what we did in week 1

after a long and tedious flight from toronto we finally arrived in dublin, only to leave right away for kilkenny. we had a private room, so we stashed our stuff, and went to find a pint of guinness. erica found it, but julia was side tracked by the local kilkenny cream ale. after a drink and dinner, we went for a walk around kilkenny castle, but didn't get to go inside. the next morning we made the somewhat confusing journey to the rock of cashel, getting to see cahir castle en route. the journey home proved to be longer than expected, so to pass the time julia bought a 6 pack of stongbow cider that we shared. maybe not such a good idea, since we still had an hour bus ride with no bathroom. yikes. but we made it back to kilkenny with dry pants, ready to keep the night alive. after freshening up, and ready to head out the door, we came across a bunch of irish lads doing what irish lads do best (drinking). they invited us to join them so we did, drinking out of boots and yardys (sp?). the night involved pub and bar hopping until the wee hours of the morning, when we realized we only had a few hours until check out :(

not a good series of bumpy, windy, FAST, bus rides, as we made our way to kinsale. kinsale was a quaint, little village, that we didn't get to spend enough time in. just enough time for dinner in a pub and a walk around the harbour.

the next day we attempted to make our way to kenmare, only to get as far as killarney and find out that the bus doesn't run to kenmare on sundays. also, it was the bank holiday weekend and the buses on monday followed the sunday schedule. so once again no bus to kenmare. we made the most of it, and changed our destination to where we were. julia felt a little under the weather so she slept it off, while erica explored the town. we managed to get a hostel room for 5, where we met kate, from conneticut, and a couple from switzerland. that night kate joined us as we searched for some live irish music. our first stop was a failure, so we moved on to the danny mann inn, where with much luck, we found it! they even played our favourite song that the boys in kilkenny had taught us "she is handsome, she is pretty, she's the belle of belfast city". the next day we decided to go for a hike in the killarney national park, which would take us to ross castle, where we got a tour! the rest of the day was spent hiking, and staring at cows. that night we made our first dinner! Our new roommate was joe dixon, a doctor from north carolina with a nice smile and some good medical advice.

the next morning we took a bus around the ring of kerry as far as cahersiveen, but were on our own to get to portmagee. we got there by taxi for 20 euros and found out why the buses do not go there. there were 3 pubs, 1 grocery/post office/drug store, and a handful of b&bs. so before we could check into our hostel we sat on the patio by the pier and had some bulmers (cider). that evening we decided since we were right by the ocean that we should treat ourselves to the catch of the day at the fisherman's bar. it was here we met denis murphy, who has lived on valentia island for 55 years, and is a farmer/fisherman. he gave us his life story, AND his 3rd cousin ted kennedy's phone number. ted kennedy drives a commuter bus from portmagee to cahersiveen (this will come in handy later). early to bed means early to rise for our boat trip to skellig michael. we enjoyed watching the puffins that live on the island, as well as exploring the 8th C monastery atop the island. the boat ride back took us around little skellig, a nesting ground for 60000 gannets (smelly island). the day in the sun tired us out and we were early to bed again, also due to the fact that the only other thing to do there was spend money at the pub. the commuter bus/van (driven by ted kennedy) arrived the next morning at 9:50 and we hopped in the back of the crowded van to get back to cahersiveen, where we can catch our bus to DINGLE! the ride cost us 2.50 each!! a bargain compared to the taxi. thanks denis!

so far, we have not seen any rain, or four leaf clovers. the rain can stay away, but julia hopes to bring the luck of the irish home with her.

until next time