The Emerald Isle

Chris and I enjoyed a relaxing few days in Ireland from Boxing Day through to New Year’s. It was a very different New Year's week as it was bitterly cold with rain and wind to add, rather than the unbearable heat that we are usually experiencing this time of year. We began the journey in Dublin after a sleepless overnight flight from New York. It was Boxing Day (or St Stephen's Day in Ireland) and nothing was open! Seriously nothing. We struggled our way through the day, trying to stay awake and having very little to do. We picked up our car in Dublin and enjoyed the massive sales the on the 27th when the place came alive!

Dublin was nothing remarkable to either of us but we did enjoy Kilkenny which is a quaint Irish town with narrow streets and cobblestone paths. We had an Irish pub experience there which was a highlight. It is just in the Irish culture to sing while you are drinking so the pub was alive with noise! I felt quite rude though when a couple of people started chatting to me (Ed's note: that should read "couple of men trying to pick her up") and after a few goes I had to tell them I had no idea what they were saying. Their accents were just so thick! That was a great night.

We travelled through to Waterford (where the crystal is made) and then onto Tramore, a seaside town. It was quite in the middle of winter but we stayed at a lovely hostel which made a difference. We spent the following day in the car, taking the scenic route to our next destination. We drove along the coast and saw some pretty amazing cliffs and waves. It was pouring with rain and it seemed to make it all the more dramatic. We loved that drive and the country towns we stopped at along the way.

We were fortunate enough to see the Rock of Cashel which was a highlight. It was an old fort and chapel which is in ruins. The abbey about a km down the road was incredible too. We were totally alone exploring these massive ruins. We loved it. Unfortunately many of the places we wanted to visit were closed over the Christmas break but we still managed to fit some things in.
Limerick was a nice little town also although our enduring memory will be an old bloke at the front of his pub on New Year’s not letting us in as he didn’t accept driver’s licenses as a valid form of id. Hmm? Maybe he just didn’t like Australians or something. Chris enjoyed exploring the nearby caves (apparently the best in Europe but still nothing to write home about) and we both enjoyed exploring Lough Gur which was an ancient Neolithic site that spread through the surrounding countryside.

We had a relaxed New Year and reflected on how much we are missing family and friends. We went to a couple of bars and then ended up back at our hotel for an early night. Ireland was very picturesque and it would have been great to spend more time there exploring the countryside but what we did manage to cover, we enjoyed all the same.

Feel free to jump on our photo site to see a few of our photos from Ireland (photos.yahoo.com/csmoyle)