August 21, 2010, Train to Cork, Ireland

We had to rise early this morning after a fitful night.  A comedy of sorts as we had requested a 5 AM wakeup call.  After staying up until after 11 and having difficulty falling asleep, the phone in our room rang.  Thinking it was 5 AM.  I got up and turned on the teapot and began to get ready when I looked at my watch and realized it was only 12:30.  I turned off the teapot and went back to bed.  I lay there worrying that the hotel wakeup system was wacky and wouldn’t ring us at 5, so I got up, found my iPhone, wrestled the new Sim card out of it (which won’t work because Apple won’t send me an unlock code), put in the original SIM card and was then able to set the alarm.  Feeling confident that we wouldn’t oversleep, I went back to bed.

John woke up just as I was dozing off, asking me what time it was.  In exasperation, I turned on the TV thinking something boring might lull me into sleep.  Almost asleep again, my cell phone then began to ring.  Not having heard it ring many times (it’s a new phone), I thought it was something on the TV when John said, “Why aren’t you answering that phone, Darlane?”   When I answered it, I heard my son Chris say, “Hey Mama.”  Of course my internal mother alarm went off when I heard his voice, afraid that something was wrong, but no, he just wanted to say hello as he had received a postcard from me from Canada. He didn’t realize I was in Ireland and there was a 5 hour time difference.   It was wonderful to hear his sweet voice and I was glad he rang.

After all of that, I had trouble getting back into a restful sleep, but the hotel wake up came at 5 AM and we made it to the train at 6:30.  Today is John’s birthday.  He’s 72 today and he’s wearing his California Surf Shop T-shirt, moving along like a much younger man!

We’ve been in Ireland now for a week and it’s been a pleasant time.  Everyone is so kindly interested in making sure we are comfortable.  The Irish are friendly people, and they look directly into your eyes – not too busy to answer a question or give directions, although I suspect a few of them of completely making up where a few things were located as we never did find the Sony store in Dublin, despite intricate directions given by several people.  No matter, we found a camera shop along the way that had what we needed.

The company that we decided to use for our tour of Ireland is called Railtours Ireland.  The guides all wear bright yellow jackets so they are easy to locate.  The company was started by an Irish man who loves trains and decided to coordinate the Irish rail system with already established coach tours to offer tourists a way to see more of Ireland.  The way this works is you book your tour, choosing just one day or multi-days, then everyone meets up at a designated time at the rail station of a major Irish city.  At this meeting,  the Railtour guides give out packets of information containing a written narrative about the places you’re visiting, your rail passes, and attraction tickets.  The group travels together all day, boarding a tour coach after the train.  The coaches are big tour buses that usually have both a driver and a guide.  The guide gives an ongoing talk as you travel through the countryside, interspersed with pleasant Irish music.  Visitors choosing multi-day tours are transported in the evenings to their hotels, and either picked up at the hotel in the mornings, or make a short walk to the rail station.  John and I are amazed at the coordination of the tour as it is all very relaxing and stress free.  We are staying in 3 or 4 star accommodations which are all very comfy.  In Ireland, air conditioning is not necessary, so none of the hotels have air-conditioning, and the windows have no screens, yet there are no problems with insects invading into the room.  This is very different from Georgia!

We are now on day four of our 9-day tour.  We left Dublin by train to Cork where we’ll get on a coach to Blarney Castle and then to the harbor of Cobh (pronounced Cove).

So far we’ve seen most of the east coast of Ireland.  The first day we traveled by rail from Dublin to Belfast, then took a coach to the Giant’s Causeway, which is a stunning coastline that has been made famous by tales of Fein MacCool.  Fein’s tales are similar to the Paul Bunyan stories we learn in America.  He’s a giant whose adventures include real locations along the Northern Irish coast.  The Causeway area is a hike through several  geologically interesting scenes where erosion has weathered the different kinds of rocks into astoundingly beautiful creations.   We had lunch at the Bushmill Whiskey Distillery.  I had yummy Irish stew.

We also stopped for a photo of Dunluce Castle.  This ruin dates back to the 1300s – 1500s is such a picturesque scene along the incredible ocean view.  One has to imagine what life must have been like living in those times.

The last stop of the day was at Carrick-a-rede, the famous rope bridge connecting the mainland to a little island called Sheep Island.  The scenery along the 2 mile hike to the bridge is amazing and the weather was so sunny and gorgeous!  The rope bridge had a 30 minute wait because so many people wanted to walk across it.  We finally got to it and it was pretty shaky.  As others walk on the bridge, it bounces slightly, so you feel unsteady as you make your way across.  The sea below and around the bridge is shallow, with beautiful green and blue rocks and water. 

The coach took us back to Belfast to the Europa Hotel for the night.  The Europa is a happening venue on a Saturday night with weddings and proms.  Everyone we encountered was dressed to the nines and had a drink in their hands, even on the elevators.   I wish I had taken photos of the women’s dresses and outfits!  People-watching heaven at the Europa on a Saturday evening!