Towns and Tunnels (08.19.12)

08.19.12

Today we had an early start, the only family awake grabbing a buffet breakfast at the Dunmore before leaving. We headed a short distance before reaching the shore, where we took a short ferry across to Waterford, saving us possibly at least an hour's worth of travel.

 I dozed for most of the morning in the car, the highway roads seeming more uneventful compared to the windy country ones. Though I normally don't tire in the car, I had stayed up late just last night and felt the need to rest. We stopped maybe once or twice to see small seaport towns boasting old boats on a low tide.

When midday hit, we veered into the country once more, cutting across vast hills of farmland towards the coast. I woke up to see more cows and sheep, as well as the passage through several small towns.

We stopped for lunch about an hour later in a small town named Bantry, which was colorfully painted and reminded me of Italy. We had a small lunch at O'Connors before moving on.

Taking a detour on a windy road, we discussed the anniversary of the killing of Michael Collins, an idolized figure who was shot in a fight in 1922. The story was a hard one to get straight for those like me who don't understand too much of Ireland's history, but one tiny town we passed was just full of police and military, forcing us to take another route. They had blocked off a few streets in preparation of the Prime Minister's arrival for a speech.

Moving up into the mountains rather rapidly, the fog joined us during our drive. We quickly moved into the remote areas of Kerry, and found ourselves stopping every 5 feet for romantic foggy views of the valleys below. Eric told us that matchmakers still exist in these parts, for all the farmers who live behind the times, and don't have the time to meet people other than their small-town pub culture.

We arrived early in the town Kenmare, which is where we are staying for two nights. The buildings here too are painted many colors, with flags hanging all down the main drag. It certainly is cheerful, and makes me wish places back home did this. Eric says if they didn't the weather would get everyone even more down - and I can totally understand that. After booking into the hotel (with great views), we grabbed umbrellas and went to go browse menus. We also stopped in a local lace shop, called "The White Room," which promptly made me think of Cream, but was also the cutest store ever. Laid out with antique furnishings all in distressed white, we browsed lace and linen in the form of shawls, nightgowns, hankies, and table cloths. This was by far my favorite town in Ireland.

After picking the local restaurant "The Wild Garlic", we went back to the hotel to change and chill before dinner a walk away from our rooms. It was nice not to take the car for a change. I had a delicious Bruschetta appetizer, which was almost like pizza with melted cheese topped in tomatoes, complimented by penne pasta with parmesan and no sauce - a little oldschool for me now (but certainly brings back picky memories).

After a night out to eat, we bar hopped to a few local places with Eric and his friend John, a local bar owner. We heard some music and hung out, and I had my few glasses of Smithwicks (which we all pronounce "Smitticks" if you were wondering), as well as tried a glass of Guinness, which wasn't as bad as I had expected. I didn't have much, and I probably wouldn't be able to finish a full pint or near, but it was just fine. I have yet to try some Ciders as well as Murphy's, which a friend recommended, so I hope to do that in the coming evenings. We listened to some music in the second bar, though the singer was playing songs familiar to us, even things like Train. We hope to go out and here some authentic Irish music tonight, since Sunday night seemed to be without music in most bars.