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One time, I spent Easter weekend going on a road trip around Ireland with my Irish best friend. We ate a lot of sandwiches. They drive on the wrong side of the road. It's confusing.
But let me start from the beginning, I guess. We left school early on Tuesday (shh) to get a flight to Ireland. Niamh barely made the flight, of course. I was going to Ireland with or without her. The flight was smooth with a harrowingly bumpy landing (thanks, Ryanair!) Niamh's mom picked us up at the airport, and we drove through the rain to a castle. And then to her house. I realized this was the first time I've been to a friend's family home since moving to Hungary. Her parents were so nice. We had fish and chips and tea for dinner, and chocolate cake with ice cream for dessert. With more tea. Always more tea. I only drink English tea now.
In the morning, I woke up and looked out the window to see green pastures with sheep and a lake. Niamh and I went for a run on the wrong side of the road, and everything was so green (I'm going
to keep saying that. It's called the Emerald Isle for a reason). After our run we were greeted with a full Irish breakfast including blood pudding and tea. As we were eating, Irish music came on the radio. And then there was a rainbow outside. And then I had seen everything there is to see in Ireland.
Niamh and I left in the afternoon to drive down to Killarney. The drive down was...green. It was full of green pastures with wide-open skies, but the clouds were so thick and hanging so low that it felt really oppressing. We passed by thatch-roofed villages, old castles, and towns made of pubs. We got to Killarney as the sun was setting and checked into our hostel. We made grilled cheeses for dinner and then went out to the pub. We were drinking Smithwick's (best. beer. ever.) when Niamh turns to me and says, "there are Hungarians sitting behind us." I listen and, sure enough, I hear a "meg volt." They found us in the Southwestern corner of Ireland. Then Niamh goes "they're talking about potatoes." I listened further and heard "krumpli." Dammit.
We finished our beers, walked around the town for
a little bit, and slept very well at the hostel. The next morning we got up and bought so many snacks. We got in the car to drive the Ring of Kerry, which is about a 3-4 hour drive around the southwest corner of Ireland. We were almost there when we saw a sign for the Gap of Dunloe and immediately took a detour, which ended up being the coolest part of the day. At the entrance, we saw a horse, so naturally we got out of the car and fed it. Then we (Niamh. The whole time) drove up this incredibly narrow road through two mountains (hence, gap). We frequently had to stop for sheep because Ireland, but we also stopped to climb rocks and take pictures of lakes and mountains. We stopped at the Black Valley. It was gorgeous.
Finally we drove back to the Ring of Kerry to officially start our day! We tried to find a lake, which involved us getting lost about 3 times, but we eventually found it and drove around. Then we saw a dog standing on a donkey on the side of the road, because of course we did. I got
out to take a picture and started talking to the man (in English!!!) who had apparently lived on Nantucket for about 7 years. Everyone I met in Ireland lived/knows someone who has lived in the Boston area.
Finally we ended up at our first beach. It was rainy but beautiful. The rocks were green (even the rocks!) and pink and it was foggy and rainy and the ocean was there!!! After a short walk we drove to another beach where we sat in the car and made the first of our epic sandwiches. With chips. Always chips. After lunch we kept driving until we saw signs for a fort, so we drove towards it. It was a beautiful ruined fort that we got to climb around and play in for a while. We wanted to take a ferry to Valentia Island, but the ferry wasn't running. So we drove across the bridge to the south. When we got to the island, we realized why the ferry wasn't running. FOG. We walked on some docks and then drove up the hill on the island where we saw...nothing. We did find a grotto which was weirdly religious. But cool. Just a
cave of slate with a statue of Mary and Jesus on top. We drove back and spent the next hour or two drive back to Killarney through fog so thick you could cut it with a knife.
That night we went to a pub and then peeked our heads into another pub where we were beckoned in by an Irish band consisting of 3 old men. They loved Niamh because she was actually Irish and kept calling her "Mullingar" all night (where she's from). I requested "Fields of Athenry" and "Wild Rover," and they played them both. It was lovely. We made sure to buy wine before we went to bed because the next day was Good Friday. No alcohol is allowed to be sold in Ireland on Good Friday.
Friday morning, we had to run to train for our half marathon. It was 5 miles of speed work. We ran on a golf course in Killarney National Park, but it was BRUTAL run. We took breaks. It's fine. We came back, ate breakfast, and set off for Lahinch, which is a surfing town near the Cliffs of Moher. We had more car sandwiches on the way and
fed a donkey. We took the Wild Atlantic Way, which took us up the west coast and found some cliffs on the way! We also had to take a ferry across peninsulas. It got much sunnier by the time we got to the northern peninsula.
The Cliffs of Moher were nothing short of spectacular. There was no fence, and it was incredibly windy, but it was just beautiful. Pictures help but don't do it justice. We hiked along the tops of both sides of the cliffs, braced ourselves against the wind, and tried not to fall over the edge. I just kept yelling "The cliffs of insanity! Hurry up! Move the thing! And that other thing!" (Princess Bride for those of you living under a rock).
We spent the rest of the night in the hostel. We made sandwiches, met some guys from Cork, and hung out with them. Good Friday was happening, so no pubs. In the morning we got up and watched the surfers for a while before we got back in the car and left, bound for Galway. First we stopped at a boardwalk along the beach and went for a cheeky 2-mile run. It
was much easier than the one in Killarney. Then we checked in at the hostel and went to the Galway Food Festival. Yup. Niamh realized she had lost her wallet, so she went to the car to get it while I got mussels. She came back and said it wasn't in the car so she went back to the hostel while I walked around. When I went back to the hostel she had found her wallet and was out getting food, of course. We sat by the river and ate cake. Then we walked around the city. We went into a beautiful cathedral, walked around the harbor, and went to a pub. We met a hysterical woman who was trying to set us up with every guy in the bar. We also watched a group of American girls studying abroad meet a group of Irish guys, and it was the best people-watching ever. A band came on (2 old guys this time) and, even though the bar was packed, I yelled out, "Wild Rover!" and the guy said, "What?" So I yelled it again, and he played it! 2 for 2. They also played "Galway Girl," and everyone in the
bar went crazy because, you know, we were in Galway.
The next morning we had a wicked early start. I had to catch a bus because I had plans in Dublin! Last February on my first solo trip, I went to Milan where I met 3 English guys who I spent the whole weekend hanging out with. 2 of them happened to be in Dublin that weekend and wanted to grab lunch! Since I was going to be in Dublin on Sunday anyway, I just got an earlier bus out of Galway. I got to Dublin, checked into my hostel, and met Matt and Adam. We got lunch and then walked around the city where they told me all of the fake history of Dublin including an 18-year battle (not war. Battle). It was awesome to reconnect. However, it was short-lived because they had a plane to catch.
I regrouped back at my hostel and then went off exploring Dublin by myself. Niamh had gone home for a couple days to hang out with her family. I got some coffee and was sitting in a park when a group of militia men and women came by and had
a whole ceremony! I kept wandering and stumbled on a pub called The Flowing Tide. I sat down at the bar for a beer and ended up becoming friends with the bartender whose name is Bern. I hung out for a couple hours and had an awesome time. I continued to wander around Dublin and found a park full of people lying on the grass next to signs that said, "Keep off the grass." I went into pubs and talked to people about photography. Everyone in Ireland is so nice, and they all just want to have a chat. It's perfect for someone like me.
When I went back to the hostel, I met some rugby players and went out in Temple Bar with them. We went to "The Temple Bar," and I met a girl from Belfast and her German friend. I ended up spending the rest of the night with them. As you can imagine, "Temple Bar" in Temple Bar is pretty crowded. There was a guy singing Irish songs, and, once again, I requested Wild Rover, and the guy heard me from the back of the room and actually played it. He also played "The Girl
from Belfast City," which we got psyched about. We went to another pub and requested "Fields of Athenry," which the band then played. So good. I said goodnight to my friends and went home. The next day I went off and explored the western part of Dublin. There were loads of Cathedrals. I took a tour of the Guinness factory, which I definitely recommend doing. The whole place is shaped like a pint of Guinness and there's a tasting room and everything. Afterwards I, of course, went to a pub and met some old Irishmen who I talked to for a couple hours. Then I walked the long journey home, went to the airport, met up with Niamh and went back to Budapest.
The landing was terrifying.
Ireland looks like Block Island, but bigger. And with cooler accents. Did I mention everything is green!
Cheers!
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
Great blog...
despite the typical Irish weather it sounds like you had a memorable visit. Countries with rain seem to have the best pubs and beer/ale/stout...and green. Here is Colorado...remember that place...we've had the wettest May in history so we are also green.