We arrived in Dublin, rented a car and took off for our hotel We treated ourselves to a stay at the beautiful Doubletree Hotel in Dublin. It was quite nice except for the 400 meter walk down the long hall to reach our room!!! Oh well, great exercise. On advice from the locals we decided to park our car and take taxis while we're in Dublin. Turned out to be good advice. Dublin is incredibly crowded with people, cars, buses, and trams. Also, there is a massive amount of road construction taking place downtown. All of those distractions, along with the one-way streets would make driving a nightmare!
We had great luck with all of the taxi drivers except one. The first time we went into downtown Dublin it took 45 minutes. We kept telling the driver that we knew it shouldn't take that long to get there. Also, we kept passing the same buildings and streets repeatedly. Every time he would say, "at the end of the street. Right there. Turn right and there it is." Finally, he saw that we were ready to jump out at a traffic light and he said "ok, it's right there" and stopped the car. It's an intersection we had passed at least three times. We were sooooo frustrated. Unfortunately, we were so late that I missed my hair appointment. Now, THAT'S why I was REALLY angry. Don't mess with me getting rid of my gray hair!!!!
There's an overwhelming amount of people in this city. Really a diverse group and a very fun vibe. We found a place for dinner on the pedestrian street, walked around a while and returned to the hotel. We told the next taxi driver about our experience with the other driver and that it had cost us about $25. He was quite upset and told us that we were in a cab with a foreign driver who was illegally driving a cab. He was not licensed and we were not insured if we had been in an accident!!!! The correct fare was between $10-$12 and should have taken about 10 minutes!!! He then told us to look for an Irish driver who had his credentials in the window. He also told us to demand a receipt (their identifying numbers are on the receipt) and make sure their license is current. Evidently there is a huge problem in Dublin with foreign, unlicensed taxi drivers and we got caught in the scam. Oh well, we were lucky that we were safe and learned what to look for in future drivers.
Early the next morning we got up to explore the major sites of the city. We chose to use the hop on, hop off bus, which was great. We saw most of the sites we wanted to see that are located within the city limits. Thanks to many suggestions by Fionnula Flanagan (famous Irish actress and wife of my early partner Garrett O'Connor, MD). Dublin is such a charming town. Great place for people watching. Also, everyone is extremely friendly and fun. Must be all the Guiness :). Gotta love the Irish!!!!
The next morning we left Dublin and drove to the west to explore the Ring of Kerry. We had been there many years ago while camping with our kids but hadn't been back in many years. We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day. It took us about 4-1/2 hours to make the loop The drive is quite nice. You just have to overlook all the tour buses, work crews, cyclists, hikers, and other tourists sharing the road. We had been given advice to make the loop in a counterclockwise rotation to avoid following the tour buses. However, when we were on the road, ALL of the buses were going our way!! That was okay. If there's one lesson we've learned on the road during the last six months it's to be flexible and patient!!!
The countryside was lovely. There were gently rolling green hills, lots of cattle and sheep grazing, and charming Irish cottages, many of them converted to bed and breakfasts. We did manage to take a quick hike to view a lovely waterfall. The area is much more touristy and crowded than it was when we were here with our kids so many years ago.
I had researched local restaurants in Killarney for dinner and decided to eat at Rozzers, ranked #1 on Trip Advisor. Sooooo happy we had a chance to eat there. The moment we drove into their parking lot the host/owner came out, greeted us and asked our names. Then, throughout the evening everyone on staff referred to us by name. The restaurant was located in an old house built in the 1800's. It was beautifully decorated in the Victorian style. The owners, Michael and Geraldine, came to our table and talked with us for quite a while. They were an extremely charming couple and definitely two of the nicest people we have met on our entire world journey. Hoping they come to visit us in California.
The next morning we got an early start to drive around the Dingle Peninsula. What a gorgeous day for a coastal drive. Not a cloud in the sky and quite warm by Irish standards. Although the Ring of Kerry is a much more popular tourist drive we found the Dingle Peninsula to be much more enjoyable. As opposed to Kerry, the few small villages along the route are not filled with souvenir shops. In fact, if you blink your eyes you will miss them entirely. The countryside was much more of a seascape, with gorgeous views of the coastline. Although most beaches were small and rocky there was one or two sandy beaches. Although the weather is very warm for Ireland (in the 70's) no one was on the beaches. The water is undoubtedly quite cold. The rural Irish countryside is lovely. Each home is surrounded by acres of land with goats and sheep grazing in the fields. Hay bales are neatly rolled up and bagged, waiting to be collected. There is such an openness, simplicity, and lightness about this area. I would love to just sit and sniff the clean air for a while, but we must move on. Only a couple more days in Ireland.
Today, we woke up and started our trek back to Dublin. We stopped in Limerick to stay the night. I had a great time getting a lovely spa treatment which was actually located in the hotel. Really fun. We got up the next morning and drove to Newgrange to see an ancient burial chamber built 3200 B.C. We felt a little like Indiana Jones exploring a cave. Thank goodness we're in Ireland so I didn't have to worry about snakes!!! Part of the passageway was a bit narrow so we had to squeeze through. Other parts were very low so we had to keep our heads down, but once we got to the chamber it was quite interesting. The capstone on top has kept the chamber dry throughout the years - quite remarkable in Ireland, our guide told us!! It was a little creepy when our tour guide turned off all the lights in the tomb for a couple of minutes to demonstrate how pitch dark it is inside. Then, she used a small light to demonstrate how, on the date of the winter solstice each year, the light filters through an opening in the front of the chamber and illuminates the space with a narrow beam of light. Quite incredible.
We are now in Dublin and will leave tomorrow morning for a brief, two-day stay in Iceland before we fly to New York. Can't believe we'll be home in less than a month. Yippee!!! Can't wait to see the rest of my family.
