Our First Real Irish Pub Experience

Our First Real Irish Pub Experience Clifden, Ireland

Clifden, Ireland

Today we took another trip to the Aran Islands. This time we went to Inishmore, the biggest and most visited. We had an hour’s drive to get to Rossaveel, where the ferry departed from. While we waited to board, I got out my netbook to blog. And after we boarded, we just got some seats and I blogged some more. The coastline wasn’t very scenic where we were, so I figured it wasn’t worth it to stand outside. This was a passenger only ferry, with bunches of seats inside.

After the 45 minute boat ride we arrived at Inishmore. But it took us a while to get off the boat because we had sat very far away from the exit. Inishmore was much more developed than Inisheer had been, with a quite a few large pubs, B&B’s, and craft shops (this is what souvenir stores are called in Ireland).

So we had to decide how to see the island. We’d been planning on doing the cheaper mini-bus tour, but kind of wanted to do the more expensive ride on the Jaunty Car, which was pulled by a horse. It was another sunny day today, so we decided we would rather be out in the open air, rather than stuck inside a bus.

Our main destination on the Jaunty Car ride was the stone fort of Dun Aenghus, which sits at the edge of a 300 foot high cliff. On the way out we took the low road near the coast and got to see a few seals sunning themselves at low tide. Otherwise the scenery wasn’t nearly as interesting as on Inisheer. There were still lots of stone walls, but not nearly as many and they looked more run-down.

At the fort we only had an hour, which wasn’t enough. We had just enough time to hike up, take pictures, and have a few minutes to inhale some food. I would have liked more time to explore the fort. But the fort was amazing. Not for the actual fort, but for the views of the island and the amazing cliffs. Many people were laying down at the edge of the cliffs to look straight down 300 feet to the water. Including me.

The ride back to the ferry dock was even more boring than the ride out had been. In the end I wished we had gone with the mini-bus tour because we would have had a lot more time at the fort and zipped by the only-somewhat-interesting views.

It was only about 2:30 pm by the time we got back, and it had been our intent to do some hiking before taking the late boat back at 6:30 pm. But both mom and I were feeling pretty tired and didn’t feel like hiking. So we decided to try and catch the early boat at 4 pm. We went shopping at the Aran Sweater Shop, and both found some beautiful blue sweaters. The Aran Islands are famous for their sweaters so of course we had to get some! Mine was actually a zippered jacket with a hood because it doesn’t really get cold enough in Seattle to wear big bulky sweaters. After I’d made my purchase I noticed some beautiful scarves that were big enough to use as a table runner on my coffee table. So I got one of those too.

After our shopping we had just enough time to have a glass of Guinness before catching the ferry back. This time we were smarter and got some seats right by the exit. I blogged for a little while, but then got too sleepy.

On the car ride back to Clifden I realized why I was so tired. I was getting mom’s cold. But it wasn’t bad yet.

Once back at Clifden we went to EJ Kings to blog for a while. We actually just sat there for a while blogging, without ordering anything. Because everyone was ignoring us. When someone finally asked us if we wanted anything, we went ahead and got a glass of Guinness. We didn’t really want to eat there again. For dinner we went back to Lowry’s to have more toasted sandwiches.

Then we went to Griffin’s for some more music. The music was in the back again, so this time we sat at a small table at the end of the bar, because it had a really good view of the music. And it was the same three guys from two nights ago (Peter, Adam, and Ronan). So at first I was a little disappointed because I didn’t want to hear the same thing. But then we were joined by a couple of older local gentlemen and spent the whole night talking to them. And not really listening to the music. At first we talked about travelling around Ireland and then when I went to the bathroom the conversation had somehow turned to me. About how I don’t have a husband or boyfriend and how I kind of want to move to Europe. And at some point I think there may have been a marriage proposal involved. Jokingly, of course.

The locals finally left about 10 pm or so, and we followed shortly after.

Lessons of the day:

1. If you’re taking a passenger ferry and it’s not very scenic, find a seat and use the time to blog.

2. If you’re taking a passenger ferry and decide to sit in a seat, make sure you’re near the exit so that you get off the boat quicker.

3. Don’t share water bottles/glasses while you’re traveling. By the time one of you has caught something so has everyone else.

4. Bring hand sanitizer to Europe. Many bathrooms don’t have soap, or have not very good soap.

5. If you want to meet locals in an Irish Pub, sit at the bar. But don’t expect to listen to the music.

Guinness Count = 26.5

Scenic Drives Galore + Best Music of the Trip

Scenic Drives Galore + Best Music of the Trip Clifden, Ireland

Clifden, Ireland

Today we did a lot of driving around the whole Connemara region, with one long stop to see a beautiful abbey & garden. Here are the highlights:

– Sky Road: a drive along a small peninsula just to the west Clifden. There were some great views.

· Roundstone loop: another drive along the edges of a larger peninsula, this time just to the south of Clifden.But it wasn’t that pretty because the tide was too low. And there was nowhere to stop to take pictures.

· Bog Road: this road cut back across the top of the Roundstone peninsula and was much prettier with wide open views of the Seven Bens, the mountains at the interior of the Connemara region. It was a tiny road, but we pretty much stopped wherever we wanted. The only other people on the road were also sight-seeing, with quite a few bikers. There were also many lakes dotting the area.

· Lunch at Sea Mist house: the Bog Road brought us right back to Clifden and it was lunchtime. So we decided to have our sandwiches right in the front yard of the Sea Mist House.

· Kylemore Abbey & Gardens: this was more like a small palace, situated on the edge of a lovely lake with mountains all around. Mr. Steves implied that the view from across the lake was all you really needed to see. He said the interior was a let down and barely mentioned that there were gardens. But we like gardens, so we decided to take a chance. The gardens were a mile away from the abbey, but there was a convenient shuttle bus. So we went there first. And they were lovely. Then we went back to the abbey, and we both thought the inside was pretty cool. Not on par with the palaces in Europe, but way better than the Muckross House had been at Killarney National Park. The best part was that we got to enjoy the view of the mountains. So we thought it was well worth it.

· Connemara National Park: this park preserves a large portion of the natural boglands remaining in Ireland. It’s also where the Seven Bens are. Just like in the US, most of Ireland’s bogs have disappeared over the last century. We went to the visitor center, which had some great exhibits about how the bogs developed, and how the peat is used for fuel. It was interesting because the bogs were actually created by people. Several thousand years ago the hunters & gatherers burned the vegetation, leaving behind lots of charcoal. The charcoal caused the soil to become waterlogged, the perfect environment for the formation of peat. And now people are destroying the bogs too. The peat has so much organic matter in it that it will burn. So they use a modified spade to take out chunks of it shaped like bricks.

· Fjord: from the park’s visitor center, we drove through the boglands up to Ireland’s only fjord, and the only fjord I’ve ever seen. It was quite impressive. We drove along it for a while to its beginning, where there was a pretty waterfall and a beautiful horse that ran up to be petted. It was getting kind of late by this point, so we headed back towards Clifden.

· Inagh Valley: we took a different road back that went through this beautiful valley separating the Twelve Bens from some other mountains. It was another wide open road with incredible views. I was so busy admiring the mountains that I didn’t notice anyplace to pull over for pictures until it was too late. Mom and I both agreed that it reminded us of Montana.

When we got back to Clifden we decided to have dinner at EJ Kings so that we could take advantage of their free WiFi and blog. I got the Beef & Guinness stew and it was amazingly good. I was glad we were blogging because the stew took forever to cool down.

After dinner we went back to Griffin’s pub for some music. Tonight it was the Hernon brothers, two boys on the fiddle and flute. They looked like they were still in high school. They were joined by a cousin on accordion, a guy that rarely played a banjo, and another guy from Scotland who played the guitar most of the time. This was the type of place where anyone was welcome to come and join in the music. There was also a bodhran player for a little while, and later a woman singer.

Last night the music had been in the back room of the pub with a nice sound system. Tonight the music was in the front room with no speakers. And it was amazing. Seriously the best music we’d heard the entire trip. They only played jigs, but I didn’t care because it was so good. And they would play the same song forever, and keep changing the key, or increasing the tempo. But I didn’t care. It was that amazing. One song got so fast that the fiddle player had to take a short break because his arm was getting tired.

It was hard to leave, but we finally did around 10:30 pm or so. I set a record for most Guinness in one day (2 at EJ Kings + 2 at Griffin’s = 4!)

Lessons of the day: None! We must have learned everything 🙂

Guinness Count = 23

I finally felt like I was in Europe today

I finally felt like I was in Europe today Clifden, Ireland

Clifden, Ireland

Today we left Doolin and headed up to our last stop in Connemara. I drove today because mom wasn’t feeling very good with her cold. But we had barely driven yesterday so I didn’t mind.

We decided to head out of Doolin along a coastal road that went out to Black Head, where The Burren meets the sea. And just as we were getting near the coast I noticed that our gas light was on. We knew we probably couldn’t make it around Black Head, so we turned around and went back to Lisdoonvarna to get some gas.

When we made it back out to the coastal road, it was very beautiful. It was cloudy this morning, but high clouds so we had great views.

We also stopped today in Galway, the second biggest city in the Republic of Ireland, next to Dublin (Belfast in bigger, but in Northern Ireland). We actually managed to find our way to the city center without making a wrong turn! Of course, it helped that our atlas had a detailed city map for Galway. We both agree that the atlas needs city maps for more cities.

Galway has a really pretty city center, with pedestrian only streets, lots of shops and pubs, and some street performers. And for the first time on this trip, I actually felt like I was in Europe! When we first got to the main drag, we had our maps out just to get oriented. And an Irish gentleman from Dublin came up to ask if we needed directions. We said no but like the friendly Irish are, he proceeded to tell us how in Dublin and London you have to wear your backpacks on the front because thieves will come by on scooters and take your bags. He was really nice, though, and recommended the same fish & chips shop that Rick Steves did.

So we just walked up and down the main drag, stopping in a few shops. I thought I was done souvenir shopping, but I found a cute teapot-cup-saucer set and had to get it. Maybe it will encourage me to start drinking tea more often. I really do like tea, but always forget to make it!

We stopped in a famous pub called The Quays for a glass of Guinness, and then went to McDonagh’s for fish and chips.

But we were soon back on the road, driving through Connemara to our next three-day stop in Clifden. We could tell we were driving by beautiful mountains, but we couldn’t see them because the clouds were so low.

Clifden was arranged just like Kenmare, with three main streets all in a one-way triangle. And our B&B the Sea Mist House was located just off the triangle. It was a beautiful stone house and we got a room on the top floor that actually had three beds in it. So we had lots of room! And we felt very welcomed right away, when we were greeted by our host Sheila. The only bad thing was that her wireless was out at the moment.

For dinner we went to a pub called Lowry’s for toasted sandwiches. Today was the first day of the Galway horse races, a pretty big festival for Ireland. We had arrived at Lowry’s just in time to see the end of a race. And then they showed the ladies competing for the “Best Dressed Lady” award. There were lots of fancy hats!

For music tonight, we started at Griffin’s Pub where there were three guys on guitar, base guitar, and accordion. And they were really good. They mixed up the songs with the jigs and it was quite fun.

We also went to EF Kings, but mainly because they had free wireless and I really wanted to use my phone. It was just one guy on guitar there, and it was pretty good at first but soon got boring.

Lessons of the day:

1. Make sure you check your gas gauge before leaving for the day

2. When navigating through a big city, it helps to have a detailed map.

Guinness Count = 19

I actually got sunburned in Ireland!

I actually got sunburned in Ireland! Doolin, Ireland

Doolin, Ireland

Today we took a boat trip out to Inisheer, one of the Aran islands famous for their barren landscapes filled with rows and rows of stone fences. On the boat trip back, we would cruise by the Cliffs of Moher (more), which are the most visited tourist attraction in Ireland. They soar 650 feet above the ocean, along a five mile stretch of the coastline.

On the ferry ride out to Inisheer we met a very nice 13-year-old girl, named Julia, and her dad. They were American but had lived in Italy for the last 10 years because her dad was a consultant for the U.S. Army. She informed us that a scene from Harry Potter 6 was filmed at the Cliffs of Moher.

Once on the island we rented bikes and rode all around. It was a pretty small island, so we were able to go down and back a couple of times, plus see O’Brien’s castle on the highest point of the island. Most of the roads were pretty gentle, but there were some hills we had to walk up.

Inisheer was amazingly beautiful, just look at the pictures.

On our trip back, the Cliffs of Moher were amazingly beautiful as well. It was interesting, though, because it reminded me of the Alaskan cruise where we sailed up a bay to see a glacier entering the ocean. From far away it’s not that impressive, but as you closer you realize how massive it is and are duly impressed.

After the boat ride, there was a little bit of a traffic jam leaving the Doolin pier. Cars were parked on both sides of the road, leaving room for only one-way traffic in places. And there was a group of four big vans coming down.

When we finally got out of the traffic jam, we headed over to see the Cliffs of Moher from land. And they were pretty impressive from there too. It was interesting, the visitor center and shops were all built into the side of a hill. Very cool.

We decided to have dinner at McDermott’s tonight, and I had the fish & chips but they weren’t that great. They were too crispy and I didn’t like the tartar sauce.

Mom was feeling tired tonight because she was developing a cold. So she didn’t go out for music. I was pretty tired too after all of our biking today. And didn’t really feel like going for music either. But I thought I would regret it if I didn’t. So I started out on my own. I first went by McDermott’s but their music sounded pretty bad. So I headed over to McGann’s and it was the same awesome group that was at McDermott’s last night, minus a banjo, plus a bodhran (and the same woman I saw the first night in Doolin). But it didn’t sound as good, partly because it was very similar to last night, and partly because I was tired. So I only stayed for a couple of pints.

I forgot to mention, but the weather today was beautiful. It started out overcast but we had sunshine and clear skies the entire time we were on the Inisheer and at the Cliffs of Moher. I actually got a little sunburned!

Lessons of the day:

1. Renting bikes is a great way to see a lot in a short period of time. But you may be exhausted afterwards.

2. If you really don’t feel like doing something, but think you might regret it later, sometimes you should just say no. I really didn’t feel like going to the pubs for music tonight, and afterwards I kind of wished I hadn’t.

Guinness Count = 15.5 (yes, that was only two today!)

Misty for most of the day, but I didn’t care!

Misty for most of the day, but I didn't care! Doolin, Ireland

Doolin, Ireland

Today we spent most of the day in The Burren, hiking at Mullough More. We were also planning to take a boat trip out to one of the Aran Islands while in Doolin. But the weather forecast was better for tomorrow. And it was very foggy again when we left Doolin this morning. It didn’t clear up until shortly before we got to our hike. And even then the mist was covering the mountain tops until the afternoon.

So our hike was a 5.5. km semi-loop, that went to the top of a hill. We hiked across many rocks, and then up and over the ridges of the hill. There were many, many wildflowers along the way. So we spent lots of time taking pictures. As we ascended the hill, the views of the barren rocky landscape got better and better.

There were quite a few other hikers that passed us along the way, but by the time we got to the top we had it all to ourselves. So we sat and had some trail mix and biscuits for lunch.

The trail back down was equally as scenic and equally as rocky. We were both glad to finally get back to the car, as our feet were hurting from all the rocks. It had taken us ~4.5 hours.

We decided that this hike had been one of the most perfect ever because it included just about everything: lakes, flowers, rocks, fossils, scenic landscapes, birds, caterpillars, and one frog. The only thing missing was mammals.

After our hike, we headed back up through the Rick Steves portion of the The Burren, because we were headed to Dunguaire (dun-goo-ra) Castle in Kinvarra for a medieval castle banquet. We decided to follow a sign that was pointing 0.5 km to a cairn but completely missed it and ended up going 3 km to a ruined church.

The drive to Kinvarra was very beautiful, going along the coast past the rocky mountains of the The Burren. When we got to the Dunguaire Castle parking lot, there were some chickens that immediately came up to our car. We think they were looking for food.

We had gotten there a little early, so we took a stroll around the gorgeous castle, situated on a little peninsula within a bay. We sat for a while watching the swans that were out in the water.

Here are the highlights of the banquet:

– One of the “performers” welcomed us Lords and Ladies to the banquet and we were invited inside for a glass of mead, while we waited in the bottom floor of the castle tower. Another performer was playing some beautiful harp music. The mead was very tangy. It reminded us of Pink Catawba wine from Lake Erie, with more of a bite to it.

· When all of the Lords and Ladies had arrived, we were taken upstairs to the banquet hall. It was indeed very medieval looking with long tables and benches, and a stage at one end.

· We were welcomed to the banquet and told a funny story about saying grace. One night the King of the castle was saying grace, and saying that someone more worthy deserved this food. Nearby an Earl struggling to survive was praying for food. Then at the castle, the food magically rose from the table, then flew out the windows and over to the Earl’s.

· Our first course was a small salad with strips of yummy salmon.

· Our second course was a great potato and leek soup. But we ate it like in medieval times. It was poured into our bowl from a jug and we drank it from the bowls. No spoons!

· Thankfully we had a fork and knife for the main course, which was a delicious chicken with mushroom sauce, green beans, carrots, and potatoes. We had pitchers of extra mushroom sauce, so I followed mom’s suggestion and poured it over my potatoes.

· We were right in the middle of a long table. The couple on our left had just flown into Dublin airport that morning and had planned an ambitious trip up to Northern Ireland,back to Dublin, and then leaving from Shannon. All in one week. Typical tourists trying to see too much in too little time. We were glad we had chosen to focus our trip and stay longer everywhere.

· There was a family on our right from Toronto that were very fun. And the mom had just retired from teaching at a Catholic school, just like mom!

· We had some delicious apple pie for dessert. We were both glad we’d had a small lunch, otherwise we would not have been able to eat everything.

· After dessert, we had the entertainment portion of the show. It was a mixture of songs and poetry recitals from Irish poets. And it was quite fun. The two performers had very beautiful voices. Beforehand, they had told us not to take videos during the show. But I sneaked a couple and mom didn’t hear that, so she took a lot.

After the banquet, we had an hour drive to get back to Doolin. Mom had to drive because they’d had pitchers of wine sitting on our tables. So of course I had a few glasses. We actually had these cute little goblets and they were selling them in the gift shop, so I bought a couple.

By the time we got back to Doolin, it was almost 9 pm so we headed straight out for another night of Irish music. We went to McGann’s first because their music started a little earlier. Tonight they had the same flute and banjo players from last night, and another girl on violin. It was still good, but not as great as last night.

So after a pint we headed for McDermott’s. And there was amazing music there. There was a group selling CD’s called “Foolin in Doolin”. It was three guys on pipes, banjo, and guitar. They were really good, varying the music between wonderful jigs and songs. Then they were joined by another pipes player and a bodhran. And it got even better. We finally left about 12:30 pm, but we didn’t really want to because the music was so good.

Lessons of the day:

1. Don’t stay in a place because it’s picturesque and has decent reviews. Opt instead for the place with the rave reviews. Good service really does make a difference. We really felt kind of unwelcome at our B&B, especially after all the great hospitality at all the others.

2. Adjust your plans based on the weather. If it’s foggy on the coast, go inland for a hike.

3. If your guidebooks don’t have enough information about a place, ask at a tourist center. They can be very helpful. Rick was not very detailed on The Burren. I knew that Mullough More looked like a beautiful place to hike, but I didn’t know how to get there or what the hiking options were. The lady at The Burren Center yesterday was able to tell us exactly where to go, and said there would be signs detailing the hiking options.

Guinness Count = 13.5 (The “half” is for the last glass of Guinness I had at McDermott’s. We just couldn’t leave after two pints and the Guinness was very tasty by this point)

And now for something completely different…

And now for something completely different… Doolin, Ireland

Doolin, Ireland

Today we left Dingle, and both us were ready to move on. We’d had a great time, and really felt a little like royalty at the Pax House. But we’d seen a lot of peninsulas and were ready for something else.

But we were in no hurry. We were still a little burned out. So we got a late start, leaving at 10 am. We originally thought we would leave via Connor Pass, which was supposed to have incredible views. But it was so foggy this morning that we couldn’t see anything from Pax House. So we took the shorter route.

It was a long drive today, the longest of our trip. And mom drove the whole way, because I was burned out on driving. We had realized that I was a lot better at the narrow, windy roads. Because I have a lot of experience with that at home. So mom’s been driving the longer trips between destinations, because they tend to be on better roads.

Our destination today was Doolin, where we would spend another three nights. And it was supposed to take 3 hours. But we also had to take a ferry, to cut across to yet another peninsula. Mr. Steves said the ferry only ran once an hour, on the half hour. And we got there about 11:15 am. So we thought we had a long wait ahead of us. But a ferry soon arrived and we got right on. It turned out there were two ferries running today.

We had been planning on stopping at the Cliffs of Moher on the way to Doolin, but when we got there it was so foggy that we couldn’t see anything. So we decided instead to head into The Burren. But first we stopped in Lisdoonvarna, which is famous for its yearly matchmaking festival. I had seen a movie about 15 years ago called “The Matchmaker” that was set in Lisdoonvarna (although not filmed there). So I really wanted to stop. It wasn’t that interesting, just a couple of pretty pubs.

Okay, now for a little geology lesson. The Burren is what geologists call a karst topography. It’s made of limestone bedrock that is extremely sensitive to weathering. The wind and the rain carve their way through the rock, creating lots of crevices and holes and caves underneath. Normal topography drains water through streams, lakes, and rivers. But in karst topography, there are so many holes in the limestone that the water drains straight down. There are areas where water does collect when it’s been rainy, similar to lakes. But they are called turloughs.

A unique feature of The Burren is that it is also glaciated. So the glaciers have exposed all of the limestone bedrock. There are some areas that have flat limestone “pavements”, but there are also mountains that have been scraped down to the bare rock.

So our first stop in The Burren was The Burren Center. My Rick Steves guidebook was pretty sparse on this area. He covered it as a one day drive through. But we were spending more time here because we wanted to dosome hiking. So when we got to The Burren center, we asked about where we could go hike. And the lady showed us on a map where to go. She was very helpful.

But by this time it was already about 3:30 pm, so we didn’t have time today. Instead, we started the Rick Steves drive. Here are the highlights:

– Kilfenora Church: this was right next to The Burren Center and the church itself was not that interesting. But they had a couple of Celtic high crosses, and some other interesting architectural features.

· Carran Church: not mentioned by Rick, but right next to the road. There were also a couple of very pretty horses right across the road.

· Poulnabrone Dolmen: this is probably one of the most famous ancient sites in Ireland. It’s a very picturesque portal tomb, with portal stones on the sides holding up a cap stone on top. And it was surrounded by limestone pavement. There were lots of tour buses here at the same time as us. And it was very annoying. I don’t like lots of random people in my pictures.

· Overlook of The Burren Mountains: thankfully the fog had cleared up enough by this time. So we were able to see the mountains as we drove back towards Doolin. These mountains are definitely very unique, with there rocky stepped appearance.

We made it to Doolin about 6:15 pm, to our very picturesque lodging for the night, the Half Door B&B. And we were a little bit shocked at how little hospitality there was. The guy just quickly showed us our room, how to order breakfast, get WiFi, etc. But the location of the B&B was excellent. We were literally right across the road from one of Doolin’s pubs (McDermott’s), and another was just across a bridge (McGann’s).

We were starving, so we went to McGann’s for dinner. We both had the Irish Beef stew and it was very, very good. Then we went back to the B&B for a while to blog.

Mom was really tired from driving all day (until I took over just before Doolin). So she decided to skip music tonight. I went to McDermott’s first, and there was a group of young people there (banjo, violin, & bodhran). They were pretty good, so I stayed for a pint of Guinness. But it started to sound the same after a while.

So I walked over to McGann’s, where the music was amazing. They had a couple of young guys, one on a flute and one on a banjo. And an older couple. The woman sang/played bodhran, and the man palyed guitar. It was a great combination and I stayed for a couple of pints.

Lessons of the day:

1. If you have a long drive, make sure to split up the trip between more than one driver. Otherwise, you may have one person that’s really tired that night.

2. Tour buses suck. You must be very, very patient in order to get pictures with no people in them.

Guiness Count = 10

Today was a lazy day

Today was a lazy day Dingle, Ireland

Dingle, Ireland

We were both kind of tired of sightseeing today. We’d had six straight days filled with some pretty amazing experiences. And we needed a break. So we spent the morning at Pax House, enjoying the somewhat misty views and catching up on blogging. For some reason I wasn’t able to upload pictures to my blog, and even loading web pages was taking forever. Eventually I just used mom’s netbook and it worked great.

We finally left about 12:15 pm. Our original plan was to see a couple things east of Dingle, then hike up to Eask Tower to the west of Dingle, then drive up to Connor Pass to the north of Dingle. But since it was misty out, we decided to head east first and hope that it cleared up later.

Our first stop was Minard Castle, on old castle ruin with cracks running down the two remaining walls. It was situated on a bluff above a lovely beach.

Our next stop was a wedge tomb that was supposed to be above the village of Lispole. Rick’s directions said to park the car in Doonties and walk to the top of the ridge. Well, we couldn’t find Doonties. It wasn’t on any of our maps. We took the road up above Lispole and then followed hiking signs that we saw. When the hiking trail went off the road, we figured that was the spot. We had passed several hikers on the way, so we assumed they were headed the same direction.

So we parked the car and headed up and across a cute cow-filled field. Then we had to hop a fence and go down a country lane. When we saw a “Beware of Dogs” sign we didn’t think much of it. Even when we approached a barn and lots of loud barking commenced. Then we saw a few dogs that were loose. They started running at us, one bull dog and a couple of border collies. And unfortunately one of the collies bit mom in the back of the leg. Luckily she was wearing jeans today, so the dog’s teeth didn’t break the skin. But it did cause a big scrape. We think that maybe mom’s hiking poles aggravated the dogs. They didn’t even bother the hikers behind us.

After checking to make sure mom was okay, we continued on and realized we were in a clump of houses. And we were starting to wonder if we were in the right place. Some hikers came up behind us, so we asked them if they knew where the wedge tomb was. And they had no idea.

So we figured we were probably in the wrong place, and we should probably just turn around and go back to the car. But we really didn’t want to go by those dogs again. The trail was just passing a paved road, and I was pretty sure that it would lead us back to the car eventually. So we headed down it. And we did make it back to the car, although it was a much longer route. But we passed a field full of cute calves that were all moo-ing at us. It was really funny. Cows are loud.

So the entire time we were hiking, the mist had gotten worse and it had started to rain. The clouds were down on top of the mountains, so we figured it wasn’t worth it to go to the Eask Tower or Connor Pass. So we decided we’d had enough sightseeing for the day.

We went back to the Pax House, to get mom some first aid. Then we headed into Dingle. Today was the final time trial of the Tour de France and I really wanted to see it (it would decide the winner). So we went for a late lunch at The Dingle Pub and asked them to put the Tour on their TV. The pub was really cool, and we had some yummy toasted sandwiches. I had some Harp with my food, but it didn’t even taste like beer after all the Guinness I’ve had lately.

We arrived at a good time because all of the Tour de France leaders were just starting the time trial. The commentary was in Gaelic, though, so I couldn’t really tell what was going on. Luckily the pub had free WiFi, so I used my Tour de France app. It was posting all Tour-related tweets so I could get updates on the time checks. But I was very disappointed because Andy Schleck had a horrible time trial and lost the tour. Congratulations to Cadel Evans, though, he deserved the win.

After the Tour was over, we went and walked around Dingle, browsing through the shops and taking pictures of cool buildings. We stopped at a jewelry shop because mom wanted to buy a Claddagh ring. I’d been thinking about it too and they had a perfect one, where the band was a Celtic braid. So we got matching rings!

We went back to the Pax House for a while, before heading out to listen to music. One of the ladies in a shop had recommended that we go to O’Sullivan’s. She said the flute/pipes player was very good. So we went to town just after 9 pm, when they were supposed to start. So we were just in time to get a seat at the bar and watch them set up.

At first it was just the flute guy and the same guitar player from last night. The one that was bad. So I wasn’t too hopeful. But the flute player was really, really good. So we stayed. But then a pipes player showed up and the flute guy switched to pipes. And at first it was really cool, because we hadn’t heard any pipes yet. But it was really loud with two of them. So we left as soon as I finished my second Guinness.

We next went back to The Dingle Pub, but it was the same boring guitar player from last night. So we quickly excited. Then we went to the Small Bridge Bar. And it was the same violin player from last night, the one that was bad. But this time she was paired with a different guitar player and it sounded really, really good. So we stayed for one more pint of Guinness before leaving.

Lessons of the day:

1. I need a new netbook before my next trip. I’ll be using mom’s netbook to upload blogs from now on.

2. Hiking poles can double as weapons. Remember that if there’s a pack of dogs running at you (we didn’t).

3. The goodness of Irish music can depend on: (1) the sound system, and (2), which musicians are paired together. We were a bit shocked that the bad violin player from last night was a really good violin player tonight. The only difference was a better sound system and a better guitar player accompanying her.

Guinness Count = 7

Slowin’ Down in Dingle

Slowin' Down in Dingle Dingle, Ireland

Dingle, Ireland

Today we toured the Dingle Peninsula. Here are the highlights:

* Dunbeg Fort: a series of defensive ramparts, set dramatically on a hillside next to the sea. There were more sheep here, a horse, and donkey.

* Beehive huts #1: these are round stone huts shaped kind of like beehives. Hence, the name. Here, there were a couple of beehive huts that were part of a walled structure.

* Beehive huts #2: we enjoyed these better, partly because the huts were more interesting. But mostly because of Mary, who took our 2 EUR from the house next door to the huts. She was at least 80 and was very happy to see us, thanking us many times. She was also very excited because her grandson was arriving that night from America. Later we learned that her son had been a fireman in 9/11.

* Slea (slay) Head: great views of the coastline. We stopped at a pull off shortly afterwards where a guy was selling slate painted with ogham (ohm) writing, an ancient Celtic script that used lines instead of an alphabet. I bought two to hang up in my condo. One means “sleinte” (slahn-cha), which means “cheers” in Gaelic. And the other means “gar” (love).We also sat at the lookout while we ate our lunch (sandwiches & apples that we had bought at the Dingle SuperValu in the morning)

* Dunmore Head: this is the westernmost point in Europe. We did a short hike to the top, where there were great views and an ogham stone.

* Gallarus Oratory: one of Ireland’s best preserved early Christian churches. It’s still waterproof. We weren’t too impressed. It looked like the picture and that was it.

* Reasc Monastery: the ruins of an old monastery. We found this very interesting, partly for the setting and partly because no one else was there. It was hard to find, with just a small white sign pointing down the easy to miss lane. We completely missed it the first time and didn’t realize it until we got to the Gallarus Oratory. And then we missed it the second time, even after we saw the sign.

* Kilmalkedar: the ruins of a church surrounded by a very interesting graveyard. There was also an ogham stone with a hill drilled through it. Locals used to use it to seal deals by standing on the graves of their ancestors and touching thumbs through the hole. Today people still use it to renew wedding vows.

We made it back to the Pax House about 2 pm and didn’t feel like doing anything else that day. Plus, the sun was out! So we just hung out for a while. I sat outside on the balcony, basking in the sun, taking in the incredible view, and catching up on the Tour de France. I was very excited that Andy Schleck had taken over first place because I really wanted him to win. We got served tea and I had some fun throwing a tennis ball for the dog Rio.

We also asked our host, John, about an archaeology tour we had planned to take tomorrow. But he said it basically went to the same sights we had seen today. So he canceled our reservations for us.

We had a late dinner at John Benny Moriarity pub. I had some fish & chips that were really good. Then we stayed for some traditional Irish music. It was a guy on guitar and a girl on violin. We stayed for three songs and then left because they weren’t very good. Then we went back to Murphy’s Bar, since the music last night had been so good. And it sounded really cool when we went in. There were two guys on a guitar & banjo, singing fun songs. But it quickly started sounding the same, and we got tired of it. By that time it was getting late, so we just decided to head home.

On the walk back to the car, we passed some great-sounding music at a different pub called Mack & Jack’s, but it was too crowded so we kept walking. We were really kinda disappointed that we hadn’t been able to find any good music.

Lessons of the day:

1. Don’t always rely on luck. Sometimes you have to search out fun experiences. Up to now we had been really lucky in our musical experiences. I guess we just assumed that there was good Irish music everywhere. But tonight we learned that sometimes you have to search out the good music.

2. If you’re trying to find good Irish music, don’t order a Guinness until you’ve listened to the music for a while. At the second pub tonight, I ordered a pint of Guinness before we’d really even listened to anything. And then we had to stay a while so that I could finish it.

3. Sometimes Rick Steves doesn’t tell you all the useful information. Mr Steves didn’t tell us anything about the hike up Dunmore Head. And he should have mentioned that the Archaeology tour covered the same things as the loop drive.

Guinness Count = 4 (we were at the first bar for a long time!)

It’s gonna be hard to top this

It's gonna be hard to top this Dingle, Ireland

Dingle, Ireland

Okay, very short and sweet:

1. Took a boat trip to Skellig Michael in the morning. It’s a craggy island that juts up out of the ocean. There was a colony of monks that lived there and built a stair case and huts at the top. It’s been abandoned for a thousand years, but the construction was so good that the huts are still water-tight and wind-proof. One of the best experiences of my life. Puffins right next to the stairs. Incredible views. Only downside was all the people. Hard to get people-free pictures. Met a guy from Germany who was having the same problem. Went by Little Skellig on the ride back. Had bird colony of 20,000 Gannetts. Amazing!

2. Visited a couple of ring forts near Cahersiveen. They were very cool, one was about 30 feet high at one end. Beautiful setting.

3. Drove 2 hours to Dingle, on another peninsula. Arrived at the Pax House. Incredible views of Dingle Harbor and the green countryside lined with hedge rows. The hospitality from our host John was amazing. Gave us an overview of the whole area. We got served tea and felt like royalty.

4. Went to Murphy’s Pub in Dingle for dinner. Stayed for music that was awesome, but we were tired so we left after a half hour. Had another Murphy’s Stout, then tried my first Guinness ever! And I liked it! Very shocking.

Lessons of the day:

1. Why spend lots of time blogging, when you could be in Irish Pubs eating good food or hearing great music?

2. A picture is worth a thousand words.