The Ironic Mullet :: Lee Ann Westover

Coc de Mer. Clean dirty.

When I was 15, my parents took me to London for the first time. Mom found a flat for rent in a central neighborhood. Dad took naps in the afternoon. We shopped for clotted cream and strawberries at Marks and Spencer I think. We had high-tea at 221 Baker Street (Sherlock Holmes' house). We saw Mme. Tussaud's and the Tower of London.

<---read about the real coco de mer here.

For me, the tourist stops were surely memorable. I lived in the Houston suburbs and hadn't yet seen anything so glamorous and imposing. It would be a further 10 years before a move to NYC would see me living 10 minutes from wax Beyonce.

I remember well stumbling into the Body Shop in Piccadilly Circus and wondering at the delicious, sustainable (before it was a buzz-word), natural products. By then I had already discovered wide-leg raver pants, hoodies, the Stone Roses and the Happy Mondays. London was a limpid pool of rad. I came home with a lotion or two - never suspecting that the chain would one day as prevalent as Jack-in-the-Box or Whataburger.

Now the Body Shop's founder Anita Roddick's daughter Sam has founded her very own super-cool, sustainable, edgy idea. Coco de Mer is a SEX SHOP selling natural, sustainable products! I reveled at Toys in Babeland's arrival - and their frank, humorous, relaxed take on lady-sexuality. Now we are blessed with a sex-shop with an ecological consciousness as well.

Thanks Sam!!!

Check our a video of Sam Roddick discussing her business philosophy at Reuters

Read an interview with Ms. Rod dick here at Marmaladya

Achill Island: Paradise for crowded people

At breakfast at our horrible B&B in Westport, we studied the map for clues of where we ought to go next. We debated whether to head directly to Ballina (the ancestral seat of my mother's family) and then Sligo, Donnegal and the Devil's Causeway or to stop over on the mysterious, westernmost tip of Ireland. As we'd just been crowded to within an inch of our lives, we set out in the Ssanyong Kyron up the N59 up the western shore, to the R319 over the Corraun Peninsula towards our destination. The R319 turns into the main road bisecting Achill Island.

Achill Island is a lonely landscape of bogs between mountains whose peaks are enveloped in fog. As valleys descend toward the ocean, the groundcover turns a bright green from the oxygen carried by streams hidden under the dense flora. Near the shore, plant life disappears with rising salinity, and white beaches appear like crescent moons between the hillsides. A crystal, carribean blue ocean laps at the sand. (I never really understood Enya before this!)

<-----abandoned cottage. Gross picture, awesome Island.

The Island's population consists of scattered full time residents, and Irish vacationers and a smattering of foreign tourists. More and more, people are abandoning their solid stone cottages - furniture and all - in favor of newly built architectural monstrosities right next door. (If they only knew the exhorbitant fees they could get by renting said abandoned cottages to tourists, maybe a little more of that history could be saved.) Even so, it's a peaceful place overall. The main towns are more crossroads centered around a pub or restarant. As we took the main road to the end, we passed the market in Achill Sound, The Beehive and Calvey's restaurant in Keel, and the westerly most pub in Ireland - Gielty's - in Dooagh ("Doo-ah").

There is a handy dining map and list of restaurants on the Island from achilltourism.com - a great site for research!

Cold winds kept Steve and I warmly dressed, even as we watched natives frolicing (and swimming!) in the summer "heat" (60 Farenheit!). We drove until we got to point where the road dissolves into a hard dirt circle, and finally stopped at what may be the westernly most B&B in Ireland - West End House.

Leprechaun at West End House------------>

West End House isn't fancy or large, but it was just what the doctor ordered. For 60 Euro we took the last remaining room (of four). Slightly larger than the bed, the small room had a wall mounted TV, a small table with an electric kettle and a sink. Our private bath - decked out in avocado fiberglass and enamel - was just across the hall. Our biggest requirement to be fulfilled was that a pub be within walking distance. About a mile back East, the cozy and welcoming Geilty's Clew Bay sat just on the main road in Dooagh. Breakfast would serve to be hearty and tasty - prepared to order by our kind and generous hostess May.

Although Achill Island could be walked with a lot of patience and gear, or seen from the back of a pony,  we were thrilled to have our car. The island is covered with monoliths and ruins to explore. It took us a couple of days to hit all the main sights as we circled the sky roads and inland routes. The tourism office in Cashel sells a fantastic map including all the routes and ruins.

<-------Keem Bay

As most tourists keep to the southern end of Ireland - or at least the mainland - we found ourselves alone as we explored many of the mapped attractions. Slievemore Abandoned Village was one of our favorite places, as wandering through the abandoned village really gave us a sense of what a town would look like around the time of the famine - although, interestingly -  the famine likely had nothing to do with the village being left empty. We also enjoyed the old abandoned house and coast guard buildings on the hill above Keem Bay, even though we took the wrong path up and ended up with a fever after slogging through the chilly bog. In any case, I had wanted to investigate bog plant life up close. It was just the opportunity I needed.

Blankets at The Beehive----->

As for dining, options are few but fun. The Beehive serves and a sort of community center in Keel. It sells delicious coffe and lunchess, as well as crafts and foodstuffs created by local artisans. Calvey's has it's own butcher shop next door to the restaurant - complete with a pen full of bleating sheeps. Try not to listen before tucking into a chop inside! Of course, true to form, we hit the chinese place in Keel for some shanghai noodles - intestinal distress included free of charge!

Whenever Steve and I think of Ireland, we always talk of our days on Achill Island as the highlight of the trip. Spectacular views of Hy-Brasil (so we say) from the sky road and solitary evening walks to the pub populate our memories more than any castle tour or Irish Stew ever could.

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Ireland: We hated Westport, and decided on Achill Island. Read "McCarthy's Bar"

After a blissful night or two in Connemara, Steve and I asked around for something fun to do for the next night or two. The proprietor of the Waterfall Lodge in Oughterard recommended we head up to Westport at the junction of N5 and N59. He said that a music festival was in full swing there and that folks flocked from all over to witness.

<---heaven to the left, hell to the right

We ought to have payed attention to our guts on hearing the words "festival" and "flocked." See, neither of us is too fond of huge festival crowds (the universal symbol of which is a plastic cup of beer). We made the ride up to Westport without incident, and planned to find a B&B once we arrived. Upon pulling into town, the first thing I saw was a dude dressed as a giant Bart Simpson(see photo below as proof) regaling a crowd with his beat-boxing skilz. No lie. My heart sank a bit, but we soldiered on.

I usually do some pre-planning when we are trying to decide where to stay. I'll often call a few places in my Rough Guide or Lonely Planet, just to try to make sure we are spending our hard earned vacation funds at a worthy establishment. Just for a change, we tried the local Tourism Bureau. (James Street
098 25711)  They operate a low-cost service to help travelers find rooms. Unfortunately, we had arrived a bit late to Westport, so most rooms in the city center were full. The friendly young woman at the desk found something a bit out of town, though. We jumped - or rather I did. I was so sick of driving at that point, I just wanted to settle in anywhere and walk around a bit.

Yeesh. Not much better when it's clean---->

The inn turned out to be a B&B version of a bad Motel 6. It was clean, but the rooms were sterils and cold,. with awful orange fabrics and a teensy TV. The best view was out the bathroom window, over a lonely, windy bog. Muh man was angry at me for grabbing something so expensive sight unseen (84 Euro!) and I was depressed that I had to spend the night in such an aesthetically un-pleasing s***-hole.

We had a good nap, though, after which we headed back to town determined to make the best of it. First stop? The downtown stages.

I might have taken a moment to ask about the lineup for the Westport Music Festival. Had I bothered, We may have known to avoid by a wide margin. The website says it all with photos before you even bother reading any actual words! (Then the word you read is ABBA.)http://www.westportmusicfestival.com/

<--------See? Bart Simpson. NO LIE!

We walked up through the crowd of platic beer cups as the sunset, only to see a gent in a big whte ten-gallon hat and a guitar singing - no joke - some crappy country song about America. He played to a track while his female fans went BONKERS - spilling cheap lager on the ground and each other in the process. We gave it a good-ol' college try, but after about 5 seconds we needed to get the he-yull outta there.

Away from the stage, Wetport is a charming town. Brightly colored shops line a canal whose banks were overflowing with flowers in the late summer. We had a strull up and down the main drag before eventually settling into a pub for some big beers and a bit of people watching. Two pints in and we were ready to hit the road -- sleepy, hungry and defeated. We had nobly tried to have a nice night, but never really managed to do much other than bide time.

(This may have been our worst night in Ireland, but it still wasn't that bad! Ireland rox.)

On the walk back to the chinese takeout joint (I am obsessed with eating shanghai noodles in Ireland -thanks to the late author Pete McCarthy*) we went over our options for the coming days. By now our instincts had been revived a scosh (sp?) by beer, crowds and fresh air. We knew that the next day we would need to head out as far as possible from the crowds - as close to the edge of civilization as possible. After a sad little Irish fry breakfast at the "B&B", we detirminet that Achill Island would be our next adventure.

*McCarthy's Bar is a MUST READ before heading to Ireland

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Ireland: Movin' on up to Connemara. Oughterard, Roundstone, Clifden, Cong & the best B&B of my life.

A fish and chips stand on Inisheer----->

A week in Kinvara, Co, Galway saw a million treks out to Dunguaire Castle (Tripadvisor.com), about 4,000 monoliths and a wide selection of holy wells. We also took off over to the Cliffs of Moher and Inisheer. All of that was wonderful, and we don't even feel like we exhausted all the possibilities when we finally headed out on the second half of our journey through Ireland.

Our best friend in all our explorations was a copy of Michelin's #712 Driving Map of Ireland. In fact, I'm studying it right now while I recount our adventures. Buy it here!

Traveling around Ireland, we were struck by how different each county is from another. Each seems to be defined by very concrete geographical characteristics. Where Clare is all rough limestone floor, Mayo is open roads and wide, flat valleys. Connemara is an otherworldly fairy land of tall, intimate mountains and seaside vistas that seem more like a scene from a fantasy film than something grounded in reality.

<-----There's always a dang cow in the road!

According to my very good close personal friend, Wikipedia, the name Connemara...

...derives from Conmhaicne Mara (meaning: descendants of Con Mhac, of the sea), is a district in the west of Ireland comprising of a broad peninsula between Killary Harbour and Kilkieran Bay in the west of County Galway or south west Connacht.

As we drove up R386 from Maam Cross to Maum, the sunshine peeked through chinks in the mountain skyline. The rays penetrated a fine mist and just about blinded us with leprechaun laser beams. I know I am waxing a bit more poetic than usual, but, truly, these are the impressions I was left with after a day or two in this countryside. I am not sure if I have ever seen anything more beautiful. Without a car you'll probably be stuck in the towns, but it seems to me that the heart of Connemara is out in the middle of nowhere - at least that's what the leprechauns want me to believe...

CONNEMARA SIGHTS:

The eastern edge of Connemara is bordered by Lough (pron: "lock") Corrib, a huge, dark lake that runs for about 20 miles north and south. Along its banks we discovered treasure after treasure.

From Galway heading north on the east edge of the lough travel about 15 miles and then start looking for signs for Ross  Errily (Ross Abbey) off the R334. According to North Atlantic Skyline,

The Franciscan Abbey of Ross Errily sits on the side of the Black river a few miles outside of Headford...The Friary was founded in 1351 by the Norman nobleman Sir Raymond de Burgo and, according to Harbison, 'is the most extensive and best preserved of all the Franciscan friaries in Ireland.

Huge bummer alert: I lost my photos from this day, so opnce again, let me quote North Atlantic Skyline by poaching a photo----->

We were blown away by the fact that, even though we were in Ireland in high season and even though Ross Errily is right there on our map in plain view, we were the only souls about. (...unless sheep have souls. That's still out for debate) We wandered the extremely well preserved courtyards and colonnades of the Abbey all by ourselves. Although there is definitely a haunted air about the place, in the end Ross Errily ended up being one of my very favorite sights on the whole trip. It's all too easy to imagine oneself to be a rapunzel or sleeping beauty in a spot like that.

After the stop at the Ross Errily, we continued north around the lough onto R346 into Cong. In 1952, the John Wayne film "The Quiet Man" was shot here. Since then, the town has not-so-quietly milked it's connection to the movie. Cong is worth stopping in for the magnificent abbey inside it's borders, but little else, we found. That is, unless you get a huge kick out of seeing sights like: The Quiet Man Cafe! The Quiet Man Pub! The Quiet Man Toilet! Get your official Quiet Man tea towels here! It's a bit overwhelming and super annoying. Best pop in at the abbey and move along.

At the town of Cornamona pm R345, take a jaunt out onto the peninsula towards Innishdorus. It's a lonely spot that reaches into the interior of Lough Corrib. There are no sights to speak of - nothing in the books - but the views are breathtaking, as is the narrow road and cold winds. At low tide, some of the lough becomes a strange moon-landing terrain of muddy craters.

Let's say you are following our itinerary, and have been driving up from Kinvara for a bit of sightseeing. If you would like a special treat come beer o'clock, there is a pub situated at the intersection of R 345 and R 386 - Keane's Bar. A few tables look south over the long valley back to Galway. You can take a pint or two there and gaze out over it all. From her, either head back south for a nap, or continue around  through Leenane on the N 59.

We weren't blown away by Leenane. In fact, I wrote "Boo" on my map. Keep your eyes on the views. They just keep coming and coming.

Clifden was a worthy stop for a couple of lil tourists like us - even if only because we discovered Mitchell's restaurant. Mitchell's sits not far from the center of town on an uphill lane. Seek it out for first rate adaptations of pub classics like Irish Stew and anything with smoked salmon. The clientèle tended towards the ritzy ladies-who-lunch, but the delicious flavors made me forget I was wearing sneakers and a fleece. Clifden itself is a bustling mid sized village on the ege of the Atlantic - full of brightly colored shops and any amenities you may be longing for. Right outside of town, don't miss the spectacular Clifden Sky Road drive. Drives like this are all over Ireland - sheep cliffs, choppy seas, breathtaking sunsets - do them all if you can.

Mitchell's Restaurant
Market Street, Clifden
Connemara, Co. Galway
Tel:+353 (0)95 21867

Following the coast around to Roundstone, we stopped in shortly at the Roundstone Bodrhun factory. We both of us play music so we thought it would be somewhat interesting. Sadly, it's a bit more of a tourist bus stop than we enjoy. That said, their claim that all the best bodrhuns in Ireland come from that factory may not be exaggerated - at least all the best bodrhuns sold in the airport. BTW: A Bodrhun is the flat, shallow drum you'll see played in pub sessions (tune in soon for Irish Music). Our favorite part of roundstone was in the car park. Up the hill from the factory, we stopped the Kyron by a low stone wall. Not sure how he firured it out, but Steve realized that if you clapped near the rocks, they would reverberate with a gentle chiming sound. I took this mighty artistic photo to illustrate---------->

After hitting all this scenery and dodging as many tourist buses as we could, we retired back to Oughterard - the gateway to Connemara on Lough Corrib - to get some ZZZs at what I consider to be the best B&B in all Ireland. The Waterfall Lodge sits just outside of town on a gentle stream. It's a turn of the century manor house full of sumptuous antiques and a slightly eccentric family off innkeepers. We paid about 80 Euro for a double room (sleeps up to three) with a TV and a private bath. We loved the room so much, we stopped again on our way back down to the airport in another week's time. Breakfast was as good as the accommodations - smoked salmon and eggs being my very favorite. As always, it's served with plentiful quantities of delicious brown bread. *chomp* MYAM!!!

The Waterfall Lodge: Oughterard, Co. Galway, Tel: 353-91-552168 kdolly@eircom.net

Ireland: The Burren, Karst & Kinvara, Co. Galway. Best HQ Evah!

<-----Dunguire (Dun-goo-ruh) Castle in Kinvara

Our Irish HQ for the first week of our two week trip was the lov-er-ly town of Kinvara. Kinvara is a picture-postcard-perfect village on Galway Bay. Along the main road, you'll find a handful of pubs - each with their own clientèle. There's a pub with the best music, a pub with the most chronic drunks, and a pub with the best food. There's a place to get wrapped in local seaweed (rox!), a nice market (I love buying anything at all in foreign supermarkets), a pharmacy (with a photo-CD burning service), a bona fide castle and an amazing little spot - Beo Cafe - for tea and soup in the morning or afternoon.

NOTE: Cafe Beo has Kinvara's only public internet access. It's cheap and best experienced over a hot pot of tea.

BTW: I would include addresses, but in Kinvara they go something like this: "Beo Cafe, Main Street, Kinvara." You are better off just asking when you get there.

Rambler's Guide and Map to the Burren----->

Kinvara's sights are many and wondrous, even though finding information about the town in tourist books is a bit hard. I would recommend Kinvara as an HQ over a big town any day of the week. You'll have the luxury of a charming, quiet B&Bs, tasty restaurants (try the Pier Head's Pernot-steamed mussels) a manageable and homey atmosphere in which to sleep and spend mornings, and easy access to major sights like the Cliffs of Moher, the Aran Islands and the magical Burren. Once arrived, a couple of local shops carry beautiful, hand drawn maps to the many tombs, monolithic structures and castles in the area. They are a bargain at 4 Euro or so, and will feed many days of exploring. (Rambler's Map and Guide to Kinvara, The Burren, Aran Islands) Unlike more major sights, these local maps will have you trekking across cow fields all by your lonesome (except for a cow or two) to experience ancient sites in peace and quiet.

NOTE: It is totally legal to go tromping over a farm to get to a hidden site, as long as you are not an a**hole about it.

Loud Loud Stomp Stomp Break Break Kill!=being an a**hole about it

A trip to St. Columb's well will lead you through a fairy wood. Make sure and read the Burren map's guide to local fauna. Keep an eye on your candy. Fairies will steal it! Don't follow strange men in the fog! They will steal you and keep you for a hundred years! (just kidding. Fairies don't eat candy.)

This brings me to the geological feature that makes Northern County Clare and Southern County Galway so fascinating: The Burren (Wikipedia). The Burren is part of a uniquely eroded formation of stone (karst) that extends from Kinvara on the East, our to the cliffs of Moher, and under the ocean. After a few miles under the sea, it pokes up again as the Aran Islands (Wikipedia). Beyond its size, the rock formations are famous due to the fact that the Burren is home to a one-of-a-kind ecosystem that is at one arctic and tropical. One can see a combination of animal and plant life that is utterly unique to this landscape - the stone floor of which looks like an Aran Island sweater patters full of bits of hardy green and the rare orchid.

<-----The unique stone floor of the Burren, plus a rare orchid.

Incidentally, sweaters made on the Aran Islands are famous for their ornate patterns. Turn out, each family had their own pattern so that - yeesh - bodies of drowned fishermen could be identified once washed up on the rocky shores.

Trust me, here. If you want to see the Aran Islands, the Cliffs of Moher (1,5 hr drive), The Burren (5 minute drive), Galway City (1 hr drive), a million monoliths and anything in between, plan to spend three nights with Kinvara as your base. You will thank me for it.

TRULY HELPFUL RESOURCES:
Kinvara.com: The town's official website. Contains a comprehensive list of area lodgings.
BurrenBeo.com: All about the Burren
Fallon's B&B: Site includes a great wealth of regional information
Directions to Kinvara from Shannon Airport
Galway.net: Info on the Galway county and all the area sites. Info on the city center.
VisitAranIslands.com: Information on the Aran Islands. (We went to Inisheer! It was amazing!)

My Flickr.com Photoset from our trip

Ireland: Eatin'. Lookin' and Dressin'. (Irish weather and food for the intrepid traveler)

LISTENING TO: Raising Sand by Alison Krauss & Robert Plant
EATING: (drinking) Fairway ‘s Havana blend decaf slit 50/50 with some Faiway Blend Coffee (ooooh! Living dangerously!)

So it turns out, I am completely freaking out because I feel like I need to go back to Ireland RIGHT NOW. You saw yesterday that my cousins are going. Well, all this reliving of the best vacation EVAH is turning me into a monster. All I do is eat sleep and drink thoughts of Ireland all day long! I have been so looking forward to writing today. I popped right up out of my Benadryl coma, self-medicated with strong coffee and plopped my pajamaed self down to tell you more. Really, I am doing all this so I can tell you about Achill Island...but that's later.

<----Leaving Shannon Airport

Soooo here’s what I love abuot Ireland. I was so wacky from tired when we landed, and so scared about having to drive in that state, that I left one of my suitcases on the ground in the parking lot at the Avis Rent a Car. Well, of course, in NYC it would be a gon-er. At Shannon Airport, however, it was only a phone call away! It took me HOURS to realize it was gone, and when I did, I placed a frantic call to the Avis desk. Yes they had a suitcase, could I please describe it? Red. Left in parking lot. Yes that was mine. Yes I could pick it up tomorrow (when I rode with Clare to pick up another partygoer). No problems! Suitcase reunited with jet laggy owner!

The weather in Ireland was purported to hover between the 40s and high 60s Fahrenheit when we were to be there – August 1-13 or something like that. In New York, it’s often in the mid to high 90s at that time of year. I am not sure if it was bad planning or the difference between those two temperature ranges, but we didn’t bring nearly enough clothes. We each had a jacket and a fleece or two, jeans and an umbrella. When you go, do yourself a solid and just bring a pair of comfy waterproof shoes (galoshes are good for sloggin’ in the bogs) and some proper rain gear. You may also consider just bringing a proper coat as well. I really, truly wished for those items over and over again. It’s by no means going to rain all day every day and be freezing all day every day, but when it is, you will thank me. In August, it rained just about every day for a little while. That’s why it’s such a pretty country! Embrace it!

Eating in Ireland has drastically improved over the 15 or so years since I went after my high school graduation. In fact, Ireland as a whole has changed. People are immigrating en masse to Ireland for the first time in a few hundred years. (BBC News link) Ireland used to be something close to a third world country in Europe – with high unemployment and the generally low prices that cam along with that. Now, the new media industry has take off with giant wings. Prices have stayed low for labor compared to the rest of Europe, and Ireland is becoming something like the new media capitol of Europe. It’s been an amazing boon for a country that has long been due an amazing boon, but for us poor, pitiful tourists, things are different as well. All over Ireland, you’ll see beautiful stone cottages sitting empty – with all the furniture rotting away inside. Next door, the family will have built a mock tudor McMansion or some such horror. Add to that that everyone drives a fancy car. Most of the cars we saw on the road had to have been bought in the last three or four years. All this growth is changing the face of tourist’s Ireland a bit.

I must confess, I found the new Ireland fascinating. The USA owes its cultural makeup to the roots of the immigrant groups that made up most of the population. New York couldn’t be more Irish, Italian and Jewish in just about every way. I just feel a little satisfied that McMansions were lying dormant in the Irish psyche for all these years. Like a fungus, it only shows when conditions are right. It makes me feel like I can blame the motherland for the construction boom in my neighborhood and across NYC. It’s not our fault, honestly! It’s just those pesky genes making us build ugly condos! Meanwhile, Italy still blames US culture for their horrible TV shows. I am still trying to find a way to unload that burden.

<------ YES. That is a burger, on mashed potatoes, covered in gravy, topped with fried onions. OMG! *clog* (dead). Totally amazing.

Anyhoo, I was supposed to be writing about food and stuff, wasn’t I? The restaurants have benefited from a surge of money as much as the construction industry has. Years ago, Ireland was known for being gorgeous, but for having horrible food – dry lamb chops and potato slop. In the past ten years, the Irish Table has taken its cuisine to a new level – combining traditional and local ingredients into delicious plates of happiness all over the island. No matter where we went, we found that a few good rules of thumb apply.

1) As always, ask the people you meet where they eat, not where they think you would like to eat. Every town has a good pub with - at the very least - melty cheese sandwiches.
2) If it contains wild Irish Salmon (esp in August - Salmon season!) EAT IT.
3) If it is brown bread and butter, EAT IT.
4) If it contains lamb that has been slaughtered in the last 24 hours, EAT IT.
5) If you are in Galway in September, it's oyster season. EAT 'EM
6) If it's beer, DRINK IT. IN GREAT QUANTITIES. IT really is better on the Emerald Isle.

Before we even got to our first destination, Kinvara, (Kinvara.com) we had been instructed to stop at Aldi (In Gort - on the way from the airport to Kinvara) for some groceries. We were to be staying in a building that had once been a hostel for the next nine days, so we had a kitchen at our disposal. Though the beer is reasonable, the restaurants in Ireland are not so much. If you can, make your lunches and dinners celebratory, exploratory experiences. If you use words like "celebratory" and "exploratory," you feel better about spending 12 Euro for (albeit super awesome) chowder and bread. Aldi Market became one of our favorite stops for the rest of the trip. It's cheap like a discount food market should be, sells nifty re-usable totes that I still carry laundry in, and has the most delicious brown bread for sale for a scant .95 cents a loaf. Hip hip Hooray!

Consider forsaking coffee for tea while in Ireland. The water is wonderfully soft and makes the best cuppa I have ever had in my life. While at Aldi, pick yourself up a box of Barry's tea. It's a common brand all over the country, and totally delicious. We brought a box home, but like Brooklyn pizza, it's not quite the same when not made with the native water.

(This is quickly becoming the rare two-post day. Stay tuned!)

Ireland: Shannon Airport, and Driving in Ireland

LISTENING TO: St. Vincent (electronic-meets-analog, chanteuse-meets-pop-star. If you like Regina Spektor, you'll love her.)

EATING: Fattoush

This morning I received an email from my cousins Debbie and John. They and my Aunt Virginia and Uncle Larry are going to make a trip to Ireland this September. They need to know everything I did and everywhere I went on my own trip to the Emerald Isle. SHOCKING SHOCKER: It's been almost TWO YEARS since I went there, and still only ONE BLOG POST on the subject. I am ashamed, but I will take this opportunity to ameliorate the situation. 

After Ireland, I've got to motivate to blog about Montreal too. Don't let me forget!

Soooooo. My friend Clare Fader decided to have a ceremony to celebrate her marriage last August. Thankfully, she gave in to my demands and had a destination wedding in the town of her birth - Kinvarra, County Galway, Ireland.

Kinvarra sits on Galway Bay, about halfway up the Western coast of Ireland, about an hour and a half north of Shannon Airport. Natch, we decided to fly in there.

We decided to take advantage of Clare's family's offer of free lodging. Clare let us know that we could stay about a week in Kinvarra without overstaying our welcome, so we planned on doing just that. After the wedding, we'd head out on an undetermined adventure for the ramaining week. All in all, we were to stay about 13 days.

Shannon Airport happens to be only about a 5 hour flight from New York City - the shortest available trans-Atlantic journey. It's also a fairly small airport, with a generous number of gates, and all the amenities a recent arrival requires. Coffee? Check. Locally written young adult novel? Check. Rental cars? Check. Beer at 7:30am? Check.

We arrived early in the morning, after next-to-no-sleep on an excruciatingly cramped Continental Airlines flight (Let me just say now, openly, that Continental sucks a** and is, with Spirit and Southwest, part of my triumvirate of most-loathed carriers? I feel cleansed having that out in the open.) We were a tad late, but Mary K and Daniel were waiting for us, also giddy from lack of sleep. We had chosen a rather large rental car to share from Avis. Clare had let me know, and I'll pass on to you, that rental cars in Ireland are a far cry from what you'll find in the US. Automatic transmission will cost double, A/C is strictly optional (good thing Ireland is chilly), economy cars are essentially empty tomato cans, and luxury cars only a hair larger. MK and I were just sane enough in our haze to realize that it was probably a good idea to accept Avis's almost-free upgrade to an "SUV." Our "SUV" turned out to be a diesel-powered Ssanyong Kyron - something akin to a Kia-quality version of the omnipresent Lexus mom-wagon - China made.

There are a number of important details to take into account when deciding whether and what to drive in Ireland.

    1) Erm, that whole driving-on-the-left thing. It must have taken me a whole week to get used to shifting with the left hand and to keep from driving the car off into the ditches on the side of the road. We developed the warning "Huggin!" - to be shouted when the driver began getting dangerously close to the thorny bushes or sidewalk.
    2) You must check with your credit card that their loss and damage insurance covers rental vehicles in Ireland SPECIFICALLY. Purchasing insurance from the Irish rental companies can be horrifyingly expensive (get used to this phrase), and not all cards offer what you need.
    3) You may know this already from experiences in the US, but you simply MUST take the time to call ahead and check the total price for your prospective rental. Ask about insurance, double check all taxes, all extra-driver fees...everything. Most often, the cars offered at competitive rates online end up being a total rip off on the other end. I found that Avis worked well for me. Clare recommends Malone Thrify Car Rental http://www.malonecarrental.com.
    4) Diesel is cheaper than regular gasoline, and both are also horrifyingly expensive.
    5) The roads are treacherously small, and often bordered by rough rock walls.
    6) Irish people drive at the speed of light, and seem to enjoy cheating death on a daily basis.
    7) Unlike those in the US, posted speed limits are not meant to be broken. If you break a speed limit in Ireland, you may find yourself on a long, peaceful flight off an unforeseen cliff.

So yes, that all seems so very negative...BUT...

the positive aspects of renting a car in Ireland far, far, far, far, far outweigh any of the difficulties! read on:

Because of the freedom and independence a car allows, we were able to stop at every magical cemetery, every holy well, every suspected castle, every fairy wood and find a pub at every beer o' clock. We had the luxury of not needing to know where we were going in a given day, and the peace of mind that comes from knowing we could just sleep in the car if all the B&Bs were all booked up. When the scenery became so overwhelming that I felt a sublime fit approaching, I could just pull over and have a happy little seizure on the soft cool grass. Nowhere is off limits, everything is accessible. You'll find yourselves all alone in some of the most beautiful places on earth (like the one in my photo of Connemara----->). You have somewhere to store your crap so you don't have to lug it onto a bus or train. There is simply no other way to do it right.

all alone in another of the most beautiful places on Earth. (Monolith on Achill Island)

NEXT: Kinvarra and Galway!

TG_010: Pre-Ireland

Her's my reading list in preparation for my trip to Ireland this August. I hope you'll find it useful! I am very excited!

This podcast is MP3 only, as I have no pics YET! They are still to come -

Take Care!
Lee Ann

Rick Steves Ireland
Lonely Planet Ireland
The Rought Guide to Ireland

Sea Legs: Hitch-hiking the coast of Ireland alone by Rosita Boland
Morgan Llewelyn's Historic Fantasy
Booking Passage: We Irish & Americans by Thomas Lynch