Waterford, Lismore Castle, Killarney and our Hertz Rental

Afternoon to all

                             Today we are going to talk about Waterford, Lismore Castle, the great town of Killarney and our not so great Hertz rental.
We spent only one night in Cork so we can't say much about it except the hotel was nice and of course all our meals were good. We had to back track to Waterford as Caren wanted to see the Waterford Crystal Showroom. Sadly when we got there we found the location only to find it had closed a few months earlier. We did some investigating about town and found out what was the status of Waterford Crystal. Good news they were opening a new show room in Waterford with this past June as the target date. They will continue to make Waterford Crystal in Ireland, however it is now going to be made in other countries as well. We did find a number of pieces in the town of Waterford but it was going fast as people wanted Irish pieces. I would be careful when buying Waterford Crystal if you want only Irish pieces as very little will be produced in Ireland now. News flash for collectors of Royal Daulton and Wedgewood China, looks like the same fate is in store for them. I would snatch those up before those are gone as well.
As for the town of Waterford its main appeal was the Waterford Crystal Factory and I am afraid without that, the towns future is not good.
One of my missions while in Ireland was to find the fast found place called Eddie Rockets. It is similar to  Johnny Rockets in the USA . The food was really good and we found it to be a fun place to eat and one was in Waterford.
We left Waterford with our destination being the town of Killarney. On our way there we stopped in the little town of Lismore and Lismore Castle. It was late in the day so we only got to see this beautiful castle from the outside. The castle is available for rent and has an art gallery and a garden. Caren and I took the view in for awhile and since it would be dark soon figured we better be on our way. That was what we thought any way as the Kia Sportage would not start. After several attempts to start it we realized we were not going any where. The starter was shot. Bad news was we were on a road not traveled on by many and the few who did just drove by. Good news was we had a GSM cell phone we bought for the trip in case an emergency arose. Guess this was a good thing as this was an emergency. (you think!)
Well we called Hertz and were told they would bring another vehicle for us. We told them where we were and they said they knew the area. The rep from Hertz said he would call back with an estimated time of arrival. We ended up calling them after a bit of time went by without a call. The rep said the vehicle would be coming from Shannon Airport on a flatbed truck. The rep said the vehicle would arrive in hour. An hour and a half later we called them again to see where the vehicle was. Told that it took awhile to get a replacement SUV as there were not many available. We were told by Hertz that it would be arriving in 30 minutes. Well another 45 minutes passed and still no vehicle. We were able to track down the guy who waited on us at the airport and voiced our displeasure on how this was being handled. He told us what another fellow told us and that it took longer to get a replacement vehicle and that Shannon was a bit of a drive. Well after over a 3 hour wait the Flatbed truck arrived with our replacement vehicle. We were not very happy to hear that the replacement came from Cork which was about an hour away and not Shannon Airport as we were told. Good news was the replacement vehicle was a Land Rover and it had every feature you could think of. The driver showed us how to start it and that was it. Service oriented this company is not. Meant to mention a nice feature of a rental is they give you is a portable GPS unit. It did come in handy on the many back roads we were to travel. Only complaint on the unit was it at times was a little late telling you when to turn. Some how we ended up on a dirt road in the dark. This road was for two way traffic, however it was barley wide enough for the Land Rover as it is a bit wide for the dirt roads in Ireland. Happy to report we made it to a paved road five miles later without meeting any traffic going the other way. On this trip we ended up on a dirt road a few times, still not sure how it happened but it did. Caren showed white knuckles a few times because of that. We arrived in Killarney very late that night and we were had a few moments of excitement trying to get into the hotels underground parking. Again the SUV had pros and cons, this was one of the cons as the parking garages in Ireland are hard to maneuver a SUV. Please enjoy the photos below and I will talk with you again tomorrow.

This is Eddie Rockets in Waterford and is located just down the road from where the Waterford Crystal factory was.

This is Lismore Castle in all its beauty. We got to spend a few hours taking in the view.

This is part of the interior of the Killarney Plaza Hotel. I highly suggest a night or two there, money well spent.

Thats it for today and I will talk tomorrow.

Cheers,
Charlie Cotter

National Stud Farm, Rock of Cashel and Cork

Top of the morning to all

                                    Today we will talk about the National Stud Farm, The Rock of Cashel and the city of Cork.
We started our third day in Dublin with another great Irish breakfast at the Davenport Hotel in Merrion Square which was a wonderful hotel. All our hotels were at least 4 stars and the best was yet to come. Our favorite taxi driver David met us at the hotel at 9 am to take us back to the airport to get our car rental. He drove us back a different way so we could see parts of the city we missed. One area was "An Tur Solais" or "The Spire of Light" in English, located on O'Connell St in Dublin. For 158 years the 134 foot Monument of Admiral Nelson stood there until the IRA blew it up in 1966. The Spire of Light is the worlds tallest sculpture at over 393 feet high and over 9 feet wide.
When we got to the airport we said our goodbyes to David and went to Hertz to pick up our rental. When the fellow at the rental desk saw the number of bags we had he suggested an SUV instead of an economy car. Just a note, I had only one suitcase need I say more.We ended up with a KIA Sportage SUV which at first I was not too thrilled about because most roads in Ireland are narrow. I drove many years earlier on the roads in Scotland so I knew what to expect. Will say though we found the main highways wide and there was alot of roads being improved there. My biggest fear was forgetting at some point that I needed to stay on the left side of the road and to go to the left when traveling around the round abouts which were more common then traffic lights at an intersection. That first day I did make a few mistakes driving and one did include going to the right on a round about. By the end of the day I had my driving under control.
Our first stop was to get something to eat at Kildare Village Outlets near the town of Kildare which is southwest of Dublin. We ate at an Italian restaurant called L'Officina whose menu consisted mostly lite fare. We found the food quite good  and as I said before we never had a bad meal the whole trip. After lunch we went to the National Stud Farm as this was one of the places Caren wanted to go to. Horse racing is big in Ireland and so is the breeding of horses. The National Stud Farm is one of the largest and few that allow the public to roam the farm. One of the many reasons we picked May was that was a good time to see foals that recently had been born. We had a very pleasant and relaxing afternoon there. I have a suggestion that you get there early enough in the day so you can also go into the town of Kildare to see one of the many round towers in Ireland. What is different about this tower is you can climb the steps up to the top. Sadly we never got to do this. After we left the farm we continued south until we came upon the The Rock of Cashel. I believe Ireland has about 345 Castles in all shapes, sizes and in varying conditions. This is one well worth seeing. I should mention that before embarking for your trip to Ireland you should spend a bit of time walking when ever you can. You want to build up your stamina to walk and climb hills and stairs.
From the Rock of Cashel we headed for our stay at The River Lee Hotel in Cork. We parked our vehicle for the night at the hotel and took a taxi to another great restaurant for dinner. We chose a taxi since they knew the best places to eat and how to get there. The restaurants in the hotels we stayed had restaurants but we wanted to venture out for lunch and dinner since we ate our breakfasts in the hotel.
Hope you enjoy the photos below.

 The skeleton of the horse is Arkle one of the greatest Steeplchase horse ever. He ran 12 of his races as the top horse in weight and won nine of them. He won one race where he ran through the hurdle fence and still won the race by thirty lengths. Sadly he developed arthritis at the early age of 13 and was put down.

 This is The Black Abbey located on the National Stud Farm. You will find many Abbeys through out Ireland.

This is Greys Abbey which was located in back of the Italian restaurant L'Officina in Kildare Village Outlets.

This is the Rock of Cashel

A view of Hore Abbey from the Rock of Cashel

Greenes Restaurant in Cork, if you like French cuisine this is a great place to eat. You don't see it but there is a stone waterfall in the front of the restaurant that we could see from our table.

View of Cork from the glass elevator in our hotel The River Lee in Cork.

Thats all for today, tomorrow we back track to Waterford where they make Waterford Crystal and we will work our way to Killarney.

Cheers,
Charlie Cotter

Dublin part 2

Evening to one and all

                                Part of our package through CIE included a really big Irish breakfast each day.  A traditional Irish breakfast consisted of Eggs, Bangers (sausage), Rashers (bacon), potatoes, toast, blood pudding and juice. That in itself  is plenty to eat. What we found each day was the above mentioned items along with Irish yogurt, pancakes, cereal, fresh fruit, bagels, milk, and a variety of juices. And it was all you could eat! One thing I found there in the Emerald Isle was they gave you plenty to eat.

 We went to St Stephens Green located at the end of Grafton Street in the shopping district. It is the largest park in Dublin and one the most beautiful parks you will see.
When you stroll down Grafton Street you will find many shops offering a wide variety of foods and trinkets to take home. If you like Waterford Crystal or Beleek China then you want to go to 38 Nassau Street just a couple of blocks away to the House of Ireland. You will find the staff helpful and always with a smile. In fact just about everyone in Ireland will greet you with a smile.
 
Another part of Dublin is the Temple Bar district where you will find song, dance and drink. There is even a Pub called The Temple Bar. One place we went to there is a Pub called Gogartys and it is well worth going to. We did not eat there but those who did said the food was good. We listened to a local group sing and play their instruments. I ended up singing with a group of English fellows who were in Dublin for their friends stag party. Turns out that alot of Guys go to Dublin for such an event as the Irish are more forgiving of their behavior than their fellow Englishmen. In fact the women in England do the same thing, come to Ireland for a weekend of fun before they tie the knot. I saw one group wearing sailor hats, one group wearing sashes and many other groups wearing something which identified them as being with a particular group. So if you like an entertaining evening you will find it in the Temple Bar district.

Something else we discovered in Dublin, all taxi drivers are wannabe stand up comedians. Sorry to say I don't remember their jokes but I do remember laughing.

Another spot to visit is the Guiness Brewery in Dublin. You will find it interesting if you like beer, if not pass on it. I do have to admit the beer there was really good and the view from the top of the Brewery was great.

Well that is it for today, please enjoy the pictures below and see you tomorrow.

This is part of the Temple Bar district.

This is a section of St Stephens Green.

Some of the local music at Gogartys in the Temple Bar

The Ha penny bridge near Temple Bar

Sample of the deserts you will find in Ireland.


Have a great evening,

Charlie Cotter

Dublin, Food, Drink, vat and the Euro

Today We will talk about Dublin as it has much to offer any traveler. Whether you like to shop, eat, party, sight see or just relax Dublin offers it all. Our taxi driver David told us about Bewleys for a good breakfast since that was Carens desire when we first arrived that Friday morning. It is located at 78 Grafton St in the heart of the shopping district. It is casual fare and you will mostly a young crowd from Trinity University down the street. Food was good and reasonably priced. Now when I say reasonably priced, I mean for Ireland. They use Euros there and when you figure what the cost is in US dollars you may be in for a surprise. Though Ireland has had its economy hurting like the rest of Europe, two areas where there has been no change in cost, is the drink and food. A pint of beer can cost 6 or 7 US dollars and a meal at a decent restaurant can cost about 40 US dollars or more per person. An 8 oz bottle of coke will usually cost about 4 US dollars. The exchange rate was about $1.35 per Euro. Best to purchase Euros at the Airport you depart from as they will give you about the best exchange rate available. Use either cash or credit card to make the purchase of Euros. If you use a credit card make sure you tell them you want the purchase of Euros charged as Euros not US dollars. If you do it as a dollar purchase there will be additional fees. Keep this in mind with any credit card purchases over there. There is also a VAT tax over there (value added tax) on purchases made. The tax is 21%, you heard right 21%. Good news is you get that back when you leave. Make sure the place of business where you make your purchase will give you a VAT form that you can turn in at the airport. There are 2 locations for refunds. One for purchases made in cash and one for credit card purchases. You can ask someone at the airport for there location. Credit back to your credit card can take a few weeks so be aware.

Back to food and drink in Ireland. You will find a pub can offer the most bang for your buck or Euro. We were in Ireland for 13 days and never had a bad meal. Ireland offers more than just meat and potatoes these days.You can still get a great meat and potatoes meal if that is what you want.

This is the Blarney Inn Hotel just a few blocks from Trinity College.

This is one of those meat and potatoes meals you can get from the Blarney Inn Hotel. The cost about $13.00 US dollars. It was so good and the entertainment was free.

These guys were friendly and good musicians. Think they started about 9PM

She was one of two dancers who showed up later and did traditional Irish dancing. At one point she managed to get me and a few other people up to dance with her. Had enough beer in me I did not mind to look foolish.

This is Trinity College were students from around the world come to study. It is also the site of the Ancient Book of Kells which contains 4 gospels of the New Testament in Latin written around 800 AD by Celtic Monks.

This Christs Church or more formally known as The Cathedral of The Holy Trinity. It is located in the former heart of Medieval Dublin. The history on it is long but worth reading. The Church has been used for filming the Showtime mini series The Tudors.

This is a view from the top of the observation deck at the Guiness Brewery. Best Guiness I ever tasted.

Well that does it for today. I will check in again tomorrow with more on our trip. Hope this has been of help, and again if there are any questions let us know.


Cheers,
Charlie Cotter

Travel Insurance and Going through customs and the airport.

Afternoon

Hope todays post finds everyone well. Please pardon me for yesterdays post I gave it the same title as the first post and that being Murphys Irish Law when it should have been Travel Insurance. Please when you get a chance read it. Think the information provided can be of help in saving you time, money and heartache.

Today we will talk about going through customs at your port of entry which will be either Dublin or Shannon if you travel by air. I want first to touch base on leaving the USA and going through security checkpoints at the airport. When you travel to Ireland there is  prescreening done with US Customs before you board your flight so have your passport ready. Once you enter the prescreening room you are not allowed to leave the area. There are restrooms but no place to get a bite to eat. Most of you are probably aware of what you can carry on the plane these days, however if not you can go to the website of the airline you are flying for that information. Be aware most airlines allow one small carry on. Do not be surprised if the airline you fly greets you at the planes door and makes you check your bag onto luggage. When we boarded our flight with Continental we were told there was no more room for carry on bags and we had to check our carry on bags. Well when we got on the plane there were overhead bins available and when we questioned why we were lied to and had to check our bags the Flight Attendant played dumb. Another issue with checking in for your flight, do so early. They tend to over book the flight and they ask someone to take the next flight. If no one volunteers they choose someone to take the next flight. They will usually pick someone from among those who checked in last. 
When we arrived in Ireland we were pleased with the process to enter the country. Have your passport and a smile ready and answer a few questions and you will be on your way. Think the pre screen in the USA helped with this process. I would look into another airline other than Continental. We ran into some of the same issues on our return home.
I have added some photos of our trip for your viewing pleasure. Tomorrow we will start getting into the fun part of the trip.

The fellow on the left is David seen here with my better half Caren and that is David's taxi in the background. You can find him at the Dublin airport. His taxi was big enough for all our luggage and the two of us. Cost into Dublin is about 30 Euros and worth it. He pointed out a number of places to us and knows the area very well.

This was our Hotel in Dublin which the name escapes me at the moment. Promise to get that to you. It is only few blocks from The University and the main shopping district. The picture blow is Caren at O'Donohues in Dublin. It is located in the shopping district only a few blocks from our hotel. Well that is it for today. Take care and I will add more photos and tips each day.

Cheers,
Charlie Cotter

PS Please forgive my grammar and spelling, never claimed to be an English Major.

CIE, Travel Insurance

Good Evening


Sorry I was unable to get to write earlier today. About the planning of the trip. We had spent a number of months looking over what the different travel agencies had to offer. We did this looking through magazines and online. After many hours of research we decided on CIE. They at the time had the best packages to offer and have been in the business a number of years. While in Ireland we met many travel groups and couples who had chosen CIE and all were very happy with their choice. A word to the wise though, do not buy travel insurance from them or any travel agency. We bought it and had our trip delayed because of the volcano in Iceland this past May and we were not covered by the insurance. They said the Volcano was act of God and is not covered. We also found out that you pretty much have to be on your death bed to have the insurance cover you. On top of that there is a good size deductible if they do pay. CIE did allow us to set a new date for a fee which was about what the insurance cost us. So unless the insurance covers you when there is a delay for any reason it is a poor buy. I would ask the travel agency what happens if your trip is delayed for any reason and you have no insurance, what would be the additional cost to set a new travel date. Hope this saves you some time and money. Have a great evening and will blog again tomorrow afternoon.

Cheers,
Charlie Cotter

Murphys Irish Law

Top of the Morning to you. This my first attempt to ever blog so please bear with me. My mate and I returned from a wonderful trip to Ireland and wish to share the trip with you. I know others have done so but we wish to also give you information that can be of help on where to stay, eat, what to see and what and who to avoid.
We will add pictures, names and what ever else we can think of in the hope that it will make your trip to the Emerald Isle a great one.
I also ask for your help with suggestions that can make this blog as helpful as possible.


Cheers,

Charlie Cotter