Wilde about the Emerald Isle Part One
Preface: I took a trip to Ireland last year. So even though what you're about to read is a little old (and maybe not as fresh in my memory) I have wanted to put my thoughts, feelings, and experiences about this trip into something more tangible. Things to remember: This was pretty much an all expenses paid trip courtesy of my generous and loving in-laws (despite their foilbles & idiosynchroncies, but hey who doesn't have those). So we went on a tour, a Pub & Folk tour to be exact. My inlaws have travelled to the Emerald Isle every year for the last 6 years or so with the intent of taking each of their kids and they fortunate spouses/significant others. So my husband & my turn was last year & since they had been on several tours they decided to take us on the Pub & Folk tour because, well... my husband and I are lushes. No, not really, but we do like our beer so a Pub tour was the natural choice. According to my inlaws (just in case you might think about a tour of Ireland) it was the coolest tour with the lowest average age. I guess a Pub tour attracted a certain kind of person. You know, the type that can throw back a few beers & party a bit. So that sets up our (mis)adventures on the Emerald Isle.
Cast of characters
Mostly couples, representing a cross section of the US of A. All in all a laid back group that was there for the party.
The 80-something year couple from Florida. They were feisty. Our first introduction to them was in the hotel hallway as they were arguing back & forth.
Mother & daughter realtors from Minnesota (Daughter was sweet on the tour guide-that is married tour guide)
Gravedigger & his wife from Cape Cod. (sidenote: I had never met a gravedigger before and you'd think one would be morbid & staunchy. Not so, they were a blast!
Couple from New Yawk. They were a blast too. Husband was truck driver.
The family from Massachusets-Father(a real curmudgeon) and Mother, Daughter(Barbie look a like) & her husband (cradlerobber-I thought he was her father at first), Son & Son's fiancee (who was real sweet & gave me the scoop on the family dynamics)
Young unmarried couple-lived in Texas, not married & may not still be together today. They had plenty of friction. They were the one of the youngest couple-mid 20s.
Couple-from Philly. Wife (poor thing) was a pregnant at the time so she tightened the reins on Husband's escapades from the beginning-more on that later
The 2 swinger couples from California. (They weren't really swingers-I don't think, but they looked the part)
The young couple from Miami. Another pregnant girl, but she allowed her husband to have his fun (under her watchful eye).
The inlaws and us
All lead by Micheal our knowledgable tour guide who knew how to navigate those windy Irish roads, lull us to sleep with his Irish broque, and entertain us with jokes, tales, and historical facts.
Travelog:
Day 1 (Sunday)-Got up at crack of dawn to catch the 5:30 am (there's a 5:30 am??) flight to Altanta. Mind you our connecting flight to Dublin wasn't leaving until 7:30 pm. Oh to spend the day in Hartsfield. Evidently my mother in law didn't think I was dressed appropriately for the flight. We received very generous buddy passes from her brother's wife who works for the airlines, so I guess you were supposed to dress to impress. Mind you, I was wearing nice slacks, top & blazer. Hey, I'm a professional during the day and I know how to dress appropriately. This is the 21st century, so dressing up doesn't only entail dresses & hose. I think mom-in-law might have been envious of my prospective comfort. Arrive at Hartsfield and find couches to camp out on for the entire day. Oh, oh! My husband forgot his heavy coat. Call his sister in Northern GA-under the insistence of his Mom- who is coming to airport to visit with us to find a coat & bring. Lord, she found at a flea market the biggest, bulkiest, most Carolina blue coat you could find. Do you remember the coat that George Castanza wore in Seinfeld that he has to give to the liquor store guy because he breaks the wine? Imagine that coat in Carolina blue, but wait it's reversible it can also be Duke blue if you turn it inside out. My husband isn't a wimp when it comes to the cold, so under protest he doesn't wear the coat any time during the trip. As the day drags on, we finally hit the airport bar and down a couple of Guinness stouts in anticipation of the trip. Make it on the flight, but not only that, make it on first class! Greeted with glass of champagne & hot towel. I can get used to flying this way. In our little first class kit, we get soft comfy booties for our feet, eye patches in case we want to sleep. lotion, toothpaste/toothbrush, tissue, and earphones for the movies. Sleep, eat, drink, watch movies, eat & drink some more. The meal is mutton-ick!
Day 2 (Monday)-Arrive in Dublin after the longest wait at Shannon. Got terrible jet lag. Get taxi to hotel in Dublin, check in & crash. After a nice nap to refresh us from jet lag proceed downstairs to meet our tour guide & group. Although we were introduced (not formally) to old couple in the hallway before getting on the bus. We get a nice quick tour of parts of Dublin and top it off with visit to Jameson Distillery. Ok, we have some controversy over the pronounciation of Jameson-Its pronounced Jam i son. Not Jame is son and certainly not Joh ma son. (My in laws know everything about Ireland, do you know they puree their soups????) learn how they make whiskey. Educational moment: The reason that Irish whiskey is so smoooooth is because they triple distill-To be sure, to be sure, to be sure. My husband volunteers for whiskey tasting and receives a diploma for mastering the art. After the bus brings us back to hotel we are on our own for the night. Have a pint at Slattery's down the road. Back to Kitty O'Shea's-the hotel bar-for more pints with the Gravedigger & his wife. Then off to dinner. My in laws met a couple who live in Dublin on their very first trip to Ireland. That time they didn't make it on the flight (the disadvantage of buddy passes-you fly stand by) and George & Linda offer to help them get there in time for their tour by finding a flight to England & then to Ireland. They invited them into their home, fed them & are now good friends. That is one thing I will say about the Irish-they are very hospitable & endearing. So George & Linda come to hotel & we have dinner in the hotel restaurant. Remember this; When you have a snooty French waiter don't mention airline food. he will look down his nose at you. Eat & crash because you're still suffering from jet lag.
Day 3 (Tuesday)- Up early for the infamous Full Irish Breakfast, mind you its eggs & this really gross sausage, and lots of pudding, but not the Jello pudding kind. Leave on a more extensive bus tour of Dublin. We see Phoenix Park where Pope John Paul gave mass to 1 million. We see Kilmainham Gaol, an old jail that held many Irish political prisoners. Even children were held there for stealing food to feed themselves during the famine. It's been used in a few movies. We see all the other sites from the window of our tour bus, Temple Bar, Grafton shopping district, St. Paticks Cathedral, Trinity College where they house the Book of Kells. The statue of Oscar Wilde lounging on a rock in the corner of some park-better known as the Fag in the Crag. Then we hit the Guinness Storehouse. Skip the tour, frankly I don't care how they make the black gold, I want a pint at the top of the building with a lovely view of Dublin. Lie in wait for a table & grab it. Collect the coasters that depict the 6 steps to pouring the perfect Guinness (something that some American bartenders need to take heed). Enjoy the view. Get a shamrock on the head of our pint-talented! Leave after spending too many Euros in the gift shop, we need t-shirts, magnets, postcards,pint glasses. Get dropped off in Grafton to browse the shopping district, carrying all of our touristy Guinness bags. Have a pint in Temple Bar. Eat a sandwich, they like butter on their sandwiches which wasn't half bad.Trudge around with in laws. I want to visit the Writer's Museum, but we can't seem to find it. I want to get apicture of the Fag in the Crag but we can't find it. We think it's in St. Stephen's Green. We visit all four corners of the the park and still can't find it. My father in law thinks it must be on the next corner (who taught him Geometry, I don't think it's in this park). I wouldn't have minded the walking if I wasn't lugging 25 pounds of Guinness merchandise. Finally make it back to hotel after several stops at pubs for pints to refuel. We have dinner at Abbey Tavern-Corned Beef & Cabbage. Awesome Irish coffee and then entertainment. We're the trailblazers & order pints which quickly catches on to some in our group. I told you we liked our beer. We get in trouble because everyone waiting on the bus to leave but my inlaws & us are visiting with the previously mentioned George & Linda who have come by to visit again. They know the owner of the tavern and we're in the cozy basement enjoying the Craik (sp?) translation: talk, not drugs. We're not ready for bed, but the in laws are. We plant a spot at the bar of Kitty O'Shea's and proceed to drink many pints. Guy from Philly joins us (wife is in bed-she's pregnant) along w/realtor mother & daughter and couple for Texas. Bar closes much to the delight of the snooty french bartender, and my Husband and I are not ready to call it a night. Escape the hotel and begin our quest to find the Fag in the Crag. We find it, but the gates are locked & I can't get a good picture from this vantage point. What else to do, except climb the fence and snap away. I got the bruises & the pics to prove it! After we told my inlaws the next day of our escapade we were chastised for the possibility of getting arrested for trespassing.
This ends our first installment of our adventures in Dublin. We got an early morning departure for Kinsale, after the full Irish breakfast of course.
To be continued.....
Cast of characters
Mostly couples, representing a cross section of the US of A. All in all a laid back group that was there for the party.
The 80-something year couple from Florida. They were feisty. Our first introduction to them was in the hotel hallway as they were arguing back & forth.
Mother & daughter realtors from Minnesota (Daughter was sweet on the tour guide-that is married tour guide)
Gravedigger & his wife from Cape Cod. (sidenote: I had never met a gravedigger before and you'd think one would be morbid & staunchy. Not so, they were a blast!
Couple from New Yawk. They were a blast too. Husband was truck driver.
The family from Massachusets-Father(a real curmudgeon) and Mother, Daughter(Barbie look a like) & her husband (cradlerobber-I thought he was her father at first), Son & Son's fiancee (who was real sweet & gave me the scoop on the family dynamics)
Young unmarried couple-lived in Texas, not married & may not still be together today. They had plenty of friction. They were the one of the youngest couple-mid 20s.
Couple-from Philly. Wife (poor thing) was a pregnant at the time so she tightened the reins on Husband's escapades from the beginning-more on that later
The 2 swinger couples from California. (They weren't really swingers-I don't think, but they looked the part)
The young couple from Miami. Another pregnant girl, but she allowed her husband to have his fun (under her watchful eye).
The inlaws and us
All lead by Micheal our knowledgable tour guide who knew how to navigate those windy Irish roads, lull us to sleep with his Irish broque, and entertain us with jokes, tales, and historical facts.
Travelog:
Day 1 (Sunday)-Got up at crack of dawn to catch the 5:30 am (there's a 5:30 am??) flight to Altanta. Mind you our connecting flight to Dublin wasn't leaving until 7:30 pm. Oh to spend the day in Hartsfield. Evidently my mother in law didn't think I was dressed appropriately for the flight. We received very generous buddy passes from her brother's wife who works for the airlines, so I guess you were supposed to dress to impress. Mind you, I was wearing nice slacks, top & blazer. Hey, I'm a professional during the day and I know how to dress appropriately. This is the 21st century, so dressing up doesn't only entail dresses & hose. I think mom-in-law might have been envious of my prospective comfort. Arrive at Hartsfield and find couches to camp out on for the entire day. Oh, oh! My husband forgot his heavy coat. Call his sister in Northern GA-under the insistence of his Mom- who is coming to airport to visit with us to find a coat & bring. Lord, she found at a flea market the biggest, bulkiest, most Carolina blue coat you could find. Do you remember the coat that George Castanza wore in Seinfeld that he has to give to the liquor store guy because he breaks the wine? Imagine that coat in Carolina blue, but wait it's reversible it can also be Duke blue if you turn it inside out. My husband isn't a wimp when it comes to the cold, so under protest he doesn't wear the coat any time during the trip. As the day drags on, we finally hit the airport bar and down a couple of Guinness stouts in anticipation of the trip. Make it on the flight, but not only that, make it on first class! Greeted with glass of champagne & hot towel. I can get used to flying this way. In our little first class kit, we get soft comfy booties for our feet, eye patches in case we want to sleep. lotion, toothpaste/toothbrush, tissue, and earphones for the movies. Sleep, eat, drink, watch movies, eat & drink some more. The meal is mutton-ick!
Day 2 (Monday)-Arrive in Dublin after the longest wait at Shannon. Got terrible jet lag. Get taxi to hotel in Dublin, check in & crash. After a nice nap to refresh us from jet lag proceed downstairs to meet our tour guide & group. Although we were introduced (not formally) to old couple in the hallway before getting on the bus. We get a nice quick tour of parts of Dublin and top it off with visit to Jameson Distillery. Ok, we have some controversy over the pronounciation of Jameson-Its pronounced Jam i son. Not Jame is son and certainly not Joh ma son. (My in laws know everything about Ireland, do you know they puree their soups????) learn how they make whiskey. Educational moment: The reason that Irish whiskey is so smoooooth is because they triple distill-To be sure, to be sure, to be sure. My husband volunteers for whiskey tasting and receives a diploma for mastering the art. After the bus brings us back to hotel we are on our own for the night. Have a pint at Slattery's down the road. Back to Kitty O'Shea's-the hotel bar-for more pints with the Gravedigger & his wife. Then off to dinner. My in laws met a couple who live in Dublin on their very first trip to Ireland. That time they didn't make it on the flight (the disadvantage of buddy passes-you fly stand by) and George & Linda offer to help them get there in time for their tour by finding a flight to England & then to Ireland. They invited them into their home, fed them & are now good friends. That is one thing I will say about the Irish-they are very hospitable & endearing. So George & Linda come to hotel & we have dinner in the hotel restaurant. Remember this; When you have a snooty French waiter don't mention airline food. he will look down his nose at you. Eat & crash because you're still suffering from jet lag.
Day 3 (Tuesday)- Up early for the infamous Full Irish Breakfast, mind you its eggs & this really gross sausage, and lots of pudding, but not the Jello pudding kind. Leave on a more extensive bus tour of Dublin. We see Phoenix Park where Pope John Paul gave mass to 1 million. We see Kilmainham Gaol, an old jail that held many Irish political prisoners. Even children were held there for stealing food to feed themselves during the famine. It's been used in a few movies. We see all the other sites from the window of our tour bus, Temple Bar, Grafton shopping district, St. Paticks Cathedral, Trinity College where they house the Book of Kells. The statue of Oscar Wilde lounging on a rock in the corner of some park-better known as the Fag in the Crag. Then we hit the Guinness Storehouse. Skip the tour, frankly I don't care how they make the black gold, I want a pint at the top of the building with a lovely view of Dublin. Lie in wait for a table & grab it. Collect the coasters that depict the 6 steps to pouring the perfect Guinness (something that some American bartenders need to take heed). Enjoy the view. Get a shamrock on the head of our pint-talented! Leave after spending too many Euros in the gift shop, we need t-shirts, magnets, postcards,pint glasses. Get dropped off in Grafton to browse the shopping district, carrying all of our touristy Guinness bags. Have a pint in Temple Bar. Eat a sandwich, they like butter on their sandwiches which wasn't half bad.Trudge around with in laws. I want to visit the Writer's Museum, but we can't seem to find it. I want to get apicture of the Fag in the Crag but we can't find it. We think it's in St. Stephen's Green. We visit all four corners of the the park and still can't find it. My father in law thinks it must be on the next corner (who taught him Geometry, I don't think it's in this park). I wouldn't have minded the walking if I wasn't lugging 25 pounds of Guinness merchandise. Finally make it back to hotel after several stops at pubs for pints to refuel. We have dinner at Abbey Tavern-Corned Beef & Cabbage. Awesome Irish coffee and then entertainment. We're the trailblazers & order pints which quickly catches on to some in our group. I told you we liked our beer. We get in trouble because everyone waiting on the bus to leave but my inlaws & us are visiting with the previously mentioned George & Linda who have come by to visit again. They know the owner of the tavern and we're in the cozy basement enjoying the Craik (sp?) translation: talk, not drugs. We're not ready for bed, but the in laws are. We plant a spot at the bar of Kitty O'Shea's and proceed to drink many pints. Guy from Philly joins us (wife is in bed-she's pregnant) along w/realtor mother & daughter and couple for Texas. Bar closes much to the delight of the snooty french bartender, and my Husband and I are not ready to call it a night. Escape the hotel and begin our quest to find the Fag in the Crag. We find it, but the gates are locked & I can't get a good picture from this vantage point. What else to do, except climb the fence and snap away. I got the bruises & the pics to prove it! After we told my inlaws the next day of our escapade we were chastised for the possibility of getting arrested for trespassing.
This ends our first installment of our adventures in Dublin. We got an early morning departure for Kinsale, after the full Irish breakfast of course.
To be continued.....
posted by amyd | 2:17 PM
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