

Biking

When I think about all of the highlights from this Irish trip, it will be hard to compete with the ~30 mile bike ride that I took with my dad around Dingle peninsula. Our host at the Greenmount B&B recommended the ride to us as we munched on our breakfast and took it one step further by recommended hire (rental) from Foxy Johns down the street from where we sat. Our incredible view at the time included a rainbow which arched down to Dingle Bay, which meant heavy rains were coming, again, according to our host. So we gathered our rain gear and made our way down to Foxy Johns with the intent of getting some bikes, then making our way to the nearby pitch and putt to knock golf off of our list.

Foxy Johns is a hardware store on Main street that performs double duty as a bar. When we walked in we noticed the latter duty to the left, seeing a few blokes with Guinnesses in hand. "Mornin'", one of them nodded to us. Yes it is...9:30 AM to be precise and you're drinking Guinesses? Too funny. To our right stood the owner behind a counter with paints and other odds and ends surrounding him. "We'd like to rent a couple of bikes", I said, and he ushered us to follow him to the back. As I followed, I had to look back again to make sure I was seeing these guys actually drinking Guinness and not coffee.

We were disappointed to find the pitch and putt was closed despite the bright and sunny day. It also looked as though the greens had not been mowed in quite some time, so we figured that they were probably calling it a season. We'd have to find our golf elsewhere and we figured while the weather was holding for us, we'd rather get wet golfing than riding.

And what a ride it was. We climbed high above the ocean with our 21 speeds, getting gorgeous views of the ocean as we sped along. Waves were crashing down below creating a beautiful bright white explosions in a pool of turquoise blue. Sheep, rams and mountain goats were grazing in the green grass above and below us. I wasn't expecting the ride to be so scenic.

We made some stops along the way to snap pictures and catch our breath. A tour bus turned into an overlook with us to do the same. I heard some German being spoken, which I've been waiting the whole trip to hear. To travel is to be German. :-)

There was a nasty climb towards the end of our ride, starting at what seemed to be a middle school. I saw kids bouncing basketballs and Irish footballs in a school yard as a rode by. They urged my dad on as he rode by, yelling "faster!". He said it didn't help his burning quads, but he got a kick out of it. It probably reminded him of recess at the elementary school that he just retired as principal of.

Our climb was rewarded by 3 miles of curvy down hill. It was a fun and relaxing way to come back to Dingle. We returned our bikes almost immediately, feeling that we had biked enough miles for the trip, and noticed the Foxy John (and boy was he foxy) was working the tap behind the bar as we walked in. I couldn't remember whether the company there was the same as the morning, but I wouldn't have been surprised.

Golf

That afternoon we decided to drive to the Dingle Links, a golf course that we saw signs for on our bike ride. The people there decided to give us a deal on rental clubs and 9 holes that we were happy to take advantage of. I think part of the reason for the special treatment may have been the dark weather that was approaching.

The course was pretty flat and wide open, though the rough was incredibly thick. We had a view of one of the peninsula coves to our right as we tee'd off for the first hole, which again was spectacular. I could see rocks pointing up through the water with waves crashing up against them. It was a great scene to have up against a golf course.

By the 3rd hole it was hailing and we were continuing to play in full rain gear. I hit a wicked slice of a line drive with my 9 iron from about 120 yards out that was placed beautifully on the fringe. My horrible play + mother nature = harmony.

By the 4th hole it was bright and sunny again with rainbows all around. That's what I'm finding to be the Irish weather. Just wait a few minutes and you'll get what you're looking for. By the 7th hole we were back up shite creek without a paddle as it was pouring again.

But we completed the 9 holes triumphantly and were happy to have gotten a chance to play some golf in Ireland. My dad was able to sink at least one par and I put down a couple bogeys, which is awesome for me.

Music

That night we went to O'Flaherty's bar for some live traditional Irish music. Dad took in his first Guinness and I tried my first Irish Irish coffee. All good. There were about 20 people in the bar, half of whom seemed to be tourists. A family sat with us at the table we were at. They consisted of a mother who sounded Irish with her kids, husband and in-laws.

The musical instruments used consisted of a banjo, tin whistle, some sort of bag pipe, a mini accordion-looking thing that sounded almost like horns and finally a harmonica. Some of the members appeared to know each other, but I got the sense they were trying to figure each other out. It almost had the feel of a jam session at times, which was fine. They sounded really good.

We sat and listened to them for about an hour and a half before we decided that we were ready for bed. The bike ride and golf, along with the Guinness and Irish Coffees had finally done us in.

Hike

The next day we decided to take a little more slowly, opting for some short hikes around the area. We did get to redo our peninsula ride, this time by car, which again was a treat. This lead us to a little hike on Clodagh (sp) Head a little mountain (very little) protruding out into the ocean off of the peninsula. The head took every advantage of its small elevation though as the views were stunning. There were trails all around it which seemed to disappear and led to a little bit of scrambling. Lots of fun.

In the afternoon we decided to head back onto Conor Pass, which we had driven in on. This led us to us some great views of Dingle town as we climbed along a rural trail. By the way, coming into Conor Pass on the way here, we had a chance to climb up to a glacial lake that was feeding a waterfall. It was another gorgeous area and we noticed very tiny white dots way up above the lake that we took to be mountain goats. Faintly in the wind I could almost hear what I thought was "There will be feasting and dancing in Jerusalem this year. I am going to make it through this year if it kills me" Something like that. Very strange. :-)

Aran Islands and onto Dingle

After getting some dinner at Busker Browns in Galway, we hung around hoping to take in some traditional Irish music. Our place of interest was just around the corner at Tig Coili a place supposedly known for its nightly sessions. After hanging out on the street corner across from it, we worked our way into the crowded interior and found a ledge to put our drinks (my first Murphy's in Ireland and a coke for dad). Shortly after, a trio began playing, using a guitar, banjo and drum. It sounded nice, though we both agreed afterwards that it was very hard to hear due to the craic (conversation) going on.

Afterwards, we went back to our b&b in Salt Hill, a nice little red bricked home run by a gracious host named Catherine and her husband Paddy. It was quiet inside when we returned and our beds were quite welcoming after a long day of walking. We turned on the television to find a show covering English Premier league soccer, which was something we had seen in a lot of the bars in Galway. It wasn't long though before I was out for the count.



The next morning we were treated to an Irish breakfast, which included eggs, ham, sausage, toast, fruit and cereal. We told Catherine about our decision to visit the Aran Islands, which would end up being a full day affair. She sold us two tickets to the ferry and it wasn't too long before we were on our way.



The trip from Salt Hill to the ferry to Rossaveel was scenic, given the ocean to our left. We did notice that the "sea was angry that day, my friends, like an old man returning soup at a deli", to quote George Costanza. White caps filled the dark water that we were about to venture out on.



Approaching the ferry in Rossaveel ("Ros a mil" in Gaelic, I believe), my dad asked, "Aran Islands?" to a man standing outside of the entrance to the boat. "No, this is Ros a mil" he responded. There was a long pause before he said, "but we're going to the Aran Islands". I really don't think humor was his intent, but it was pretty funny.



Accompanying us on the the ferry, was a large group of kids that looked to be high school aged. They all spoke what I took to be Irish/Gaelic, but I wasn't sure. A woman that appeared to be their teacher walked around to each of the different rows of seats, where we and the students sat and pointed a video camera at them saying, "Do you have any last words before we take this treacherous voyage?" She spoke with an American accent and wore a hat that had "Minnesota" printed on it. "No" was their answer, as they seemed embarrassed or annoyed by her question. I was hoping to hear more so that I could hear their accent, but no such luck. Later on she answered their questions in the language that they were speaking. I wished that I had asked her where they were from and how she got involved with them.



Treacherous the sea was, as several passengers became pretty sea sick upon a very rocky path to shore. My dad passed me a blue plastic bag and said, "Just in case". Thanks dad, I hope you didn't jinx me. :-) There were a few of the ship's crew members that had these bags stuffed in their pants and were handing them out liberally and there were a few students that used them liberally.



We made it ashore without spilling our guts, though we didn't expect the high winds that nearly blew us onto the island (thanks goodness it was a tail wind) as we walked on the dock. We saw tour buses and decided to jump on the first one we saw, given the weather we were experiencing. Rain has started to come down to accompany the windy day.



Our tiny tour bus was an eclectic group, consisting of a young French couple, a young Japanese woman from Rome, with her mother from Japan, a polish family with a lone english speaker in their daughter, and a man from north of Seattle who was celebrating his 65th birthday in style with a trip to Ireland. They were all friendly people that conversed with my dad and me in what english they knew.

We barely were able to see out of the tiny rain-soaked windows of our bus as the driver/guide delivered the history of sites that we passed by through a microphone that seemed to work intermittently. The young polish woman sitting next to me translated to her family members from the back of the bus. We found that our guide not only spoke english and gaelic/Irish, but also spoke some Italian as we encountered a cyclist/tourist that he recognized the accent of. Smiles filled the van when he spoke to him.

The sites consisted mainly of old churches, cemeteries and thatch-roofed homes. It wasn't spectacular see, but there was definitely a stark beauty coming from this island. It seemed to be a place that time has forgotten, despite an educated and thriving culture.

The highlight of the trip was a hike up to the fort Dun Aonghasa, a three-walled ruin that had its beginnings as far back as 1500 BC. The hike gave us a substantial view of the island and a awe-inspiring view of the ocean from dangerously high and unguarded cliffs. I crept tentatively to the edge of some of these to get better pictures, but with the winds howling, I didn't want to get to close. :-)

Afterwards my dad and took down some vegetable soup with brown bread from one of the local eateries, then treated ourselves at the same spot to slices of butterscotch and chocolate malt cake. There was a small painting in the little house that we ate in that seemed to be an abstract rendering of a down town area. It took me a little while to realize that one of the places in the painting was Tig Coili, a place that was probably only 10 miles from where we sat, but seemed so far away.

That night we stopped for some dinner at "Twelve" a restaurant recommended by Catherine and enjoyed a nice meal. Afterwards, my dad turned in and I decided to try a run to Galway and back, which would only be 4-5 miles. The wind was absolutely howling as I ran along the bay, so much in fact, that I felt like I was running 6 minute miles with an amazing tail wind. There were points during the run where I was sprayed with water from the bay, the water was so active. My trip back had me doing 10 minute miles as I battled against that same wind that had gone tail to head.

After another full Irish breakfast and some goodbyes to Catherine, a host who we enjoyed very much, we started to make our way to Dingle, which stood 6-8 hours away. Catherine expressed hopes that Obama would be our next president and we agreed with her. We had been listening to 89.0, which appears to be Irish Public Radio, and it seems that we've been hearing the same sentiment and interest in our election. It seems they feel that their government has screwed up their economy like a lot of Americans feel about ours. There's definitely a push to move more towards a socialist style.

The trip to Dingle took us through the Burren, a rock-filled, hilly land sprinkled with many quaint towns. We drove along side ocean for much of the trip, which has been a delight, especially when we came to the Cliffs of Moher, a spectacular site which could easily compete with parts of Highway 1 in California. They have a unique visitor center which is inside the base of a hill right next to the cliffs. Inside they have a lot of exhibits detailing the geology and wildlife that are around the cliffs and burren.

And that leads me to the end of this post as we have arrived in Dingle, a neat little town with gorgeous scenery surrounding it. In the next few days I'll be looking forward to biking, hiking, traditional Irish music and perhaps some golf. We'll have three nights at the greenmount house a beauty of a B&B with awesome views of the town and bay.



Our group

And so it begins

I followed my dad's American Airline's flight a couple hours later after a delay in San Francisco and found him quietly reading, sitting across from the Hertz counter at Dublin's airport. It was strange to find him in a foreign place like this, but I was happy that he had arrived safely and was ready for Irish Travel.

A roll of the rental car dice landed us an Outlander. I said I would handle the driving and proceed to the left side of the car after we had stored our luggage in the back. Ehhh...wrong answer. That was the passenger side and it was time for me to learn how to drive on the left side of the road (and shift with my left hand). It only took me a few stalled starts and stops before we were on the on the Irish roads and battling with the Friday afternoon traffic.

Despite being a little disoriented (I found myself banging my right elbow into the door, looking for the stick shift at times), sleep deprived and dealing with a lot of constuction, travel to Galway, our first destination, was pretty smooth. We were impressed with the highway and never encountered any sheep crossings. The landscape reminded us somewhat of Wisconsin, being very green and rich with farm land. The fall colors have also come to Ireland, which is a pretty sight.

Arriving in Galway, after some unintentional loops around the down town, we found our hotel, Garvey's Inn and Bar, and checked in. The room was very tiny, feeling like you had to back out the same way you went in, but it had a nice view of Eyre Square, Galway's little "central park". We also found that they Garvey didn't invest a lot in heat, but we had some nice blankets on our beds.

Our first move in Galway was to find dinner. That brought us to nearby McSwiggin's (great name for a bar) bar and restaurant, where we had some nice chicken dinners and I was able to pull in my first Guinness in its native habitat. The black beauty went down nicely.

Afterwards we took a walk around the town to get our bearings. We walked over the Salmon Weir bridge, which had a torrid current flowing underneath it. This led us to St. Nicholas's Cathedral, a gorgeous church with a green dome. Afterwards we navigated along the intricate canal system that Galway has, giving it the name "Venice of Ireland". While these canals are not used for navigation like in Venice, I could see the comparison.

The next day, after 14 hours of badly needed sleep, we took a nice long walk along the Galway bay. They have some nice paths put in place that runners, bikers and roller bladers take much advantage of. We also saw some rugby (or it could also be Irish football) being played. Rain was very intermittent with the sunshine, which we have had much more than we imagined we would. The weather has been superb thus far.

Galway has a nice labyrinth of streets filled with shops, restaurants and street musicians that we strolled through afterwards. We made a stop at the King's Head (a building given to a man named "Gunning" for volunteering to chop off the head of King Charles I for Oliver Cromwell) for another Guinness. We saw many people there to watch soccer, whic reminded me of football saturday's at some of our American sports bars. After that pint, we stopped at McDonagh's for a tastey fish and chips.

We then made a stop at the Spanish Arch a place where Spanish ships would bring their wares. This probably where we saw the most tourists as I saw a few people snapping pictures as I was doing.

As I write this we will be heading out of Galway to nearby Salthill, which is where we'll be staying at a bed and breakfast for a couple of nights. Our plan is to find some golf, then do some sight seeing the next couple of days, which we hope will include the Cliffs of Moher and The Burren/County Clare.

Thus far, the trip has been a lot of fun.