Every year my husband, Jim and myself have some time away on our own without our children. This is usually just a long weekend, but this year we choose to have a week travelling around Ireland in a motor home. Now you see as I read that sentence back to myself it doesn’t sound quite right – the first part is ok, the travelling around Ireland bit, but the next - IN A MOTORHOME should have struck a warning sound with me when I first spoke it, many months ago.
I’m the first to admit I’m not much of a ‘camping’ sort of person. Much more a 4star hotel type girl ;-) But it was one of those, seems like a good idea at the time sort of things that I should have thought through more thoroughly. Anyway I’m not going to harp on about the pro’s (very few other than having your own portable toilet with you wherever you go – very handy when you want to go in the middle of no-where!) and con’s (the worst has to be the sleeping arrangements – I need a proper bed to sleep in a night with lovely clean sheets and a soft fluffy duvet. Not a sleeping bag above the driving cabin of a supped up white van!) of motor-homing as I’m sure some people out there love it, and perhaps if it were your own vehicle, and you could furnish it to your own requirements, it wouldn’t be too bad. But I would warn anyone out there from hiring a motor-home from this particular company http://www.kamp-easimotorhomes.com/ I’m saying no more other than – DON’T! Go elsewhere. You have been warned. (Unless you want to tour Ireland in a vehicle mostlly held together with Duck tape!)
Ok onto the delights of the Emerald Isle.
Ireland is a very beautiful country, and I would highly recommend visiting its west coast. The Dingle peninsular and the Lakes of Killarney on the Ring of Kerry, are extremely beautiful and definitely worth a visit.
But it’s the quirkiness of some of the things I noticed along the way that I thought I might share with you today.
Here are my TOP 5
In at No.5 is the Automatic Toll with a mind of it’s own:
So we pull up at this tollbooth, and are told the price for our vehicle to go through, then as we sit there rooting about for change, the toll changes its mind to a cheaper price. Great, even better we think, so again we begin to look for the right money, we throw the first 2euros into the bucket, then while there is some more ‘discussion’ between the two of us about the next set of coinage to use, the toll just gives up waiting on us, and opens it’s barrier – as if to say ‘Oh for lords sake – just forget the rest and go through will you, get out of my sight!’
NO.4 The Campers Wave
This may not be native to Ireland, I’ve a feeling it’s more a motor-home thing. However, everybody waves at you when you pass in your huge tin shed on wheels. From fellow motorhomers to random people you pass on the side of the street – you get the ‘campers wave’ a sort of half salute, half wave. (Plus, is there some sort of lower age limit we weren’t aware of before we hired this thing? As everyone we saw driving one was well into their second half century of living, or at least they looked as if they were!)
NO.3 Sheep are supposed to be white, & Dolphins aren’t Toadstools.
It’s patently obvious how proud the Irish are of there local area and it’s people, and never was this more evident than in the support for the local Gaelic football team when we drove through the county of Kerry. The final of the All Ireland cup was two days later and everywhere was covered in Yellow and Green flags, streamers, posters, and signs wishing the team Good Luck. Shop windows where bedecked in Green & yellow, and we even passed an unsuspecting sheep sprayed in the Kerry colours!
There is a small town called Dingle on the West coast where its most famous inhabitant is a 24year old bottle nosed Dolphin called Fungi. http://www.dodingle.com/pages/fungi_dingle_dolphin.html we weren’t in Dingle long enough to see Fungi which was unfortunate, but what is more unfortunate I think, is naming a beautiful animal like a dolphin, after a mushroom.
NO.2 Petrol Flavoured Ice-Cream.
Nearly every petrol station in Ireland sells Whippy Ice-creams and has a huge plastic cone on the forecourt advertising the fact – what’s that all about? And more to the point, how, when you’ve paid for your petrol, and bought your ice cream, are you supposed to hold it while you drive away?
Here are my TOP 5
In at No.5 is the Automatic Toll with a mind of it’s own:
So we pull up at this tollbooth, and are told the price for our vehicle to go through, then as we sit there rooting about for change, the toll changes its mind to a cheaper price. Great, even better we think, so again we begin to look for the right money, we throw the first 2euros into the bucket, then while there is some more ‘discussion’ between the two of us about the next set of coinage to use, the toll just gives up waiting on us, and opens it’s barrier – as if to say ‘Oh for lords sake – just forget the rest and go through will you, get out of my sight!’
NO.4 The Campers Wave
This may not be native to Ireland, I’ve a feeling it’s more a motor-home thing. However, everybody waves at you when you pass in your huge tin shed on wheels. From fellow motorhomers to random people you pass on the side of the street – you get the ‘campers wave’ a sort of half salute, half wave. (Plus, is there some sort of lower age limit we weren’t aware of before we hired this thing? As everyone we saw driving one was well into their second half century of living, or at least they looked as if they were!)
NO.3 Sheep are supposed to be white, & Dolphins aren’t Toadstools.
It’s patently obvious how proud the Irish are of there local area and it’s people, and never was this more evident than in the support for the local Gaelic football team when we drove through the county of Kerry. The final of the All Ireland cup was two days later and everywhere was covered in Yellow and Green flags, streamers, posters, and signs wishing the team Good Luck. Shop windows where bedecked in Green & yellow, and we even passed an unsuspecting sheep sprayed in the Kerry colours!
There is a small town called Dingle on the West coast where its most famous inhabitant is a 24year old bottle nosed Dolphin called Fungi. http://www.dodingle.com/pages/fungi_dingle_dolphin.html we weren’t in Dingle long enough to see Fungi which was unfortunate, but what is more unfortunate I think, is naming a beautiful animal like a dolphin, after a mushroom.
NO.2 Petrol Flavoured Ice-Cream.
Nearly every petrol station in Ireland sells Whippy Ice-creams and has a huge plastic cone on the forecourt advertising the fact – what’s that all about? And more to the point, how, when you’ve paid for your petrol, and bought your ice cream, are you supposed to hold it while you drive away?
Ok and in at NO.1 is…
Crowning a goat as your King!
Every year in the town of Killorglin in County Kerry a group of people go up to the mountains and catch a wild goat. The goat is then brought down to town and a young local will crown the confused goat the King of the Puck. This marks the beginning of the annual Festival, and the town erupts into an orgy of drinking, dancing, and the great Irish singsong. There is a large statue of a crown-wearing goat on the outskirts of the town to lay witness to this.
http://www.puckfair.ie/index.php
The Irish – you gotta love them. Well I do, my husband is halfway there already!
Just one more thing before I go today. This is a photo of me climbing the Witches wishing steps at Blarney Castle. They say if you can walk up to the top and down again backwards with your eyes closed your wish will come true. I managed to – so I’ll keep you posted…
Until the next time,A x
If you would like to see more of my Ireland photos I've uploaded them to my facebook photos page http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=82391&id=1032877752
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