Lots of kisses, even more Guiness, a crazy sheep farmer, an unfortunate souvenir, and only one lost hubcap.....tcreaths "craic" filled trip to beautiful Ireland
Mar 7th, 2007, 09:57 AM
#21
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 6,052
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks again to everyone for reading! I'm trying to get this complete but with my crazy work schedule and my in-laws arriving on Friday for a long visit I don't know how fast I'll be able to get this done. I'm trying though! 
taewolf, I think Ireland is a perfect introduction to Europe! As I mentioned in my report, neither my mom or aunt has ever been out of the country and both were a little nervous about venturing to Europe. Ireland is great because it definitely feels foreign and different from the US, but the people are so friendly and signs are in English so it makes it a little easier. You will certainly have a fantastic time!
Tracy
taewolf, I think Ireland is a perfect introduction to Europe! As I mentioned in my report, neither my mom or aunt has ever been out of the country and both were a little nervous about venturing to Europe. Ireland is great because it definitely feels foreign and different from the US, but the people are so friendly and signs are in English so it makes it a little easier. You will certainly have a fantastic time!
Tracy
Mar 7th, 2007, 12:55 PM
#23
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 903
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Tracy, I'm so much enjoying reading about your experiences in Ireland and look forward to more episodes. My husband went there once on a business trip but I've never been. I picture the wild cliffs shown in the movie "Ryan's Daughter".
Mar 7th, 2007, 03:06 PM
#24
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 355
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Okay- I so can't wait to find out WHY the guy was climbing in the window- this is great- just like tv..."stay tuned tomorrow when we find out if Jeremy did it with a candlestick in the conservatory"!
In regards to using Ireland as a first step into Europe, that too was our plan and it is a great one except it's so beautiful it is hard to let go and move on! We are heading back for a 2nd trip next month and a 3rd is on the books. Great people, great scenery, great craic!
Dawn
In regards to using Ireland as a first step into Europe, that too was our plan and it is a great one except it's so beautiful it is hard to let go and move on! We are heading back for a 2nd trip next month and a 3rd is on the books. Great people, great scenery, great craic!
Dawn
Mar 10th, 2007, 02:31 PM
#32
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Tracy, I am really enjoying reading your post. My DH and I want to take our daughter for a graduation present. We were thinking of a tour but after your story I think renting a car would be much more fun!
Mar 10th, 2007, 06:18 PM
#33
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 249
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'm enjoying your trip report. It brings back memories of day trips with my mom and her two sisters. Someone would laugh at seemingly nothing and suddenly we were all laughing so hard we were in tears. You keep saying you were lost. Whenever I travel somewhere new and I'm having trouble finding what I'm looking for I tell my husband we're not "lost" we are simply "exploring". I'm glad you had a great trip.
Mar 22nd, 2007, 04:19 PM
#34
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 6,052
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Day 3
Well, day three started out very nicely. We woke up, enjoyed a nice continental breakfast and chatted with some college-aged boys who were also staying the night, joking with them because we noticed that someone had wrote "virgin" in big letters on their back windshield and laughed at their funny stories of a crazy night on the town filled with lots of drinking.
So here we are chatting with the boys. They leave and we start chatting with Vicky, the B&B owner. We start telling her about our day yesterday and all of the fun we had. As we were talking we were showing her pictures of the things we had seen. Finally we get to the one of the man climbing into the window of Kilkenny castle and she quickly proclaims "hey, that's my husband!" And before we can even get a word in she calls in to her husband "hey honey, look, the girls have a picture of you climbing into Kilkenny Castle!" By this time we were dying with laughter, tears in our eyes. We couldn't believe it. What are the chances of this happening?!
If anyone is curious and would like to see the now infamous pic, it can be found at http://tinyurl.com/2mo5lq.
After laughing with her husband about how we "caught him in the act" of breaking and entering, we bid our farewells with lots of hugs and warm well-wishes. Our first stop of the day was back to the Kilkenny Design Center. Yes, we made a special trip back there. And before anyone asks, no, it wasn't my idea but since I was in the mood to souvenir shop I wasn't going to complain either. Well, the Kilkenny Design Shop is fairly large and filled with tons of great Irish made products, but be forewarned; the prices are rather steep. We found much of the same merchandise elsewhere at much lower prices. Still, I managed to pick up a couple of Beleek candle holders, some nice watercolor-ish pictures of Ireland scenery that I eventually framed and are hanging around my house, and a few postcards to send to friends and family back home.
After about an hour we said our goodbyes to Kilkenny, managed to actually get out of town without getting lost, and were on our way. Our main goal this night was to get to Kenmare. We weren't sure which of the two, the Ring of Kerry of the Dingle Penninsula, was on our itinerary but I always heard great things about Kenmare and knew I wanted to stay there. Of course, being that we were in Ireland this too took much longer than we anticipated.
We stopped at the town of Tipperary along the way, stopping to eat at a great pub called the Auld Murray Inn. We were entertained by four older gentlemen thoroughly engrossed in a game of cards. We each had a great bowl of Guiness stew served with a nice heaping spoonful of mashed potatoes on top that was wonderful and warmed us up nicely. We walked around town a little, as its a nice, colorful cute town (as are most of the towns in Ireland) and hopped back in the car.
Our next stop was Adare. We stopped because we approached Adara Church, just before you get to the center of town. Its a delightful old church with a fascinating older section that is kind of falling apart and rather spooky. We walked around for a bit, took lots of pictures, and then headed into town where we found the famous row of thatched roof houses. Of course we had to stop for pictures and then we found another giftshop. About an hour (and a fair amount of money spent) later, we were on our way again. By this time it was starting to get close to sunset and I was getting nervous because I heard about the road into Kenmare, through Killarney National Forest, and I knew we didn't want to drive it at night.
We stopped at a small town on the way because we wanted to call and book a room since a) we didn't want to wake anyone in the event that it would take us awhile to get there and b) we didn't want to have to search for a place to sleep once we got to Kenmare. So I called one of the numbers in a guidebook, which happened to be for the Willow Lodge. A kind gentleman answered, assured us that they had a lovely triple room and that they would be waiting for us to arrive.
By this time it was after 5:00 and the sun was setting fast. We finally get into Killarney, which felt like it took forever. We stopped for a quick potty break and to grab some food at a gas station and were on our way again.
At this point its dark. We enter Killarney National Park and its pitch black. To say that this road is scary at night would be a huge understatement. You are driving through a National Forest so of course there are no street lights. The road is twisty and turny and there are times where you look our your window and can't see solid ground next to you, have no idea how high you are, and are praying that the car doesn't go off the road. Then there is the wildlife. As if the drive isn't scary enough without having the occasional deer deciding to make its presence known by darting in front of our car.
We finally get out of the forest, almost an hour later, and enter Kenmare. We are all tense and I'm not feeling too hot (I probably forgot to mention that I am prone to motion sickness) but we are just happy to still be alive! I joke about this but it really was a nerve wracking experience.
So we easily find the Willow Lodge, which is located near Kenmare church right off the main square in town. This was by far our favorite place that we stayed in Ireland. First of all, the house itself is lovely inside and out. Its a fairly new house filled with beautiful wood, lovely furnishings and beautiful accents throughout that made it really warm and inviting. Our room was very large, with three single beds and a large bathroom with a jacuzzi tub. And the owners were positively delightful. They were waiting at the door when we arrived and greeted us like friends who were in town visiting. We spent some time talking to the owners and then my mom and aunt freshened up to go into town for a drink but I still wasn't feeling well so I stayed back, took a long bath and rested until they returned and we all quickly fell asleep.
Next: The Ring of Beara
Well, day three started out very nicely. We woke up, enjoyed a nice continental breakfast and chatted with some college-aged boys who were also staying the night, joking with them because we noticed that someone had wrote "virgin" in big letters on their back windshield and laughed at their funny stories of a crazy night on the town filled with lots of drinking.
So here we are chatting with the boys. They leave and we start chatting with Vicky, the B&B owner. We start telling her about our day yesterday and all of the fun we had. As we were talking we were showing her pictures of the things we had seen. Finally we get to the one of the man climbing into the window of Kilkenny castle and she quickly proclaims "hey, that's my husband!" And before we can even get a word in she calls in to her husband "hey honey, look, the girls have a picture of you climbing into Kilkenny Castle!" By this time we were dying with laughter, tears in our eyes. We couldn't believe it. What are the chances of this happening?!
If anyone is curious and would like to see the now infamous pic, it can be found at http://tinyurl.com/2mo5lq.
After laughing with her husband about how we "caught him in the act" of breaking and entering, we bid our farewells with lots of hugs and warm well-wishes. Our first stop of the day was back to the Kilkenny Design Center. Yes, we made a special trip back there. And before anyone asks, no, it wasn't my idea but since I was in the mood to souvenir shop I wasn't going to complain either. Well, the Kilkenny Design Shop is fairly large and filled with tons of great Irish made products, but be forewarned; the prices are rather steep. We found much of the same merchandise elsewhere at much lower prices. Still, I managed to pick up a couple of Beleek candle holders, some nice watercolor-ish pictures of Ireland scenery that I eventually framed and are hanging around my house, and a few postcards to send to friends and family back home.
After about an hour we said our goodbyes to Kilkenny, managed to actually get out of town without getting lost, and were on our way. Our main goal this night was to get to Kenmare. We weren't sure which of the two, the Ring of Kerry of the Dingle Penninsula, was on our itinerary but I always heard great things about Kenmare and knew I wanted to stay there. Of course, being that we were in Ireland this too took much longer than we anticipated.
We stopped at the town of Tipperary along the way, stopping to eat at a great pub called the Auld Murray Inn. We were entertained by four older gentlemen thoroughly engrossed in a game of cards. We each had a great bowl of Guiness stew served with a nice heaping spoonful of mashed potatoes on top that was wonderful and warmed us up nicely. We walked around town a little, as its a nice, colorful cute town (as are most of the towns in Ireland) and hopped back in the car.
Our next stop was Adare. We stopped because we approached Adara Church, just before you get to the center of town. Its a delightful old church with a fascinating older section that is kind of falling apart and rather spooky. We walked around for a bit, took lots of pictures, and then headed into town where we found the famous row of thatched roof houses. Of course we had to stop for pictures and then we found another giftshop. About an hour (and a fair amount of money spent) later, we were on our way again. By this time it was starting to get close to sunset and I was getting nervous because I heard about the road into Kenmare, through Killarney National Forest, and I knew we didn't want to drive it at night.
We stopped at a small town on the way because we wanted to call and book a room since a) we didn't want to wake anyone in the event that it would take us awhile to get there and b) we didn't want to have to search for a place to sleep once we got to Kenmare. So I called one of the numbers in a guidebook, which happened to be for the Willow Lodge. A kind gentleman answered, assured us that they had a lovely triple room and that they would be waiting for us to arrive.
By this time it was after 5:00 and the sun was setting fast. We finally get into Killarney, which felt like it took forever. We stopped for a quick potty break and to grab some food at a gas station and were on our way again.
At this point its dark. We enter Killarney National Park and its pitch black. To say that this road is scary at night would be a huge understatement. You are driving through a National Forest so of course there are no street lights. The road is twisty and turny and there are times where you look our your window and can't see solid ground next to you, have no idea how high you are, and are praying that the car doesn't go off the road. Then there is the wildlife. As if the drive isn't scary enough without having the occasional deer deciding to make its presence known by darting in front of our car.
We finally get out of the forest, almost an hour later, and enter Kenmare. We are all tense and I'm not feeling too hot (I probably forgot to mention that I am prone to motion sickness) but we are just happy to still be alive! I joke about this but it really was a nerve wracking experience.
So we easily find the Willow Lodge, which is located near Kenmare church right off the main square in town. This was by far our favorite place that we stayed in Ireland. First of all, the house itself is lovely inside and out. Its a fairly new house filled with beautiful wood, lovely furnishings and beautiful accents throughout that made it really warm and inviting. Our room was very large, with three single beds and a large bathroom with a jacuzzi tub. And the owners were positively delightful. They were waiting at the door when we arrived and greeted us like friends who were in town visiting. We spent some time talking to the owners and then my mom and aunt freshened up to go into town for a drink but I still wasn't feeling well so I stayed back, took a long bath and rested until they returned and we all quickly fell asleep.
Next: The Ring of Beara
Mar 23rd, 2007, 06:46 AM
#36
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 6,052
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Joan,
The drive definitely isn't much better during the day! The scenery is gorgeous but the road is a little scary. The next time we drove that road it was pouring down rain and still creepy, although at least we got to see a little scenery this time around!
Thanks for reading!
Tracy
The drive definitely isn't much better during the day! The scenery is gorgeous but the road is a little scary. The next time we drove that road it was pouring down rain and still creepy, although at least we got to see a little scenery this time around!
Thanks for reading!
Tracy
Apr 13th, 2007, 01:52 PM
#38
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 3,500
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi Tracy,
What a wonderful report, just as all of yours always are I've been away from Fodors for a few months as I recently switched jobs and it was so great to get back and read this. I'm glad you had a wonderful trip and I hope you're enjoying your new life in Charlotte. Did you and DH end up booking anything for Greece? We're headed to Germany/Austria with the family for 10 days here in about 6 weeks, then DH and I are spending a week in Italy to unwind. 2008 is definitely Greece again though Speaking of... I still have a few more days to wrap up on my report 
!
What a wonderful report, just as all of yours always are
I've been away from Fodors for a few months as I recently switched jobs and it was so great to get back and read this. I'm glad you had a wonderful trip and I hope you're enjoying your new life in Charlotte. Did you and DH end up booking anything for Greece? We're headed to Germany/Austria with the family for 10 days here in about 6 weeks, then DH and I are spending a week in Italy to unwind. 2008 is definitely Greece again though Speaking of... I still have a few more days to wrap up on my report !
Apr 15th, 2007, 07:32 AM
#39
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 6,052
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hey TexasAggie! Its good to "see" you around here again!
Charlotte is going well. I'm still quite homesick for my family, but we are going back to St. Louis in a few weeks and I'm so looking forward to it! We are all settled in and enjoying the new scenery. We've gone hiking in the Smokies and have taken several weekend getaways to the beach...things that we couldn't do in the Midwest!
Since moving here we've went to Croatia (my report is around here somewhere) and then I went to Ireland. We loved loved loved Croatia and Montenegro and are planning on going back sometime soon! We were planning on Greece this year but I started aching for something non-Europe so we decided on Japan! We used ff miles and are leaving in October for Japan, where we will split our time between Tokyo and Kyoto.
I guess I need to get cracking on this trip report! Its always fun to start them but after awhile the memories start to fade a little and it becomes almost a chore to finish them, as terrible as that sounds!
I hope everything is going well for you with your new job! And your trip to Germany and Austria sounds fabulous! Austria is one of my favorite countries (although now Croatia has taken the cake for me!) and we loved our Bavaria/Austria trip a few years ago. You will certainly have a great time!
Take care!
Tracy
Charlotte is going well. I'm still quite homesick for my family, but we are going back to St. Louis in a few weeks and I'm so looking forward to it! We are all settled in and enjoying the new scenery. We've gone hiking in the Smokies and have taken several weekend getaways to the beach...things that we couldn't do in the Midwest!
Since moving here we've went to Croatia (my report is around here somewhere) and then I went to Ireland. We loved loved loved Croatia and Montenegro and are planning on going back sometime soon! We were planning on Greece this year but I started aching for something non-Europe so we decided on Japan! We used ff miles and are leaving in October for Japan, where we will split our time between Tokyo and Kyoto.
I guess I need to get cracking on this trip report! Its always fun to start them but after awhile the memories start to fade a little and it becomes almost a chore to finish them, as terrible as that sounds!
I hope everything is going well for you with your new job! And your trip to Germany and Austria sounds fabulous! Austria is one of my favorite countries (although now Croatia has taken the cake for me!) and we loved our Bavaria/Austria trip a few years ago. You will certainly have a great time!
Take care!
Tracy
Apr 15th, 2007, 07:49 AM
#40
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 6,052
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Itallian_Chauffer,
The Ring of Beara is a peninsula directly below the Ring of Kerry. Kenmare is right at the edge of the Ring of Beara. I imagine its probably similar to the Ring of Kerry but not as touristy.
Tracy
The Ring of Beara is a peninsula directly below the Ring of Kerry. Kenmare is right at the edge of the Ring of Beara. I imagine its probably similar to the Ring of Kerry but not as touristy.
Tracy
