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Ireland trip advice

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by three_bags_full, Jan 17, 2011.

  1. three_bags_full

    three_bags_full Well-Known Member

    Nice. Now we can add Donegal to the list of places to get your ass whipped.
     
  2. TwoGloves

    TwoGloves Well-Known Member

    My cousin drives a black taxi. He's a huge Ireland history buff. Former IRA big shot. Geez, wonder if it was him? My parents and sister were all born in Belfast and I've been there six times. I'd take a drive up the Coastal Route. Scenery is amazing. Giant's Causeway was a little overrated if you ask me but the Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge (http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/2670547) was pretty cool although it was perhaps the scariest 30 seconds of my life. Glens of Antrim are part of the Coastal Route and are very scenic. On the Coastal Route, you'll also pass the Old Bushmills Distillery, which is believed to be the oldest licensed distillery in the world. Downtown Belfast is a must if only to walk around. Tons of cool shops. Drive up the Falls Road and the Shankle Road in Belfast. One is all Catholic, other all Protestant. Northern Ireland is much more scenic than the south. And if you have a sweet tooth, try some wine gums. Best candy ever.
     
  3. holy bull

    holy bull Active Member

    All I can tell you for now is that his name was Paddy and we got his card in the hotel lobby. I know my sisters can supply the name of the hotel, since I, Mr. Journalist, didn't keep track of this stuff. He showed us a rubber bullet, and I asked him how he came to possess it. He said he picked it up on the front lawn after the cops shot his brother in the leg, thus breaking the leg.
     
  4. TwoGloves

    TwoGloves Well-Known Member

    If I remember correctly, all the black taxi drivers are former IRA members and it's the IRA who help stake them with things like insurance, ect., because they have trouble getting jobs. I remember riding around with my cousin for an hour or so and finally asked how he knows where everyone is going since nobody told him. He laughed and said they were all going to the same place. At that point, I realized he was just making a big loop around the city. We'd stop every so often to get back in line downtown and it was there somebody who often made him lunch gave him BBQ kangaroo. I was reluctant to try it at first but gave it a shot since I figured I'd never get a chance again. Very good stuff! Have fun. The Irish people are great, very friendly. And remember the wine gums! (No alcohol unfortunately but the best candy ever.) If you do play golf, I'd try Royal Portrush. Hardest course I've ever played but the most fun. The town is pretty cool too. Up at the northeastern tip of Northern Ireland.
     
  5. three_bags_full

    three_bags_full Well-Known Member

    Nearly half of the trip complete. Two days Dublin, two awesome days in Belfast are in the books. Mrs. t_b_f and I will head off into the wilderness tomorrow for the west coast.

    We've put a bunch of Dublin pics on facebook for those interested.

    I'll check back in later.
     
  6. HC

    HC Well-Known Member

    Are you going anywhere near Wexford? I spent seven weeks at the Opera festival and loved that town.
     
  7. three_bags_full

    three_bags_full Well-Known Member

    Unfortunately, the southeast is the only part of the country we're not seeing.
     
  8. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Prepare for Guinness to be ruined for you when you return to the states. It's so good over there... There are pubs over here who can do it like they do it over there, but there aren't too many of them.

    Giant Causeway is very cool.

    The castles are all cool, but they kind of blur together at some point. If it's safe to travel to Belfast, go there as well, it's gorgeous up there.

    If you watch a soccer game in a pub, do not root for anybody. I found that one out the hard way when I cheered a Cobi Jones goal for Coventry City (this was in 1995).

    The food is awful. If they have American fast food, I'd go there. You know the saying, "The beer is perfect but the food is shit."
     
  9. wicked

    wicked Well-Known Member

    I never was able to get into Guinness before going. I can drink it a bit now, but it's not often. It's not the same.

    Fun part of my trip a couple years ago: Calling the woman at a hotel front desk in Limerick about local food options. Last thing I wanted to do was eat at chain restaurants. "We only have normal food here," she said. Yeah, cuisine is not one of the specialties of the Irish (although the seafood is top notch).
     
  10. holy bull

    holy bull Active Member

    Never drank Guinness until we went in 2005. I gave myself a "training camp" of sorts by trying it a few times before we left, then fell in love with it over there. So of course now I'm continually horrified in the U.S. when a bartender just power-sclurches it into the glass and slams it in front of you like it was fountain soda.

    The food really was unremarkable. I had lamb stew in three different places, and each one gave it a different treatment, but none was memorable.
     
  11. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    I had Guinness stew which was by far the best of the Irish meals I had over there. Even that was underwhelming.

    There was a chicken chain over there called something like Chickenland that I think we ate the bulk of our meals at. Granted, we were in college and didn't have a ton of $$$, but it was a lot safer than going to the restaurants and getting something that was inedible, and that happened quite a bit.
     
  12. holy bull

    holy bull Active Member

    Taytos, of course, kick ass.
     
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