Sat.May 2 - Tues. May 5 *Ennis/Limerick/Adare/Dingle & Killarney Counties

Hi Everyone! Finally I have added the new posting, as I know you have all been waiting. Sorry it took so long, but it is a lot of work doing this blog, but I do enjoy doing it and updated you all, and finally I have been able to add the comments feature on it. Ya! Ok, on with it... Day 12 Sat. May 2 I awoke to a beautiful sunny day, and so I went down for my breakfast and made some wraps for my travels. Today I was heading up to Ennis, a small village on the west coast of Ireland, I thought it would be a good spot to see some of the countryside and central for some of the sights I wanted to see. Just a bit of info on Ireland, it has 32 Counties, and in each there is a ton of small villages, so Ennis was in Co. Clare. I went up to my room, packed all my things, checked out of the hostel, and off to the bus station I went, found it no problem today....lol. Got on the bus and we left at 11:30, the scenery along the way was quite nice, watched a few more episodes of Curb and then we arrived in Limerick where I had to change buses to get up to Ennis. Just a pic of my bus, their version of a greyhound. Got to Ennis finally just after 3pm, I followed my directions to get to the hostel was a nice walk through the small little village, very nice, lots of little shops and quite a few pubs. street view of the village Found it no problem, and this particular hostel was newly renovated and just reopened few weeks ago, very nice outside with a river right there and small bridge and inside, there are fireplaces in the lounge and t.v room, and a great kitchen with all new stainless steel. I went up to my room, very spacious 3 bunk beds, unfortunately no lockers, but fine. I met one roommate, she was from Germany and just on her way out to somewhere, so didn't get a name. I went down to the grocery store and got some staple items and food for dinner, and went back and cooked myself some steak and hummus, in the great kitchen. (guess I should have taken a pic of it since I keep telling you how great it is....was like a restaurant kitchen) So, then I went up to my room, got comfortable, had free internet again...yahoo! So logged online and suddenly to my surprise, a man entered the room, this hostel is co-ed rooms, first one so far for me, but fine ... I was just startled as I didn't know. I also met a couple of other girls from another part of Ireland who were down this way doing some surfing....very cool, they of course had full wet suits, but I don't think that would be enough in this cold. Crazy girls! The other roommate from Germany returned a bit later and she had a girl with her that was also in our room and she was also from Germany and they just bumped into each other at a pub and oddly enough were staying in the same hostel and the same room. We chatted about places to go and see and then for the rest of the night I just did some researching online and then off to bed. Day 13 Sun. May 3 Up early again today and had quick bite to eat and made my way down to the bus station to catch the bus down to the Cliffs of Moher .... very excited to go there, I have heard a lot about it from other people. The office was closed, so I decided to take a quick walk down to the tourist information office and well that was closed to. Made my way back to the bus station to wait and took a couple pics along the way. This the Cathedral and I saw a pic in the cafeteria of this particular shot, so I decided to take the same one....very cool. And the other one is the Ennis Abbey which is right across the street from the hostel. Got back to the bus station and there I saw my one roommate, Manuela, she was heading up to the Cliffs of Moher too. So we travelled together. The bus ride was only 50min and there we were at the Cliffs. It was very busy with lots of tourists of course and we started on the walk along the edge of it. It was chilly and I wasn't dressed the best but the scenery was breathtaking so it didn't matter. We ended up walking all the way to the very end and it took up about an hour and a half, a good trek, about 4.5 miles. I could try to describe it but better for you to take a look at some of the pics and view the short video . Here is a couple of links too to get some info on them. http://www.cliffsofmoher.ie/TheCliffs.aspx http://www.destination360.com/europe/ireland/cliffs-of-moher.php So they run along the Atlantic Ocean, the tower at the start is O'Brien Tower and there is a Rune at the other end and that is where we walked to. As you walk along, it seems like your almost there and then you get around a bend and see there is still a ways to go. Before 2007, tourists could actually walk much closer to the edge and even sit on the edge rocks. It was very windy up there, so glad that there was a bit of a wall around it, you could still see a lot and look down a few times very close to the edge and like I said "breathtaking" Here are a few of my pics, so many more, but couldn't add them all. As you will see on the one, I marked it with a red dot to show where we walked to and when we made it there, I marked another one to show where we started....lol, Enjoy them and the video. the view from the beginning and the red dot to our destination if you look at the first one here, you can see the stone formation down on the ledge so I did a close up of it....cool the view in the other direction and just the view looking down the rock formation in the water and the close up The Rune tower at the end, and a view back to where we started.

and the video....hope it works

After that long trek of beautiful scenery, we sat back and had a bite to eat while we waited for the bus to pick us up. We got back to the hostel and we had a new roommate, the other 3 girls were gone and so now it was Manuela, the guy, myself and now Sabine. She is also from Germany, so while I was online, the 2 of them chatted in German. Then the 3 of us decided to go for a bit to eat and we got some vouchers from the reception and went to the restaurant. The meal was great, good portions, and we chatted away at dinner about our travels, and other places we have been and some politics. They voiced their opinions of Bush and Obama, it was interesting to hear peoples views from different countries. Although they are both from Germany, they each had very different accents, interesting. Sabine was in Ireland for about 3 weeks and just touring around some places she hasn't seen before as she has been to Ireland before, she offered me to tour around with her for the next couple of days as she rented a car. I thought that was very cool of her. Thanks again Sabine! Manuela was leaving tomorrow to go down to Limerick and then back to Dublin to fly home from there. She was just here on a short trip, catching up with some old colleagues. We left the restaurant and went down to one of the pubs for a drink and to see a classic small Irish band play.

the pub, and the girls Manuela on the left and Sabine, welcome to my blog! the band

Then back to the hostel we went and I got online and booked a flight to Glasgow from Belfast and checked some information for trains and buses and then off to bed.

Day 14 Mon. May 4

Irish Bank Holiday today.

I woke up to a bird in our room, forgot to mention that so far in England and Ireland, they don't have screens on the windows. I finally got him out and then Manuela, Sabine and I went down to breakfast. We got ready and headed out on the road in a fine Toyota Avensis, to Limerick. We arrived and Manuela went on her way to find a hostel for the night and Sabine and I went for a walk around a bit, took some pics and went into King John's Castle. Nice views from the top of the towers. street view of Limerick

King john's Castle

views from the towers of the castle

We left there and headed down to a little village called Adare....it was very quaint. They have some cottages with straw roofs, and the one pic of the water is called the "washing pool", apparently many years ago, the woman would have to go down to this pool and do their laundry, it is located at the start of the small village, could never imagine that.

this is the church of Ireland ... and I am sure there is more then one of those.

We got back in the car and started to make our way down the coastal route along the River Shannon, we drove through a few different villages all through counties Limerick and Kerry. We went down to one of the most southern villages in Ireland, Ballybunnion. Here was saw a couple nice beaches, very gorgeous, but rather chilly. It was a very overcast day and the breeze was piercing but nice scenery nevertheless, makes it all worth it.

Just a few pic along the route

this first beach was Beal Beach.....windsurfer, very brave!

Going further down the coast to Ballybunnion Beach

a herd of cows

The beach

chilled to the bone....

Once we finished admiring the ocean views, we went dow to Tarbert and decided to catch the car ferry over to Killmer and drove up the coastal road on the other side of the River Shannon back to the hostel. I made chicken wraps for dinner for the 2 of us and then we both got our labtops, I booked my hostel for Belfast and did the last entry of the blog. We sat in the t.v room and I tried to watch my show, but no go, even with satellite and there was tons of channels and nothing on. While in there I met a young couple from Saskatewan , they are also staying in our room, they have been traveling around for about 3mths and are nearing the end of it. They rented a car to tour around Ireland and then they were going to see Scotland and England. So far I have met fellow Canadians but no one from Ontario yet. It is pretty cool the people you meet along the way, but in hostels they seem to come and go so quickly, and sometimes you never even see who was in your room as they get in after you and/or leave before you get up.

So off to bed, tomorrow is check out day and Sabine and I are taking a tour through Co. Kerry down to Dingle Penninsula, and then staying in Killarney.

Day 15 Tues. May 5

Up to another clear day, getting lucky with those here in Ireland lately. We packed our stuff up and loaded up the car and took off again for another adventure. We drove through a few villages again and we took some scenic pics along the way, we went down the the southwest coast of the Atlantic Ocean. We went down to a couple more beaches and there was a few trailor parks along the way, as summer homes. The water down this way was much clearer and blue/green, but still rather chilly, but that didn't stop the surfers, we saw one guy parasurfing, and another one windsurfing again. The waves on the one side were very good for that, and we watched the one guy go back and forth a few times, couldn't believe he was out there....craziness!

the mountains you see here are the Slieve Mish Mountains, some of the highest mountains in Ireland, about 2700ft high, right up in the clouds, you can see them for quite a ways along the coastline, right down to the tip, and then you make a loop back and we ended up driving up there on the road that takes you down to Dingle, so the following pics are on the way there, up there and on the way down. It was very beautiful up there, and just so amazing. I am so happy I got the opportunity to drive around with Sabine, as these places we went to, I probably never would have gotten to otherwise. Very cool!

these are while we were up there, the road going up was very steep and very narrow, so it was a alittle scary right on the edge.

there were sheep grazing up there too, rolling hills of grass, and we were up in the clouds, so great! In the summer time it is full of colour with all these little flowers growing as ground cover.

that was the road we followed to get up to the highest point and then a little brook running through.....so beautiful!

and this was on the way down on the other side, you can faintly see the land across the Dingle Bay

So after a day of driving and sight seeing we finally got back on the National Road and went down to Killarney. Once we got in the village we went to the information center to find a hostel, great thing we found one right across the street from the bus station, convenient for me.

We checked in and we were in a 9 bed co-ed room, very tiny but all good. I was only staying one night and Sabine was staying for 2.

that is only half the room, there is 2 other bunkbeds on the other side, very tiny

We dropped our things off and went for a walk through town, and stopped to have indian dinner, and man it was delicious, so full after, but worth it.

town pics

We then returned to the hostel and took the car to go see a few things around Killarney, first we went down to Ross Castle, right on the lake. Killarney is known for it's parks and being surrounded by small lakes. Ross Castle the view behind the castle

We then headed off to go see the Muckcross House, is a huge Manor with beautiful gardens all around it. We got to the National Park where it is, and it was getting late and dark, but we decided to make our way through the park as the house is suppose to be illuminated at night. So, crazy thing, 2 girls walked along in a dark park alone, not really sure where we were going, past some cows grazing, some horses, and then some latenight walkers, and we stopped them to get directions and thankfully after already walking a good 20mins or so, we were just around the bend from the house. And crappy, we get there and it is not as lite up as we needed it to be to get pics, neither of us got a good shot of it unfortunately.....but Sabine was going back in the morning and taking some pics that she is gonna email to me, so I can always show them later.

I took one pic of the dark park we were in....lol, was pretty scary but we survived and the walk was good as I needed it after that indian dinner. (was about a 3 mile walk)

So we finally found our way back to the car and went back to the hostel and I transfered my pics onto my puter and took a few from Sabine from the other day that my camera battery died, and then off to bed as I have a long day of travel tomorrow. Heading off to Belfast and it is gonna be an 8hr bus ride, a couple stops in between to switch buses but still.

So, I hope you enjoyed this posting, I know it was a long wait but it is a long one as well, and next will be my few days in Belfast........so stay tuned, will be on sooner this time.

Take Care all!

JJ

Tues. April 28 - Fri. May 1 *Dublin

Day 8 Tues Apr.28

My travel day to Ireland.....so I got up and had breakfast with my roommates Sirena and Mika. I then went back to the room, gathered my things and off I went to the train station, got on the fast train to Hamilton square, Birkenhead and from there I took a taxi to the Ferry terminal. There was a short wait and then finally got on the shuttle that took us right to the ferry,

got on and for general seating there was just some seats and tables and a few benches. I found myself a comfortable spot and watched some Curb again and entertained fellow passengers with my giggling. The ferry ride was a 7hr ride, so lots of time to just chill, went outside a few times and took some pics

Then I took a wee nap and finally we arrived in Dublin Ferry Terminal. I got off and went into the terminal and inquired about the bus, the gentlemen said it would take another 45 mins before arriving so I decided to call a taxi, and after a good 10mins or so, he arrived. Took me to the hostel and thank goodness I took the taxi as I don't think I would have found my way, was very confusing. I checked in and went up to my room, it was a 10 bed dorm room and they had good lockers in them.

I got the bed right next to the door as that was the only plug in the whole room.

Something I have forgotten to mention is a little more information about the hostels, well so far the ones I have stayed in have had lockers in the rooms, and either a sink or full bathroom in the room, otherwise the toilet and showers are out, and down the hallway. There is a self-catering kitchen in all so far and then the restuarant as they call it which is just where they serve you brkfast. Also, there is a lounge room and a tv room, laundry facilities which I don't think they all have but some of them, and best of all as I have said before, they are cheap.

This particular hostel is the oldest one in Dublin, it was an old boarding school, so it has a church attached and that is now the restuarant. The best part about this one also is that it has free wifi service, the others in England I had to pay per 24 hrs, so free is fantastic. So after sorting my things and locking them up I decided to venture out and I just got to the grocery store close by, got some food and then back and went down to the kitchen sitting area and worked on my blog (last entry)...pretty uneventful day, but was a travel day.

Day 9 Wed Apr. 29

Woke up to an average Irish day.....rain!

I went down for brkfst and then back to my room to lay down for a bit longer. Just when I opened my eyes to finally start the day, there was one of my roommates coming at me to plug her phone in, right next to my bed. So we ended up chatting for a bit, her name is Michelle and she was from Alaska and now lives in California and she is a massage therapis. She has been in Ireland for 3wks and it is a vacation for her to visit some of her relatives. So she gave me some tips of places to go and things to do, and then we decided to go out and get a bite to eat, thankfully the weather cleared up.

Since she has been around Dublin alot longer it was good so she could show we around alittle bit and so, we ended up at the Porterhouse Pub, it used to be a brewery, but now a restuarant. I actually had a beer in Ireland, it was a strawberry beer, made with real strawberries and it was very tastey. They also have a chocolate beer but I didn't try that one, had a good lunch and then she wanted to wonder off to The Queen of Tarts, tons of fresh pastries, they all looked great but I passed on that. She found out about both of these spots from the free walking tour she went on and this area we were in was known as the Temple Bar, it is one of the oldest areas of Dublin.

Here is a pic of the area.

We made our way back to the hostel and funny enough she took me one way to get into town and a totally different way to get back, so needless to say, I was kinda confused.

Here is a pic of O'Connell St. it is the main shopping street of Dublin.

There is the monument at the start of the street and then just past that is the Spire, apparently it is the tallest sculpture in the world, there really isn't much to it but pretty neat. We stopped at one of the souvenir shops Carroll's, and ya most of the shop was green and tons of Guiness products.....lol.

This is just a pic of a door, most or all of the doors in Ireland are different colours.

The Black Church, was on the way back to the hostel.

We got back and I went down and did a load of laundry, only cost 2.50 euro. I sat in the kitchen eating area with Michelle who had a bottle of red wine and it took her about 20 mins to uncork it, was crazy.....she definetly enjoyed it after all that work.

I also met LeeAnn from Australia, she is looking for work, apparently Aussies can pay for thier own work visa to work in Ireland, so she was staying in the hostel for awhile until she could find a place to live and then she was going to search for a job. Thought that was pretty cool. So the 3 of us, sat and chatted for a bit and off to bed.

Day 10 Thur. Apr. 30

Up to rain again, but it cleared up, seems to remind me alot of Bermuda, but not the same temperature of course, just that it may start out raining and then it clears up. So I went down and had a quick bite to eat. Back to my room and met the last roommate, she was French, she was leaving the next day, didn't chat much. Gathered my things and went down to log online and get some information of what to do for the day.

I finally left and went on my adventures, I found my way to O’Connell street again and walked through to find the DART station (train station ) and after what seemed like forever, I found it and looked up information to get a train to Belfast. I ended up getting a day pass and took a trip down the South to Bray.

It was a short ride there, but some nice scenery on the way, and Bray golf course.

I got to Bray, got off and took a walk down the ocean front and took some pics and then walked to town.

this the ocean front and at the top of that cliff is the pic of the crosses

this is looking in the other direction from the ocean front

this is bray city centre, and just thought I would take a pic of a barber shop for the boys...lol

and then I went back to the train and back to Dublin. Found my way back to the hostel, grabbed some groceries for dinner and a snack and sat with LeeAnn while we were online and I researched for the next few days and my travels up to Cork, Limerick area. I also met another girl who was her roommate, Laura from Netherlands, she is touring around Europe too. She has already been Portugal, and she is going to England, Spain, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. So, we sat and chilled for a bit and chatted, she gave me some tips for my visit to Netherlands and for Portugal. Then finally went to bed.

Day 11 Fri. May 1 Up to rain again yet again. Another roommate left today, so for now I had the room to myself, but that can change by the time I get back. Went down to brkfst just in time. Then back to my room grabbed my puter and down to the church. Checked my emails and got a reply from the hostel and went ahead and booked for the next 4 days, also looked up the bus and train service to get to Ennis, was having trouble so I decided to go down to the station. I walked down and timed myself so I knew how long it will take me for tomorrow. Took about 1/2hr, got there and booked a bus for 19 euro. I left there and ended up going on a little journey to somewhere I had no idea, but I did find my way back to O’Connell st. I walked around again, and finally went to the Dublin Castle and Dublin City Hall

St.Patricks Cathedral

I walked around back by Temple Bar again which is across the Liffy River which runs through Dublin, here are a couple pics of that....there are several different bridges crossing over, very neat.

Then, too funny, I went to the Euro 2, (like a $ store) and got some things. I was hungry so I found a little spot to eat and it was chicken with a pepper sauce an the chicken was a little sketchy, so didn’t eat much. Went back to my room and took a quick nap, I awoke to some new roommates, older women from England and they were cycling, they came in with all their garb. Then I went down to log on my puter and check emails, etc. and sat with LeeAnn and Laura, again and we chatted for awhile. Then off to bed for me as tomorrow was another travel day.....heading up to Ennis, it further up the countryside, a little closer to some other landmarks I would like to see.

I will return with another post of all the great things I see up that way.

until then,

as they say in Ireland .... CHEERS!

Fri.April 24-Mon.April.27 *London/Liverpool

Hello Again!!! So for Day 4 Fri. Apr.24, I never mentioned that pretty much most of my day was spent doing the blog. Went to the local pub around the corner for dinner that evening and that was it. A pretty uneventful day really.

Day 5 Sat. Apr.25, woke up to no roommates, so that was kinda nice to take my time getting ready. I walked down to the tube and took a journey to Euston station where I bought my train ticket for Sunday to Liverpool. Got a 1st class ticket for 45.50pds. Left there and went back to the Tower of London and paid this time to get it and go on the short guided tour, was interesting and then you stand in long lines to get in to see the crown jewels, which were rather amazing and sorry no cameras allowed, so I have no pics of that, but I saw the largest diamond in the world, was beautiful. Took a look at the armour from years ago and just walked the grounds a bit, there is some pics I took of a few of the towers and buildings inside. This is the tour guide and he is known as a beefeater, and they actually live on the grounds there. And that is one of the 20 towers that are part of the Tower of London.

This is the Tower of Jewels, and they are the real jewels inside and that is why there was not cameras allowed. And of course the guard outside that tower.

I left there and made my way back to the hostel and when I arrived in my room, I had 5 new roommates, one girl was from Belgium and she was doing some research of museums, so she was in London for a few days, busy visiting all the museums. Another couple of girls from China, and 2 more from France….I was chatting online with a friend and it kinda sucks when you speak English cuz everyone knows it, but they all speak something different, so they can understand what I am saying but I can’t them……not fair….lol So, I got myself some Indian dinner and chilled outside for a bit, booked my next hostel online in Liverpool and did some research of where to go and what to do while I am there and then went back up to my room where everyone was already asleep, so that is what I did.

Day 6 Sun Apr. 26 I got up early, packed everything up, and checked out of my hostel. I caught the tube back down to Euston station.

I got myself an English breakfast, of which consists of 2 large sausages, 2 pieces of very salty bacon, baked beans, 1 piece of toast, and one egg, the oddest over easy egg I have ever had, but apparently they are all about the meat. So after that, I had a few hours to kill and well, I found myself a comfy spot and watched a few episodes of "Curb your Enthusiasm"….I am sure it was a bit entertaining to some people, as I sat and giggled and they had no idea at what. Finally, I hear the call for my train and I get one, it is just over 2hr ride to Liverpool, but quite a lot of different scenery. Sorry didn't get any pics as they train was moving at a fairly quick speed and so wouldn't have turned out so good. But I have one of me in front of the train at arrival.

(no I am not pickin my butt, hiding my camera case) lol We arrived in Liverpool at just after 5pm, and I followed the directions I had to get to the hostel, it was a pretty easy walk and at one point I thought I was lost and was ready to call and a couple more steps and there I see the sign for the hostel, I found it!

I check myself in and go up to my room, that is my bed with my back pack beside it. :) I met one of my roommates, Doris, she was just in for the day. She was a flight attendant and was going back to London to go back to work. The other woman, I didn't met, she came in and went right to bed and was gone the next morning bright and early. I went for a walk to find food, and ended up at the Liverpool One Center (their shopping mall), and crazy enough I ended up eating at Pizza Hut, just wanted something quick as it was getting dark and so that was quick. Finished and went back to my room and turned in for the night.

Day 7 Mon. Apr 27... Got up, everyone was gone, so I made my way down for my free breakfast, it was ok, very hard toast again, but hey .. it was free. Went back up to my room and charged my puter and ipod. Finally, I took a walk out to find the train station to find out about getting on for Tuesday to get to Birkenhead to get to Dublin. Found it, and got the info, and here are some pics along the way

I then walked down to Albert's Dock, there is a bunch of restaurants and shops there. It is build in a big square, and this is the view inside. And that is at the back on the harbour. That is my ferry way in the background.

So then I decided to go to the Beatles Exhibition, since it was right there too, and it was pretty cool. Got some good pics. Met a girl from Vancouver who is working there, she moved to England to be with her boyfriend as he is from here and she is working on an ancestor visa, pretty neat. Here are few pics from the Beatles Story...

just some pictures they had on the walls there

This is a replica of the bar they starting playing in The Cavern, and it is still in Liverpool. And those are the microphones that they used for recording and they are the actual ones. All these things were donated to the Exhibit, including John's original orange coloured glasses and Ringo's drum sticks with his autograph on them. Thought the whole tour was very cool, told the story from the very beginning right to when they split up and then they showed some of their individual accomplishments after the Beatles.

I left there and wondered around, took a look at some of the stores in Liverpool One. Found a grocery store and got something to eat and drink. Headed back to the hostel and made myself a couple ham and cheese wraps, went up to my room to eat and there I met some new roommates. The first one was Louise, from Scotland originally and now somewhere in England, she is a nutritionist and she is working in the prisons to do a tests on the inmates to see how they react to different drugs. She said the ones they deal with are all young and they are in there for life pretty much, some for murdering their fathers or mothers boyfriends, etc. pretty wild. Then I met Sirena, she is from Belgium and she was just in Manchester watching the ball game there and now she is just visiting Liverpool and a few other spots before heading back to Manchester and then home. She is an elementary school teacher and very neat she is heading to Malta in May with her pupils. We chatted for awhile and then we met another roommate, Mika, from Netherlands, she is just touring around the northern part of England for a week, she is not working right now. We all decided to get a bottle of wine and go down to the lounge and chill out. Talked abit and found out interesting stuff, Belgium pays high tax but they get a lot for free, health care, schooling (inc college and university). So then we went back up to our room and turned in for the night. Big day tomorrow...catching the ferry to head off to Ireland....that is the next post...some adventures in Ireland. Stay Tuned.... Miss you! Enjoy JJ