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Archive for August 2007

Photographs Ireland 2007

picasaweblogo en-

They are the new online album hosted by Picasaweb with all the pictures of my last trip to Ireland. Find them at the addresses

http://picasaweb.google.com/bitbreaker/WwwIrlandiamoCom
http://picasaweb.google.com/bitbreaker/WwwIrlandiamoCom2
http://picasaweb.google.com/bitbreaker/WwwIrlandiamoCom3
http://picasaweb.google.com/bitbreaker/WwwIrlandiamoCom4

Enjoy the show!

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Top Five

Just for fun I decided to post my personal ranking of the five things I liked most of my last trip and the five that I liked less.

The ranking is just a game and I assure you that choosing the best moments was just as difficult to understand if there were five somewhat ugly.

Best of Ireland 2007
1 The waves on the cliffs of Doolin
2 The evenings at the Corner House in Ardara
3 The kite on the beaches of Connemara
4 The Lazy Lobster Lobster
5 The rainbow on the Dingle Bay

Worst of Ireland 2007
1 The price of B & B in Kinsale
2 The price of diesel in Northern Ireland
3 The soporific pace of the cars on Irish roads
4 The rudeness of some European tourists (I prefer to stay vague ...)
5 Back in Italy :)
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From Dublin to house

IMG_3422 Last night we surrendered to the call of the vibrant nightlife of the capital and after a dinner at Swords' Old Boro we head towards the Temple Bar The atmosphere is the same as always and most importantly we are Saturday night and the streets of the center there populated by thousands of people in search of the perfect pint.

IMG_1869 We try to get to Gogarty (a true temple of traditional music in Dublin) but it is really impossible to cross the threshold. After a walk to the center of Temple Bar we head to one of the most beautiful and choreographic local notturuni the city: the Zanzibar. The melancholy takes over and the only good part Irish whiskey can cure it.

IMG_1876 We wake up today with the feeling that something special is ending as at the end of all my soggirono in Ireland.

We opt for a quick ride back downtown to enjoy the last moments of magic to Gogarty and a jump to the Jameson Distillery.

IMG_1896 Our flight is on time at 17:40 and took off from Dublin, while the captain assures us that in Bergamo we will find a wonderful evening and very warm 32 degrees. Damn! We land in Bergamo in advance of the expected and there sorbiamo an endless queue to control the documents of the customs where centiania of people thronged transiting in front of a single sleepy cop. The Irish people complain a little and I began again to no longer feel at home. I am comforted by the very idea that soon I will return again in Ireland.

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From Donegal to Dublin

IMG_1834 We leave early and Donegal We travel a long way toward the capital. The day is beautiful and all in all we do not mind spending it on the road.

We put ourselves in the car with the memory of last night still in Ardara and spent the dinner Nacy's Bar, a pub where the atmosphere is really amazing so friendly that the first thing you think of when you come to put you in slippers and a scelgelrti room where you can relax and spend the evening.

We cross a stretch of Northern Ireland and where we go from Enniskillen rinforniamo fuel prices in the UK unfortunately.

IMG_1854 We stop for lunch at Kells (the city became famous for the Book of Kells illuminated manuscript which is the oldest and most prestigious of all Irish history).

We continue towards Drogheda passing through the valley of Boyle (where New Grange) and reach Dublin under a beautiful sun and a temperature so mild that causes us to immediately divert to the beach of Portmarnock.

We are in Dublin for our last night in Ireland.

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The other Irish

IMG_1718 The day still has pittosto foggy and so we decided to visit Londonderry. The idea of ​​wandering into Northern Ireland which makes us crazy, but the curiosity to see the city takes us through the hundreds of miles away.

IMG_1725 We park the car near the center and we decided to walk across the wall that surrounds the heart of the city. The impression that leaves Derry is very different from what we left Belfast last year. Derry is a lively, modern and at times very much English but retains the nuances of Ireland emphasized that make really nice.

IMG_1773 The pubs are fabulous and the architecture of their refined interior. The people we met were very courteous and polite.

The feeling changes completely leaving the center and heading toward the Sunday Bloody Sunday Memorial. The neighborhood is marked by numerous murals (similar to those of West Belfast) and written in praise of the struggle and to 'IRA Our memory is soon to songs and films that dealt with the theme of the troubles.

IMG_1778 We leave Derry after a pretty funny mistake in the payment of the parking lot and head back to Ireland (the Republic) to Buncrana. IMG_1801 The beach that you reach on the left before the country is spectacular and the sun that now dominates the sky for a halt there. We continue to Buncrana where we stop for lunch very late.

IMG_3407 We go back to Donegal Town and we stop for one last aquilonata the beach near Mountcharles. We expect the last night in Ireland far from Dublin airport and we will get back to reality.

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A night to remember

IMG_1653 We go to dinner in the charming 22 Main Street, where I give you three Killybeegs oysters as an appetizer (divine!) and a shank of lamb that grazes perfection.

We are looking for a place to spend the evening and we recall that at Ardara during the day we stopped for coffee at the Corner (public) house that had seemed the most Irish pubs throughout the holiday.

Despite bottoglia white Chilean unconsciously I start driving towards Aradara consisting of only a road that twists and climbs rants in total darkness and fog to the mountains for twenty miles. The antenna of the GPS decides to abandon after the first two.

The show and the atmosphere that awaits us once inside the door of the Corner House is indescribable. We are the only tourists and the pub is full in every corner. To the left as you enter the sublime quality of eight musicians entertain local audiences with a refined repoertorio which also includes interludes of story-telling.

IMG_1677 The audience participates in a lively and playful. As people are aware of our presence (a camera and rain jacket are hard to conceal a mark) goes over to greet us and welcome us. The warmth and the friendly spirit, so make us fall in love with this place.

The evening is spent in a feast of traditional music, stories and gossip from the pub. A memorable evening indeed. I drive to St. Johns Point trying to conserve as much as possible in the heart of the good times we just experienced. I sleep more and more convinced that I have always found what I seek in this land.

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Donegal wild

IMG_1570 There sevgliamo today with the benefit of the sun which, unfortunately, however, soon gives way to fog. But this is right: the Donegal deserves to be visited, location, and also discovered in this weather.

IMG_1572 We leave to the heart of the Gaeltacht (the Gaelic stronger communities throughout the Republic of Ireland) and, along coastal roads dotted with beautiful beaches and hills dotted with bogs, Glencolmcille reach a cultural center which houses a popular Gaelic.

IMG_1579 We stop for lunch in the charming Chistin An outdoor tables overlooking from where you can enjoy a beautiful view of the beach of the village. The atmosphere here is really one of the outposts at the end of the world.

We continue our journey and with a good dose of patience, we venture to the dirt road leading to Fort. IMG_1612 The road is as wide as our car and terribly bumpy. In return, the views that lurks behind every corner and behind every hill and 'spectacular.

Let us return to the inside almost Alpine Adara and then to Glenties. IMG_1619 In these locations, the Donegal shows his wilder side where nature explodes in a thousand colors and animals that live peep at every corner.

Tired but satisfied we return to the b & b in St. Johns Point. Tomorrow is the last day of exploration before returning to Dublin. IMG_1624 A little sadness begins to meander. Tonight we'll find the best cure from malt :)

A note on hospitality: I believe that never before in this region estramente people are warm and friendly. IMG_1633 I greet everyone you meet. In the race car will leave for the road. In pubs will look forward to telling some story or your ascoltarela. In this sense, really have the feeling of being at the end of the world ...

IMG_1650

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St. John's Point

IMG_1464 The peninsula that ends at the St. John's Point offers a truly remarkable setting. Walking along the narrow road from the main road leading to the top of the peninsula you can enjoy views of the sea on three sides. IMG_1483 Shortly before the end of the road is on the left a beautiful uncrowded beach. It 's the ideal place for a swim in the ocean on a hot day like this.

IMG_1498 Continue along the road towards the lighthouse that dominates the final part of the St. Johns Point studded with sharp cliffs that are lost in the sea.

IMG_1521 It 'a beautiful evening and travels to Kellybegs for dinner we enjoy a beautiful sunset over the bay.

Tomorrow we will go in Donegal, its wilderness, its mountains and beautiful beaches, fishing vessels and villages in which you really spoken yet and only Gaelic.

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From Donegal to Connemara

IMG_1427 Today we expect a long journey of almost 300km. Last abundant breakfast at Ardmore House (where we really had a great time!) And again on the road. The giormata looks spectacular even today so that I could almost doubt that we are actually in Ireland.

IMG_1435 We stop to admire the Kleymore Abbey from the road where you can enjoy a beautiful view also to the other side of the lake which overlooks the Opatija.

We enter into the heart of County Mayo, where the typical landscape of Connemara gives way to endless campaigns. We find very little traffic and quickly reach the lively and picturesque Westport. Time for a coffee and set sail Sligo.

IMG_1436 We stop for lunch at the Yeats Tavern (near the cemetery where the tomb of the glorious Irish poet and writer). The inn is very comfortable and allows me to dispose of a little nervous accomulato during the trip. Let me explain. The Irish are an example to guide me in the second world what it means to follow the rules of the Code of strada.Nel better or worse. Too much time you will likely invoke the end of the continuous line of a country road in the middle of nowhere to overcome a bmw or a mercedes 300 hp that abiding duty to proceed at 50km / h. IMG_1446 Conversely you will certainly be the victim of a heart attack when you see a point in your tractor direazione to 100km / h on a strerrato percchè only by the sea at that point some poor wretch in his own time, set the speed limit to 100. As I said for better or for worse. The fact remains that only in Ireland, I happened to pass by an evil ferrari or porsche while I was driving a panda.

IMG_1451 Continue along the road to Donegal Town and from there to Dunkineely little further on we find the deviation that we look forward to St. John's Point on the end of the peninsula where the Sea View House, b & b that will host the next 3 days.

The day was truly spectacular and we very nearly hot. We reach the end of the peninsula with an ever watchful eye on the bay, hoping to spot some dolphins.

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Atmosphere of pubs

IMG_1394 The atmosphere that we live in a traditional Irish pub is really hard to describe, even if you have available as in this case, words, sounds and images.

IMG_1399 Last night we spent the evening at Mannion's pub in Cifden. In my personal experience I think that the ingredients were all there: traditional music (singing contanto player tablespoons), local fishermen completely drunk, whiskey rivers, rude tourists (I do not really want ... but in this case it was French), choreographed fights, and a burst of Gardi Dirty Old Town sung by anyone within and outside the premises to restore the cosmic balance in the pub.

IMG_1402 I think for a non-Irish is difficult to understand how to punch up the pub is still a practice so widespread here. To honor the headlines but it is necessary to clarify that this is something completely different from what we are used to fight in Italy for example disco. People here go on for tens of minutes to poke around in an absolutely terribly imaginative and playful "look at that big belly you would not be able to lift the skirt of your wife!" ... To which one responds "you're so drunk that if you fall pants do not you know it! "... and so on (reminds me so much of the game environment pirate Monkey Island) . To punch you get just for fun, and very difficult to attend to the real evil.

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