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After returning from Morocco we had just 2 days to organise ourselves for Ireland & India...we printed all accommadation,car hire & train E-tickets for India.....On Thursday Songhi,Mum & I departed Blackpool airport on time at 1435hrs on Air Lingus EI3315 for Dublin.....A unique experience on a propellered plane for the three of us and as we flew into a wet & extremely windy Dublin it was a relief to feel the wheels touch down thru all the turbulence and sighs & screams from Songhi....I think mum's picked up a few bruises on her arm too...After collecting our Avis Ford Festiva rental car we set up the Navman & headed for our B&B (Amberley House) on Lower Gardiner St. in the city.... Centrally located, It's comfortable & good value for money with parking being the only drawback... A quick cup of tea and then Song & I shot around to the local shops for a spot of shopping & a bite to eat....Spotting Wok & Go we decided on chinese for dinner & enjoyed a banquet for three back in our room at the hotel while watching mum's favourite soaps Emmerdale Farm & Coronation Street....
As parking was the problem in Dublin, it was an early breakfast for the three of us on Friday.... so we didn't risk the car getting clamped we had to make an early start for the drive to Galway....Unfortunately, the weather had not improved from the night before so after a few hours of driving thru some heavy & blustery rain we eventually arrived at the Amber House B&B in Galway.....Seeing as we were early we decided to take the drive to Clifden & visit the Kylemore Castle & Abbey in Connemarra, a round trip of approx. 4hrs......It turned out to be worth the drive even with the dismal weather......Created & Constructed by Mitchell Henry for his bride Margaret Vaughan between 1867 & 1871 the castle has had an interesting & colourful history with the Abbey being built later between 1877 & 1881 as a memorial to his wife when she fell ill & died after an illness contracted while holidaying in Egypt ..... In 1903 it was purchased by the Duke & Duchess of Manchester for 63,000Pnds. who, thru. a marriage breakup & bankruptcy only had posession of the property for a short while....Interestingly,in 1920 it was acquired for approx. 45000pnds. by a community of Irish Benedictine Nuns who are still here to this day....We arrived back in Galway around 5pm and after dinner at Subways in town & a small bit of shopping for the next few days driving we eventually checked in to our B&B for a shower & good night's rest.I guess this is why it is called the Emerald Isle.....It's always green 'cause of all the rain..!!..At least we had the relief that the gale force winds we'd experienced had subsided...
We made our way down towards Killarney after breakfast on Saturday,with a stop in Limerick to visit the 16th century King John's Castle that stands in the heart of the city.....Recent archaeological excavations in 1993-1995 have even revealed evidence of pre-Norman 11th & 12th dwellings & settlements under the foundations of the castle......After a bite for lunch we continued our way & checked into the Sunnybank B&B in Killarney around 1600hrs.....Noticing the Killarney Factory Outlet centre opposite & not one for missing out on a bargain we treated ourselves before enjoying dinner with a welcome Guinness at "Murphy's Pub" while watching the Saturday game between Man.Utd & Wolves.....I could not think of a better way to end a wet but eventful day ..!!
Rain,sleet or snow.....We had made our minds up that we were going to drive around the Ring of Kerry & nothing was going to stop us on Sunday.....It's a four hour casual drive around the peninsula from Killarney and fortunately we were lucky enough to get around an hours break from this wet weather so we got the opportunity to admire some of the amazing scenery along this drive & at the edge of the Atlantic ocean....Hiking & walking seems to be popular here too with a number of short trails to tough ones that last a few days.....Song & I have talked of coming back at a better time of the year to maybe hike a couple of the better trails....
Not much to be excited about on Monday,as we drove from Killarney to the seaside town of Waterford with a short stop in Cork (Just another city) on the way....The highlight of the day & I guess a must see for any visiter to Ireland apart from a pint or two of Guinness, was Blarney Castle...though not much to really get excited about & not taking part in the ritual kissing of the Blarney Stone, I can at least say I have visited the castle when asked..Not the "WOW"factor we expected..!!...Maybe,the castles & cathedrals we have seen in England and Wales have traditionally been of more interest thru.their depth of history & royalty or maybe Song & I are just all castled out ..!!! .. We checked into the Beach Haven B&B in Waterford for the one night & while Mum had a rest Songhi & I decided to check out the town & seaside before bringing back an Indian takeaway for dinner..."Not too keen on indian food cooked in a Bangladeshi style"but unfortunately there was not a great deal of choice in Waterford, apart from fish & chips or chinese....Anyway,we are looking forward to the authentic cuisine when we are in India from next week..!!!!.."Yum..!!"
Fortunately,none of us suffered with "Bangladeshi Belly"thru. the night and went down for a hearty breakfast the next morning,which unfortunately started Tuesday off on a slight sour note for all of us....Needless to say Beach Haven B&B will not be getting too much of a review or star rating from the Watts family..!!.When we initially booked the room thru.Traveller's Point it did state "breakfast" was included,though on paying the bill before we left and enjoying a hearty Irish breakfast of eggs,bacon,sausages & black and white pudding with a good selection of toasted breads...we were quite bemused to be asked for an extra 5 Euros each for a cooked breakfast....It would not have been as much of a surprise if this had been mentioned on the website or even on the breakfast menu when we were offered the choice at the time...Considering this was not an issue at all the other places we stayed & who are part of the same group it is certainly something that needs to be sorted including the 5% credit card fee,which fortunately we avoided by paying cash...Anyhow,that was our whinge for the day while driving on to Kilkenny....we stopped at the popular Waterford Crystal showrooms on the way....Mum was tempted but we luckily talked her out of buying another souvenir & instead we had a free photograph taken beside a 10,000.00 Euro glass world globe which was emailed on to us..."Cheapskates"...!!!!....
Being only a short drive we were fortunately allowed an early checkin to the Mena B&B in Kilkenny by a rather bemused but very pleasant Catherine, who got the dates mixed up & was not expecting us until a day later...Taking advantage of both being early & a break in the wet & windy conditions we took off to visit a couple of the local points of interest that Song had earlier noted down....Kilkenny Castle and Cances Cathedral....and leaving others for the next day knowing we were staying in Kilkenny for two nights.......On Wednesday after a full Irish breakfast & at no extra cost..haha..!!..we drove out to visit the Jerpoint Abbey in Thomastown (a monastry built in the late 11th century by the white robed monks who came over from France) and then onto Kells Priory on the outskirts of the tiny village of Kells....Unfortunately,as expected there is not much left of these buildings though they are trying to repair & restore as much as possible of what is still standing...We ended the day with a visit to St.Mary's Church in Kilkenny and a refreshing change of a little window shopping for mum....
We drive back to Dublin tomorrow morning to drop the car back & fly back to Blackpool....
All in all,though it has been wonderful for Songhi & i to spend a week of quality time with mum, Sadly we all agree that Ireland has not been all we were expecting it to be ...Yes,the weather & time of year has not helped,but this country seems to have been hit pretty hard with the financial crisis & we cannot see it getting any better for quite some time....High unemployment,business closures,bankruptcies and reposessions seem to an everyday occurance... The Irish economy is at an all time low..!!..If you have the cash & would like to buy a large 5 or 6 bedroom bungalow at a bargain..??..This is the place,but good luck finding a job..!!..it's all too sad to see as they are a very well natured race of people....Hopefully,the upcoming elections due towards the end of this month are promising signs...
Songhi & I are now looking forward to our two months in India starting on Monday....I am hoping to keep this blog up to date as frequently as possible, though, I am expecting plenty of internet hiccups.."So,please be patient if there is a lack of communication at times"....There again,we all might be pleasantly surprised...!!!!!!..We drive down to London on Friday 11th. with mum to stay 3 nights with Julie,Danny & the boys (my sister & family),before flying out to New Delhi from Heathrow at 1330hrs on Air India A116....
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