Ireland

We land in Shannon airport on time. The sky is cloudy but the sun occasionally gives reason to hope for the better. You complete formalities with the budget we have a Hyundai Accent with an automatic transmission. The vehicle is in poor condition but is found convenient to drive. Chew on the road and we head towards the Dingle Clare led dall'inossidabile voice.

As we approach the county of Kerry the weather improves and we reach our B & B on the Connor Pass Road under a sun almost Mediterranean. The temperature is pleasant, and we give ourselves a break in the beautiful porch of the House Dunin.

We decide to visit the cliffs to the west and enjoy the best views of the bay.

Here a stiff breeze and sparkling us back to normality of the Irish climate. Let's go back to town in time to book a table at the Old Smokehouse and prepare the stomach for one of the best fried fish in the area.

We conclude the evening migrating from one pub to another in the lively center of Dingle. Tomorrow we expect from the lovely beach of Inch.

It 'the first time, after so many washes in Ireland, I decided to change the routine and fly directly to Shannon. In retrospect I would say that is a very convenient choice for those who, like me, loves particularly the west coast of the island.

Our last day in Ireland begins with breakfast ritual at Ardmore House. We hope to cover as quickly as possible to the road from Clifden to Dublin and enjoy the last hours of Portmarnock Beach gannet. We welcome the courteous Cathline and confess they can not bear even us (although Italians) the noise of a company of ladies who have invaded the Mediterranean b & b.

We leave behind the Sky Road and try to enjoy the last glimpses of the ocean while the sun seems determined to lord it. We reach the outskirts of the capital of Ireland in advance (a special greeting goes to the poor Garda motorcycle on the M4 was unable to pull her laptop while the speedometer speed past 220km / h possessed by a Zafira in great shape . I'm sorry friend ... maybe next time).

The time of a meal and a pint in the Star last alas Swords and Malahide and then we head up to the beach of Portmarnock. The day is beautiful and take advantage for a long walk on the sand.

I drive to the Aereporto and I already feel at the mercy of nostalgia. Consign the Zafira the Hertz office. We have grown. Let's check in, the gate and we engage in an endless trek up al'uscita D77. We climb on the flight and already feels too speak Italian. We land on time in Orio al Serio.

Arrivderci Ireland

We wake up and immediately our expectations of a beautiful sunny day are betrayed by the dense blanket of fog that envelops the Sky Road. An excellent breakfast at Ardmore House gives us some confidence and take the road to Roundstone still decided to visit the beautiful beaches of Connemara.

The first beach out from Clifden and 'the Coral Beach whose name does justice to a vast expanse of sand crossed by strips of fragments of coral of all colors. The temperature is nice but the sun was struggling to fight their way through a blanket of low clouds that seem too fond of the region.

We decide to head for the walk Manin Bay, where we reach a corner of paradise. I would really want to stop time exactly in this place where a white beach and the hills that encircle pruned to a perfect crystal blue sea. Too bad again for the lack of sun, but we also enjoy a nice walk.

Let's go back in the car in Roundstone where we allow ourselves the last visit to the shop. I take a cup of hot coffee and some sweets in a little place on the pier overlooking the village. We decide to look back on the road and a beach that we remember near the Connemara Golf Club

We reach the beach just as the sun decides to show courage and take even if timidly. The beach and 'wonderful and we do not resist the temptation to take off our shoes and try a bit of ocean on the skin. The sand is beautiful and for a few minutes, so barefoot and my kite, I'll be forgetting the whole child.

I decide that this is the place to say goodbye to my shoes. V seem strange that talk but you know that I put these shoes for the first time during my first trip to Ireland 13 years ago. With me who walked the length and breadth of this island sopattutto, now do not make it longer but I'm sure that if I could speak, would pray to be left to rest here, here on these beaches are in a sense born.

We go back to the Sky Road with a good dose of melancholy in the heart. A holiday in Ireland is about to end, but the beaches of Connemara have promised a goodbye.

We wake up early and eat pancakes favolsi of wild honey in the veranda of the b & b that hosts us. The view over the bay of Dingle is wonderful and the spell is broken only by the rain that pours on the roof at times. The goal now is the magic Doolin in County Clare, a tiny fishing village that owes its fame to a musical tradition that is lost to the origins of Irish folk.

We decide to skip the usual Limerick and take the ferry to Tarbert on the Shannon. From Dingle we head over the Connor Pass and we stop on the shores of the ocean in a beautiful white sand beach. The wind is cold and the clouds promise rain. We are preparing to arrive in Doolin tradzionale blanket of fog and humidity.

The short trip aboard the ferry that crosses the Shannon is always nice to challenge the long standing cold over the bridge that runs along the sides of the boat. We cross the mouth of the largest river of reland and disembark in Clare, where we will have a heavy rain. I drive to Doolin and amazement the day turns into a few minutes and when we are in sight of the beautiful hills that descend to the village a warm sun is high in the sky of Ireland.

A compulsory stop at the Magnetic Music Café where a cup of boiling water and a free slice of cake with rich cream brings us back to the world. This place is really special, steeped in a mystical atmosphere and gathering where music is the main element. A quick tour of the negozzietti and head for the main lot.

From here you decide rilsalire the coast to the cliffs. The spectacle of rock's great if you feel like walking over a giant form of Swiss cheese. The afternoon was perfect and after a long walk we reach the base of the Cliffs from which there is a view indescribable. I sit perched among the rocks in layers. I like to think so that you hear a seagull here. I would take the flight and I also see this from Ireland. I'll be back with your feet and mind on the floor and slowly return to the path of wasting a lot through the fields bordering the beach.

Let's go back to the b & b to rest a little before launching into the atmosphere of the village at night.

The memory of the memorable dinner at Paddyfrog is still very much alive when we wake up early ready for breakfast. Descend the stairs leading to the ground floor of this wonderful b & b and ask for our daily dose of pancakes.

The cloudy sky is gray but are moving quickly and let us hope for an imminent lightened timely that not long in coming. We continue our trip and we head for Dingle. We meet an immense bog bordered by an impenetrable forest. Convinced that certainly is the abode of some fairy, we park and we go through the trees. The play of light that filters through the leafy barely covered with moss is amazing. We walk on what seems an immense soft and furry animals. Our footsteps make no sound completely absorbed by the silence of the forest. The atmosphere is worthy of a fantasy saga and reluctantly take up the road.

About twenty miles before Dingle is the beach of Inch (so called because it looks like a big toe of sand and dunes that stretches into the ocean). The sun is high in the sky and the wind starts whipping it's time to prepare the kite. The gusts of wind, I allow some evolution and, I confess, I enjoy as a child. The feeling of having all that wind in your hands is intoxicating.

We allow ourselves a break at the beach cafes, where a showcase full of all sorts of sweet wins easily our resistance. From the window of the coffee you can enjoy a magnificent view of the beach and once again I feel invaded, drenched, permeated of Ireland. Ireland did not you tell it with words or pictures. The Ireland must feel with its icy wind, the smell of burning peat, the clinking of glasses and the smile of an old man who seems to have a thousand and one stories to tell.

We resumed our march, and enjoy the unhurried way down the coast last show before reaching the peninsula of Kerry and Dingle Connor Pass Road where it will stay for the night.

Blue sky in the morning we awake from a restful sleep. We eat breakfast in bed and breakfast including delicious pancakes drenched in maple syrup topped with bananas and strawberries. The beautiful day immediately puts us in a good mood and there we journeyed to the southwest.

I drive to Kenmare where we stop to stretch your legs. The center of Kenmare is terribly quaint and immerses the visitor in the lively and colorful atmosphere of the typical Irish villages. Every shop, pub or restaurant seems to be competing with others to get noticed and ultimately the effect is magically perfect a set of chromatic harmonies.

Go on the road that follows the coast south of Kerry Sneem and stop to visit a nearby beach hidden rightly stated "White Sdrand". The white sandy beach overlooking the sea, embraced by a rugged and slippery rocks. The show is indescribable. There's just us and a couple of seagulls. The sun is warm and the wind slaps my face nicely. I feel really at peace with the world.

We resumed our journey and we decide to have lunch on the beach between Liss and Glanberg (on N70) where there is' a little place which overlooks the sea. An excellent fish and chips and a stroll on the beautiful beach. To my surprise I notice a couple of local customers who surf the Internet with their laptops. I ran to get my car and within seconds they are networked by one of the most remote beaches in Ireland. For an instant contact with the computer takes me back to reality and reminds me of the commitment, work and Italy. Another sip of stout and memories fade away. It 'like crazy in this place you can really lose (in the figurative sense of the word) and phase out all contact with reality.

Continue along the road to Waterville as the sun and the blue of the sky as they leave room for some rain clouds. We prepare the daily Irish rain.

The 2007 is not finished yet and I'm already thinking about summer holidays 2008. With some friends coming of age the idea of ​​renting a cottage (in Ireland of course) to spend a couple of weeks in total relaxation and peace with the universe.

I believe that ultimately the choice will fall on the Connemara that I believe is best suited to the idea of ​​infinite peace and harmony that tormented the best medicine after months of hard work and great small daily battles.

I collected a list of websites that offer the opportunity to get in touch with agencies or directly with the owners to book the holiday and evaluate opportunities. Leafing through these virtual catalog of embarrassment has been educated choice. Many cottages are located in positions postcard, beautifully furnished and equipped in every detail of every comfort.

http://www.rentacottage.ie/
http://www.irishcottageholidays.com/
http://www.shamrockcottages.co.uk/
http://www.cc-cottages.com/
http://www.irish-cottages.net/
http://www.country-holidays.ie/
http://www.irishoceancottages.com/

If you are looking on the internet as well as the keys are also cotttage self catering holiday home.

The selection criteria that we set are simple but essential: Connemara, near the beach, near a golf course and scope of pub. The prices are not excessive and within the two weeks are infinitely cheaper than B & B.

Let the Donegal early and we expect a long road to the capital. The day is beautiful and all in all we do not mind spending it on the road.

We sit in the car with the memory of last night still in Ardara and spent dinner with Nancy'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.

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

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

We are in Dublin for our last evening in Ireland.

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The day still has pittosto foggy and so we decide to visit Londonderry. The idea of ​​trespassing in Northern Ireland does not make us crazy, but the curiosity to see the city takes us through the hundreds of miles away.

We park the car near the center and we decide to walk the entire wall that surrounds the heart of the city. The impression that we left Derry is very different from what we left Belfast last year. Derry is a lively, modern and at times very English but retains shades of very accentuated in Ireland that make really nice.

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 district is marked by numerous murals (similar to those of West Belfast) and written extolling the struggle and to 'Our memory is soon directed IRA songs and the film that dealt with the issue of troubles.

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

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

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

We leave to the heart of the Gaeltacht (Gaelic community stronger 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.

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. The road is as wide as our car and terribly bumpy. On the other hand the view that lurks behind every corner and behind every hill and 'spectacular.

Let's go back inside to the almost alpine Adara and then to Glenties. In these locations, the Donegal shows its wilder side where nature explodes in a thousand colors and animals that live peep at every corner.

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

A note on hospitality: I believe that never before in this region the people are warm and friendly extr. I greet everyone you meet. Car will leave the road for the race. In the public can look forward to tell some story or your ascoltarela. In this way you really the feeling of being at the end of the world ...

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