Ireland 2008

After Scotland, I continued the trip alone to Ireland. This was another world. I picked up a rental car and drove counter-clockwise from outside of Dublin to various locations around the island. The first stop was in the town of Kilkenny, in County Kilkenny. That evening, I took a walk and found this pretty row of buildings at sunset. Further down the street, I had a romantic dinner for 1 at a local Indian restaurant - the chicken curry rated #1, but wished I could have shared it with someone. Dining alone sucks!

The town of Kilkenny, is a great place to start -- easy walking, neat and tidy buildings, a pretty town, with lots of shops and eateries.

I was struck at how nice the town looked - so well maintained. Actually, all over Ireland, the buildings and homes are immaculate! As I drove around, everywhere, I saw people painting walls, tending gardens, sweeping, and cleaning. Ireland is amazing!

Kilkenny Castle, built in 1195. I was surprised to hear that this castle was built by the Normans who invaded Ireland, as a defense against the Irish. It is now partly restored, although it is missing the east wall and tower due to Oliver Cromwell's attack on the castle in the mid-1600s.

Butler Court, Kilkenny. This was an old carriage house to Kilkenny Castle, converted into a small and charming hotel. This was a very comfortable stay, with lots of privacy and very quiet. I loved my room!

Irish music at a local pub in Kilkenny.

I could listen to this for hours, besides watch their performance. In a close, intimate setting, it's exciting, entertaining, thoroughly enjoyable.

While in Kilkenny, I visited a historic house, The Roche House.

Stair detail at the Roche House.

Old stone church, long covered in ivy, along the roadway.

I stopped here to see what the heck is the Rock of Cashel, as listed on the map? It turns out to be one extremely old medieval settlement that used to be the center of power for 11th -12th century kings. Legend has it that St. Patrick converted one of their kings to Catholocism.

Cashel, County Tipperary.

Today, it's a whole complex of buildings, all in ruins, with chapel, halls, residences, all walled and sitting atop of the hill.

Doorway to the green hillside.

The Rock of Cashel is known for the early Celtic symbols as shown on this cross in the graveyard.

My next stop was to the town of Killarney, in County Kerry, towards the south western end of Ireland. Inland, the landscape is rolling hills, a patchwork of greens. In this region, I found cows dotting the landscape, instead of the sheep that populated the Scottish hills.

Passing through a small fishing village near Killarney, I found this road crew painting an already clean and white bridge with more white paint. You won't find peeling or faded paint in Ireland.

Following the Ring of Kerry, which hugs the coastline, there are spectacular vistas of rocky cliffs, green hillsides, beautiful beaches. This beach looked like it could have been in Southern California, complete with surfers. I had not expected to see wide open, sandy beaches in Ireland!

I think this was used as storage. This is far more picturesque than our aluminum storage sheds, although it probably wouldn't last with our earthquakes.

As you drive along the Ring of Kerry, you will navigate some tight, hairpin turns, sheer cliffs, and occasional traffic jams while tour buses have to do a 3-point turn to handle the curves on the roadway. Still the view opens to this wild, unspoiled, and beautiful beach.

Calm waters and pastel hues.

The town of Dingle, in south western Ireland, is just beyond the Ring of Kerry. The town is crowded with tourists, buses, and cars, but you can still find a traditional pub along the main street.

Dingle harbor.

Next stop - Galway, along the western coast. Colorful and lively. The Galway Arts Festival was in town when I arrived, with all sorts of venues - performances, concerts, film, but everything was booked. While it looks reasonably busy here, in a few hours, it became jam-packed with visitors. Too crowded to enjoy restaurants, shopping or any of the venues, I was just glad to get out of town to move on.

Ahh, some peace and quiet! Just north of Galway, I took a side road to a little peninsula called Loop Road. It would lead to a lighthouse I wanted to check out. Here's my car with a dramatic sky above.

Glad I made it out to the lighthouse at Loop Head. While it was not open to the public, you could walk around the grounds which was surrounded by the cliffs out to the sea. What was not apparent was that the lighthouse was at the top point of the land, and the rest of it sloped downwards to the cliffs. Easy walking down to the cliffs, and a surprisingly steep climb back up!

This was one of the cliffs at Loop Head. The two little dots on the right on the grass are people. You won't find warning signs, fences, or barriers to keep people from falling down the cliff, so watch out -- it's a long drop down!

That's not really a castle on the top of the cliff, but an observation tower called, O'Brien's Tower. This is the highest point of the Cliffs of Moher. Again, those little dots next to the tower are people walking about.

It was hard to find thatched roof houses, but I was glad to find this one near Cong. Everything was immaculate! Just outside the picture was a red sports car, but I wished it was a horse-drawn buggy, instead.

This is where The Quiet Man was filmed, starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. It's one of my favorite movies and I was pleased to find this pub. Now, it's a small market, but the owner has retained the original signage for us tourists. Village of Cong, County Mayo.

Early morning from the Donegal pier - the water was like glass.

It seems that everywhere I turned in Ireland, there was one more amazing view.

Drive in the northwest of Ireland. Donegal Town, County Donegal.

Portsalon Beach - this was the northernmost point of Ireland that I visited. It's close to the Northern Ireland border. I had pictured the north of Ireland to be cold and blustery, but found this beach to be warm and almost tropical. This could have been a beach in Kauai, except there were no palm trees. County Donegal

After driving for a week in Ireland, I dropped my car off at the airport. You don't need a car in Dublin, which was the last city on my trip. You'll see a lot of brick buildings, unlike the old gray stonework that you find everywhere in Edinburough.

Grafton Street, Dublin. This is the main shopping area where you'll find tons of shops and tons of tourists.

A cool, leafy retreat from the busy traffic at St. Stephen's Green, in the heart of Dublin.

Fun signage.

Dublin street scenes.

I took the Guinness Factory tour. Very traditional exterior...

a very contemporary interior. I highly recommend checking this out. It's well-designed, with cool exhibits, plus you get to sample the beer. At the top of the factory, there's a 360° glass-walled bar where you can get a panoramic view of Dublin from above, called the Sky Bar.

The Sky Bar, Guinness Factory, Dublin.

Looking up through the center of the factory.

Buggy rides next to the Guinness Factory. Where's the top hat?