Dave in Ireland - Yeah Baby!!! Part I

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Negotiated a bus from Heathrow to Gatwick for my flight to Dublin.
I wasn't scheduled to leave until 9pm-ish and I arrived at Gatwick at around 3pm.
I inquired at the service desk whether it might be possible to be put on standby and catch an earlier flight.
The reply was "Sorry, Ryanair don't do Stand-by, however, if you wanted to book a separate ticket for an earlier flight it will cost you ............................121 Pounds"
"Ahh thanks, but no thanks" was my reply.
Ryanair also have a policy of charging 5.5quid for every kilo that your luggage is over 15kg.
Now I knew that my backpack was at least over 20kg so I put my brain to work to alleviate the problem.
Solution = Chuck the heavy non-essential stuff like washing powder etc and wear as many possible clothes as possible. It was a sight to see poor ol' Dave (who usually sports a T and shorts in Winter) wandering around Gatwick airport in jeans (with shorts underneath), two t-shirts, a hooded-jumper and a heavy raincoat! It worked though!
Arrived in Dublin to Five Star treatment from my mate Dom
The man spared nothing - Picked me up from the airport, had beers waiting for me, gave me info on Dublin as well as spare change for the bus in the morning. Yes, the list keeps going; Bed and a shower (so nice to have a shower and not have to wear thongs!)
Dropped in my Indian visa application in the morning and dropped in a quiet Dublin pub around lunchtime to have my first REAL Guinness - One word - Brilliant! (Barman's name was Paddy would you believe!!)

Caught a bus all the way down to County Kerry to Killarney where I met with and became member of the Bartlett family for a day. Family friends of my mate Karen M., Ann and Harry with son Jon, daughters Christina, Sandra and Chloe and granddaughter Leah took me under their wing and showed me around Co. Kerry. Friday night roast followed by a Killarney local's Pub Crawl. Early rise on Saturday to a typical Irish fry-up brekky and then an all-afternoon road-trip around Kerry where we were truly lost for at least halfa.

Saturday arvo made the trip across to Cork where I checked into the hostel, checked out town for an hour or so and then settled in to a cosy little pub in town and watched the Euro08 quarterfinal with a few quiet pints.
Sunday journeyed out to Blarney Castle to my first real tourist experience in Ireland. Didn't kiss the stone as it was Sunday lunchtime, the queue was a mile long and of course I'd heard the rumor that the employees relieve themselves regularly on the stone for a laugh!

Off to Kinsale (a beautiful little seaside town south of Cork) on Sunday afternoon where again I wandered around town before finding a nice little pub to enjoy a few pints while watching the Euro08 game (its getting to become a habit)
Walked to Charles Fort early in the morning for something different than pubs and soccer and have spent all day trying to travel to Kilkenny where I am now where the Irish clouds have turned grey and are leaking extensively.

Sorry no photos yet, but will put them up soon
Watch this space for Kilkenny, Galway and back to Dublin to catch up with friends Geoff and Nic as well as a tour of the Guinness Factory!

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