As promised...I'm going to post a photo along with a little explanation of what we did while in Ireland. We got to Shannon Airport and rented our car. Originally we'd booked at Mazda 3, but when Hertz wanted to give us a Ford Focus in its place, Mike refused and upgraded to a Toyota Avensis. Probably the worst mistake we made while on the Emerald Isle, but more on that later.
After picking up the car we took off for Tralee and the Dingle Peninsula. The sole reason I wanted to go to Tralee was because every year, QVC has a special show called "The Rose of Tralee"...No joke, this is why I wanted to go there. I can't express how disappointed I was in this city. I really was a dump and because we were there on Good Friday very little was open in terms of food, so we went to a diner-like place and had pizza...big mistake! Again, Tralee was a huge disappointment mainly because of my ideas of grandeur brought forth by QVC!
From Tralee we hit up the Dingle Peninsula which was possibly the best part of the trip. Here is where we got to see all of the VERY ANCIENT (500AD) ruins. The way they created these structures is amazing--fitting rocks together without mortar so perfectly that they survive even today! Going around Dingle was the first problem we had with the car. We kept hearing a grinding noise which I assumed was just some crud in the wheel well, but came to find out that the whole front end of the car was dragging on the ground the entire time! We hadn't hit anything so we knew that it was of no fault of our own, but Mike still had to fix it in the pouring rain, wearing the only pants he brought with him. (Even though I told him he should have brought a spare--so much for light packing!)
After we finished the Dingle Peninsula we went down to Killarney to our hotel and anniversary dinner. As we were getting into town, Mike's temporary fix of the bumper came down and people were literally staring us as we were driving up the main street. Luckily this time we parked in a parking garage and Mike was able to put a more permanent fix on! We went to a very nice dinner at a seafood restaurant and enjoyed our meal in a very empty restaurant on Good Friday.
We woke up early the next day to head up to Galway where we were to spend two nights. On the way we visited the majestic Cliffs of Mohr and the Burren Region--Both of which were breathtaking. The Cliffs of Mohr brought out a fear of heights that I wasn't aware I really had. There was a stone barrier up to a point and then there was a sign that said "Do Not Pass Beyond This Point" but everyone was. Beyond that point there was no barrier, guard rail or anything. I got very nervous and you can see it in the pics of me! I made Mike get back behind the barrier before we could even get a picture of the two of us there! The Burren Region is very interesting. It's a huge area of the country that seems to be growing rocks! The rocks just come out of the grass as if they are growing upward! After that, we got into Galway where I wanted to see some traditional Irish music in a nice Irish pub! We got some great pub food and went out in search of some fiddles. We found them in what can only be described as the most crowded bar I have ever been in...We had a pint, listened to the music and were on our way.
On our second day in Galway, we drove along the coast to Connemara National Park. Again, those QVC fans will know that there is such a thing called Connemara marble which is green in color and quite rare. I thought we'd see where it came from. NOPE. No marble in Connemara National Park! There were a series of hiking trails where, if we had the time, we could have taken a nice hike. We consciously tried to get back to main roads before dark though, so we had to pass on the hikes. Again, QVC led to another disappointment! That night we went to a "Local" bar in Galway. We'd heard that in real Irish pubs they don't play Irish music, they play American music, it's just in tourist bars that they play Irish music. We knew we weren't in a tourist bar when we heard "Sexy Back".
We rounded out our trip the next day at Bunratty Castle where we stopped before returning to the airport. This was a true medieval castle where I thought they did a great job in capturing what life would have been like back then. They even created a little village showing what regular homes and businesses would have been like back in the medieval era.
When we got back to Shannon and returned the car, we found out that there were a lot of hidden charges with the rental. What we thought was going to cost about 300 euro, wound up costing us about 700 euro! Needless to say, Mike is livid and has "written a letter!", in true Mike fashion, to Hertz. We'll see how that goes!
All in all, Ireland was everything I'd hoped it would be and more. The sights were great, the food was good and the pints were fantastic! Even with the little disappointments of Tralee and Connemara--which I hold QVC directly responsible for! I can't wait to go back again to see Dublin and Waterford.
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