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Top 10 Places That We Saw in
Ireland
First off, we subscribe to the notion that every place is worthy of
a visit. There's no such thing as a bad stop when traveling. We can
find something or someone interesting anywhere we are, and we try to
bring the magic with us. We also try and find the offbeat or unusual
spots, or look for the less-visited facets of a famous place. For example,
in the Ryoanji Temple grounds in Kyoto, Japan, we prefer the moss garden
behind the building to the more-photographed rock garden in the foreground.
The Burren and Cliffs of Moher
- The Cliffs are very tourist-busy, but well worth a visit. Pay particular
attention to the various buskers (artists) that work in the parking
lot and vicinity. Also, venture northward along the coat. Visiting this
landscape begins to give you a sense of the beauty and ferocity of the
land in the west of Ireland.
Galway City - Galway is
a wonderful town, very pedestrian-friendly and containing a number of
historic and cultural places to visit.
Blarney Castle, Blarney
- Pay less attention to the stone and more to theCastle itself. We found
the gardens, with all the Celtic sites, to be the most attractive part
of the place. The variety of vegetation is stunning.
Cobh, and the Queenstown Heritage Center
-- The port city of Cobh, just outside the city of Cork,
is another lovely small-scale town. The Queenstown Heritage Center is
one of the most thoughtful and up-do-date exhibits in Ireland.
Clonakilty, County Cork
- Though we didn't visit for very long, we saw enough to want to return.
O'Donovan's Hotel would be a great place to stay in the center of town.
The gateway to Southwest Cork andthe coast.
Skibbereen - The Heritage
Center is the window to this area, both for the Famine exhibit, and
also for Lough Hyne. We would include Lough Hyne in any visit to the
area as it is remarkable both for its natural and Celtic attractions.
Irish National Stud, Kildare
- We continue to be intrigued by this spot. A wonderful introduction
to the role that horses have played in Irish history and contemporary
society.
St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
- A major monument to British culture and history. Has a ton of historical
material in it, and represents the continuing presence and influence
of the Anglican church in the Republic of Ireland.
Kilmainham Jail, Dublin
- This is the best single historic site in Dublin for understanding
recent Irish history. Not only do they explain it well, but they can
turn around and point at places where all the major players spent time
or were executed. Powerful place.
Guinness Brewery, Dublin
- A new (18 months) high-tech exhibit that helps explain the role that
beer has played and continues to play in Ireland. The gift shop is probably
the best one in all of Ireland with a great range of gifts that will
take care of all those folks at home.
Top
Ten Places Visited on the Isle of Man
First off, we would rate the entire island as a Top-One destination.
But, in the spirit of list-making, here's our favorite sites from this
trip.
House of Mannanan Museum, Peel
- This is a remarkable, creative and courageous museum. If you think
you've seen something in the US, visit this one. First rate!
House of Keys, Castletown
- This recently-opened restored legislative chamber is absolutely amazing
in the way it slips history into your head. I've not seen anything else
like it anywhere.
Castle Rushen, Castletown -
Continues to be the very best restored castle in the United Kingdom.
Wonderful docents and exhibits. Courageous.
The Chasms - The Santa
Cruz County North Coast meets Big Sur. Breath-taking vistas off a clifftop
overlooking the Irish Sea. Extremely accessible.
The Laxey Wheel - The greatest
19th century industrial site imaginable. Demonstrates the importance
of mining in the Isle of Man's history as well as the ingenuity brought
to bear in that industry. Extremely accessible.
The Manx Museum, Douglas
- Free admission. The very best introduction to the history and culture
of the Manx, from geology to motorcycles. The introductory video is
not to be missed.
Glen Maye - A wondrous
little nook of waterfalls, moss, ivy and overhanging trees. If there
are truly fairies on the island, this is where you'll find them. Magical.
Shop-Rite Supermarket, Onchan Road, Douglas
- It may seem weird to put a modern supermarket on this list, but there's
no better place to meet the Manx diet and marketing skills than this
place. Similar to the US, but with some very uniquely Manx touches.
Cregneash - Made famous
by the movie "Waking Ned Devine", this village is another
demonstration to how the Manx were blessed to be off the beaten path
so that their history and culture survived. Some brilliant docents work
here.
Manx Air Preservation Society Museum, Ronaldsway
Airport - A new museum put together completely by volunteers
with no government funding. The result is a very concentrated series
of exhibits commemorating all the military folks that came from the
Isle of Man. Includes a large segment on the air crashes on the island.
Group
Awards
Annie and I have reviewed the trip, and after careful consideration,
we have designated our Group Awards for this Ireland/IOM 2002 trip.
The group was really first-rate, traveling smoothly and without complaint,
and paying incredibly close attention even whenabsolutely out of energy.
But, we want to give some special awards nonetheless:
| 1) The Shoppers Award - A four-way tie - -- Norma Kapis, Kathleen Haile, Joanne Nelson and Vivian Driscoll. These four pretty much sought out and bought everything you can imagine, and all of you who know them should expect some pretty cool gifts. I mean, they CAN'T have been buying all that stuff for themselves... |  Norma Kapis with some her loot, Dublin Airport. That's Don Gormley to her left. He spent some time waiting while Norma shopped. Worth an award in itself |
| 2) The I Know Exactly Where I Am at All Times Award -- Robert Tobey who brought along his GPS system, and would announce that we were exactly at 400 feet elevation and the same latitude as Moosejaw Saskatchawan. Rae Tobey held part of the gizmo, so she gets an assist for this award. |  Bob Tobey and his GPS system, Galway, Ireland. |
| 3) The Emergency Room Survivors Awards -- Three intrepid women -- Sally Smythe, Merilyn Brown and Rae Tobey -- all of whom spent hours in the emergency room at the Douglas hospital the night after the Manx Air folks "lost" 16 pieces of luggage. The three women had to have prescriptions refilled after losing their medications in the carry-on luggage stripping in Dublin. We eventually got the luggage back, but these three women endured a very very long night waiting while the pharmacist got the dosages and names correct. Ivor Ramsden, our friend who lives in Douglas, stayed with them throughout the ordeal, and he has been canonized because of it -- Saint Ivor, to you. |  Merilyn Brown, Dublin Airport, immediately before they took away her carry-on luggage and her medication. |
| 4) The Person Who Was Lost the Longest Award -- Jim "Punky" Walsh. - Jim headed down Glen Maye and made a bee-line for the beach -- 2 miles away. We yelled "Jiiiiiiiim" for awhile and then settled down and waited -- he did the 4-mile round trip in record time. Came to find out that he thought that I had gone down ahead of him, so it was one of those testosterone deals -- he claimed at the time that he was chasing fairies in the glen..... |
 Kathleen Haile and Jim Walsh. Jim does not look as lost in this photograph. |
| 5) The Independent Travelers Awards -- again a tie -- Judy Jones, Tilly Shaw and Linda Roberts could always be counted on to scatter as soon as the bus door popped open and be at least a mile away within seconds, poking around, meeting new people and generally scouting the perimeter. |  Judy Jones on one of her jaunts, climbing up the Great Laxey Wheel, Isle of Man. |
| 6) Pub Closer and Breakfast Skipper -- Linda Roberts won this hands down -- the two parts of the award are related, of course. She was also a pretty serious shopper -- and, you should ask her how she got Continental Airlines to overlook the fact that her suitcase was waaaaaay over the weight limit on the trip back to the US. |  Linda Roberts at the Jameson Distillery eating chocolate cake and tossing back 12-year old Jameson's Irish Whiskey. How's that for a combination? |
| 7) The I Don't Care What They're Talking About, there's Agricultural Policy in There Somewhere Award -- Don Driscoll. Don's also quite good at spotting and evaluating strawberries in the most unusual of places. He referred to me as "Lib" and lives in Idaho without complaint, which should give you some idea of his politics. He's also one of the most relaxed travelers I've ever seen -- always on time, but never seems to hurry -- very very Zen-like in his demeanor. |  Don Driscoll with his cultural roots stuck to his head. Note that no one else on the bus is looking at him. Are they ashamed? |
| 8) The Making of Sounds Award -- Audrey Stanley. Audrey has an incredible gift for making noises -- she even imitated the sound of the driving arm on the Laxey water wheel, and at one point I heard her calling some sheep on the far side of a Manx field -- the sheep, however, were not impressed. Audrey also gets the Got the Most Business Done on the Trip award for auditioning prospective players in a show she's directing in both the LAX airport and Newark airport at the beginning of the trip, and then actually directing the show via e-mail and the Internet. She and I would often by side by side in a smoke-filled Internet cafe -- she directing her play while I wrote to you all. |  Audrey Stanley having a great time working in an Internet Store in Ireland.  Audrey's companion, Tilly Shaw, sitting in the window of the Internet Store, waiting, and reading. And waiting. |
| 9) The Inseparable Couple Award -- Barbara and Lud McCrary -- It was fun to see them moving around together, often hand in hand -- after 51 years of marriage, too. And, if there were horses involved like at the Irish National Stud, they were like kids in a candy factory. |  Lud McCrary outside public toilet in Clonakilty, Ireland. He's pretty sure that Barbara's in there, but has to wait and see. She was. That's inseparable. |
| 10) The I've Been to Ireland Before Award -- Don Gormley. Don was extremely helpful in comparing the Ireland that he visited 30 and 20 years ago with today's. Ireland used to be a Third World Country, but no longer, and Don was extremely helpful in making those comparisons. He was also an Independent traveler, particularly when Norma was shopping. |  Don Gormley had been to Ireland so often that he was made a vicar in the Church of Ireland. Here he is vicaring in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. |
| 11) The I've Seen Worse Things in Africa Award -- Bill Smythe -- Bill was the most traveled of the group, and just when we began to believe that we were enduring some of the worst possible conditions -- weather, airline, etc. -- Bill would tell us about the time he took a Zulu spear in the chest or some such, and we would all feel better. |  Bill Smythe in the midst of spinning a story about his earlier travels to his wife, Sally. He seems to have dozed off in the middle of the story, but Sally is alert and ready to hear the ending of it. |
| 12) The Wonder Couple Award -- Debbie and Jim Sutherland -- These folks had been to Ireland before, but they still had a sense of wonder about the way they approached the museums, or just walking down the streets. They could be counted on to watch every video in the museum, or read every caption, and they were constantly joyful about learning everything they could about wherever they found themselves. They also receive a Co-Leader award for leading the London Extension group during their stay and getting them on the bus and over to Heathrow Airport in record time. Oh yes, Jim's background in construction and as a building inspector gave him particular insights into plumbing. But he was extremely fair when analyzing a particular plumbing set up, always saying "Well, we don't do it that way, but if it works, who cares?" He can inspect my building anytime. |  Jim and Debbi Sutherland. And they looked like that all the time! |
| 13) Best Prepared Award -- Bridget Driscoll, Debbie Sutherland and Leola Davidson -- they took Tish Curtiss-Scott's Irish Literature class prior to the trip, and were very helpful throughout the Ireland portion of the trip. |  Bridget Driscoll and Joanne Nelson in prison, Kilmainham Jail, Dublin. Bridget's trying to get the emotional feeling of some of that patriotic literature she studied. |
| 14) Best All Round Traveler Award -- Best of Show -- Leola Davidson --From her pre-trip preparation to her copious note-taking in Ireland, Leola personified all that can be good about a traveler. Quiet, observant, and always always cheerful, Leola was a delight, and it just made me happy to see her coming toward me on some Irish street, that grin on her face, and the gleam in her eye. Leola will be celebrating her 79th birthday very soon, but she's really going on 16 the way she approaches other people and cultures. She's truly an inspiration to us all. So, that's it. The trip that began last spring and was postponed due to the 9/11 disaster is now over -- but I have a suspicion that there's a reunion already in the works. |
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A Random Photo Gallery - Things you might not have seen.
 Barbara McCrary at Lough Hyne, County Cork. Lud? Is that you, Lud? |
 Judy Jones on flight from Dublin to Isle of Man. What, me worry? |
 Linda Roberts and Michael Collins, Dublin. |
 The Group at the Great Laxey Wheel, Isle of Man. |
 Linda Roberts, Michael Fitzsimon and Sandy Lydon in front of bus. |
 Linda Roberts and Michael Fitzsimon following up the above photograph. |
 Bus Driver Michael Fitzsimon, tagged and ready to be loaded. |
 The Tour Leader finds his roots on a bedroom furniture truck, Galway, Ireland. Note the very "Quiet Man-like" Irish cap. Now THAT's an Irishman! |
 The Tour Leader gets a swelled head. This is what too much Guinness will do to a fellow. |
 Joanne Nelson and Linda Roberts emerging from a modern pay toilet, Galway, Ireland. EVERYTHING was fun early in the trip. |
 Two Hookers, Galway. No. Wait. The BOATS in Galway are called hookers. |
 A Bouquet of Beautiful Blossoms. Annie and friends, Blarney Castle Gardens, Ireland. |
 Tilly Shaw and Judy Jones, Cork City. Where the hell ARE we? |
 Don Driscoll makes a dining suggestion for dinner, Cork City. Note the expression of his wife, Vivian on the left. |