On the western side of Ireland, you’ll find an area called Connemara.Oscar
Wilde, the Irish writer and poet, once said, “Connemara is a savage beauty.” You can see all of the beauty that Connemara holds for nothing more than the
price of food.
The Connemara area includes an abbey, mountains, loughs and
about 16 small towns (including Leenane, which I told you about
yesterday).In fact, Leenane is a good
place to start your Connemara trip, just head west.
Kylemore Abbey
About 18 minutes from Leenane, you will find Kylemore Abbey,
an old castle which later became a Benedictine monestary.
Also on the grounds of the abbey, are six walled gardens, as
well as nature trails and a Gothic church.It costs 12.50€ to take
advantage of all Kylemore has to offer.
Or, you can just take a bunch of pictures outside for free.
We enjoyed the architecture of the abbey as well as some of
the surrounding grounds – the part we could get into without paying.Then, we spent some time just lying in the
grass, admiring the beauty of the scenery around us.
Then, one last look, before we were on our way.
Connemara National
Park
Driving about 10 minutes west of Kylemore Abbey will bring
you to the Connemara National Park.
The park is just one place where you can see the gorgeous
mountains in Connemara.You can also see
bogs, grasslands, and wildlife.
Admission is free
to get into the Connemara National Park.If you’re smart, you’ll bring your own lunch,
a very economical way to eat.
After filling your bellies, you’ll want to hike one of the
four trails inside the park.
We hiked the Lower Diamond Hill Walk, but Frank says he has
plans to hike the Upper Diamond Hill Walk when we travel back to Ireland later
this month.
The trail is not very rugged and is extremely
well-marked.You’ll even find a bunch of
giant rocks with which you can take a picture.
We spent a few hours inside the park, between eating and
walking.From there, we headed west
again.
Loughs
This is a really fancy way of saying lake in Ireland.
You’ll find loughs several places along the side of the main
road, N59, that leads you around the Connemara.
About 20 minutes after leaving the Connamara National Park, you
will arrive in one of the most well-known towns of the area, Clifden.
Clifden
This town is just about as small as Leenane, but the main
allure for Clifden is that it is on the Atlantic Ocean.
Unlike Leenane, it does have more than one street, as well
as more than two bars.
After grabbing a pint (or 12), it was time for us to
continue our road trip, back to Leenane, and then soon, out of the Connemara
altogether.
Total Cost: We paid only about 10€ for lunch, but goodness
knows how much for drinks
Best Deal: Seeing Kylemore Abbey without paying a dime
Our road trip around Ireland, where we faced intense roadsand wild sheep, led us to a very small, and very economical, town called Leenane.
There you go, you just saw all of the town
This town is made up of just a few buildings, but amazingly,
this town is actually quite popular because the movie “The Field” was filmed
here.
I’m not sure of a damn thing said in that movie trailer,
sometimes the Irish are hard to understand!Anyway, the main attraction in Leenane is the Field Bar, obviously named
after the movie (which I have fallen asleep trying to watch more than once). It also goes by the name of Gaynor's.
Why did we go to Leenane, you ask?Well, Frank’s grandmother has a house
there.So, on our visit to Ireland, we
drove to Leenane, without first asking one of Frank’s family members where the
house was located.All Frank knew was
that the house was white.This actually
didn’t seem that far-fetched to find, considering Leenane is extremely
small.However, this was the weather
when we arrived.
This weather is pretty standard for Ireland, actually
And our cell phones weren’t working.We drove around for a bit, but couldn’t find
the white house.So, we stopped at the
Field Bar for a pint, and to figure out what to do next.
Frank decided to have a conversation with the bartender.
Frank: “So, we’re here to visit my grandmother’s
cottage.Do you know Eileen McAlonan?”
Bartender: “Oh, the American lady!Of course!She lives right up the road, where the street makes a sharp turn at the
top of the hill.You can get the keys
from her neighbor, Eddie!”
Mind you, no one knew we were coming, they are just offering
up keys at the bar.
Oh, and that white house?
Actually yellow. Could be part of the problem
in finding it!
Once we got the keys (the neighbor handed them over
willingly), drank three bottles of wine (we arrived on the day we got
engaged!), and the weather cleared, Leenane turned out to be quite beautiful.
Ireland’s only fjord cuts through the middle of Leenane,
right outside the window of the McAlonan cottage.
The cottage backs up to the Maumturks, a mountain range that
stretches along this area.
The allure of Leenane is the beauty, as it is part of the
Connemara, an area in western Ireland where the main focal points are the
mountains, pristine waterways, and simple lifestyle.
If you’re in Leenane for 24 hours, you’re probably going to
run out of things to do.There are
approximately four eateries, two bars, five shops, and a hotel.
The hotel has a spa too - very fancy for the town of Leenane!
The hotel is actually twice the size of the police station
in Leenane.
The post office is in
the general store, which is right next door to Hamilton’s Bar, the other pub in Leenane, besides the Field
Bar.Hamilton’s is owned by Tony
Hamilton.His brother, Sean Hamilton,
owes the Blackberry Café, which serves delicious food.
I ordered salmon with french fries - yum!
Now, if you are related to us, you might be interested in
the headstone for Frank’s family that overlooks Killary Harbor.
Up close, you’ll see a unique inscription.
I married into a hilariously deranged family!
If you aren’t related to us, you just might want to take a
ferry trip on Killary Harbor (will run you 21€ each).
But as far as tourism goes, that’s about what Leenane has to
offer.After breezing through this town,
you might be on your way, off to the next destination in the Connemara, or even
the Emerald Isle.But for me, Leenane
left a lasting impression on my heart.
Leenane Hotel: 49€
Drinks at the Field Bar: About 5€ each (10€ for two)
Dinner at Blackberry Café: 100€ for two
Total Cost: About 160€ = $206
Best Deal: Seeing where Frank’s grandparents have vacationed
since the 80s
Driving in Ireland is unlike driving in most other
countries.Here are four things that
you’ll experience on the roads of the Emerald Isle that would never happen here in America.
First
Most obviously, you have to drive on the opposite side of
the road and the opposite side of the car.
This is a picture as we're getting into the "wrong"
sides of the car for the first time. Once we started
driving, Frank yelled, "No more pictures!" as he was
freaking out about driving on the left side of the road.
What’s most confusing about driving on the right side of the
car on the left side of the road is that all your turning is disoriented.In America, you can make right hand turns on
red because you’re not crossing any lanes of traffic.In Ireland, you absolutely cannot do
that.Frank tried once and almost hit a
truck.
Also, when you are driving in Ireland and see a really large
vehicle heading to you in the right lane, you forget you’re on the left and
think it’s going to hit you head on!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Second
Ireland’s road signs are near impossible to understand
Watch out for the man playing lacrosse?
Don't clone your car?
Midget crossing?
You’ll also see signs for things you don’t want to see.
We are screwed.
And sometimes you’ll see signs for things that are obvious…
Okay, duly noted, will not drive my car into the water
Those Irish warn you about everything.
Third
However, never once did I see a sign for sheep
crossing.In Florida, we have signs for
Key Deer crossings and Florida Panther crossings, but in Ireland, the sheep
just run wild, with no warnings.
I once saw a postcard in the Emerald Isle that said “Traffic jam in
Ireland” and showed a bunch of sheep in the middle of the road.I thought it was a joke.
It was not!
Fourth
Not only will you find sheep on the road, you’ll also find
other, non-road worthy things.
I wonder if she thinks his tractor's sexy?
This is why Frank did most of the driving.After his initial shock at driving in the
wrong lane on the "passenger side," he soon proclaimed to “drive like the wind.”
As for me? I did pull the car into the driveway once.
Even me being behind the wheel in the driveway
is probably a little dangerous!
Total Cost: About $200 for a rental car for a week
Best Deal: Here’s the not best deal - gas is about
$7.34/gallon according to this article
This weekend, I went to the library, beach, bar, dinner and
the Boynton Beach Holiday Parade without pulling my car out of the driveway – I
rode my bike everywhere (economical and environmentally friendly)!And whether
you’re on foot, on two wheels, or four, you can now see the Christmas tree in
Boynton Beach lit up for the holidays.
Not as impressive as Delray's 100-foot tree,
but my awful measuring skills would
estimate this one is about 60-feet tall
The tree is located on Ocean Avenue, just east of Seacrest,
across the street from the Boynton Beach City Library.
As for the parade, it was pretty much what you can expect
from a small city.However, only in
South Florida can you see a holiday parade with a beautiful sunset in the
background, while enjoying 70° temperatures.
Virginia and Jason from the KVJ show on Wild 95.5 in the
morning were the masters of ceremonies.As promised,
I did stalk them.Actually, we happened
to park our bikes, and our water bottles filled with wine, right across the
street from them.Their antics were just
as funny as on the morning show.
We saw lots of school marching bands perform, but Frank felt
none of them were as good as the band in Drumline.The band from Roosevelt Middle came pretty
close.
Forgive my awesome video skills, as I had a water bottle
filled with wine.
My favorite float was
from Jazzercise, and was entitled “My Christmas Wish List 1985.
Yep, that's a Smurf in front and Strawberry Shortcake to your left.
And a Rubik's Cube! Pretty sure I got all of those things on
Christmas morning in 1985!
There were also pirates representing.
Nothing screams "Merry Christmas" more than someone
making you walk the plank!
Next up, the Boynton and Delray Beach Boat Parade!It’s this Friday at 6:30pm, and if you need a place to watch it, you can meet me on my dock!
I actually did not want to kiss the Blarney Stone.It sounded gross and like a tourist
trap.But Blarney Castle, and especially
the surrounding grounds, really surprised me.
It was Frank’s cousin, who lives in Ireland, who convinced
us we needed to go to the Blarney Castle, about three and a half hours away
from Dublin.
Luckily, we were staying in a little (and I mean little) town south of Cork on our tour of
Ireland and only had to drive about a half hour.
I expected Blarney castle to be swimming with people waiting
in line to kiss the Blarney Stone.But
even though it was a beautiful day, it was relatively quiet.
The building that stands today was constructed
in 1446, but Blarney Castle dates back to the tenth century. At the bottom of the castle were the dungeons.The dungeons were pitch black and apparently
made for midgets.
Frank can barely fit through
I am kind of a midget and the close quarters in the dungeons
made my skin crawl.
After Frank did his best dungeon pose…
We exited the dungeon and started making our way upstairs to
the Blarney Stone.
Not all of the stairs were laid out that nicely.
But the castle was much more interested than I expected.
The "garderobe" was where people would go to the bathroom (this explains
Frank's pose). People would stand over the grate and do their business and then
their "business" woud fall a few stories to the ground. Kinda makes the other
bathrooms in Europe seem a lot more civilized (and sanitary).
I think my favorite part of the castle was the murder hole.
Nothing like throwing hot liquids on your guests to make sure
they never stop by unannounced again!
I was so in awe of the castle, I forgot what happens when
you get to the top.You kiss the Blarney
Stone!Only, you have to lay down and
look upside down to do it, with only some crazy guy holding on to you.Did I mention it’s about 90 feet in the air?
This is quite frightening!
After you kiss the stone, the story is you will have the
“gift of gab.”I think I already had
that before, although most people wouldn’t call it a gift, but instead,
annoying.The view from the top though,
when you aren’t upside down kissing a stupid rock, is breathtaking.
To me, the views, and the things around Blarney Castle, is what made the journey here so worth
it.Things like the Poison Garden…
The website for Blarney Castle says "the plants are so dangerous and toxic that they may be kept in large cage-like structures." One of the plants is Cannabis, which is not-so-dangerous, but we also saw Wolfsbane, which contains a
deadly poison. Awesome!
The Rock Close…
The brochure says the Rock Close is a "mystical place on the
stie of an ancient druidic settlement." I just thought it was
really cool!
And the beautiful lake… where Frank’s cousin, Conor, didn’t
realize the fence was electric and touched it.
Moments after the incident. I didn't catch Conor in action
because I was laughing too hysterically!
You can visit the Blarney Castle and the surrounding grounds
all year long (except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day – the Irish are very
particular about Christmas), but the times vary depending on the seasons.
Total Cost: 12€/person (about $16)
Best Deal: Eating a Twister popsicle outside of the castle
These things are ah-maz-ing and to my knowledge, not sold in
the States!
