Debbie

Well, I finally got around to typing up my trip report
The players: Me - mid 30's Driver , daughter, overall tour guide ( 2nd trip to Ireland)
Dad - age 67 -Navigator/front seat - 1st trip out of the US
Mom - age 65 - back seat all the way - serious shopper - 2nd trip to Ireland.
Steve - 45 - older brother - also first trip out of US.
Ireland April 1 - 14 , 2003

Day 1 : Overall it was a pretty smooth flight, one bump on the landing but not too bad.
Dad was happy that we had to change planes in Dublin - gave him a chance to grab a smoke in between planes.
We landed in Shannon at 11:40, and had our baggage and the car, and were out on the road by 12:30 - pretty good if you ask me.
Dad was amazed at the lack of shoulder and he had the bird's eye view - in the passenger seat!
By 2:15 we were at the Cliffs - 48 miles and 1 hr 45 min. -felt like a lot longer. But luckily no scares on the road.
I don't think I have ever been in wind that strong as that day. First we almost couldn't get the car doors open to even get out of the car. Then when Dad & Steve both had to hold on to the tailgate, just for me to get my scarf out, we decided that standing at the top of a really big cliff was probably not the smartest idea.
Oh, well, on to Cullinan's in Doolin. We asked for a recommendation for lunch, and Carol suggested McGann's pub, just down the road. From there we went back into Doolin 'Proper' . Down to the shops and to look around a bit.

After a quick nap, we headed into Gus O'Conners for Dinner. We really lucked out, there was live traditional music - one of the guys even played the spoons! Now to most people this is not a big deal,
But for us it was really cool. My Dad tried to teach us how to play the spoons when we were little - back before cable it was one way to entertain 6 kids.


Day 2 - trip to the Cliffs, take two. After a nice breakfast we went back to the Cliffs. Still a bit windy, but do-able. Dad ( the king of the fear of heights committee?), loved it. He even climbed up to the top of O'briens tower, and all over the cliffs. Since we spent a lot more time at the Cliffs than expected. So we ended up skipping the Burren. Oh, well, just another thing to add to the next trip list.

Off to Cashel. Hunger pains hit us as we got to Tipperary, so we found a pub there for lunch. Great food, cool bar, but Dad now had "It's a long way to Tipperary' to go along with 'Hang down your head DAN Dooley' to serenade us with.
We found our way to Dualla House with very little problem - with such a grand, long driveway, it certainly made an impressive first impression. Add to that the tons of lambs bouncing around like jumping beans, it was very cool.

The Georgian manor house was just as impressive from the inside. A large entryway led to a grand staircase. Then up to our rooms. Oh my. Since I had requested 2 rooms with 2 beds each, we ended up with 2 HUGE rooms. Mom & I took the room with 1 double bed, and 2 twins. Dad and Steve took the room with 1 dbl. and 1 twin, but with a full settee , so Dad could watch the news in comfort.

We just barely made it to the Rock in time - we got there at 4:30 - just 15 minutes before the last admit of the day. After walking around Cashel, I was even gladder that we were staying outside of town. The steady stream of semi's rolling through the main street was deafening.

Day 3 ' Day trip day. 1st stop Waterford Crystal. I was very impressed with myself. Once we got into the Waterford area, I found my way back to the Crystal Factory right away. (Of course, it is pretty easy to find!.) Dad and Steve were duly impressed by the tour. We even saw the quality control guy rejecting almost a whole batch of pitchers. The sound of all that breaking crystal was like nails on a blackboard. We ate at the cafeteria there. The food there was fantastic as always. Dad even had 2 deserts. (This would prove to be a pattern for the trip - there wasn't an apple pie he could pass by.)

Next stop - Cahir Castle. Who'd-a-thunk-it? It was like it was a huge playground for Dad. He climbed up and down and in and out of every nook and cranny of that castle. (Remember - normally, he doesn't do heights, but the thrill of exploring won out.) He even climbed down towards the dungeon, and then up through an interior stairwell, into the turret on overlooking the street.

On the way back into Cashel, Dad decides he wants to try driving. It is a pretty simple road; so, I pull over about 10 miles out, and switch places with him. YIKES ! is that really what it is like being in the passenger seat?!! While he was technically still in his lane, and clear of the stone wall, he took the curves and oncoming traffic a bit too fast for all of us. Then when we got into town, he managed to turn down a road that we had no idea where it went. We ended up back outside of town, at which time Mom and Steve made him give the keys back to me. I got us right into town and found a parking spot right off. After dinner at Kearneys, we ran into a couple from Dayton , that had been on our plane from Chicago. We had run into them on the Waterford Crystal tour, but never expected to see them again in a totally different town - what are the odds?

Day 4 - on to Glendalough (glenda-loch). Mairead from Dualla House suggested we head down around Waterford then up towards Enniscorthy and up. It worked out great. Right up until we hit the R755, which is a path masquerading as a road. We stopped in Enniscorthy for lunch. Not a town I would want to drive around much in. Very congested, and busy. We found a car park and gratefully left the car and walked around. It looks like a nice walking around town, but the castle won't be open until 2pm, and it was only noon. We stopped in at one of the many
'Lounge Bars', which was actually a hole in the wall, but had fantastic soup & sandwiches for lunch. We ran into a charming local man who started up a conversation with my Dad. (Coincidentally they both are named Bill) Our new friend Bill heard us talking on the street and asked if we were from the States, and if we were enjoying Ireland, and thanked us for coming. Quite a people person this Bill was.
Pinewood Lodge is a nice enough. Both of our rooms are on the first floor -which was a nice thing, seeing as we are staying here for 3 days, which means that we are taking the entire luggage in. Only complaint - no TVs in the rooms, only 1 in the lounge area. This kind of annoyed Dad, as there was another family staying there, who monopolized the TV every night. The oldest daughter of the owner was VERY helpful in giving us directions to everywhere we wanted to go, from dinner that night, to Powerscourt the next day, and even our route out to Kilkenny on our last day there.
Dinner at the Wicklow Heather restaurant, and then back to the B&B for a few games of cards and an early night after a long day of driving.

Day 5 - drive to Powerscourt - We totally lucked out, it was a Glorious, Sunny Day. The best one yet. We took the R755 up to the N11, to Enniskerry. It only took about 35 minutes to get there, much quicker than I expected. We wandered around town for a few minutes, because the sign for Powerscourt was turned around pointing back towards town. Once we got directions from the ever-present gas station, we headed right into the Powerscourt grounds. We were all thoroughly impressed by PC. The house part was very opulent, and you could just imagine what it was like in its heyday. But the real jewel of PC is the walk around the fountains and the gardens. Really, really beautiful. A lot of the formal garden was not in bloom yet, but you could see how pretty it would be in a month or so.
Lunch was in the café there. Again - fabulous soup, with a big dessert for Dad.
The drive back was a bit more difficult than the drive there. First we got turned around getting out of Enniskerry, and when we finally got onto the N11, we ended up going towards Dublin instead of away from it. Thank god for Round-abouts. We just waited till we got to one, so we could turn back around. Drive time back was around an hour.
We went to St Kevin's Catholic Church for 7pm service. It was a unique mass. They made me look like I speak slowly. It was like a race to see who could finish each of the prayers, and chants first.
Dinner tonight is going to be Pub food, we thought, but when we got to Lynhams Hotel Pub, it is packed to the gills. We decide to head down the road, into Glendalough, to the hotel there. Very good food, and fabulous service. We went back to Lynhams to catch some music, but it wasn?t going to start until after 10:30 and after listening to the sound check, (
"Proud Mary&quot we decided to head back to the B&B.

Debbie

PART TWO -
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Day 6 This was our ?bonus? day. We woke up to find a very ?soft? morning (translate: damp and foggy). No hard plans, so we decide to start the day out with a walk through Glendalough, and then head into the surrounding area. Glendalough was a bit spooky at first with the gray skies and fog, but it was still a very interesting place. Mom & Dad were enthralled by the cemetery - I think they managed to read at least 75% of them.
Next on to the Woolen Mills outlet just outside of Laragh ? We promised Mom that she could do some extra shopping and go figure ? Dad is the one scoping out a coat!
Now - just by going by the map, we figure that we will head to Rathdrum ? there must be something to see there right? Well, by the time we got from one end to the other (not much more than a blink) we decide to keep on going. After a quick lunch at ?The Meeting of the Waters? we head on into Avoca. Cute little town ? very quiet on this Sunday afternoon. Seeing as the streets are pretty narrow, We find a parking place and decide to explore on foot. We start walking towards the Avoca Handweavers Outlet. Both and uphill and downhill route ? who knew? Seeing the weaving in person was a very cool demo. And the shopping there - really nice stuff. And as a bonus - Dad found the coat he had been looking at earlier in the day, in his size and for about 10 Euros less. What a deal.
We went back to the B&B and played Euche (cards) for a while before dinner. Phillip the 9-year-old son of the owners came down from the residence. After poking his head around the corner a few times, he came into the lounge, under the pretense of watching the soccer match. Not 5 minutes later he was sitting next to me, asking how to play the game. He was so sweet ? reminded me of my 11-yr. old nephew.

Day 7 ? drive to Kilkenny over the Wicklow Gap ? Which according to Mom, Dad, and Steve, was a beautiful drive. I on the other hand didn?t see much of ? I was concentrating on keeping the car on the road. Total drive time was only 2 hrs ? much faster than I originally thought. We found Laurels pretty easily and got checked in by about Noon.
Oh My! I don?t think my dorm room in college was as small as one of the rooms we had. Mom & I took the room with two twin beds. They had to be put in an ?L? layout, to fit them both in the room. And the Bathroom? It was so small; you had to step away from the toilet, scoot around the pedestal sink, and practically step into the shower to pull up your pants. (Honest ? I am not kidding here) I swear the one morning I heard Mom clock her head on the wall, trying to get dressed. Dad & Steve had a bigger room, but still a tiny shower. The best thing about the B&B was the location. It was a straight shot up College Road into the city center. Took us about 15 minutes.
Brian (the owner) pointed us to Marble City Cleaners so we could drop off some laundry. Then we were off to find some lunch. We ended up at Paris, Texas. (Who knew we would fly across the ocean to go to Texas? Kind of like how I went all the way to London to see CHICAGO? ) Lunch was great, and we got to sit on the upper level and people watch for a bit.
Off to wander around town ? First stop, Rothe house. Somewhat interesting but not really worth it. Then up the road to see St Canice?s. This was a very interesting church, but unfortunately, they do not allow photography in it. We had hoped to do the brewery tour at St Francis, but they were not doing tours that day. (was it because it was a Monday?) Off to the Black Abbey. Very Impressive stained glass windows. Trying to find our way back to the main street was a bit of a challenge, but we made it. After hoofing it all the way back to the Castle, we managed to get in on the last guided tour. This was a very impressive tour and well worth it.
We had planned on listening to music that night, but after seeing how wild the driving was in town, we decided against it. The B&B was too far from where the music was to walk it at night, so off to the Hotel Kilkenny for dinner ? pretty much the only place serving food near the B&B.
Total miles today = 69

Day 8 Surrounding area ? After some dubious directions from Brian, and a few wrong turns along with the pre-requisite stop at a gas station for directions, we find our way to Bennettsbridge. First stop - mostly by default because the entrance was right in front of us, was Nicholas Mosse Pottery. For an accidental side trip, this was a really cool place to see. They have viewing stations all around it, to see each stage of pottery making. Then upstairs there is a whole room of ?seconds?, which to our eyes looked just fine. Guess where we made our purchases? We also decided to ship these items home, as the bowl Mom chose would never had made it in her carryon.
Next on to Mount Juliet. Woah. Oops, we drove right by Jerpoint Abbey. Well, since we are hungry, we decide to head on to Mt Juliet for lunch, and will back track to the Abbey. Lunch was very good, although, I don?t think Dad tasted much ? he was too busy drooling over the golf course. He made sure to pick up all the info on greens fees, almost planning in his head how he can come back and golf next time. A little backtracking, and we find our way to Jerpoint Abbey. We got an absolute GORGEOUS afternoon for this. It was sunny with perfect blue skies. I got some of my favorite pictures of this trip here. And as and extra bonus, because they were under construction, there was no admittance fee. Dad, as usual, had a blast looking in every nook and cranny.
Now, for one more bit of backtracking, we head over to Jerpoint Glass Studio ? yep ? past Mt Juliet, so by now, we know this road pretty well. As we park the car and look over the field, about 8 cows are lined up in a perfect row, looking at us. The front room of the studio is a ?seconds? area ? although, again, we are want to figure out what is wrong with them. You can just walk up to the viewing area, which is right inside the door and watch them make the glass pieces. Then if you walk around to the back (through what almost looks like a junkyard area?) you can get even closer and see them make the really large pieces. They were so nice there. We were standing at the edge of the door, and one of the glass blowers waves to us, ? come closer, come on? so we stepped in ? only about 10 feet from them. Very Cool.
After picking up our laundry (18 euros), we had dinner at Paris, Texas, we walked back to the B&B. Since there was no place for all of us to sit in either of our rooms, we went next door to the corner pub - The Sceilp Inn, to have a drink and play some cards. As we had found in our trip so far, we ran into some really nice locals, one even took a picture of the four of us, and chatted with us for a bit.
Total miles today: 36

Day 9 - Driving to Kinsale. This was actually our most difficult and stressful day. It was a lot of driving, and in an area that I was not familiar with, so it was like uncharted territory for me.
1st stop ? Middleton Distillery (- actually first stop was a ?layby? along the road at Lough Aderra, a lake with all sorts of swans and ducks swimming around.) The distillery tour ended up being a private tour for us, as there was no one else signed up for the 11 o?clock tour. Dad & Steve really enjoyed the tour and all the old equipment. Dad even got to do the taste test of the different whiskeys. We decided to eat lunch right there, which was the WORST DECISION OF THE ENTIRE TRIP!!! They were expecting a tour bus full of seniors to be sitting down after we placed our order ? not that they told us this. They mentioned that the kitchen was busy, but that is not usually a big problem. Not here. They obviously have no clue how to manage independent tourists as well as tour groups. They served Mom, Dad and Steve their entire order and I ended up waiting more than 45 minutes for mine. And it wasn?t even a cooked item. It was a cold turkey sandwich with cranberry dressing. It totally ruined the whole morning for me. Dad did bring it up to the manager, but all he got was a ? I?m sorry, all of the wait staff was supposed to let everyone not in the tour group know that there would be a delay, before taking the order?. A DELAY? There was only one other table other than the big group. How could one sandwich take over 45 minutes to prepare?
Then to top things off, by the time we found our way out of Middleton ? not the easiest town to maneuver, we were all a bit crabby.
On to Cobh. I really wanted to see the Heritage Center, but as we drove into town, we did not see it or any signs for it. We ended up parking near Kennedy Park and walking around a bit, and after asking for directions, realized that we had indeed passed the HC on the way in ? It is attached to the Train Station. Since we now knew where we were going, we found the sign pointing to the HC. This had to be the TINYEST direction sign in all of Ireland ? the pointers on this sign were maybe 2 inches wide. The Queenstown exhibit was very interesting , and we ended up staying a lot longer than I planned for.

We found the ferry right away, and the timing was just about perfect. Now, trying to find our way to Kinsale ? not so easy. We followed the signs, but still ended up taking probably a 45 minute loop , coming almost back to the ferry area. Another friendly local pointed us in the right direction, and we did find Kinsale at just about 6pm. The Charthouse was very nice- not a great view, but gorgeous rooms. This is one place that the pictures on the web site are very accurate. And the Showers!!!! The best water pressure by far of the whole trip. Since we got in too late for any shopping , we decide to walk into town to find some dinner. Guess what we found? An Amusement Arcade ? which is Irish for a Slot machine only Casino ? Mom & Dad are in heaven. The machines there are really odd though. We really had no idea what to do on some of them or what paid what. After dinner , we went back to the Arcade for a while , then when all of our money was gone, we headed back to the B&B for some more cards. ( I know ? it seems that we play a lot of cards, but , you know ?it used up a lot of down time)
Total miles today: 133


Day 10 ? Kinsale to Killarney
Since we needed to head out first thing in the morning, we gave Mom 45 minutes to power-shop in Kinsale. She managed to fit in 2 or 3 stores in that time, and once again , Dad ended up the big winner ? finding a puffy vest that he can wear in Fall and Spring home in Wisconsin.
Kudos to Mary ? the owner of the Charthouse B&B. She drew us the best map for getting out of Kinsale. First she gave us a verbal explanation then handdrew a detailed map for us to follow ? she even had most of the bends and turns and landmarks.

We drove straight into Killarney - found our way right to the front door of Crystal Springs B&B. ( 1hr 45 min ) Unfortunately, Eileen was not home - she had a last minute thing to attend at her daughters? school. Her husband was supposed to be there, but didn?t get there in time. After waiting around for about and hour, we headed out to Muckross house. By this time, we were STARVING so we went into the café there and grabbed a bite to eat. Dad was very impressed by the desert selection here as well.
We got talked into a jaunting car ride out to the Torc waterfall. We hadn?t really planned on doing one, but the young guy who was dealing with us was not going to let us go without getting us to agree. Ended up with it costing 32 euros for the 4 of us. About 2 euros off per person. We really felt bad for the horse for a lot of the ride, he kept stopping a few meters from the top of each incline. Then the handler had to convince him to get to the top. He told us to not feel to bad for the horse ? it was a normal pattern - whether there was 1 , 2 , 3 or 4 people in the car. After the ride to the waterfall, and the lower lakes, we went through the actual House. Very cool. It is a self-directed tour. You go in in one direction through the house, looking at all the different rooms. Mom & Dad really enjoyed going through all the different rooms.

Finally got checked in at Crystal Springs ? we totally lucked out- both bedrooms are on the ground floor ? no lugging the suitcases up a narrow flight of stairs. Mom quickly commandeered the ?Anglers Nest? for us ? it had the window on the river side of the house. She loves the sound of the river running by with the window open at night. Dad and Steve?s room was the ?Brewers room? which was perfect for the boys. An extra bonus was that both of the rooms had small dorm-size refrigerators in them. Mom was in heaven ? she could have cold soda anytime she wanted.
Off to town for dinner and music at Danny Mann?s pub. It was Thursday, which is the night that the Irish Weavers play. They are a wonderful traditional band. Even made Dad long for the days when he played ( from childhood to early 20?s). Mom and I were sure that he would have cramps in his legs all night from the way that his foot never stopped bouncing to the rhythm of the music.
Total Miles today: 92

Debbie

Final chapter:
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Day 11 ? Ring of Kerry bus tour ? Corcoran tours.
Why do I keep trying Bus tours? I don?t especially like riding on buses, and to be honest , tend to get a bit of motion sickness. (Dad also has a bit of a problem with buses ? more on that in a bit) Although I will say ? I never would have actually driven the ring. Those roads are just too narrow and winding. The road was very ,very rough - much more than I remember from our tour in 2000. Dad was very impressed with the scenery, and the differences from the mountains to the seascapes.

By the time we got off the bus and back into the rooms Dad started to get really sick. amp; He got really pale and got really chilled. We ended up having to put one of the back warmers we brought along wrapped around his feet to warm him up. ( Come to find out that the heaters in the room were on timers , so no matter how high we cranked it , it didn?t get any warmer.) When we asked Eileen - the owner ? for some ice for his soda, she was very concerned and brought him up a small electric blanket. What a god-send. I really think that having that warm blanket is what kept Dad from getting really sick.

I quickly called Deros tours , where we had pre-booked a bus tour of Dingle, and cancelled Friday?s tour. Even had Dad been feeling fine, I was just not up to another all day tour. They were really good about the cancellation. ( I blamed it on Dad?s health) Mom , Steve and I ran into town for a quick dinner at Foleys American Legion and then hustled back to the B&B to check on Dad. Happy to say, when we got back, Dad was looking much more human. Eileen came up when she heard us come in, to check in on the patient, and offered to make him some tea & toast. We were very appreciative.

Day 12. Since we had cancelled the Dingle trip ( just another reason to go back I suppose ), we decided to have a walkabout Killarney town. Mom got an extra day of shopping, and lunch at another tiny little bar. After a full morning of walking and shopping we headed back to the B&B to finish packing up and let Dad take a nap.
Mom was excited about getting to go to Palm Sunday mass ( okay, okay ? it was the Saturday evening service - but still the same mass.) at the Friary Catholic Church. This is an amazing church. The carvings and artwork were so beautiful. Since mass was at 7pm , we didn?t even get anywhere for dinner until after 8. I proceeded to order Salmon for dinner. Duh. Salmon takes a long time to cook, compared to other entrees. It seemed like forever before we were served ? probably because we were all really hungry.
Now to search out some music. 1st stop Sheehans. Really crowded, music was late in starting, not really our cup of tea ( or is that Guinness ?). Next stop : Danny Manns. The band that night was Celtic Whisper ? good , but VERY quiet and soothing. Not really keeping us pep-ed up and energized to stay out late. Final stop ? The Granary, near the Tourist Information place and the car park. At first glance looks like a very modern bar ? something you would find back home in America. We decide to hang out a few minutes to see what the music is like, and boy, were we glad. We found a place to sit up front , and while it was REALLY LOUD , it was fantastic. I never did catch the name of the band , but it was 2 guys ( concertina , guitar ) and 1 girl ? violin. This girl was amazing, she works twice as hard as either of the guys. Her arm was moving at a mile a minute for at least 45 minutes non-stop. Very impressive.

Day 13 ? Drive to Bunratty. Packing the car this morning was a real challenge. All the shopping Mom & Steve had done resulted in a number of extra bags. By the time it was all loaded, my rearview mirror had been reduced to a 3? x 8? rectangle on the passenger side. ( This does not include the very large duffel that had to fit between Mom & Steve on the seat. )
It took us about 90 minutes to get to the Tarbert Ferry, and had to wait about 20 minutes for the next one. It was really, really windy again this morning ( a foreshadowing of the drizzle and rain that was to follow us all day) - so windy that the birds who were trying to land , kept getting blown back. 13Euros to cross 1-way ? well worth not having to drive through Limerick again.

Getting from Kilrush to Ennis proved to be a bit more of a challenge than I was expecting. When we came to the ?T? in the road, we ended up just guessing , because the sign that should have pointed us to Ennis had been damaged and was only partially there. YEAH! We guessed right. As we entered Ennis there was a sign stating how to get to the N18/ Shannon. We make our way into Ennis , and since it is Sunday afternoon, right around church time, the place is like a ghost town. It has now begun to really rain, we are hungry, and not having any luck finding a place serving food. Luckily someone pointed us towards Brogans bar. Great food, served fast, and large portions. Ok ? there was a sign on the way into town, so you would think that there would be one on the way out of town , right? Nope. So in true ?driving? in Ireland fashion, I just pointed the car back the way we came, found a place to turn around and when we got to that original sign, followed the directions to N18.

As we approached Shannon & Bunratty, I felt like we were in a different place. We had driven this exact road on the 2nd day and today it is completely different - lanes closed, exits re-routed. We followed the detours and found our way to Headley court. Again, we ended up with 2 very large rooms. Mom & I had the same room as we had our first trip ? 2 double beds, Dad & Steve ended up with a huge family room ? 2 double beds and a twin. One thing I love about this B&B is the size of the showers. Big Jumbo showers, with shower curtains ? no cube showers here!

Guess what Mom wants to do first? Yep, Shopping at the Blarney Woolen Mills center. After a stop upstairs for a beverage, we finally head back to the Folk Park, to go through the castle. Uh oh! We got there at 4:05 p.m. - the last admission to the castle was a 4:00. Mom was totally distraught ? she had so wanted Dad to get to go through one more castle. Oh, well ? we end up going over to Durty Nellies for a drink and to play some cards ? mostly just to use up some time before the Medieval Banquet at 5:30.
The banquet was a ton of fun. Lots of music and good food ? Soup, Spare Ribs, Chicken /Vegetables/ Potato , and finally Dessert.
On the way out we decide to stop in at Mac?s Pub which is on the folk park grounds. More cards and drinks for our last night in Ireland.
Total Miles Today: 107

Day 14 ? Flight home.
One last time to repack the car ? after yesterday?s shopping I now have NO review window at all. Luckily we are not far from the airport I was so relieved to pull into the Dan Dooley lot - 14 days and no dents, scratches or missing mirrors!!! 965 miles and no problems - can you ask for more than that?
This time I end up getting picked for the random security check at the airport, and once that is done and the bags are checked we have TONS of time to wait for our plane. We do all the normal stuff ? tax back forms, duty free shopping, converting left over change to USD. Then we ran into something new. Customs forms had to be completely filled in and processed before we could get to the boarding gates. This seemed kind of odd, because if they had any questions, and you had put the items in your checked baggage, how would they deal with it? Not that I am complaining ? Taking care of customs there made getting through O?hare a breeze.
We lucked out with our plane for the way home. A brand new Airbus 330-200 ? complete with individual video screens at every seat. Really made the flight much more tolerable.
We overheard one of the flight attendants telling another passenger that 2 people had been detained at the gate in Shannon, and were denied boarding. According to him , it happens most every flight.
When we stopped in Dublin ( thankfully we didn?t have to change planes again) both security, and customs/immigration came on the plane. They checked every seat, every overhead bin, each person?s passport and customs form BEFORE they would let the Dublin passengers on the plane.
Because customs were out of the way, we got out of O?hare really fast ? like 1 hour from touchdown to getting to the car and heading back to Milwaukee.

isabel

Great trip report, and I would say that even if I weren't especially interested because I am doing much of the same trip in August. Sounds like you had a great time. Few questions - what airline did you fly? When you were in Bunratty did you tour the folk park or just go the medevial banquet? And if so how did you like it? Did you need to book the banquet in advance - we're going in high season so I guess we'll have to but I don't know how far in advance is necessary. Could you estimate how much meals cost in pubs? Glad to hear you had no problems driving - did you feel pretty stressed after driving or were you able to relax a little and enjoy the scenery? Thanks for all the info.

Debbie

thanks

We flew Aer Lingus- no problems at all.
We didn't have time to do the folk park this time, but have done it in the past.
Definitely book the banquet ahead - it is always full! Even the 5:30 show in April was sold out.
My budget for food was 10Euros lunch and 20Euros for dinner. We were easily in that for the day. Usually lunch was soup - 3 or 4 euros and soda 2 euros. Dinner entrees were usually around 12 - 17 euros and then add on your drink of choice.
You can eat for less, but don't cheat yourself - the food there is great.
I was pretty non-stressed driving most of the time - except when the road was exceptionally winding, or when we were on reeeaaaalllyy steep passes ( like the wicklow pass). - But this was my second time driving there - I drove for 8 days in 2000 as well.

My suggestion for 1st time drivers there: slow down, ask for directions, be prepared for trucks on the back side of EVERY curve , and limit your driving to 90 min the first day, and under 4 - preferrably 3 hrs thereafter , until you get the feel of it.

Debbie