POSTCARDS from TRAVELBLOGGER'S ***** vaca-SEAN / SABA-tical *****: 20060118

POSTCARDS FROM IRELAND
(November 2003)

POSTCARDS FROM THE LAND OF MY NAME

POSTCARD FROM AN AIRPORT IN IRELAND

It was my first time to fly on Aer Lingus. My seatmate for the entire 10 hour journey was an Irish Man with a clip-on tie, whose English sounded more like a foreign language. I found myself just nodding my head up and down to respond to whatever he was saying. It wouldn’t have made the slightest bit of a difference, if he spoke to me in Gaelic.Gaelic seems like a hard language to learn. It doesn’t sound like it spells.So don't expect me to whip up something witty in Gaelic anytime soon.Learning “Gaelic” while flying on “Aer Lingus”…hmmm... sounds like something you read in a dirty magazine or sex manual!...LOL.
The Irish people are very friendly. Unfortunately, I, initially, did not sense this basing on the flight crew, who seemed rather bland and impersonal in their delivery of service.
Immigration and Customs went smoothly. I didn’t get any hassles or random security checks. We flew in to Shannon via Dublin and out of Dublin on the way home. One thing I learned and discovered is that if you were planning to do a self-drive tour of Ireland, it is best to fly into Shannon. Shannon’s airport is more passenger-friendly and you avoid the traffic you inevitably will encounter in Dublin.

POSTCARD FROM ONE OF MY HOTEL ROOMS

Since I was a child, most of my travels were unaccompanied. Then for the past 8 years, they have been with my partner, Bill. This is my first time to travel without him and with a tour group. I am curious and excited about how this trip will go, since it involves fellow lovers of travel from different parts of the U.S.A. Some come from States I have never had the opportunity to visit. It is like a microcosm of American Society, a sort of Cast of a Reality TV Show Reunion. We're comprised of every status in life: single-engaged-married-separated-divorced-widowed-and not allowed to legally marry. The age range is so expansive, but everyone is still eligible for Santa Claus' 1 to 92 good boy & girl list. I'll make sure to get to know each fascinating one during this trip. So far, we are all getting along very well. Must be the alcohol...LOL.

POSTCARD FROM A TOUR BUS

Our familiarization tour is hosted by CIE Tours International. One great thing about organized travel is that I don't have to worry about reading my own research, carrying my luggage, checking in and out, organizing, planning, ordering, paying, driving, etc. We are blessed with a wonderful tour director/guide/driver. We just have to listen to all his wonderful stories, anecdotes, jokes, songs to get a feel of the country. Unfortunately, we only have a week, just enough to cover the SouthWest-South-SouthEast part of Ireland. Our road trip will take us to Shannon, Bunratty, Cliffs of Moher, Kilarney, Ring of Kerry, Muckross, Blarney, Cork, Cobh, Waterford, Kilkenny, Athy, and Dublin. It is a wonderful itinerary that will give us an inebriating taste of Ireland! Ireland, like New Zealand, is full of beautiful scenery and sheep are a-baaah-ndant! Shopping for wool, tweed, Waterford crystal, linen, ceramics, jewelry, liquor, etc. is bloody expensive! The U.S. dollar is weak compared to the Euro right now.

POSTCARD FROM A MEDIEVAL CASTLE

Ireland is full of Castles! On our first night, we were treated like Lords & Ladies at Bunratty Castle, with court servants/jesters/singers/dancers in full costume and regalia waiting hand & foot over a medieval banquet. I suddenly was reminded of my homeland’s people and food. The Irish are just like Filipinos. They love to talk, joke, sing, and dance. They are natural born entertainers. And the food is also greasy and salty…but still proved to be a sumptuous feast. You get the feeling that if you die of a heart attack or heartburn, you’ll at least go down with a smile on your face. "Now can someone hand me a fork instead of a dagger!"

POSTCARD FROM AN IRISH TAVERN

Every meal for the entire trip has been wonderful! We have had a lot of good lamb, beef, pork, salmon, vegetables, and potatoes and potatoes and potatoes and potatoes. No wonder they had the famine! They never learned how to plant rice! Don’t they know there is an Asian on this tour! I can only survive a week without rice! After that, they better give me a grain or two or they will have to ship me out in a box!...LOL

POSTCARD FROM AN IRISH PUB

Since I no longer drink coffee and alcohol, one would have thought that Ireland is the wrong place for me to be in. Well, when in Ireland, do as the Irish do...
I drank all the kinds of Irish beer they have, all the kinds of Irish whisky they have, all the Irish coffee they have, and all the Irish chocolate I could get my hands on. They are all sooooo good! Entertainment is usually typical beautiful traditional Irish music, played by a band with unique Irish instruments, and dancers that seem like they have to go potty...LOL. The Irish enjoy singing...It's surprising that the Karaoke-Sing-Along craze has not hit them...much to my dismay. At a piano bar in one of our hotels, a pianist who was singing U2 songs in a jazzy-blues style, asked me to sing John's "Imagine" with her. It was fun! I miss singing! So, after a one night of merriment at a bar, I sang a song for my drunken group mates in the bus on the way back to our hotel. Again the alcohol worked its magic...I could have sung off key and it wouldn't have mattered.

POSTCARD FROM THE COLD

When we landed in Shannon, it was raining! I couldn’t clearly videotape the first few sights that we saw due to the rain on the window of the bus. I really don’t like the rain, but I admit that it was a nice feeling to run in the rain, without an umbrella or raincoat, while running for cover towards a faintly lit castle.Well, it only rained on our first and last day. From Day 2 to Day 6, we were Irish-blessed with gorgeous delicious fabulous lovely bright clear days! It was not as cold as I was exaggeratedly forewarned. It was just an average of 50 degrees Fahrenheit. In fact, one late afternoon, we were given free time to shop in a little quaint Irish village. I decided to go to the hotel’s leisure center for a quick workout and swim. I finished early and decided I had a few more minutes to catch up with my group for some window-shopping, but had little time to get spruced up prior to our next engagement. I ran in the streets in my gym shorts. It surprisingly was bearable. People, who were naturally all covered up, kept staring at me like I was some kind of “stupid tourist”...LOL.