Ireland - Final Thoughts

Just got back after a torturous 11-hour flight. I'll post some final thoughts.

-OK, truth in advertising laws need to apply over there. Wanting a memorable end to the trip, we booked a room at Barberstown Castle in County Kildare, about a 1/2 hour outside of the airport. We figured that with the name "Barberstown Castle" and the picture of the castle on the brochure that we would be staying in, you know, a castle. Not so much. The very deceptive picture did show a castle, but it was actually a small castle keep on one end of the more modern building which housed the hotel. So we actually stayed in castle-adjacent. We did eat in the castle, which was big enough to fit maybe four tables.

-During the day on Saturday, we drove through the Midlands, which is kind of lean on attractions but plentiful on peat bogs and sheep. There were a couple highlights. One was Clonmacnoise, an early Christian monastery from around the 6th century that had a habit of being burned to the ground and pillaged by Vikings and Normans and the British. I think there were something like 100 attacks over the years until the Brits completely razed in in the 16th century. The site is still an impressive ruin, with a lot of high crosses. It was amusing in the A/V presentation to hear "And Clonnmacnoise was attacked again" about 20 times.

-The other highlight was Birr Castle and Gardens. If it wasn't so rainy (the rainiest part of the entire trip), we would have strolled the expansive grounds more, but as it was we saw the castle (still used today by the descendants of the Earl of Rosse) and a restoration of the giant telescope that the 3rd Earl of Rosse built in the 1870s. At the time it was the largest in the world, and it rises up out of a medieval-looking structure.

-Ridiculous Irish rip-off story of the trip: We went in a convenience store and bought a few items. The clerk asked if I wanted a bag, and I said yes, and he promptly added 15 cents to the total. For a plastic bag.

-Even the tiniest of country roads (and I think we saw all of them) are recently paved and clearly marked. I don't remember more than a couple potholes in 600km of driving (of course, they haven't widened these roads by nary a meter, which still makes them a bit unnerving). And all the roads have these little blue signs saying things like "this reconstruction project partially financed by the European Union." Classic small-government conservatives will decry the high taxes they pay in the EU, but the goods and services in return are notable. Especially considering that I normally drive on the worst roads in America here in LA.

-Overall, Ireland is a beautiful and timeless place that is moving into the modern age. There's suburban-style construction almost everywhere, in the tiniest of hamlets. Bigger motorways are sprouting up. Office parks look newly minted. The "Celtic Tiger" economy looks like it's showing no signs of slowing, although a few detractors claimed otherwise. I highly recommend it for a visit or permanent stay, but bring your wallet: nothing there comes cheap.

The next post will return to the national news, which almost seems depressing... really don't want to go to work tomorrow... sigh.