Driving on the left side of the road, and living to tell the tale
Well, Marc, you will like this one. I'll always remember our crazy trips down the road leading to the school while driving Franky T's parents car... on the left side of the road. We'll, driving on the left side of the car is not so crazy here in Ireland. What is crazy is letting a Canadian drive on the left while trying to remember how to drive stick shift. Great fun! After picking up the car, we went to pick up our luggage at the hostel and drove down this narrow stretch of road. When I found a parking space, I tried to reverse only to find out I had NO IDEA how to reverse. Embarrassing? Yes, a tadbit. I went in the hostel and asked the receptionist if she knew how to reverse Irish cars? She laughed and told me she had the same problem when she moved to Ireland. She went inside and after a few minutes of wigling, she found out how my particular car (A german Opel) reversed. It's all very complicated and I will have to explain it later to you over a pint (or maybe two!).
This morning, Sam and I went to visit the Blarney Castle, another very popular Irish landmark. The area around the castle is absolutely breath-taking and things were simply improved by a sudden mistyness which appeared from nowhere. Straight-out of a fairytale. We went up the narrow steps to the top to see the entire village from atop the castle. We walked around as the sun broke through the clouds and it felt very warm for the first time in a while.
Our trip to Galway was also interesting. We decided to drive through the mainland, going through Limerick and stopping at this small village along the way called Adare which is supposedly the wedding picture capital of Ireland. It was voted the most quaint village in Ireland in 2000 and we soon found out why. The houses lining the main drag had tatch roofs and everything was immaculately kept. Everyone was friendly and the sun was shining bright. I felt like a leprechaun was going to jump out of side street with a pot of gold. But none did so we needed to continue our way.
We drove through Limerick which wasn't that impressive and made us wonder why all main roads need to go through the city center, especially when there is only 2 way roads leading in and out (it took us well over an hour to traverse 10 km in and out of Limerick). But we remained patient and made our way past beautiful villages and rolling green hills. We arrived in Galway shortly after 7:00 PM and found our hostel which is very well situated, has huge rooms and is staffed by very friendly people. We ate a fish and chip at a popular fish and chip joint called McDoguah's. And to finish off the night, we had a couple of pints of Beamish whille watching Tunisia lead Spain (Go Tunisia Go!).
One last thought: last night, Sam and I went to listen to some traditional Irish music at Sin E, a local pub in Cork. THe music was great as well as the ambiance (small pub loaded with people and choice of beer). It felt very much like home and was calming in its own way.
This morning, Sam and I went to visit the Blarney Castle, another very popular Irish landmark. The area around the castle is absolutely breath-taking and things were simply improved by a sudden mistyness which appeared from nowhere. Straight-out of a fairytale. We went up the narrow steps to the top to see the entire village from atop the castle. We walked around as the sun broke through the clouds and it felt very warm for the first time in a while.
Our trip to Galway was also interesting. We decided to drive through the mainland, going through Limerick and stopping at this small village along the way called Adare which is supposedly the wedding picture capital of Ireland. It was voted the most quaint village in Ireland in 2000 and we soon found out why. The houses lining the main drag had tatch roofs and everything was immaculately kept. Everyone was friendly and the sun was shining bright. I felt like a leprechaun was going to jump out of side street with a pot of gold. But none did so we needed to continue our way.
We drove through Limerick which wasn't that impressive and made us wonder why all main roads need to go through the city center, especially when there is only 2 way roads leading in and out (it took us well over an hour to traverse 10 km in and out of Limerick). But we remained patient and made our way past beautiful villages and rolling green hills. We arrived in Galway shortly after 7:00 PM and found our hostel which is very well situated, has huge rooms and is staffed by very friendly people. We ate a fish and chip at a popular fish and chip joint called McDoguah's. And to finish off the night, we had a couple of pints of Beamish whille watching Tunisia lead Spain (Go Tunisia Go!).
One last thought: last night, Sam and I went to listen to some traditional Irish music at Sin E, a local pub in Cork. THe music was great as well as the ambiance (small pub loaded with people and choice of beer). It felt very much like home and was calming in its own way.
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