Travels in Ireland and London

Michelle and I landed in London over a week ago, on Saturday morning.  Though the seats on Virgin were smaller than the seats I remember on Delta a year and a half ago, lack of sleep, earplugs (provided in the complimentary Virgin gift pack), and a sleep mask (ditto) let me get a full four-or-so hours of sleep.

Since then, we've flown to Dublin, where we rented a car and spent a couple hours learning, the hard way, how to drive on the lefthand side of the road and negotiate the dreaded European roundabout.  A few hours later we made it to the beautiful seaside town of Westport.  Here we found the first and nicest of the many B&Bs we would stay at over the next week.  After a visit to Matt Molloy's (a member of the Irish band The Chieftains) Pub, we split a doner kabob and chips and then headed for a younger pub where we played cards and watched the locals.

The next day we headed down to the Ailwee cave and through The Burren -- beautiful and remote.

Then on to Galway, where we had the best (and least Irish; coincidence?) meal of the trip near the Spanish Arch.

I should mention the Irish Breakfast, the source of much discussion among health-conscious travelers: Every B&B serves, for the 2nd "B", an egg or two and a variety of fried pork products piled on the plate.  To soak up the extra grease, some non-Atkins-approved bread is served with butter and jam.  On the bright side, that's enough calories to get you through the entire day.

At dinner, we sat next to John Montague and his wife -- on a book-signing tour for his latest poetry collection -- who recommended the Dingle Peninsula as a smaller, more beautiful version of the Ring of Kerry.  So, after Galway, we headed there, cycled around, explored the remote grassy peninsula and beaches, and had a nice lunch overlooking the ocean and some of the ancient beehinve fortresses.

We considered spending the night in this nice little town but decided instead to press on to touristy Killarney.  While the town itself isn't very special, we took a spectacular, 34 mile bike ride around the lakes and through the Gap of Dunloe.  While a pain in the ass (literally), it has probably been the high point of the trip so far.  You'll see when I post the pictures...

Next morning we decided to try to get halfway to Dublin, so we went to Kilkenny, which the friendly woman who ran the B&B in Killarney had recommended.  Turned out not to be quite all it was cracked up to be, but the Butler Castle tour was neat.

Yesterday we drove in to Dublin, dropped off the car, and made our way to our first and last hostel of the trip.  We've sort of been collecting ourselves, doing laundry, shopping, sending postcards, and looking for good nightclubs for the last 24 hours.  Tonight: the famous Wagamama restaurant and more nightclubs, no doubt.

Tomorrow we fly to London and catch the chunnel train to Paris, where we can hopefully settle down in one room (with its own bathroom) for a few days before the wedding on Saturday.