Sunday, November 30, 2003
Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona!!
Oh yes, deanna and i have arrived in barcelona after many weeks of anticipation and dreaming. and it´s everything and more than we expected. we arrived last night, after a full 12 hours of travelling and about an hour of panic because our bus from limerick was late and it looked like we wouldn´t make our flight. but we did, and here we are. and we love it!
the city itself is beautiful - amazing architecture, gorgeous streets, the mediterranean and warm weather. the coffee and pastries for breakfast are a tradition we plan on bringing back to canada with us, as well as the full pitcher of sangria with dinner.
today we visited the picasso museum (i loved it but the more discerning deanna was a bit disappointed), the Cathedral, some impressive buskers, the Parc Guell (designed by Gaudi and very topsy turvy and crazy curvy) and then some wandering down La Rambla, the main street.
so so good.
Oh yes, deanna and i have arrived in barcelona after many weeks of anticipation and dreaming. and it´s everything and more than we expected. we arrived last night, after a full 12 hours of travelling and about an hour of panic because our bus from limerick was late and it looked like we wouldn´t make our flight. but we did, and here we are. and we love it!
the city itself is beautiful - amazing architecture, gorgeous streets, the mediterranean and warm weather. the coffee and pastries for breakfast are a tradition we plan on bringing back to canada with us, as well as the full pitcher of sangria with dinner.
today we visited the picasso museum (i loved it but the more discerning deanna was a bit disappointed), the Cathedral, some impressive buskers, the Parc Guell (designed by Gaudi and very topsy turvy and crazy curvy) and then some wandering down La Rambla, the main street.
so so good.
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
Team Belfast
Friday night, 5:50pm - team belfast prepares to leave limerick once again for a whirlwind trip of sightseeing. Note here that Team Belfast's numbers have increased by 50% as Kansan Luke Conyac was a last minute addition. Luke comes fully qualified as an Irish Rover having grown up on a farm in western Kansas, attended law school in Topeka and is now in Limerick on exchange like Deanna.
6:30pm - team boards bus at Limerick Bus Station, ready for the four hour trip ahead to Dublin.
8:30pm - team decides they hate the bus and wish collectively they had gotten their act together to rent a car. Sarah apologizes profusely for having chosen seats near a particularly bad smelling baby.
10:30pm - team happily disembarks from bus in Dublin, hails a cab and is zipped along to an apartment somewhere in Dublin. Deanna's lovely friends Anna and Darin are living in Dublin as Anna is doing a work exchange there and they've allowed us to stay at their place while they're currently touring the south of France. The apartment is lovely but somewhat tiny and hotel-like in appearance. One room and a bathroom. No kitchen. Kind of odd but very comfortable.
11:00pm - team heads out in search of food and drink. The ManWah Chinese takeaway satisfied the hunger and some unidentified pub down the road provided the pints.
12:30am - team gets some much needed rest.
6:15am - dreaded alarm goes off. team members slowly extract themselves from beds/sleeping bags on floor and prepare for the next leg of the trip to belfast.
7:15am - team heads outside and hail a taxi to get to the bus station.
8am - another bus is boarded for a three hour trip to Northern Ireland. Passports are at the ready and Luke decides not to worry that he's overstayed his visa in Ireland.
10am - team notices that they've entered Northern Ireland with nary a stop. No border patrol here obviously.
11am - arrival in Belfast!! First stop: coffee. Great coffee and bagels were enjoyed by the team, sarah chats up the guy serving at the counter and discovers he's from Port Coquitlam. What a small world! Deanna then successfully (as usual) navigates us toward a bank where euros are exchanged for pounds. We then happen upon a (rather pathetic) Santa Claus parade and picutres are taken of mystery snow creatures and large blow up nutcrackers.
12pm - check-in at the hostel goes relatively roughly. we discover our beds are occupied but after a while it's all sorted out. We leave to tour the city. Sarah is nominated to carry the Lonely Planet and navigate around the city. Mistake Number One.
1pm - Team Belfast wanders around the massive City Hall, sarah chats up the security guards and discovers there's a tour of the fortress/castle/rather showy building at 2:30. We continue on our way, sarah attempting to find the Crown Liquor Saloon on the map.
1:15pm - the team happily stumbles upon the Belfast International Beer Festival. Admittance is free, a half-pint is only a pound and there's over 70 different varieties. The smile on Luke's face can't get any bigger.
2:20pm - after consuming several half-pints (mostly by Luke) and getting their pictures taken with paper beer mugs on their heads, the team heads to the City Hall, a little tipsier and giddier than when they left it.
3:15pm - the really long city hall tour is over, the team manages to hide in the back and not giggle too loudly or break anything. Luke does have to make an emergency trip to the ladies' room, but no damage was done.
5:30pm - team belfast is getting hungry. The Crown Liquor Saloon, Opera House, St. Albert Memorial, Europa Hotel (bombed 45 times and thus in the Guinness Book of World Records) were sufficiently ogled and now it's time for more sustenance. The team stops at an affordable restaurant where Sarah and Deanna consume hockey pucks disguised as hamburgers and Luke is treated to lukewarm pasta with chewy bacon. Mmmmm.
1am - Team Belfast returns from a night checking out the several bars and pubs along the Golden Mile near Queen's University. Some of their seven roommates appear to already be sleeping and others are still missing.
Sometime During the Night - Sarah is mistakenly poked rather aggressively by a strange boy and is then woken up later to the guy below her "entertaining" a girl he'd managed to pick up. Oh the fun of hostelling.
Sunday, 9am - Team Belfast is in the lobby of the hostel, a little worse for wear, waiting for the tour bus for the Giant's Causeway to arrive. No breakfast is in sight and we're told we're too far from any open shops to run and grab something.
9:20am - the bus is now 20 minutes late.
10am - the Team is well on their way to the Giant's Causeway. The bus driver is quite a funny Northern Irishman who thinks the best joke in the world is saying that he's gay. Not so politically correct, but when in Northern Ireland ...
Noon - the bus stops at a wee town called Ballycastle for lunch. On the way we could see across the water 13 miles to Scotland and we stopped a few times for pictures. Lunch was alright - a cup of soup and four different triangles of sandwiches. Deanna and I held off on the tuna and Luke just couldn't seem to finish his brown sauce and cheese.
1pm - the Giant's Causeway! Thousands of octagonal stone columns rising from the sea. We were allowed to clamber along the rocks to our heart's content for an hour and a half. the scenery was gorgeous, some clear sky, a rainbow, breaking waves.
2:30pm - back on the bus and heading for the Bushmill's Distillery. We took a tour and learned all about how whiskey is made. Deanna volunteered to do a tasting at the end of the tour and before you knew it, she was seated in front of eight shots.
4:00pm - Deanna is fully loaded after her eight shots of whiskey and becomes entranced with the green hats in the Bushmills' giftshop.
4:20pm - back on the bus and heading back to Belfast. The team is getting very hungry and plans to eat at the Belfast bus station.
5:50pm - Team arrives at the bus station and hears the last call for the bus to Dublin. So much for dinner.
8:30pm - a famished and slowly emaciating Team Belfast arrives back in Dublin. Discussion with regard to dropping our bags at the apartment first, or eating whatever's in sight first. Bags were subsequently dropped, dinner was eaten and the Team collapses back in Anna and Darin's apartment.
6:15am Monday - Sarah's alarm goes off, signalling it's time to once again get up and catch the bus. At 7am Sarah and Luke head away, leaving Deanna to the luxurious apartment and Dublin for another couple of days. It was a whirlwind trip, but lots of fun.
7pm Monday - Sarah receives a phone call from a very happy Deanna. She is on her way to a singing pub crawl and had sushi for lunch. She reports she is staying in Dublin forever and never returning to Limerick.
Friday night, 5:50pm - team belfast prepares to leave limerick once again for a whirlwind trip of sightseeing. Note here that Team Belfast's numbers have increased by 50% as Kansan Luke Conyac was a last minute addition. Luke comes fully qualified as an Irish Rover having grown up on a farm in western Kansas, attended law school in Topeka and is now in Limerick on exchange like Deanna.
6:30pm - team boards bus at Limerick Bus Station, ready for the four hour trip ahead to Dublin.
8:30pm - team decides they hate the bus and wish collectively they had gotten their act together to rent a car. Sarah apologizes profusely for having chosen seats near a particularly bad smelling baby.
10:30pm - team happily disembarks from bus in Dublin, hails a cab and is zipped along to an apartment somewhere in Dublin. Deanna's lovely friends Anna and Darin are living in Dublin as Anna is doing a work exchange there and they've allowed us to stay at their place while they're currently touring the south of France. The apartment is lovely but somewhat tiny and hotel-like in appearance. One room and a bathroom. No kitchen. Kind of odd but very comfortable.
11:00pm - team heads out in search of food and drink. The ManWah Chinese takeaway satisfied the hunger and some unidentified pub down the road provided the pints.
12:30am - team gets some much needed rest.
6:15am - dreaded alarm goes off. team members slowly extract themselves from beds/sleeping bags on floor and prepare for the next leg of the trip to belfast.
7:15am - team heads outside and hail a taxi to get to the bus station.
8am - another bus is boarded for a three hour trip to Northern Ireland. Passports are at the ready and Luke decides not to worry that he's overstayed his visa in Ireland.
10am - team notices that they've entered Northern Ireland with nary a stop. No border patrol here obviously.
11am - arrival in Belfast!! First stop: coffee. Great coffee and bagels were enjoyed by the team, sarah chats up the guy serving at the counter and discovers he's from Port Coquitlam. What a small world! Deanna then successfully (as usual) navigates us toward a bank where euros are exchanged for pounds. We then happen upon a (rather pathetic) Santa Claus parade and picutres are taken of mystery snow creatures and large blow up nutcrackers.
12pm - check-in at the hostel goes relatively roughly. we discover our beds are occupied but after a while it's all sorted out. We leave to tour the city. Sarah is nominated to carry the Lonely Planet and navigate around the city. Mistake Number One.
1pm - Team Belfast wanders around the massive City Hall, sarah chats up the security guards and discovers there's a tour of the fortress/castle/rather showy building at 2:30. We continue on our way, sarah attempting to find the Crown Liquor Saloon on the map.
1:15pm - the team happily stumbles upon the Belfast International Beer Festival. Admittance is free, a half-pint is only a pound and there's over 70 different varieties. The smile on Luke's face can't get any bigger.
2:20pm - after consuming several half-pints (mostly by Luke) and getting their pictures taken with paper beer mugs on their heads, the team heads to the City Hall, a little tipsier and giddier than when they left it.
3:15pm - the really long city hall tour is over, the team manages to hide in the back and not giggle too loudly or break anything. Luke does have to make an emergency trip to the ladies' room, but no damage was done.
5:30pm - team belfast is getting hungry. The Crown Liquor Saloon, Opera House, St. Albert Memorial, Europa Hotel (bombed 45 times and thus in the Guinness Book of World Records) were sufficiently ogled and now it's time for more sustenance. The team stops at an affordable restaurant where Sarah and Deanna consume hockey pucks disguised as hamburgers and Luke is treated to lukewarm pasta with chewy bacon. Mmmmm.
1am - Team Belfast returns from a night checking out the several bars and pubs along the Golden Mile near Queen's University. Some of their seven roommates appear to already be sleeping and others are still missing.
Sometime During the Night - Sarah is mistakenly poked rather aggressively by a strange boy and is then woken up later to the guy below her "entertaining" a girl he'd managed to pick up. Oh the fun of hostelling.
Sunday, 9am - Team Belfast is in the lobby of the hostel, a little worse for wear, waiting for the tour bus for the Giant's Causeway to arrive. No breakfast is in sight and we're told we're too far from any open shops to run and grab something.
9:20am - the bus is now 20 minutes late.
10am - the Team is well on their way to the Giant's Causeway. The bus driver is quite a funny Northern Irishman who thinks the best joke in the world is saying that he's gay. Not so politically correct, but when in Northern Ireland ...
Noon - the bus stops at a wee town called Ballycastle for lunch. On the way we could see across the water 13 miles to Scotland and we stopped a few times for pictures. Lunch was alright - a cup of soup and four different triangles of sandwiches. Deanna and I held off on the tuna and Luke just couldn't seem to finish his brown sauce and cheese.
1pm - the Giant's Causeway! Thousands of octagonal stone columns rising from the sea. We were allowed to clamber along the rocks to our heart's content for an hour and a half. the scenery was gorgeous, some clear sky, a rainbow, breaking waves.
2:30pm - back on the bus and heading for the Bushmill's Distillery. We took a tour and learned all about how whiskey is made. Deanna volunteered to do a tasting at the end of the tour and before you knew it, she was seated in front of eight shots.
4:00pm - Deanna is fully loaded after her eight shots of whiskey and becomes entranced with the green hats in the Bushmills' giftshop.
4:20pm - back on the bus and heading back to Belfast. The team is getting very hungry and plans to eat at the Belfast bus station.
5:50pm - Team arrives at the bus station and hears the last call for the bus to Dublin. So much for dinner.
8:30pm - a famished and slowly emaciating Team Belfast arrives back in Dublin. Discussion with regard to dropping our bags at the apartment first, or eating whatever's in sight first. Bags were subsequently dropped, dinner was eaten and the Team collapses back in Anna and Darin's apartment.
6:15am Monday - Sarah's alarm goes off, signalling it's time to once again get up and catch the bus. At 7am Sarah and Luke head away, leaving Deanna to the luxurious apartment and Dublin for another couple of days. It was a whirlwind trip, but lots of fun.
7pm Monday - Sarah receives a phone call from a very happy Deanna. She is on her way to a singing pub crawl and had sushi for lunch. She reports she is staying in Dublin forever and never returning to Limerick.
Saturday, November 15, 2003
A Taste of Limerick
The city Deanna and I are living in was once known as "stab city". The locals get offended if you call it this, but the news is rife with headlines about gang killings, stabbings, solicitor beatings and burglaries increasing by 42%.
The following are some jokes which are only funny because they really are true ;-)
Q: If you see a Limerick man on a bicycle, why should
you never swerve to hit him?
A: It might be your bicycle
Q: What do you call a Limerick man in a three-bed
semi?
A: A burglar
Q: Why wasn't Jesus born in Limerick?
A: Because God couldn't find three wise men and a
virgin
Q: What's the difference between a man from Limerick
and a coconut?
A: One's thick and hairy, and the other's a coconut
Q: What do you say to a Limerick man in a uniform?
A: Big Mac and fries please
Q: What's the first question at a Limerick pub quiz
night ?
A: What you looking at?
Q: What do you call a native of Limerick in a White
Shellsuit ?
A: The Bride
Q: Why does a river run through Limerick?
A: Because if it walked, it would probably get mugged
The city Deanna and I are living in was once known as "stab city". The locals get offended if you call it this, but the news is rife with headlines about gang killings, stabbings, solicitor beatings and burglaries increasing by 42%.
The following are some jokes which are only funny because they really are true ;-)
Q: If you see a Limerick man on a bicycle, why should
you never swerve to hit him?
A: It might be your bicycle
Q: What do you call a Limerick man in a three-bed
semi?
A: A burglar
Q: Why wasn't Jesus born in Limerick?
A: Because God couldn't find three wise men and a
virgin
Q: What's the difference between a man from Limerick
and a coconut?
A: One's thick and hairy, and the other's a coconut
Q: What do you say to a Limerick man in a uniform?
A: Big Mac and fries please
Q: What's the first question at a Limerick pub quiz
night ?
A: What you looking at?
Q: What do you call a native of Limerick in a White
Shellsuit ?
A: The Bride
Q: Why does a river run through Limerick?
A: Because if it walked, it would probably get mugged
Monday, November 10, 2003
American Football - Celtic Style
Yesterday I went and watched the first pre-season football game between the University of Limerick Vikings and the University of Cork. It was, I think, the most entertaining game I've ever witnessed.
Our poor team's jerseys hadn't arrived from the manufacturer yet, so the players were on the field in some form of mesh, ripped practice jersey in many shades of blue. Numbers were literally spraypainted on the back. There weren't enough jerseys or equipment to go around so as the offense came off, they were passing shoulder pads and shirts to the defense. They didn't worry about leg equipment as most guys didn't have the proper pants and were just wearing shorts anyway. Soccer boots were used instead of football cleats and chin straps for the helmets were rare. Cork, of course, looked very fancy in their shiny red and white uniforms - complete with chin straps - but this served only to bring out the underdog spirit in Limerick.
Unfortunately, we were pummelled. The score was 36-12 but they were much better. But our guys had loads of enthusiasm and were smiling every time they came off the field. One of the guys on the team is an American from Kansas and he's a bit like their coach also. Deanna and I had gone for drinks with him and another friend the night before, so he was my 'contact' on the team. I arrived after the second quarter, and within half an hour, the other guys were showing me their plays and trying to impress with their knowledge of the NFL.
After refusing several times to become their token cheerleader (there were NO other fans there - it was cold, windy and raining) they just accepted me and I became just like one of the players. It was quite amusing to hear the 20-year old guys discuss what they'd like more at that moment - a nice cup of tea or a pint. I believe after the game the pints won out, but it served to illustrate just how common tea drinking is. I, for one, went home and had a pint.
All in all, it was a very entertaining, if somewhat chilly, afternoon. I'm now invited on their bus going to Cork in two weeks' time, and recruited for the UL intervarsity softball team's game in Waterford next weekend. Evidently there's good craic to be had in both places.
Yesterday I went and watched the first pre-season football game between the University of Limerick Vikings and the University of Cork. It was, I think, the most entertaining game I've ever witnessed.
Our poor team's jerseys hadn't arrived from the manufacturer yet, so the players were on the field in some form of mesh, ripped practice jersey in many shades of blue. Numbers were literally spraypainted on the back. There weren't enough jerseys or equipment to go around so as the offense came off, they were passing shoulder pads and shirts to the defense. They didn't worry about leg equipment as most guys didn't have the proper pants and were just wearing shorts anyway. Soccer boots were used instead of football cleats and chin straps for the helmets were rare. Cork, of course, looked very fancy in their shiny red and white uniforms - complete with chin straps - but this served only to bring out the underdog spirit in Limerick.
Unfortunately, we were pummelled. The score was 36-12 but they were much better. But our guys had loads of enthusiasm and were smiling every time they came off the field. One of the guys on the team is an American from Kansas and he's a bit like their coach also. Deanna and I had gone for drinks with him and another friend the night before, so he was my 'contact' on the team. I arrived after the second quarter, and within half an hour, the other guys were showing me their plays and trying to impress with their knowledge of the NFL.
After refusing several times to become their token cheerleader (there were NO other fans there - it was cold, windy and raining) they just accepted me and I became just like one of the players. It was quite amusing to hear the 20-year old guys discuss what they'd like more at that moment - a nice cup of tea or a pint. I believe after the game the pints won out, but it served to illustrate just how common tea drinking is. I, for one, went home and had a pint.
All in all, it was a very entertaining, if somewhat chilly, afternoon. I'm now invited on their bus going to Cork in two weeks' time, and recruited for the UL intervarsity softball team's game in Waterford next weekend. Evidently there's good craic to be had in both places.
Thursday, November 06, 2003
The Great Waffle Quest of 2003
Last Saturday Deanna and I awoke at the crack of dawn (well, around 8am anyway) to begin our hunt for the elusive limerickian waffle. I had heard from sources, who wish to remain anonymous, that waffles could be found only on Saturday mornings in the "market" downtown. Accordingly, we boarded a bus at 9am on Saturday and the quest began.
The market was really a sight to see. After wandering around for about 20 minutes in between dodgy men standing beside vans selling bootlegged cds, and small children stuck behind tables covered in cell phone covers and chargers, we discovered the area where food is sold. Now this is what we were looking for! A quick survey revealed no actual waffles in attendance, but in their place were crepes. good enough.
The crepes were fabulous, we chatted up the vendors and I was so excited about their wares that I took their picture. And to our delight, they told us they had just opened a crepe/smoothie shop in the city centre. Hurray! Finally we've encountered an eating establishment that doesn't focus on mayonnaise as more than just a condiment.
The crepes really did make our day. After devouring a nutella/banana one, we wandered around the rest of the stalls, buying good cheese, olives, hummous and a lovely looking tart from a man in a bright orange toque. It was wonderful.
We visited the crepe place again yesterday morning and we've now found our new favourite hangout (the old one still being Palermo, the coffee shop in Victoria). Thank goodness it's a 15 minute bus ride away or the four euro crepes (that's about $6.50) would quickly consume our bank accounts.
Last Saturday Deanna and I awoke at the crack of dawn (well, around 8am anyway) to begin our hunt for the elusive limerickian waffle. I had heard from sources, who wish to remain anonymous, that waffles could be found only on Saturday mornings in the "market" downtown. Accordingly, we boarded a bus at 9am on Saturday and the quest began.
The market was really a sight to see. After wandering around for about 20 minutes in between dodgy men standing beside vans selling bootlegged cds, and small children stuck behind tables covered in cell phone covers and chargers, we discovered the area where food is sold. Now this is what we were looking for! A quick survey revealed no actual waffles in attendance, but in their place were crepes. good enough.
The crepes were fabulous, we chatted up the vendors and I was so excited about their wares that I took their picture. And to our delight, they told us they had just opened a crepe/smoothie shop in the city centre. Hurray! Finally we've encountered an eating establishment that doesn't focus on mayonnaise as more than just a condiment.
The crepes really did make our day. After devouring a nutella/banana one, we wandered around the rest of the stalls, buying good cheese, olives, hummous and a lovely looking tart from a man in a bright orange toque. It was wonderful.
We visited the crepe place again yesterday morning and we've now found our new favourite hangout (the old one still being Palermo, the coffee shop in Victoria). Thank goodness it's a 15 minute bus ride away or the four euro crepes (that's about $6.50) would quickly consume our bank accounts.
Monday, November 03, 2003
Driving Adventures
Last weekend Deanna and I rented a car and drove around the west coast. Well, before we embarked on our sight-seeing adventure, we drove to the grocery store (very exciting for us) and stocked up on all groceries heavy and large. And then we drove to a late movie that we would normally have to take two buses to get to. That was also very exciting. Generally after a movie gets out we begin the 150 metre dash across the large movie theatre parking lot to catch the bus but instead on this night we were able to walk leisurely out of the theatre and then play the game of ‘where’s our car?” with all the other movie-goers. It was grand.
A word about the car – it was an almost-brand-new, very zippy, very smooth, jet-black Ford Focus. We loved it, it was our trusty steed through narrow roads, potholes, twisty corners, unsuspecting curbs and confusing roundabouts. It served us well and didn’t so much as groan when we lost two hubcaps and I almost jumped a curb (more about that later).
Day One
Back to the adventure – it began on Saturday morning. We awoke bright and early, packed a gourmet lunch of brie and salami sandwiches (and some fruit too Mom – don’t worry) and set off for the Cliffs of Moher. Deanna drove first and she did a wonderful job. The Cliffs were about an hour and a half away and the drive was very pleasant, lots of green fields, sheep and cows, old stone ruins and thankfully, no rain. We arrived at the Cliffs and joined the crowd of tourists winding their way past the requisite gift shop, over the fence, past the “don’t go past this point” sign and right to the edge of the 200 metre cliffs. The views were amazing, and lying on your stomach with your head hanging over the edge gives the coolest feeling of vertigo. It was a pretty clear and calm day, we could see the Aran Islands and large stone towers and either end of the Cliffs. We walked along the edge for about an hour before turning back to the car and continuing our journey.
We then drove further north before turning east into The Burren National Park. Our roommate Tom describes the Burren as ‘a big field’ but to us Canadians, and Deanna especially so, it is a beautiful rocky landscape of varying shades of brown, very little foliage, and hills rising out of the ground looking like the lines on a topographical map. It was my turn to drive and Deanna ably navigated us down the narrowest paved roads I’ve ever been on, around some switchbacks, past a stone tomb monument that’s thousands of years old but quite unremarkable in my opinion and onto a Perfumery tucked in the bushes. We didn’t buy any perfume but it was an interesting stop all the same. All of the scents were made there using wildflowers that had been harvested in The Burren itself. It was at this Perfumery that Deanna noticed the first hubcap was dangling precariously from the rear left tire. It was removed and placed in the trunk for safekeeping. (I maintain here that this hubcap came off because of the narrow roads and the need to drive in the bushes when passing large trucks. It couldn’t have been avoided really).
After the Perfumery we drove through the town of Gort, around some more old Churches and monasteries and then down some more country roads to the town of Killaloe. Killaloe is a very sweet, typical little Irish town with lots of bright store facades and a lovely stone bridge crossing the river. We didn’t really stop as it was getting late and we were close to home. And then it happened. Two roundabouts from our little house, I was still driving and executing what I thought to be a perfect roundabout manoeuvre when **clunk** I hit the curb. Nudged it really. We certainly didn’t go up onto the sidewalk and I was able to keep driving. Five minutes later we were home, then Deanna noticed the front right hubcap was gone and five minutes after that we were back at the roundabout, looking for the hubcap. Luckily we found it nestled in some bushes and hubcap #2 was then placed into the trunk, again for safekeeping.
Day One Tally: two hubcaps in the trunk and one slightly dented rim.
Day Two
Today we were heading south to the Ring of Kerry, a beautiful 180 km drive around the Iveragh peninsula, ending in the town of Killarney. The drive to the Ring was beautiful, it was a gorgeous, sunny day, the highways were nice and we were in good travelling spirits. We arrived at the beginning of the Ring about 10am and began the drive. We saw lots of the Atlantic and some beautiful shots of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, the highest mountain range in the south I think. At one point we strayed off the main road to find the Skellig Chocolate Factory and this took us through the town of Portmagee and nearly over a bridge to Valentia Island. We never did find the chocolate factory, but we did learn (and I took a picture of it) that Portmagee is home to the Top Toilet in Ireland. Unfortunately the Top Toilet was locked (no wonder it’s so clean) so we were unable to actually use it.
Continuing along, back on the main road, we stopped and had lunch at Derrynane House, at the very tip of the peninsula, on a beautiful white sand beach. After eating lunch we went for a walk, avoided getting hit on the head with a hurley ball (national gaelic sport here – think lacrosse and grass hockey) and visited yet another old ruined Church and cemetery. The drive then turned inland after a while and we were treated to somewhat of a roller coaster ride through the Killarney National Forest. The road was extremely narrow and twisty but the beautiful views of the valleys and the forest canopy overhead more than made up for it (that, and Deanna was driving at this point). We got into Killarney, explored the town, had some dinner at a cheap dodgy diner and then went to a movie and called it a night.
Day Three
After waiting for an hour in our hostel for one of the girls in our room to finish in the shower, we managed to leave Killarney around 9am and headed north to the Dingle Peninsula. I think this may have been my favourite peninsula. There were, once again, lots of green pastures dotted with sheep, beautiful white sand beaches, and twisty and turny roads. It didn’t take us long to reach the tip of the peninsula, known as Slea Head, and we visited the Blasket Island Information Centre there. People lived on the Blasket Islands until 1952, when they decided to abandon it due to lack of a doctor and the unreliable 5km rowboat journey on the Atlantic that was required to reach their homes. The Centre was a wealth of information about the harshness of their lives and about Gaelic in general. After this we went into the town of Dingle, had some fish and chips and then ice cream at a wonderful little shop that made all of the ice cream on site. It was delicious! After basking in the sun for a while, we headed back to Limerick. Not much to remark on for the drive home as we saw more of the Industrial side of Ireland with a few mills churning out smoke along the way.
Tuesday morning we gassed up the little car, re-attached the two hubcaps and said a little prayer about the dented rim. Luckily, the rental agency didn’t notice the (very small really) dent and so we weren’t charged. It cost 80 euro for the rental from Friday night to Tuesday morning, which I think, was a pretty good deal. And now that we’ve driven on the left-hand side we feel pretty confident :-)
Last weekend Deanna and I rented a car and drove around the west coast. Well, before we embarked on our sight-seeing adventure, we drove to the grocery store (very exciting for us) and stocked up on all groceries heavy and large. And then we drove to a late movie that we would normally have to take two buses to get to. That was also very exciting. Generally after a movie gets out we begin the 150 metre dash across the large movie theatre parking lot to catch the bus but instead on this night we were able to walk leisurely out of the theatre and then play the game of ‘where’s our car?” with all the other movie-goers. It was grand.
A word about the car – it was an almost-brand-new, very zippy, very smooth, jet-black Ford Focus. We loved it, it was our trusty steed through narrow roads, potholes, twisty corners, unsuspecting curbs and confusing roundabouts. It served us well and didn’t so much as groan when we lost two hubcaps and I almost jumped a curb (more about that later).
Day One
Back to the adventure – it began on Saturday morning. We awoke bright and early, packed a gourmet lunch of brie and salami sandwiches (and some fruit too Mom – don’t worry) and set off for the Cliffs of Moher. Deanna drove first and she did a wonderful job. The Cliffs were about an hour and a half away and the drive was very pleasant, lots of green fields, sheep and cows, old stone ruins and thankfully, no rain. We arrived at the Cliffs and joined the crowd of tourists winding their way past the requisite gift shop, over the fence, past the “don’t go past this point” sign and right to the edge of the 200 metre cliffs. The views were amazing, and lying on your stomach with your head hanging over the edge gives the coolest feeling of vertigo. It was a pretty clear and calm day, we could see the Aran Islands and large stone towers and either end of the Cliffs. We walked along the edge for about an hour before turning back to the car and continuing our journey.
We then drove further north before turning east into The Burren National Park. Our roommate Tom describes the Burren as ‘a big field’ but to us Canadians, and Deanna especially so, it is a beautiful rocky landscape of varying shades of brown, very little foliage, and hills rising out of the ground looking like the lines on a topographical map. It was my turn to drive and Deanna ably navigated us down the narrowest paved roads I’ve ever been on, around some switchbacks, past a stone tomb monument that’s thousands of years old but quite unremarkable in my opinion and onto a Perfumery tucked in the bushes. We didn’t buy any perfume but it was an interesting stop all the same. All of the scents were made there using wildflowers that had been harvested in The Burren itself. It was at this Perfumery that Deanna noticed the first hubcap was dangling precariously from the rear left tire. It was removed and placed in the trunk for safekeeping. (I maintain here that this hubcap came off because of the narrow roads and the need to drive in the bushes when passing large trucks. It couldn’t have been avoided really).
After the Perfumery we drove through the town of Gort, around some more old Churches and monasteries and then down some more country roads to the town of Killaloe. Killaloe is a very sweet, typical little Irish town with lots of bright store facades and a lovely stone bridge crossing the river. We didn’t really stop as it was getting late and we were close to home. And then it happened. Two roundabouts from our little house, I was still driving and executing what I thought to be a perfect roundabout manoeuvre when **clunk** I hit the curb. Nudged it really. We certainly didn’t go up onto the sidewalk and I was able to keep driving. Five minutes later we were home, then Deanna noticed the front right hubcap was gone and five minutes after that we were back at the roundabout, looking for the hubcap. Luckily we found it nestled in some bushes and hubcap #2 was then placed into the trunk, again for safekeeping.
Day One Tally: two hubcaps in the trunk and one slightly dented rim.
Day Two
Today we were heading south to the Ring of Kerry, a beautiful 180 km drive around the Iveragh peninsula, ending in the town of Killarney. The drive to the Ring was beautiful, it was a gorgeous, sunny day, the highways were nice and we were in good travelling spirits. We arrived at the beginning of the Ring about 10am and began the drive. We saw lots of the Atlantic and some beautiful shots of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, the highest mountain range in the south I think. At one point we strayed off the main road to find the Skellig Chocolate Factory and this took us through the town of Portmagee and nearly over a bridge to Valentia Island. We never did find the chocolate factory, but we did learn (and I took a picture of it) that Portmagee is home to the Top Toilet in Ireland. Unfortunately the Top Toilet was locked (no wonder it’s so clean) so we were unable to actually use it.
Continuing along, back on the main road, we stopped and had lunch at Derrynane House, at the very tip of the peninsula, on a beautiful white sand beach. After eating lunch we went for a walk, avoided getting hit on the head with a hurley ball (national gaelic sport here – think lacrosse and grass hockey) and visited yet another old ruined Church and cemetery. The drive then turned inland after a while and we were treated to somewhat of a roller coaster ride through the Killarney National Forest. The road was extremely narrow and twisty but the beautiful views of the valleys and the forest canopy overhead more than made up for it (that, and Deanna was driving at this point). We got into Killarney, explored the town, had some dinner at a cheap dodgy diner and then went to a movie and called it a night.
Day Three
After waiting for an hour in our hostel for one of the girls in our room to finish in the shower, we managed to leave Killarney around 9am and headed north to the Dingle Peninsula. I think this may have been my favourite peninsula. There were, once again, lots of green pastures dotted with sheep, beautiful white sand beaches, and twisty and turny roads. It didn’t take us long to reach the tip of the peninsula, known as Slea Head, and we visited the Blasket Island Information Centre there. People lived on the Blasket Islands until 1952, when they decided to abandon it due to lack of a doctor and the unreliable 5km rowboat journey on the Atlantic that was required to reach their homes. The Centre was a wealth of information about the harshness of their lives and about Gaelic in general. After this we went into the town of Dingle, had some fish and chips and then ice cream at a wonderful little shop that made all of the ice cream on site. It was delicious! After basking in the sun for a while, we headed back to Limerick. Not much to remark on for the drive home as we saw more of the Industrial side of Ireland with a few mills churning out smoke along the way.
Tuesday morning we gassed up the little car, re-attached the two hubcaps and said a little prayer about the dented rim. Luckily, the rental agency didn’t notice the (very small really) dent and so we weren’t charged. It cost 80 euro for the rental from Friday night to Tuesday morning, which I think, was a pretty good deal. And now that we’ve driven on the left-hand side we feel pretty confident :-)
