Ireland (2022) - Coconuts in Kilkenny

Day 0 - Of Disney Vs. Europe

Early in 2022, there was talk about a family trip in November. As Floridians with small children, Disney was considered the natural choice. Although a family trip to Disney would be nice, I felt that the kids were much too young to enjoy it, and it would be ponderous for the adults.

Instead, I brought up going someplace Cynthia and I was familiar with that the rest of my family had never been to - Ireland.

Now, you may say - “Didn’t you say Disney would be too ponderous, yet you want to take your family across the Atlantic to a foreign country?” Yes, reader, you got me. I felt that the kids would equally enjoy both trips, while the adults would enjoy Ireland exponentially more than Disney. It also gave me an excuse to go back to Europe. Lastly, I felt that the memories of a family trip to Ireland would be much more meaningful and beautiful.

There was hesitation in agreeing to the change of plan, but eventually, the family was on board. That’s when I went into planning mode. I won’t bore you with the details. Still, I organized a group booking through Aer Lingus, AirBnBs, hotel stays, separate car rentals, and all the activities. A full itinerary was produced based on my and Cynthia’s previous trips, keeping in mind the kids and the varied interests of the group. As a side note, if you ever plan to make a group booking with Aer Lingus, don’t. Their agents are pretty rude and aren’t super forthcoming with information and procedures on how things work. They assume you just know how group booking with Aer Lingus works. Also, Aer Lingus doesn’t accept TSA Pre-Check, lame. On the bright side, Aer Lingus is doing non-stop flights from Miami to Dublin on Fridays, which is fantastic.

We are on the threshold of this trip with just a little over a week before we board our flight.

Join us as a very Cuban family goes to Ireland.

Day 1 - Of Flights and Rental Cars

At 2:30, Cynthia texted me that there was an emergency at school. It had now been three hours since Luna should have gone down for her nap - yet she had only slept for 15 minutes. Then, Cynthia’s parents arrived, expecting us to be ready to go. Things were not going as planned.

Eventually, things aligned, and we made it to the airport. Check-in went smooth; security was the usual nonsense of TSA acting as if they’d never seen diabetes supplies or a car seat before. The agents were bewildered and confused. Once passed security, the entire family met up.

Aer Lingus staff is not friendly, at least not their booking department and not their flight crew.

We finally arrived in Ireland - I was ready to go, looking forward to getting on the highway to see the rolling hills, sheep farms, and walled-away properties off in the distance while I listened to Bonobo’s Migration album. But first, we waited 35 minutes for some to get a cup of coffee, then we encountered the slowest rental car agency I’ve ever seen. It took them over an hour to take care of the three people ahead of us, and then our party.

A word of advice, Ireland is a country where most credit cards don’t cover insurance waivers for rental cars. Capital One, American Express, etc. None did, except for the trusty Chase Sapphire card! So yeah, if travel is important to you, look into the Sapphire card.

Once on the road, driving on the left-hand side immediately felt weird, but within a few minutes, it all made sense. My GPS was set to avoid tolls, so I took some dumb detours before realizing what was happening and course-corrected. It took us about an hour and twenty minutes to arrive in one of my favorite Irish towns, Kilkenny. We are staying at the Langston Hotel, a nice hotel with a friendly staff and an assortment of places to eat and drink. We made our way to Matt the Miller’s with the kids hangry. Cynthia and I have been here before; it’s a staple of Kilkenny.

When the meal was over, we walked over to Kilkenny Castle, meandering through the park, and watched the kids run around the field at full sprints. Their little legs ran through the Irish grass and cold wind; smiles on their faces - that scene was all I wanted for this particular day and destination. Eventually, we swung by the playground and then to a walkway along the river.

Unfortunately, most of us were pretty tired. We’d been up for a long time, the sun was setting at a dreadfully late 4:00 PM, and the kids were fading away. For real, it was practically 4:35, and it was almost nighttime! Hector asked if we wanted to get some drinks in the evening, but we didn’t have anyone to take care of Luna for us while she slept - a lot had changed since we were last here.

Tomorrow we are visiting Blarney Castle, then driving through the southern Irish countryside into County Kerry. I love the south west region of Ireland; I can’t want to get there.

Day 2 - Of Blarney Castle & Old Houses

My beleaguered family woke up early at my behest; we would drive from Kilkenny to Blarney Castle and then on to Killarney. The day awoke drizzly and dark, still, I made my way to the car to start packing when I spied the sunrise coming over the town - a small reminder of why I love this place.

We left Kilkenny behind and made our way to Blarney Castle. The sun hit everything at an angle, casing everything in a golden hue. Thankfully the weather cleared up, and the weather was crisp. Slowly we made our way to the castle, taking obligatory family photos every 20 feet. The kids loved the space.

Initially, I was worried about climbing the steep and narrow steps of the castle with the kids, but my worries were unfounded. Luna climbed the stairs like a champ, one by one. We were proud of her. We didn’t kiss the Blarney Stone; that’s gross. Just like the first time so many years ago, we passed it. Slowly we meandered around to the Rock Close to check out the waterfall. The Blarney Castle and its surrounding area is a place you can spend all day. Unfortunately, we only had a few hours.

We then took the long drive to Killarney, where we met with Joey, our AirBnb host. We stayed in a place called Arus Antoine, it’s a house that’s 100 years old, and the third generation owned. The family of the owners are famous and successful horse jockeys and trainers. This place is huge with six bedrooms and as many bathrooms, perfect for our use.

By the time we arrived, everyone was hungry - it seems everyone is always hungry, all the time, forever. We took a quick six-minute walk to McSweeney’s, a nice Irish pub with an excellent menu.

Throughout this trip, my mom and Anna (my sister-in-law), keep asking waitresses for fancy American drinks, like mules. Each time, the waitress looks at them incredulously and says, “people usually just order a pint or some whiskey.”

After we put Luna down to bed, Cynthia and I and Hector and Anna went to a pub called Paddy Shehan The Grand Bar. There we had drinks while we waited for the band to start. Just like when Cynthia and I got swindled in Busker Brown’s in Galway, the band sets up and then walks away. We thought they’d start playing around 10:00 PM, but nope! They didn’t start until 11:00 PM. By then, we were tired; we listened to a couple of songs and left.

Tomorrow we will attempt a bit of the Ring of Kerry. As we say to Luna “let’s see what happens.”

Day 3 - Of the Ring of Flat Tires

Today, I had planned an exciting day of highlights for the Ring of Kerry. What ended up happening was quite different. Here goes:

The plan was to visit Muckross House, Ross Castle, Torc Waterfall, Ladies View, Gap of Dunloe, Kate Kearny’s Cottage, and a walk-about in Killarney.

First, the plan was to leave the Airbnb at 9:00. Instead, everyone was ready at 10:15, which eliminated Muckross House & Ross Castle. Instead, we went straight to Torc Waterfall. The family enjoyed the stop, walking through this ancient forest that leads to a nice waterfall. The weather drizzled on and off. What’s interesting is that last time, Cynthia and I approached the waterfall from the north, resulting in a half-hour hike. This time, we came in from the south, and the walk to the falls was no more than ten minutes long at a good pace. We did not have a good pace - but as Chillie Heeler says, “we’re not making good time; we’re making good times.” Yes, that’s a Bluey quote.

From there, we went to Ladies’ View, a beautiful panoramic, and hung out there for a little bit before the weather started to turn.

This is where things get interesting.

The route to the Gap of Dunloe took us to Moll’s Gap and into the Black Valley. That’s a pretty way of saying we were driving into the middle of nowhere on tiny Irish roads where only one car could fit at any time. If another car is approaching, one of you has to dangerously move over to the side, and sometimes that’s not possible, resulting in someone needing to backtrack. Still, despite high levels of anxiety, we made it to the Gap of Dunloe where I thought things would get better. They didn’t.

Cynthia and I had hiked the Gap in 2017 and didn’t remember the roads being so narrow. We progressed slowly - I was confident since I’d been here before. Within a minute of entering the Gap, my brother hit a rock on the passenger (left side since we are in an Irish/UK vehicle), resulting in an immediate flat tire. The family scrambled, and a friendly Irishman passed by and offered to call someone who could fix it. Hector and Rick (my sister’s husband) stayed behind while we went through the gap to wait for them at Kate Kearny’s Cottage. About three minutes later, the car holding my dad, my sister, my sister-in-law, and her two boys struck another rock, resulting in another immediate flat tire. So two of the three cars now had flat tires.

I took my sister-in-law into the car. With two cars down, it was up to me not to get a third flat tire. Thankfully, I made it to Kate’s. Then I braved the Gap again to get my sister and the boys. Once retrieved, I made the way back to Kate’s. I went through the Gap three times. Eventually, both damaged cars were rescued, and after a lot of driving, everyone was safe and back home.

After such a crazy day, no one wanted to go out, so we ordered Thai food and stayed in.

Day 4 - Of Moher & Irish Roads

This was a long day. We left Killarney under moderate rain and made the long trip from there to the Cliffs of Moher. I am not exactly sure why Google Maps decided to take us through specific ways; maybe they’re more efficient or actually faster than highways. These ways were rural backcountry roads, laid asphalt in the middle of nowhere where one and a half cars could fit through at any given point.

The trek from Killarney to the Cliffs of Moher was arduous at times, taking us through sleepy little towns and in between farmsteads. My family was nervous. I am used to these sorts of trails from doing ministry work in seldom-worked areas. Still, even I felt a level of nerves seeing nothing but fields and farms as far as the eye could see.

Eventually, the roads opened up to flat fields, indicating we were near the ocean.

The Cliffs of Moher is a breathtaking place. Nature itself carving the west coast of Ireland. All those many years ago, when I played Dark Age of Camelot and sat my character at the virtual representation of these cliffs, I never thought I’d be here with my entire family and a daughter.

We walked around and took photos; the kids loved jumping in “muddy puddles” and looking at nearby sheep. Unfortunately, today was a bit of a time crunch, and we had to leave.

From the Cliffs, we made our way to Poulnabrone Dolmen, an incredibly interesting site. A glacier that once sat in the area cut into the rock, water rushing through it. This created a unique setting as it doesn’t really match much of the rest of the island outside of The Burren. What makes the site slightly eerie is a portal tomb, a potentially 5000-year-old tomb where it’s estimated 33 bodies, or their bones after the fact, were buried.

We finally made our way to Galway, where we met our AirBnb host. Galway is a vibrant and hip town, a departure from Kilkenny and Killarney. The unit has an awesome view of the harbor, and the amenities at first glance seem fantastic, but the more we spend time here, the more we realize that many things about this apartment only go surface deep. Anna found hairs on her sheets. There are broken appliances. They left us space heaters, but they are in the box and require us to build them ourselves. It’s still a great place but lacking in many ways.

We ate at Woozza Wood Fired Pizza, great pizza and ambiance. Would recommend.

Tomorrow we head to the Ireland School of Falconry!

Day 5 - Of Falcons & Fishing Huts

In all of my travels, there are specific highlights that outshine everything else - one of those highlights is doing a hawk walk with the Ireland School of Falconry in Cong. Located on the estate of Ashford Castle, now a hotel (one day I’ll stay there), the Ireland School of Falconry takes people on hawk walks around a nearby forest. It’s pretty incredible.

The drive from Galway is about 40 minutes, and it rained most of the way. But, as we got down from the cars and began walking, the rain let up. My sister and her husband and my parents had the first go around. Kids are not allowed on the premises of the school due to insurance reasons. The rest of us took the kids and walked around the grounds.

After an hour and a half, it was our turn! My mom and dad loved the experience despite their initial apprehension about it. It was great to see them talk about what they did and how much they enjoyed it.

Hector and Anna had the first turn, flying their hawks Samwise and Bilbo. Anna and Cynthia were so excited about this; it made me happy to see how much enjoyment everyone was getting out of this experience. Our instructor was amiable, as with most good Irish folk, we had a good bit of craic. The weather held up. Watching these hawks take off and deftly fly through gaps in trees and branches or silently return was breathtaking. It revealed their nature as prolific hunters. After our walk, we mentioned that we had once been able to have Dingle the owl fly toward us a few times. Our instructor smirked and quickly gave us each a chance to fly Dingle - Cynthia was excitedly beside herself.

Once the hawk walk was over, we drove to Cong, a sleepy little village beside Ashford Castle. Cong doesn’t have much to it aside from the movie ‘The Silent Man’ having been filmed there back in the 1950s. For Cynthia and me, though, it has a special significance. Each time we’ve come to Ireland, we visit the small Monk’s Fishing Hut in Cong. It’s not impressive. The reason we went is that our first time here during a tour, we had a moment of serenity when we left our tour group, got some bread and cheese at a local store, and just sat on the river and enjoyed the moment. Who would have told us that we would be coming with a daughter nine years later?

We ate lunch at a nice little place called Puddleducks Cafe, where their steak sandwich had some of the best peppercorn sauce I’ve ever had.

After a drive back to Galway, we spent some time in the Airbnb, put Luna to sleep, then went out with Hector, Anna, and my parents to John Keogh’s Pub - we shared appetizers, and they were quite delicious - Brisket croquettes (in Ireland!), and Duck Spring Rolls. I also drank some Island’s Edge Stout.

Hector and I realized we hadn’t had much whiskey on this trip, just beer. We will endeavor to change that going forward.

Day 6 - Of Dublin & Boxty

We took the two-and-a-half-hour drive from Galway to Dublin with little incident. The only issue we encountered was once we reached the city limits, Google Maps decided to change directions at the last minute while at intersections or highway exits. Despite some mishaps, we made it to the Maldron Hotel Kevin Street.

The family dropped off their bags, and we immediately made the 20-minute walk from the hotel to the Temple Bar area of Dublin. Temple Bar is a tourist hotspot; it’s their South Beach. Cynthia and I loved being back in Dublin: this city has developed a history with us; we’ve come to have stories that span multiple trips and stays. Cynthia even remembered the hotel where our GateOne tour ended back in 2014! It was a Jurys Inn not far from Dublin Castle.

As we walked through Temple Bar, we made it to Gallagher’s Boxty House. This is the boxty place Cynthia and I went to when we arrived after 36 hours of travel back in 2017. Not much had changed, and the food was still delicious.

After our Boxty lunch/dinner, we went to the obligatory Murphy’s Icecream. At this point, we’ve visited four of the five Murphy’s in Ireland, although we’ve only(!) done three out of five on this trip: Killarney, Galway, and Dublin.

It’s around this time of the trip when so many are starting to feel the rigors of travel. Hector and Anna went for a “walk about” and came across a man from New Jersey who had been living in Ireland for 30 years and now spoke with an Irish accent. He was upset the bar charged $8 a pint when some other bars only charged $4. I envied them for their ability to go and walk around town at night - that’s something Cynthia and I would have done had we not needed put Luna down to sleep.

Tomorrow we have a full day in Dublin. No driving!

Day 7 - Of Books & Beers

The first item on the agenda was to visit The Book of Kells at Trinity College. Before that, Cynthia and I went to a little bakery close to the hotel called Soren & Son. The aesthetic was definitely Norwegian or Swedish - like walking into the Ikea version of a coffee shop. Inside, we had a delicious huge almond croissant with a cafe latte, nothing too crazy.

Afterward, we met with the rest of the family and made our way to the college by taking a 20-minute walk through the city. I slowly began to remember being here for the first time in 2014. The exhibit was still impressive. Eli, Ricky & the boys ducked out a little early, but the rest of us meandered around the exhibit and later took in the Long Room. The Long Room is a huge and impressive library with a vaulted ceiling. Chances are you’ve seen this room in some form or another in TV or movies. We took in the room and sat down to enjoy it. The library is in the process of restoring and conserving the pieces inside - there was a notice describing some of the details that go into this work, like using a specialized vacuum to remove dust from the pages. Dust, contaminants, and weather have taken a toll on these old tomes.

Once we exited, we decided to purchase the Hop On & Hop Off bus, touring around town. Eventually, we made it toward the Guinness Storehouse; it’s like Disney for beer. We ate at the Dining Hall. Here is a funny anecdote about this. On the fifth floor of the Storehouse, there are three dining venues, one of them was empty - a cafeteria-like setting called the “Dining Hall.” We were the first ones to arrive and order. My dad noticed that when others saw we were ordering, they decided to go there. By the way, we got our food, and the line for the dining hall went out the door.

After a great meal, we toured the Storehouse. Luna loved it; she enjoyed the sites and sounds of it and skipped around in happiness. My folks and brother enjoyed it too. As the afternoon wore on, we got to the top floor, the Gravity Bar, where Cynthia, Hector, and I got a pint of Guinness while overlooking all of Dublin.

On the way back, we walked through some sketchy parts of Dublin, where some young lad tried selling me some cologne.

After a nap, we joined the rest of the family on a walk to Temple Bar, where we ate at The Old Mill, which, coincidentally, is the first restaurant Cynthia and I had ever eaten at in Ireland, all the way back in 2014.

Tomorrow we were supposed to go to the Wicklow Mountains to see Glendalough, but it appears I am being vetoed. As Luna says, “we’ll see what happens.”

Day 8 - Of Vetos and Busses

Today is our last day in Ireland before going back to Miami. The original plan was to visit a place that Cynthia and I missed out on the last time we were in Ireland because of the canceled flight - the Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough. It’s the only part of this trip that Cynthia and I had not already done. The only thing is that this plan was vetoed by everyone else on this trip. No one wanted to drive to Wicklow to see mountains and ruins.

Instead, the family decided to use the Hop-On/Hop-Off bus to ride into Pheonix Park and visit the Dublin Zoo. Initially, I was skeptical we’d see many animals since it was pretty chilly. To my surprise, the zoo was pretty big, and there were enough animals out to make it worth the trip. The kids saw monkeys, lions, flamingos, seals, penguins, lemurs, and other cool creatures.

Afterward, we hopped onto the bus again, hoping to make it to the Temple Bar area for lunch. But the bus could only get to a certain stop before being forced to stop because of a protest. Protestors were marching for rent control, livable wages, food price control, and other issues that are creeping up all over the world, including in the US.

The bus dropped us off at a restaurant called Toddy’s, part of the Riu Hotel. The hotel was very nice, and the restaurant initially seemed like an old folks establishment, but over time more and more people filled the seats. The food was good, and the service was excellent. When our meal was over, we took a bus to the Trinity College area, where we went shopping. We’d forgotten that this was black Friday weekend; there were people EVERYWHERE. Crowds massed together in the shopping areas of Grafton Street and beyond. The line for Zara’s wrapped around inside the store. Everywhere you looked, there were people and lines. Even where we went to do some shopping, Butler’s Chocolates was packed with people.

After several hours, we all made our way back to the hotel via the bus, many saying they would call it for the night.

After about half an hour, a few of us planned to go get steaks at Bull & Castle, a steakhouse about a ten-minute walk from the hotel. Luna ordered beef medallions that ended up being two cuts of fillet that were tender and juicy. The rest of us ordered steaks, which were good - nice and tender, just not as flavorful as a typical ribeye in the US like Ruth’s Chris. Our waitress was scary; she did not smile, and she did not make conversation. She was curt and ornery and seemed annoyed about every request. Still, it was a good time to go out on the town one last time before going home.

Day 9 - Of Lines and Checkpoints

We all woke up and began the arduous journey back home. After a thirty-minute drive to the rental agency, we crammed into a shuttle and arrived at the airport at 9:00 AM - here is where it gets interesting.

The line to check in our bags was long; it took us 45 minutes to get through it. “Why don’t you use a self-service kiosk? LOL.” You may ask. When you have kids, they don’t let you check in online or at a self-service kiosk, so we are forced to see an agent.

Once done, we got into the line for security. Thankfully they pulled a few of us into a Fast Track lane, where we got to skip some people. It was still an annoying process that took a good half hour or so. Thankfully the security agents were nice and patient.

With security done and recomposed, several folks wanted breakfast. Cynthia and I declined; we only had about an hour and a bit before our flight would start boarding, so we made our way to US Pre-Clearance. Ireland has this cool thing where you can get cleared by US Customs and Border Patrol before even taking off. Unfortunately, the line was ridiculously long. So much so that I was worried that the folks who got breakfast would miss the flight, but thankfully, they could sneak to the front because of my nephews.

We were then treated by ANOTHER SECURITY CHECKPOINT. You read that right: US CBP requires another stupid security checkpoint after going through security once before. So if you bought water or drinks after the first security, guess what? You have to throw them away! So we had to discombobulate our luggage again, take off our shoes, and take out laptops and Nintendos; it was a huge pain.

After THAT, we got to the gate, where they began boarding our flight within five minutes of arriving. So from when we got to the airport to when we boarded the plane, it was non-stop. Thankfully Luna was amazing and didn’t give us much fuss.

The flight was long, and the boys were not happy. After nine hours, we arrived in humid and hot Miami, where we waited nearly an hour for our luggage to arrive. Luna and the boys danced around joyfully.

We hugged and said bye to the family. Luz and Paco picked us up.

By 9:00 PM, we were dead tired and went to sleep - our third trip to Ireland was complete.

Summary - Of the Sage

This trip to Ireland was unlike the other two. For me, on this trip, there was no sense of wonder or discovery. There was no sense of exploration or adventure. It was not because of my family but because of me. In past trips, the journey was for Cynthia and me; we went into these things with a sense of adventure and exploration. On our second trip, we often used the expression “hidden Ireland” to describe our discoveries. I was the explorer, the traveler.

For this trip, I was the sage, the knowing guide with the answers. What time would the flight leave, what gate is it in, and what are our seats? What are we doing tomorrow? What time do we need to wake up? Can you send us the GPS coordinates? How long is the drive? What will the weather be like? Where are we staying the night? What time will we eat? Where will we eat? This trip wasn’t for us. It was for them.

It’s not a bad thing. It’s just different. Still, there were memorable moments that made it worthwhile. Having my brother discover Smithwick’s Red Ale was a treat. Watching Anna walk through a forest with a hawk was delightful. Seeing Cynthia giddy, holding the same owl from five years ago, was awesome. Seeing the expression on my Dad’s face while walking through The Long Room in Trinity College was special. Having my Mom do something she didn’t think she could, was encouraging. Seeing my nephew excited over animals, trucks, and buses as we walked the streets of the cities was endearing. Seeing the three kids interact, dance, play and fight was amusing. Seeing Eli & Ricky marvel at the Cliffs of Moher was fun.

Those, and other moments, made the lack of exploration and discovery worthwhile. To craft a trip that would take each person out of their comfort zone, to show them a place that has enchanted me since I was a teenager playing Dark Age of Camelot, was difficult and at times frustrating, but ultimately rewarding and satisfying.