Dublin

Dublin is the biggest city in Ireland and like all big cities in Europe, it is very diversified.  In most of the places we visited in Ireland, we saw mostly Irish.  Here in Dublin, you see plenty of black Africans, Asians and Eastern Europeans.  We stayed in the City Centre, about 15 minutes walk away from the famous Temple Bar area.  The Temple Bar area is like the center of town, where most of the pubs and restaurants congregate.  At night there'd be shoulder-to-shoulder of people.  We went there for dinner the first night we drove into town and you almost have to push your way through the crowd.  We had dinner at a small restaurant but it was so-so and a little pricier than other areas.
Near our hotel we stumbled across a nice local restaurant called Kingfisher.  The people working there were friendly and so was the owner we met later.  In 3 days, we went to this restaurant 5 times!  The food was good and prices were very reasonable.  Even the hotel recommended this restaurant.  The kitchen were staffed mostly by Mongolians.  I talked to them thinking they were Chinese but they made sure I know they are from independent Mongolia (as opposed to Inner Mongolia, which is part of China).
One of our best experiences in the city is taking a tour of the Guinness Brewery.  We were both given senior discounts at 13 euros.  What a bargain; it was worth every penny.  Besides learning about the beer-brewing process, we attended the Guinness Academy, where we learned how to dispense beer.  I didn't realize there is a special process to do that.  Below you will see pictures of our attending the academy and "graduating" from it.  At the end of the tour, everyone was given a pint of Guinness Draft, which is worth at least 4 euros.  On top of that there was an observation room at the top of the brewery where you can see the entire city of Dublin.
We also walked around Grafton Street, a pedestrian mall with plenty of shops.  The St. Stephen's Green Park is wonderful - very green and beautiful flowers.  A place for respite from the bustling pace around the city.  All this is just next to the beautiful Trinity College campus.

Recipe for Irish Stew

Statue in front of O'Connell Street

Two Homeless Drunks in front of the Temple Bar

Kingfisher Restaurant where we ate 5 times!

Church Restaurant (used to be a church)

Jameson Distillery

A must-visit to the Guinness Brewery in Dublin

Learning how to dispense Guinness Beer the right way

Total concentration - future bartender in Dublin

Graduation Time!

St. Stephen's Park

Liffey River from bridge on O'Connell Street

Musician on Grafton Street

Statue in St. Stephen's Park

Beautiful flowers at St. Stephen's Park

D

Dublin - Trinity College

We drove into Dublin on Saturday evening after a 2-hour drive from Waterford.  The drive through some beautiful Irish countryside was wonderful.  The top highway speed is 120 km/hour, which is about 75 mph.  That is pretty fast for a highway that is not as open and straight as the US freeways.  Once we got into Dublin, we had to depend on the GPS to guide us through the city to our hotel.  Fortunately, we were able to find it without any problems.  Also, we were lucky that we got in on a Saturday evening because parking was free that night and Sunday.  We were still tired for the jet lag and all the walking around that we've been doing.  After a quick visit to the Temple Bar area for dinner, we came back to the hotel for a nice sleep.  The Temple Bar area is where a lot of tourists and locals go to because of the abundance of pubs and restaurants.  I will write more about the area in another blog.
After a restful night, we were ready to go and explore Dublin.  One of the top tourist attractions is the well-known Trinity College.  This is not related to either the Trinity College in San Antonio or Hartford.  This Trinity College has been around since the 1500s'.  It was built on top of an old monastery.  In those days it was outside Dublin but today it is a beautiful 47-acre campus right in the city centre.  Its Old Library is famous for housing the Book of Kells, an ancient book written around the 10th century by monks.
We took a guided tour given by a graduate student, Danielle, from Tipperary.  Her first warning to us is not to sing "It's a long way to Tipperary."  She was informative and funny.  The tour last about 45 minutes, after which we went to the Old Library and see the Book of Kells.  It was a relatively nice day the day we went and the whole campus was very green.

Campus Map

Entrance to the College

Bell Tower

Around the Quadrangle

Dormitory with no indoor heat and 2 shared bathrooms

An art piece outside the Berkeley Library

Famous Book of Kells are housed here

Long Room of the Library

Old Irish Language

Cricketers

Bell Tower with Oregon Maple Trees on either side

Our Guide Danielle from Tipperary

Waterford

Waterford is in the southeastern part of Ireland, about an hour-and-a-half drive from Cork.  This town needs no introduction.  It's where Waterford Crystal gets its name.  It took awhile to find the Waterford Factory because the GPS kept pointing us to the old location.  We finally asked someone and were able to find it.  Luckily, we caught the last tour of the day.  It costs 12 euros for a tour.  We were taken into the factory to see how the craftsmen blow glass, carve the crystals and prepare them for the customers.  It was an interesting tour and after going through it, you can see why Waterford Crystals are all so expensive.
A craftsman has to apprentice for 5 years before becoming a craftsman.  Most of the craftsmen we saw in the factory have been working for Waterford for more than 30 years.  I asked one of them why there are no young people working there.  He said young people don't want to work in factories anymore.  Sounds like a common problem in the developed countries.

A Glassblower shaping his piece

Blowing the glass into a mould to get it into the right shape

Polishing the glass before it's sold to customers

Holding the Bowl Championship Series crystal football

Master Craftsman cutting his piece.

A piece like this takes about 3 weeks to make

Another masterpiece

A master craftsman with his masterpiece - an eagle

A golfer (background) hitting onto the green (foreground)

Cork

We stopped in Cork on the way from Killarney to Dublin.  Cork is in south-central Ireland.  I read a little about the city but I did not expect it to be so big.  It is Ireland's second largest city with a population of about 120,000 people.  We parked in a 5-story garage that is part of a big shopping mall.  I was surprised to find so many cars and people there.  When we walked on the streets, it was full of people and shops.  We were looking for the English Market, located in the City Centre.
For tourists, this is Cork's main attraction, besides Blarney Castle.  The English Market is basically an indoor farmers' market.  This is a popular place for the locals to shop and I can see why.  All the meat, fish, baked goods, look very fresh.  The prices are high but that is to be expected in Ireland.  The sellers are all very friendly.  They have to or they won't be getting a lot of business.  There are only a couple of stands selling produce and I think it's because Ireland does not produce a lot of fruits and vegetables at this time of the year.

Main shopping street in Cork

Entrance to the English Market

Some mouth-watering pastries

A stand selling all kinds of olives

Meat Market

Bakery

Coffee Shop

Fish Stand

Even an Asian grocery store

Ring of Kerry

According to the Lonely Planet book, the Ring of Kerry is the 2nd top experience in Ireland after Dublin.  It is mentioned in just about every guide book about Ireland.  For a while I did not understand what the Ring of Kerry is all about.  Now that I have driven through it, I understand.  It is basically a loop drive through a peninsula in the southwestern part of Ireland.  Along the way are towns that have different history, attraction or activities.   You may find golf, fishing, statues, shops, markets, history, churches, beaches, scenery, etc, in any of these towns.  When I asked the locals what they recommend.  They always give me a vague answer:  depends on what you like to do and see.  There are indeed a lot of things to do.  You can spend a whole 1-week vacation in the area.  Below is a map of the towns in the Ring of Kerry.
We started from Killarney, where we are staying for 2 nights, then first to the town of Killorglin.  We continued counter-clockwise, stopping in Cahersiveen, Portmagee, Waterville, Kenmare and finally back to Killarney.  The whole trip took about 8 hours.

St. Mary's Cathedral in Killorglin

Street in Killorglin

Interesting looking plants along the road

I don't know what this is all about

Some kind of statue to honor fallen soldiers

Surprise! Chin Fong Chinese restaurant in Cahersiveen

We ate lunch at Helen's Coffee House in Cahersiveen

Daniel O'Donnell Memorial Church in Cahersiveen

Charlie Chaplin statue in Waterville

Beautiful farmland along the way

What are you doing here?  This is my territory.