Road Trip Adventures of Heidi and Amanda
So now that you have all had time to look t the pictures, I thought I would give you a more detailed run-down of the events that took place on our road trip! I'm going to break it down journal style, but you'll love it!
Thursday
After working through a BEAUTIFUL day, Heidi and I were picked up from work by a guy named Thomas who took us over to Enterprise to pick up our car. Because he had trouble finding my work, and so was about 45 minutes late picking us up, the company gave us a free up-grade and we ended up with a standard 4 door hatch-back with CD player, automatic doors and windows, and (not that we used it) AC. We set in the car, heading south in to County Clare, down the Coast Road. It remained beautiful and we stopped at a few places along the way to take pictures. We also happened across a beautiful beach and I decided we needed to stop and get our feet wet. Just a quick stop though because we had to get to Doolin.
Doolin in the unofficial Trad Music Capital of Ireland. There are always locals and travelers stoping in pubs and playing some great music. We decided to go for dinner and drinks at a pub called McGann's. On the way there it was pouring rain and we were walking so got soaked. But there is nothing like a war pub to dry you out! We both had Irish Stew, and both felt like we were going to barf when we were done because we ate SOOOO much!! After eating we moved tables so that we would be closer to the music and that is where the fun really began. Phrases like 'Oh my Guiness' were said, I started dancing and appeared to look like I was performing upper body aerobics, and then the best part...I leaned over to tell Heidi something and all of a sudden I let out a really loud fart. Not only was it loud on its own, but we were sitting on wooden benches so it echoed off them and was even louder. There was a German family sitting with us and only one of them appeared to have heard it, but when Heidi and I and the other girl broke out in hystarical laughing, she quickly told them the story. It kept us lfaughing for a good 10 minutes.
After that it was a little lower key. There was a guy who kept asking us questions and then relaying them back to his friends in another room, and then Nicki. Nicki was originally sitting with the band and trying to sing, quite unsuccessfully, but then moved to come and sit with us at our table. He was a really overweight, 60 (at least) year old. When we told him we were from Canada he proceeded to tell us how he was on the run from the Irish Government in Canada, taking a train that he thought was headed for the States and ending up in Hamilton. When we asked what he had done he simply replied 'Irish Politics'. Clearly he was a part of a conspiracy to assassinate or bomb someone. After that conversation we picked ourselves up and headed back to the hostel.
Friday
Friday dawned nice and Irish (grey and rainy) so got dressed, had some breakfast (Heidi had black and white pudding for the first time), and hit the road. We stopped in Lahinch to take some great pictures, by-passed the Cliffs of Moher because it was so foggy, got a 20 minute ferry from Kilrush to Tarbert to avoid going back to Limerick, stopped in Bennerville to see the Windmill and go pee and then skipped the hostel we had originally booked into because it was miles out of town. When we got to Dingle, we had to find a place to stay so parked the car and walked around for a bit. We stumbled upon a great place called the Grapevine Hostel, booked in, then had to park the car somewhere over night. Unfortunately the streets are really narrow and I ended up having a minor dissagreement with the side mirror of a truck parked on the side of the road. We finally got the car parked, took our bags to the hostel, changed and headed out for some dinner. I mostly gave a blow by blow of our evening when I posted the pictures, but I'll just tell you about it again. We went to John Benny's for dinner and decided to stick around because they apparently do really great live music too. Unfortunately the table we were sitting at was only for eating so we had to drag our meal out over 2 hours....really hard for me because I tend to eat so damn fast! We succeeded though and managed to have great seats for the entertainment. A group of older Dutch people ended up sitting in front of us with the crew from their ship, and that is where the obsession with the yellow shirts started. After a few more pints and some stolen wood, we decided to head on to another pub.
Our next stop was a hotel pub called Paudie's. Their music was just finishing up as we arrived so we didn't get to hear much, but we sat at the bar and had a pint. For some reason I thought it was really important that I call Adam, and so attempted to leave him a message, but the woman kept cutting me off so in the end I just got frustrated and hung up! The pub wasn't too exciting so we decided to move on again after just one drink. Our next (and final stop) of the evening was at a place called Murphy's. Here there were 3 great singers performing great music, and the return of the yellow shirted boat crew. Heidi go our drinks and then stood talking to the crew while I sat with an older couple and boped along to the music. When they played Kenny Roger's The Gambler I almost peed my pants from excitement, and jumped up to sing and dance along. The band motioned for me to sing with them, but I know that I am not a good singer and didn't want to force innocent people to listen to me. After a few pints, which Heidi almost forgot to get change from, we decided to call it a night (the music was over and the pub was clearing out).
Saturday
Saturday morning dawn beautifully bright, so we jumped out of bed, had some delicious breakfast and then headed down to the marina to book a tour to see Fungi the dolphin. No one knows where Fungi came from, fishermen just started to notice him swiming around their boats back in 1983 and he has never left. Tours run hourly, and you only pay if Fungi comes around...of course he did! It was so fun! Everyone got so excited and cameras were flashing. He's a real ham. He even caught a fish and was swiming up to show us! After Fungi we got in the car and headed to the Ring of Kerry. While we were leaving Dingle we came across a field on the side of a huge hill with Cows and Sheep, so decided to stop for a bit. I wanted to get a little closer and so jumped a fence, however mummy sheep was not too happy about that and stood up to let me know. I just snapped a few pictures and got back on the other side.
Driving along the coast road we saw so many beautiful sights including a huge Mary statue in the middle of nowhere, a Charlie Chaplin statue, Mountains and sea. Because it was so sunny out we decided to stop and have a quick dip in the ocean. Most people at the beach thought we were idiots, but it was so great and so spontaneous!
Saturday night was stayed at a hostel in Kenmare. The hostel was so quiet, we basically had it all to ourselves. We went out for a great dinner and then decided to take a break from the pub and rented a movie instead.
Sunday
We once again woke up to a rainy day, and COULD NOT find anywhere to eat breakfast, so stopped in a convenience store and bought some yogurt and cookies. After that nutricious breaky we decided to hike up to the Stone Circle. It was an easy hike, just about 10 minutes down a few back roads, and when we arrived it was breathtaking...actually it was a bunch of boulders in a circle pattern with one in the middle...and no explanation as to why they were there. I thought it might have been the first model for stonehenge, but Heidi learned later that it might have been a place of burial or something and was not in fact related to Stonehenge at all. After Kenmare we continued on the Ring of Kerry, our first stop being at Muckross House in Kilarney National Park. Its an old house that has been restored and we did a tour of the house and the gardens. So beautiful. After the house we stoped at Ross Castle were we did another tour and took some great pictures.
That was our last stop of the day so headed onto Cork for the night. We were staying with Olivia and Alan in Blarney, but both were heading out for Hen/Stag nights so Heidi and I just went out to dinner at a fab restaurant, with a REALLY cute waiter, then went for a few pints at a place called the Bodega. We talked a lot about old times and reminised about University. One of my favourite nights.
Monday
Monday was crap weather again, but the raining stopped long enough for us to go and kiss the Blarney stone at Blarney Castle. Its was really fun to climb through the old castle and check out all the nooks and craneys. Really romantic to think about living in the middle ages, but the reality was so cold and stark! Rock floors, no toilets, small windows...not exactly paradise.
After the castle we decided to head into Cork and check out the English Market for lunch. Its a big market much like the St. Lawrence market, where the cafe makes everything they serve from fresh products bought from the market below. A bit of shopping later it was time to get back in the car and head back to Galway.
It was a fabulous 4 days and I'm so glad that I had the chance to do it with Heidi!
Tuesday she headed to Dublin for 2 nights to check it out, and last night we went out in Galway. Tonight we are heading to London until she leaves to go hom on Wednesday. I'm really excited to go, but sad to think that the visit is almost over. I'll post all the pictures and stories next week!
Love to you all!
Thursday
After working through a BEAUTIFUL day, Heidi and I were picked up from work by a guy named Thomas who took us over to Enterprise to pick up our car. Because he had trouble finding my work, and so was about 45 minutes late picking us up, the company gave us a free up-grade and we ended up with a standard 4 door hatch-back with CD player, automatic doors and windows, and (not that we used it) AC. We set in the car, heading south in to County Clare, down the Coast Road. It remained beautiful and we stopped at a few places along the way to take pictures. We also happened across a beautiful beach and I decided we needed to stop and get our feet wet. Just a quick stop though because we had to get to Doolin.
Doolin in the unofficial Trad Music Capital of Ireland. There are always locals and travelers stoping in pubs and playing some great music. We decided to go for dinner and drinks at a pub called McGann's. On the way there it was pouring rain and we were walking so got soaked. But there is nothing like a war pub to dry you out! We both had Irish Stew, and both felt like we were going to barf when we were done because we ate SOOOO much!! After eating we moved tables so that we would be closer to the music and that is where the fun really began. Phrases like 'Oh my Guiness' were said, I started dancing and appeared to look like I was performing upper body aerobics, and then the best part...I leaned over to tell Heidi something and all of a sudden I let out a really loud fart. Not only was it loud on its own, but we were sitting on wooden benches so it echoed off them and was even louder. There was a German family sitting with us and only one of them appeared to have heard it, but when Heidi and I and the other girl broke out in hystarical laughing, she quickly told them the story. It kept us lfaughing for a good 10 minutes.
After that it was a little lower key. There was a guy who kept asking us questions and then relaying them back to his friends in another room, and then Nicki. Nicki was originally sitting with the band and trying to sing, quite unsuccessfully, but then moved to come and sit with us at our table. He was a really overweight, 60 (at least) year old. When we told him we were from Canada he proceeded to tell us how he was on the run from the Irish Government in Canada, taking a train that he thought was headed for the States and ending up in Hamilton. When we asked what he had done he simply replied 'Irish Politics'. Clearly he was a part of a conspiracy to assassinate or bomb someone. After that conversation we picked ourselves up and headed back to the hostel.
Friday
Friday dawned nice and Irish (grey and rainy) so got dressed, had some breakfast (Heidi had black and white pudding for the first time), and hit the road. We stopped in Lahinch to take some great pictures, by-passed the Cliffs of Moher because it was so foggy, got a 20 minute ferry from Kilrush to Tarbert to avoid going back to Limerick, stopped in Bennerville to see the Windmill and go pee and then skipped the hostel we had originally booked into because it was miles out of town. When we got to Dingle, we had to find a place to stay so parked the car and walked around for a bit. We stumbled upon a great place called the Grapevine Hostel, booked in, then had to park the car somewhere over night. Unfortunately the streets are really narrow and I ended up having a minor dissagreement with the side mirror of a truck parked on the side of the road. We finally got the car parked, took our bags to the hostel, changed and headed out for some dinner. I mostly gave a blow by blow of our evening when I posted the pictures, but I'll just tell you about it again. We went to John Benny's for dinner and decided to stick around because they apparently do really great live music too. Unfortunately the table we were sitting at was only for eating so we had to drag our meal out over 2 hours....really hard for me because I tend to eat so damn fast! We succeeded though and managed to have great seats for the entertainment. A group of older Dutch people ended up sitting in front of us with the crew from their ship, and that is where the obsession with the yellow shirts started. After a few more pints and some stolen wood, we decided to head on to another pub.
Our next stop was a hotel pub called Paudie's. Their music was just finishing up as we arrived so we didn't get to hear much, but we sat at the bar and had a pint. For some reason I thought it was really important that I call Adam, and so attempted to leave him a message, but the woman kept cutting me off so in the end I just got frustrated and hung up! The pub wasn't too exciting so we decided to move on again after just one drink. Our next (and final stop) of the evening was at a place called Murphy's. Here there were 3 great singers performing great music, and the return of the yellow shirted boat crew. Heidi go our drinks and then stood talking to the crew while I sat with an older couple and boped along to the music. When they played Kenny Roger's The Gambler I almost peed my pants from excitement, and jumped up to sing and dance along. The band motioned for me to sing with them, but I know that I am not a good singer and didn't want to force innocent people to listen to me. After a few pints, which Heidi almost forgot to get change from, we decided to call it a night (the music was over and the pub was clearing out).
Saturday
Saturday morning dawn beautifully bright, so we jumped out of bed, had some delicious breakfast and then headed down to the marina to book a tour to see Fungi the dolphin. No one knows where Fungi came from, fishermen just started to notice him swiming around their boats back in 1983 and he has never left. Tours run hourly, and you only pay if Fungi comes around...of course he did! It was so fun! Everyone got so excited and cameras were flashing. He's a real ham. He even caught a fish and was swiming up to show us! After Fungi we got in the car and headed to the Ring of Kerry. While we were leaving Dingle we came across a field on the side of a huge hill with Cows and Sheep, so decided to stop for a bit. I wanted to get a little closer and so jumped a fence, however mummy sheep was not too happy about that and stood up to let me know. I just snapped a few pictures and got back on the other side.
Driving along the coast road we saw so many beautiful sights including a huge Mary statue in the middle of nowhere, a Charlie Chaplin statue, Mountains and sea. Because it was so sunny out we decided to stop and have a quick dip in the ocean. Most people at the beach thought we were idiots, but it was so great and so spontaneous!
Saturday night was stayed at a hostel in Kenmare. The hostel was so quiet, we basically had it all to ourselves. We went out for a great dinner and then decided to take a break from the pub and rented a movie instead.
Sunday
We once again woke up to a rainy day, and COULD NOT find anywhere to eat breakfast, so stopped in a convenience store and bought some yogurt and cookies. After that nutricious breaky we decided to hike up to the Stone Circle. It was an easy hike, just about 10 minutes down a few back roads, and when we arrived it was breathtaking...actually it was a bunch of boulders in a circle pattern with one in the middle...and no explanation as to why they were there. I thought it might have been the first model for stonehenge, but Heidi learned later that it might have been a place of burial or something and was not in fact related to Stonehenge at all. After Kenmare we continued on the Ring of Kerry, our first stop being at Muckross House in Kilarney National Park. Its an old house that has been restored and we did a tour of the house and the gardens. So beautiful. After the house we stoped at Ross Castle were we did another tour and took some great pictures.
That was our last stop of the day so headed onto Cork for the night. We were staying with Olivia and Alan in Blarney, but both were heading out for Hen/Stag nights so Heidi and I just went out to dinner at a fab restaurant, with a REALLY cute waiter, then went for a few pints at a place called the Bodega. We talked a lot about old times and reminised about University. One of my favourite nights.
Monday
Monday was crap weather again, but the raining stopped long enough for us to go and kiss the Blarney stone at Blarney Castle. Its was really fun to climb through the old castle and check out all the nooks and craneys. Really romantic to think about living in the middle ages, but the reality was so cold and stark! Rock floors, no toilets, small windows...not exactly paradise.
After the castle we decided to head into Cork and check out the English Market for lunch. Its a big market much like the St. Lawrence market, where the cafe makes everything they serve from fresh products bought from the market below. A bit of shopping later it was time to get back in the car and head back to Galway.
It was a fabulous 4 days and I'm so glad that I had the chance to do it with Heidi!
Tuesday she headed to Dublin for 2 nights to check it out, and last night we went out in Galway. Tonight we are heading to London until she leaves to go hom on Wednesday. I'm really excited to go, but sad to think that the visit is almost over. I'll post all the pictures and stories next week!
Love to you all!
posted by Traveling Amanda @ 8:40 AM
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