All Photos are at the bottom.
We do have a few surprises on this trip. We are actually going to be visiting three countries/territories.
While many people say there are 193 countries in the world, my list is a bit larger. Is visiting the mainland U.S. the same as visiting Puerto Rico, Guam, or even the U.S. Virgin Islands? We have even had presidents and congresspeople who thought these places were not part of the United States. But were separate countries.
I realize they are part of the United States, but they do have different cultures and are worth visiting. Reunion Island would be another good example. It's part of France but sits in the middle of the Indian Ocean, not the same as going to Paris.
Clicking this link will take you to my entire list.
You might ask, why Ireland? This seems a bit tame for my travels. Joining us on this trip is Little "L." Little "L" asked us if we would take him to Ireland when he was eight.
At eight, it would be difficult to get him into the Guinness Factory or the Jameson Distillery. What would a trip to Ireland be like without these two highlights? For that reason, we have waited ten years to take Little "L" to Ireland and beyond. Little “L” recently turned 18.
I know many of you reading this have been to Ireland, so feel free to make suggestions as you follow us across Ireland. Hopefully, we will show you parts of Ireland you've never seen, and you can share some highlights we might miss otherwise.
This first picture is of Little "L" this is when he first showed interest in going to Ireland.
And this picture is when he tried to fly there on his own.
Day 1: Dublin -
Typically, when flying to Europe, you fly overnight, a flight known as a red-eye.
The key to not being jet-lagged is to keep moving upon landing.
DO NOT go to sleep before 8:00 PM in your new time zone.
We landed at 5:45 am. Did we sleep on the flight over? I'm not sure you can call it sleep, but we got a few hours of shut-eye.
Our host at our Airbnb arranged for us to drop our bags, even at this early morning hour. Little "L" found a great breakfast place for our first traditional Irish breakfast. Lots of meats! Not sure what they all were, but I know they were delicious.
We had arranged a walking tour for 10:00 AM: Best of Dublin: Southside Tour. It was only 8:00 AM when we finished our breakfast. We had two hours to kill. We wandered the streets and parks of central Dublin for those two hours.
At 10:00 AM sharp, we met at the Spire of Dublin for our tour. The Spire of Dublin was built to celebrate the millennium. Unfortunately, its construction was started late, 2002 and was not completed until 2003. The cost was almost five million Euros. At a height of 120 meters (390 feet), a blue light on the very top had to be installed, so planes flying over do not hit it.
Our guide, Rob, gave us a nice overview of the history of Ireland. He spoke of the conflicts with the British and Ireland’s fight for independence, including the rebellion of Easter Monday. Not a very successful rebellion, but it was the catalyst for eventual independence.
We visited many famous sites, including the O’Connell Bridge, the only bridge in all of Europe that is wider than it is long. A little fun fact.
We saw the two famous churches, Christ Church Cathedral and St. Patrick's Cathedral, both Anglican Churches.
We also visited Trinity College. For over 300 years, Catholics were not allowed to attend Trinity College. When they were finally allowed, they could only attend if the local bishop gave them permission. No Catholic Churches were allowed in Ireland until 1791.
We visited Dublin Castle, which only has one of its four columns remaining.
After the tour, we had lunch at Lundy Foot’s, a traditional Irish Pub. Of course, I ordered the Fish and Chips. I was happy I did; it was an excellent lunch. We would late realize our first Fish and Chips meal was our best.
Our second tour was scheduled for 2:00 PM: Rebellion & Independence (North Side).
We met Martin, our guide, at the Spire of Dublin. We learned all about the Rebellion and how it was the catalyst for Ireland’s independence.
I wish I retained what I was taught, but with very little sleep on the plane, my brain was turning to mush, and my retention was near zero.
One of the rebels was badly injured. While dying, he penned a letter to his wife. The letter was turned into a plaque mounted on the wall above where he died.
Our tour deviated from the rebellion for a moment as we walked by the Rotunda Hospital, the oldest maternity hospital in the world, close to 300 years old. Bono from U2 was born at this hospital, as well as Martin, our guide.
After the detour of the hospital, we visited the memorial for the soldiers.
We learned on the tour that for much of Ireland’s history under British rule, Catholics, the majority in Ireland, were not allowed to practice their religion. For this reason, priests would go to homes so women could confess, and the same priests would go to the pub to allow men to confess. These pubs were called confession boxes.
A couple more statues, a few Guinness trucks, and then we reached the famine memorial.
The Great Famine, also known as the Great Hunger, the Famine, and the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of starvation and disease, in Ireland lasting from 1845 to 1852. It constituted a historical social crisis and subsequently had a major impact on Irish society and history as a whole. During the famine, millions of Irish died, and millions fled Ireland. Many fled to the United States. To this day, Ireland has not completely recovered from the population loss caused by the Great Famine.
After 27,000 steps, we reached 7:00 PM, and little “L” hit the hay, hard!
Today, our second day in Ireland, Little “L” decided we should take a walk to Poolbeg Lighthouse.
Situated at the entrance to Dublin Bay, Poolbeg Lighthouse has been guiding ships into port for over two hundred years.
Before we departed, we had a mystery guest knock on the door. More on our mystery guest later.
Poolbeg Lighthouse is a good mile out into the bay near the entrance to the River Liffey. Luckily for us, there is a rock wall that allows you to walk all the way to the lighthouse.
Before heading to the lighthouse, we wanted to stop and see what all the noise was about: the Dublin Portal to New York City. A large fisheye lens not far from the Spire of Dublin. An identical portal resides in New York City. This allows folks passing by to view folks in each city in real time and full size. Unfortunately for us, the evening before, a young lady decided to show her breasts New Orleans style, and this caused the portal to temporarily shut down. Hopefully, the portal will recover before we leave Dublin.
We wandered through the city guided by Little “L,” heading toward the Poolbeg Lighthouse. We got to see some off-color parts of the city, the industrial workings of the port, and even an electricity power plant. A very industrial part of the city.
Eventually, off in the distance, we could see the Poolbeg Lighthouse. We had walked over four miles and still had another mile to go.
We eventually made it to the lighthouse. It was now a bit past noon. We all felt the walk was worth it, as we got to explore another part of Dublin we may have missed.
Upon completing this task, we realized we may have miscalculated our timing. We had a scheduled 3:30 PM Guinness Factory tour, and we had over five miles of walking to cover.
How could we cover this distance and still have time for lunch? There was nowhere to catch a taxi. We decided to rely on the kindness of a stranger. We asked another walker who had driven to the rock wall if she would be kind enough to give us a ride to a location where we could catch a taxi. She drove to the bus stop she thought was where the bus to the Guinness Factory stopped. WRONG.
We did not complain; she saved us from walking about two miles.
At this location, there were no buses, but there were taxis. We found a taxi and got to the Guinness Factory in plenty of time to grab lunch.
Lunch was just ok. I had the fish and chips again, and it was not even close to the quality of Lundy Foot’s.
Now it was time for our afternoon experience: Little “L”'s first beer, his first legal beer, that is.
We learned a lot about beer making and what makes Guinness special: the water, barley, and a unique yeast that has been cultivated for hundreds of years.
We learned how to taste Guinness and how to pour Guinness.
Video of our lesson on pouring Guinness.
After our lesson, we headed to the rooftop bar to sample some of the products. We learned that Little “L” is not a fan of Guinness.
We had a 6:00 PM tour scheduled called Urban Legends and History of Pubs. Justin, our guide, was just okay. Though it might have been our exhaustion from our tens of thousands of steps so far that day or the several Guinnesses we had at the factory that caused our less-than-focused evaluation.
Back to the apartment for a light dinner.
It was time to see if the portal was back live. We walked the mile back to the portal only to find a disappointing sign: “The portal is temporarily closed”. All was not lost. We found a good ice cream shop.
Notice the bald guy in the picture? Yes, our new best friend, Kevin (alias Hot Spot). We met our new best friend Kevin in a sushi bar in Japan. He is an avid reader of LifeOfDug, and when he sees we are traveling near each other, he makes a point to find us.
Since our meeting in Japan, Hot Spot has tracked us down in Amsterdam, Oslo, and Guatemala. We can now add Dublin to the list.
We had over 40,000 steps today. It was time to call it a day. Though the sun was still out, it was 9:30 PM, a full 13 hours since we started our day heading to the Poolbeg Lighthouse.
Day 3 in Dublin. Our last day!
After breakfast, we decided to find some street art to photograph. We had until 5:30 PM, when our Jameson Distillery Tour was scheduled.
Just by luck, we stumbled upon a street artist at work.
His street art is unique in that, instead of painting a city wall, his canvas is plastic wrap.
He strings plastic wrap between two poles and paints a new mural each day.
Before moving on, we spent a few minutes watching the artist at work.
Before leaving Dublin, we needed to enjoy a 99 Flake Although it actually started in England, the 99 Flake has gained popularity in Ireland. While soft-serve ice cream is not my favorite, at 9:00 AM, it was a great way to start our day.
Thank you, Tommy G., for telling me about the 99 Flake.
We wandered the city, just enjoying our free time.
We returned to visit the original artist we met to see the finished product. It was a mural of John Lennon. What a great way to show off one’s talent.
It was time for lunch, and I wanted to continue my quest for the best fish and chips in all of Ireland.
I heard Leo Burdock had the best fish and chips.
In business since 1913, they only serve fish and chips out of a small hole-in-the-wall establishment. Takeaway only!
We arrived to a line of about 40 people, a mix of locals and tourists. This has got to be the place.
After about an hour's wait, we got our fish and chips. Now, where to eat?
We found a little park behind Christ Church that was perfect.
The conclusion of my three lunches of fish and chips: Leo’s is number 2. Not worth the hour wait in line.
Next stop, the National Leprechaun Museum.
This is where we learned the history and folklore of leprechauns in Ireland.
Can you believe it, we were approaching 5:30 PM, so we high-tailed it over to the Jameson Distillery.
Similar to the Guinness Factory tour, but instead of learning about beer-making, we learned about the history and making of Irish whiskey.
This included a welcome drink of either whiskey straight up or ginger and whiskey.
Little “L,” being his first time trying hard liquor, wanted to try both.
Take a look.
Little “L” and his first drinks!
While many people say there are 193 countries in the world, my list is a bit larger. Is visiting the mainland U.S. the same as visiting Puerto Rico, Guam, or even the U.S. Virgin Islands? We have even had presidents and congresspeople who thought these places were not part of the United States. But were separate countries.
I realize they are part of the United States, but they do have different cultures and are worth visiting. Reunion Island would be another good example. It's part of France but sits in the middle of the Indian Ocean, not the same as going to Paris.
Clicking this link will take you to my entire list.
You might ask, why Ireland? This seems a bit tame for my travels. Joining us on this trip is Little "L." Little "L" asked us if we would take him to Ireland when he was eight.
At eight, it would be difficult to get him into the Guinness Factory or the Jameson Distillery. What would a trip to Ireland be like without these two highlights? For that reason, we have waited ten years to take Little "L" to Ireland and beyond. Little “L” recently turned 18.
I know many of you reading this have been to Ireland, so feel free to make suggestions as you follow us across Ireland. Hopefully, we will show you parts of Ireland you've never seen, and you can share some highlights we might miss otherwise.
And this picture is when he tried to fly there on his own.
Typically, when flying to Europe, you fly overnight, a flight known as a red-eye.
The key to not being jet-lagged is to keep moving upon landing.
We landed at 5:45 am. Did we sleep on the flight over? I'm not sure you can call it sleep, but we got a few hours of shut-eye.
Our guide, Rob, gave us a nice overview of the history of Ireland. He spoke of the conflicts with the British and Ireland’s fight for independence, including the rebellion of Easter Monday. Not a very successful rebellion, but it was the catalyst for eventual independence.
We saw the two famous churches, Christ Church Cathedral and St. Patrick's Cathedral, both Anglican Churches.
We met Martin, our guide, at the Spire of Dublin. We learned all about the Rebellion and how it was the catalyst for Ireland’s independence.
Our tour deviated from the rebellion for a moment as we walked by the Rotunda Hospital, the oldest maternity hospital in the world, close to 300 years old. Bono from U2 was born at this hospital, as well as Martin, our guide.
We eventually made it to the lighthouse. It was now a bit past noon. We all felt the walk was worth it, as we got to explore another part of Dublin we may have missed.
At this location, there were no buses, but there were taxis. We found a taxi and got to the Guinness Factory in plenty of time to grab lunch.
Now it was time for our afternoon experience: Little “L”'s first beer, his first legal beer, that is.
After our lesson, we headed to the rooftop bar to sample some of the products. We learned that Little “L” is not a fan of Guinness.
It was time to see if the portal was back live. We walked the mile back to the portal only to find a disappointing sign: “The portal is temporarily closed”. All was not lost. We found a good ice cream shop.
Notice the bald guy in the picture? Yes, our new best friend, Kevin (alias Hot Spot). We met our new best friend Kevin in a sushi bar in Japan. He is an avid reader of LifeOfDug, and when he sees we are traveling near each other, he makes a point to find us.
We had over 40,000 steps today. It was time to call it a day. Though the sun was still out, it was 9:30 PM, a full 13 hours since we started our day heading to the Poolbeg Lighthouse.
Day 3 in Dublin. Our last day!
His street art is unique in that, instead of painting a city wall, his canvas is plastic wrap.
Before moving on, we spent a few minutes watching the artist at work.
Before leaving Dublin, we needed to enjoy a 99 Flake Although it actually started in England, the 99 Flake has gained popularity in Ireland. While soft-serve ice cream is not my favorite, at 9:00 AM, it was a great way to start our day.
In business since 1913, they only serve fish and chips out of a small hole-in-the-wall establishment. Takeaway only!
After about an hour's wait, we got our fish and chips. Now, where to eat?
We found a little park behind Christ Church that was perfect.
Next stop, the National Leprechaun Museum.
This is where we learned the history and folklore of leprechauns in Ireland.
Little “L,” being his first time trying hard liquor, wanted to try both.
Little “L” and his first drinks!
After the Jameson Distillery, we had dinner at Cleaver East, a local restaurant owned by Bono of U2.
Our meals were excellent, and it was nice to have something other than pub food.
I hope you enjoyed our tour of Dublin.
Our surprise destination? The Isle of Man, a small island nation off the east coast of Ireland and the west coast of England. It's part of the United Kingdom, but most natives feel they are an independent nation.
As we arrived at the airport, we were notified our flight time was moved again. We now wouldn’t arrive until 5:45 PM.
Phil suggested we move the tour from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. This was plan D.
We now had to go to plan E as our flight was delayed indefinitely.
Plan E worked: we met Phil at our hotel at 8:20 PM. We are staying at the Halvard Hotel.
As I had mentioned, sunset is not until 10:00 pm. Phil did a great job condensing our three-hour tour into one hour and forty minutes, even after waiting for us for several hours.
We learned a bit about the Isle of Man. It's an independent country with ties to Great Britain for defense and international relations. They pay approximately three million pounds a year for these services.
They have their own currency, but it is tied to the British pound.
There are two railroad systems: a steam train that goes to the south of the island and an electric train that goes to the north. Both are primarily used for tourism.
Our tour took place in Douglas, the capital of the Isle of Man. Other industries include banking, as the Isle of Man is used as a tax haven for both legitimate businesses as well as illegitimate ones. Poker Stars, a large online gambling site, is based on the Isle of Man.
The Isle of Man, much like Ireland, was invaded by the Vikings. While there, the Vikings mingled with people on the island. The people are known as Manx.
The Manx are a minority ethnic group originating on the Isle of Man, in the Irish Sea in Northern Europe. They belong to the diaspora of the Gaelic ethnolinguistic group, which now populates the parts of the British Isles and Ireland that once were the Kingdom of the Isles and Dál Riata. The Manx are governed through the Tynwald (Ard-whaiyl Tinvaal), the legislature of the island, which was introduced by Viking settlers over a thousand years ago.
Douglas is on the water with a two-mile-long promenade. When we arrived, there was a slight haze or fog from the unusually warm weather. At the southern end are the ferry docks. The ferries run frequently to the mainland of England as well as Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Less frequently, there is a ferry to Dublin, Ireland.
After the tour, the four of us had a great dinner at Frank Matchams. What a great restaurant! Lots of small plate options. After just a week of traveling with us, Little “L” is turning into a true foodie, having a fish cake with a poached egg. Not only did he eat it, but he also said he enjoyed it.
We headed directly west toward Peel. In Peel, we saw the location of the longest-running continuous parliament in the world, started by the Vikings.
We continued on our tour, with our next scheduled stop being Cregneash, a traditional Viking village that people still live in today.
Even with these barriers at 180 MPH, most crashes involved many broken bones at best, and death and dismemberment at worst.
Once back in Douglas, Little “L” continued his quest for the perfect alcoholic beverage. He is leaning toward the sweeter drinks.
Today, Sunday, we head back to Ireland. We woke early to see the sunrise, which happened at 5:00 AM.
We are back, back in Ireland that is. Our flight was uneventful, which is a good thing.
We picked up our rental car. One crazy process here is that they charge you to get insurance on the car, which we always decline. But if you decline, they charge you to decline the insurance.
Never heard of this before, but since the customer service rep was only the messenger, I will deal with this and have the charge removed when I have time. Crazy stuff.
The house is actually inside Wicklow Mountains National Park. This park is known for its hiking trails and mountain biking trails. Unfortunately for Little “L,” the mountain bike shops are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. This means no mountain biking for Little “L.”
Powerscourt Distillery is a micro-distillery only open for a few years. The owner was nice enough to give us a tour.
I was outvoted two to one, though I am confident the vote was rigged.
After our lunch break, we were off to Glendalough. Glendalough is considered one of the highlights of the park and is the main historic site in the area.
Video - House of Waterford -
After the House of Waterford tour, our plan was to walk the town for a bit before hitting the road for our next stop.
The tour took up more of our time than we had anticipated. We had to skip our next two stops and hit the road. We had a three-hour drive ahead of us.
We reached the West Cork Hotel in time for dinner.
We rested up for our evening adventure: a sunset sea kayak tour. The tour with Atlantic Sea Kayaking kicked off at 9:30 PM. This made sense since that is close to when the sun goes down.
Unfortunately, they requested we not take our cameras as they could get damaged. I apologize, as my writing skills are not good enough to describe the beauty of the lake and evening.
While the sunset was nothing to write about, the full moon was spectacular. We watched it rise, and then throughout the tour, it would peek in and out of the clouds, lighting up the lake enough to cast shadows.
I highly recommend this activity.
It was past midnight when we got back to the hotel, and tomorrow we have another long day ahead of us.
What a find. Great views of the cliffs and coastline and seeing the remains of a castle built hundreds of years ago.
We had scheduled an underground doughnut tour for this afternoon.
Today, we took a 30-minute drive outside of Cork to the seaside town of Kinsale. Kinsale is a historic port and is famous for being a major fishing spot in the country. As the starting point of the Wild Atlantic Way (more on this later), Kinsale is a perfect destination for a road trip.
We had reserved bikes from Killarney Bike Rental. Unfortunately, the weather turned on us. It was now cold, windy, and raining cats and dogs.
We walked around Killarney for a bit, checking out the unique shops.
It was a great demonstration. We learned the dogs are trained to stare down the sheep, not bark at them. It is important the dogs do not panic or stress the sheep.
It was fascinating to watch.
Here is a quick video of the demonstration:
Video - sheep herding:
After the sheep herding demonstration, we headed to the city center of Killarney. We explored the area.
After watching the sheep dogs work so hard, we needed something to replenish our energy. Of course, Murphy’s Ice Cream.
Once we explained our situation, he gave us the nickel tour.
Next on our drive toward Galway was Crag Cave. Ireland has a lot of limestone, which also means it has a lot of caves.
Famous for its fantastic ice cream and as a reward for making the drive, you get beautiful views of the coastline.
Now this is the place to visit, and I would skip the Cliffs of Moher.
We reached our destination, a small village outside Galway.
Tuesday - today we have two options.
Option Two: Take a walking tour of Galway.
The reputation of the city was such that in the 15th century Christopher Columbus came to visit and pray in St. Nicholas’s Church.
Our visit to Ireland is coming to an end. We have one stop left before we head to my 88th country/territory. I am sure you know which one that is.
He is also working hard to get younger people educated in the traditional benefits of wool over acrylics and polyesters, such as durability and sustainability, to name just two.
Shamus gave Margarite and Little “L” some quick lessons on preparing wool to be spun into yarn once it is sheared from the sheep.
The first step was straightening the wool, which both cleans and straightens it. This is done by combing the wool with two metal brushes.
After the wool has been cleaned and straightened, Shamus taught tMargarite and Little “L” how to spin the wool into yarn. They learned on a hand-powered spinner and a foot-powered spinner.
Both spinners, well over 100 years old. This process was very labor-intensive.
After the education, we bid our farewell to Shamus. We promised we would spread the word about the benefits of Irish wool.
We continued our drive and stumbled upon a small micro distillery, Achill Island Distillery, also known as the IrishAmerican Trading Company.
They have been operating the hotel for the last 50 years. What a fantastic place to stay. We will be here for the next three nights.
Why?
Our longtime friend Gareth McCormack, the world-famous professional landscape photographer, offered to spend a few days with us and give Margarite and Little “L” some lessons on shooting landscape photography.
Saturday - Today we drove from Achill Island to Bangor, Northern Ireland. It was about a five-hour drive.
We will be staying with R2 over the next few days. Who is R2? That is a story too long to tell.
R2 lives in Bangor, Northern Ireland.
Bangor is on the coast of Northern Ireland. When Margarite saw the water, she and R2 had to jump in.
After dinner, we walked into downtown Bangor and had some ice cream. We earned it after today’s hike.
When he reached out to this person (R2), they decided to meet up on our trip. R2 insisted we stay with him.
Hope you are enjoying this update.
Cheers,
DUG
All Photos: