Before I continue on our visit, I wanted to comment on our experience with “safety”, as I had previously asked from an American mother’s perspective, whether or not it was safe for two females on their own. I must confess, from our experience, I am a bit embarrassed to have raised the question in the first place. At no time did either my daughter or I feel the least bit awkward, intimidated or unsafe either in a town, city or in the countryside. We were out mostly during daylight, but did walk some in towns in the evenings including Cork on the main streets, near and across from the University. And, we tried to be attentive and aware of our surroundings at all times. But again, at no time did we feel unsafe without male traveling companions.
Our visit was amended to compensate for the high winds and rains which even our hosts said were unusual. Doolin was lovely- both people and place. Good pub music and the area has nice scenery for exploring and driving. The Cliffs of Moher were not an option as the winds were too high for safety or it was raining and gusting while in the area. For three days we tried, to no avail. The winds were so high, one evening my daughter was blown down upon our exiting a pub. We decided to move onwards to Galway. The drive from Doolin to Galway along the coast is one of the most beautiful drives we experienced. As luck would have it, or find us, once in Galway we changed plans to go to the Wicklow Mountains National Park area instead. While driving east about midway to Dublin, weather warnings were broadcast over the radio for gale force winds extending from Galway across to Dublin and down into the Wicklow area, advising against unnecessary travel. So, we changed plans and went north of Dublin to Newgrange. We visited the Newgrange archeological site and went on one of their tours, opting for their short tour to the main site instead of the other tours which included the other dig sites. If the weather cooperates at a later visit, we will include them. While in the area, we visited the castle and grounds where some of the scenes from Braveheart were filmed. Regardless of what sources tell you, during the off season, the castle is closed during the week for tours. Got nice pictures from the outside, instead. After several days in the area, we zipped back to Doolin which was recovering from flooding and power outages so we proceeded down to Cork.
Between high winds, continual rain, power outages, flooding and the stress/frustrations from having husband and youngest son in Paris during recent events, we decided to meet up in Germany and go from there. Husband and son already had a car in Germany and had been in Berlin, so we made our way to Dublin via the Wicklow Mountains National Park and flew into Frankfurt, where we met up. Spent about a week in Germany, then came home. Shortly after takeoff from Dublin, my daughter pointed out our window and mentioned the only clear sunrise we saw in Ireland was during the flight out of Ireland. But it was lovely, nonetheless.
Would I change anything if I could? Not really, for it was after all, a beautiful experience and we had a fun time in spite of the weather. For us, the great food, great hosts in the B&B’s and hostels and all ‘round engaging, fun and funny people we met along the way were thoroughly enjoyed and added to the beauty of our experience. I would like our next visit to be less damp and breezy though, which would make for better sightseeing and safer walking or hiking. But, weather is unpredictable, such as it is. Someone at Newgrange suggested we visit during either April or September which are historically the two less wet and most temperature steady months of the year. I had commented on being surprised to see ripe blackberries on the vines along the roads while we were hiking and was told that was unusual for them as well, and that weather wise, this year has been an unusual year including the summer months. The only thing I would NOT do next visit is rent a GPS. We were told several times by locals it is better to use your smart phone and download google maps or similar apps which have correct roadways marked and are clearer for directions. Got us lost more times than to where we wanted to go, as unpaved roads are recognized despite using the setting to omit unpaved roads, and we were directed into more than one field and wooded area to drive through. Good thing we chose to only drive during the daylight hours, which unfortunately turn into dark nights after bouncing down unpaved roads along wooded paths… But without skyglow from city lights, I imagine on a clear night, the stars would be amazing to see. Unfortunately, our nights were….cloudy.
Next time, I think I would like to begin in Northern Ireland and drive the Great Atlantic Way, taking our time to stop and sit for a spell and experience the location and people along the way- much like this visit. And, next time we will pack for traveling, not hiking (less clothes) and bring either a GoPro or camera, since weight will be less on an issue in packing. So, pass on GPS, pack fewer clothes and bring good camera would overall, be the only changes I would make for our next visit to Ireland. Oh, and bring a travel coffee cup, along with the water bottle we brought this time.
By the way, unchipped credit cards work fine. The only credit card we took with a chip in it was an American Express which I don’t think I used once in Ireland (I took it because it was the only chipped c/c we have). Our other “unchipped” credit or debit cards worked everywhere we tried to use them for purchases (car rental and paying for gas, or online to pay for toll) without issues. But, we didn’t use them in ATM’s, only where the merchant swiped them instead of inserting them in the end slot space of card readers. Come to think of it, we had to pay in cash for the tube train tickets in England at the vending machine at the train station because the machine only read chipped cards and wouldn’t accept American Express as an option. We exchanged dollars for euros in England, so I can’t comment on exchanging them in Ireland.
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