Ireland Trip

[taiwan_girl]

As I mentioned in another forum thread, just returned from a trip to Ireland. Absolutely loved it!!!! What a beautiful country. Was very lucky with the weather. Temperature was always about 18-20 C (65 F or so) for high and sunny.

Spent just a couple of days in Dublin, and then a bit more than a week in Dingle and a bit more than a week in Galway. Both of those are on the west coast, and in Dingle, they really promote Irish language (street signs, hear it spoken in pubs, stores, etc.) Could have stayed maybe one more day in Dublin, but not necessary. VERY expensive for accommodation to stay.

Loved loved Dingle - great town and a great peninsula, the town only has a population of about 2000, but I have hear that it gets super crowded in June - Aug. Fun pubs where they have Irish music playing. (Though I did go into one that must have had the unfriendliest bartender in all of Ireland, if not the whole world. No wonder there was only one person there!! Wouldn't serve me, and I first I thought he was kidding. But he wasn't, so after standing there with a dumb look, I walked out. LOL)

Galway seemed bigger than it was (80000 population) and was quite interesting and so was its peninsula it was one..

Maybe I will retire to DIngle. LOL (But would probably change my mind after spending a winter there! 555)

Here are some pictures:

Famous library at Trinity College in Dublin. Home of the Book of Kells, an illustrated Bible from the 7th or 8th century.

Guiness Brewery! I guess the proper way to pour a Guiness is to fill like in the picture, let sit for about 2 minutes and then fill to the top. And, you are not supposed to drink the foam. You are supposed to have a "Guinness mustache" and just drink the liquid. LOL

Typical 2 lane road with blind corners, etc. Patience is a good thing to have while driving there!!! It was nervous driving there.

Hiking Mount Brandon, the second highest mountain in Ireland. It is on the Dingle peninsula.

Typical Irish countryside scenes. As I was told, the main crop in Ireland is rocks!!!

Dingle peninsula. I understand that they filmed a scene from a Star Wars movie here.

Killarney National Park

Kylemore Abbey

8th century ruined church

The Cliffs of Moher. I walked the cliffs from the south village (Liscannor) to the north village (Doolin)!! About 20 km.

In summary, one of the better countries I have visited for scenery and fun time.

[Aqua Letifer]

Awesome photos. My wife's been, but I haven't. She keeps talking about revisiting.

How'd you get around, primarily?

[Horace]

Thanks for the beautiful pictures!

[Doctor Phibes]

Great photos. I agree, it's a wonderful country.

I hope you tipped that barman

[George K]

You take the most wonderful pictures.

I liked the scenery in photo #10.

[89th]

Really top notch photos! Thanks for sharing!

@Aqua-Letifer When I went in 2007 it was with Brett. We stayed in Dublin for 3 days at a hostel, then took a bus tour for the next week clockwise until we stopped at Galway. It was a bit of an unplanned joke as it was two single mid-20s guys with a bus full of elderly folks. But I’ll say, not worrying about transportation or housing…great way to see the country with little hassle.

Yes beautiful country, I really enjoyed it.

Side note, it’s hard to remember traveling before smart phones. Printed itinerary, a map, and a watch. And maybe a calling card if you needed to make a call. And that was only 15 years ago.

[Rainman]

Thanks for the pictures TG! A beautiful green desert. I think before I even got something to eat, I'd need to plant a couple of trees.

[Renauda]

Lovely pictures, TG. A country I have never visited. My maternal great grandparents were born and grew up there. One in County Mayo the other in County Cork. They married sometime around 1870, then immigrated to the US and homesteaded near Virginia City, Montana.

[taiwan_girl]

@Aqua-Letifer said in Ireland Trip:

Awesome photos. My wife's been, but I haven't. She keeps talking about revisiting.

How'd you get around, primarily?

Had a rental car. I think they have a pretty extensive in country bus service, but the car worked well for me.

(Shh, dont tell anyone, but I scraped the side of the car minorly on one of those 2 lane roads that is only big enough to fit 1.5 cars. Getting all the information to send to the credit card company. Aaargh.)

You should go if you are able to have the chance. I thought that prices were pretty equivalent to the US, except for gas, which comes out to about USD $7/gal.

[taiwan_girl]

@Doctor-Phibes said in Ireland Trip:

Great photos. I agree, it's a wonderful country.

I hope you tipped that barman

He was playing chess with the only customer in the bar. He had a really strong accent, and spoke partially in Irish, but I made out something about not serving me (and for sure, the bar was not closed). Like I said, I thought he was joking so just kind of stood there, but he went back to his chess game and ignored me. So, after about 30 seconds, I got the hint and left. 555

[bachophile]

Beautiful. Sounds stupid but I’m always nervous of the thought of left hand drive which keeps me from planning driving trips in the UK or Ireland.

[Mik]

Excellent pics! Now I want to go.

[cathys]

Love the pictures! Sounds like a fantastic trip, thanks for sharing.

[Wim]

I spent three weeks in May following the Wild Atlantic Way in a campervan.
Absolutely stunning scenery, friendly people. Driving on the left side wasn't difficult at all.
Highlights: Mizen Head, Beara Ring, Ring of Kerry (cliffs), Dingle Peninsula (including cliffsv of Moher + trail to Doolin, Blasket Island by RIB, Inis Oir and Cnoc Brennan).
I really want to go back again

[Doctor Phibes]

@bachophile said in Ireland Trip:

Beautiful. Sounds stupid but I’m always nervous of the thought of left hand drive which keeps me from planning driving trips in the UK or Ireland.

I've found that a good trick when you're driving on the wrong side of the road is not to think left or right, but always just remember that the driver needs to be closest to the center of the road. This avoids making the wrong decision during 'high-stress' moments when thinking 'left or right' can actually be confusing, particularly on empty roads and in big cities.

That being said, on my recent trip to the UK, I confidently left the rental car place only to wonder why the guy coming the other way was on the wrong side of the road...d'oh!

[taiwan_girl]

@Wim said in Ireland Trip:

I spent three weeks in May following the Wild Atlantic Way in a campervan.
Absolutely stunning scenery, friendly people. Driving on the left side wasn't difficult at all.
Highlights: Mizen Head, Beara Ring, Ring of Kerry (cliffs), Dingle Peninsula (including cliffsv of Moher + trail to Doolin, Blasket Island by RIB, Inis Oir and Cnoc Brennan).
I really want to go back again

We may have passed each other. 555

I give you courage that you drove a camper van. Some of those backroads were small enough for my vehicle. LOL

[Wim]

@taiwan_girl My campervan is not a monstruous giant but rather a modest van ( Citroen Jumper).
BTW I was there from 4/30 till 5/20; what about you? I distinctly remember two asian girls in a dark car stopping next to me

[taiwan_girl]

@Wim LOL I arrived on May 14. Were you the one that cut me off in the road???

(just joking!!!)