Author: lcicciari

Hello All! I’m transitioning old blogs over to WordPress. Eventually we’ll be able to go on trips again and post them here. For now enjoy some of the old memories.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8480795.stm

By now the whole world has seen me try haggis…and wants to join in. As excited as I was about the rumors the US would lift the ban…that probably wont be the case. See the article from BBC.

If you want to celebrate Burns Night in style, please contact your representative and let them know you want imported haggis. =)

Luigi

I know…I know… the public is anxiously awaiting more pictures. I got sick on Sunday, and haven’t been able to work on the site.

I’m starting to feel better, and will do everything in my power to give you what you need…more info on our trip. =)

On the 21st we left Cork and headed out for our last full day in Ireland. We hopped in the car and made our way to our B&B in Shannon. We chose to stay in Shannon because we wanted to see the Cliffs of Moher, and we were supposed to have a direct flight to see a friend of ours. Of course they moved the flight to the prior day…but more about that later!

A couple of hours later and getting a little lost, we finally found our B&B – Avalon. Apparently the owner forgot about our reservation, and gave the room we wanted to another party. They were able to accommodate us. Just a bit frustrating after a long drive. The house and the room, according to Nicola, was “cute”. So I guess that makes up for it.

After a quick rest, we got back into the car to head to the Cliffs. We had no address, so I put the coordinates into the GPS. Apparently I didn’t do it correctly because we arrived at the entrance of some farmer’s property. Along the way, we got some great views of the Atlantic, saved a dog named Rusty from certain doom (he was in the middle of a country road… so we pulled over and walked him hom), and got to kill our rental car’s suspension. Here are some pictures from the drive.

After driving around for a while, we finally found signs and arrived to the Cliffs of Moher. Whenever pictures are shown on TV, they usually include shots from here in their montage. It was incredible. The photos don’t do this place any justice. Let me rub it in by saying “you just had to be there” to truly enjoy it. =)

Notice the barriers behind us. Those were put up just a few years ago to protect humanity against stupidity. I (Luigi) did not want to be protected from such stupidity. Being the true artist I am, I wanted a better look…

Can you see how steep the cliff is?

After taking in the view, we headed back to Shannon and grabbed a bite to eat at the Old Lodge Pub and to rest up for the last couple days of our trip.

After a breakfast of Porridge and Baileys (yeah… our Cork B&B hosted by Marcel from Nuremberg, Germany knew how to start the morning right), we got into the car and headed to Kinsale.

After walking around the harbor and the little shops around town, we made our way north to Blarney Castle.

The Castle and the land the Castle is on is simply… amazing.

After walking around the grounds a bit, we made our way up the narrow staircase to the top.

To kiss the Blarney Stone.

Yes… we paid 10 Euros a piece to walk up a very narrow flight of stairs to kiss a disease-ridden piece of stone. What do you want? We are stupid American Tourists!

After climbing the stairs, I told Nicola she couldn’t have a Magnum ice cream bar…

But we did reward ourselves with another pint.

Afterward we drove back to Cork and walked around the city a bit. In search of some dinner, we passed by Luigi Malone’s, but opted for some authentic Irish…Mexican Food???

We arrived today, went for a hike/rock climb, and are hanging out with Katie & Dave. We are off to the pub soon.

Will update with more pictures.

On the 19th we left our lovely B&B to make our way to our next stop in Cork. On the way in, we stopped in Kilkenny, to see a castle and medieval streets. The above picture was some of the country side while driving. Before we did all of this bloody walking, we stopped for a refresher pint at Kilford Arms Pub.

Here is the River Nore in Kilkenny.

Kilkenny Castle

Saint Mary’s Cathedral

The Black Abbey

Saint Canice’s Cathedral

Next, we made our way back to the car for another couple hours of driving.

Finally, we made it to Cork.

In time to see another Cathedral… St Finbarre’s Cathedral

We finished off the evening with some traditional… Indian Food. Bombay Palace. Pretty good stuff.

While in Cork, we are staying at the Garnish House near the city center…. home to over 120 pubs.

Note, not one sheep was harmed while I was driving. I’d have to say it was a good day.

Yep, that’s me working on holiday. All because the program we use at work decides not to work when I’m gone. Best of all, they performed their upgrade and apparently it didn’t fix much. That’s OK though, spending a few hours working while on a wonderful trip is no bother. The real issue will be when I return… but no worries about that yet. Still more time to enjoy here and now. I still love you all…especially those reading. =)

Driving over here is pretty crazy…but i’m getting the hang of it. I even got comfortable enough to pass people in the fast lane and tell them to “Sod off you WANKER!!!” In fact, I may have said some of these words… Be warned, the below video has foul language.

Also, the extra insurance is paying dividends. I say the car was like this when we picked it up…however Nicola thinks I hit the side of a curb on my first day driving.

On Saturday we woke up to a glorious day. Previously we had bouts of rain. But this day was sunny and beautiful. After breakfast, we decided to take the car for a spin – not literally… we went out for a drive down to Enniskerry (at the foothill of the Wicklow Mountains) and the Wicklow National Park.

The drive was beautiful (not for the driver, since it was his second day of driving on the left AND just found out the locals call the last part of the road to Enniskerry “The twenty-one bends”. Basically, its a windy narrow mountain road with rich local snobs driving in the middle lane. With the extra car insurance in tow, i hugged the left side and made my way up.

Enniskerry is beautiful. We went to see a waterfall, and did a bit of hiking.

After a small hike, and Nicola finishing her Magnum Ice Cream bar, we headed for another drive to the Wicklow National Park. We headed to the area known as Glendalough. We took a 5K hike called the Miner’s Road Walk.

After a lovely morning of hiking, waterfalls, and lakes we drove back to Dun Laoghaire.

Stopped by our room (our view again)

and enjoyed a lovely afternoon strolling along the port.

We finished up our day with dinner at Walter’s Cafe & Bar and had some excellent seafood chowder.

Yep…it was an action-packed Irish day for us.