Ireland: My First International Trip

The year was 2005.  The month was March.  I had never before left the comfort of the good old United States.

Ok, that’s a small lie.

I left once the month before to go to Niagara Falls, but that doesn’t count.  At that time, I was able to get across the border with my military ID.

I had applied for my very first passport a few months earlier and it was time to put it to good use.  But where to go…

Let’s see.  Spring break was in March.  St. Patty’s Day is also in March.  And as the luck of the Irish would have it, they fell on the same week?  Hello, Ireland.

A couple things to know before I get in to this.

First, this was not only my first overseas trip, it was the first international trip that Anthea and I would take together.  Mark Twain once said, “I have found out there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” Well, we must have really liked each other because nearly 10 years of marriage later, we’re still traveling everywhere together.

Second, I had never planned an international trip before and frankly I had no interest in doing so, so Anthea took the lead (and planned a kick ass itinerary, I might add).  Travel planning wasn’t something she enjoyed, though, so I took over from that point on, and I haven’t looked back since.  Now I plan fake itineraries and create bucket lists just for the hell of it, but I digress.

Our Ireland Itinerary

Our timeline in Ireland was about 1 week, and we wanted to see multiple places, so we ended up renting a car and staying at a different bed and breakfast every night.  We decided on the following areas:

• Dublin (of course)
• Cork/Blarney
• Dingle Peninsula
• Galway/Cliffs of Moher
• Dublin again

There were pros and cons for this itinerary.  One pro is that we got to see a lot of Ireland and by renting a car, we got to really take in the Irish countryside.  One con is that we didn’t spend a whole lot of time at each place, so we probably didn’t get the full experience for each town.  That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed each location, and use this as an excuse to go back to Ireland and see more next time!

Besides, I don’t have many original pictures left from that trip.  They were either lost or corrupted, which is a huge bummer.  So the pictures you’ll see below are sadly not my own.

Dublin

Looking back now, we didn’t do much in Dublin.  We walked around the Temple Bar area, hit a few pubs, and that was about it.  Even though it wasn’t much, we were okay with that.

Sure, everyone does the Temple Bar thing when they go to Dublin, but so what?  I was a 21 year old college student – at a military academy, no less.  I loved the scene.  Seeing the buskers performing on the street, the cobblestones, live music pretty much a guarantee in every pub, the setting along the River Liffe, and experiencing it with Anthea was all I needed at that moment in time.

At the end of our trip, when we returned to Dublin, we hit the Dublin Zoo inside of the larger Phoenix Park.  It’s one of the better zoos I’ve been to.

But what about the Guinness Factory?  Or the old Jameson Distillery?  Or St. Stephen’s Green?  Or Trinity College?  Or anything else for that matter?

Yeah, about that.  Next time.

Cork/Blarney

Our next stop was Blarney, just outside the city of Cork, and about 3 hours southwest of Dublin.  We had one main objective: kiss the Blarney Stone.  We had no idea what that would entail other than putting our lips against a supposed magical rock.

Sounds a little crazy when you put it that way!

Here’s what it actually entailed…

The Blarney Stone is located at the top of Blarney Castle.  So after waiting in line for a while and going up a narrow and winding staircase, you get a chance to kiss it.  Seems simple enough, but there’s a twist, quite literally.  You have to get on your back, hang on to 2 metal bars, and contort your body to kiss the rock.  All the while, staff members are holding you to make sure you don’t fall in the gap between the floor and the rock.  What?!

All I wanted to do was kiss the damn stone.  I didn’t realize I’d be auditioning for Cirque du Soleil.  And after all that, I didn’t even really kiss the stone.  I just got close enough to pretend to kiss it.  Some of the locals told us that people have pissed on the Blarney Stone…not sure how true that is, but with hundreds of other people “kissing” it that day, I decided not to actually touch my lips to the stone.  The best part of this was probably the view from the top of the Blarney Castle.

After that excursion, we walked around the Blarney Castle gardens, which were very nice.  If you bring a lunch and a blanket, it’s actually a pretty good spot to just hang out for an afternoon.

Blarney is small enough to where everything is walkable.  From the castle, we stumbled upon the Blarney Woollen Mills where we stocked up on tons of souvenirs.

Dingle Peninsula

Of all the places we visited in Ireland, the Dingle Peninsula was the place I knew the least about.  Perhaps it was for that reason I was so pleasantly surprised.  Or maybe it was just because saying ‘Dingle Peninsula’ makes me chuckle every time.  It’s debatable.

The drive itself from Blarney was breathtaking.  At one point we had to pull over at a small beach, aptly called Inch Beach, because it was just so beautiful.  Surrounding the beach were rugged cliffs and a few houses dotting the green landscape.

Continuing on to the town of Dingle, the scenery is much the same as what you see in the picture of Inch Beach above.  We didn’t know it at the time, but this stretch of road leads to the much longer Slea Head Drive, a circular route along the Dingle Peninsula.  I definitely recommend this drive.

The town of Dingle itself was very quaint and the buildings colorful.  There is a small Main Street here, but not much to do other than a few shops, restaurants, and pubs.  The main draw in this area is the peninsula and its dramatic scenery.

However, I remember the people here being incredibly friendly, particularly our bed & breakfast hosts, Anne and Pat Nelligan.  We stayed at the Duinin House, and it was by far the best bed & breakfast we stayed at in Ireland.  If you’re heading to the Dingle Peninsula, book a room there, you won’t be disappointed.

Anne and Pat, if you’re reading this, more than a decade later and we still think about our stay at your place.

Cliffs of Moher

I’m pretty sure the Cliffs of Moher need no introduction, but it’s one of those places I will never forget seeing.

The Cliffs of Moher are somewhat on the way to Galway, so we decided to leave Dingle early in the morning and get a full day at the cliffs before heading to Galway later in the afternoon.

The cliffs are packed with tourists, but I’d say 90-95% of people that visit stick close to the visitors center.  However, for you explorers, there is the Cliffs Coastal Trail that meanders for several miles and will bring you right along the edge of the cliffs.  It’s spectacular.

If the Cliffs of Moher look familiar, it’s because they’ve been featured in several movies.  Most notably, in my opinion, is they doubled as the Cliffs of Insanity in The Princess Bride.  I know, right?!

But seriously, if you’re going to Ireland, the Cliffs of Moher are an absolute must, no question.

Up next was the drive to Galway.  On the way, we stopped at Dunguaire Castle, which just happened to be right off the main road.  Turned out to be a pretty neat pit stop.

Galway

Finally, it arrived.  St. Patty’s Day.  We ended up in Galway, Ireland’s 4th largest city, for this most wonderful of holidays.  Before coming to Ireland, I was informed that people in Ireland don’t really celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.  Boy, were those people wrong.

The St. Patrick’s Day parade in Galway alone drew thousands of people (closer to a half million in Dublin).  Most shops close.  Many restaurants only open for a short time.  But don’t worry, pubs will be jam packed with people all day.

We chose a spot near the start of the parade route and it worked out great.  In fact, I got to talk with some members of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, one of the special guest attendees for the 2005 parade!  You may be thinking, who cares, but it was exciting for two reasons: 1) Massachusetts is my mother land, 2) upon graduation, I would be commissioned as a field artillery officer.   It was great to chat with these gentlemen for a while and learn about their history and long list of impressive members, including 4 US Presidents and 11 Medal of Honor recipients.  For more on their history, check out this link.

After the parade, Anthea and I started walking down towards Quay Street to see what that was all about.  Then something strange happened.  We ran into 2 of our classmates.  In the middle of Galway.  Right after the craziness of the parade.  We all did double takes.  What are the chances?

Quay Street was a great little stretch of shops, restaurants, and pubs.  Quay Street also leads to the Spanish Arch, built in 1584 as an extension to the town’s existing walls for added protection against looting from merchant ships.  Today, the arch houses the Galway City Museum.

From Galway, we drove all the way to the other side of Ireland (about 2.5 hours!) back to Dublin.

Notes

This trip was certainly memorable and it really jump-started my want and need to travel.  Ireland is about as welcoming a place as you’ll find.  And for Americans that are skeptical about traveling, Ireland is a great starting point.

For me, it opened my eyes to a new culture.  Yes, Massachusetts is famously Irish, but seeing how locals live, eat, and act in their own country is something different altogether, and I grew an appreciation for that.

A couple of notes from our trip:

• We rented a car with stick shift.  This is typical for Europe, but shifting with your left hand can be tricky if you’re not used to it. Also, every time we turned on the radio, it seemed like someone from the US had caused an accident.  If you’re renting a car, an automatic will cost you more, but it’s well worth the extra money.
• Guinness really does taste better in Ireland.  And it’s cheaper than water.  Seriously.
• If you can, try to book bed and breakfasts.  There’s something about a homemade Irish breakfast that’s incomparable at a hotel or vacation rental.

 

Photo by atomicpuppy68