IRELAND

Do you want to see uncontaminated green nature, breathtaking cliffs, white sandy beaches, intact and romantic castles and others in ruins but in enchanting places, gorge yourself on almost gifted apple pies and feast on more giants along the roadsides, sleeping in a hostel with lounge and kitchen service where you can meet tourists from all over the world and then go together to the local pub to eat an excellent single dish based on meat, vegetables and potatoes washed down with an excellent light or dark Guinness or better yet with a red Smithik's while listening to live music like playing U2 or the Cranberries and then being stunned by the beautiful Irish women with red hair and green eyes? Then go to Ireland, one of the most beautiful countries in Europe where the people are nice and crazy like us Italians and they go around in the rain without an umbrella because after ten minutes the sun comes and we dry and then it rains again, but it doesn't matter ! Ah, rent a car because by doing so, without spending too much you can visit the whole country in ten days, Northern Ireland included and you will return home satisfied and with many wonderful memories and regrets. About 20 years ago I visited this beautiful green country alone, arriving by plane around 11pm in Dublin and without booking any hotel. I thought I would find it easily but instead they were all full because the following day the final hurling match for the championship between two teams from outside Dublin was taking place and the fans had turned out in large numbers and had filled all the hotels. I even tried the 5-star hotel at the airport but it too was full, so I resigned myself to waiting for the morning between a coffee and the arcades of the Bank of Ireland. I saw the pubs shut down and close while the beer-filled Irish pissed all around. The next morning I found a room in a small hotel in the centre, I visited Dublin but it didn't make a great impression on me. There is the famous Trinity College. I remember the charm of the colored doors and the decoration of the houses next to each other. Impressive public buildings such as the government palace, the ancient library, the river with a small arched bridge and then the pub area, including the legendary Temple Bar. Then I took the bus to Gallway, the city on the west coast, nice with a central street full of pubs, the small port. In the evening I attended a show of Irish dancing with the dancer jumping on the spot moving only his feet. I thought about going around the country by public transport but I discovered that the itineraries were poor, for example they did not lead to the famous Cliff of Mohers, so I decided to rent a car for a week and be independent with transport. It was September, the streets were surrounded by large blackberry bushes which I am fond of and I often stopped to stock up on them. Another food was the "apple-pie" which I bought in the bakeries for a pound and which kept me full all day. I usually had dinner in the pubs where I went in the evening to listen to the live music of which the Irish are great interpreters. There is a lot of joy in the pubs, which are very popular, they also come to watch the football matches, but above all to talk with friends and drink the beer that flows freely even if it is not cheap at all. It's not true that Guinness beer is the most drunk, for example I discovered Smithwik's or red beer that I liked best and to my surprise I saw many English people drinking Heineken or Becks. One evening I spoke to a Dutchman who lived in Ireland and he told me that he had now drunk 25 beers and the evening wasn't over yet! I remember meeting several drunk young people, quite sad scenes. I slept in hostels that were cheap and had common areas such as the kitchen where some people prepared dinner and then the living room where we socialized. I don't remember if from Galway I went south towards the famous Ring of Kerry, one of the busiest areas of the country which includes the beautiful city of Killarney with its castle and its national park. Not far away is the Dingle peninsula which offers beautiful mountains and excellent beaches, the kind you don't expect in this country. I think I continued south but skipped the large and uninteresting city of Cork. I certainly visited the famous Blarney Castle, a disused tower which on the upper floor houses the stone of eloquence which is granted to those who kiss it in a certain way. You have to lie down and lean out while being supported by two staff. I retraced the east coast until I arrived in Northern Ireland where I visited the beautiful capital of Belfast and then the beautiful north coast of which I remember the Gian Causeway, that is, strange cylinders of rock stuck in the beach and of which only the surface can be seen. Not far away there is a small island inhabited by a fisherman which can be reached via Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, a little bridge of dancing ropes. Not far away is the oldest Bushmills whiskey distillery which has been producing for over 400 years. Continuing west you arrive at the famous city of Londonderry which recalls the sad battles between Protestants and Catholics that ended only a few decades ago. The city is nice on the hills, back then it still had two separate areas, there is the river below and there was finally an air of peace, despite the bad memories. We return to Eire or the Republic of Ireland to visit the beautiful green region of Donegal and then that of Connemara, with sheep, peat fields, beautiful beaches, the ruins of destroyed Catholic churches and abandoned castles. There are small and charming towns where the inhabitants speak Gaelic or Irish. Then we move on to the equally intriguing Connemara and then return to the Galway area. The Cliffs of Moher are famous nearby, really high (about 200 m) and impressive. I also remember a lovely visit to Kylemore Abbey, by a romantic lake with the most beautiful walled gardens in the country. Other important sites visited include the remains of the ancient Abbey of Clonmacnoise dating back to 500 AD. and Cashel Fortress from the same period as well as the three-towered 12th-century Kilkenny Castle. One last memory, the archaeological site of Newgrange, from the Neolithic period, in the Boney river valley, protected by UNESCO and dating back to 3,200 BC, therefore older than the pyramids of Egypt and Stonhenge. It is a huge mound with a hemispherical roof covered with grass and surrounded by about a hundred carved stones. The remains of the cremated bodies were buried in the various rooms contained within the mound. In the roof there is a hole through which on December 21, the shortest day of the year, the sun comes and enters the mound. In short, a nice relaxing trip, with green views, white beaches, many castles and cheerful and hospitable people, very similar to us Italians and very different from the English and this all works in their favor