e May 26th, 2010
Ive always believed the best way to see a country is to get off the beaten track, so I hired a car in Ireland for two weeks.
Can I just say, two weeks really isnt enough. I focussed on two main counties, and I still didnt see it all.
Elizabeth-Mango came along until we reached Cork, and off we set, with a little bit of food and no fixed plan!
The first day was a bit of a rush as we had a late pickup for the car and wanted to get as close to Cork as possible before it got dark. We did stop, and Im sad we didnt manage to stop in Wicklow National Park, because it looked amazing. Can I just say though, that the speed that people drive here is INSANE! Not to mention the roads are so very narrow!
We did stop a little bit, and I *think* this was Waterford… I cant remember (bad traveller).
We arrive in Tramore which is just south of Waterford at night, settled in and then went for a little drive. First stop to get some food, and I found THIS, which make me giggle:
Its not often you find part of your name on a soup tin! 
Then we wandered down to the ocean and it was blowing a gale! Plus it was realllllly cold. Yes, I was still wearing a pair of my warmest thermals under my pants, plus two shirts, a scarf, gloves and my puffy down jacket.
However, it was worth it.
When we woke up the next day, it was bright and sunny and whilst not exactly warm, it was an amazingly clear day.
After seeing the above picture, this is what it looked like the next day
This guy was doing exactly what I wanted to!
However, we still had to get to Cork, so off we trundled. The countryside is lovely, although not as green as I expected. I was later told this is because they had quite a dark winter and the morning frosts have burnt a lot of the grass. It will be interesting to go back later on and see the difference.
We stopped off in Waterford, where I got completely lost and a little freaked out by all the one way roads and intersections with five roads converging, so I got out of there as quickly as possible. Not, however before I spotted this amazing building. Its actually quite a nice town/city, especially the river frontage. Its does get a little more rough as you go out though.
We soon got back onto the road to Cork however, before I insisted on getting off the main road to have a looksy at the countryside.
To my defense, I didnt realise Ireland had mountains. Hills, yes. But not mountains. Its so lovely here. It really is lovely countryside, but much nicer to see it without speeding down the motorway at 100+km/ph
All I could see of this house was the roof. I found it quite funny… dont know why 
Did I mention the small narrow roads? Well this is a typical Irish country road
Whilst it wasnt really green, there was still plenty of colours
Have I mentioned yet how much I LOVE my camera gear? At this point, I was trying to still work out the best techniques for working with them, but I love them… *happy sigh*
And some green in the hedgerow
And just to prove it really was that sunny in Ireland (if you cant already tell by the light in the previous pictures)
There are so many old buildings here. I LOVE stone work, stone buildings etc… so hence why you will see a lot of stone work images on this blog whilst Im away!
And I thought this looked rather idealic… cant decide which version I prefer though… any thoughts?
After being stern with myself, we eventually made it to Cork and found our hostel.
Our host was hilarious, and the breakfast was pretty good for a hostel. Unfortunately, we were put on the TOP floor! Not nice. Cork itself is quite small although I must admit that I did not do much sightseeing, and you will find out why soon. Although, there are a few images from my stay there.
Colourful houses, in progressive shades of blue:
And the things you notice… well.. that I notice… the gravel on the road has PINK stones in it!!
A group of 4 of us went out to dinner – another Perth girl, Eliza-Mango and her friend who lives in Cork, and myself. Ive found though that Cork tends to be smaller and cleaner than what I saw in Waterford and Dublin, but the people are no less friendly.
What I DIDNT realise was that Cork is where the Blarney stone is located. I know! I didnt do my research and I didnt go… not that I wouldve kissed it, but it would be interesting to go for another trip.
It wasnt a greatly eventual trip – driving down motorways generally arent! But it was the start of my trip and there shall be more!
Tags: Cork, dublin, mountains, Tramore, Waterford
maid⋅en [meyd-n]
I loved the patterns in the walls
and the moss on the walls (yes, you will see lots of moss! It intrigues me since I come from such a hot climate!)
We also drove out to Crookhaven, and had the BEST Seafood Chowder, with Irish Brown/Soda bread of course! Have I mentioned yet that Im addicted to it?
), and came running up to investigate. By that time, I was back on the road, and should have been safe, but whilst the oldest dog couldnt be bothered and really just wanted to be in front of the fire; and the middle dog stopped at the border of the property, the youngest dog went for me and only my speed of jumping back into the car saved me. Im sure it looked very funny, but it scared the life out of me…..
And it had a very cute little church on top of the hill overlooking this bay – but the way to the church was thru this stone tunnel!
