One More Thing: About Those Ales...

As a fan of good real ale, you didn't think that I'd pass up an opportunity to dedicate a full blog post to all that the UK and Ireland have to offer, did you?

Many Americans shudder at the notion of drinking "warm beer". In reality, the good stuff over there isn't warm but is served at cellar temperature which is around 54-57 degrees Fahrenheit. This compares with the flavor-stymieing 40 degrees or so that your garden variety American lager is served at.

Beginning in London, my favorites are the cask conditioned ales. These are naturally carbonated ales that don't include that fizzy mouth feel one gets from draft beer that artificially introduces CO-2 into the pour. Here is an account of some of my favorite London pubs and the ales that were consumed there:

First London Ale at Mortimer Arms

Mortimer Arms - Black Sheep Bitter
The Plough - Fuller's London Pride
Jack Horner's - Fuller's Extra Special Bitter (ESB)
Bree Louise - Brewdog Trashy Blonde (brewed on premises)
Bree Louise - Brewdog Punk India Pale Ale (IPA) (brewed on premises)
Crown & Anchor - Sambrook Wandle
Crown & Anchor - Canterbury Jack
The Market Porter - Harvey's Sussex IPA
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese - Samuel Smith's Best Bitter
The Old Bank of England - Fuller's London Porter (on nitro)
The Royal George - Young's Bitter
Exmouth Arms - Adnam's Bitter
The Court - Everard's Tiger Bitter
The Court - Brakspeare Bitter
Jerusalem Tavern & St. Peter's Brewery - St. Peter's Best Bitter
The Coach and Horses - Adnam's Bitter
The Brew Wharf - Monkey's Head Red Ale (brewed on premises)
The Porcupine - Timothy Taylor Landlord

My favorite in London? Impossible to answer. I tend to lean toward IPAs (not quite as hoppy as what we get here in the Northwest however) and it was special drinking the Samuel Smith's in such an historic pub as the Cheshire Cheese, that was *rebuilt* in 1677. The last two that I had at The Brew Wharf and The Porcupine were pretty darned good as well.

Moving along to Ireland. One word here: Guinness. Now I have nothing but good things to say about Ireland's national drink, from the smooth roasted taste to the perfect tightly formed creamy head of foam. But Guinness is so dominant, especially around Dublin, that it's nearly impossible to find a diverse selection of ales and lagers.

BowlingJoe and the National Drink of Ireland

Pubs seem to be forced to pledge allegiance to Guinness, as 80% of the pubs we visited had the same array of offerings: Guinness Draught, Harp, Kilkenny, Smithwick's. All happened to be owned by the same parent company. After a few days of this we gave in and declared Guinness to be the not-so-willing-to-share conglomerate kings.

In Western Ireland diversity finally set in a bit as we saw more tap handles for Murphy's and Beamish Stouts. They were welcomed as an alternative and tended to be a bit heavier and more robust than the relatively smoother Guinness. Aside from the beer, I have to say that there's nothing like listening to traditional Irish music in a rustic pub that's been around longer than the United States has been in existance.

Tig Coili Pub in Galway

Here are some of the pubs visited in Ireland:

John Gogarty's (Dublin)
Kennedy's Pub (Dublin)
Central Hotel Library Bar (Dublin) - A must to visit!
The Stags Head (Dublin) - Built in 1770
The Gravity Bar at Guinness Storehouse (Dublin)
P.F. McCarthy's Pub (Kenmare)
Donovan's (Kenmare)
Murty Rabbitt's (Galway)
Tig Coili (Galway) - Great Trad Music
Porterhouse Pub (Galway)
World's End Pub (Galway)
Monroe's (Galway)

The Ornate Crown Liquor Saloon in Belfast

And we can't forget Northern Ireland:

Crown Liquor Saloon (Belfast) - Another must see place. Had a local cask ale called Copperhead. Finally!
Morning Star Pub & Restaurant (Belfast)
Auntie Annie's (Belfast)

Scotland is the final area of ale exploration on this journey. While there seem to be more pubs per square mile in Edinburgh than London, there are more breweries and styles down south. Scotland's beers, particularly McEwan's, the largest nation brand, tend to emphasize maltier over bitterness. Which actually makes sense since drinks with more body tend to go better with the harsher Scottish climate. Here's a look at much of where we were and what we had:

Caffrey's at Waverly Station in Edinburgh and....Yes that's Coors Light

Henry's Cellar Bar (Leith) - Orkney Blast
Henry's Cellar Bar (Leith) - Deuchars IPA
The King's Wark (Leith) - McEwans Ale
Deacon Brodie's Tavern (Edinburgh) - Timothy Taylor Golden Best (fruity with a non-characteristic burst of hops!)
Last Drop Pub (Edinburgh) - Caledonian 80
Beehive Pub (Edinburgh) - ???
Jolly Judge (Edinburgh) - ???
The Kenilworth (Edinburgh) - Harviestown Bitter & Twisted (award winning cask ale)
Oxford Pub (Edinburgh) - Ossian Golden Ale (This pub was amazing. The real thing.)
Milnes of Rose Street (Edinburgh) - Old Speckled Hen

Enough already. Of the four largest cities we visited here's how I'm rating them in terms of quality and diversity of their ale offerings:

Honorable Mention: Dublin, Ireland
Bronze Medal: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Silver Medal: Edinburgh, Scotland
GOLD Medal: London, England

Clean glasses and good ale are as revealing as counting rings in tree trunks. Here, you can see that it took 15 individual drinks to consume this pint.

Having said all of this, I consider myself fortunate to live in a part of the U.S. where good craft beer is produced and consumed by people with the same approach to ale as me. Even during tough economic times I've heard of very few microbreweries and brewpubs that are closing their doors. Quite the contrary in fact. I can hardly wait to see how good things get when times get better.

UK & Ireland Trip Part Seven: Back to London

We said goodbye to Scotland (for now) on the morning of September 26th, taking the train to London via a change at a small station in the town of Crewe in central England. We were staying once again at the Jesmond Hotel only this time we had a larger room and a private bath. It set us back around 20 more pounds per night but at this last stage of the trip it was well worth it.

Stop the Presses: There's Bowling in London!

After a relaxing night that included a burger at a nearby pub (washed down with the obligatory cask bitter of course) we were back at it the next morning, taking the Tube to The Victoria and Albert Museum. This place, although not nearly as famous as the British Museum and is around twice as big. There were a variety of things to see over the four hours we allotted for this visit: displays of clothing and fashion through the years, glass collections, jewelry, modern art, and casting of well-known creations such as Michelangelo's David. Well worth a visit and all they ask for at the door is a small donation.

Leaving the museum we took a stroll around The Royal Albert Hall and on to Hyde Park, London's version of New York's Central Park. For lunch we found a nice place that served up a ploughman's cheese sandwich with some good chutney. We walked through the upscale shopping district along Oxford Street before heading back to the B&B for a pre-dinner rest. Dinner itself may not have been the best choice. We were bound to have found a somewhat pretentious overpriced place to eat. We found it at The Coach and Horses. But it looked like a down-to-earth pub from the outside.

One of Tens of Thousands of Displays at the V&A Museum


On our last full day in London, we took the Tube to Piccadilly Circus and strolled through Trafalgar Square, Soho (where I was nearly run over by a motorbike), Chinatown, and the Theatre District. This walk can easily be done in a couple of hours. Sensing it was time for an ale break, we headed to Brew Wharf on the River Thames, a rare London microbrewery. We enjoyed a pint of Monkey's Head Red Ale, brewed with rye. This was a great hoppy effort and would score high on the brew-o-meter of the Pacific Northwest.

The last big "event" of the vacation would be a tour of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre followed by a live performance of "The Merry Wives of Windsor". This theater was constructed in 1997 and is a replica of the original Globe that was destroyed by fire in 1613. The new structure was designed using as many of the original plans, materials and building techniques as possible. The play was excellent and an appropriate way to conclude our three week journey.

The next morning it was off to London Heathrow with our belongings and our memories to board an Air Canada Boeing 777 for the long flight home. This was my first flight on a 777, a program I supported for so many years at Boeing.

The Impeccable Globe Theatre

A few random thoughts as the plane sat on the runway getting ready for takeoff:

* Forget Alice's Restaurant, you can get anything you want in London. The whole world has gathered there (and they get along!)

* The cab drivers in Dublin didn't seem to know their own street locations when we told them where we wanted to go. They all had to plug it into GPS.

* The word "scheme" simply means "plan" over here. There are no evil connotations.

* A car wreck is called a "smash".

* Black gas pump handles are for diesel, green for regular unleaded. The opposite of the U.S.

* Bring change to the train stations. It costs the equivalent of 40-60 cents to use the bathroom

* Relax, ATMs are everywhere. And they don't charge a service fee (although your bank may).

* Afternoon television in England is dominated by "Judge Judy", reruns of "Friends" and even older reruns of "Ironside". Huh??? Ironside???

Finally, I hope that everyone who would like to do so can be able to visit somewhere on the other side of the Atlantic at some point in their lives. There truly is an abundance to see, do and learn. Too many Americans think that they live in the only country in the world, or at least the only one that matters. The locals we encountered certainly were welcoming to us as Americans. But at the same time I don't think they'd be in a hurry to swap passports with me and leave their lives behind.

Having a bit of a sense of adventure has its rewards. We're grateful we are healthy and lucky enough to have been able to walk at least 4 miles a day in the countryside and the cities of the United Kingdom & Ireland, as well as make connections on all of the planes, trains, buses, taxis, and subways. Seeing the region mainly through a window with a few rest stops just wouldn't have been the same. Perhaps someday we may have to. But we're not ready for that. Not now.

A Couple of Final Week Three Memories of London

The next trip of this magnitude may be a few years away, but in the meantime the ideas have already started to churn.

UK & Ireland Trip Part Six: Scotland

My late uncle, Earl Clark, once told me after a vacation in Scotland that he felt like he was going home. I was excited to be finally going there myself. Our last name is quite popular in Scotland and although we don't technically have our own clan, we're a sept to the Cameron and MacPherson clans of the Highlands.

Our day started early as we walked the mile to downtown Belfast with our luggage in tow heading for the bus station. From there it was a short ride to the Belfast ferry terminal and the boat, Stena Lines' Voyager, that would deposit us on Scottish soil. Then it was on another bus for a three hour ride to Edinburgh. No worries as I dialed up some John Marytn songs on my iPod and enjoyed the lovely countryside of "home".

Scottish Breakfast With Haggis (Darker Patty at Left)

We went through the town of Ayr which looked from the bus window like it would be a great place to explore. The bus stopped in the city of Glasgow. Glasgow looked interesting but not interesting enough to warrant a day trip on the train that week. Its outskirts looked modern with newer plazas, malls and theaters. When we got to town, it reminded me of the view one gets of certain unpleasant parts of Philadelphia. Al Stewart's family was smart to move from Glasgow to England after the war.

Arriving at the bus station in Edinburgh, we took a cab to our Bed and Breakfast, The A-Haven Guesthouse, which was actually in the town of Leith, a few miles away and a short bus ride from the city. It's all urban and you really can't tell where one city starts and the other ends. We had just enough daylight left to explore Leith a bit and get some dinner. One of the locals told us about a place called The King's Wark that was voted Best Pub Food in 2010. We each had the most amazing cottage pie ever and washed it down with a McEwan's Ale. When in Scotland, you've gotta start with the national brand.

The Majestic Edinburgh Castle

Speaking of national brands, the next morning it was time to conquer a food that most Americans find utterly repulsive: Yes, haggis. And the Scots eat it up like we eat corn dogs at the fair. Haggis is a dish that contains sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Now you're getting the idea why it's somewhat unpopular in the U.S. It came with breakfast in the form of what looked like a dark, softer sausage patty. It was also somewhat spicy, no doubt to mask some of the stuff that's in there. But you know...it really wasn't half bad. Of course it wasn't half good either.

Fueled by haggis (which BowlingWidow wanted nothing to do with) we rode the bus into the city and hiked to Edinburgh Castle. And it was raining. Hard. The castle sits majestically on the hill of an extinct volcano and dominates Edinburgh's skyline. There are several things to see here including The Great Hall, Royal Palace, Chapel, Crown Square and The Scottish National War Memorial.

The View From Stirling Castle

When we left the castle in the rain we started walking The Royal Mile. This is a stretch between the castle and Palace of Holyroodhouse that is the main street of Old Edinburgh. It's filled with shops, pubs and restaurants, and with the steady rain it was an easy decision to duck into a pub or two to stay dry. When we got to the end of the mile we decided to visit the Palace and were glad we did. The audio tour was excellent, and this is actually a functioning palace to this day. It's where the Queen of England and her entourage put their stakes in the ground for a couple of visits each year.

Later on that evening we enjoyed another pub crawl. This time with a literary theme, as two actors engaged in whimsical debate assuming the roles of native sons Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Sir Walter Scott. One of the actors *really* got into the mood by consuming at least four pints of ale and a glass of whisky along the way. Not wanting to search for Bus #11 in the rain, we opted to take a taxi home for the night.

Edinburgh's Royal Mile

Next morning's breakfast: porridge. Much easier to deal with than haggis. We took the train from Waverly Station to the town of Stirling (pop. 40,000) to check out the Stirling Castle. We noticed the country on the train and it reminded us a bit of Washington State, specifically at the base of the Cascades in Eastern Washington where the town of Cle Elum is.

We took a short hike uphill to the castle. Like Edinburgh's, Stirling Castle is not huge. It has a lot of the same kinds of rooms and designs and is noted for being Mary Queen of Scots' favorite residence. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the Royal Palace on the grounds, as it's being renovated with a targeted completion year of 2013.

Back in Edinburgh, we walked into the greatest pub of all time. It's called The Oxford and well off the beaten path. The bar itself is small, as is the adjoining room which looks like a living room, has old wood furniture and a fireplace. Next to us were three old Scots who were having a discussion on religion and politics. And it was a CIVIL discussion, unlike the ones we see more and more of on television that deteriorate into shouting and name-calling. As my uncle said, I truly felt at home that moment..and then one of the old guys' cell phone went off and pub perfection was broken up like a no-hitter in the ninth inning.

View of Edinburgh from the Walter Scott Tower

For our final full day in Scotland, it was our second all-day bus excursion, this time to visit the Highlands. The Highlands cover a lot of acreage so the tour didn't go nearly as far as...say, Inverness. But we managed to take in and walk through a lot of gorgeous scenery that included hills, rivers, trees and trails. True, Scottish Highlands include a lot of rolling hills that have been nibbled to the earth by livestock, but there's also a considerable amount of territory that's comparable to what we have here in the Pacific Northwest. And yes, they do have a small logging industry although the trees are generally smaller.

The Scottish Highlands: More Green Than Many of Us Think

Dewar's World of Whisky (the Scots spell the word without the "e") happened to be on the way back to Edinburgh, so why wouldn't the bus stop there? We took a quick tour and consumed a couple of samples. We're not whisky (or whiskey) drinkers so learned that the difference between Irish and Scotch whisky is that Irish is triple distilled with no smoky, peat flavor used while the Scotch is double distilled and has the smoky flavor. I'm not sure which I'd prefer but BowlingWidow goes to the Irish side of things.

Back at the B&B for our last night, we were jarred by what sounded like fireworks at around 10 pm. My first thought that the English were declaring war on Scotland (again) and that bombing had commenced. The next morning we were assured by our host that it was just a celebration aboard a ship at Leith Harbor. I finished my haggis and we got ready for the train trip that would take us back to London for the final time.

Next: London Redux

UK & Ireland Trip Part Five: Belfast

In my youth, whenever I heard the word “Belfast” on the news it was usually preceded by adjectives such as “divided” or “war torn”. We were looking forward to this leg of the trip to check out Belfast first-hand since the civil unrest that has taken place there is still firmly lodged in the memories of many of its residents. Some even have bullets still firmly lodged in their bodies.

But to get to Belfast, we needed to get up fairly early, drive the car across the Republic of Ireland, drop it back at Budget, catch a taxi to Connolly train station (we were very thankful that taxis were everywhere throughout the trip when we needed them), and ride the train into Northern Ireland’s largest city.

Downtown Belfast, Northern Ireland

The train was an easy 2.5 hours that seemed even faster due to a nice conversation we had with some folks across the aisle. Frank was born in Ireland and moved to Washington D.C. many years ago where he met his wife. They were doing some traveling after attending a family wedding. He just, in fact, became a U.S. Citizen. We talked about a lot of things, including rugby and what all of those guys are doing in that pile during the “scrum”. Turns out that rugby actually has rules. All this time, I thought it was just a form of Greco-Roman wrestling.

Rural Northern Ireland

When we arrived we took a taxi to the B&B, since we had no idea which direction it was. We unloaded our stuff for the brief two night stay, went out for a quick sandwich, and arranged for a 1 1/2 hour private taxi tour of the city of Belfast.

After we got into the back seat of the cab, we realized that we had a major problem with communication. We had no idea what the cab driver was saying most of the time. I thought the Scots were the ones with the verbal delivery that Americans couldn’t understand? Seriously, we could have understood Ozzy Osbourne on a bad night much better. But onward we went…

Downtown Belfast is clearly a mix of old and new when it comes to buildings. Some, such as City Hall, have been preserved and gotten facelifts over the years. Others have obviously come back to life as a new structure after one too many hits by a well-placed bomb or two during the tough times.

Loyalist Mural at Sandy Row

We visited the shipyard where The Titanic was built (a very large hole) and moved on to check out the Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods where The Troubles took place. The Protestant (or Loyalist) neighborhoods are called Shankill and Sandy Row, while Catholics predominately occupy The Falls. Murals abound in both but most of the bitter emotions reside in The Falls. Our taxi driver was clearly Catholic. He said so in no uncertain terms and that was confirmed when at one point he referred to William of Orange as “that little faggot” (one of the only things he said that we understood).

Mural in the Catholic Falls Street Area

There are plenty of resources and even some movies that cover the detailed history of the “Troubles” so I’m not going to attempt to tackle that. Northern Ireland officially became a division of the United Kingdom in 1921, while the rest of the island is the independent Republic of Ireland. This arrangement did not set well with everyone. The nationalists (predominately Catholics from the Republic) didn’t particularly like the fact that the unionists (predominately Protestants from the UK) occupied the north of what they deemed to be theirs. High levels of violence continued regularly through 1998 when The Good Friday Agreement was signed.

Still, the sense we got from talking to our driver (when we could understand him anyway) and locals is that tension between Republicans and Loyalists still exist. This is evidenced by much of the street art, graffiti and murals (although increasingly they’re being drawn with messages of peace). Conway Street in between the two neighborhoods closes at 10:00 pm each night in fear of isolated dust ups. The conflicts are attributable to politics and economics, however the only real violence that happens anymore usually does so around July 12th of each year, at the time of the annual Orange Walk series of parades through town, a British time of celebrating past victories.

BowlingJoe: Northern Ireland's Newest Whiskey Drinker

After the taxi ride, it was time for a pre-dinner ale. We chose to visit the elegant and well-preserved Crown Liquor Saloon downtown. Built in 1849 and full of mahogany, smoked glass, and a marble bar, this establishment is owned by The National Trust. We especially liked the little private seating booth areas called “snugs” complete with their own little door.

For dinner it was the Morning Star Pub & Restaurant where BowlingWidow satisfied her pasta craving and I went with Roast Chicken with Champ (mashed potatoes, scallions, gravy). Afterwards, we walked back to the B&B past the old Queens University where rowdy freshman seemed to own the streets and nightlife.

BowlingWidow Preparing to Risk Her Life on the Rope Bridge

The next morning was our first of two day-long bus tours. Since we didn’t want to rent a car again we thought this would be the best way to get around and see some of the sights north of Belfast. Our first stop was Carrickfergus Castle where we roamed the grounds for a short time. Next it was off to Ballycastle to hike to a rope bridge and check out some amazing scenery.

Inexplicably, we made a couple of more stops en route to our next destination. We figured it out: smoke breaks. The bus drivers need smoke breaks! Finally, we stopped for lunch and soon visited The Old Bushmill’s Irish whiskey distillery. Not enough time for a full tour but we did get to visit the museum, gift shop, and sample a shot of the product. BowlingWidow had a hot toddy which she really enjoyed. Uh oh. I think I may have to make a few toddies for her this winter. As we left the Bushmill’s parking lot, we noticed a Bloodmobile in the parking lot. Some photo ops are simply handed to you.

Whiskey and Blood Drawing: Two Things Made for Each Other

The bus continued to The Giants Causeway, a display of 40,000 rock columns on the north coast that happened naturally as a result of volcanic activity. We spent some time roaming and climbing on these structures and even doing a yoga balance pose or two for good measure. The Causeway was the last true stop we made during the day and we only stopped for a quick picture or two of Dunluce Castle from a distance on the way back to Belfast.

To end the evening we walked from Belfast to our B&B, stopping at a pub called Auntie Annie’s for some snacks and one final Guinness before we were to leave Ireland for Scotland the next morning.

The Giant's Causeway: 40,000 Weird Volcanic Rocks

Next: Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands

UK & Ireland Trip Part Four: Galway

Galway, Ireland is a vibrant city of around 70,000 people and the third largest in the Republic. We chose to visit because of its reputation as a city with a great pub and street music scene and a place that generally embraces the arts. Besides, it was midway through our vacation and we needed a visit to a place where we could do some laundry, relax and wander aimlessly. So that's what we did.

Bangers & Mash: Do Not Attempt if Counting Calories

Upon checking into the Balcony House B&B and meeting our hostess, Teresa, we took the 10 minute walk into town. We were hungry and ate at the first pub we saw, called Murty Rabbitt's. I had the hearty bangers and mash dish while BowlingWidow went with the traditional Cottage Pie. It was there that I also had my first Beamish Stout of the trip. To walk off the dinner we headed to the central part of town and Eyre Square.

Strolling Through Downtown Galway

The next morning we snuck into a small table at the B&B dining room. The room was full of Americans. Socializing with Americans: not high on our list of things to do in the UK and Ireland. It was a drizzly morning with the kind of weather that must have inspired Graham Nash to write "Cold Rain". The perfect weather to take a load of laundry to the Laundromat.

Because we're not night owls we went looking for an afternoon session of traditional music at a downtown pub, and found one at Tig Coili. Very crowded but most enjoyable. One thing to like about these sessions is that you can still have a conversation with the music going on. They don't play particularly loud, as is the case in a lot of American bars.

One of Many Bookstores in Galway

After a day and night of kicking around town, we got up and took a short drive to the village of Cong, around 25 miles north of Galway. We visited the grounds of Ashford Castle, which dates back to the 12th century and is now a very, very, very pricey hotel. Looking like the riff-raff that nobody wants in their palace, we didn't go inside. Instead we headed to the heart of the town and walked through the ruins of the Cong Abbey (which dates back to the 7th century) and its cemetery.

Back at Galway, we took in a bit of sports culture, watching a football (soccer) match at Monroe's Pub with a house full of crazed young fans who scream every bit as loud as we do for our football and then some. Going back and forth between the bar and our table, I was very cautious to insure that I didn't irritate the masses by blocking their view of the big screen TV. By the way it was Manchester United 3 and Liverpool 2, much to the delight of the partisan Manchester U crowd.

What's left of the Cong Abbey: 1,300 Years Old

After the game we wandered to a Spanish (yes, Spanish) restaurant called Cava to catch an American (yes, American) folk music show. Oddly and coincidentally our friend Dave Nachmanoff's sometimes bass player Mike Lindauer was performing with Buddy Mondlock. We had never met him but after the show said hello, made a connection and snapped a photo to send to Dave.

This was our last night in Galway and poor BowlingWidow was still battling a cold and elected to get some rest. I found a pub that had some live NFL Football that started at 6:00pm local time (10:00am Pacific Coast time). I ended up sitting at the bar next to a jolly, but quite inebriated, local man who chatted me up. When I told him I was from the Seattle area he said that he hasn't been there but has been to "Saffrasisco".

Watching soccer at Monroe's Pub With "The Lads"

After that stellar moment, it was time to go to bed. We had a 6:15am alarm to respond to, and many miles to cover that day, on our way to Belfast.

Next: Belfast, Northern Ireland

UK & Ireland Trip Part Three: Kenmare and Western Ireland

Was he or was he not? That was the question on the news, as we woke up on September 15th, regarding the sobriety of Irish Prime Minister (called a Taoiseach - pronounced "Tee-Shock") Brian Cowen. Apparently the night before, the big fella was burning the candle till about 3:30am singing, doing impressions and downing who knows how many pints of Guinness. Not the smartest move when you have a live morning interview scheduled on national television. But, in the words of the Dublin cab driver who drove us to Budget to pick up our rental car, "give him a break, everyone needs a night out."

The Nissan Micra and BowlingWidow Pose in Front of the Kenmare B&B

We picked up our Nissan Micra, loaded it with our stuff and prepared for the trip to rural western Ireland. I had driven a small manual transmission Peugeot (a true piece of s**t) in England 25 years ago. Could I recapture the magic of sitting in the right seat and driving on the left side of the road once again? Let's just say that in my zeal to get on the road and out of crazy Dublin I immediately drove over a curb, scraping the undercarriage of the vehicle. A tough start but I did pay for wall to wall insurance a few minutes earlier. No harm, no foul this time. Renting a car in Ireland ain't cheap when you add it all up. Around 400 Euros for a week (over $500) but that's the going rate if you want to see anything on the coast without slogging around in a tour bus for days. Autonomy has its price.

After figuring out the exit system that leaves Dublin (pretty much what we'd call a beltway around here) we were on our way cruising at 120 kilometers per hour. We decided to stop for a water and snack break in a little town that's smack in the middle of the country, called Roscrea (pop. 5000). This was a pleasant find, with a castle that dates back to the 13th century. We wished we had more time to roam around this heritage town.

Roscrea: Scenic Little Town in the Middle of Ireland

Later in the day we made a wrong turn (or two) and ended up paying 6 Euros on toll roads that we never really needed to take. We shrugged off the mistake that cost us 45 minutes and moved on south to a town called Adare (pop. 2500), which is just to the south of the larger city of Limerick. Judging by the amount of traffic here, this was clearly a place where a lot of tourists like to stop. And once we passed a row of thatched roof cottages and restaurants, BowlingWidow wanted to take our late lunch break here. When it comes to "thatched roofs","cottages", "villages", "cobblestones"...you get the idea, she needs to be a part of it.

BowlingWidow Checking Out an Adare Thatched Roof

As we approached our destination of Kenmare, the roads became narrower and more challenging to navigate. Despite the beating that our left rearview mirror was taking from the vegetation that hung over the road, I was still up to the task. Let me stop here and say this about the roads of this part of Ireland: they almost always have a speed limit of 100 kph. That's around 60 mph. Seriously, you have NO BUSINESS driving even half that fast on these roads unless your last name is Earnhardt, Foyt, or Andretti. What are the Irish thinking???

We got to Kenmare (pop. 2000) tired but in good shape. I had no idea how to find the B&B as it was a short drive from town. Finally, I figured out how to use the Verizon Global Phone that we got for such instances and reached Sheila, our hostess, who managed to get us to Forgefield House without sending us tumbling into a sheep pasture. Sheila and her husband said that we were the last guests of the year for them and rewarded us with a spacious room with hardwood floors upstairs and an incredible view of the rural property.

Rested up, we headed for dinner at P.F. McCarthy's Pub in town where we enjoyed pizza and a pint of locally produced ale called Kenmare appropriately enough. This was the first microbrew we had on the trip and have to admit that, while it was a decent effort, what we brew in Washington and Oregon is superior. At precisely 7:15 pm local time, just after a nice slice of highly caloric pizza, my group exercise session back at home was starting at 11:15 am. Ha!

A Typical "Superhighway" in Western Ireland

The next day we saw a road sign that said something like this: "Drive Carefully: 52 people have died on the roads of County Kerry in the last four years". That's probably the truth. And I'm also betting that 46 of them were Americans whose last thought had to do with why those insane people are driving on the wrong side of the road.

Yes, it's on to the Ring of Kerry. A seemingly short and breathtakingly scenic drive of around 100 miles that in reality takes most of the day. And that's the biggest misunderstanding about driving in Ireland. What you need to do is estimate how long it will take you to get from point A to point B with a handful of stops along the way, double it and add an additional hour. Yes, even more if you wander off to visit an ancient stone circle or two as we did (Staigue Stone Fort).

Some Classic Irish Scenery on The Ring of Kerry

If you find yourself driving the Ring of Kerry, leave early and go a clockwise route to avoid being stuck behind tour buses. That's one of the many bits of great advice we got from Rick Steves' Ireland book. Another is to build in time to take the Skellig Ring within the drive. This consists of an even smaller road, but has the added advantage of not allowing tour buses or motor homes on the loop. Plus you'll be able to get one of the highest and most stellar views of the green rolling hills, cliffs, and other landscape by doing so.

BowlingJoe's Amazing Find: Way Better Than The Blarney Stone

Back in Kenmare via the Valentia Island car ferry, we had a Murphy's Stout (Finally something other than Guinness!), ordered some fish & chips, and caught some live traditional Irish music back at McCarthy's.

We left Kenmare the next day with the town of Galway the being the next stop for a few days. On the way, we took another short ferry ride (that holds 50 cars) from Tarbert to Killimer that spans the mouth of The River Shannon. Towns seemed to be few and far between on this stretch so we stopped at a place called Milltown Malbay for lunch. Malbay is obviously suffering the effects of the recession, as many places in Ireland are. Every other shop or restaurant was closed down, and this once-thriving place near the water reminded me somewhat of the state my hometown of Port Angeles is in these days.

Our final pre-Galway stop was at the famous Cliffs of Moher. Five miles of 700 foot cliffs caused my massive erosion. Again, amazing view and watching birds fly several hundred feet below us was a bit freakish. The cliffs were impressive, but my vote for best natural vast expanse of scenery that I've been to would still have to go to our Grand Canyon.

The Scenic Cliffs of Moher

We made our way through the rolling hills (and some really large ones at that) of what is known as The Burren. This is the rock-filled Ireland with stone walls that seemingly stretch for miles to keep sheep and cattle from wandering off. The Burren is not a lush green like The Ring of Kerry was but it spectacular in its own hilly and rugged way.

Next: Galway, Ireland

UK & Ireland Trip Part Two: Dublin

BowlingWidow and I woke up on September 12th in Holyhead, Wales which was a good thing since that's where we went to sleep the night before. Plenty of time for an English Breakfast before we boarded the Stella Lines ferry to Dun Laoghaire, the small town where we stayed 8 miles south (and a short commuter train ride) of Dublin. From a quality perspective, the boat was somewhere in between our Washington State Ferries and a small cruise ship. It was a comfortable two-hour ride across the Irish Sea.

Sunday Market in Dun Laoghaire

We took a cab to Lynden B&B, although in reality we could have walked it. Upon checking in, we noticed that one of the stereotypical things we had heard about the Irish was coming to fruition: they do enjoy chatting you up. The friendly owner welcomed us and gave us a brief history of Ireland for 20 minutes before giving us our rickety old skeleton key to the room.

We headed off to lunch and found a place that had a nice roast beef carvery going for it, and along with some potatoes and vegetables, recorded the first of many pints of Guinness in Ireland (speaking strictly of myself here of course). As luck would have it, we found a nice Sunday market to stroll around and burn off some calories.

It was time board the DART train and conquer Dublin for the first time. Our initial impression of Dublin is that it's a grittier and more working class city than London is, although it's got every bit of the history (especially literary history) that London does and perhaps then some. The infrastructure is more worn down and its downtown workers are far less apt to wear a tie than in London.

Dining Room at the Lynden Bed and Breakfast

This takes us to the next two words: pub crawl! The theme of this particular crawl was Traditional Irish Music, as two talented musicians led us around Dublin's Temple Bar area (Temple Bar is to Dublin what The French Quarter is to New Orleans - or what Pioneer Square WANTS to be to Seattle). They performed at three different pubs in two hours, beginning at a place called John Gogarty's Pub, named after a local poet and author. This was a whole lotta fun as we had the pleasure of listening to instruments such as the fiddle and bodhran. When it was over, we had no idea where we were relative to the train station in the black night, so we took a cab to Pearse Station and hopped the DART back home.

Monday morning we made our way downstairs to enjoy a nice Irish Breakfast made by our hostess Maria. This consisted of eggs, sausage, bacon, porridge and...yes...blood pudding. We put the brakes on when it came to the blood pudding. Any dish with the name "blood" in it is guaranteed not to make the culinary cut on our list.

Dublin Traditional Music Pub Crawl Scene

Back to Dublin, this was a big sightseeing day for us. We visited Trinity College (founded in 1592) and took the informative hour-long tour given by one of the witty students. Trinity is where the famous Book of Kells is at, so we couldn't resist a glance. Next door is the almost-as-well-known Long Library Room with its two story high shelves of books, most of which were obviously bound a REALLY long time ago. For any library employees reading this, Bowling Widow wants to add that they shelve the books by size: big books on the bottom and small books on top.

Hungry for lunch, we stopped for a sandwich at the Stag's Head. This is a well preserved pub that was built in 1770 and contains a great deal of Victorian mirrors for some reason. Speaking of pubs, while I'm planning on devoting a blog post exclusively to "all things pub" (since much time on this vacation was devoted to the solid and painstaking research pertaining to what happens in a pub) but I do want to note one of the two best pub environments we encountered in the UK. If you are in Dublin, you *must* go to the Central Hotel Library Bar. There are no signs that will point you there. No advertisements. You probably won't find it in you guide book. Click on the hyperlink and check it out. Comfy, classy chairs and furniture. A delightful little bar in the corner. In short, a great place to take a rest from walking the streets of Dublin.

Street in the Temple Bar District of Dublin

Refueled, it was on to visit Dublin Castle a short walk away and the site of too many historical moments to mention (including some 20th century excitement) in this post. After the Castle, we crossed the Liffey River to the north into old town Dublin. And old town is quite a fitting description, we thought, as we walked along the quay. It has its own unique character but is definitely not the Dublin you'll see on the postcards.

It was nearing the end of a long day, so we thought it best just to stop at our new favorite place, Marks and Spencer, to get a wrap and a sandwich to go and eat them at the B&B that night.

September 14th would be our last full day in Dublin. It was also the exact date of our 25th anniversary and we awoke to howling wind and rain outside our window. Was it a sign? Nah, it didn't last and it turned out to be a fine day, although it did mark the end of seven straight days without any significant rain on this trip.

Back in Dublin, we took a long walk to Kilmainham Gaol (jail). This jail, now a local attraction, was built in 1796 making it a new building compared to most we had been in. This was prison for both debtors and those of the political variety. Many executions of Irish Republic leaders by the hands of the British took place within the walls of the jail. After looking at some of the cells and comparing it to a similar visit we made to Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, we had to admit that relatively, Alcatraz would have been like staying at The Westin. At least in Alcatraz you got a bed and a hole for a toilet. At Kilmainham you slept on the floor and were issued a bucket that you did everything in - including eating out of. On a positive note though, I do need to point out that the size of the prison cells are actually larger than our B&B room at The Jesmond in London.

BowlingJoe: Dwarfed by the Gates of Guinness

And now for something completely different: The Guinness Storehouse. No trip to Dublin is complete without this. The Storehouse is not to be confused with the actual brewery. We aren't allowed in there. But the Storehouse did have some very nice artifacts of Guinness history both old and new that were there for perusal. The top floor of the Storehouse is The Gravity Bar where the black stuff can be consumed to sweeping views of the city. And, of course, we had to go to their huge gift shop for a few souvenirs that included some glasses and shirts.

View of Dublin from the Guinness Gravity Bar

On Wednesday it was time to say goodbye to Dublin and enjoyed one last Irish breakfast with a few others staying at the B&B. We realized that over the last three mornings we sat at tables with visitors from the Czech Republic, France, and Poland, respectively. And the conversations (or attempts at conversations) that ensue as a result are one of the things that makes travel what it is.

Next blog: the challenge of renting a car in Ireland and driving on the wrong side of their skinny little roads. Did we live through the experience? I'm not telling. Stay tuned.

UK & Ireland Trip Part One: London (with a dash of Wales)

In September of 1985, 25 years ago, BowlingWidow and I were married and spent our honeymoon in London and Northern England around the Lake District. At the time, I was a travel agent. It was kind of a strange gig. One would get to visit some nice places, compliments of airlines, hotels and other travel-related companies. But then when the clock struck midnight it was back home to buy ramen noodle packs at 10 for a dollar. Travel agents didn’t fare too well in the pay department.

For our 25^th anniversary we decided to up the ante. Three weeks of vacation time in which we’d give London another look, Wales (briefly), Ireland, Scotland and back to London again.

At the time we bought our tickets, the least expensive purchase was to fly from Seattle to Vancouver BC on a small regional flight and then on to London nonstop on an Air Canada jet (Boeing products, of course) for close to 9 hours. Great flight (except for the obligatory turbulence) with no screaming children on board.

Arriving at around 2:00pm the following day, we took the famous London Underground (or “Tube”) from London Heathrow Airport to the Russell Square station on the Piccadilly Line. About a 6 pound ride with a few “milk run” stops but took only around 45 minutes, not much longer than a taxi would have. The tube is a giant spider’s web of a system and it’s surprisingly easy to move about the city at a reasonable cost.

Room at The Jesmond: Just Like Being Back at College

We booked Bed and Breakfasts for the entire trip and our first experience at the Jesmond Hotel would be the most spartan and we knew it. All that was available would be a walk-in-closet sized room with a sink and two small twin beds. Very romantic in a prison cell sort of way. The shower? It consisted of a tiny room upstairs (shared with a few other rooms) and was so touchy that one false dial adjustment resulted in a memorable scalding.

Our first meal and cask conditioned ales were in a pub (gee, what a surprise) called Mortimer Arms that was a few blocks from the B&B. We indulged in some excellent Thai food along with pints of Black Sheep Bitter.

Our first official “event” involved heading to the U.S. Embassy to pick up some passes to watch The House of Commons in session at their Parliament buildings. After some bureaucratic confusion (they’re apparently as good as we are in this country about that) we secured them. Fortunately the nice man with the machine gun standing at the Embassy door didn’t have to swing into action.

Beans: it's what's for breakfast, English style

The British House of Commons is as much about theater as it is getting anything done. Unlike our Congressional speeches, there’s a great deal of back and forth dialogue that takes place, and some resulting attempts at “one-upmanship”. The topic of that day was agricultural issues. Not particularly exciting but it was enjoyable for us Yanks to show up and watch the proceedings.

Looking toward NE London across the beautiful brown Thames

Next it was on to the British Museum. This houses the largest collection of artifacts and items in the world that have nothing to do with Great Britain. Seven million items in fact. If it’s ancient, it’s in there. And I do believe that we saw more vases than exist in all of the Pier One Imports stores combined.

Dinner on our first full night? Quite possibly the best East Indian food we’ve ever had. London is a gold mine of great restaurants given that 300 different languages are heard among its population of 7.2 million. The place in question is a tiny place on Cleveland Street called Olive’s Indian. Complex and spicy chicken curry at more than affordable prices.

BowlingWidow on the spiral staircase of The Momument

Some other highlights of the first leg of the trip included climbing 311 spiral stairs to the top of The Monument for some great panoramic pictures. This is (yet another) structure designed by Christopher Wren as a tribute to rebuilding after the Great Fire of London in 1666.

We also paid a visit to The Borough Market on the banks of the Thames River (which has remained the glorious brown color that we remembered it being in 1985). This market reminded us of our Pike Place Market in Seattle only it was totally devoted to food. Fruit, vegetables, cheeses, prepared ethnic food and so on. No cheap trinkets or touristy gifts here.

Marks and Spencer: Red Wine To Go!

London is a great town to walk around, and we did plenty of sightseeing from its streets. We saw things that ranged from Westminster Abbey to the tiny flat that Samuel Johnson once lived in. And if you want to see St. Paul’s Cathedral for free, here’s a tip: Every day at 5:00pm, they have a choir performance called Evensong in which non-members of the church are invited to come in and have a listen.

Another tip? Three words: Marks and Spencer. This is essentially a department store chain with a grocery section and food court (usually at the bottom floor). Every town of a decent size has one, and we would grab pre-made sandwiches, pasta salads and other goodies to stuff into our backpacks when we didn’t have the time to or desire for sit-down meal. They even have sealed plastic “glasses” containing red wine for that perfect picnic. Why this concept hasn’t caught on in the United States is beyond us.

Rainbow Over Holyhead, Wales

In London, we took the train from Euston Station to Holyhead, Wales. Schedule-wise, it was best to overnight in Wales so that we could catch a ferry boat across the Irish Sea to Dun Laoghaire (“Leary”) and Dublin the next day. The B&B at Holyhead was a decent walk in the rain from the train station and fit our needs just right. We were also rewarded with a rainbow and an excellent Cornish pasty at a local pub on that Saturday night.

Next blog: Part Two. Dublin, Ireland