Belfast

It’s almost midnight here in Ireland. We put another 6 miles on the old feet today in Belfast. The day started off gorgeous and sunny, and we ended the day in sweaters. Belfast is a big mixture of the old historic buildings buried in a amongst modern construction against a landscape of mountains. It is the second largest city next to Dublin on the island of Ireland. Belfast endured The Troubles, a civil conflict that raged from around 1969 to 1998 with bombing, assassinations and street violence a common backdrop. The city has undergone major revitalization efforts to improve the quality of the city.

Our stop here was primarily for Caleb. He has loved the Titanic story since he was a little boy, so we absolutely had to visit the place where the Titanic was built. It was definitely emotional to stand in the dark room where they surrounded you with actual voices of survivors interviewed.

Slipway where the Titanic was Built

We did a little exploring before dinner but unfortunately many of the sites are closed on Sundays so there was little we could get into.

There are still a lot of things we are getting used to, like no tipping at restaurants. The receipts aren’t even printed with an option. My guilt kicks in so I have left a flurry of Pounds and Euros on tabletops along the east coast.

The hotels are very energy conscious. You have to insert your key inside the room on the wall for any electrical outlets or devices to work. This also means when you leave and take them with you, everything turns off. Laundry mats are outside, typically on the side of gas stations. Cross walks? Don’t even bother pushing the button. It’s a free for all game of Frogger.

Tomorrow we depart early for Sligo so we can stop and site see along the countryside. Our route will take us a little longer but will carry us along the coast for a portion of the drive. After Sligo we will continue the next several days on the Wild Atlantic Way which is the most scenic route to cover the western coast of Ireland and stretches almost 1600 miles.

Fast and the Furious, Ireland Style

I feel like my first time driving in Ireland probably deserves it’s own post. You can tell Hertz in Dublin is used to tourists since they issued me my own VIP Bracelet!

Someone blared their horn at me when I had to switch lanes last minute at the airport. I responded with an authentic gesture of American gratitude! Good bye Dublin…off to Belfast!

Of course 2 min after I situated myself in the driver’s seat it started to rain. But not just a steady rain. The kind that spits and then pours and then stops, and repeat. My kids thought it was funny listening to me mutter to myself because I just could not endure the stress of handling a car gadget while driving.

City driving was hairy, but if you follow the general flow of cars, you are most times ok! Highway driving is pretty easy as long as you remember the right lane is the “takeover” lane, not the left. Sometimes you find yourself with an angry driver up your rear end while you are gawking at the scenery. Oh, and Ireland loves round abouts. Everywhere. Randomly inserted everywhere. Tractor also drive on the freeway. Actual tractors, doing 30 mph in the left lane. You’ll know you have crossed the border to the UK when you see speed limit signs change back to miles.

You have to watch drifting off the left side of the road. I had some near misses with the front ends of some cars waiting to pull out from the left, and the sound of rumble strips may have drowned out the radio a bit. To be honest, driving from the other side of the car after some time really didn’t feel very different.

The cab driver who dropped me at Hertz said I would pick it up in no time and he was right. In about an hour I had it down. And worst case, if you get confused in the city, you look around quick, hope no one is looking and gun it down a road before anyone notices you cut down the wrong way. I mean not that I tried that but…

A note of warning…they advise you to drive a smaller car because of the narrow roads. Smaller to people here is a bit different. I ordered a midsized for the luggage space and we’ll just say Syd is still traveling with two suitcases as her backseat buddies and Caleb is hugging the dash!

Anyways, we have made it safely to Belfast for the next two days!

Planning Our Next Itinerary

Most of you know that in 7 months, the kids and I will be heading to Ireland for a family reunion and to meet up with a few friends in our path of travel.

I am fortunate my friend Jen decided to marry an Irish lad this past year. While they were home for Christmas break, they came by and helped me lay out my plans over some gin and tonic. Conor was a wealth of knowledge on how to make the most of our 12 day trip. Of course this itinerary is only our guideline and subject to change based on our whims.

We plan to fly into Dublin and stay downtown so we can foot hike around the city. I’m sure The Temple Bar will hit our list of must stops. They have the largest collection of whiskey in Ireland. St Patrick’s Cathedral and a hike up Wicklow Mountains also top the list.

After two days in Dublin we will head to Belfast for two days with a stop at the Titanic Museum. My son is a huge fan of Titanic. He has been entranced with books detailing the ship’s construction, it’s journey and its ultimate demise since he first learned to read.

From Belfast we will traverse the countryside and it’s scenery for several hours to Sligo, which is situated between Donegal and Galway. It’s a combination of literary legacies, a surfing hotspot and jagged mountain peaks that helped to inspire the writings of William Butler Yeats.

After departing Sligo, our next stop is Galway. We have a friend in Galway with a horse farm along the beach so we plan to take a ride along the shore. There is so much to see and take in in Galway that we may take a few days to rest here. Who hasn’t wanted to be a Galway Girl for a few days?

We will drop south of Galway to hit the Cliffs of Moher for some incredible views before we cut Southeast for our final part of the week.

Our next destination will take us to Kinsale, Cobh and Cork. Kinsale is known for its yachting, sea angling, and golf, but also for being the gourmet hub of Ireland for foodies. Right up my alley! I plan to fill my belly quite well as this stop.

Once known as Queenstown, Cobh was the final port call of the RMS Titanic when it set out on its maiden and final voyage across the Atlantic. It is also the departure point for over 2.5 million Irish people who emigrated to North America between 1848 and 1950, including the Keough’s and the Moriarty’s. See, this is how you all ended up with me!

We can’t leave Ireland without partaking in a little tradition so we will check out the Blarney Castle and kiss the old Blarney Stone to seal up our Gift of Gab.

We will finish out the trip with a 3 day visit to Waterford, which is where my grandmother’s family originated. During the Keough reunion will get a personal tour of the area with specific focus on our heritage, old family homes, burial sites, etc. We will be staying at the Faithlegg House, old castle style, for a dinner and reception to meet our relatives from across the globe. This is such an amazing opportunity for the kids to meet their relatives and trace their heritage to a different sort of home.

From Waterford we make our way back to Dublin for a flight out the following morning back to the States. We will catch a few more sights here before we head home. Along the way we plan to get in some hiking, tour some castles, enjoy the local beverages, and maybe even squeeze in some falconry! Sleep is overrated. There is so much to do here that we will catch up on that on the flight home.

I’d welcome any feedback or suggestions for our travels from those who have experienced Ireland firsthand!