09-09-2008
|
#1 (permalink) |
|
gotta have it
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Southern, CT
Posts: 910
  |
Ireland and My Pop's 70th- A Trip Report
I’m an American, but my ancestry is in Ireland. That being said, the closest I’d ever been to Ireland was the eerie, evil looking little leprechaun on all of my Dad’s Notre Dame paraphernalia that littered our house when I was growing up. We were always taught to be proud of our Irish Catholic heritage, mainly by my father, but it had always been a big mystery as none of us had ever been there. At the same time, my father had always talked about how he wanted to go to Ireland, and more specifically, “play golf with my two sons before I die.” Yet in recent years the idea of travel holds less and less appeal to my dad, this is a man who still has over 500,000 frequent flier miles, but they go unused. He’s been on the express tain to Crumudgeonville with a stop in Bittertown as of late, retirement has not sat well with him and I knew he needed a firm kick in the ass to get him going. So with my Dad’s 70th birthday approaching I threw the idea out there of taking him to Ireland to my family for consideration. Once the initial, auto-reflexive gag was stifled, everyone fell into line. My brother loved the idea and we quickly moved onto the key question which was, who should go? Should it be just the three of us guys or the entire extended family? After discussing the pros and cons of all scenarios, we decided that a comprimise- just our immediate family, would be best. Both our kids are too young to really appreciate a trip to Ireland- nevermind the cost and additional hassle and my wife and daughter had spent a month in Norway this summer while I worked, so they were cool with me going away for a week. Besides, as much as my Dad loves my wife and his granddaughter, I think he was really touched by the idea of just the five of us going away one more time. So without getting into details on family dynamics (in short, we’re like many families I think- we love each other but also have the potential to drive each other crazy at any given moment) we all agreed and the onus of finding and booking a place was put upon me- my idea, my job.
Most obvious statement- traveling to Ireland is friggin expensive! From a financial standpoint the timing wasn’t good for any of us, it’s been a tough year for me in many respects so far, but my Dad is only turning 70 once and how much more time would we have to do something like this? So I went through an intensive two month research quest to find the right deal. It didn’t take me too long to realize this trip was gonna put me in debt for a while, so I shrugged it off and kept looking. Then one day in February Aer Lingus Vacations announced a three day sale with some GREAT deals- the one that caught my eye was one week in Ireland with roundtrip air, a full size car rental and a week at the Villas at Adare Manor. The villas were up to four bedrooms in size and Adare Manor looked incredible- it’s where the Irish Open is held each year and the resort itself was named the best golf resort in Europe by Conde Nast a few years ago- Limerick Hotels, 5 Star Hotels Ireland, Luxury Castle Hotels Ireland, Five Star Hotels Limerick, Ireland. I contacted Aer Lingus to find that many dates were already filled, I would have to act fast. So I ran it by my mom, sister and brother- it was much less than any of us anticipated having to spend so I got their sign off and then booked the sucker- Aug 28- Sept 4th. Next was the golf, harder than it sounds. This was not going to be a pure golf vacation- my sister and mom do not play at all, so I figured three rounds in seven days was more than enough. Adare is located in the Southwest of Ireland, only 20 min south of Limerick so I focused on that region. Playing Adare was a natch- which left two other courses. After much research I decided Lahinch and Ballybunion were the other two we should play. Lahinch is considered one of the best courses in Ireland, it was designed by Old Tom Morris (he also designed St Andrews in Scotland) and reworked by Alister MacKenzie who designed Augusta National and Cypress Point among others. Ballybunion is currently ranked 7th in the world and Tom Watson called it “The most perfect golf course he’s ever played” Both were pricey but I stuck to the “Once in a lifetime” idea of the trip. Also, both required full, non-refundable payment upon booking and even though I called for tee times in March, only one time for the entire week remained for Ballybunion (Tuesday at 3:12pm) and only a handful for Lahinch. My brother and I agreed that we would split the golf costs so I called him one last time to make sure. Mike is currently down in Australia working on a film and he’s been there for over a year, but he once again assured me that he would make the trip and told me to book them. So I did. The trip was set- the only thing that remained was telling my father about it on his birthday in June...
__________________
more cowbell! |
|
|
| register to remove these adverts | |
|
09-09-2008
|
#2 (permalink) | |
|
Canada Dry
 Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Posts: 49,560
|
 Yay - your trip report!  Quote:
 I have a Dad who tends to try and travel to those places too, and I also try to kick his butt into a better frame of mind. He is turning 70 a month from now too.It IS super expensive, huh- I read that Ireland is THE priciest country now in all of Europe ! can we have some more, please sir?   What happened next??
Last edited by Rissask; 09-09-2008 at 02:40 PM.. |
|
|
|
|
09-10-2008
|
#5 (permalink) |
|
gotta have it
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Southern, CT
Posts: 910
|
My father's birthday was in late June and he was emphatic that he did not want a surprise party or a big deal made. It wasn't one of those "Oh no, you don't need to make a big deal over lil' old me (wink-wink, nudge-nudge)" things, he really meant it. So we took him to dinner at his favorite restaurant, he gluttonized himself over linguine with clams and muscles and he was as happy as can be. Knowing my father, all of us were a little nervous as to how he would react to this gift of a family trip to Ireland- it honestly could have ranged the spectrum from anger ("I told you not to make a big deal out of it!") to concern ("Can you all afford that, isn't it expensive?") to indifference ("Um, OK") to joy. So when dinner was over and cake was being eaten, we gave him his gifts- a few little things first, then a box with some Irish do-dads my Mom had put together and a brochure for Adare Manor. We were all on the edge of our seat when he opened it. At first, I don't think he got it- he was like "What is this" when we told him, we were all relieved to see a big smile come over his face and tears to his eyes when he said "Really? You mean it?" Then he got excited and started saying things like "Jim, we're gonna have to bring a lot of golf balls with us- I hear the courses over there are tough!" (of course this is a man who has collected over 5,000 golf balls over the years that he keeps in empty popcorn barrels in the basement- no joke- so I wasn't worried)
The following weeks involved at least two calls a week from my Dad asking about details for the trip as he was already in planning and packing mode, he was psyched and it was the best possible scenario we could have hoped for. Then five weeks before the trip my brother called.... |
|
|
|
|
09-10-2008
|
#10 (permalink) |
|
gotta have it
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Southern, CT
Posts: 910
|
My big brother is a film editor and lives just outside LA with his family. He's doing very well and we're all very proud of him but I have to say, I don't know how he deals with the lifestyle, especially with a family. It's a project to project life- one film ends and he immediately has to worry about finding the next and that has not been easy over the last couple of years with the writers strike and all. He's very dedicated to his job and when he takes on a new film he lives, eats and breathes it for months- 16 hr days, 6-7 days a week for months at a time. He's currently been working on the same movie for over a year which is a long time, but it's especially long because he's been down in Sidney, Austrailia the entire time- in fact he's only met my daughter Madeline once since she was born, for four hours because he's been in AUS almost since she was born 19 months ago. And while he's fallen in love with Sidney and AUS in general, especially Austrailian rules football, he hates being away this much (he's already worried that people in Hollywood have forgotten about him so he will have a hard time finding his next project once he's done with this current project) he misses his friends, his family (although they have been spending time down there with him in shifts- three months in AUS, three in the States, etc) and his home but this job has been a doozy and he took it for work when there was no work back in LA due to the strike.
Because the project has dragged on so long it caused me concern for his availability so I contacted him many times to make sure he'd be able to come to Ireland. He assured me every time that he had spoken with the Director and the Producers and they knew about the trip and besides, the movie was scheduled to be wrapped up by August anyway. I needed these reassurances because I REALLY needed Mike to make the trip- he was crucial. I needed him with me on the golf course to help Dad have a good time, he's got a dumb, stupid sense of humor that would help keep conversation light and things fun to avoid family flare-ups and he's the only other person that drinks beer in the family (it was Mike who introduced me to Guinness at a bar in the Back Bay of Boston over 15 years ago when I went to visit him at college- using his fake ID to get in). So one of the things I was looking forward to was hitting the pubs together, we could catch up on all the lost time of the last 18 months. We now were both raising families so there was much to talk about. But when the phone rang in late July and it was Mike, I had a feeling. Mike was corresponding with me mainly via email and IM, so the phone call alone did not bode well. Sure enough, the release date of the movie had been moved back to November and the Director wanted to use the extra time to fine tune and make changes, Mike would be unable to make the trip. I was deflated as it was very disappointing. After I was over my initial disappointment, the logistical issues started to arise- can I cancel his part of the trip? What about the golf? Do I need to cancel down to just one rental car now? Etc, etc, etc. Before I even asked Mike told me that he committed to the trip so he would pay his share (he still wanted in on the gift) and for his tee times. I told him I would see what I could do and get back to him. The air was cancelled with a fee, and two of the three courses agreed to refund me his tee time, even though they didn't have to. Ballybunion was the lone hold out, and of course was the most expensive- I told Mike and he took it in stride, but also mentioned how he was experiencing feelings of regret that he would be missing this trip. This ended up being the only real pre-game hurdle of the trip so next I'll get onto the actual trip itself. Yes, complete with several pictures. |
|
|
|
|
09-10-2008
|
#12 (permalink) |
|
gotta have it
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Southern, CT
Posts: 910
|
Finally August 28th arrived. It wasn't that I had been anticipating it so much, it was more like I didn't even have time to think about it, I was so busy. What normally is a slow time of year for media was unusually busy for me this year so work was crazed and included a trip to San Diego right before we left for Ireland. This trip was my first real time off in over a year and as I mentioned before it's been a rough year and I was/am pretty burned out so probably the best vaca I could have gone on was a trip down to Playa where I could just turn off my brain for a few days, sit on the beach and drink margaritas while I recharge my batteries. This wasn't going to be one of those trips. I knew it would be active and I'd be busy but I was excited regardless. Our flight was out of JFK at 6pm so I went into work in the morning for a half day and then took off at 1pm to meet at my parents and sister for the car to the airport. All went like a well-oiled machine and we were sitting at the gate with plenty of time to kill before our flight.
I decided to hit the airport lounge for a Guinness. I wanted to study it while I drank it so I could remember the details for comparison in Ireland. All I've been hearing for 15 years is that if you like Guinness, you have to drink one in Ireland because it tastes SO much better there. As I mentioned before- I enjoy beer and am a seasonal beer drinker- in the summer I usually have a 12-pack of Sol in the fridge with fresh limes (for both the Sol and for margaritas). But when the weather turns chilly here in New England and the weekends become filled with heavy sweaters, colorful foliage and football games, I switch to Guinness. There's nothing like going down to one of the Irish pubs in Fairfield (I prefer one named The Field) on a fall weekend, meeting my friend Sean and sitting down with a fire in the fireplace, having a pint of Guinness and watching the Giants or Notre Dame game. The airport lounge was not that kind of experience and the Guinness was sub-par even by American standards, but it killed time. Soon we boarded and I settled in for the 6 hr flight to Shannon. I am a tall guy, 6' 4"- and flying is usually an uncomfortable experience to say the least. Sadly, Aer Lingus was no different. I just ain't built for these crammed in airlines seats these days- my knees are pushed in against the seat in front of me and then of course the woman in front of me decides to keep her seat fully reclined for the entire....six....hour...trip. To borrow a line from one of my favorite trip reports ever- can you feel the tension rising!? OK, OK, it's her right to recline her seat so I don't complain, but comeon, throw this pathetic string bean a bone and put the seat up every once in a while! You got a free seat next to you, go recline on my sister, she's only 5'5"! After jinxing the woman in front of me with the devil's-eye-curse my brother taught me in 2nd grade (it involves closing one eye, staring at the subject- pointing at them with both pinkies and making a rasberry sound with your tounge three times) I chose to divert my attention by watching the movie- Iron Man. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it. I'm not a big fan of the comic-book-action-hero movie genre, but this flick had a little more going for it than the others and it was a good time killer. Plus I like Robert Downey Jr. After a few hours I was tired, but there was no way I could sleep in this sardine can, so I waited it out and at 6am Shannon time our plane landed in Shannon- right on time. Now the fun part, driving in Ireland. Needless to say, the idea of driving in Ireland scared the hell out of my entire family. Driving on the wrong side of the car, on the wrong side of the road was just too much for them to take. We breezed through customs and soon we were curbside at Shannon Airport- which was suprisingly small and intimate. We decided that my parents would stay with the bags and Kelly (my sister) and I would go get the rental car. We pulled in, filled out the info, they gave us the GPS (I was trying to make the driving as easy as possible) and then they pulled the car around for us to go. First problem- European cars are WAY smaller than in the U.S. I know, I know, "duh what did you expect?" But I asked them when I booked if a full size four door was big enough for four adults and their bags- I was assured it was. Fact is, this little Renault 4-door should have fit us and our luggage- we all packed surprisingly light- each with one checked back and a small carryon- but it was the two golf bags, and all their bulk, that made things difficult. Kelly and I looked at each other with an "Oh Sh_t" look on our faces and immediately looked to the rental dude- "Um, do you have any larger cars we could have instead, maybe one of those minivans over there?" He proceeded to trade short, incomprehensible statements back and forth over the walkie-talkie then looked at us and said "No, this is the largest we have on the lot right now". Kel and I looked at each other and said, "OK, we'll just have to make it work" We drove up to the terminal where my parents awaited and my father took one look at the car and gave me one of his "you've got to be kidding me" looks. I wasn't even entertaining the conversation and remained positive- immediately taking the luggage and bags and putting them in the trunk. After discovering that we could put one side of the back seat down and that my Mom and sister could fit in the remaining back seat- I pulled some Tetris like moves and fit it all in the car- including us. We were on the road. It was now 3am New York time, we were tired, punchy and our intro to Ireland was about to involve a drive in the still-dark, fog shouded narrow Irish roads. The drive from Shannon Airport to Adare is not long- about 45 min, but it goes through some industrial areas and really does not do Ireland justice for an intro drive- it would be like flying into Newark Airport and having the New Jersey Turnpike be your first exposure to America. In addition to the non-picturesque drive, there's about ten roundabouts to deal with, it was rush hour and I had a crotchty old man riding shotgun, completely freaked out and throwing out exlimations such as "MotherofGod!" and "JesusMaryandJoseph!" every time a car would approach or we went into a roundabout. Much to my father's surprise, I get us to Adare unscathed and we clear the gates of Adare Manor and onto the grounds. As I mentioned, Adare Manor is a resort that is on 840 beautiful acres with the river Maigue running through it. It has a rich history as the breaktaking Manor House was built in the mid-19th century as a home for the Earl of Dunraven. Twelveth century ruins adorn the grounds- complete with the ruins of Desmond Castle. The security gates give no indication of what lies ahead, but once inside the road takes you along the beautiful grounds until you hit a 90degree turn around a tree where this view greets you:    We park the car and walk into the Manor House to check in. We're greeted by a dapper doorman who asks my name and if we are checking in, once I give him this info he bellows in a thick Irish brogue "The McCusker family has arrived at Adare Manor!" and escorts us to the reception desk. Let me take this opportunity to praise the staff of Adare Manor in general- they were great- courteous, friendly, always available and they went out of their way to be helpful at all times. We were introduced to Jimmy a concierge who took two of us in his car while Mom and I followed in the rental, to escort us to our villa to check in. Along the way he stopped to point out historical sites on the grounds, including small details such as the rare cork tree frrom Spain that was several hundred years old, Desmond Castle and how they could arrange a fox hunt for us (I saw five of them on the grounds that week) or trout fishing in the river if we like. Now this was high season in Ireland for tourism, but Jimmy told us this had been the worst summer in Ireland for weather since 1919, just rain and clouds, they had not seen the sun since April. So the crummy weather combined with the slumping dollar made for a very lightly occupied Adare Manor- which was fine with us. We pulled up to the Villas which seemed to be mostly unoccupied. Here's an exterior of our villa:   The villas were newly constructed and you can tell- everything was new and beautiful. A plasma screen TV in every bedroom, four full bathrooms- so we each had our own (that was one positive of Mike not coming- I don't miss the days of sharing a bathroom with him, ugh), full kitchen and dining room with marble countertops, a sunroom and back deck. It was beautiful. We dropped our bags, headed back out to the clubhouse for breakfast and then took a quick drive to take in the grounds. We had been up about 24 hrs at this point and were beyond hitting the wall, but we were antsy to see where we were. Here's us in front of some 13th century ruins related to an old abbey I believe" Mom and Dad:  My sister Kelly and myself-  We headed back home and took a nap, or what we thought would just be a nap...it ended up being about four hours! We awoke and went into town to check it out and had an early dinner at one of the pubs. I know Ireland is not known for its cuisine so I stuck to the staples for the most part- for my first meal I had the Shepard's Pie. But before that I had my first Guinness in Ireland.... |
|
|
|
|
09-11-2008
|
#15 (permalink) |
|
gotta have it
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Southern, CT
Posts: 910
|
I know it sounds crazy, but one of the things I was most looking forward to about Ireland was to drink Guinness there. I've already covered my love for this wonderful drink and to those who have not tried or embraced it, I beg you to do so. The dark color seems to intimidate people and make them think that it's this heavy, overwhelming beer. The truth is that Guinness has less calories than Budweiser and just a little less alcohol. Also, it's less carbonated than Bud and other beers of the like so I find it less filling too. We entered Pat Collins pub in Adare and got some menus and ordered drinks. A Coke for my Dad, Diet Coke for my sister and a glass of white wine for my mom. Heathens. Had they not heard the expression "When in rome?" Oh well, their loss. With a big sh_t eating grin on my face I said "I'll have a pint of Guinness please." My families' drinks came almost immediately, but I had to wait for mine. This was a good sign. If you ever order a Guinness at a bar and they immediately serve it up to you, then you know its been mis-poured and mis-served. Serving up a Guinness properly is a process- the bartender is supposed to fill the pint glass up about 3/4 of the way and then let it sit and settle for a couple of min before topping it off. This ensures the big, creamy head that is a key element in the Guinness drinking experience. Even after it is served, you are supposed to wait a little longer while it settles before drinking- as it settles the color of the beer transforms from a milk chocolate color to a dark chocolate- with a big difference between the head and the rest of the beer.
My first Guinness was served up and I longingly looked at it- the way Homer Simpson looks at a sandwich. It was torture to wait for it to fully settle, but my first Guinness had to be done right which required some self-control by me- not something I'm known for. Alas it was ready to drink, I embraced the creamy, one and a half inch thick head and took my first sip. Nirvana. It was true, it did taste better over there. That's not to say the Guinness back in the states tasted bad, it was just different. The consistency in Ireland was thicker, fuller, it filled up your entire mouth. The elements of mocha and coffee were still there, but even more well balanced. I leaned back in my chair and exhaled while I took it all in. This was Ireland- all of it, in a pint glass. I was home.  
|
|
|
|
 |
| Thread Tools | |
|
|
