Ireland Travel Journal, Part I

31 August, 7:36 a.m. – My flight touched down about an hour early, which meant no sun with which to get my first glimpse of the grand scope of Ireland; but no matter, for the island was covered in cloud anyway!
My first view came near Dublin – I saw blocks of country and city, intermingled as if in Loudoun, except that the green of the fields and the blue of the clouds were unlike anything I’ve ever seen… another one of the first things I saw was a line of wind turbines. I will have to tell Emily that Ireland supports wind energy.
Dublin seems to have a pretty quiet airport – at least early on a Monday morning. Seems a fair mix of travelers for business and holiday.
Allis should be coming through immigration any moment now – better watch for her. I am anxious for a cup of coffee – I hear it is good here, and I didn’t sleep on the plane.
11:30 a.m. – Arrived at Castledermot through the rain and detours – Allis is a great driver, even on the other side of the road!
Eating lunch at the Mad Hatter Café – cute deli in the centre of town. Potato leek soup and soda bread is the order of the moment. Delicious and hits the spot on a chilly day!

7:30 p.m. – After a grueling day of travel through heavy rain, we have arrived safely in Kilkenny. After lunch we checked out the Castledermot ruins, which were pretty cool. We had a terrible time trying to find the hostel, but once we did and no one was here, we were obliged to return to town. Finding the actual town of Kilkenny was quite a chore, but well worth it. The very cute downtown is all brightly coloured storefronts and stacked-on-one-another streets. So charming. When I stopped to pick up some sandwiches, I was engaged in conversation by two locals (where was I from, how long was I in town, dreadful weather – we swear it doesn’t usually rain like this!). The clouds broke as we returned to the streets and it turned into a lovely, sunny afternoon.
We got to the hostel around 6 and took a long walk, and quite a few pictures. I will be quite ready for bed the moment the sun goes down.
So, so gorgeous and peaceful here… I just love it.









1 September, 12:15 p.m. – Woke with the sun this morning and did some reading while I waited for Allis to wake. We had the whole room to ourselves, so I was able to curl up in a corner and enjoy the early morning light.
We left the hostel around 9 for the gorgeous drive to Cashel. We arrived at the Rock around 10:15 and had a lovely tour of an amazing site! Just sitting down for lunch in the town of Cashel. The place seems great – strangely, the music is Brittany Spears’ first CD – so random. Rain and sun alternately today – much better than yesterday by far.
Great lunch at Brian Boru, which gave us energy to explore the town of Cashel and browse numerous shops. More lovely sunshine! Making a put stop at the car presently, then going to investigate a path at the base of the Rock.
7:45 p.m. – Back at the hostel after a long, tiring day. Right after the last entry we had a great walk under the Rock to Hore Abbey – ruins dating to the 13th century, some as some of the oldest buildings on the Rock. Cows wandering about, sporadic rain fits.
We took a leisurely drive back to Kilkenny, being “off the map” for some of it – but never really far gone. Amazing how familiar this part of the countryside has already become!
We wandered Kilkenny a while and spent the longest time finding a place to have dinner. Even after we settled on a place we ended up entering the wrong restaurant (confusing doors) and so my efforts to procure fish, chips, and Guinness were foiled. The Italian-Asian fusion lounge that played American jazz music had decent pizza, though, I can’t believe I ate pizza in Ireland.
I liked Kilkenny, the very homey feel (bolstered by the spirit-filled signs raised on behalf of the beloved local hurling team, the Kilkenny Cats), but I am glad we will be moving on tomorrow. Allis keeps saying this is far from the prettiest part, and I am very ready to be wowed.
I should say a word about the hostel, too – I was too tired to make much of a note about it last night – but it is a castle indeed. Our room, a suite of five bunk beds, is up several slights of very narrow, very circular stairs. The rooms, especially downstairs, and pretty fun – there’s even an old style banquet hall!



2 September, 9:45 a.m. – On the road again! We are well south of Kilkenny, nearing Waterford, en route to the mountains. Stopped in Knocktopher for coffee and petrol. Tried to pay with my credit card and it didn’t work – not terribly surprised but hoping not damaged. Will see when we hit an ATM.
The countryside is a mixture of large, stone-walled pastures and lines of trees. Hedges are so high along some of the back roads that it is hard to see!
1:00 p.m. – Ended up in Waterford to wait out the weather to no avail. Cute town though! Did some shopping, though – slowly making headway on my gift list, and a few things for me, too! Grabbed a little food at O’Briens. Determined that the coffee here is better than U.S. coffee for sure. Chai – not so much.
Also, next to pubs, the most common Irish establishment seems to be “bookmakets” – places to place bets of all sorts. Very into sports and gambling here!
Waterford was the first permanent Viking settlement in Ireland. We drove by the famous Viking tower that dates to 1,000 B.C. as well as the crystal factory (can’t afford anything there so didn’t figure there was a point in stopping!). Listening to a CD of Irish reels, jigs, and ballads procured in town. We’re going to skip the mountains we planned on visiting on account of low visibility – boo!
2:00 p.m. – Quite foggy still but some lovely views as we skirt the southern coast. Just got some shots of Dungarven Harbour – the first ocean views I’ve seem here from land!
Much of the countryside here is reminiscence of the Pacific Northwest – Tillamook County comes to mind – and/or Maine according to Allis.
Interesting to see the very visible scars of the past – signs noting “Famine Graveyard” and “Museum of War and Famine.” There is a reason part of the Irish character is so dark; this land has seen much hardship and suffering.
5:30 p.m. – Finally stopped raining – huzzah! Arrived in Kinsale around 3. Walked around town and out to the Scilly Peninsula, a lunch, quiet area. Stopped in at The Spaniard for tea – lovely authentic seaside-pub ambiance and a few locals about. Also got us out of yet another deluge of rain!
We returned to the car and rove across the habour for the James Fort area. We wandered at first, stopped at a cool old graveyard (still appears to be in use) with great views. Finally found direction to the fort and slogged up the hill – got rather wet but definitely worth it. Great overlook of Charles Fort, Kinsale to the other side, and the surrounding hamlets – nearly to the ocean. Very windy but sunny and lovely.
8:30 p.m. – Change of plans tonight. We had dinner (my fish, chips and Guinness – finally! Yay!) in downtown Kinsale. Allis, being rather tired suggested finding quarters here rather than bother driving up to Cork. Accommodations were discovered easily enough – across the street directly from the restaurant – at a place at Tierney’s Guest House, a little four room bed and breakfast with real beds, linens, and a shower you don’t have to push to make work. Amazing how good it feels after just tonight at the rather rudimentary hostel.
Going out in a little while for some trad! I am SO excited!




Kinsale at night