Surprise!

Well I pulled off the surprise. Flew home early for Logan's (niece) Baptism and with the strategic help of my brother in law and a my buddy Nate, was able to show up in a suit at the baptism to surprise everyone. The reactions were great; some tears, some shocked looks, but lots of smiles. The baptism went great except we had to stand up in front of the entire parish, but it was a good time and it was great to see both sides of the family there.

So I decided to come home Tuesday or Wednesday this last week, so I spent a couple days in Galway and then took the train to Kilkenny to spend two nights there before I went to the airport on Saturday. Last couple days were a little uneventful and I was kind of tired from traveling so much, and a couple relaxed nights were very welcomed.

The flight home was pretty brutal. Bus from Kilkenny to Dublin was late...of course, so I got through the airport security and to my gate at 11:55. Luckily they did not close the gate exactly at 11:45 like they were supposed to otherwise I would have been up the creek. When we finally boarded at about 12:45, I was excited to see that the entire row next to me was empty, so the flight leaving at 1:00 would be very nice. At about 1:10, the captain notified us that we were waiting for a connecting flight that had passengers to board our flight...so of course my row became occupied with two fat people and their baby....great. Recipe for disaster no doubt.

We finally took off at 2:00 (Dublin time) with the baby next to me already making noise and the mom nudging me in the side with the 3,000 toys she brought. Anyway it was a long sleepless flight and I was glad to finally arrive at Chicago. Unfortunately, I had to wait for over an hour to get my damn bags which is the last thing you want to do after a long flight. Luckily my brother in law Eric was patient and waited for me to take me back to Chicago. Awesome guy.

That night I stayed at my friend Nate's house and he was good enough to let me borrow his suit and shoes so I would look presentable at the baptism. Super generous guy and was happy to help me  out with a place to stay and clothes.

I'll definitely miss Ireland and I can't wait to go back, but I'm also glad I came home. Living out of a pack and traveling ever other day does get pretty exhausting anyway, and it's nice to be back at home in my normal routine. It was an amazing trip and I can't believe I was lucky enough to go; see the things I saw, meet the people I met, and live the way I did. If anyone is thinking about going to Ireland, I strongly suggest it. Once you get out of Dublin it's an amazing place with tons of great people and creamy smooth Guinness that goes great with conversation.

I want to thank everyone for following my blog, as of today I've had 1,614 page views! I hope everyone enjoyed reading it; I really had a great time writing in it...just wish I would have done more so I could have written more. I will be back in Ireland, hopefully sooner than later, and I look to write a blog again...I'm thinking bike trip around the country? Until then, remember to enjoy family, friends, and a good smooth pint every once in awhile.

Pictures from the last couple days

Red Deer at Killarney National Park

Creek in Athenry...home of the abandoned hostel

Castle ruins in Athenry

Petting donkeys in Athenry...wish our neighbors had ones like this

Church ruins in Athenry

Cathedral Church of St. Candice

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St. Candice

BMW M5...500 horsepower

Doolin......Finnnnally

I finally made it to elusive Doolin. After trying to get there for over a week, which subsequently lead to stays in Killarney, Athenry, and Galway, I arrived yesterday at little Doolin. It's a really small traditional town somewhat near the west coast of Ireland, a little bit south of Galway.

I ended up staying in Galway for two nights and it's a pretty interesting town, lots of stuff going on there because it's a college town with lots of Americans. I stayed at a hostel that was right next to the bus station and it was actually a pretty nice place with a couple real nice people. The first night I decided to walk around the town center and was surprised at all the shopping sections Galway has; bricked narrow streets crammed with pedestrians and Christmas lights made for a festive atmosphere.

When you're traveling something to always think about is laundry. Where can I get laundry done? How much does it cost? Is it self-serve? As I was roaming around the streets, I came across this little laundromat ran by an older Irish lady and decided to take my rank clothes in finally as I have been wearing the same jeans for at least a week.  I went in there and threw my clothes in a washer...and was immediately yelled at by this 70 year old woman that was about 110 pounds. "I have to weight those first!" "Put those in the basket!" So like a ten year old getting yelled at by a teacher, I sheepishly put my clothes in a basket and brought them over to the scale to get weighed up, mumbling apologies as I did so.

I also had no idea how to work the washers so she had to help me with that too, her mood softening by the minute. Pretty soon we were talking about all kinds of things; my teaching, college kids in Galway, Irish economy, good places to see in Ireland, and especially the weather.

One of the things I have learned about the Irish is that many of them seem standoffish at first (especially the bus drivers), but once you start to talk to them they'll tell you their live story and give some pretty good opinions on the weather and economy.

Anyway I'll be exploring the coast today, hopefully checking out the Cliffs of Moher as well. Can't wait.

Weird Day

So yesterday I got up nice and early and caught the bus to Galway city, and then to a small town called Athenry that has a bunch of old castle and church ruins. It was a long day of traveling and it took me about six hours in all to get there. When I did, I found a pleasant little town with the craziest and most narrow streets I have ever seen. There is one spot in the town where three one-lane roads converge into a two lane road with traffic going both ways, consequently leading to gridlock in a town the size of Ettrick. At one point, I was walking on the sidewalk and saw a farmer in his old Ford tractor waiting at the lights. He looked at me, shook his head, and laughed because he knew as well as I did that the traffic was unequivocally ridiculous.

When I found my hostel, I was let up by the bartender because the hostel was owned by a guy named Ethan, who owned the bar, liquor store, and the hostel above the store as well. The hostel was really nice, probably the nicest I have seen here, but there was one small problem; they were closed for the year! Apparently what happened was when I booked online, they sent me back an email that said they were closed, but since I left so early in the morning I never got the email. Ethan was nice enough to let me stay there the night anyway, free of charge. I was very grateful because it was already dark by that time.

After eating a small supper of oatmeal and bread, which I had with me, I decided to go down to the pub and get a pint. Ethan was manning the bar and it was a very cool place, built in the 1800s. One cool fact about it is that it used to be owned by White Star Line and that a ticket for the Titanic was sold in that very shop I was sitting in. I also learned that Cork, Ireland, was the last stop the Titanic took before it departed on it's fateful journey, and that only seven people got off at Cork (it went from Britain to Cork then America). Anyway I had a couple pints and some good craic with some of the locals and went to bed at 10:30. The heat was not on so it was cold, so I took the quilts off the other three beds and put them on mine, creating about a 14" depth of blankets. It looked utterly ridiculous but I slept quite well.

This morning I decided to treat myself to a nice breakfast so I went to a great small place across the street called the Old Barracks Pantry and had a traditional breakfast sitting next to a fire. Great great breakfast.

Decided to head to Galway for the night so I'm sitting in a comfortable hostel right now with a hot cup of coffee and clean clothes from the laundry. Think I'll spend a couple days here and explore the Arran Islands, a chain of islands off Galway Bay that are inhabited still today, with regular ferry service to Galway city. Hopefully I can get to elusive Doolin this week as well!

Killarney Round 2

So again has trouble getting a bus to Doolin so I decided to come back to 'ol Killarney and explore the national park some more. Had a real nice day here; woke up and had a nice breakfast, hit church at 10, lounged for a bit and then headed off to a local gym. I finally got a nice workout in, feels like it has been too long. After I worked out I came back for a nice lunch of oatmeal, one of my all-time favorites.

The weather was looking a little suspect but I decided to head out to the national park for another go-round, so I geared up and sported my bright blue rain pants and a sweatshirt, packed a bag, and took off. Last time I went to the park, I rented a bike so this time I decided to walk it. Bad idea. Forgot how far the park was from the hostel. After an hour's walk (bypassed some of the park to go directly to the waterfall trail) I started up the trail, with my feet starting to hurt already. I soldiered on and again witnessed the Torc waterfall (very cool) and made my way up the steeply graded path along side it. Tough hike.

Once I got to the top, the trail split in three different directions, so I took the blue path and headed into the area marked 'wildlife refuge'. Not sure but I would think the whole national park would be considered as such. Nonetheless, the walk was beautiful and wound deep into the hills overlooking County Kerry.

As I was enjoying my walk, I failed to realize that the sun was quickly going down. When I finally did, I turned back and by the time I got to the waterfall it was completely dark!  Luckily I packed my flashlight in my little bag so it was no big deal. However, I was fatiguing pretty bad and the walk back to the hostel was brutal; feet and legs sore and low on energy. Plus pitch black.

Got back to the hostel, rested my feet for a few minutes, then made a monster supper of eggs and oatmeal and went back for a quick workout at Sporty's Gym. So it turned out to be a good but physically taxing day. Tomorrow I'm going to Athenry, a town near Galway that has tons of medieval architecture and history. Can't wait.

Savage Crack

 Dingle is a great and thanks to the shitty bus service in Ireland, I'm spending another night here. Can't complain too much though because the owner of the hostel I'm staying at is an awesome guy and he gave me the night's stay on the house.

 I tried to catch the 10 am bus to a small town called Doolin, so I purchased my ticket online, wrote down the confirmation number, and showed up at at the stop. Driver wouldn't let me on because I needed a print out of the confirmation page. Ok. No big deal. Back to the hostel to wait until 3 when the next bus came. Hopped on that with my confirmation print out and relaxed on the way to the bus station in Tralee, ready to catch the connecting bus to Doolin. Fail.

We missed the connecting bus by thirty minutes. Luckily, by that time, the service desk was closed, so my options were limited. I could try to find a hostel and stay in Tralee, travel up to Limerick and wander around in the darkness looking for a hostel, or go back to Dingle and stay in a place I enjoyed and was comfortable in. So that's what I did.

I used to think that public transportation was so great, before I had to rely on it. Now I realize that America has it right- the freedom of you're own car. Who cares about gas as long as I can drive to the store without waiting for a bus that may or may not show up and let you ride.

Cow in my way

Old lighthouse possibly?

Dingle Bay lighthouse

 Anyway, last couple days have been awesome. Hiked out to the coast line of Dingle Bay and there's a trail that runs right along the cliffs, literally three to five feet from the edges at some points. Witnessed some amazing views and got a glimpse of Fungi the Dingle Dolphin, a famous figure in Dingle since 1984. Didn't get a picture of him however.

The hike was actually pretty tough as the path, that was pretty much a goat path, was muddy and continued to get steeper as I went. The best part was sitting on a little grassy spot a few feet from the edge and just looking out at the water, sky, clouds, and waves...and being completely relaxed. It was a beautiful day with a light mist on and off, and a great hike that lasted about 4 hours.

 

After a tough hike, I made some stew for supper...not great but hearty, and went out for a pint with a couple of the other people staying here. Nothing tastes better than a pint of Guinness out of a fresh Irish tap. Nothing. We had a pint and talked with the old bartender for awhile then went to the next place, a more traditional pub.

Dingle's traditional pubs are great, and it's a mix of two things; one half is the pub that has a few tappers, a bar and a couple stools. The other side is the shop where you can get some leather work done, get your hair cut, or get some horse supplies depending on where you are. Great great atmosphere with savage crac about. The pubs are very old and the atmosphere is so relaxing, and the locals provide for some great conversation. Crac(k) refers to an old gaelic phrase..can't remember it all, but basically means music, dancing, and talking. If a place has good crac, you'll find good conversations, music, or dancing. Great crac is everywhere in Dingle and it's a place I'd recommend to anyone.

Leaning over a 300 ft drop...picture is doesn't do justice

Dingle All the Way

 Yesterday was unbelievable. On the advice of a fellow hostel traveler, I decided to rent a bike from a local shop and make a trip around the Dingle Peninsula, about a 40km trek. The Dingle Peninsula juts out into the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Ireland, and was called "the most beautiful place in the world" by National Geographic magazine. Hard to argue.

I started off from Dingle town on my rickety rental and was blessed with a sunny crisp and chilly day. The type of chilly that invigorates you. I was really excited because the coast was pretty awesome, the water meeting with the land made for a great contrast in color and scenery. As I continued on,

 this became more dramatic as cliffs began to emerge...I could hardly contain myself and was mumbling to myself to an idiot about how beautiful it was over and over again.

Can you believe that some people see this everyday? There are houses on the hills overlooking all of these areas.

As I continued on, the road got more narrow and much more windy, which made for interesting traffic. Everyone that passed gave me a wave, maybe to sympathize with me for carrying my pack and riding a bike fit for a 90 year old woman.

 

I really wanted to get to a small town called Dun Chaoin (Dunquin) because the Blasket Islands were only two miles off the coast of that small town. A couple years ago I read a book called Twenty Years A'Growin by Maurice O'Sullivan and it really got me interested about the islands. These islands supported a small civilization of about 15 families the eked a living from fishing, herding sheep, and trading with the mainlanders. A very difficult life but a spry and upbeat culture at the same time. In 1953 the last Islander left for the mainland, leaving the Blaskets deserted of people (some sheep left over, they would tend to them periodically), the main reason being consecutive years of poor fishing harvests. There is likely more to that story, which I hope to research later.

My biggest goal in coming to Ireland was to get a glimpse of the Blaskets. If I did nothing else, I wanted to see them. Finally after riding for about two hours, I got to them in real life. I was awestruck and it was a surreal feeling, but I saw them. In Dunquin there was an old old road that went down to a small beach, the traditional landing spot when the Islanders and Mainlanders came and went with their curraughs (canoes). I had lunch there yesterday. Sitting on a big flat rock, sun in my face, and looking at some of the most beautiful scenery on Earth awash in history and tradition. How was your lunch?

My lunch spot

More coast past Dunquin

Dingle Peninsula

Well I made it to the small fishing town of Dingle, on the Dingle Peninsula on the west coast of Ireland. Very nice little town, strikingly similar to Bayfield except a little smaller. Beautiful harbor with bright blue water and mountains in the background makes for interesting scenery. Took a short walk today just around the harbor and tomorrow I'll be renting a bike and riding around the perimeter of the peninsular, hoping to get a glimpse especially of the Blasket Islands. Sounds like all ferries and boats out to the islands are done for the year, so if I have to settle for a picture so be it. Looking forward tomorrow, hopefully another sunny day here.

Literal Heaven on Earth

Today was awesome. Rolled out of bed after a great night of sleep and ate a nice free breakfast of oatmeal and toast (my usual) and lounged around until 11:00. I wanted to check out the National Park, so I rented a bike from the hostel (Sugan) that I'm staying at and packed a bag with bread, peanut butter, a knife, rain gear, and a camera and headed out towards the park which was about 4 km away. When I got there I was immediately impressed with the beauty of the park; well kept grass, fences, paths were ever-present.

I was not sure what to expect. I have seen my share of national parks and they have all been impressive, but what I saw today was unexpected and pleasantly beautiful and I ended up taking about 230 pictures! After riding in the park for about 15 minutes, I realized I was riding in a no-biking zone so I decided to lock the bike and

head out on foot...first getting a glimpse of the mountains, then the lakes, then the waterfall. Stunning.

I must have looked like an idiot or a crazy person because I was talking to myself a lot and every time I saw a good photo op I would make some gleeful noise or grunt...making the locals wonder no doubt.

The weather for today was perfect as well; cool, crisp, dry, and sunny. What a great day to be out walking and taking in some of the landscape that Ireland is so

well known for. Everything was worthy of a picture and I was certainly trigger happy today.

By the end of my park visit, which was about 4 hours long, the balls of my feet were incredibly sore (and still are) which didn't bother me too much. I made a nice supper of poor man's chicken cordon bleu...with cheap sliced sandwich ham and a processed chees

e slice, a couple boiled red potatoes, and some pasta. After that filling supper, I laid down for about 15 minutes for a power nap that was followed by a shower and two pints of Guinness at the pub next door that had live Irish music. This day could not have gone much better and I'm extremely grateful to be here. I kept saying to myself today, "I'm in Ireland, this is unreal".

Duck The Bus, Trains a Pain

I have always believed in the value of public transportation...until I actually had to rely on it. For the past three days I have been dinking around with buses and trains trying to find a way to get to Killarney. The entire country has shut down because of a few flakes of snow, laughable really to us Wisconsonites. I was badly wishing I had my own car so I could just go and drive there myself...a freedom I didn't appreciate when I was in the States.

Anyway after all that trouble I was finally able to get to Cork last night, and stayed in a little hostel that was actually cold enough in the hallway that I could see my breath. At least the bed was comfy. Today I caught a 10:30 train to Killarney and checked in at the Sugan Hostel..a real cool place built in the 1870s with exposed stone pillars and timbers, and a nice open fireplace in front of me. Pretty awesome.

Killarney is the place of my great great ancestors; Grandpa Michael O'Donoghue I, II, III all were born in Killarney and there was a family farm that was about 460 acres, a substantial piece. You could imagine how pumped I was when I saw this pub within 10 minutes of my arrival. Tomorrow I'll hit that national park and am looking forward to it!

More Winter Pictures

Downfalls of Public Transportation

Well I was planning on heading to Cork today on the bus...and after waiting over an hour for its late arrival, I was informed that the bus route to Cork was shut down by the police. So I'm back at the hostel for another night and think I'm going to just head all the way to Killarney tomorrow on the bus, if the roads aren't bad and the busses are running. There has been lots of snow fall and cold temperatures here in Ireland, something that has even made this Wisconsin boy chilly. So tonight looks like it will be another night to sit in by the fire with a pint and curl up with a book or a movie. I guess I can't complain about a bus not running when this is my other option :-)

It was snowing hard, and still is, so I went out and took a few pictures of this lovely city. On the way back I stopped in at Cleeres Pub for a pint of the black stuff and ended up talking to a couple older guys for about 20 minutes. Such interesting guys and so genuinely nice and engaging...the people here are just incredibly nice and want to talk with you and share stories and experiences and it's something that makes a lad feel right at home. Now they also said when I pass through I'm to stop back in for a pint with them- I think I'll do that.