Eric and I are visiting Ireland for 2 weeks (leaving in 2 wks.) and we're wondering if any of you DCMMers have ever been there. If so, do you have any advice as to where to visit or where to stay, etc? We're getting a book on Ireland (any good books out there, ie Lonely Planet?). We'll be renting a car, so we can zip our way through the countryside. We hope to hop on a ferry to visit Wales and England as well. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...thanks!!

p.s. I've already contacted the Mini club of Ireland to hopefully join them for an event! Too bad we won't be in my beloved MINI or any MINI.

Christine

 

I've been there. It's beautiful. In the summer, it gets light very early and stays light very late. Unfortunately (in this particular instance), we drove all over the place and I loved it all. But, don't remember exactly where everything was. The Giant's Causeway is really cool. Newgrange, too. There is an area with a lot of dolum, which was really unique. The only less than great place we visited was Waterford. It's in an industrial, generic area and the stuff on display was mostly gaudy. Also, watch where you **** (OOOOPS: bad typo, but too funny to remove. I meant WALK); sheep **** does NOT wash off easily. Of course, you gotta hit some Irish pubs. If you like meat rare, or even medium rare, forget it. Well done is the only way we were able to get meat cooked (even though they said they would cook it rare or medium). But, it was still good. Innis Mare is also a cool place to visit. No vehicles are allowed on the island. Gaelic is still routinely spoken there. We put on 3800 miles in 3 weeks, so I am not clear on where things are.

 

We have had three wonderful trips to Ireland Where to go and what to see really depends on your personal interests. Renting a car and driving yourself is the best way to go. The B&B's are great. The people are the nicest we have ever met anywhere. PM me. We would be happy to get together with you and share our experiences.

 

No way!!! I wish I would have known that, I would have talked your ears off on Saturday! I've got lots I can suggest, but too much to type here...maybe I'll work on an email or meet you guys up for coffee or something?

If you want to read a silly (and poorly maintained, not finished, or really complete in any sense of the word) you can check out the travel blog I made from two years ago (almost to the date!) and see about our time in Ireland...

twomancrew.blogspot.com

 

You guys are great! Thanks for all the stories and advice so far. I will have to take some of you up on your offers to meet up or pm. I'm so excited!! By the way, we're flying into Dublin. We are definitely only staying in B&B's! We hope to play the whole trip by ear...it's the best way to vacation.

Christine

 

your going to have a blast! yeah B&Bs are the best- we stayed with a couple for a few days, they were about 80 plus- and one morning after bfest the woman had to pick up her daughter at the train staition... so she jumped on her hog and motored off- hahahah! the bike was bigger than her! ahhh memories-
anyway - i was going to say- if your interested in irish music- real pub sessions and what not- send out an email to the one Mick Maloney- knower of all things irish ! he has a tour that hits all the sessions- so he knows pub schedules= he is also a historian and knows everything(!) about ireland

mickmaloney@compuserve.comi think thats still his email- these are his websites-
http://www.irishfolkloretours.com/
http://www.mickmoloney.com/

anyway- as for where to go - in my opinion the west is the best-
hit up Galway, Kilrush, Clare, Tralee, Killarney... visit as much of the coast as you can - its soooo beautifull! then you also have to hit the south- Cork and Waterford etc... and of course a day or 2 in Dublin is a must- if you hit the north- dont wear orange or green- just to be safe- and stick to turista areas -
oh my goodness! i want to go too- can u take me? i can fit in your suitcase
ok thats a lot of stuff- but have fun and post pics!

 

That's how we did it. We only had trouble finding a room one night. It turned out, unbeknownst to us at the time, that they were filming the "Normandy" beach landing for a new movie and all the rooms in town were taken by the film workers. The name of the movie was Saving Private Ryan. I forgot the name of the town.

 

Christine, Drink LOTS and LOTS of Guinness! It tastes SOOO different over there.. Wonder why

 

The only place I had a bad Guinness was at the Guinness brewery in Dublin. Maybe they pipe the reject stuff down to the complimentary bar.... Plus, to my dismay, Budweiser is all over Ireland!!!! And it's the same swill it is here.

 

REALLY!?!?!!? I've had it several times at the brewery in Dublin, and it was always good! Not in the "Tinkerbell shook some fairydust in the glass, drink this and you can fly to Galway" way I was hoping for, but it was at least as good as every other pint I had in Ireland, every time! Maybe you had a bad glass, a line was bad, or they really did serve some bad stuff...but I'd have to believe your experience was a rare one!

My first trip to Ireland, I took my baby brother (7 years younger than me) before his first deployment with the Army. I wanted his first time overseas to NOT be a hostile environment! We were there for about 4.5 days, and we only ate twice It seems approx 50+ pints of Guinness for each of us was all the caloric intake we needed!

 

Yep. It was bad. Even free, I only drank one. I did, however, finish the glass.

 

[quote=minifiddler;1700536]
anyway - i was going to say- if your interested in irish music- real pub sessions and what not- send out an email to the one Mick Maloney- knower of all things irish ! he has a tour that hits all the sessions- so he knows pub schedules= he is also a historian and knows everything(!) about ireland

YES, I LOVE Irish music!!! I think I was Irish in a past life .

oh my goodness! i want to go too- can u take me? i can fit in your suitcase

I'm afraid I will have too much crap in luggage. Maybe next time!

I can't, I'm allergic to alcohol . I wish, but I WILL be hitting all the pubs!! Do they serve iced tea? :impatient

 

irish Guinness is REAL Guinness! its like Cadburys chocolate.. in the US there are some ingrediants that are outlawed so its just not the same... and its made in Canada... not that theres anything wrong with that... its just not St James Sq.

 

Another thing to keep in mind, especially if your schedule is very open...you can get last minute flights for **SO CHEAP** that it can literally be worth a last minute day trip to fly to another country. = ) And by **SO CHEAP** I am talking about the $20 range or less...love it!

 

OMG! I feel for you darling, I REALLY do. That just really sucks.
But I am SURE you two will have a good time anyway.
OOh, get a real claudah ring, and go kiss the Blarney Stone! and take LOTS and LOTS of pictures

 

Oh....uh....yeah, about that? It's pretty common for local kids to get at the stone and...um...recycle their Guinness on the stone? :impatient They're supposed to "clean it off" in the mornings, but really...

*shudder*

But hey, is there really too steep a price to pay for eloquence?

 

I was there over 10 years ago and had a blast! I was even taking classes.(I went to culinary school). I stayed in Caven County, Virginia and they had the best pub there. During the day it was a funeral home and at night it was a pub with a great jukebox and billiards. Everyone was really friendly and the Guinness was great. Gallway was a really cool place as well. I hope you have lots of fun. BTW if you eat bacon you must have Irish bacon....its the best.

 

Can I hide in your suitcase and go?

I've never heard anyone complain about their trip to Ireland. Have a blast! Take lots of pictures!

 

Oh wow, I wish I knew you were going over lat time I talked with ya! When I was stationed in England, I took my lil' Nissan Micra, put it on a ferry, and myself and one of my friends did a week and a half whirlwind tour of Ireland!! *Way* too much to say in this thread - hopefully we'll cross paths before you head over.

One thing that was not to miss was the Ring of Kerry, and the other areas around it. Abso-freakin'-lutely the most beautiful areas I have *EVER* seen!!! Slightly unfortunately, you're going during tourist season, so it's going to be crowded. But since you're driving yourself, you'll do ok. Don't be too afraid to go off the beaten path. For example, while driving the ring, we went off the beaten path, than off that path, until the 'road' was nothing more than two gravel strips with grass down the middle. We ended up heading through the Gap of Dunloe, which was so incredibly beautifully awesome, I can't even begin to describe. I got some pics somewhere. I'll find them and post to flickr, but they really don't do the land justice. And when I got back, talking to some people that were in the area before said "oh, if you thought that was nice, you should have gone here!!".

Actually, it would probably be easiest if I just went with you. When's the plane?


-Paul!