Things I learned in Ireland - the Mini Trip Report

**DO NOT eat at the "Kebab Klub" in Galway - yucky, dirty, and more yucky. *Buy sweaters, cashmere gloves and scarves at McKenna's in Dingle for the best prices. *Do stop by the side of the road to take pictures. They'll go around you. *Declare, at least once, that you're at least a quarter Irish, even if you're actually Scottish. *Just try to request "Danny Boy" in a semi-trad session and see how it goes. Ha! *Department stores in Ireland (or Cork, at least) close right at 7 during the early part of the week - with or without you stuck inside. *Stores stay open late on Thursdays, cause that's Shopping Day for locals. *Ask the Tour Guides questions; even if it's "Do you get a lot of dumb questions?" I heard some great stories. *Buy the CDs from the street performers in Dublin. *If you didn't make it to that one site you wanted to visit, just keep reminding yourself that you'll be back. *If you want live commentary from the Hop On, Hop Off Bus in Dublin, make sure you get on the right bus. Some of the multi-lingual ones are a recording, which are kind of annoying. *You have permission to giggle when you see the Stiffy by the Liffy. *Fenton's in Dingle has the BEST sticky toffee pudding (called the Icky Sticky) dessert I've ever had. And the Fish Chowder is unbelievably yummy. *If you golf and you're in Kinsale, visit The White Lady Pub. Talk to Peter - he knows a ton of info about golf. Even if you don't golf, visit anyway. The food is great and the people are even better. *The Aran Sweater Shop was cheaper than the same stuff in Galway. *If you find a knitted scarf or sweater than you really like, chances are it's NOT somewhere else. I'm still kicking myself for not buying a scarf in Dingle that I thought I would just get in Dublin. *If there were ever a place to do multiple pub crawls in a week, Ireland is it. **Talk to the locals. Some of them look unfriendly, but it's just a ruse.

**Learn to pronounce Slainte correctly, and use liberally. *Go ahead and order Fish N Chips every day if you want to. Your arteries will recover. *Porridge in Ireland is amazing...at The Olde Bakery B&B in Kinsale anyway. *If you're into music, Ireland has a whole slew of bands that the U.S. has never heard of! Ask. *If you get cold in 78 degree weather (like I do), pack long johns for Ireland. Most stores don't stock them until October. *Some bank ATMs work better than others - no problems with Bank of Ireland, but cards would NOT work at Ulster Bank and only occassionally and AIG (or is it AIB?). *If you like toiletries, shop at the pharmacies! Especially Boots. *If you like ginger bread, get the Kellogg's NutriGrain Ginger Bake bars for snacks. Yum! *Spar is like 7-11 - coffee, food, snacks, magazines, and bus passes. *Get the Dublin Freedom Pass at the Tourist Office or Dublin Buss office - combo Bus Pass, Hop On Hop Off Pass for three days and 25 Euros. They don't sell at Spar. *Don't measure driving time by distance. Measure by: amount of scenary times number of road hazards plus weather conditions multiplied again by times you get lost, divided by excellent songs on the radio. In short, it will take you an extra 45 minutes. *Bring or buy a couple of cd's if driving - the radio drops out and you get stuck with bad or no stuff. **Do play "Spot the Rick Steves' fan." **Ireland is addictive. Must be why they call it craic. I can't wait to go back.

Oh, and!!! **DO talk to the other folks you meet on the trip - I now have great friends in Iowa, Kansas City, Oregon, Kinsale, Dublin, Cashel... I hope to see them all again! *Regular coffee is called an Americano and, in some cases, it will knock your socks off due to extra-strength, super duper caffine excitement! *They don't really give drink refills, so don't be shy about asking and don't get annoyed if your glass isn't magically filled. *They really don't bother you if you sit at a table. *They really do talk to you if you sit at the bar. *A "very small Guinness" and a "baby Guinness" are not the same thing: the latter is a shot glass of Bailey's and some other crazy stuff. A half-pint of Guinness still takes time to pour. Don't rush it. *Nothing in Ireland is rushed, really. If you're used to talking 3,000 miles a minute, conversation may frustrate you. Take a deep breath and just let people talk. *The business end of checking out of your B&B takes seconds. The social end can take hours. Plan accordingly, especially if you really like your B&B. If you didn't like it...you'll be out of there in a minute. *The accommodation recommendations in Rick's book are good, but follow up with Trip Advisor to get a more thorough understanding. *If the weather's good, DO visit Garinish Island and the Aran Islands. The ferry ride to Garinish is almost magical. The plane ride to Inis Mor is just fun. *Pet the donkeys at Kylemore Abbey if they're out. *I snuck photos (no flash) of the Harry Clark windows in Dingle and I haven't been caught yet. They are AMAZING. *DO take the Sciuird Tour of Dingle Peninsula. It's worth it. **The Cliffs of Moher are worth a stop if you're going to be around just before or during sunset. Not sure if I would have loved them so much with the giant tour buses around.

Thank you, Sarah!

OH, POOOH! I want to get back out in that wide wonderful world again! I want to feel that exuberance again that you are are obviously still feeling:-) And I definitely want to go to Ireland!

My ATM card worked fine at AIB. In fact, I still have a receipt for a transaction there in my wallet from my last trip. I'm now in the early planning stages of trip #4 and can't wait to get there.

I had the same problem with Ulster Bank ATMs. They said my card had expired. It scared me to death until I tried a different bank.

I never had any trouble with roundabouts. I think they are the best way to organize and intersection. But I wish the Irish would make street signs more visible and consistent.

Great report Sarah. It reminded me of how much I enjoyed Ireland. Good tip about the GPS. My GPS is also named Lola. What are the odds!

My mini trip report turned into a long litany of info. Sorry about that. But you are right - I'm still enjoying "Vacation High!" I absolutely loved my visit to Ireland!

And on the ATM issue: I should have written "occasionally at AIB" - it may have been my card, but it was a quirk to me that I couldn't just use any bank. Maybe because my first withdrawal was at a Bank of Ireland? Who knows. All of that to say, if your card doesn't work, try a different bank. If it still doesn't work after various bank tries, then make phone calls back home, etc.

I had never really used a roundabout before! I was counting the exits wrong, and so would find myself on the wrong road with Lola saying over and over again "Recalculating! Please drive the highlighted route! Recalculating!" I would have driven the highlighted route but I didn't see any lines on the road! (haha)

Another thing I learned about driving in Ireland: Road signs are maddening. If there is a "no left turn" arrow, and there are two streets the arrow may be pointing to, the arrow is actually pointing to the street that turns left into a wall. This is not a mistake. You are not to make a left turn into the wall. You can, however, make a left turn onto the road that does not end immediately into a wall. I know this because I asked someone who was walking by, and he said, in all seriousness, "Ah no. You can't make a left here (pointing) because of the wall, you see, but you can make the left there (pointing) and if you go up a couple of kilometers and past '... Pub', then make a right..." Kinsale.

I'm pretty sure the painted lines on the road don't mean anything. They are just there for decoration or possibly survey purposes.

Also, Lola was making up names for roads because there were absolutely no street signs for some of the "highlighted routes" she directed me to. There cannot possibly be that many streets named "O'Connell."

Yes, there are more than a few O'Connell streets.

I'm wondering is it Lola for "Run Lola Run", the Kinks song or something else?

My "Lola" was a showgirl... ;-)

Sarah, I have a question. What is semi-trad music?

I think my Lola was also a showgirl. Not that Ireland is anything like the Copacabana.

"Semi-trad" music is what I like to call some of the sessions that I stumbled into. The musicians played a number of traditional songs and jigs with acoustic guitars, some kind of wind instrument, maybe a drum, sometimes a fiddle or violin - and then mixed in a handful of more contemporary songs (such as a beautiful version of In My Life by Eric Clapton). The best spot I found for this kind of session was in Dingle, at a pub towards the end of Main Street (the street where the two banks in Dingle are located) - it's called An Droicead Beag. Oh, and someone did yell out "play Danny Boy!", which the musicians ignored and asked for a different request. This happened in a few pubs (one in Kinsale, one in Galway, one in Dublin, and that one in Dingle) - so I'm guessing they're a little bit tired of Danny Boy?

My Lola is very well traveled. She has been everywhere with me, from Europe to Hawaii. She's getting ready to spend a few weeks in New England.

We called my GPS "Sinead." Sometimes we'd forget and call her "Siobhan."

Someone DID manage to get Danny Boy at a pub in Dingle, but it was obvious the musicians weren't very happy about it.

I would imagine that O'Connell is to Ireland what Peachtree is to Georgia (Peachtree Street, Peachtree Boulevard, Peachtree Road, ad infinitum and often all in the same city--see Atlanta).

Don't forget Peachtree Industrial, Peachtree Battle, Peachtree Circle.... Last count, there were 26 streets in Atlanta with the word Peachtree in 'em.

Only 26? I would have sworn there were more. ;-)

Glad to see that you enjoyed Kinsale, have to admit Iam biased as it is my own town and one of the "ghosts" is a past pupilof mine. We also have a Heritage Walk during the day to explore the history of the town as well as lots more to do.