Transcript and Bulletin.
While you might not remember how to pronounce it, you probably do remember what havoc the Iceland volcano named Eyjafjallajökull created in the early spring of 2010. Gerry and I were scheduled to visit my youngest daughter who was living in Dublin, Ireland completing a graduate degree. Nasty volcanic ash spewed forth from Eyjafjallajökull and cancelled our trip. Chaos ensued for the entire week when our plans for a lovely Irish vacation were finally permanently shelved. Gerry’s disappointment was further complicated by my sadness that I wouldn’t be seeing my daughter who had left the previous fall for Dublin.
In 1983 I was lucky enough to live
in Ireland for one full calendar year. My now-ex-husband and one-year old
daughter and I arrived in the southern city of Cork just after Christmas in
1982. During our year, we spent many weekends driving back roads and touring practically
every village, castle and sacred spot across the Republic. Our youngest
daughter, Ciara, was born that summer in Cork which is the second largest city
in Ireland with a population just over 125,000.
Our small family lived in the tiny
village of Glounthaune, 7 kilometers east of Cork at the estuary of the River
Lee. Not all houses in Ireland are named, of course, and not all years are
spent magically, but ours was. Our rented home was surrounded by high stone
walls. Near the wooden door opening to the entry was a plaque with the simple
name: The Garden House. Our home was situated along a winding road leading
north and overlooked an 18th century country house hotel and the
Cork Harbour beyond.
We left Ireland just before the
next Christmas to return to the United States, as was planned. What I hadn’t
planned was my profound sadness leaving what had become a home in my heart.
I’ve returned as a tourist to
Ireland twice since 1984. I took my daughters back to celebrate Ciara’s 10th
birthday. I visited again in 2004 before I met my husband Gerry. After our
marriage in 2007, I wanted to share some of my favorite places, moments and
memories with Gerry. In April 2010, Eyjafjallajökull foiled those plans and
many others. The weddings of all four of our children and the births of our six
youngest grandchildren have kept us from remaking plans since to travel to
Ireland.
My Christmas gift for Gerry this
year was to surprise him with a long-awaited trip. Given the busy-ness of our
lives, I’ve planned only five days and nights away. Norwegian Airlines recently
added direct flights from Providence to Cork. We’ll depart on an overnight
Monday flight – a perfect idea for a short vacation and arrive before
breakfast. Our Saturday return, given the time change, gets us back home early
in the evening.
Making air reservations is only
the first step in travel. On a short trip, there is not the luxury of whiling
away any time. Rambling and exploring have to be left for those fanciful and
extravagant trips of more than a few weeks. That’s why I need to explore the
travel guides well in advance of our trip planning an itinerary that will make
the most of our five days. I’ve learned that driving around looking for
overnight accommodations is never a good plan and advance reservations for
convenient, centrally-located hotels and inns are next on my list.
This first visit will include arrival
and departure from Cork, travel to Killarney to the west, to Kilkenny midway to
Dublin, and to Dublin on the east coast. We learned the hard way on a trip to
Italy a few years ago that a good up-to-date map is a must. Relying on Google
maps can use up an entire allotment of data and can end up being a very
expensive mistake. Cell service is often spotty in the least expected places,
road blocks and detours can become hellish diversions to nowhere, and wrong
turns waste an extraordinary amount of time. For that reason, I’ve invested in
a recent edition of a Collins Roadmap of Ireland even though there are maps
provided in any reputable guidebook. This way we can fold it this way and that
and forget about having to replace a guidebook when we want to return it to the
library.
Fodor’s Essential Ireland is
published annually and I’ll be using it to search for up-to-date information on
hotels in Killarney, Kilkenny and Dublin. While the Internet is a terrific
resource, I want the straight-talk from locals and professionals before booking
online. I’ll take a look at Frommer’s Ireland, Rick Steve’s Best of Ireland,
and Lonely Planet Ireland which are all terrific overviews. Along with my own
knowledge, the guidebooks will remind me of the best sites in the towns and
cities we will visit. Both Lonely Planet and Frommer’s are also available on
Hoopla, the library’s streaming and downloading service.
I’ll plan two nights in Dublin –
feasting on the city where over half of Ireland’s population lives. Trips to
the Guinness Brewery and Jameson Distillery are top on Gerry’s list and I’ll
order advance tickets that I’m sure to read about in the guidebooks. We always
take in a bus tour of every city we visit – we find it gives our feet a rest
and the added audio or personal commentary is helpful.
I’ll have
to be very careful choosing just the right places during our Dublin visit and
so first I’ll consult 20 Things to Do in Dublin Before You Go for a Feckin’
Pint by Colin Murphy and Donal O’Dea!
Next I’ll read both 111 Places in Dublin that You Shouldn’t Miss by
Frank McNally and Secret Dublin: An Unusual Guide by Pól Ó Conghaile.
There are so many regions of
Ireland that are distinct – from western Cork to Galway and Sligo just south of
the Northern Ireland border to the mountains south of Dublin where St. Kevin’s
tower nestles in Glendalough. We’ll have to save those for another trip which
I’m sure will happen once Gerry has his first taste of Ireland. That’s when
we’ll take Scenic Walks in Killarney by Jim Ryan and Dublin Strolls: Exploring
Dublin’s Architectural Treasures by Gregory and Audrey Bracken.
