It was September 2020. All of our travel plans for this year were covid-cancelled. But there were a few countries still open to visitors who tested negative. Ireland was one of them. As long as we agreed to “restrict our movements” for 2 weeks after arrival, we were welcome to visit.
Paul and I often play this game. If we had to move to another country, where would it be? I have a new contender for that top spot and it’s Ireland. This country surprised me in every way! Here’s why Ireland is my new favorite:
- Visually stunning. Beautiful green lush countryside dotted with cows and sheep, and striped with white stone walls. The rolling hills full of farm friends never seem to end. And still, it never gets old! Every time we’d turn a corner for a new vista, I couldn’t help but squeal with excitement, “sheep!” “cows!!” There also misty ocean shores mixed with green mountains, and charming small towns that are colorful and alive.
2. The abundance of Bed & Breakfasts. I asked one of our hosts why were there are so many B&B’s in Ireland. She responded that people have large Catholic families. When the kids move out they don’t want to sell the family home, so many many people open B&B’s. Love this, because staying at family run hotels is our favorite way to travel. Why? Because you get a peek into the reals lives of people from a country. You make connections with the culture you would not normally make. You have discussions about local history, politics, religion. Amazing what people will disclose to strangers who are only around for a night or two. And of course, you get fantastic breakfasts.
3. The place is thick with history. Being such an old country means it has many many stories to tell. This also comes with incredible old castles, architecture, towns. Every thing, every place, every town, heck, every person, has a lengthy story to tell. And we love stories.
4. People here are super friendly and welcoming everywhere we went. Not all cultures are welcoming or nice to tourists. People in the service industry may have reason to be nice to visitors, but strangers have no vested interest in being welcoming. In Ireland all the random people were kind, helpful, and gracious when interacting with us. Felt so nice. We never ran across a cranky attitude towards tourists, which makes me love the place even more!
5. Food. Why have I never heard of Irish food? The food was amazing everywhere we went! Fresh ingredients, deliciously prepared, some of the best steak and seafood we’ve had anywhere. Was not expecting this! We had one meal that wasn’t even bad, but average. The rest were surprising delicious and something we would absolutely eat again. The quality was consistently high regardless of where we ate, big cities, small towns, pubs. We had one amazing meal after another. Items like clam chowder or fish and chips, which are usually average, would be the best I’ve ever had, anywhere. In the entire world!! Meal after meal this happened. How? Why? And the full Irish breakfasts were also over the top every time we ordered it.
6. Charming small towns. The small towns in Ireland are vibrant not just in the bright colors of the buildings, but the people who call them home. Many people stay put in the same homes their entire lives. They have family trees that go way, way back within the same town. There are bakeries, pubs, small shops that have been around forever creating the core of these towns. You can tell the townspeople’s lives are intertwined. It was exciting to witness how small towns are thriving in other countries. There is a unique pride of each one, people telling us why theirs is extra special. Love that. So much.
7. Language. Most of the places we go there is a significant language barrier. This means you can only have functional conversations. In Ireland, if you speak some type of dialect of the English language, there are opportunities for more conversations, including the deeper ones. We had many talks with our hosts about Ireland’s history, politics, religion, family traditions. Crazy interesting interactions that would not have been possible without some common language. Love talking to someone with a different version of English. It reminds you that you’re in a different country, but still gives you some latitude to connect if you really both want to make the effort to converse. Always satisfying if you do.
8. Different from home with enough still the same. We’ve learned that places were we want to stay for an extended period of time need to have enough things that it feels different from home, but enough things the same so we feel at home. Ireland is different enough to feel like an adventure, but the same enough that you can still talk to others, eat food that’s different enough and predictable enough, similar service expectations as home, friendly people, and they treat outsiders great.
9. There was a Tim Hortons in Belfast! Yes that’s technically in Northern Ireland. But I haven’t been to one of these since Canada locked down. And I’ve missed my Plain Old-Fashioned donuts.
Those are my main impressions of Ireland. We want to become regulars.
Our travel style includes a seeing a lot within a short period of time, not staying anywhere too long, mixed with staying at certain places for an extended time. This trip was no different. We often staying in places for one night while we traversed the Wild Atlantic Way coastal route. But we also stayed in Dublin for two weeks, Galway for a few days, and Belfast for almost a month and a half. We like that balance of fast and slow. For those who like a more detailed itinerary of the trip, I’ve included that below.
Sept. 16. The immigration woman in Ireland was extremely annoyed with us. We had all of our quarantine plans in place, negative covid tests, covid insurance all ready. We’ve experienced lack of itinerary shaming before, from travelers who plan more than we do, but never from an immigration person. She seemed seriously annoyed by our winging-it attitude of seeing the country. She kept asking what we wanted to see and do, but we said we hadn’t done any in depth research of planning of what we’d do after Dublin. She kept asking and asking. Paul finally said he was planning to try some local beer, but again, we had no specifics. We asked if there was something she thought we should do, and she curtly replied that wasn’t her job. After a rather lengthly justification of how and why we travel the way we do, she reluctantly let us in to spontaneously roam her country. And roam we did.
We chose to do our 2 week quarantine in Dublin. What a great city. After we completed our time, we saw Dublin Castle, City Hall, got on the Google camera at Temple Bar, went into the Church of Mary Immaculate – Refuge of Sinners, strolled the canal, checked out a market.
Sept. 30. With our quarantine done, we picked up a car. Paul figured out how to drive on the left-side of the streets as we drove through Dublin. For me, not driving, the round-abouts were there most confusing–where to look for traffic, how to merge, how to exit. We started on a drive called the Wild Atlantic Way, and the most spectacular road trip we’ve ever taken.
First view of the countryside. The cows and sheep speckling the deep green rolling hills is not a myth. Stunning countryside. One beautiful vista after another. I never tire of cute cows and sheep. We drove to Wicklow to see the Black Castle ruins and the beautiful coast. At the Bridge Tavern we had fish and chips in light, tasty tempura-like batter and Thai fish balls. Fantastic fish and chips.
Kilkenny was our first town. The town was charming, with so many restaurants and beautiful windy roads to walk. We stayed at the Bridge View B&B with a view of the castle down the river. We were given our choice of rooms since we had the entire place to ourselves, something that would happen often during our travels.
Oct. 1. We were introduced to The Full Irish Breakfast by our hostess the next morning. Two unidentified pellets turned out to be white pudding and black pudding. They were like two little hush puppies, one made with blood. Tasted better when I didn’t know the ingredients. We walked through high town so see all the shops. Later we had dinner in the center of town in what used to be a historic bank. The atmosphere of the huge old bar and wooden interior was like out of a movie. The food, again, outstanding. I don’t know how they make simple “autumn greens” so good that you would just eat a whole plate load of those, but they did. Paul’s steak, some of the best he’s had. This would be the beginning of many of the fantastic meals we had in Ireland.
Oct. 2. Talked with our hostess for a long time over our Full Irish Breakfasts. Covid has hit her business hard. We went to the Butler Art Museum, had the place to ourselves. Then went to the Medieval Mile Museum. Ended up spending hours there due to a very entertaining tour guide who hadn’t seen tourist in quite sometime, so gave us all the extra stories. This one little town of Kilkenny has a fascinating history, and this guy brought it to life with his stand-up meets history style. That evening we ate at the restaurant Paris, Texas. Great meal. Again. After dinner we walked around to see all the lit up cathedrals in town. They were enormous. Kilkenny is a place we will return to.
Oct. 3. After our Full Irish Breakfast (never get tired of saying that), we left the River View B&B and drove to Waterford. Went to see Treasures of Medieval Waterfod, a medieval museum. Drove to Cork and the city was alive. Hung out at a beautiful coffee house that had huge, comfy leather chairs. It’s the little things you appreciate. Ate at the Strasbourg Goose, for some good, hearty German food. We stayed at the Redcliffe Guest House which had lots of students living there. We tucked away up in the attic in an end room. It was basic, quiet, and came with a hot breakfast in the morning with the best bacon I’ve ever had. That works. Good bacon cancels out a lot of shortcomings any place has.
Oct. 4. With yummy bacon in our tummies, we set off for Cohb. We picked up a bucket of fresh blueberries along the way to snack on in the car. Cohb was the last port the Titanic picked up passengers in before setting sail. We visited the Titanic Memorial Gardens and the St. Colman’s Cathedral. These small seaside towns often has these enormous churches rooting them. Drove to Kinsale, took the ferry. Love those. Shared this one with only one other car. Kinsale has these adorable winding streets. Bought some little bags made from sails, then had some Banoffee pie at the Cozy Cafe. Next we wound our way through the scenic countryside to Clonakity. Our next stay was in a quaint little town of Union Hall. We ate Fisherman’s Pie at Dintys in front of the wood burning stove, as one does. Found our way to Shearwater Country House B&B in Keelbeg. Once again we had the whole B&B to ourselves. The hostess kept about safe one room distance from us when we checked in, but by the next day we were sitting and talking to her at length in the same room. This B&B had a great view of the bay, and from our room we watched the huge fishing boats coming in and out.
Oct. 5. We had the fanciest Full-Irish breakfast with on the glassed in room with full view of the bay. A fancy meal, with fancy plates, fancy napkins, fancy breads. We drove to Skibereen, saw the Beacon in Baltimore which was out on a little cliff. The grass is thick and spongey, scary windy where you have to lean in to stay upright. Warmed up with some Americano coffees in the Waterfront Hotel cafe. Drove through one charming town after another. First we brought some yummy pastries from a cute bakery in Bantry on Bantry Bay, then we saw went to a number of Weavers of Ireland stores in Spar, saw more rainbow sheep around Kenmare, hiked to the Torc Waterfall in Killarney National Park. We got to the Woodlawn House in Killarney, which we had all to ourselves, as we do. Host was a bit nervous to have us there, kept using hand-sanitizer repeatedly while speaking to us (from other side of the room). That’s fair. Restaurants in the area were all closed. We ended up with a meat-lovers pizza that did the trick.
Oct. 6. In Killarney we stopped at the Petit Delice and got the flakiest pain chocolate I’ve ever had. Paul’s raspberry roulade was also spectac. The bakeries in this country keep a high bar. We ate them while visiting the Ross Castle. Saw many recreational fishing boats lining the small canals. Drove to Dingle. Did a driving tour around the entire peninsula and saw sites as old as 3200 BC. Many beautiful vistas of mountains plunging into the sea, rugged beaches, more cows and rainbow sheep. In Dingle we ate at John Benny Moriarty’s Pub. We stayed at the Bambury’s Guest House, very cute room with an extra sitting room on the side. Again, the only ones there. Found out that the country is going to a Level 3. This means all the restaurants will be closed for in-house dining. All residents must stay in their own county unless they work in a neighboring one. So this may be our last restaurant meal while in Ireland. We are still free to move about because tested negative, did our quarantine, and also don’t have a permanent home. Hotels are allowed to serve guests who are staying with them, and grocery stores are also open. So we’re good.
Oct. 7. Level 3 lockdown begins. Bambury Guest House has the best home-baked scones on the planet. Absolutely is worth the trip to Dingle. With a Full-Irish breakfast in our bellies (and those homemade scones) we drove to Talbert and took the ferry. There were these delicious looking homemade chicken pot pies at the little store before the ferry, didn’t pass those up. Ever their fast food here is amazing. After the ferry we drove to Doolin. Ate from the grocery store since the restaurants are now closed. We stayed at Island View B&B in the entire house on the back of the property. No one else there, of course. Could see the water, they stocked the fridge with a generous amount of food for us, given the circumstances. It was cozy and perfect.
Oct. 8. We walked over to the Cliffs of Moher. We were the only ones there, except for a lone accordion player. The whole experience was surreal, especially with the haunting music. The path that went back over the cliffs toward our B&B were taped off, due to current government regulations. But the guy on duty said they don’t stop anyone who disregards the tape, and then he turned his back to let us go. So we went. Stunning is in inadequate word to describe our walk on the Cliffs of Moher. Just us, the cows, the sheep, the sun and wind on those cliffs. Fantastic moments.
Oct. 9-12. Decided to stay in Galway, first in the Hotel House in the Latin Quarter and then moved to the Nox Hotel because they had a restaurant open for their guests (great seafood chowder). Drove along Salthill Beach. The Latin Quarter had a cute pedestrian street with a number of excellent street bands. Listened to them for quite sometime.
Oct. 13. Stayed for brunch to have the Nox seafood chowder one last time. Then drove the Clifden Castle by Sky Road. Crazy beautiful. Rainbow sheep everywhere. Saw the convent, drove two Westport and stayed at the Mulberry Lodge B&B in Westport.
Oct. 14. Drove to Newport, saw the Burrishoale Friary, Ballina, Cliff Baths in Enniscrome, and Stigo. Slept in Bridges B&B in Donegal. Our hostess was very talkative and interesting. Learned a lot of local history. We do get stopped going from county to county. Since we are tourists we are allowed to pass.
Oct. 15. Leave Donagol and drive into Northern Ireland to stay in Belfast at the Flint Hotel for a month and a half. Loved Belfast. We had a fantastic view from our apt. Toward the end of our stay they decorated the city hall for Christmas. On a different, donut note–did I mention that Belfast had Tim Hortons? Haven’t seen one of those since we got locked out of Canada. I was so, so happy to have my plain old fashioned donut again! There are no words.
