Blogged In

I got up at 5 to get ready and down to the Liffey to catch the first bus to the airport at 6:30 (they have an ok bus system, but the only decent map is on the windows of their main office). My flight got to Heathrow with just enough time for me to get my other bag, check in, and get my VAT refund before they announced final call for my flight. Another 7 hours or so, and I was home.

[Originally published at GoHither.Net]

My last day, and a busy one. I had some breakfast at the Bewley’s Cafe on Mary Street and headed over to the Old Jameson Distillery, then to the Guinness Storehouse. I much preferred the Jameson tour – making whiskey and beer doesn’t need a multimedia presentation like they used on the Guinness tour, although finishing up at the Gravity Bar with the ‘perfect pint’ and looking out over the city was grand. I also thought the Jameson store had better swag, although the plastic bubble with Guinness encased inside that serves as your ticket is pretty cool.

With all my ‘cultural’ experiences out of the way, it was time for shopping! Temple Bar has any number of record stores (best ones: Record Collector on Wicklaw Street had a large selection of bootlegs, while SpinDizzy in the Georges Street Arcade had a nice used selection) and bookstores (Dandelion Books on Aungier Street had a good selection) and I ended appropriately with a sandwich and coffee at The Winding Stair bookstore/cafe. Later, I wasn’t in a drinking mood, so I had some fish and chips at Beshoff’s (good, but not great), and wandered around Temple Bar and Grafton Street, where they had some fascinating street performers, particularly an opera singer accompanied by an accordionist who you could hear three blocks away.

[Originally published at GoHither.Net]

Resolving not to drink much more for the remainder of my trip, I got up and checked out. The morning trip to Killarney got me in town by 9:30 with time to kill until my 2:30 train. I spent the time shopping, buying gifts for family at Blackthorn House on Main Street and a claddagh ring for Jill at Kavanaghs of Killarney on College Street. The train was fairly crowded and only got more so as we got closer to Dublin, I think it was mainly it being a Friday afternoon and people coming in for the weekend. I returned to the same hostel (only about a 10 minute walk from O’Connell Street) I stayed at earlier (and the 80 degree room that 9 other guys were in). I grabbed dinner at The Steps Of Rome near Grafton Street, then finished with a pint of Smithwick at Whelan’s Pub.

[Originally published at GoHither.Net]

The Ring Of Kerry bus tour was today’s activity. The bus picked me up at the hostel (extremely important after the nearly five hours of walking the day before) and started traversing the Ring (counter-clockwise is the one with the best views). There were a number of other buses taking the same route, stopping at the same places, so it didn’t seem to matter which company you used. We stopped in a number of picturesque places, and I had fish and chips for lunch – a mistake as this was surely the worst meal of my trip. To make up for it, I had some Homemade Bailey’s Ice Cream when we stopped in Sneem. There were so many great views along the trip, but one of the best was the ‘Ladies View’ of the Upper Lake near Killarney (a view much admired by Queen Victoria’s ladies in waiting, when they visited here in 1861, hence the name).

I wasn’t up for walking into town and back, so I decided to visit the restaurant at the end of the street where the hostel was, The Golden Nugget. Well, it said it was a restaurant, anyway; when I got inside, I found out it was now only a bar. A couple of guys who worked at the hostel were there, and they said they could call the hostel and get some food heated up; I thanked them and sat down for a pint. and another and another. I got in a long conversation with one guy, Luke, about many things and forgot about food. Turned out he also was a big Dave Matthews Band fan (unusual on that side of the Atlantic), and had a good reason, as his parents, Keith and Julie Tippett were making music that was a mixture of jazz and rock in the late ’60s.

[Originally published at GoHither.Net]

I walked to Heuston Station for my train to Killarney in County Kerry (I was named for it, my mom took a trip there during college). I arrived with time to spare and had the breakfast meal in the cafe there (black and white pudding this time), pretty good. The train ride itself was an uneventful four hours, not very many people. When I arrived in Killarney, I was expecting to get a ride from the hostel I was staying at (because they said so on their website). When I called, I found out they paid a taxi to meet the bus, and I didn’t feel like waiting with my bags for over 3 hours, so I paid about $8 to take a taxi to the hostel.

Once I unpacked, I felt like exploring. My first priority was seeing Ross Castle, southeast of town, and I took off walking. I thought it would take about an hour, but it ended up taking nearly two to get there. It’s a fantastic site, with great views of the Lower Lake there and on the path towards it.

I went into Killarney having missed the ride back by minutes and decided to get some dinner, stopping at Murphy’s Bar on College Street. I had the steak cooked in Guinness, which is served as a stew, and of course a couple pints of the black gold as accompaniment. It hit the spot, especially after a long walk. Of course, it was another long walk back to the hostel, and the main road was quite dark, except for headlights. I luckily remembered the light on my Digital Video camera, which made a nice flashlight substitute.

[Originally published at GoHither.Net]