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Slainte from.... New Hampshire ;-(

New Hampshire
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Slainte from.... New Hampshire ;-(
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Well, sadly I am back in front of the computer at home, trying to relive the glory of 14 days in Ireland, a land that will forever be in my heart as someplace an Italian-American can easily feel at home and in love.

When last I posted I was headed to Galway from Killarney, I think. Before I go on I'll give my thoughts on the town. Known as a "tourist trap", I have to say I found Killarney fairly charming and friendly. Granted, it was May and not full tourist season.... but it is a good central location for a base of exploration, and though you probably won't get a "hang aound with locals" experience there, if you avoid the glaringly "just for tourist" stuff you'll be OK. (I noticed quite a few restaurants had special "tourist menus". Avoid them.) Bricin Restaurant was very good. Failte Hotel Restaurant was terribly overpriced and just passable.

Quick review of Ross Castle Lodge B&B: Rosaleen's place is wonderful. I cannot say enough good things about her as a hostess - pleasant, informative, sweet, knows just when to stay and chat and when you need some time. Her traditional breakfasts are amazing - Clonakilty black pudding, loads of thick ham. The best trad breakfast I had in Ireland. Her home is spotless and comfy cozy, without being froo-froo. The room was good sized, with a very comfy queen-sized bed. Quiet location near Ross Castle, lush gardens in the yard with a patio for guests, easy 15-20 min walk into town through the park, but it may be too far out for some people unless you don't mind cabbing it back after a late night. We found it perfect.

We left Killarney very early (no later than 9) to head to Galway via the ferry and the Burren. Rosaleen had given us a "short cut" to avoid Tralee, where she said we would get lost. Farranfore-Castleisland-Abbeyfeale then over to Listowel... we got lost anyway. ;-) Castleisland, Castlemaine... they SOUND close! Anyway, we lost about an hour, but made the ferry by half 11. The weather was good when we left, but misted over and chilly by the ferry and foggier the further north we got.

By the time we got to the Cliffs of Moher, the fog was so thick we almost missed the car park! We contemplated not stopping at all, not knowing the cost or what was involved with the new visitor center, as by now it was close to 1pm.

We had come out of our way to see the Cliffs, so I insisted we stop, plus we had to take a driving (bathroom) break. So we went into the visitor center (done nicely, I think). Looking towards the cliffs you could see absolutely nothing. Just fog. Came out of the bathrooms, and the Cliffs were clear!!! The fog had lifted just like that. So we ran to the walkway to see.

Having been to the Cliffs in 1999, all I can say is how saddened I was to see the way that walkway is done. The center itself is nice, and unobtrusive... but the walkway.... oh, man...I almost cried. You cannot see the base of the cliffs, the water crashing, nor can you experince the power of the location. We walked from one end to the other trying to see where they made it possible to get an unobstructed view, and it doesn't exist, not even from O'Brien's Tower.

The fog came back in, we left. Ddn't drive further north towards Doolin to see the views from there as the fog was back, so we headed inland to Kilfenora and the Burren.

The cathedral and high crosses at Kilfenora are well worth a stop. They moved the crosses under cover to save them and it is done nicely... then we headed to the Burren Perfumery, in the tiny little village of Caran - really out of the way and worth the side trip just to be where there are no tourists. The perfumery was nice if you don't mind the trip down narrow, narrow roads to get there. Nice tea room for a break, and the sun had come back out. I asked for a good way to get to R480 and north to Ballyvaughan, and the woman said "there's a road from Caran with a wonderful stone fort on it, will take you there, but it is narrow...." Hah! We were expert drivers by now, so we took her directions of "first right after the pub at the top of the hill" and started driving straight up a rock hillside on a road so narrow and unused it had grass growing down the middle of it. And it climbed, and twisted, and there was a cliff on one side, and it couldn't *possibly* be the right road. I found a place to turn around and go back the way we came, and got us to the R480 the long way. And as we were driving, we saw exactly where this road would have come out. Yes, it WAS the right road, it was even on the map! So we missed what I hear is a terrific stone fort.

But up the road is the Poulnabrone Dolmen which was incredibly atmospheric and in such a wonderful location. The Burren rock fields are all around, such a weird, wild and lovely landscape. Took loads of pictures of "just rocks" (hubby says). I think they stand on their own as "art" ;-)

On to Ballyvaughan and Monk's for their much-acclaimed seafood chowder and dinner. It was a great meal, and we had an interesting chat with a local about the "sin" of what they did with the cliffs. Ballyvaughan is a cute town, I would recommend it as a place to stay. We didn't, and continued on the Galway. Surprisingly, we navigated our way straight to our B&B in downtown Galway with no problems!

This drive (Killarney-Galway) was the longest distance and took a good 11 hours wiith stops. If I did it again I would break it in two as it IS a long day and there is so much to explore along the way.

Leixlip, Ireland
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1. Re: Slainte from.... New Hampshire ;-(
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Hi willow, glad to read that you got home safely.

I haven't been to the Cliffs of Moher since the reconstruction and after reading your report I don't think I want to go there again...

I had to laugh at your experience with the "shortcut". I just looked it up on my map and yes, you should have trusted the local lady!

Let's hear about Galway!

New Hampshire
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2. Re: Slainte from.... New Hampshire ;-(
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Hiya Clauds! My engineer's eye was rearranging that walkway so the view could be so much better... hubby laughed when I said "I'm gonna write them a letter!" but I'm at least half serious. It could be so much better, while remaining safe and managable by crowds. Oh well...

Galway was by far my favorite city of the trip. I adore the vibrant atmosphere there, even with the crowds of drunken college students. Our B&B was perfectly located literally right through the Spanish Arch. I have written a review of Heron's Rest and it should be up soon. I cannot say enough good things about the place or it's hostess, Sorcha. Somehow or other we found Galway the easiest town to navigate. I think because they instituted a one-way system, and have the drive well-marked.

While there we were recommended Crane's Pub for trad music., so we started there the first night. Wasn't really happening (squeezebox and banjo, not bad but similar to what we had been hearing all along) so we moved up Quay Street and heard some wild cheering from the Spanish Arch Hotel. Hopped in there and found some great electric trad-meets-Spanish music with a young band and an enthusiastic audience. Closed the place ;-)

Next day was rainy, windy and chilly so instead of our planned trip to the Arans, we stayed local. Shopped, dodged the rain, had Irish coffees in another trad pub we had been told about. Tig Coili. Great atmosphere. Shopped some more. Drove down the road to the Galway Crystal factory. I was disappointed to learn that they are moving, and so the factory no longer does tours. Did some purchasing though ;-) Went back, took a nap, then went out for dinner....

Right within eye-sight of the B&B is the restaurant formerly named Nimmo's (It has changed hands several times since the great reviews of the past) (One of the benefits of our B&B is the hostess is a local in the catering business so knows all the best places to eat!) But Sorcha told us it was recently bought by the owner of Ard Bia, a well-regarded cafe, and that the food was again wonderful. It is now known as "Ard Bia at Nimmo's". So we went, (make a reservation, we got the last walk-in spot of the night at half six) and had THE best meal, not only of Ireland, but of the last year or more. We started with smoked salmon on a bed of greens, dotted with pomegranite and mandarin orange, and with smalls bits of anchovie. What a wonderful and unexpected combination! Hubby has a gift for choosing wine, and the Sancerre went great with the appetizer and the mains. Both of us chose the sea bass with new potatoes in a lemon aoli, on a bed of greens. By the end of the meal, we were using up all the bread crusts to soak up every last drop of the sauce....dessert was a cheese plate with local honey. Yum.

That night we headed back to Tig Coili. Heard the best session of our stay there - check out my post to JayneMarks.

Next day we toured the Connemara Loop. Loved this drive! Will post more about this one later, as my hubby is again standing over me telliing me he needs to eat. I arrange my day around that man's tummy!

pittsburgh pa
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3. Re: Slainte from.... New Hampshire ;-(
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Hi--I've been reading scads (never enough) on this and other sites in prep. for trip to Ireland from London, where we(fam of 5, kids 9,9 and 6) will be based for 6 weeks (never enough)...started out like all newbies with an itinerary that would have us in the car WAY too much. After many sacrifices (too many), will confine ourselves to Clare and Kerry, 4 nights and 5 days in July.

Have really enjoyed your posts from recent trip and am utterly dismayed to hear of the vis. center and walkway on C of Mohr, bleah.

I read somewhere that they can be "best appreciated" from a boat in the sea, but didn't follow up as deemed too time-consuming and prob. expensive....but should I pursue? Anyone have details?

Also, wish to order GOOD road maps for those areas (arriving in Shannon 8 am, then usual customs/car hire blob of time. Local Barnes/Noble hasn't one, and quick look on Amazon no particularly fruitful.

Anyway, we leave for Londonin a few weeks, so will continue to gratefully read along! Thanks for your most worthwhile posts!

Leixlip, Ireland
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4. Re: Slainte from.... New Hampshire ;-(
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This is the website for the Cliffs of Moher cruises: http://www.cliffs-of-moher-cruises.com/. I haven't done this boattrip so I can't comment on whether it's good.

Willow, I'm really enjoying your posts and looking forward to reading more!

pittsburgh pa
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5. Re: Slainte from.... New Hampshire ;-(
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Thanks, Clauds. Will check it out and post findings if worthwhile.

New Hampshire
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Connemara Loop.... we decided to NOT try to drive too much any more, and concentrated on just the Connemara loop for the day, instead of tryting to fit in Roundstone and Clifden to the south of it, or Doo Lough Pass to the north. Another trip...

There is a website that someone here told me about, www.goconnemara.com, which has a map of the Loop. Considering how off the "usual" tourist trail it seems to be, the Loop is well-marked (if in older weather-beaten signage)

We drove from Galway towards Oughterard, stopping at Aughnanore Castle, which was a nicely semi-restored ruin, with some good descriptive signs for a self-tour. Then after Recess (a "village" that consists of about 4 homes and a pub, but is on the map!) we headed north thru the Inagh Valley and some beautiful scenery. The weather was chilly and windy, with changeable cloud cover - excellent for Connemara and the clouds created some lovely patches of color on the mountainsides. Found our first "sheep in the road" challenges here ;-) Stubborn buggers. We made our way to Kylemore Abbey, where the Irish propensity for signage WAY before you actually get there had me almost driving down a boat ramp into the lake! We parked, took some pictures from the car park and it started to rain. Hard. (Just like that - sun, rain, then sun again, literally in minutes.) Did some window shopping in the gift shop, but didn't buy anything Then found myself very disapponted at Shannon Airport duty free as they were far more limited than I remember from before. (and me advising people to wait in previous posts! Sorry!) Anyway, the rain ended and we walked towards the abbey, not planning to tour inside but get some shots of the chapel. However, either my memory didn't serve me well from my last trip, or things have changed, as you have to pay just to get close to the Abbey. I thought before you only had to pay for an interior tour. **12 euros each!!** No thanks..

Driving on, we drove through Letterfrack (adorable little town) and entered the "Loop" of the Renvyle Peninsula on roads narrow and unimproved, winding over hills and beside lovely little harbors, coming out on a point of land that looked towards Inishboffin, Inishturk, and Clare Island and around to the mountains. I'm not sure, but I thought in the distance I could see the distinctive point of Crough Patrick.

On through Tully and Tully Cross, another adorable little village, then a side road to Lettergesh. We stopped at one of the Lettergesh beaches (where scenes from The Quiet Man were filmed, I think) but the wind made it uncomfortable to stay to long. It was so secluded and pretty I had visions of laying in the sun with my honey, but not to be ;-) Found many thatched cottages still i use around here. We drove to Leenaun, where there are some fabulous views, and sometime during this time we were stopped dead in our tracks by the sight of sheep cavorting in the doorway of an abandoned church. ;-)

We headed back towards Maam Cross, but decided we had time for one more stop, and drove east to Cong. Visited Cong Abbey and a gi-normous castle who's name escapes me, and stopped for a delicious sandwich at a place called The Hungry Monk. Good place. Then it was getting late, as Ireland time warps were in effect again, and we had to get back to Galway as Sorcha our B&B hostess had scored us tickets to the sold-out Ben Taylor gig at Roisin Dobh.

Great show, seats right up front (the man is gorgeous!) and got him to sign a CD for my daughter after.

Next day, Ennis and the Fleadh Nua. More later.

Austin
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7. Re: Slainte from.... New Hampshire ;-(
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But did ya leave us any Guinness???????

New Hampshire
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8. Re: Slainte from.... New Hampshire ;-(
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Heehee. Honestly, though I really enjoy Guinness it is so heavy I find I can only drink them on occasion (on occasion of entering a pub, LOL! JK.) and so though hubby drank Guinness the entire time, I switched to Smithwick's ale and tried the Kilkenny (ale, I think) while there. And there were several nights when wine was the drink of choice. Never did get my margarita ;-)

Ennis and the Fleadh Nua: We left Galway early Sat morning (not attempting the market first as it downpoured. Though Ennis is only about an hour away, we again went the scenic route. Past Gort, we took the back road toward Corrifin, and stopped at Kilmacdough Church. This a great ruin, with several churches and a round tower in very good shape, with a bit of a "lean". You can explore at will, no charge (we like those!) It is interesting to find all these :ruins" are still active burial grounds. Clare is a center of my husband's family from long ago, so there were lots of "McMahon" graves there.

Next stop, and my reason for the side trip, was Dysert O'Dea. Absolutely wonderful carvings there, and the best high cross we saw, standing all alone in a quiet, atmospheric cow pasture. Mists and breezes, but again the rain had stopped and the sun was out. There is a restored castle there as well, and a holy well.

On to Ennis, in the full swing of the fleadh. Checked into the Old Ground Hotel (again the time warp hit us and we didn't arrive until 2pm) and was VERY pleasantly surprised with the quality of the room. A genuine suite, with a very comfortable king-sized bed. Best bed we slept in. Very clean and modern, nice staff, satellite TV. No in-room 'net. Excellent location, but quiet, too. Good soundproofing.

Ennis does seem to have a bit of a different feel to it than most towns, more diverse and gritty, with some begging in the streets. Never felt unsafe though.

We immediately scoped out the music scene, and found a session happening at Brogan's pub. It was *wonderful*. By the end, there was a singer and 14 musicians, ranging in age from kids of about ten to elders, fiddles galore, flutes, and a set of ullian (sp?) pipes. Now *there* is a strange-looking instrument! But it sounds much better, IMO, than bagpipes, as there is no ongoing drone. The player laughed when I told him it looked like something out of a Jules Verne novel, and told me when they learn to play it, they say it's "wrestling with an octopus". Again we ended up right at the table with the musicians - I got really good at seat-finding!

Hubby was by now, hungry again, (you'd think man was a giant but only weighs about 150 lbs) so we skipped shopping on the main streets. Pretty good shopping looked to be had, too. No real "tourist" shops but some nice boutiques and gifts. We wandered down to Cruise's pub, thinking we'd pub-grub dinner, based on Cruiseking's previous reco's. Nice atmospheric place, with a peat fire burning. However, because there was a session happening there as well, no food. But they had the same menu next door at Queen's Hotel (or was it King's?) so we ate there. Decent but not fantastic.

We attended the celebrity concert at Glor venue that night, and I got my first taste of trad Irish step dancing, with a foursome of young ladies really kicking away. Wonderful! I was so happy to see it in an atmosphere that wasn't staged just for tourists. Afterward, we were exhausted and went back to the hotel where there was another smallish session happening at the hotel pub, the Poet's Corner. What a lovely pub this is....beautiful to look at, very nice and attentive staff, and the best pints since Dublin. (Not that there was MUCH of a difference except in one or two places) We found out the next day the concert folks went across to the Temple Gate hotel pub and a rousing session happened there, but honestly.... I had almost had enough trad music by then.

Next day, our last full day in Ireland dawned... cold, rainy, and windy, go figure. ;-) We had a decent breakfast in the hotel (included) and then walked to the Ennis Priory. I thought my husband would pitch a fit when he saw yet *another* ruin! However, I had a surprise for him. Inside, is the very beautiful and well-preserved family tomb of a McMahon, with a great description of the history... and the woman at the entrance (no tour but a small entrance fee, I think 1.80 euro) told him the history of the McMahon clan and how they were related to high king Brian Boru...oh, he got a kick out of that! again, he pulled his mother's prayer card out of his back pocket, where he kept it all trip... the man is a sentimental fool and I love him for it ;-) I'm VERY glad he foud this kinship thing out at the end of the trip, as he insisted I call him "Prince" and m'lord ;-) I made sure to let him know that the OTHER McMahon clan from Co. Monaghan were not related at all... that they descended from O'Neils. (Didn't tell him that they were also major chieftains - let him do his OWN research!)

I digress though... after the priory we tried to get some last minute hift-buying in, but it was Sunday and almost all of the shops in Ennis were closed ;-( Then there was the official "Fleadh Launch" A bit of talk and backslapping, then another nice concert and more step-dancers. Then the parade through the center of town (disappointed in that - four bagpipe units and that was IT) culminating in a street performance of a bunch of the fleadh musicians, breaking out into set dancing in the street.

We were thinking of heading the the Town Hall for dinner, but got sidetracked by exhaustion and ended up back in our hotel bar, the Poet's Corner. We had food there, a wonderful chowder. A nap later, we headed to a sparsely attended but wonderful concert by the renouned fiddle player Vincent... somebody (I have it wrtten down somewhere but it escapes me at the moment) and a banjo/accordian duo. The banjo player was also a storyteller of some skill, but his accent was so thick to us we missed a lot. Too bad, he was making most folks laugh their butts off.

One more Guinness for memory's sake... off to bed, and early check out. The road to Shannon is VERY easy, less than an hour on good roads the whole way. Dropped the car off and found we had some damage to the rear bumper. We know we didn't do it - think it happened in the car lot at the Old Ground Hotel. The Europcar guy mentioned it, I swore we didn't do it, and he dropped it and didn't seem to mark it on the card. I have no idea if it'll be charged to us, but we did take out super-CDW so we are covered most of the way. Shannon duty-free is FAR more limited than I remember, so buy up your gifts as you see them and don't wait until the duty-free!

The End ;-)

Maryland
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for Las Vegas, Washington DC, County Donegal, Western Ireland
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9. Re: Slainte from.... New Hampshire ;-(
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"The End ;-)"

Well done! :)

los angeles
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10. Re: Slainte from.... New Hampshire ;-(
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Fabulous!!!!!!!

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