Driving on the "wrong" side of the road...

...is not as bad as I thought it would be.

We rented a car to get out to the west of Dublin, see the countryside, stay at the most amazing cliff side hotel... and I had been fretting about it for weeks!  I was so nervous about driving a manual (it had been a year), and most importantly that I would somehow murder us in a head-on collision while trying to navigate the other side of the road.  Luckily, since everything is reversed - aside from the pedals and steering column gadgets - it was actually pretty easy to get in the swing of things.  Not to mention of course that there were other people on the road so I really only had to follow along.

The thing I like about driving in Europe, everyone is so much more considerate and smart when driving a vehicle.  They stay to the slow lane if they aren't needing pass anyone, they follow traffic laws, they don't honk at you impatiently, and one of my favorite things are roundabouts.  I love them.  They make traffic flow so much easier, and generally just seem smart to me.  But, I'm also a big traffic nerd, so it's not a surprise that I like them.  The one thing I don't appreciate about driving in Ireland is that they aren't exceptionally good on signage.  A portion of the motorway was closed on the way out and in from Dublin and finding the detour path was tough.  You would go many a kilometer without seeing a sign, and having signs through a roundabout are a bit more tricky.  Luckily, there were others taking the same "diverted traffic" route and I was able to guess that if I followed the cars we would get there and the glory of a GPS to know that even if we took a wrong turn we wouldn't get lost.

A few things of note that I encountered renting a car in Ireland.  The rates are pretty cheap for the car rental, where they really stick you is the insurance.  I wasn't entirely convinced that my insurance would cover Ireland  and I was pretty sure my credit card didn't carry enough, so we went for the full package.  Especially since reading online before going over there I had heard horror stories about accidents with narrow and unsafe roads.  When we purchased the extra insurance though, I was surprised to find out that flat tires and burning out the clutch were not included under the insurance we got.  I have the impression that flat tires must be a pretty common problem there, since there are such narrow roads and for many country roads you essentially have to pull off the side if anyone is to pass in the opposite direction.  Luckily, we had neither of those issues, but something of note all the same.  Also, you have to return the car with the tank full.  That makes sense, but they actually charge you upfront for the cost of petrol (approximately 85 euro for our little car) that they refund you when you get back if the tank is full.  That was a bit of a shock.  Which added to some stress getting the car back on Sunday (see below). 

I made ONE mistake while over there, which is pretty good I think.  The last hour of our car rental, I was flustered getting back since we were an hour late on our rental, we had a hard time finding gas (see above with exorbitant fees), and we were putting everything into the GPS to get back to the car rental and so I wasn't sure of my route.  So when I pulled out of the gas - err petrol - station and did everything right, turned left from the left side of the driveway, made a near left turn, but then had a lapse since there weren't any other cars and I was looking to see the map when I look up and I have migrated into the oncoming traffic lane on the right side of the road.  Luckily the person coming AT me was very patient and didn't even honk or flash his lights, just calmly waited until I righted the car and got back on the "right" side of the road.  So much for going 10 for 10.  Next time I'll have it in the bag.

Starting out on the motorway. 

Ireland from the motorway.

Driving on the left.

It's (Not) Always Sunny in Dublin

We made it safe and sound into Dublin!  We flew American Airlines for the first time for international travel, and I have to say - we were disappointed compared to the great experiences we have had on Aer Lingus the last two times we've flown over here.  We didn't have individual screens, which means we didn't have individual choice over what we were watching and most maddening was not having access to the map to see where we were.  But the service was just as good, we had two meals, and we still got here in good time.  I guess we can't truly ask for more than that.  Other than for perhaps more leg room, and not having to walk through business class on the way to coach. That puts a damper on things for sure. 

We landed at 8 am and took an air coach bus into the city.  It's more expensive than the Dublin city bus, but it's a bit more direct and a lot more comfortable. The trip from the airport was longer than we figured because of rush hour but we were there in no time. The walk to our hotel was just down O'Connell St and the along the river. Of course it started to rain!  Oh Ireland and your sunny disposition. We weren't able to check into the hotel, The Morrison, but we dropped off our bags and were able to get a feel for what we had booked. It was a beautiful lobby and the people behind the counter were very pleasant.

We decided to try and hunt down a coffee shop we had found last year wandering around the city. It was a way to kind of figure out what we wanted to do that day and a nice place to stay out of the rain. We ended up finding it around the corner from Trinity College. It's called Fixx, and it was just like we remembered. After a bit of a caffeine we decided to finally head to Kilmainham Gaol. I have been wanting to go there for four years so, it was about time.

Kilmainham Gaol is a jail that has held many leaders of the Irish rebellions. It was built in 1796, and operated as a jail until 1924. The tour had a very passionate guide who led us through many years of Irish history and the various rebellions and wars they they faced to try and gain their independence. It was a great tour and I'm so happy we finally got the  chance to go. It was also a brief tour - only about an hour, so we should have done it long before.

To keep out of the still rainy weather and kill time to check in to our hotel, we stopped in for a pint and a snack at The Porterhouse. Apparently a chain (we went to a different location last time). They have a great beer list and they had delicious sweet potato/red pepper soup. Then off to the hotel to take a nap!  We were exhausted from the flight and the time change.

 Now was the chance to finally see our hotel room  our luggage was already in our room, a great service, and everything looked great.  John's only complaint was the somewhat tired looking carpet, but it bought it was a great room. And the beds looked incredibly inviting!  Our nap was refreshing and probably absolutely necessary to make it through dinner since I was falling asleep in my soup a couple of hours earlier.  When we awoke, the rain was gone and the air was crisp.  

The location of our hotel on the north bank of the river across the street from Temple Bar made it a very convenient location to get around and do what we do best, aimless wandering. We managed to find a pretty delicious restaurant to sit down in not too far from the hotel (although we took a very circuitous route). The bathrooms were one of my favorite parts was they were co-ed (not why they were good, but just a point of note) and the sinks overlooked the kitchen. So you could see them cooking up the food while you washed your hands. 

Then drinks at the hotel and by then we were exhausted and crashed. Especially since I knew I would need to be on my game the next day when we were renting a car and driving to Ardmore.....on the other side of the road......and a manual transmission....

End of the line - It's Dublin time

 Did anyone else just immediately think of Cool Runnings?  Man, that's a great movie.. but nothing to do with our last stop on our trip - Dublin. 

Personally, I really enjoy Dublin.  We haven't spent an extraordinary amount of time there, really only a few days... but I think it's a fun city, and it's really green.  We stayed at the same place we stayed for our honeymoon - Clontarf Castle.  It's just outside of the city a little bit, but with a bus stop in front that takes you straight into the city center.  The castle has been renovated, as seen below, so there is the mixture of stone and glass.  There are a couple of places to eat and a cozy bar.. and the rooms are very comfortable. 

We did another hop-on, hop-off bus tour to see Dublin since we really didn't have that much time.  It makes it a lot easier , and certainly much faster to see the various sites.  We of course did the Guinness Storehouse tour.  Fun fact #1 for Dublin, the Guinness factory atrium is in the shape of a giant pint glass, with the 9000 (that's NOT a typo) year lease that Mr. Guinness signed encased in the floor in the middle.  The storehouse is fun to walk through.  You get to touch, see, watch the various stages of how Guinness is made, and get a free pint at the top in their Gravity Bar that overlooks Dublin.  They also have all of their old slogans and advertisements out for display and old bottle designs.  It's fascinating to see how advertisements have changed --- and awkward that Guinness so blatantly, ummm..... used stereotypes in their marketing campaign...

Really?  "Him Strong"?.... Wow

It's funny to think back 3 years ago when we were here and I could barely get a few sips of Guinness down.  Oh how things have changed.  Since our honeymoon I have suddenly taken a liking to stouts -- I blame the good beer we get in Chicago.  Either way, it was too bad for John because I actually drank my beer this time, so he didn't get 2 free ones (of course by "free" I mean that we paid an admission into the storehouse... but I like to pretend that they give Guinness away like water in Ireland).

J

ohn and Pat hanging out in Gravity Bar with their pints.

After Guinness, another drinking adventure awaited us at the Jameson Distillery not too far away.  We hopped back on the bus and headed over - when I saw the car that I think I should own - the Megane.. Ha.  

The Jameson Distillery is no longer a working distillery - they do that elsewhere  now (Cork rings a bell).  But, you still get a good tour, and you get to listen to an Irish person talk for about an hour which I always find to be a good time.  At the beginning of the tour they ask for volunteers to taste whiskey at the end -- and as luck would have it, I got picked again this time around!  In all fairness, I waited until Marla was picked before throwing my hand up -- and I tried to get John to volunteer but he wouldn't... so I thought I would give it another shot.  I liked the whiskey this time around better as well.

While on the tour, they were talking about people who worked in the factory and nicknames that were given out.  I looked on the wall and found Tierney (Martha's maiden name)... the nickname for Tierney was Hump. 

Before the tour, clearly we needed to try the different levels of Jameson.. Delicious!

Then Marla and I did our comparison to become official Jameson Tasters:

When leaving Jameson, I saw what I think might have been one of the happiest pugs ever:

After a bit of a tour around on the bus, everyone kind of went their separate ways.  John and I went to find a snack:

You can't think that John could go an entire two weeks without having chicken wings, right?  The wings weren't half bad actually.

We saw some old gates and some stairs.

Took pictures in front of churches with fabulous blue doors.

We saw a little girl feeding a swan bread --- biggest fear of my day was imagining that little girl being attacked by the swan.  I think that would put her off of birds for a while.  But seriously, who lets their kid get that close to something that would gladly eat one of her fingers if she doesn't let go of the bread fast enough??

We got coffee from a place that put Intelligentsia to shame with the way they did designs on the top (that's not even complete yet).

And ultimately we just walked around until meeting up with Katie and Marla for dinner.

Our dinner was at a place called "Kitchen".  It was pretty tasty, and really cute.  They provided you with a blanket when you were seated outside to keep warm.  Brilliant!  I don't have really any good pictures of it since I'm still working on working my camera in anything other than daylight/non-moving situations. 

So, while short, the Dublin leg of our trip was still a nice way to end it, I think.  I would love to go back to Ireland and actually spend some time outside of the city... I want to see the giants causeway, cliffs, green fields, etc etc... And I think it would be a bit of a trip to drive on the other side of the road (assuming I could get the hang of it.. I don't even drive much in Chicago...).  It's also a great place to start and stop because it's one of the cheapest places to fly into for Europe, and Aer Lingus is a pretty nice airline.  So, it's my recommendation.  The flights between cities on the low-cost airlines (Easy Jet, Ryan Air) are still cheaper than trying to get into Paris from Chicago, or most cities for that matter, so I think it makes sense.  And it just adds another city that you might not see without it. 

That pretty much wraps up our trip.  I'm already itching to go back to Europe... try something new... a new city, a new country... I'm up for anything.  My favorite part of the trip - the doors we saw.  I know that sounds strange maybe, but the doors in Europe are just so full of character.  You'll see.

(Sorry I was so hopelessly slow at posting, I hope to work on my timeliness in the future of getting this out --- For my first attempt, not absolutely horrible --- but I can seriously only go up from the bottom, right?)