Shadow

bucky-the wonderful restaurant that I have been to (twice) in Cashel is called
Legends (townhouse and Restaurant). It is a B&B as well as a gourmet (french trained) restaurant. Wonderful!! And, its at the foot of The Rock of Cashel (in my opinion, of the the "must sees" of Ireland). And, I've stayed in the B&B as well-wonderful!

I have heard that there is another wonderful restaurant in Cashel called (I believe) Chez Hans.

Pat Preston's Ireland Expert Web site is a must for anyone traveling to Ireland....www.irelandexpert.com
Check it out!!

Shadow

mari5

Yes, we too combined our Ireland trip.(above). After the 9 days in Ireland we flew from Dublin to Manchester (or Birmingham) and drove around the beautfiul Cotswolds.....ALWAYS fun! Or I'm sure you can fly from Dublin to another country for a few days...and fly home from that destination. That might be more "tempting" to your wife!
IF you go, I'd choose the beautiful Dingle/Slea Head drive over the Ring of Kerry drive. LEss traffic I understand. The Ring of Kerry has load of busses, which you might be stuck behind most of the way.

gualalalisa

Last week's TIME magazine had a cover story on "Happiness." The Irish were listed at the top, among the happiest people in the world. (Also high on happiness were the Dutch, the Danes and Americans. Among the least happy were the Russians and Lithuanians).

Anyway, why shouldn't they be happy? Ireland, as everyone on this thread has poitned out, is just a wonderful place in so many ways. I have been to both the Republic and Northern Ireland and loved them both.

And I LOVED the food! Great fish, veggies and desserts. The beer isn't bad either!

peeky

mike of b12 did not come back to read your messages.

He should know what his wife likes and if she is a pain in the a.s then he knows this already.

Poor mike.

flanneruk

You really have to think hard about whether your wife might be right.

Ireland really isn't for many people. The scenery's nice (though not really that unique: most of the Celtic lands are pretty much like that), many people are gregarious and speak English (but aren't your friends at home?), and IMHO it's the second best country in the world to live in: as in most other things my ancestors, who all opted to leave Ireland for England, probably got it right, but I'm still hankering after retiring there.

All of which said, it isn't Italy or France (another good reason for living in Ireland), and will bore many visitors rigid. A classic example these days of a place that can be idyllic to live in, but possibly underwhelming to visit. It's downright absurd to say "you'll love it": many people don't, and if your wife starts off in that camp, there's a very high chance she'll stay in it.

I'd strongly concur with Isabel's second suggestion. Ireland now has phenomenal (and unbelievably cheap) air links to the rest of Europe, with probably more international airports per head of the population than any country in the world. Fly to Shannon, take a couple of days in Kerry, Connemara or West Cork, then pick up an onward flight from Cork (not Shannon, which is poorly served for flights to the rest of Europe)to somewhere your wife can live with.

If she's taken by the Irish experience, she'll need no persuading to have a longer trip there next time. If she's not, you won't have to put up with wall to wall "I told you so".

metellus

Thank you flanneruk. You don't usually get such reasonable opinions about things in this board. Everyone is usually gushing on about the bug in my soup was SO GREAT and the cab driver who ripped me off WAS JUST MARVELLOUS. If a Martian came down to read this board, you'd think that no one ever had a boring trip or a bad time.

Thanks again. Especially since your comments have talked me out of a trip to Ireland. It really sounds boring.

mike_b12

Thank you everyone for your responces.
They are quite varied. I guess it depends on like everything else individual taste.
Mike

travelphile

I've only seen a tincy bit of Ireland so I may have a different view...

Spent 5 days in Dublin last year - found it to be a wonderful, world class city, not as quaint as we expected. Try starting there, you'll get your fix, you're wife won't be pushed in too far, and then you can decide if you want to explore further.

We were only able to fit in a quick daytrip from Dublin, so again, didn't see the 'Ireland' people talk usually talk about. But found Dublin a city with interesting museums/attractions, shopping, and FOOD!

Best of luck deciding...

(ps, look for our Dublin trip report under the SN KAMG)

kiwi34

My husband and I sepnt our honeymoon in Ireland in August 2004. It was the best week of my life Ireland is just a wonderful place to go. The people are so nice and the villages totally picturesque. We stayed in Athlone at the Hodson Bay Hotel beautiful Hotel with its own Marina, The Midleton Hotel at Midleton near Cork and The Campden Court in Dublin (which I wsany too fussed on).

I would thoroughly recommend Cork which is a gorgeous city but I have to admit that I preferred going to all the lovely little villages Kinsale, Cobh, Adare, Avoca etc.

I am a towny at heart but found Dublin rather disappointing but to each their own obviously a lot of people love going there.

Blarney castle is a must and after climbing to the top to look at the amazing views you get to kiss the Blarney stone which is a feat in itself

You should definitely try to persuade your wife to go if not why not have a boys only holiday!!!!

Clifton

I love Ireland, but I can see where someone might not be that interested. There are places that other people rave about, and I still don't have that much interest in. Buy or borrow something like an Eyewitness guide and see what there is there that she might like. Honestly, if the thing she likes most about France and Italy is sitting on piazzas sipping wine, or wandering vast museums looking at the Masters, then it's realistic to say that Ireland won't offer those things in the same measure. If she's outdoorsy though or into scenery and/or great beer, for instance, there's a fair chance she'll like Ireland just fine.

The main thought I had though, when reading your post was - "well, because her husband would like to see Ireland as she wanted to see France". That seems like a pretty good reason to start with. But it won't mean she'll be excited about it.

mike_b12

Such fantastic ideas. If we do the trip we did plan on visitig a couple other countries as some of u have suggested.
mike

travelinwifey

The first time we went to Ireland it was just an "add on" from England to try something different. Little did we know what a magical place it would be. Once you go you will understand the inspiration for leprechuans. I think your wife will be pleasantly surprised. A little bit of my now belongs to Ireland. I don't see how anyone cannot love it there. Might I suggest watching "Waking Ned Devine" if you didn't already see it. The scenery is so beautiful, describes the people, but nothing is like being there in person.

LoveItaly

mike, I have not been to Ireland (although I would love to) but here is what I have had friends say.

Several friends over the years have been to London, Paris, Rome, Venice, Madrid etc. And they never had any desire to go to Ireland.

But little by little several did.

And ever friend came back raving about Ireland. They were truly surprised how much the country, the people, the food and the beautiful scenic beauty.

Maybe your wife just doesn't have any interest in Ireland because she has no knowledge about it. Would a good guide book or even a coffeetable type book with scenic photo get her a bit excited?

And like others have stated, don't hold back on going. If you do I imagine you will always feel resentful. I too went to places my husband wanted to visit. I was always so glad we did. I think that spouses have to comprise, we do not always immediately desire the same idea. I would imagine if you two do go you will have a wonderful trip

grace_omalley

I have been to a number of European countries and loved them all. Ireland was the only country where I cried when I had to leave. We took a hiking tour and saw the most beautiful mountains and seashore that one can imagine. The ruins of castles and churches were not only historically informative but there was an enchanted palpable spiritual feeling to the land. You could feel the sorrow and grief from the spirits whose churches had been destroyed by Cromwell. One of the nights we stayed at an inn near Letterfrack I swear I heard banshees howling. I don't know for sure if there are banshees in that area, perhaps it was the wind...
What an incredible country! It far exceeded my expectations.

metellus

"I'd strongly concur with Isabel's second suggestion. Ireland now has phenomenal (and unbelievably cheap) air links to the rest of Europe, with probably more international airports per head of the population than any country in the world. Fly to Shannon, take a couple of days in Kerry, Connemara or West Cork, then pick up an onward flight from Cork (not Shannon, which is poorly served for flights to the rest of Europe)to somewhere your wife can live with."

You are completely wrong here. I checked. Virtually all flights go to the UK and Shannon has far more. Unless you are willing to transfer in the UK, the only real option is Ryan Air out of Shannon. They fly nonstop from Shannon to most countries in Europe, althouth they often land at very inconvenient airports.

Ann41

Anyone's who eaten pizza in Ireland doesn't deserve good food.

I've flown direct to Rome from Dublin, and direct to Paris from Belfast. There are plenty of direct links from Ireland to the continent.

I love Ireland (I live here), but wouldn't suggest forcing anyone to come here that doesn't want to. If she doesn't want to be here, she'll just find fault with everything. Like certain posters on this thread.

Ireland is for people who like to relax and enjoy themselves without rushing all over the place. The hiking is superb, as is the golf. As for the food, you have to know what to eat here. Definitely have seafood--I can't eat salmon in the US any more because it just pales in comparison. Chicken and lamb are also great here. Beef is average at best. Pork is hit or miss. Duck is good. Avoid pasta and Mexican and Chinese food. Sometimes they get it right, but more often it's a mess. Consume large quantities of potatoes, bread and cheese. Avoid the desserts in pubs and restaurants, ESPECIALLY the so-called cheesecake. Most places have stopped boiling vegetables to death. Do not eat in any place that bills itself as a cafe. These are usually nasty, horrible places with disgusting food.

allisonm

Ann, I have to agree with you on the fish! In October I had some of the best meals ever in Ireland. I had sole twice (in pubs) and it was just phenomenal. The salmon in Foley's in Kenmare was excellent, and I think I had it in Kinsale as well. Usually the "joint of the day" is good, especially if it's lamb. (We tend to shy away from any beef there because it tastes peculiar to us.) If you are near the coast, fresh mussels are just wonderful. I'm a pretty big fan of carvery lunches, but we did have some overcooked veggies.

waffle18

Just a quick note to point out that while I second Travelinwifey's opinion of Ireland, part of her post is incorrect.

The movie "Waking Ned Devine" was actually filmed on the Isle of Man and not in Ireland. I remember stting in the theatre until they rolled all the credits so I could find out where in Ireland the movie was filmed. I was gobsmacked when I read "Filmed on location on the Isle of Man" so I remember it clearly.

If you want to see images of Ireland there are no shortage of other movies filmed there (some about Ireland and some not) so here's a quick list.

The Quiet Man - older but shows Connemara which is still very similar.

The Matchmanker - shows Connemara and lots of the Aran Islands and is much more recent.

Braveheart - if you can stomach the battle scenes you will see a lot of Co. Kildare as well as some castles in Ireland (Trim and Cahir are two that come to mind.)

King Arthur (2004) - lots of Co Wicklow in this movie, really the best thing about this movie! (YMMV)

You can do a search on this forum and come up with a good long list of other movies that have been filmed in Ireland, too. You'll be surprised...

Cheers,

Wendy

travelinwifey

Wow, I did a quick internet search and found the same info Wendy! I could have sworn that was the Cliffs of Mohr at the end....Now I need to go to the Isle of Man! For those that didn't know the exact location (like me) it is in the British Isles.

Did see the Matchmaker while in Ireland, I would have been amazed if filming was not in that country

Clifton

travelinwifey, if you DO want to see the Cliffs of Moher in a film, check out The Princess Bride and look for the long shots of the "Cliffs of Insanity"