Ireland has never particularly been at the top of my list of places to see...I suppose that I've just never really thought about it. I've always been drawn towards the mountains or the sea or obscure places that I didn't know much about, but when I received an alert for $282 decent tickets round trip...well, it was just an offer I couldn't refuse.
The whole concept of this trip was something a little bit different for me: A road trip with scheduled stops and rooms along the way (I know, gasp!), so I was a little overwhelmed with planning out an itinerary. I know a guy that visited a couple of years ago (albeit for 2 weeks), and he offered a few suggestions for what he enjoyed seeing on his round-country road trip. I primarily wanted to stay along the coastal route and in the countryside...I don't have much interest in cities unless there is some interesting architecture. I was flying into Dublin and had a week, so I simply divided up the days by the mileage and figured about 4 hours of driving per day would be perfect. That would allow a few hours each day for exploration without overextending myself. Then, I perused Bed and Breakfasts and Airbnbs and motels for the cutest one's I could find with WiFi, parking, and breakfast included. I'm really glad that I got breakfast because many restaurants in more obscure places were closed for the season (apparently their tourist season doesn't start until St. Patrick's Day). The main thing that determined my route was an adorable barn that I REALLY wanted to stay in. It wasn't available the first night, but it was available towards the end of my trip, so I opted to start out south and work my way clockwise around the island.
I was most nervous about was driving on the right side of the car and the left side of the road. I'd read that renting cars in Ireland is a major pain and kind of risky and that they charge a fortune and require crazy security deposits. I decided that my big splurge on this trip would be for an automatic transmission to ease some of the stress of driving narrow, windy, country roads at 65 mph. DEFINITELY THE BEST MONEY SPENT. Driving itself wasn't as bad as I was expecting, but there are some kind of wacky things going on over there that made it a little bit tricky at times. For example, they have roundabouts with like, 4 lanes and traffic lights IN the roundabout. Luckily, I just kind of went with the flow of traffic and didn't have any issues, but it was strange to me that you'd be traveling through the roundabout and then come upon a red light that you had to wait for. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a roundabout? Why not just have a regular intersection?
So, Brian's dad dropped me off at the airport and my flights went off without a hitch...I even managed to sleep on the long part between Toronto and Dublin. I was seated next to a young Irish guy that was headed home after a couple of weeks in Cuba and actually had some great conversations that lasted a couple of hours and made the time go by more quickly. We landed at 8:35 am and I hit the ground running. The car rental process wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting and because I opted for additional insurance, the 5000 euro security deposit was reduced to zero, which was nice. I immediately noticed how friendly and helpful all of the men were that I'd encountered...they're really gentlemen over there, I must say.
To calm my nerves, I listened to my classical music playlist on Spotify and felt like I was in an Alfred Hitchcock movie or something...I immediately noticed a kind of creepy vibe that I thoroughly enjoyed. The route to my first destination was through rolling green hills dotted with sheep and their babies, billions of yellow daffodils, and tiny villages. I made a few stops along the way to explore. One of the first spots was a church and cemetery that I snuck into...with a dead crow hanging from a tree. The roads were basically only a single lane wide, bordered on both sides by stone walls and crowded with people driving crazy fast and farm equipment that had no business being on public roads.
About 6 hours later, I made it to my first Bed and Breakfast just outside of Kenmare...an adorable cottage with a thatched roof! Having not eaten or slept deeply in such a long time, I ended up with a horrible migraine and spent a few miles of my journey puking my guts out on the side of the road, so once I made it to my room for the night, I buried myself in covers and fell asleep. I couldn't even manage to get something to eat because my eyes wouldn't focus and I couldn't see well enough to drive...I just wanted to close my eyes and pass out. I managed to sleep for 16 hours that night!
The following morning, I awoke to a bright pink sunrise, a roaring fire in the fireplace, and a breakfast of eggs and bacon, yogurt, fresh fruit, orange juice, croissants, and the most satisfying French press of coffee I believe I've ever had. There was a couple from Australia also staying there and we sat and chatted for an hour and a half over breakfast and coffee about our travels and experiences.
Check out that dining table ^ I wanted to buy it and ship it home. The owner of the Bed and Breakfast made that himself! Considering that there aren't a lot of trees in Ireland, I really thought it was something special.
It's kind of funny to me because, I seem to have a really hard time "chatting" with people in general...I can handle about 30 seconds of small talk before I begin to panic and look for a way out, but when I'm traveling, I have no issues with it. I've found myself chatting with people at the bar at dinner for 2 hours which is not something that I would normally be comfortable with. I think that fellow travelers are my people...we have at least one thing in common and I don't feel judged by them because they're doing the same thing I am! I have a hard time finding common ground with most people, but with fellow travelers, we can always chat about where we're from, places we've been, places we want to go or experiences we've had or get recommendations from each other...it's just easy to talk about and I don't feel awkward. Most times, people just don't understand how I can travel alone and why I'm not scared and how safe I feel and how my boyfriend is ok with it or why I'm not 10 years into a "real" job in corporate America with 3 kids. Fellow travelers tend to just "get" me and I love it. I've had better conversations with total strangers than with people I've known for decades. Maybe that's why I love to travel so much.
So anyway, that day was spent driving the Ring of Kerry - a scenic route along part of the west coast of Ireland. The weather was unusually warm and sunny which was a nice surprise! I stumbled upon a little town called Adare that was super cute and pretty famous for it's cuteness over there. Most of the houses had thatched roofs and little window boxes and they each had a different colored door and it felt like Hansel and Gretle should be bouncing through at any moment.
So far, Ireland was turning out to be exactly as I'd always pictured in my head.
That night, I'd booked a room at a really cute little motel in a tiny town called Abbeyfeale. It had a really old bar and pub on the main floor. The next morning, I continued north to the Cliffs of Moher...a very famous spot along the coast. So far, the weather had been pretty close to perfect - sunny skies and temperatures in the low 60s, but within about 1/2 mile from the sea, I drove into fog that made visibility less than ideal...of course. I arrived just before all visibility was lost and it started to pour rain. The views were lovely but overall, I found the site to be a tad overrated...maybe I've just seen better. I did, however, love watching the birds. I personally think that the views along the PCH through Big Sur are more striking, but to each their own.
There were some really cool little towns along the way and I stopped at, what I thought was an old church but upon closer inspection, found that it was a primary school. It was pretty quiet and I walked around for a bit, thinking that nobody was around, until I attempted to climb up a narrow spiral staircase up to the bell tower and heard little voices. Maybe it was a Catholic school or something, but I thought that was interesting.
From there, I continued through a national park where they actually filmed "The Quiet Man" with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. I actually remember watching that movie at some point in school. I made my way to my next motel...which was an interesting experience.
It was a beautiful, grand hotel shaped like an "L" overlooking a lake and there wasn't a single other car in the parking lot. I never know if my strange thoughts are legitimate or if I've just watched too many movies and spent too much time alone listening to Tchaikovsky, but this place had a very "Overlook Hotel" kind of thing going on and I felt like little Danny exploring the endless, empty hallways. I didn't take any photos because I was afraid that a ghost would show up in them or something ;)
I pulled in and walked up and into the lobby where there was a large, ornate reception desk without anyone seated at it. It was totally silent, so I began down the hall to the right to see if I couldn't find any signs of life. There were dozens of closed doors, but nothing looked promising, so I turned down the hallway to left where I came to the hotel's tavern and bar. There, I found an older man washing glasses at the bar and told him that I had a room reserved there for the night. I followed him back up to the reception desk where he had my paperwork with a key paper-clipped to it. I think that I was the only guest there that night. After getting settled in for a bit and checking in with Brian, I went back down to the tavern, sat up to the bar next to a roaring fire, and ordered hot fudge cake a la mode and tea. The old man appeared to be the only other person on the property and I just wondered if he's the owner or if he's always there or if he was only there because they had a guest that night. I wondered if he was sitting in his office at night watching me sleep. He wasn't terribly creepy, I was just curious. The WiFi only worked in the lobby, so I hung out down there to get all caught up on things at home and share pictures. The next morning, I went back down to the tavern for breakfast, and found that the old man had built a cozy fire and created quite a spread just for lil old me. I had a veggie omelette with toast, yogurt, fresh mango and kiwi (odd, I thought, for Ireland in February), cranberry juice, and coffee. I kind of felt obligated to eat everything he'd prepared for me, but I did the best I could :)
I continued Northeast, through a town called Denegal with a really cool old castle that was actually open for tours! I'd seen a ton of castles along the way, but they were closed for the season or privately owned, so I was pretty excited to actually be able to get into one. I stopped at a convenience store and grabbed some lunch and walked over to the castle, where a sign was hung saying that it would open in 15 minutes. I sat on the wall and ate my food and waited for the guy to come unlock it so I could go inside. Again, there wasn't a soul around, so I had it all to myself.
My room for the night was in a motel just across the border into Northern Ireland. It was actually a really nice motel, and I just had dinner (an excellent one, btw) at the restaurant in the lobby.
It was in kind of a big city, so I just didn't feel like driving around in the rain to find another place to eat. The sunrise the next morning was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen.
That day was my big "tourist" day...many of the most popular sites were relatively close to each other along the northern coast of the island, called the Causeway Coastal Route. I spotted a castle up on a bluff overlooking the sea and thought I'd give getting to it a whirl...I failed. I probably could have climbed the fence and hiked out to get to it, but I didn't want to get arrested. Plus, later on, somebody told me that it was a private residence (how cool would that be?), so I think my intuition helped me avoid certain prison time on that one ;)
Of course, that day was terrible weather...and I mean terrible. It was about 25 degrees with a steady, 60 mph wind that seemed to be coming from all directions, so you were never able to use it in your favor. It was also spitting rain for the first part of the day and pouring rain during the later part of the day. My first stop for the day was the Dark Hedges...and iconic driveway up to an old mansion with dead Beech trees planted on either side that has been used in a bunch of movies. They were kind of eerie, especially with the horrible weather. This particular area reminded me of the old movie "Rebecca" and the Manderley Estate. The wind would whip through the gnarled branches and make a creepy sound, and one of the trees had recently uprooted and fallen over. Due to the rain and wind, I was the only one around, so I got to really enjoy without a million tourists and photographers and their tripods.
Dunluce Castle was my next stop, which was incredible. It's the ruins of a medieval castle built on an outcropping off of the mainland, connected by a bridge. I arrived right at opening time and, again, lucked out to have the whole place to myself. The setting was really spectacular...overlooking green bluffs and an emerald sea crashing into the craggy cliffs. I may venture to say that Dunluce Castle was my favorite place that I visited while there. I absolutely loved it.
I continued to Giant's Causeway, a section of coast with almost perfect hexagonal interlocking basalt columns that step out into the sea and pick up on the Scottish side of the Atlantic. This is where I noticed all of the tourists began to show up. The parking lot was lined with massive buses. I bought my ticket and then started down the hill to the coast. I was a pretty steep walk down on a narrow path and, of course, there were a thousand people with their selfie sticks trying to close their busted umbrellas without having any consideration for the other people trying to get down there. It was just so cold and windy and rainy, I had no patience. After having been alone for almost a week, this really got my feathers ruffled. I spent a few minutes down there before having seen enough, and then ran back up the hill to keep warm.
I continued on towards Carrick a Rede which is a rope bridge out to an island. I pulled into the parking lot, saw the tour buses and thousands of people, and decided to skip it. Instead, I drove on, exploring the countryside to the next little village and hit up the antique shops where I got a gorgeous green Connemara Marble Shamrock Pin (it doesn't get much more authentic of an Irish souvenir if you ask me) and an old Elizabeth II coin ring that I'm kind of obsessed with. I've never really been a souvenir person, but I'm actually trying to make an effort to get a little something inexpensive and authentic from the countries I visit. I usually get a patch, but I really want to explore more antique shops and markets for goodies that don't cost a lot but will always bring me happy memories when I look at them. Brian did surprise me with a limited edition Swiss Army knife (my dad bought me a tiny pink one when I was about 6 that got confiscated in airport security a few years ago and it kind of broke my heart a little bit) that he bought at the gift shop at the Matterhorn train terminal a couple of years ago, but I treasure it and actually never want to use it or lose it because I love it so much. Generally it's a pack of cards, a piece of jewelry, a coloring book, a coffee mug...just a little something that reminds me of some of my happiest moments.
From there I made my way to the little barn Airbnb that I'd practically planned my entire trip around. I was a converted 250 year old barn with a loft and a little wood burning fireplace and it was the kind of place that hopes and dreams are made of. It was here that my visions of old dark thrillers from the 40s was replaced with Shrek references and Aesop's Fables. About 30 minutes after arriving and settling in, the storm broke and out came the sun. I threw a couple of logs on the fire, bundled up and headed out to explore. I was introduced to the resident Peacock that liked to strut his stuff around the property, and then was informed that there were donkeys, horses, and a Shetland Pony on the farm that I welcome to go canoodle with. My wildest dreams were about to come true.
After the sun went down, I made my way into the nearby town and grabbed a little single-serve pan of Shepherd's Pie and baguette for dinner, croissants and yogurt for breakfast, and a handful of Cadburry Creme Eggs for good measure :) I went back to the barn, put my dinner in the oven, and cozied up by the fire with a pot of tea for the evening. It wasn't long before the next storm blew in, but I was in heaven out there in that cozy little barn...it was definitely worth scheduling my vacation around :)
I slept in pretty late the next morning and then drove to Dublin for my final day in Ireland. I was a little bit nervous about driving in the city, so once I found a parking garage in the general vicinity to the main part of town, I parked and hoofed it. It was pouring rain in Dublin, and I was walking around with my backpack and fanny pack (which isn't waterproof and housed my passport and International driver's license which is paper). Everybody had umbrellas which means that your eye could be gouged out an any moment, they have no peripheral vision, and they take up 3 times as much space on a narrow sidewalk. I was anxious to check into my motel for the night, drop off my stuff. make sure I found it ok, and knew how much time it would take to get back to the car in the morning and to the airport for my 10 am departure.
The motel promised that there was a parking garage a bit closer that I could use for 8 euros a night, so I went back to grab the car and bring it closer, but couldn't ever find the garage. I drove around the same block probably 7 times following signs to a place that didn't appear to exist. I eventually just gave up and went back to the original garage I had been at and started all over again, paying 17 euros for the night after having just spent 8 euros for the day. My phone said that I walked 14 miles that day. I explored town hoping to make it to the Trinity College Library and Book of Kells, but it was closed since it was Sunday :( I did go to Christ Church Cathedral and Crypt and St Patrick's Cathedral, so I got in a little bit of touristy city stuff.
I grabbed takeout and cozied in for the night, just before it began to snow. Unfortunately, the motel was directly above a hopping bar, so I didn't get much sleep that night and, at 3 am, decided to just give in to the fact that I wasn't going to go back to sleep and decided to go for a run instead. It was no longer raining or snowing, everything was quiet and it was really beautiful.
One thing that I really like about the city is it's lack of skyscrapers and condos...it has mostly 3 or 4 story buildings and cobblestone streets and just a cooler, old feel (at least where I was). None of the buildings were as ornate or intricate as some of the buildings in say, Brussels, but it had a warm charm that I really enjoyed, and I never felt like I was in the middle of a big city...except while trying to find parking...
I must say, this was one of my favorite trips I've taken, and my first solo adventure overseas. Ireland is such a warm, friendly, peaceful place with so much charm...I loved it way more than I'd expected to. I'm not sure that I'll ever make it back, but if any of you ever have the option to spend a few days there, definitely do it...I'm sure that you'll love it too :)