{"id":184,"date":"2017-07-21T02:58:19","date_gmt":"2017-07-21T02:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/?p=184"},"modified":"2020-01-20T00:16:08","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T00:16:08","slug":"a-magic-umbrella-in-ireland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/21\/a-magic-umbrella-in-ireland\/","title":{"rendered":"A magic umbrella in Ireland"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The

The day we discovered, at the Blennerville Windmill, that we had a magic umbrella. (Cheryl Welch | Travel Beat)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve a magic umbrella.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lyrical, melodic tone of the Irishman\u2019s exclamation brought smiles of delight on both our faces.<\/p>\n

Indeed, we did have a magic umbrella.<\/p>\n

From the moment we landed on the emerald isle of Ireland, the rain had stopped and the sun shone down on us for the entire week. The day we left Ireland also happened to be the day the rain returned.<\/p>\n

And we had our magic umbrella to thank for this \u201cbest weather in decades,\u201d according to our windmill tour guide.<\/p>\n

You see, it all started with the online purchase of a super pretty umbrella. Just for Ireland. I mean, it\u2019s Ireland, right? There will be lots of pictures of me holding an umbrella.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what I figured, at least.<\/p>\n

After lugging the blue-and-purple-stained-glass-dragonfly umbrella from Michigan to Chicago to Shannon Airport throughout Ireland and then departing Dublin, we didn\u2019t use it once.<\/p>\n

In 10 days. In Ireland. No rain. Not a drop. i.e. The magic umbrella.<\/p>\n

Not that we\u2019re complaining. When the rain clouds lifted, they revealed an artful tapestry of a thousand shades of green, gorgeous wildflowers everywhere (and I mean, everywhere), meandering two-track lanes through farms, past castles and around loughs.<\/p>\n

The beauty of the surroundings were complemented by the soul of the Irish people. They\u2019re genuine. They\u2019re real. They\u2019re lyrical.<\/p>\n

Magical. That\u2019s the word for Ireland.<\/p>\n

Preparing for this trip involved months of reading reviews, scouring tour books, and talking with people who\u2019ve been there before (and a few people who live there now). I\u2019ll divide this Ireland entry into several articles to keep from writing a book myself, but here are things everyone must know before traveling to Ireland.<\/p>\n

Top 5 to-do and to-know Ireland list:<\/h2>\n

1.)\u00a0 Explore at your pace<\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t sign up for a guided tour of the island. We saw countless buses lumbering along main roads, stopping for a brief \u201cclick and get\u201d break before loading everyone back into the coach and motoring on.<\/p>\n

\"A

A scene during a lovely drive around the Ring of Kerry. (Cheryl Welch | Travel Beat)<\/p><\/div>\n

You\u2019re in Ireland. You\u2019re going to want to stop at the myriad of castles, castle ruins, estates, abbeys, monastic sites and others that you\u2019ll see seemingly around every corner.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how: Get a rental car. Not a wide car. Narrow is great. An automatic. Then buy the super coverage with tire-and-everything-else protection. Believe us, this is one time in the history of the universe you WILL use this super coverage. Driving on the left isn\u2019t easy, especially on narrow roads enclosed by\u00a0high hedges or stone walls, and you WILL mess up your rental in one way or another. We took our rental car back with a bad alignment (was it eight or nine curbs we hit?), scratches from front to back (it looked like a weeping willow tree \u2026 all soft \u2026), a crushed passenger mirror, a missing front bumper and lord only knows what else.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s worth it. Just go slow. And pray. (Note: If you\u2019re not normally religious, driving in Ireland is a great place to find Jesus or the Mother Mary.)<\/p>\n

2.)\u00a0 Eat and drink at pubs and inns.<\/h3>\n

Ask them what their specialty is. Get it.<\/p>\n

Drink the tea. Lots and lots of tea, with milk and sugar. But don\u2019t ask for iced tea. They don\u2019t make it. For a cold, refreshing drink, ask for a black currant cordial or orange dilute. The bartender or server may look at you funny because it\u2019s essentially the healthy equivalent of Kool-Aid, but it\u2019s amazing. And usually quite cheap (50 cents, sometimes free.)<\/p>\n

\"Around

Around nearly every corner it seems there is a castle, abbey, monastery or other relic of the past. You’ll usually find them in the middle of the field … and the cows don’t mind the company. (Cheryl Welch | Travel Beat)<\/p><\/div>\n

Of course no trip to Ireland can occur without a pint (or two) of Guinness, which is really 100 times better than it is in the States. Freshness is a huge factor in Guinness. If it\u2019s still too much for you, have the bartender add some black currant to it before they pour it into the glass. Yum.<\/p>\n

Tipping is optional in Ireland, and a 10 percent tip will get you far. A 20 percent tip is, \u201cMarvelous!\u201d<\/p>\n

Talk to the bartender if you\u2019re at the bar. They\u2019re glad to share local information, will talk history and introduce you to the characters and traditions of their communities. We heard about a 400-year-plus festival in which they crown a puck, a type of mountain goat, king for the week. For serious, look it up<\/a>! It\u2019s a thing.<\/p>\n

Another thing\u2014stop at a petro station\/grocery store to pick up some bottled waters and snacks for the road (we highly recommend the mini pies in tins.) You may find yourself in the countryside without a lot of options.<\/p>\n

3.)\u00a0 Stay clear of the flock.<\/h3>\n

This doesn\u2019t mean flocks of sheep (which, really, are quintessential Ireland).<\/p>\n

If it\u2019s a top-rated tourist destination, a lot of times all that means is that this is where the tour buses stop. That means it\u2019s typically on a larger road and is easily accessible. It also means it will be packed to the gills with folks who will crowd around you. You\u2019ll feel harried, hurried and rather icky by the time you extricate yourself from the lines and hordes of (yes, we admit we\u2019re tourists, too, but \u2026) tourists.<\/p>\n

\"The

The Quin Abbey, a medieval Franciscan abbey ruins in Quin, County Clare, is an example of the many sites that are low key with few crowds. And free to visit at your leisure. (Cheryl Welch | Travel Beat)<\/p><\/div>\n

Some of the very best castles, monastic sites, ruins and cliffs are not those where there is bus parking. At the best spots, you may be one of a few (or the only) cars in the lot or parked along the roadside.\u00a0 Your photos will be better. Your experience will be better. You\u2019ll feel better.<\/p>\n

And, believe us, you\u2019ll see even better castles and ruins. More authentic. More quirky. With skeleton keys and all. Case in point:\u00a0Kilmacdaugh Monastery<\/a>, a monastic site in Gort, County Clare, had two other cars\u00a0 (and a lot of cows) in the lot, had a cottage across the street where you could get the skeleton keys for each of the buildings to explore at will, and was far superior and photogenic than Glendalough<\/a> in County Wicklow, which overflowed with buses, cars, and congested crowds of people. People. Everywhere. And inside the buildings? Think again. No way. Did I mention you had to pay for parking in Glendalough (and fight for the chance to do so), whereas the cost of Kilmacdaugh? Free.<\/p>\n

4.)\u00a0 Plan in extra time.<\/h3>\n

A LOT of extra time. Everything is s-l-o-w-e-r in Ireland. Sixty miles will take you \u00a0two hours or more. Local folk will talk with you \u2026 for a long time. You\u2019ll end up spending hours at a site where you thought you\u2019d only pop in and out of the car for a quick pic. There\u2019s a time warp in Ireland \u2026 and it\u2019s a great way to re-set your internal clock.<\/p>\n

If you do want to get somewhere in any sort of hurry, stick with the M or N roads. M roads are the equivalent to the freeways in America. The N roads are the equivalent of narrower state roads in America. R roads are like backroads in America, except with no or little berm (you\u2019ll be enclosed on both sides with either formidable hedgerows or stone walls.) L roads are local roads\u2014often two-track, one-lane-at-best roads. The L and R roads are the most scenic of roads.<\/p>\n

\"Go

Go ahead, get lost. Enjoy the L and R roads as they’ll bring you some of the prettiest views. (Cheryl Welch | Travel Beat)<\/p><\/div>\n

Get lost on the L and R roads (only after you’ve gotten the hang of driving on the left). Explore. But do plan to have a detailed print map with you should you get too lost. Don’t count on a cell signal … or on the locals, who are incredibly helpful yet unhelpful with directions (Turn right at the\u00a0half slate\/half thatched cottage then a right and then a left and then a right at the big tree\u00a0and continue yonder a while and you can’t miss it. Umm … yeah …)<\/p>\n

Go slow and enjoy the sights and sounds of Ireland.\u00a0 Take a blanket with you should you want to take a nap under a towering Oak. Talk to the locals you encounter. Stop and take photos. Cross fields (watch out for Beware of Bull signs, though) to check out OPW historic sites and ruins \u2026 all by yourselves.<\/p>\n

This is the soul of Ireland.<\/p>\n

5.)\u00a0 Consider an extra week \u2026 or two.<\/h3>\n

Once you get to Ireland, you\u2019re not going to want to leave.<\/p>\n

\"Castles

Castles abound in Ireland, some with formal gardens and many that accept the OPW Heritage Card so you can get in for free. This is the way to travel. (Cheryl Welch | Travel Beat)<\/p><\/div>\n

If you\u2019ve purchased an OPW Heritage card<\/a> (highly recommend) and have paid for the roundtrip flight, you\u2019re set. Take advantage of every site on the OPW list and every minute.<\/p>\n

With bed and breakfasts as cheap as E20 per night per person and food as cheap or cheaper than you\u2019d find at home, why not spend another week or two?<\/p>\n

Everything about the island is enchanting and authentic.\u00a0 While it\u2019s a relatively small island, to really explore it, you\u2019ll need double or triple the time you\u2019re planning for just a segment of the island. You\u2019ll feel safe and won\u2019t feel hustled or fleeced. You\u2019ll love the people and the countryside. The kindness. The music.<\/p>\n

We ran into one couple that came to Ireland every year for the past 10 years and stayed two or three weeks at a time. They still didn\u2019t feel like they\u2019d gotten to know the island as well as they\u2019d like.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a draw to this country \u2026 a certain magic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

5 things you need to know about how to stop the rain in Ireland and have a marvelous adventure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[111,122,123],"tags":[133,130,137,128,141,136,124,127,142,143,126,132,134,140,129,135,145,131,144,138,139,125],"class_list":["post-184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-destinations","category-europe","category-ireland","tag-adventure","tag-castles","tag-countryside","tag-europe-1","tag-glendalough","tag-guinness","tag-ireland-1","tag-irish","tag-kilmacdaugh","tag-laughs","tag-magic-umbrella","tag-monastic-sites","tag-music","tag-off-the-beaten-path","tag-opw-heritage","tag-pubs","tag-rental-cars","tag-ruins","tag-shannon-airport","tag-sheep","tag-tourist-traps","tag-umbrella"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelbeatmagazine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}