Ireland Road Trip
Oops… it was bound to happen. My first somewhat major fuck-up as a traveller. I admit, I’ve been getting lazy and idealistic. I don’t pack as carefully as I used to, because I seem to do it so often that I feel comfortable enough knowing that I’ve got all the essentials. But, once in a while it means you forget something small. This time it was a hairbrush. Obviously, that’s not the major fuck-up. I’ve also been getting lazy with timing. I’m a late person. I admit it. I’m always just a little late for everything. I try not to, but I really can’t help it. So I’ve been getting to the airport later and later, with less and less time to spare, yet always make it. Except this time. Major fuck up? I thought I allowed enough time, because I try to always carry-on my luggage. I’m used to just needing enough time to get my boarding pass, get through security, and to the gate. And, I find Schiphol to be very efficient, so I rarely wait long to do any of those. But this time, Lindsey was with me, and she had to check her bag. And when we only got to the airport an hour before take off, we missed the cutoff for checking bags by the time we got to the counter. It was my fault, I was in charge of time management for this project, and I didn’t take it into consideration, compounded by a slow moving tram. We asked if we could just check her bag at the gate, but were told no. I think that’s bullshit, though. If we had just carried it through the airport, they would just put it under the plane right from the gate. I’ve done it before… not a big deal… but the airline staff said it was a no go. So we had to change our tickets, which, of course, resulted in money. Cost us each about €150 so we could get the next flight. Damn. Not catastrophic by any means, but an expensive mistake, regardless. But at least now we had time to get a coffee and sandwich or something.
Lindsey’s a friend from back in Detroit, that also went to Perú with us. She came out to visit me in Amsterdam for a couple weeks, and also had a friend doing a study abroad, staying just outside Dublin. So on her last weekend, we headed over there. I’ve already seen Dublin, and have really wanted to get out into rural Ireland, so I thought it might be a good opportunity to hire a car and drive around. It would be cheaper than taking buses around the countryside, we could be at our own pace and route, stop where we want, sleep in the car and save on a bed, and I could get my driving fix. I like driving. I’ve done a lot in my life, and I find it relaxing. I dunno… that inner Detroit again… Living in Europe for 6 months now without a car, I’ve been getting antsy. But see, the thing is, cars in Ireland ride on the other side. Not only opposite side of the road, but car as well. Driving on the other side of the road wasn’t too bad… when traffic is coming at you on the other side, it’s a good reminder as to which lane you need to be in. But being on the other side of the car fucked me up for a bit. Luckily the pedals are in the same order, but I was misinformed about the gearbox. Someone told me it was mirrored, so that first gear is still up and on the inside… not the case. Gearbox is the same as left-hand-drive cars, which on one hand is good because it’s the same pattern, but it took some getting used to upshifting to the inside, and doing so with my left hand. And my neck just felt a little weird, because instead of being aware of traffic to my left, it was on my right, so the angle I’ve held my head my whole life of driving was just slightly off. And I never was able to get the mirrors in a position I was happy with… After a couple hours, I was used feeling much better about it, and after a couple days I was actually feeling comfortable with everything and able to have more fun driving…
We hired the car in Dublin, and drove to Kilkenny that night. Getting used to driving on the wrong side of the car and road in the dark and fog, through the Wicklow Mountains… interesting. But it worked out. It was late and everthing was closed, but we wandered a bit through the town and found a couple pubs. They were pretty nice places, though I can’t remember the names. The first had a real nice dark red interior, with comfortable couches. The second was a trendier mod-design, and had a bouncer at the door… I wasn’t sure what to think at first. But he was cool, just checking ID’s. Haha, I haven’t been ID’d in quite a while. He seemed amazed at Lindsey’s dreadlocks. Like he had never seen them before. I know it’s rural Ireland, but really, they do have televisions here. Kilkenny is a nice looking town. The LP mentions it’s often referred to as a medieval city, but with a disclaimer to not expect something a la a Renaissance Festival. I do see what they mean, though. The feel of the town from the architecture of the buildings does give it a bit of a medieval feel, though I felt it much more in Český Krumlov in the Czech Republic, another town described as “medieval.” We stayed in the car that night, though slightly regretted it. Turns out that was one of the coldest nights they’ve had this winter. Not rediculously cold, but still below freezing. At least we thought to stop in the 24 hour supermarket in town and found some fleece blankets. We should have each bought two. But we were alright. In the morning we grabbed some Irish breakfast (with Big coffee! and 24 hour supermarkets! The things I miss in Amsterdam, it’s almost like being home in Detroit again!) and walked to grounds of the castle. Earlier while driving we’d seen a cemetery, St. John’s Churchyard. Cemeteries were one of the things Lindsey wanted to visit while in Ireland, so we wandered around it as well. Strange, many of the tombs and grave markers looked vandalized. The way things had fallen, it was unnatural. But if it was vandals, I wondered why it was decided to leave them down.
We headed out to Galway, taking the scenic route through small towns and stopping at random ruins we saw along the way, which lead us to the Slieve Bloom Mountains, which had gotten snow… Turns out, a Toyota Avensis is not well equipped for icy dirt roads uphill, so we had to roll backwards until we could turn around, and find another way around the mountains. And somewhere along the route, my camera took a bath in Red Bull. Funny thing… they seem to not like to work afterwards… Fuckin hell. Figures. I seem to be on a 1 year track record with my cameras, before they either got stolen or broken, so I was due. Plus side… upgrade! At least Lindsey had her own camera so we could still get some photos. I was kind of irritated about the camera, so we stopped in some town for a pint, and also found a homemade deli where I bought some organic honey and a spicy mustard. Good stuff. Got to Galway and met up with Lindsey’s other friend, who took the train from Dublin to meet us there, and we found dinner at McDonagh’s Seafood House upon the recommendation of a local. Apparently it’s fairly reknowned as being a good place. Now, I do love fish, but tend to stay away from fried food, so I’m no expert on the British style, but they did seem to have a nice, varied selection of fishes to choose from. It was good, but didn’t strike me as being particularly fantastic. Next order of business… a pub. We found ourselves in The Quay’s. It was quite the massive bar with a cool interior. Levels of floors coming out everywhere, several bars, a restaurant, and a live band, which actually sounded good. It was pretty crowded and hard to find a seat, but nice. Leaving there, we decided sleeping in the car again, with 3 this time, and the cold, wasn’t the plan, and found a Days Inn to crash. €108 for a room with a king size bed and a double bed. Split 3 ways, not bad at all. And, there was another bar there, so Lindsey and I got a shot and beer and talked to the bartenders as the closed. Still, feels so strange to be in a hotel… am I losing budget travel cred? Naw, hotel room was definitely worth it here. It was a good night.
Next morning, drove to Belfast, finding an old, unmonitored, monastic site on the way that we stopped at for some pics. Stopped somewhere near the Republic/North border for a pint and a burger, and continued to Belfast and found the Linen House hostel to stay at. £6.50 for a dorm bed. Pretty nice place, but fairly loud. Same plan as the previous night… food and pub. Wandered down the Golden Mile and found ourselves at Maggie May’s Café, where they had large portions of very good food for a cheap price. Being back in the UK, I was doubtful for cheap eats, but we scored here. On the prowl for a pub, we found Benedicts Hotel, which was quite bumpin. The music selection was… eclectic… sometimes decent, other times shit, and he kept switching up the genres. It may have been for the best, so that we didn’t get stuck in the crap of a particular genre for too long. We could hear crap from other genres, too. And there were some good tracks thrown in, too. We noticed that Belfast, and even Ireland as a whole, boasted a fairly young population. There were lots of youthful people out and about. It’s not something I’d ever really paid attention to wherever I am, but it seemed to be such the case in Ireland, that it stuck out. Once that bar closed, we headed towards the hostel, and en route started talking to some other guys out on the street. They said they knew of an after-hours club that we could go to. It was a gay club, but they said at least it would have booze. There was a £10 cover, which I thought was awfully fuckin high for it being 3.30 in the morning. But Lindsey said she’d pay, so we went in, while Jess continued back to the hostel. We were duped… no alcohol! WTF!? What the hell was the 10 quid for? Apparently just a waste of money. We tried to get it back, but no dice. Fuck. Another expensive lesson… always ask if there’s alcohol before paying cover.
Tags: Europe, Ireland, Kilkenny, Travel
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