I have been driving since my mid-teens, and I’ve always considered myself a good driver. Of course, I went through that phase that many young males do—where no speed is too fast—but I fortunately came through it mostly unscathed. I didn’t give a second thought to driving in Ireland. Driving on the left is difficult.…
Glendalough: An old monastic site, this place has church ruins, tower ruins, a river-like thing, and a lake. It’s certainly pretty, but not sure that it merits being singled out as the thing to see. The best part is the elevated wooden walkway on which you can stroll around the lake. And the sheep grazing…
Glendalough Hotel (Glendalough): Decent, especially for a tourist location. I had a fish cake, and B had spring rolls. Cafe Sol (Kilkenny): Our favorite! I had a quinoa/roasted veggie/pumpkin seed salad, and B had Guinness bangers and mash. Lombard St. Take Away (Waterford): Surprisingly decent. I had curry fries, and B had bacon and cheese…
13 things we weren’t expecting to be true about Ireland: Dublin In Dublin, they have a lot of signs which say ‘TO LET’ (meaning ‘for rent’), but they all look like they intended to say ‘TOILET’ and lost their ‘I.’ This is largely because the spacing between the two words is quite small. I even…
I’ve seen British-US English translators, but here’s a bit of an Irish dialec-tionary: Ramps: Speed bumps! They’re used somewhat differently though, making them seem more like a motor speedway device than a suburban fixture. Specifically, most US speed bumps are used in areas where the driver is going ~25 mph. In faster zones, American road designers seem…
There’s a lot to love about Ireland: excellent beer, good music, delicious food, pervasive greenery, beautiful old castles and churches, and much more. That’s not what this post is about. Instead, I’m going to tell you about what you’ll find around the house. In the Kitchen The refrigerators are much smaller than those in US.…
This morning, we drove into a small town called Dunmore East, where I immediately spotted a bakery. B had availed himself of leftovers for breakfast, but I was ravenous. I carefully examined each item in each display, since this was clearly not a decision to be taken lightly. As I was making up my mind, I made a…
Kilmainham Gaol: This tour of an 1800s jail was our favorite activity by far. It was given by a charming archaeologist, and it was very well done. Especially good for people not into long drawn-out history recitations: gives a succinct summary of the attempts at Irish independence, full of the kind of personal stories that…
I was walking home yesterday, lost in my own thoughts. (Mom: In a safe area in daylight with other women walking alone there.) I had just passed by an elderly woman, and I was approaching a group of teens: approximately 6 of them, somewhere around 15 years old. Suddenly, one of them makes a beeline…
Fade St. Social: Favorite [N] / Decent [B]. We went to their tapas bar (not the main restaurant), which was perfect for trying lots of things. This is a foodie place. We tried the seasonal cabbage in sauce, roasted potatoes, beef carpaccio, goat cheese logs, chocolate/hazelnut mousse, and Neapolitan sandwich. And if you weren’t already…