Ireland Tuesday July 31 - Tramore

I noticed I’ve been meandering, so I’m going to try a different layout on this. I’ll use these ratings to help me focus:

Stars:

* - Avoid

** - Approved

*** - Don’t miss

Finally we leave Dublin! Jet lag plus three days of almost exclusively traveling by foot had taken its toll so it was nice to know we’d be able to drive places and move about at our leisure.

We booked a cab in the morning from the hotel to Hertz for convenience sake and chatted with our cabby on the way over. He was a bit less talkative then the others but still gave us some good information on things to see around the areas we were heading.

South Street Hertz, Dublin - **

Hertz was really great to us. We were warned about the size of our car and even advised not to rent a GPS because we would “be able to buy two units” for the price of renting (note from later - we were able to skip the GPS all together. 70 euro back in our pockets!). We were asked if we wanted to upgrade to two drivers but decided to take the single driver to save another 108 euro.

The Nicest People You’ll Ever Meet

My first experience driving was interesting. We made a left out of Hertz just to get used to it and pretty soon were utterly lost. A lucky stumble across a gas station led me inside to ask for directions.

The attendant was explaining how to get to the N11 when out of nowhere the gentlemen behind me offered to show us to the highway. I jump in the car and next thing we know we’re tailing a perky stranger through the streets of Dublin.

Now, conventional wisdom states this is a good way to get robbed. I was on the lookout for weirdness and made sure that he was taking us back to the city center. At one long light he jumps out of his car and tells me he’ll pull over before he goes his own way. Hilarious, and very kind. We parted ways at the start of the N11 with high spirits.

Finding the path to Glenadalough was easy enough but I nearly slid into an old habit and left-turned into the right lane after a roundabout. I also clipped some roadside shrubbery. I assured Janet that we were just trying to help the tourism board save on hedge clipping, but she remained staunch in her belief that I was actively trying to take her out first.

Glendalough - ***

Glendalough was divided into two sections: The monastic settlement/graveyard (pictured top and left) and two hiking trails that lead up to a verdant lake area.

The hikes at Glendalough were beautiful beyond words. It was a fitting introduction to Ireland’s natural beauty and historic ruins. The hiking trails are well maintained and the little cafe at the second lot near the upper lake has warm drinks for the hike back to the monastic city and parking lot. Don’t miss out on the waterfall hike for some great pictures.

Fair warning, if you pee on Ireland, it will pee you back. I spent most of the second half of the hike in wet socks when I stomped into some mucky sod. Deserved it.

B and B Norlands, Tramore - **

Beautiful start for the B and B scene. Our host Nialls was welcoming and very charming. Every time we’d cross paths we’d have a nice long conversation about our itinerary and he had plenty of suggestions. The house was beautifully kept and the room was immaculate.

Tramore - **

The town of Tramore was beautiful. Built into the side of a mountain overlooking the ocean, the streets are charmingly bent and meandering. At the base they had a boardwalk park with a ferris wheel and plenty of activity.

Great Hotel - *

The food was delicious and if you sat in the right spot you got a wonderful view of the ocean from a high point in the town. Unfortunately we did not get one of those spots and the waiter was a bit too overwhelmed to properly help us, leading to a crappy experience.

On the way back to the B&B we stopped for a 99er then turned in for a lazy night.