Month: October 2015

If you have ever been in the Philadelphia area in the fall, it’s hard to resist finding every possible reason to be outside. The weather is crisp and exhilarating and Center City is alive with activity. We saw at least 5 wedding parties taking photos all over the city…a bride couldn’t ask for a more perfect day for a wedding.

We were invited to an event called “Bring Out Your Dead” … by our accountant. Go figure. Apparently every year the firm sponsors an historic sightseeing tour of Old City. This year they put a twist on it – we would see buildings that are apparently haunted by ghosts.

We took PATCO into the city early and decided to walk around and do some people-watching. It was glorious…there was even an open-air market surrounding Rittenhouse Square. After a couple of hours, we headed toward the “meet up” destination, The Race Street Café, for a couple of drinks and a snack.

Eventually the rest of the group arrived, and we waited for the guide to arrive. We waited…and waited….and waited. He never showed. After an hour of so, someone was able to reach him and we were told we were at the wrong place. He was waiting for us at The City Tavern. The City Tavern is the oldest restaurant in Philadelphia, and has entertained the likes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and the rest of the colonial leaders. While listening to some history of the building and the area, we were treated to a “shrub” – a colonial drink that was kind of unimpressive (as cocktails go.)

I won’t bore you with details of the tour (which was actually quite interesting even though we learned way more about the city on the Duck Tour several years ago.) The best part of the tour was the guide (who is apparently one of the most knowledgeable in the city) – I actually can’t tell you his name, because to us he was a strange combination of Benjamin Franklin and Grandpa Munster.

The fascination with him started when it became very evident that he had been hitting the “shrubs” LONG before he hooked up with us. As we walked Old City, he was slurring, wheezing and nearly stumbling along the uneven cobblestones. He was quite informative, but we were too distracted to absorb the information. We stopped at the Physick House, which is a well-preserved colonial mansion that I’ve never seen our recall even walking by. Our guide left us in the care of one of the dependents of Dr. Physick while he “rested” in the kitchen. The refreshment at this stop was Madeira wine…noticing a trend? The house is gorgeous, and well worth a visit. Dr. Physick was quite an interesting man…he is credited with inventing the first carbonated soft drink in 1807, and performed surgeries at that very house – his medical instruments are quite alarming.

I share this with you for only one reason. Tipsy tour guides aside, Philadelphia still continues to fascinate me with it’s history and authentically preserved structures and artifacts. It was obvious after our trips to Madrid and Dublin that Europe is rich with antiquities, but it is hard to argue that Philadelphia’s exceptional contribution to the story of the United States is indisputable.

Have a great week! xo

And so we are at the end of our Irish adventure. Once the pictures are edited I will post them, but here are some final observations we noted on this incredible journey.

• Even though the Irish drive like complete maniacs, We didn’t see one person texting and driving. Part of this might be attributed to the fact that most of the cars have manual transmissions (and are super small.) Either way, it was refreshing to see.
• At the beginning of the trip, we tipped in pubs and restaurants as we normally do. About halfway through, we noticed that in most places there were NO tips being left at all. We asked someone about it, and were told that any tips are welcome, but not expected.
• The roads are really narrow. In most cases there is no shoulder, and we even encountered several “dodgy” roads that were little more than single lane.
• “Pedestrians have the right of way” – this concept is non-existent in Ireland. It wouldn’t take much effort at all to get mowed down.
• I commented earlier on the weather. Apparently the summer in Ireland was absolutely miserable….we heard this from everyone we spoke to. (Most of the Irish talk about the weather endlessly.) We had one morning of light, misty rain. Other than that the weather was spectacular…mainly like a lovely fall day around the Philly area.
• For the most part, the houses are modest. There seems to be a sensitivity to cost and ecology. In several places, we were told to let the water to run for a few minutes to allow the water heater time to warm the shower.
• In school, children are all taught to speak “Irish.”  It does not seem to be an easy language to learn!
• We saw mothers pushing babies everywhere…I’m guessing when they finally get a nice day, they take full advantage. The same goes for people walking their dogs. Lots and lots of dogs. (and sheep and cows, but you already knew that!)
• In the major cities, I noticed that most of the women were wearing pantyhose. I honestly can’t remember the last time I did that.
• The power converters are different than those we brought to Spain. (Not too glamorous a tip, but worth noting!)
• We found the Irish people to generally be very warm, chatty, and helpful.

Til chéad uair eile (til we meet again.)

This post comes to you after we’ve been home a few days. Since Dublin was last on the agenda, we did a “hop on, hop off” tour. As it turned out, we never hopped off (the bus) – we wanted to make sure we saw as much of the city as we could. We also had the added stress of packing, returning the rental car, and getting to the airport in enough time for them to thoroughly ransack our bags.

The actual REAL reason this post was delayed is that after importing the Dublin pictures into the computer (like I’ve done at LEAST 1000 times in the past)  when I went to look for a few to put on here, they were all missing. After some sheer determination, I finally found them buried in a library. Whew. Crisis averted. Stay tuned…I’m going to do some editing and will post a bunch of pictures on a separate page later.

But now….Dublin.

I’ve been clear about the driving challenges in Ireland. None of these compared to driving in Dublin. Armed with a regular GPS as well as my iPhone 6+ (I don’t EVEN want to look at my bill this month) it took us an ungodly amount of time to find our hotel. The GPS kept wanting to direct us to the bus lanes, where a lovely, unfortunately positioned officer continued to flag us in the opposite direction. After driving in circles for the better part of an hour, we finally found our hotel…and their teeny tiny sign. I’ve had better luck in Boston (which for my money is the most horrible city in America for driving.

My next post is going to outline our overall impressions of Ireland, but let me share our thoughts on Dublin.

Irish Wolfhounds are really big.

People were not overly friendly…even more than New Yorkers, they all appear to be in a HUGE hurry to get where they’re going.   Dublin is a VERY busy, crowded city with very few WOW sites. We were advised to avoid Guinness – nothing but a big tourist trap. The Book of Kells (at Trinity College) is supposed to be a Dublin highlight. We stayed on the bus – maybe because we were at the end of the trip, but it just seemed like too much effort to “museum” site see. We were more than satisfied to ride the bus for two and a half hours and get a nice overview of the city. We had done the same thing in Madrid (but did our fair share of “hopping” off.

The Irish are really passionate about rugby, soccer and Irish football. There were some major matches going on while we were there.

Dublin (like the rest of Ireland) is chock full of pubs and restaurants. Because of a soccer match against Germany, we tried very hard to find a pub that wasn’t all about sports. Fortunately there was a spot 2 doors down from our hotel.

It was a great way to wrap up the trip. Next up…overall impressions and lots and lots of pictures.

I’ve never met anyone who has gone to Belfast while visiting Ireland. Not sure why…it’s just not on the “vacation radar.” We left the suburbs of Londonderry to head toward Belfast, but decided to stop at The Giant’s Causeway on the way. It was as spectacular as described.

Legend says that a giant named Finn McCool sculpted this phenomenon. Regardless of how it was formed, it is spectacular. We climbed stairs and walkways for miles…it was exhausting but gorgeous.

And there were sheep.

Then we headed an hour southeast toward Belfast. Belfast is kind of a sad, nondescript city. They have pink double-decker busses.

And it’s where the Titanic was built and launched. The museum is alleged to be the same size as the hull of the original ship.

The museum was closed by the time we got there. We walked back to the City Centre, but were happy to head back to our humble abode for the evening.

Tomorrow is our last day in Ireland. Dublin…here we come! Again!

…Northern Ireland. It seems tourists are reluctant to enter the “forbidden” world of Northern Ireland. We decided to throw caution to the wind and explore the ENTIRE COUNTRY…not just the touristy part. Before leaving Sligo, we stopped to see the grave of Yeats, but decided against spending much time in the ancient city…we still have some ground to cover.

Crossing into Northern Ireland was pretty unexceptional. In fact, we didn’t know we had crossed the border until we went to pay for a souvenir at Belleek…they wanted payment in British Sterling (which we had!) This lovely bridge is the dividing point…no armed guards, no border patrol. Just a text message on the phone about the rates that apply in Great Britain!

We bought the only souvenir I suspect we’ll buy at Belleek. It’s a Celtric cross that we’ll hang somewhere in the house. Belleek holds a special meaning for me. My father had a small collection of delicate pieces and, the first year I dated Mike, I gave one of my father’s pieces to Mike’s mom as a Christmas gift (given her Irish heritage.) We have it back now, but she reminded me of him so I thought it was something she would appreciate. (She did.)

We thought we might go to the Giant’s Causeway and head back to Londonderry, but thought better of it and checked in at our home for the night. We later went back and toured “The Walled City” – another reminder of the division between the two religions factions in Ireland.

Tomorrow we’ll hit the Giant’s Causeway on the way to Belfast. In the meantime, here’s your photo of the day. Yup…even in Northern Ireland you can buy crap at a discount!

Well, not really. The manic stopped at the end of last week. After a wonderful weekend in Killarney and Moycullen, we headed off toward Sligo…the home of Yeats (stopping at a couple of suggested points along the way.)

I’m really ready for a solid night of sleep. We had plenty of privacy, but Aingeal got up early to make us breakfast and pack us a lunch (the kitchen was on the other side of our room) and she was somewhat indelicate around the kitchen. She does get an “A” for effort, though.

And…apparently the Irish don’t believe in a bed larger than a double. Wait…WHAT??? We have a king-sized Termpur-pedic mattress at home, so we’re sort of spoiled. I’m also feeling a little schmutzy (translation…I’m getting a cold or a sinus infection) so I’m not at the top of my game.

Today was all about scenery. Who knew that Ireland had fjords? Well the do, and we saw them today. Now you all know how I feel about Norway (it’s a borderline obsession) and while today’s views are different, they are equally as stunning.

There were sheep…

And mines…

And a famous movie location… (The Quiet Man bridge – John Wayne at his finest.)

And a breathtaking abbey.

Tomorrow we enter Northern Ireland. It’s about to get really interesting around here.

The momentum is building as we continue to explore this beautiful country. Again on the advice of Cathy (our Killarney host) we left for Tarbert to catch the ferry across the Shannon River on our way to Galway.

Note to self…if an Irishman describes a road as “dodgy” you can expect that it will be beyond harrowing. The road off the ferry to Galway was described to us as “dodgy” – which must be the Irish word for “one lane with no pull-offs and cattle crossings and ditches.” We were on this road for probably four or five miles. I was waiting for a repeat of the Howth to Killarney awkward silence. Didn’t happen. Mike has become such an accomplished Irish driver that the he now loves the challenge. Me…not so much. I still cringe and retreat every time we come close to the side or slightly off the road.

We took a slight detour to explore the Cliffs of Moher. (the first time since Thursday that we’ve actually paid to see an “attraction.”)  It was well worth the 6 euros each. As you might guess, we didn’t take the time to learn the history, but the walks along the cliffs were exhilarating and challenging. Another day of unexpected cardio, but a nice way to balance the fish and chips.

Our next host Aingeal (pronounced Angle) suggested we take the route through Kinvara on the way to Galway. It was another lovely, traditional Irish village.

Aingeal was out for the evening when we arrived in Connamara, but left us a note teling us a good place in the village for drinks and a light supper. Little did she know that all we were interested in was the score of the Eagles vs. Washington (total waste of time) and our Fantasy scores. So we sat at an Irish restaurant with a MacBook Air, iPad and iPhone 6 plus on the table, while the locals watched rugby and screamed at the top of their lungs. A soccer match commenced soon after, and shortly the local Irish football team (The Moycullen somethings) arrived at the bar to celebrate their victory (cup and all.) How many different kinds of “football” can you jam into one small room??!!

Anyway, we sat with a lovely couple and were eventually joined by their friends (whose daughter was the Rose of Tralee – apparently a big thing in these parts.) Aingeal had taught all their kids, so it was like one big happy family. Michael (the father of the Rose) gave us our agenda for tomorrow. The suggestions of the “locals” has worked out so far, so we made some notes and bid him goodnight.

When we got back to the cottage, we sat and had a lovely chat with Aingeal. Mike was anxious to check his scores (Fantasy Baseball is ending this week and he’s in the money.) Bad news. No wifi. Apparently there are issues in this area, and a 250 year old cottage isn’t a worthy candidate. Cellular data, hotspots…NOTHING WAS WORKING.

As I’m tying this, Mike is watching a movie on his iPad, and I’m going to read, edit pictures, or find a game that doesn’t require the internet to work.

Tomorrow on to Sligo (with more suggested stops along the way.)

Well…to be fair…a day and four less hours of driving! Our first full day in Killarney was outstanding. We’re speaking again, and Cathy (our AirBnB host) suggested a series of things to do in the area that would meet our “Killarney Quota” without causing marital war.

She suggested we start in Killarney National Park at the Torc Waterfall.

Stunning. If we stopped there….we didn’t. We climbed to the top of Torc Mountain. I was huffing, puffing and sweating like a farm animal. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the “Adventure Race” participants were sprinting up the mountain exhibiting far less exertion than I. Mortifying. Not to mention they had kayaked, biked and run like 200 miles.

After that Olympic Trial, we took a break and stopped at Ladies View. Named by the first Queen Elizabeth, who had sent an exhibition ahead to find the best view within the Ring of Kerry. This was it. And it was exquisite.

Next we stopped at the Muckross House…just another stunning Manor House with gardens, farms and an Abbey. Very opulent, but all the offerings at Killarney National Park (except for guided tours) are free (compliments of the taxpayers.) Uh..hellllloooo New Jersey. Beach tags…really?

We made a couple of other stops, but the point to be made is that the Ring of Kerry is one of the most tranquil and impressive places on earth. We have experience exceedingly cooperative weather (which we understand is completely out of character) and have witnessed the majesty of Mother Nature at her Gaelic finest.

We’ve witnessed the beginning of new memories.

And we’ve calmed down and realized that sometimes all you need is a good scratch!

Tomorrow onto Galway.

I figured it was too good to be true. Our idyllic first evening in Ireland didn’t follow the plan. Following our exceptional dinner (detailed in last night’s post) we returned to our lovely apartment only to be met with street noise that kept us both awake for major portions of the overnight until sheer exhaustion kicked in.

Then we overslept until almost 11:00 am. This is NOT the way to start a turbo tour of Ireland…especially when this was already slated to be the longest driving day of the trip.

Based on all my research, Waterford was a “must see”…oops. Not so much. After driving a couple of hours, we were ready for some lunch and perhaps a little adventure. Lunch was ok…adventure…not so much. Waterford apparently has some Viking history (which wasn’t blatantly obvious – except for a replica of a Viking ship) and is obviously best well known for it’s breathtaking crystal. There wasn’t the time (or really the desire) to tour the factory, so I snapped a few photos of the pieces in the Waterford Crystal retail window and we jumped back into the car and headed west.

For hours.

On twisty, narrow roads.

On the wrong side of the car on the opposite side of the road. Driving faster than is probably legal. It’s anyone’s guess…we’ve seen one cop in 2 days.

Bypassing Cork, Dunmore East, and the Blarney Castle (all on the itinerary)….en route to Killarney.

Which took almost four hours. In a car, whizzing past exquisite scenery, with a really cranky pilot.

Until we finally arrived in Killarney.

At a lovely home, booked into a room you’d put your cousin in if she came to visit. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…we just got spoiled by our private suite in Howth…on our first day in Ireland.

Our host, Cathy, is warm and wonderful. The view (as the listing singularly advertised) is of The Ring of Kerry…which is spectacular.

Mercifully, the town of Killarney is vibrant and exhilarating. Except…there’s some sort of Adventure Race (kayaking, biking etc.) this weekend, and the sidewalks are littered with…um…upset stomach remains. Apparently too much celebrating is an outcome of the “adventure.”

We’re here for two nights so hopefully we will see some magnificent scenery, do only minimal driving, and begin speaking to each other again. (The only conversation for HOURS was an occasional direction from the rented GPS voice with the British accent and perfect diction…it was painful.)

Here’s hoping for a pleasant tomorrow.

I’m writing this at the official end of day one in Ireland, although we’d really just be getting out of work if we were home, so who knows WHAT day it is! (And who’s counting?!)

Our love affair with Ireland began today.

First time driving on the other side of the car on the other side of the road. (Mike..not me.)

In all honesty, he did very well. At the beginning I was cringing over the number of cars and trees it appeared we were going to sideswipe. (He did brush a few curbs, but you didn’t hear that from me!)

First stay using AirBnB for accomodations. Brian, our host in Howth, wasn’t available today so he assigned his welcoming duties to Vincent (a full-time tenant) who was wonderful. The suite is in a very old building facing the harbor and is well appointed and funky. There’s some comfort in staying in a “home” instead of a hotel room. Our goal in going to Ireland was to be “with the people” so this was a great way to start.

First old castles, churches and Celtic crosses. This won’t be the last time you’ll see these beautiful relics. (No, Mike is NOT a relic!)

First time eating the apparently “horrific” Irish food. I’m happy to report that as of Day One, this is a misnomer.  We really only ate one real meal (mostly because we were too punchy to be able to focus on choosing a place to have lunch) and it was insanely wonderful. Howth is a fishing suburb of Dublin and the seafood is out of this world. Mike had a seafood chowder and fisherman’s pie (like a shepherd’s pie with fish.) I had a mushroom and kale soup and the monkfish and crispy pancetta special – both were outstanding. I don’t know if this trend will continue, but so far so good.

Most importantly…today was the first time we made friends in Ireland. We walked along a beautiful jetty and met Marion and her new Yorkie rescue Millicent Trollope (named after the Irish novelist Anthony Trollope.) Marion has lived in Howth for 34 years.

As we walked up the hill into the city centre of Howth, we came upon a very old cemetery and a gentleman tending to his family gravesite. After some conversation and history about Lord Howth, we learned his name was Peter Delaney who has lived in Howth his entire life (being raised by his grandparents after his mother died when he was 3 years old.) At that point we committed to doing our best to meet a local in each place that we visit. It is absolutely the best way to learn the truth and history of these fascinating villages.

We accomplished a lot on our first “official” day on the Emerald Isle. It’s going to be tough to beat the sights we saw and the people we met….here’s hoping.