LECHYD DA

Beaumaris, Wales – Saturday, June 25, 2011

Beaumaris was a very charming town by the coast with a bunch of boutique hotels, tea rooms, ice cream parlors and a castle.  

Our Servas host, Gwen was picking us up at 5 pm so we had most of the day to get to know the town.  We had coffee and some snacks, toured the castle and then at 5 sharp Gwen met us.  What a lovely person she is!  She took us back to her home, which is on the coast and secluded from the business of the city.  Her home was built in mid-18^th century, and is very charming.

This is the original beam from when the house was built:  

 Outdoor eating area in the middle of her garden:

 Gwen's House:

This is more of the garden...where we picked potatoes, broad beans and raspberries:

 Small guest house, which was built as a shelter:

 View from the backyard:

 Other side of the back yard:

She made us dinner from the vegetables she grows in her garden.  We got to help her pull potatoes and pick beans and raspberries.  It was a very nice evening.  She taught us how to cheers in Welsh ... Lechyd da! It means "health good".  She also told us stories of her traveling experiences and showed us the best route to London.  We were up until almost 11 pm, as it does not get dark here until around 10:30 or 11 pm, so it always feels earlier than it is.  The next day was going to be a long one, so we decided to call it a night.  By the way…Kale started hiccuping today, and hasn't stopped all day.  At bedtime he still had them.  He also doesn’t feel very good.  SHOOTL

Why won't the rain stop!

Bethesda, Wales – Friday, June 24 - It was cold and rainy ALL DAY LONG! We waited for the rain to go away in a motorcycle-themed cafe.  Kale enjoyed the motorcycles, and the owner of the cafe hold a record for speed in the US...

Welcome to Wales...

Dublin to Wales via Ferry, Thursday, June 23

We headed to Holyhead, Wales via Ferry around 8 am.  The shuttle dropped us off at check-in and we were instructed to stay in the waiting area until collected by the next shuttle that would take us to the ferry.  While we waited, some customs agents came in with their drug-sniffing Springer Spaniels and made the dogs sniff all of our clothes and bags. It was really cute.  We boarded the shuttle after being sniffed, and were off to Wales.  The trip took about two and a half hours.  Once we arrived, we set off toward Holyhead, collected some British pounds and started walking…

We walked for a long time.  The countryside was very colorful, and there were a lot of sheep grazing in the pastures.  We stopped at a beach, and then a coffee shop and decided to take a bus in to Bangor, which is a small college town that has come to be known as the “Athens of Wales”.  

On our way across the Menai Bridge, which brought us into the city of Bangor, there was a long strand of bras…they were hung like a banner across the bridge.  Click the link to see why there were there…

Bridge of Bras:

http://www.theonlinemail.co.uk/bangor-and-anglesey-news/local-bangor-and-anglesey-news/2010/06/23/bridge-of-bras-built-over-menai-straits-66580-26696005/

The city of Bangor:

We spent a few hours in Bangor and decided to take the bus to Bethesda, which borders Snowdonia National Park.  We were told by some ladies at the café in Holyhead that we would be able to hike around the park, and take a mining train up to the top of one of the mountains.

Bethesda was a very small town, and we ended up having to walk a mile up a steep hill to our hotel.  

We didn’t realize the bus would have taken us there.  The busses go everywhere here, by the way.  And they are cheap.  A Red Rover pass gives you unlimited access to the busses from the time of purchase to midnight of that day.  The cost is only £5.40.  Once we got to our hotel we were hungry and tired.  We walked back down the steep hill to the center of town, ate dinner at a local pub and then walked back up the steep hill, got to our room, and called it a night.  It was a long day of traveling!

Killarney – Macroon – Cork – Mitchelstown – Dublin – Wednesday, June 22 - Long day!

We said good-bye to Kristina:  

We said good-bye to our favorite pub: 

And we said good-bye to Killarney: 

We Hitchhiked back to Cork:

Neile picked us up.  He was very nice.  The drive was beautiful, and we talked mostly about politics.

Everyone seems to really like Obama here, except for the crazy drunk man in Cork who told me that he is the anti-Christ.  Once we got to Cork, we stopped for a pint, and bought bus tickets to Dublin.  Our plan was to spend the night in Dublin and take the ferry to Holyhead, Wales in the morning.  We made it to Dublin around 8 pm, got a room, went to a local pub called Fitzpatricks, ate dinner, and went to bed early.

Fitzpatricks pub:

Temple Bar District: 

The guy on the right s completely passed out while his buddies, who are drinking cans of Guinness are heavily engrossed in drunken conversation.  To the left of the conversing gentlemen is a can of Guinness crumpled in the middle of a large pile of puke...

Cheers!

When in Rome...

Killarney – Tuesday, June 21 - Our plan was to hike around the lakes and see some of the Ring of Kerry, but it rained ALL DAY LONG.  We settled for a pub with a fireplace.  I can see how the Irish get their reputation for drinking.  It rains all the time, and its cold.  I’d drink too…so I did.  When in Rome…

Cork to Killarney via our Thumbs

Monday, June 20 - We woke up right before check-out (10 am) and decided to check our email before heading back to Dublin.  From Dublin we were going to head up to Belfast, and then to Scotland.  However, I received an email from me mum letting me know she and David were headed to the Ring of Kerry, and would love to meet up with us.  We asked Liam at the front desk where we needed to go to see the Ring of Kerry, and he told us we would have to take a train to Killarney, which is where most people go to begin the short journey around the ring.  I told him about how we are on a tight budget, and asked if there was a less expensive way to get to Killarney, other than taking the train, which would have cost us about $100.  He looked at me, and just stuck out his thumb, and told me that we should hitch a ride.  He said it’s quite common, and all we needed to do was take a bus to the round-a-bout, which headed to Killarney.  He said most people driving there would enjoy the company of an American girl, but he wasn't sure about Kale:)  lol.  Anyway, he gave us a cardboard box with a marker and told us to make a sign.  We made a big sign that clearly spelled out our destination, KILLARNEY, and off we went. 

After having coffee at the The Berries, a very cute local cafe, we went to Vodaphone to buy our SIM card with our pre-paid minutes, which was €20 ($29).  Then we caught the bus to the round-a-bout, where we would be hitchhiking.  As soon as we got off the bus it started raining, so we stood on the side of the road with our KILLARNEY sign, under our umbrellas and waited for someone to stop…one minute…two minutes…three minutes…four minutes…five minutes…and success!  Someone stopped for us!  He was headed to Killarney for an appointment and was happy to give us a ride.  His name was Forrest, and he was heading back from a music festival in Dublin.  What a sweetheart!  He recommended places for us to check out when we’re in London, and we talked a lot about farming, land preservation and traveling.  It took about an hour and a half to get to Killarney. 

It’s a very cute little town, but expensive…like everything else in IrelandJ  We said good-bye to Forrest, and tried calling David.  Unfortunately the phone went right to voicemail.  We went to a pub for some more Guinness and checked our emails only to find my mom and David got detoured, so there was no possibility of meeting up with them.  Crap.  We ended up finding a place to stay (Paddy’s Palace), and decided to stay two nights since our second night was free.  Christina was our host. She was from Romania, and super sweet and funny.  We decided to grab a quick bite to eat (veggie burgers) and go to bed early.

Here are some pictures we took when we arrived:

Cork, Black Rock Castle and Kale's New Love, Guinness

We decided to stay an extra day in Cork, since we arrived so late the previous night.  There’s a castle called Black Rock that wasn’t far (an hour walk) from the city center.  After we had coffee and Indian food, we decided to start walking.  It took a little over an hour to get there, but it was worth it.  We were able to walk through Black Rock village, and saw lots of cute homes, churches, convents, a farmers market, and some cute local cafes.

  

We took the bus back to the center of town, which took about 10 minutes.  We decided, since we’re going to be traveling for quite a while, we would invest in a cell phone.  However, we had to buy a phone that has been “unlocked.”  This way, we can use it throughout Europe and Asia.  All we need is a SIM card from whichever country we are in, and we can buy pre-paid minutes.  Our “unlocked” phone was €30 ($43).  After purchasing our phone, we realized all of the places that could sell us SIM cards (O2, Vodaphone, etc.) were closed for the day, as it was 5 pm.  It seems everything closes around 5 or 6 pm except for pubs and restaurants.  So we decided to have a drink.  There were a couple of pubs running drink specials on pints, and thus, Kale’s love for Guinness was born.  

We had a few pints, and watched the US Open with the locals who were glued to the TV due to Rory’s incredible game, and subsequent win.  It was a good day overall.  And we were able to procure a private room.  Great Success!

Arrived in Cork........dark, rain.......all is well

Off the train we consulted our GPS, and by the way, special thanks to the Motorola Xoom!  This has been the perfect travel device!!!

Anyway, we realized Sheilas Hostel was very close to the train station - only a 10 minute walk...in the rain...up a steep hill...and we were there!  When we went to check in, we were told our private room we had booked online was no longer available.  But there was a six-bed male/female dorm available.  SOLD!  It'll be an adventure:)  Once to our room we met our roommates, a nice couple from Hong Kong. Heidi and I went back downstairs to use the WiFi for a bit, then came back to find our roommates sleeping with the lights out. We got in bed quietly and tried to sleep. Within about 5 minutes a symphony of snoring began to erupt between the couple from Hong Kong. He would snore a little...a couple seconds of silence, and then she would snore...silence, then he, she, he, she, silence..........he she he he she he sheeeeee heeeeeee........SHIT!... we both start laughing. After a while, the orchestra had an intermission, so we took advantage of this and fell asleep.