Less than a week ago I was in Ireland for 17 days and it certainly is a gem of a place (pun intended)! I had no real idea just how beautiful it is there. I did some extensive driving, (2059km in 12 days to be exact!) going from Dublin to Galway and trailing a path down the West coast and across the top of the Beara Peninsula and back  to Dublin via Cork. The landscapes I saw  were varied and majestic. The overriding feeling I had wherever I went was one of quiet reverence and awe. Most of these natural places of wonder made me feel that magic actually does exist! From the spectacular Cliffs of Moher to the Twelve Bens to the Neolithic sites and the Bronze age stone circles, my wonder at both nature and man’s magnificent powers expanded.

However, what was equally, if not more charming, than the landscapes, was the Irish people. I  do not exaggerate when I say that everyone I encountered was friendly, helpful and up for a chat! Let me share some stories…

Arriving in Dublin, I was given assistance immediately and was cheerfully shown where to catch the shuttle bus into the city. Here (while waiting) I met an enthusiastic, young Irish man who excitedly and fondly recounted his awesome year spent in Australia playing Gaelic football – yes apparently we have a league!

Upon arriving at one of Dublins main railway stations I was met by Suzanne, who would be hosting me. Pleased to greet any friend of her sister’s as a friend of hers, she ushered me onto the next tram to her apartment. Suzanne made me feel very welcome and was keen to show me how to get around her city and what to see and where to go. She had me all organised within the first hour! I was given a house key and told to come and go as I pleased.

My first couple of days exploring Dublin city were fun as I learnt to negotiate a new tram and bus system. It’s actually quite an easy city to get around and all the major museums and places of interest are all fairly contained in the small city centre. All places visited were brilliant but the highlight would have to be going to the Trinity College library and viewing the exhibition of the “Book of Kells” and the famous “Long Room.” Whilst there was actually only 2 of the illuminated manuscripts on display (under glass of course) the whole exhibition was curated beautifully. There were great glass panels printed with pages from the manuscripts and they were lit from behind so that the colours and gold glowed and shone like precious stones. There was also succint and beautifully presented information on the walls. It was a visual feast and to see an actual page from such an old manuscript was awe inspiring! The amount of work that must’ve gone into these works…. Seeing the Long Room was also a thrill! I have never seen so many books in one room! It was magnificant! And the smell of all these old books made me feel as if I had been transported back in time.

Once I picked up the hire car I did a couple of short trips out of Dublin firstly to Glendalough a beautiful National park. I headed there quite late in the day after picking up the car and encountered my first frustrations with google maps on my phone. Getting in and out of Dublin was frequently fraught with wrong turns and uturns as either streets weren’t  adequately labelled or I wouldnt see where to turn before I’d  go past it! Negotiating unfamiliar roads was often very challenging but it was all part of the adventure!

My trip to Newgrange Neolithic site the next day was awesome! I felt there to be something very special about the place as soon as I arrived there. I had every intention of soaking in the atmosphere pensively and maybe do some drawing but none of that happened because I met a lovely Irish woman and we began chatting on the shuttle bus out to the site and didnt stop talking for the next 3 hours!

This was to be a common occurance on my road trip. Any intentions I had to spend time alone writing my blog or drawing at my various stops did not materialise as I  often ended up in a conversation with someone! Pubs were the most notorious place for this to occur. Well used to eating alone by now, I would sit down in a corner, order my meal, get out my Tablet to do some writing and be waylaid by a friendly waiter or waitress asking where I was from. As soon as I said Australia they would have some story to share of a friend or relative who lived in Australia or how they’ve  always wanted to visit there or had been there. Several times I  would be ready to leave and some people would sit down at the table next to me and a conversation would start.

One night in Galway two guys came and sat next to my table as I was about to leave and we struck up a conversation. They had just had a swim in the bay (it was night and about 5°!) and were bragging how brilliant it had been! Next thing they are buying me a drink and we are yarning for the next hour. Again they both had connections to Australia and wanted to share about their  time there. These guys were very funny and we laughed a lot! It really isn’t a cliche about the Irish being funny. I found most I met to have a wicked sense of humour and loved to joke with you.

Another time at a pub in Killarney I was about to get up to leave and a group of 4 American tourists sat down and insisted I join them for a chat. They were delightful and we found much in common. That night was quite an adventure for me as when I headed out of the city back  to my B&B in Beaufort about 15 kms out of Killarney, I struck a fog so thick I couldn’t  drive more than 40kmph. As if that wasn’t adventure enough, driving unfamiliar roads in the fog, my phone was out of charge and I’d left the charger for the car in my room,  so I couldnt use google maps to get me home!  What would normally be a 15 minute drive turned into an hour as I crawled around in the fog trying to find my way back looking for any familiar landmarks! The irony about all of this was that I had bought another charger for my phone that day so I  could leave one in the car charger all the time and have one for inside at night. I completely forgot that it was sitting in a bag on the back seat and I could have used it that night!! 😝

The adventure continued the next day when I discovered that my wallet wasn’t in my handbag! I realised I’d probably left it in the pub and that it had probably slipped down  beside my seat which was against a wall. My airbnb host Bernie rang the pub for me and asked for it and then drove me in to collect it. The owner of the pub was behind the bar talking with a mate when I came in and asked him for my wallet. He was a real joker and asked me all sorts of stupid questions to prove to him that I was me and the rightful owner of the purse. His friend joined in the banter and they were having a right ol lend of me! The owner eventually handed my purse over and asked for a kiss in return! And then so did his mate! These Irish men are very cheeky and flirty but also very charming! Might have obliged if they had been young and good looking but they were old and balding! 😆

I have to also say that all of my B&B hosts were fantastic. Always welcoming, friendly and helpful, it added so much to my experience to be cared for in this way. Bernie in Beaufort was the stand out tho. I felt very much at home in her place and was treated like family. We had many a good chat over breakfast or at night in front of the fire after I’d come in from my day’s excursions. The first night I arrived it was late and she insisted on feeding me a bowl of soup so I  wouldn’t have to go out again for dinner. My last night there she also insisted I have dinner with them and made me a traditional Irish dish of Bacon and cabbage – sounds awful but was actually delicious! She didn’t  charge me any extra for these meals either.

There is so much more I could tell about Ireland but this blog is already over the word limit! I have fallen in love with Ireland and I could’ve so happily continued my travelling around the beautiful Emerald isle but I guess I had to leave some for next time….😉

I  am leaving to go home soon but I am taking with me so many lovely and precious memories from this amazing trip. I feel truly grateful for each and every experience I have had and for each and every person I have met. I am blessed to have such good and treasured friends here in London and Vienna. They are both my home away from home and it is a great comfort to me to be able to start and end my travels in the embrace of my London “family.”

I hope to continue this blog once I am back in Australia and I thank you all for reading it and sharing in my adventures and stories