June 5, 1998
Top 'o' the morning to you!!!!!It's time to move on for a bit. I am going to Ireland!!!! I picked Ireland, as I got a IR£29 return fare (return in British = round trip in American) from London. That covers my travel expenses to get there, both land and sea. It is too good of a deal to pass up. I was even able to leave my return open, for up to a month. Gotta love it.
Here we go. We left London on a Eurolines Bus, up the M1 (M = Morotway in British, = Interstate in American). We took that to the M6. Then M6 was very crowded, so our driver (Steve) got off and took the A500 to the A49 to the A51 to the A55, to the A5. We only made a few stops (Brimingham, Colwyn Bay, and Bangor) before we got to the coast to catch the ferry (at Holyhead, Wales). It was a long trip. We left at 10am and got to Holyhead at 5pm.
The ferry line is called Stena(0990 707070). They use new highspeed Catamaran Ferries that took us across the Irish Sea in 99 minutes. These ferries are HUGE!!!! Inside of it, it had restaurants, bars, a casino (well, it was only 1 blackjack table, but there was a sign saying casino over it), a money exchange (that gives a lousy rate) place and a Duty Free shop. This ferry was a vehicle ferry as well. Not only did it have cars in it, it also had some tourbusses. That gives you an idea of how big it is.
By the time we got to Ireland, and I got check in to my guesthouse, it was 9:30pm (and raining). I stayed in Dublin for the first couple of nights. I found a pub that had "Authentic" Irish Music. I would not have thought that they would need to use the word "Authentic" in Ireland. I had dinner there and listened to the music. It was alright, but since I am use to other music, it was hard for me to understand how everybody goes totally nuts over it.
June 6, 1998
Today I spent the day in Dublin touring in the rain. I wasnt sure how long I was going to stay here for, so I got an early start. I did one of those jump on= jump off tours for only IR£6. It was good. It went by most of the major sites of Dublin (the Castle, Guiness Factory, St Mary's Cathedral, etc). However, Dublin didn't thrill me. It's claim to fame is it's Georgian Archtecture. Well, I think it's boring. There are no balconies and everything looks alike. Boring. I can't wait to get out of here.
June 9, 1998
So, away I went I took a train from Dublin to Belfast on June 7th (IR£17), and then connected to Portrush, on a penninsula at the very top of northern Ireland (yes, Northern Ireland, where all of the Troubles have been in recent years). LOVELY little town. It's a beach resort type area. Then room in my guesthouse overlooks the ocean. However, it is raining again. So, with umbrella in hand, off went to see the town.
There really wasn't a lot to see. It is very beautiful here. Everything is very green and there are rocks and cliffs everywhere. It's the kind of place you come to to chill out for a few days (instead of running around spastically looking at all the old sites like I usually do). I met two Americans to hang out with (Gannon and Brendon - North Dakota) on the second day. That day, it was raining even harder and we mainly stayed inside until about 6pm, when it
let up. The sun peaked through, over the ocean and there was a beautiful rainbow. I took a picture, but didn't see the leprechan or find the pot of gold, though.
Next stop, where I am now, was Derry (LondonDerry sometimes on the map). It is a very nice walled city. They built a lot of walled cities in the old days to fend off invaders. Derry, however, seemed too commercialized. There were tacky little tourist shops on every road and niot a lot of history things to do. I did go to the Tower Museum (IR£3.5) and also the Cathedral (IR£1). Derry is a nice place to spend a day or two, once in your life.
June 11, 1998
Next stop on the Ireland tour is Galway, a city on the west coast. It was a 6 hour bus ride from Derry (through the rain), but that was the only direct way to go. The train doesn't go this route. I would have had to take a train to Belfast, swtiched to a Dublin train, then changed again in Dublin for a Galway train. It would have taken at least 9 hours. So, I suffered and went on the bus.
What a great place Galway is. It is a nice little old Irish town (with a Cathedral, of course), but feels very quaint. The streets are narrow and some are cobblestone. The city centre is blocked off to motor vehicles. There is a river that runs through the middle and a nice little footpath along the river. Something that surpised me is that there is a monmument to John F Kennedy, from when he visited here in 1963. That's cool.
Galway is a gateway city to other things that I want to see, such as the Burren, The Cliffs of Moher, Kylemore Abby, etc. I will only spend 1 night here, however, will be back before the end of my Irish Tour.
June 14, 1998
Hello from Cork, Ireland. I spent two great days in Kilkenny, a mideval city, and now am here. Kilkenny (kil = church in Irish) is a nice town with a beautiful castle. It is only IR£3 to tour. It dates back to the 1100's, however, they keep it restored the Victorian times (1700's-1800's). I also went to see the Black Abby (named after the color of the robes the priests wore), St Carnie's Cathedral (unbelievably beautiful) and St Mary's Cathedral (also nice). Had a great time. I met yet another American (Greg - Dallas) to hang out with. Everywhere I go I meet Americans. I guess that the American tourist invastion of Europe has begun.
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland. I like it here (at least better than Dublin). It seems like a friendlier place. Also, IT'S SUNNY TODAY!!!!!!!!! This is the first (mostly) sunny day I've had here!!!!! As with Galway, I am just using this as a base to tour other areas around here.
I'm starting to miss London a bit. I'm still not sure why, but I feel drawn to it. I love the excitement, the vibe, etc. London ROCKS!!!!!!
June 15, 1998
Spent the day in Cobh today. It's another lovely little coastal town about a 30 minute train ride from Cork. There's not a lot to do here, it's just a very quaint, cozy little place. There are a couple of museums here that I went to. This was the last place that the Titanic stopped before going on it's maiden voyage. I just kind of spent the day here enjoying the atmosphere. Yes, it was Sunny again (2nd day in a row).
I have changed my plans. I will be returning to Dublin tomorrow and then back to London on June 18th for a couple of days before moving n again. I will not be able to do some of the things that I wanted to do in this area, near Galway, or in south west Ireland, but that will give me a reason to come back.
June 17th
I'm back in Dublin now (rained yesterday and today). I got here last night around 8pm. I spent today trying to find something to like about Dublin, but couldn't. However, I did run into Gannon and Brendon again (scroll up to June 9, 1998). We had dinner and hung out. They are headed back to the States tomorrow.
REFLECTIONS
I am writing this as I am about to leave Ireland.
Did I have a good time? Yes, a great one. Will I be back? Yes, definitely. Would I recommend for others to visit Ireland? Very much so.
I was pleasantly surpised to find out how much there was to see and do in Ireland. I could have spent an entire month here. I found it, all in all, less expensive than London. Accomodations were cheaper, entrance fees to attractions were cheaper, and food was also less expensive.
I would also recommend that people not be afraid to go to Northern Ireland. In America, the media protrays that Belfast is like Beruit. Not so. Also, the coast of Northern Ireland is magnificant. As a guy in a pub in Dublin told me, "Northern Ireland is safe as long as you don't sound Irish."
