The long and lost road. Our 12 days in Ireland

Failte fellow travelers here is my review on our holiday as they call it here. First and foremost the opinions,reviews, and suggestions are purely my own. I'm finally not under the influence of a pint.

DUBLIN: We flew into Dublin and caught the bus that takes you to the city centre for 7 euros. This bus will not leave you at your hotel it makes several stops along the way so ask the bus driver which stop will get you nearest to your hotel. We stayed at Kilronan Guest house and Cormak was ever so helpful and kind. Did the tourist spots Guiness, Trininity College, Grafton St, Temple bar area ect. Best decision we made was not renting a car at the airport since Dublin is a wonderful walking city.
***Left Sunday morning after renting a car from Hertz, more on that later*****

KILKENNY: pretty little city, stayed at Carriglea B&B, Josephine the owner we love you.
Went to our first castle Kilkenny Castle right accross from the B&B. Before I forget on the way to Kilkenny stopped at Glendalough monastic city AWESOME. On the way to Kenmare went to Cashel which I also loved.

KENMARE: another pretty village stayed at Abbey Ct B&B, we had a wonderful dinner at Prego. We only spent the night here in preparation for the Ring of Kerry the following day. Keep in mind all these villages roll the carpet by 6pm the only establishments open are the pubs and a few restaurants.

I was disappointed with the ring. The cliffs of Moher should be skipped and go up to Donegal for Slieve League cliffs.I had heard alot about the ring but its too commercial, 8
euros just to park and you can't get near the cliffs. I guess the sign that I saw, I'm not making this up "Do you want to talk about it, please call" explains why you can't get near them.

BALLYVAUGHAN:I picked this area because we wanted to explore the Burren. Stayed at the Cappabhaile House, Margaret is a riot if you understand what she is saying.

OK........The driving........Where do I begin. Along with the car rental we got the GPS which is called Never lost (I'm not making this up) In our case WE WERE ALWAYS LOST so after the 2nd day we ditched the thing. Being lost is not necessarily a bad thing, it took us to the most remote villages with amazing vistas. The driving speeds here are fast and furious. The signs are posted in a way that they are not in front of you but sideways so by the time you see them its too late. Up country they are in gaelic, so to say the least we had to hit the pubs everynight to soothe our nerves. ha ha

ARDARA: Stayed at woodhill house B&B, go to Nancys restaurant the pub is great, this
area is full of unspoiled beauty. Glenveagh National Park was another site we visited go if you like gardens. Don't miss the 67 steps. If you are a Keats lover stop by Drumcliffe. He is buried there and they have a lovely church.

GLENARIFF: In this area we went to Giants Causeway and the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, well worth it. Make sure you have pounds. It was the only time during our holiday that we encountered a not so friendly person who said "Remember you are in Britain now love" the tone was not one of reconciliation if you know what I mean. Stayed at Dieskirt B&B, 500 acre sheep farm. Love it. Dinner at Laraghs Lodge. If you have one too many Gary will drive you back to your B&B. (I'M not making this up)

NAVAN: Newgrange is a must see, it predates the pyramids by 500 years. Stayed with Pat at althumney B&B.

Along the way we saw castles and ruins and the irish traffic jam SHEEPS & COWS. Most of the time we would be driving in these VERY narrow roads not knowing what was ahead only to find the unspoiled beauty of the Irish countryside.

Too many other experiences to tell you, but the best thing Ireland has going for it is its people. Warm, friendly, eager to help any traveler on THE LONG AND LOST ROAD.