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....