Dublin or Bust!

We're in Kilkenny, which turns out to be a hopping college town, or at least where all the young people gather to party. Yeegods, we almost didn't get a B&B but lucked out on try 3 with a very nice place and very nice people.

There's been so much and not enough time to even find internet cafes which some of the small towns don't have. We got into the habit of sometimes eating the breakfast--a full breakfast will come with two cooked tomatoes, sausages, ham (bacon but it's like back bacon), toast, eggs, cereal and fruit, maybe potatoes and black and white pudding. Who could eat all that. We were down to ham and toast and tomatoe and skipping it some days as it's too much and eggs over more than 2 days don't sit well with me.

We would skip lunch as we were always running about trying to fit in the most by the end of the day. Some castles and sites close at the beginning of Oct. Boo! Most disappointing site--Ormonde Castle, a mostly Victorian manor house, closed off completely. Not exciting by architectural standards and why it was in the guide book, I don't know. Nicest castles--Bunratty, and errr...another I can't remember right now.

We've been eating dinners that are around 15-20€ and a pint of cider and a rum and coke have cost lowest at 7€ for both in Dungarvan, to 15€ in Dublin. Not cheap but the food portions have been substantial and quality mostly very good. My celiac sister hasn't had any problem getting food adapted and it turns out Ireland is only second to Italy in number of celiacs.

We stopped at Blarney castle, which is mostly a shell but I didn't kiss the stone. Rather, while snooping down some dark, tunnelly passage, I saw light and stairs to my left, and went to cautiously look down. I ran my nose right into a ridge of stone and nearly broke it. It's still bruised but feels okay. Reminds me of Lorna's year of the broken nose.

I have many many photos and I'm always into architectural details and the small stuff. I've taken pictures of some very old tiles froms some cathedrals and castles as well as some gothic and earlier carvings. Much in stonework, not as much in wood, of course.

We've come to want to avoid the bigger cities like Limerick (though we went to the castle there) and Cork where we spent an hour going a few blocks. We've just done Kilkenny castle, restored by the Irish gov't and once owned by the very rich Butlers for over 500 years. No pictures inside were allowed and most of it is done now in 18th century style as it went through several changes over the centuries.

I also realize that I've been trying to live up to being Irish and I've drank cider every day since I've been here. This could be a personal record. Last night we met some gents from the North who had been down for the races. One was a Belfast cop and we ended up drinking more than we would have. Then got lost in the fog going back to our B&B.

We're about to head up to Dublin and flight out godawful early tomorrow to Glasgow. Then it's, sob** home on Wednesday. We've lucked into great weather except for one rainy day in Carrowmore and when driving out of Dublin. That's made it much nicer. Ireland is truly beautiful and kinda laid back about driving even if the speed limit is 100km on winding country roads built for carriages originaly. I've come to love the inherent use of and living with stone of the Irish. Stone plots in cemeteries, stone castles and homes, the wonderful stone walls everywhere and the megatlith tombs and dolmens. Oddly enough it's the stones I will miss most.

And now it's time to drive off to Dublin.

Donegal & Slieve League

Yesterday was big hike day. We went to Kinbane Castle, a ruin, down many steps to a crag and a rock in the ocean. It was fine gong down but definitely a sweaty hike up the steep steps. My sister couldn't make it.

Then we drove (driving is fine now...mostly, except those traffic circles, which are literally every five blocks when you drive through a city. Very confusing when there are five names on each sign and you're trying to find one.) to the Carrick a Rede rope bridge. Randi is afraid of heights so I went on and over the bridge (short) to the hummocky island. It's like it's covered with peat and then grasses and little field flowers here and there. A beautiful view of the North Sea in its blues and turquoises with the white cliffs, the black rocks and the little green sharp cliffed islands called Carric Island (where the rope bridge leads to) and Sheep Island. That was another easier hike but with some steep steps to climb back up.

We then went to the Giants Causeway where there were hundreds of people. This is where the land coughed up great sestagonal? (six sided) columns of stone everywhere to the water. These columns form natural seats and steps and are very cool. Managed to get some good pics but the haze stopped me from getting good ones of the chimneys farther out and I was a bit tired to walk that far.

We went on to Bushmills. Why we did this tour I'm not sure. It wasn't on our itinerary (made up daily) and it wasn't very exciting or interesting. No old architecture, a bit on the making of (which was kinda intersting). Bushmills is named for the old Bush river from which they pump the water and the milling of the barley. But because we did this we missed getting into Dunluce castle. October hours means many things close at 5 instead of 6. It would have been the most impressive castle with a bridge, large environs and a cave beneath the castle. All these castles today were coastal castles. All we could do was take pics from the gates.

We then drove and drove through many a roundabout, through Portrush and Portstewart, Strabane, various little towns to Donegal. We stopped in a pub, the Reel Inn, had a drink and got some idea for B&Bs. This was a nice change. A small town center and our B&B just over the bridge, less than five minutes from the town. The pub is just one side of the little bridge. We ate in some restaurant which was okay. I had chicken curry (13.50€)which was only chicken, no veggies. Lots of chicken and rice though and then I was given a huge bowl of fries, which I didn't even touch. The Irish do love their taters.

We went back to the Reel Inn which was supposed to have live music. We barely set foot in the door when we were mobbed by drunk Irish men. There was a very drunk, bleary eyed, mostly incoherent Liam and his friend who we called Harry Potter, of barely legal drinking age. Enda was a nice guy who looked like he used to play rugby (on the TVs everywhere here) who had his own pub but goes for drinks with the boys on Mondays because one of them is banned from his pub. The banned one, the older Liam (40-ish)with a front tooth missing, regaled us with many a story of his fishing forays, true or not. Liam McGurdy holds the world record for fish whacking and gutting. Supposedly this is true though some of the other tales were not. There was a equally drunk, red-haired Eric. They were all drunk when we arrived and just stayed the same.

Randi and I had been told that the men buy your drinks everywhere. We hadn't found this yet or even that people talked to you that much. But it was true here. They all wanted to shake or hold our hands but we never bought a drink all night.Each guy would try to up the other in blarney.

There was also a Pete or Finnbar but it was hard to tell as he was not always on the up and up either, who kept telling me I was a fine woman and if I was there alone would I fancy him. I didn't want to say outright no, but I did say no and he asked why. I said because I like to get to know people there. A younger Pete came in and all the guys in the bar started calling old Pete Daddy. Younger Pete, Pete Cannon was kind of like a leprechaun, not that tall, pretty eyes, lots of character in his face and brown hair with blond and light red streaks. Turns out he's a musician and he also contributed to the blarney in his way. But overall the lads were friendly and harmless, if half of them completely inebriated. I got to try Adam's cider which came in a larger 1.5 pint bottle.

Now we're off to Slieve League and the coast. More as the internet allows.