Fabulous place, Dublin is.

Dublin.... Dublin, Dublin, Dublin....

Okay, let me be completely honest - there isn't really anything I NEED to see there. >_> I thought I wouldn't have enough time, but looking through my book... there are really only 2 things in the city that I want to check out.

Hmm... well anyway, here's my plan:

~*~ April 14, Tuesday ~*~

After visiting Mullingar, I will arrive in Dublin. First order of business - check into the hotel. Second thing is...

Garden of Remembrance:

It's a small, peaceful park North of the Liffy (a river... my hotel is above it also). It's dedicated to the men and women who lost their lives in pursuit of Irish freedom. (open daily, dawn until dusk)






Then I don't know - shop - eat - nothing major.




~*~ April 15, Wednesday ~*~

County Clare (check back next week^^)




~*~ April 16, Thursday ~*~

A Tour of the Military Road:
The road was built by the British to flush out Irish rebels after an uprising in 1798. It's 60 miles long and has the following "attractions" to see along the way -

Glencree - former British barraks
Sally Gap - a remote pass surrounded by a vast expanse of blanket bog with pools and steams
Glenmacnass - (after Sally Gap) it drops down into a deep glen with a waterfall spilling over rocks
Glendalough - an ancient lakeside monastery enclosed by wooded slopes (the prime historical sight of the Wicklow Mountains)
Vale of Clara - wooded valley that follows the river Avonmore (contains the tiny village Clara which has 2 houses, a school, and a church)
Roundwood - highest village in Ireland. it's main street has cafes, pubs, and craft shops
Lough Tay - "stark, rocky slopes plunge into the dark waters of Lough Tay" (book quote) the lake is accessible to walkers even though the land is owned by Guinness.
Great Sugar Loaf - you can climb the granite cone of Sugar Loaf Mountain in under an hour from the car park on the south side (I won't be climbing it, by the way - I don't climb mountains alone and I think Nonny would K-I-L-L me haha. I'll take photos from the car)
Powerscourt Waterfall - The River Dargle cascades over granite, making Ireland's biggest waterfall at 425 feet.











(By the way, Judy, if I remember correctly that movie you love (P.S. I love you)... she was in Wicklow National Park when she met Gerard Butler! lol)

So... 60 miles... I don't know how long it will take but it doesn't matter because I have nothing else planned for the day. If I have time when I get back to Dublin I'll meander.


~*~ April 17, Friday ~*~

County Cork (check back in 2 weeks^^)


~*~ April 18, Saturday ~*~


Malahide Castle:
This is about 10 miles outside of Dublin. It was the home of the Talbot family until 1973. They were supporters of James II and "on the day of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, 14 members of the family had breakfast there - none came back for supper." DUN DUN DUN! (open 10am-5pm, there is an admission charge)





When I get back I'll finish some shopping... eat... blah blah... free time


~*~ April 19, Sunday ~*~

Home Sweet Home

I would rather wake up in the middle of nowhere than in any city on earth.

Let's go ahead and assume I make it to Longford in one piece... what shall I do once I arrive?

When I check in on the 11th (lets say around noon) the first order of business will be a shower and food. That should take me to, let's say 2-230. Then I'll ask the kind locals where in Gods name Columbkille is. (Go ahead - google it - you won't find a more descriptive location then County Longford.) I'm assuming I'll have time to find it that day ... depending on where it is. And I'll explore the local area.

I've used my trusty travel book to find a few interesting attractions for the rest of the time in Longford.

~***~ April 12, Sunday, Easter ~***~


Fore Abbey:
The ruins of the fore are about 5 miles from Tullynally castle (open only to groups ? weird). St. Fechin set up a monastery in 630... It looks nice and is a slight detour away from Kells. (open daily)







Kells:
Kells Monastery was set up in the 6th century but it's 'heyday' came after 806 when the monks fled there from Iona. (closed Dec. & Jan.)







Trim:
This is a Midland market town, or so says the book, but market day is Friday so I wouldn't be able to see that. Anyway - it is home to Trim Castle. It was founded in the 12th century by Hugh de Lacy and was featured in Braveheart. ^_^ (open Easter (perfect) - Oct and there is an admission charge)






~***~ April 13, Monday ~***~


Clonmacnoise:
It's a medieval monastery by the River Shannon founded by St. Ciaran in 545-548. Many kings of Tara and Connaught were buried there. There's something called the Whispering Door there. The books says: "Above the cathedral's 15th century north doorway are carvings of St. Francis, Patrick, and Dominic. The acoustics of the doorway are such that even a whisper is carried inside the building." Seems cool to me! (open daily, there is an admission charge)








Rock of Dunamase:
It looms 'dramatically' over the plains of east Portlaoise and has long been a military sight. The 13th century castle was originally crowned by an Iron Age ring fort and it was virtually destroyed in 1650 by Cromwellian forces. The books says that you can "reach the battered keep by climbing up banks and ditches through two gateways and a fortified courtyard." It's a little out of my way but I'm sooo going there. (doesn't mention a word about being open or closed... so I assume it's something you do on your own..?)





~***~ April 14, Tuesday ~***~


And last, but not least! This looks to be almost directly on the path back to Dublin, so I'll head out early and stop here on my way back on the 14th.

Mullingar:
It's a county town of Westmeath (prosperous but unremarkable it says) is encircled by a Royal Canal which links Dublin with the River Shannon. Blah blah - what I want to see is the Belvedere House. (I'll quote my trusty book once more...) "Just off the Kelbeggan Road Belvedere House, a romantic Palladian villa overlooking Lough Ennel (no idea what that is btw)." It was built in 1740 by Richard Castle but shortly after it was built the first Earl of Belvedere accused his wife of having an affair with his brother. He imprisoned her for 31 years in a nearby house. In 1760 he built a 'gothic folly' called the Jealous Wall. It blocked the view of his second brothers bigger mansion across the way.
Sounds like a novel, lol. Here's a picture of the wall...





There's a lot to pack into 3 and a half days! I'll have to figure in meals and all that also... do they have Red Bull in Ireland? ^_^ It's okay - who needs sleep!!!

After all that ... Dublin, here I come!

Weather forecast for tonight: dark.

Well, since it seems I'm being a lazy bum this week, this time around will be about weather!

There's an old saying "you don't go to Ireland for the weather." But it looks to me like it's perfect... well almost... I could do without rain.

During the winter it ranges from 40-50F and during the summer 60-70. How much better could it get? Anything over 70 is way too hot anyway.

But, it can be sunny one minute and raining the next. Storms can blow in from the Atlantic without notice. The rain doesn't last long though and comes as soft showers or a fine mist. And it usually produces some pretty nice rainbows!





(Here's a link to a breakdown of weather by months http://www.irelandlogue.com/weather ) April should be decent ... highs of 52.5F and lows of 39.9F in Dublin.

I plan to bring lots of sweaters. I'm hoping I won't need to wear a jacket, but in case I do, I'll make sure it's one with a hood. Or, the other choice is bring along t-shirts as well, and then wear hoodies. I'll bring my 2 pairs of boots along with my sneakers just in case.

An umbrella seems practical, yet a hassle. I'll stick with hoods, I think. My hair is just going to loooove this.

Until next time.

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.

As I've said, I'll be renting a car in Dublin, and driving to Longford (approx. 90 miles). Now, this creates a few issues:

1) I don't know how to read a map.
2) I don't know their road signs.
3) They drive on the other side of the road.


Here is the map I bought at B&N. The large orange area to the right is Dublin and the area to the left that I've circled is Ballymahon.





I will take the blue road that comes out of Dublin (I don't think you can read the road names, but the one that comes almost at a straight horizontal line out of Dublin) which turns into N4 (the green line). Then I could do one of two things:

-Continue on N4 to where the map reads Longford, then turn left (SW) to Ballymahon.
-Get off N4 where the map reads Mullingar and then take the little orange road straight to Ballymahon.

The main roads are undoubtedly easier than little roads, but I'd like to see some of the country at the same time. Decisions, decisions.

Once back in Dublin however, I'm not sure how much driving I will do. It seems almost more logical to walk most of the time. I will drive to the train station for my two trips at least.

Here is the Dublin map I bought at B&N:






At the top I've labeled the airport and the road (Tolka Road) my hotel is on. It's nice that they're so close to each other. Also, I've found the road that BNY is on there (towards the bottom right - Guild St.) and I think I'll make a pit stop there if I have time. (There's more to Dublin of course but I couldn't fit it all in nicely.)

This map is so much more detailed than the first... hooray for friendly locals!

Since I'll be there on Easter (oops!) when most things are closed, I was thinking about doing a road trip in Longford and the surrounding areas.

Much more to plan, much much more.

And I'll need to invest in a compass!

Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

It's Tuesday , I'm really cheating this week but my father will be here tomorrow and Thursday is Turkey Day... and in light of the holiday I'm taking a break from detailing my trip to talk about Irish food!

There is the famous potato!





lol

ok - let's start with some good old fashioned Corned Beef and Cabbage!
It's usually a brisket, and 'corned' comes from the corn or grains of coarse salt used to cure it. Cabbage is, well, cooked cabbage. It's pretty darn tasty if you ask me!





Irish breakfasts!!

This is what I get for free every morning at Cooney's in Longford. I've had it once at a little diner in the area and it was good, except for the black and white pudding. O_O I'll get to that later.

An Irish breakfast consists of the following: eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, black pudding, white pudding, and hash browns. I guess it can include more things, like soda bread or a tomato, also.




....Alright.... now black & white pudding... skip down to soda bread if you're easily grossed out.

Black pudding is sausage made by cooking it blood (usually pig or cattle blood) with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled. (It's also called Blood Pudding.) Yes, I have tried this - and at the time I had NO idea what it was. I didn't like it before I knew and I'm very glad for that. (Here's black pudding on wikipedia if you doubt me http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pudding .)

White Pudding is the same thing, just without the blood. Instead, it consists of pork meat and fat, suet, bread, and oatmeal formed into the shape of a large sausage.







And last, but never least - Soda Bread!! I love soda bread. :) It's made simply of flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. You can add raisins or nuts to it. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soda_bread )






Yummmmmm - warm soda breaaaaaaad :::drool:::

Okay - there's that! Until next week!

Have a great Thanksgiving!!!

Given angel's wings, where might you fly?

Ahh, flying. One of life's ways to torture us. Not that flying is scary, in fact I like it. But the security, the layovers... it's just not that fun unless you're in the air. And no liquid can be brought on the plane. (Better finish that slushy before boarding!)

At 6:29pm on April 10th I will be leaving Syracuse airport. I have to work that day but hopefully I'll get out at 3. That should give me enough time to run home and grab my things... if I'm REALLY lucky maybe I'll get out at 2:30 and I can take a shower before I leave... anyway -

From Syracuse I'll arrive at Philadelphia at 7:27pm. From there I will leave for Dublin. It leaves at 8:45pm and arrives at 8:40am on April 11.

On the 19th I'll get on a plane in Dublin at 11:20, arriving in Philadelphia at 2pm. At 4pm I will leave there and arrive in NYC (LGA) at 4:59. At 5:39 I'll get on a plane to come back to Cuse, arriving at 7:14pm.

Apparently this is all subject to change until then because I received an email saying that a couple of the flights had changed times. As long as my departure from Cuse isn't moved up, I don't mind.

Now airports are charging a fee for ANY checked bags. What happened to the free bag every passenger was allowed? I know not...

US Airways (the entire trip is on that airline) is charging $15 for the first bag under 50 lbs. ($65 for 51-70lbs and $115 for 71-100 lbs.) Second bags are $25 ($75 and $100) and third bags are $100 ($150 & $200). Nothing over 100lbs is accepted... although I don't know how anyone could possibly pack that much.

I'm going to take just one bag and a carry-on. The suitcase is huge so there's no need for anymore room. It's just 1 week. (I might rue those words come April, lol)

As for carry-ons, we're allowed one and a person item (purse, briefcase, laptop, ect.) and one bag that fits in the overhead. The size requirements are up to 51 in (11 x 14 x 26 in). I found a duffel bag at Wal-Mart for $10 that fits the rules.

I'll carefully select a book for the ride. I'll sleep on the plane but not in the airport during the layovers or on the short 1 hour flights.

18 hours and 17 minutes of pure airport/plane fun. Woo.

(And a happy early B-day to Nonny!)

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O bed! O bed! Delicious bed! That heaven upon earth to the weary head.

I've decided I'll post a new blog every Thursday until I leave... however today is Wednesday and I'm cheating... Now that I've confessed, on to the hotels!

Actually, I'm a little overly excited about my Longford hotel. I'll be staying at Cooney's Hotel in Ballymahon (which is down near the bottom of the county). Booking it was a little strange... I sent an email asking if they had vacancy from April 11-14 and a very nice lady (named Anne) emailed me back. She said yes and they had tentatively booked me a single room! I just had to send her my credit card info... of course my cell won't let me call Ireland (something I'll need to rectify before I leave) so I emailed it. Talk about nerve wracking. Anyway, it's all booked now and I couldn't be happier. Check in time is "around lunchtime" lol but they can accomadate me if I have an earlier flight. How nice are these people? Anyway... it was 190 euros for 3 nights which rounds up to about $242.00. And! It comes with a free Irish breakfast every morning! There's a bar there too, not that I'll frequenting it of course.
Here is the link to their site if you want to know more: http://www.cooneyshotel.com/index.htm
A couple pictures......





Now, as for Dublin... it looks very nice but not as small and personal. (Of course I could be completely wrong.) Either way, I like my choice!
It's got WiFi in my room (unlike Cooneys where I'll be hunting for a cyber cafe of some sort to blog to everyone) and 24 hour room-service. Check in is at 2 and check out is at noon. It's about 15 minutes from the airport too.
Here's the sight: http://www.ardmore-hotel.com/
And pictures......





Now, let's hope there are no bed bugs in Ireland!!! LOL (I don't want to walk the streets at 4am again, huh Linz?! hahaha eeek)

~Until next week~

The best laid plans of mice and men...

Ok! Today I'll break down my plans for you...

At 6:30 pm on April 10th (after working) I will leave Syracuse, with an hour layover in Philadelphia, and arrive in Dublin at 9:00am April 11th. (They are 5 hours ahead, by the way.)

At the airport I will pick up my rental car and drive about 2 hours to County Longford. The hotel is not set in stone there as of yet. Expedia didn't have anything in the area so I'm on my own for finding one. But, assuming they accept Mastercard, one will be booked tomorrow (crossing fingers), in the city of Ballymahon.

I will spend Aprill 11th through the 14th in Longford exporling. (No particular plans yet.) Then I will return to Dublin.

Check in time at Ardmore Hotel in Dublin is 2pm. I'll have the rest of the 14th to explore the city, and I will have a free day to do _____ (?) on the 16th.

As for the 15th I will be taking a day trip to County Clare, and the 17th I will be taking a day trip to Cork. I'll blog about all this stuff in detail later.

At 11:15am I will leave Dublin. There are 2 layovers on the way home: Philiadelpia and NYC. I will arrive back in Syracuse at 7:14pm.

So, to tally that up:
1) round trip flight
2) rental car for 8 days
3) 5 nights at Ardmore Hotel
4) day trip to County Clare
5) day trip to Cork
........ all for the low low price of $1,690 and some change.
(Of course the Longford hotel will hotel still needs to be added in there once it's booked.)

I guess that about sums it up for now!

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Fortune Favors the Brave!

With a third week of vacation in 2009 I thought it might be nice to take a trip. The original plan was Japan, of course. But then, there I was, on Expedia, checking out Japan for April (just for a week - I thought it would be nice to see some cherry blossoms) when I recalled a conversation with a girl in my department, Becky (hi!). She said she had found some cheap tickets to Ireland. Being the curious person I am I decided to check it out...

And sure enough - great deals galore! I told no one about this plan except for my dear friend Jim (hey Batman!). He told me "book it - book it now!!!" I looked around a bit longer... plotting things out... then there I was, about to pay for the trip and he says to me "no, don't do it. it's too early." Okay, now I'm not sure if that was reverse psychology since I was taking so long to do it (Yes, I know your sly ways.) but I believe it was. Well, either way, I was not changing my mind. I was excited with the deals I found and bit the bullet!

From April 11th through April 19 2009 I will be in a foreign country all alone. Dining out will be a little awkward but I'm excited to do this on my own. And who knows, maybe there will be some nice locals. However, I am a little (teeeeeeny tiiiiiiiny bit) scared. But! Fortune favors the brave!!!

I made this blog (thanks for the idea Michelle B.!) to keep everyone updated while I'm there and share some photos. Over the next 5 months I'll plot out my plans for everyone so stay tuned!

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