Ireland, Overall...

Nearing the time for our departure to Ireland we began again to peruse ideas and opinions of others on the internet as to what to do or not do to make our upcoming trip a success. One of the sites I found was a video listing the 5 things you'll love and 5 things you'll hate about visiting Ireland. I think in this blog I'd like to cover that list with my own opinions now that I've experienced it firsthand: 

5 things to love: 

1 - Scenery. Well YEAH!! While the scenery of Ireland is much like our area, there were many sections much prettier. Grass grows like crazy and in big clumps. Many times we were driving and felt as though we were here in Washington. Well, Seattle is called the Emerald City and Ireland is the Emerald Isle, some resemblance? I think so! Northern Ireland left a little to be desired in the populated areas, more run-down in places and in the country much of the beauty has been replaced with better roads. Unfortunately what makes the Republic of Ireland so beautiful is the non-improvement. Wall-lined roads still exist everywhere and to make improvements those walls would have to be removed. The look would be gone. We were happy to get back to the unimproved, narrow twisty roads of the republic after having spent less than 24 hours in Northern Ireland. It was a little too much like home. 

2 - People. Two thumbs up there! I don't think we spoke to one person who wasn't pleasant and considerate. When asking for directions they would automatically repeat themselves 2 or 3 times til they were sure we had it. Service in all the pubs and restaurants was with a smile. The only complaint we had was regarding the hosts of the Bunbeg House. They seemed disinterested in their guests. But to be honest, at least the husband had more of a British accent than an Irish one, maybe that's the difference. I did have a problem with the leering men that hung out smoking in front of the pubs but that may just be my own paranoia. 

3 - Cute Irish villages. We began to notice a pattern. The buildings all had the Irish look and feel and were painted colorfully, especially in the tourist areas. When we found ourselves in more remote towns they were much blander. They probably have to live up to tourists' expectations. In Northern Ireland many of the buildings had more individual looks, again removing themselves from the more traditional and heading toward "progress". 

4 - Pubs. Yes. Pub is actually a shortened term for "Public House" so families are welcome. Always friendly, often with live music (in the late evening, after dinner. Our host in Sligo explained that the Irish separate the music from the mealtime to allow conversation during dinner. Music and fellowship follow) and pride of ownership shows. All the pubs are clean and well maintained. Even those on the outskirts. One of our favorites was way out in the Bunbeg area, nowhere near the beaten path. Yet the place was comfortable and inviting and the service was above and beyond. 

5 - Staying in B&B's. They were actually more reasonable than the hotels and usually hosted by very accommodating, warm, interesting people. Rooms were usually nicely decorated with all the necessities. Mary, our hostess in Sligo, gave us a history of the area, restaurant list including the best items on the menus and pricing, local customs and current events. It's because of her excellent attention to detail that we were able to attend an open air string quartet concert in the local remains of an abbey along with 100 or so locals.

5 things to hate:

1 - Weather. For the most part our weather was decent. We started out with some unseasonably nice weather. We got sunburns and EVERY person we talked to about our visit commented on the fantastic weather "last week". About 3 days of sun were followed by a couple half-and-half days, then a couple half days of torrential rain (click the picture to see the rain!) and fog ending with probably the more typical showers / clouds all day. Very similar to our weather here in Washington so it didn't frustrate us too much. I guess any time would have been a bad time on our trip to have the worst weather, it reduced our enjoyment of the Ring of Kerry and the Ring of Dingle, as well as the first half of our visit to the Giant's Causeway. But it also adds to the story of our trip. Kind of like a wedding, if everything goes too smoothly it's not as memorable, it's the flubs and goof-ups that we all think back on fondly...

2 - Food. Here we totally disagree. We had wonderful food excellently prepared and served. It may not have all been traditional "Irish" food but it was tasty and enjoyable. There was always seafood options as well as some of the traditional stews, shepherd's pie, fish and chips, "bangers and mash" as well as many other dishes from other cultures. The portions were more than ample, service was pleasant, presentation was appealing.

3 - It's expensive. I noticed that prices were actually very similar to our prices, the part that made it expensive was the exchange rate. While we were there the rate was about 1.3 dollars per euro. So an item costing 10 euros was equivalent to 13 dollars. And the 100 euro B&B was 130 dollars. It was worse in Northern Ireland. The pound was equal to 1.56 US dollars - ouch! Personally I try not to expect to pay the same when "on holiday", it's not our normal life so why should we expect to pay normal prices? We're on vacation! It's outside the realm of normal, suck it up! 

4 - Public transportation. Didn't apply to us but if you're gonna depend on it to get around I guess it would be frustrating to be unable to get to every destination. 

5 - Driving. After an adjustment period driving was fine. The roads are much narrower and very curvy, speed limits are ridiculously high and, of course, the left hand of the road and right-side driver takes some getting used to. Especially shifting a manual with your left hand, and most rental cars are manual. Rick averaged 4 "killing the car" a day. But maneuvering the roundabouts became second nature in a short time. It's all the neuron-paths-in-your-brain thing, it takes a few days.

Overall, I think it's a general consensus among the 3 of us that Ireland was an amazing place and we all could envision ourselves living there - no problem!