My! I love Guinness!

 So I'm in Ireland!  And tomorrow morning, Merran and I will start to walk the Kerry Way, a 210 km loop walk that goes around the ring of Kerry.  I have my fingers, toes and eyes crossed (which won't make for very comfortable walking!) that I'm going to make it since I have a very painful leg (inflamed tibiofibular joint if you're interested) that makes every step hurt.  But I have hope, strappings, Guinness and drugs!  It'll be fine!

I left Australia on the 14th April.  It was a leisurely start to the day, taking Maggie and Jennie, the house sitter, for a trip down to the park.  Jennie is quite lovely – and Maggie seems to like her, which is most important!  So we walked and then I showed her where the important places are … coffee shop, vets and chook food supplier … before I came home to pack for the nth time.  Finally, Warren and Merran came to pick me up and it was a quick farewell before we were down to the bus station, on the bus and on our way to the airport.  Strangely, check in was open 4 hours before the flight so we were checked in (bag only weighed 11.7 kg!!!!), through customs and ready and waiting very early.

I won’t go into details about the flight to Dubai except to say that the food was awful and I was surrounded by crying babies.  Dubai to Dublin was a lot better … no babies and edible food.  Into Dublin and my pack was one of the first off the plane, through customs without a hitch, onto a bus that took us virtually straight to this hostel/hotel.  I was seriously worried … this was all going WAY to smoothly!  We walked around the streets a bit, visited Trinity College and the Custom House but we were tired (I hadn’t got a lot of sleep … thanks bubs!) so were in bed by 6:30pm (which is 3:30am Australian time).

The Famine Monument, designed by Rowan Gillespie

Looking down the Liffey

Graduation day at Trinity University

Our first day in Dublin, we eventually got up and then decided to go to the Dublin Archeological Museum.  On the way, we discovered the BEST place in Dublin!  A tiny little coffee shop with lovely pastries and amazing coffee.  So I drank a triple shot of bliss and ate a salami and cheese croissant … I could have stayed there for hours!  But the museum beckoned.  Did I tell you it was wet this morning?  Very wet, to be precise!  Later in the day it was very wet AND cold.  So the museum was a welcome, warm and dry refuge … and it was fascinating.  The displays were beautifully presented, from the earliest history to medieval times.  There were bog bodies and gold torcs and intricate reliliqueries, treasures and weapons and everyday objects.  It was all very interesting and we spent nearly two hours, wandering amongst the displays, learning a lot about early Ireland.  It was a place I would highly recommend … and it was free!  Unlike the Guinness tour (79 euros), Jamieson Distillery tour (70 euros) and various other expensive outings.

Details of a gold chalice.  There were so many treasures, all gold and silver, precious stones and enamel.  Fascinating!

Beautiful Celtic detailing on the hilt of a sword

The hand of one of bog mummies

Fish traps - virtually identical to aboriginal traps.  These were from about 5000BC

Leaving Dublin, it was a relaxed start – we packed and then walked towards the bus stop and discovered another fantastic coffee shop.  Dublin seems to be a coffee mecca – it’s a very pleasant surprise after the terrible coffee in the UK on previous trips.  Caffeine … tick!  Mind you, it also seems to be the tattoo parlour capital as well.  Not quite sure about that correlation?!?!  And just to piss me off, it was sunny!  I kid you not!

Arriving in Limerick, we went out and shopped at the local Tescos, buying my obligatory Mars bars and some biscuits etc for the walk.  What to do then?  We walked around looking for a nice looking pub but there was nothing in sight so I stopped a woman with a pram, figuring that she was probably a local.  Yes, she was and she said we just had to go to Timmy Martin’s which was just around the corner.  And what a find.  The Guinness was superb! 

Wet, wet, wet.  The bus ride this morning was again a delight.  Buses are so much more interesting than trains.  They don’t go as fast and you get an excellent view of the countryside.  We reached Killarney and all of a sudden, it got wetter!  Was that possible?  We walked to our accommodation where we were welcomed like long lost friends.  The rain having paused, we’ve walked into the centre of town where I am now on my second Guinness and am about to order the seafood chowder and soda bread.  Are you jealous yet?  Don’t be … tomorrow we start the Kerry way, walking 23 kilometres in the forecasted rain and wind and top of 10 degrees.  Yay!