In August, I went to Ireland with my best friend Emma. We were there for 10 days, and we rented a car and drove around the spectacularly beautiful countryside. I’m going to post my favorite photos here, with some brief descriptions. The photos are a combination of pictures taken on my iPhone (the ones with borders, mostly) and ones taken with my new camera, a Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7.

We arrived in Dublin on a sunny Sunday morning, completely jet-lagged. We took a shuttle into the city, and (after some confusion and walking) found our first bed and breakfast: Kilronan House. We stayed here for two nights, and it was incredibly lovely with a helpful and friendly staff. The breakfast was incredibly yummy.

We also managed to get locked *inside* our room. Here is Emma trying to get us out:

After we were settled in at the B&B, we went out to explore a bit and find some food. We walked through St. Stephens Green, and ended up eating at Cafe en Seine:

We then popped into a few bookstores. One of the best things about traveling with Emma is that she never says no to going into a bookstore or library. In fact, she encourages it.

Strolling back through St. Stephen’s Green to our B&B, we discovered a live band concert and many people sitting in the sunshine to enjoy the music:

After a nap at the B&B, we dragged our jet-lagged selves out for some food, live music, and my first Guinness of the trip:

It was a gorgeous sight to behold.

The next day we went on one of the “Hop On/Hop Off” bus tours with live commentary, to transport us around the city. Our first “Hop Off” was at the Guinness Storehouse:

After touring the 7 floors and stopping at the bar at the top (which has incredible views of the city), we got back on the bus and took it north of the Liffey to O’Connell Street. While seeing the historic sights there, we stopped in a few more bookstores:

The Millennium Spire:

Ha’Penny Bridge:

The Liffey:

We then went to Trinity Collage to see the book of Kells and the library:

That night we went on the Literary Pub Crawl, which started at the Duke:

The Pub Crawl guides are two funny and entertaining actors. In addition to telling us the literary history of the bars and streets we went to, they acted out several scenes from plays written by Irish playwrights. Here’s one of our guides:

The tour ended at Davy Byrnes, the bar made famous in Ulysses, where Leopold Bloom has a gorgonzola sandwich and a glass of Burgundy:

Part 2 coming soon – where Emma and I rent a car and drive toward the west on the left side of the road to more adventures! In the meantime, all of my Ireland photos are on Flickr.

In the meantime, remember that you can still enter my giveaway to win a signed ARC copy of Packing for Mars by Mary Roach, right here. It will be open until August 18th.

Below are some vintage postcards from Ireland, found on the Library of Congress’s Flickr page.

Sláinte!

The first is Round Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawks (not to be confused with Tony Hawk). This is next up on my list of travel memoirs about Ireland. In my experience, humorous travel memoirs are always best. On the back of the book, Tony Hawks was likened to Bill Bryson and Dave Barry, two people who take funny very seriously, so that’s promising. It was recommended to me by one of my Mom’s friends, who read it before she went to Ireland.

The second is Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis. I’m not sure how I was never really aware of Auntie Mame, because it was published in 1955 and has pretty much been extremely well loved by many since then. It was also a play, a Broadway musical, and a movie with Rosalind Russell. Shameful, really, that I was so in the dark about Auntie Mame. But anyway, I could tell by the cover, the title, and the fact that my friend Jon-With-Wonderful-Taste is reading it makes me confident that this will be a book that I adore. It’s also a bit Wodehouse-esque, which can only be a spectacular thing.

The third book is Beatrice and Virgil, Yann Martel’s new book. I was able to score a review copy at Strand yesterday, and I’m so excited to read it. I called my friend Laura yesterday to tell her that I just saw online that Strand has review copies in, and did she want me to pick her up a copy too? Her reply pretty much sums up how I feel too: “I just got goosebumps!”

So many great things to read, so little time!

Title: McCarthy’s Bar
Author: Pete McCarthy
Published: 2000
My edition: St. Martin’s Press Hardcover 2001
Borrowed from: Hoboken Public Library
Pages: 338

Synopsis (from his website): Despite the many exotic places Pete McCarthy has visited, he finds that nowhere can match the particular magic of Ireland, his mother’s homeland.  In McCarthy’s Bar, he journeys from Cork to Donegal.  Travelling through spectacular landscapes, but at all times obeying the rule, Never Pass a Bar That Has Your Name On It, he encounters McCarthy’s Bar’s up and down the land, meeting fascinating, friendly and funny people before pleading to be let out at four o’clock in the morning.

Through adventures with English crusties who have colonised a desolate mountain; roots-seeking, buffet-devouring Americans; priests for whom the word ‘father’ has a loaded meaning; enthusiastic Germans who ‘here since many years holidays are making’; and his fellow barefoot pilgrims on an island called Purgatory, Pete pursues the secrets of Ireland’s global popularity and his own confused Irish-Anglo identity.

Written by someone who is at once both insider and outsider, McCarthy’s Bar is a wonderfully funny, affectionate portrait of a rapidly-changing country.

I read this because: I’m currently obsessed with any and all things concerning Ireland.

My thoughts: I loved this book. As far as armchair traveling goes, Pete McCarthy is an excellent companion/guide. Not only does he take you along for the ride as he meanders through the west of Ireland, he also explores the experience of feeling completely at home in a place that isn’t your homeland. I learned quite a bit about Irish culture and Ireland while reading it, and laughed a lot at his dark and witty humor infused into his stories.

Sadly, when I was googling Pete McCarthy to see if I could find him on Twitter or some links to good interviews, I found out he died in 2004. He was 51. He only wrote one other book; he didn’t get the chance to write the third book he had been planning.

Book club worthy? Mostly just a fun book to read on your own, but potential for some good discussion on whether or not you can feel a stronger attachment and kinship with the country of your ancestors than the country you were raised in.

Follow up required: I’d like to go to Ireland, as soon as possible. :) I’d also like to read his only other book, The Road to McCarthy. (Not to be confused in any way with The Road by Cormac McCarthy.)

You might like this book if you like: Bill Bryson

Links to purchase: Indie Bound, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository, Strand

My favorite lines & passages:

There’s nothing like a couple of Italians staring at you to make you feel ashamed to be part of a nation that thinks polyester is a good fabric. (page 116)

Luckily I’ve trained myself over the years never to go anywhere without something to read, just in case someone turns up late, the meeting ends early, or I’m inadvertently imprisoned for 35 years and put in solitary confinement. (page 128)

The Celts believed that our world and the spirit world are very close, and that there are particular places of energy where the divide is very thin, and it’s possible to step across to the other side. (page 226)

I like reading in a pub rather than a library or study, as it’s generally much easier to get a drink. (page 258)

I think everyone has an inner voice, and we can all learn to listen to it. You don’t need to analyse where it comes from, but you can attune yourself to it. If you can learn to follow it, it will lead to fulfillment. That’s why I came here. (page 334)