Dublin - 愛爾蘭的首都 Capital of Ireland

愛爾蘭環島遊(第6-7天) Round Tour in Ireland (6-7th Day) - 都柏林Dublin

在Cobh遊覽車了半天，我們便向北走，前往都柏林。車程約差不多3小時，所以我們選擇在兩小時車程的Kildare Outlet Mall休息，吃午餐並且血拼一番。
After spending the whole morning at Cobh, we started to drive north to Dublin which would take almost three hours.  Hence, we stopped by the Kildare Outlet Mall after driving for two hours to have a late lunch as well as a shopping spree.

Kildare Outlet Mall現不算很大，但都有不少香港人或亞洲遊客喜愛的品牌，如NorthFace、Asics、Samsonite、Crabtree & Evelyn、Furla等等；大部份的店舖都可提供表格或電腦咭讓遊客在離境時於機場安排退稅。這Outlet Mall正進行擴建工程，不久的將來會有更多品牌進駐。
Kildare Outlet Mall was not very large, but it consisted of many brands which people from Hong Kong or Asia loved, eg. NorthFace, Asics, Samsonite, Crabtree & Evelyn, Furla, etc.  Many of the shops could offer tax refund forms or record cards for tourists to submit tax refund at the airport upon leaving Ireland.  The mall was undergoing expansion and more brands would be moving in soon.

St Patrick's Cathedral

然後再開車大半小時，我們便到達都柏林，並在市內觀光一番。都柏林很熱鬧，有不少道路是單程，好彩跟GPS走都挺可靠。我們先前往St Patrick's Cathedral，然後向更中心的地方前進，但可能是時近5點才到市中心，人較多，找到車位後我們便徒步往部份距離不遠的景點，並走訪了Trinity College、市府廳、酒吧區等。

Continuing the drive for almost an hour, we arrived Dublin and grab the chance to tour around the city.  Dublin is a crowded city, many of the roads are one-way.  Luckily, the GPS was helpful and reliable.  We first went to St Patrick's Cathedral.  Then, when moving towards more centre of the city, it started to have many people as it was already 5pm.  Once we found a place to park the car, we visited some of the nearby tourist spots on foot, eg. Trinity College, City Hall, the bars area, etc.

Trinity College

Bewleys Hotel

由於第二天早上要乘早機離開，我們預訂了機場附近的Bewleys Hotel(現改名為Clayton Hotel)。酒店距機場只幾分鐘車程，並每20分鐘有免費巴士前往機場。 酒店房間很寬敞且設備齊全，Check-in之後，我們先到酒店旁加油站的餐廳吃晚餐，點了的wrap和漢堡都美味，然而製作需時，落單後要等大約10分鐘，但勝在新鮮炮製。

As we needed to take an early flight on the next day, we have booked the Bewleys Hotel near the airport (now named Clayton Hotel).  The hotel is just a few minutes of drive from the airport and it has shuttle bus every 20mins.  The rooms were spacious and fully equipped.  After checking in, we went to the gas station next to it and have a quick dinner at the cafe there.  The wraps and burgers were delicious though we needed to wait for about 10mins after placing orders.  But, the good point was they were fresh made.

晚餐後，部份人回酒店先梳洗，另外，其中兩人就駕車到機場還車，然後坐租車公司的穿梳小巴回酒店。Then, some of us went back to hotel for shower first and two drove to the airport to return the car.  After this, the car rental company sent us back to the hotel in their van.

在第七天的清早，我們乘坐穿梳巴士到達都柏林機場，辦理登機手續及寄行李，通過出境櫃檯後，我們便找尋辦理退稅的櫃檯，由於機場有部份地方正在翻新，有些地方被圍板遮蓋，我們還是邊行邊問，好快使找到櫃檯，有別於很多其他地方的機場要排長龍待官員蓋章，在這裡我們只需填妥表格，連同發票投入收集箱便可，或者，如果商戶是把可退稅交易儲於智能咭上，只要把咭在這裡的自動退稅機一掃，並輸入資料，連表格都不用填，之後，退稅款項便會存到登記的信用咭賬戶內。In the early morning of the seventh day, we went to the Dublin Airport by the shuttle bus.  After checking-in the luggage and passing through immigration, we looked for the tax refund counter.  As parts of the airport were under renovation, some of the places were covered with hoarding boards.  After asking a few staff, we had quickly located the refund counter.  Unlike many airports elsewhere at which people need to queue up for the duty stamp, we only needed to fill in the form and submited it together with the invoices into the collection box.  For transactions that were stored on smart card, we just needed to swipe the card at the self-helped machine and entered the relevant information without the need to fill in a paper form.  After that, the refunded tax would be deposited to the registered credit card.


一切辦妥，我們在機場店舖瀏覽一番後，登上飛機，完結了一星期的愛爾蘭之旅。
With all the things done, we browsed around some of the shops in the airport and then, boarded onto the plane to end our one-week Ireland tour.

有用網址 Useful websites:
Kildare Outlet Mall - http://www.kildarevillage.com/
Visiting Dublin - http://www.visitdublin.com/
St Patrick's Cathedral - http://www.stpatrickscathedral.ie/
Trinity College - http://www.tcd.ie/
Clayton Hotel (formerly Bewleys Hotel) - http://www.claytonhoteldublinairport.com/

Cobh - 色彩城市 The Town in Colours

愛爾蘭環島遊(第6天) Round Tour in Ireland (6th Day) - Kinsale and Cobh

離開Cahersiveen，我們繼續邊開車、邊欣賞沿途風景，朝著Cobh的方向前進。在到達Cobh之前，我們先在傍晚路經有多間海鮮餐廳的Kinsale，當然要在這裡先稍作休息，並吃個海鮮晚餐。本想嘗試的Fishy Fishy Restaurant，但見到它坐無虛席，查問侍應說那天晚上他們預訂已滿，後來我們改往Max's Restaurant，吃過後發覺原來也是個不錯的選擇。

After leaving Cahersiveen, we headed to Cobh while enjoying the scenery along the way.  Before arriving Cobh, we stopped by Kinsale where there are lot of seafood restaurant.  Originally, we would like to try having dinner at Fishy Fishy Restaurant but it was fully booked.  We shifted to Max's Restaurant and luckily, it was not a bad shift.

在Max's，我們點了一些侍應的推介，亦點了一些自選的新嘗試。

At Max's, we had ordered some recommended dishes as well as trying some new ones.

吃了豐富美味的晚餐之後，我們便驅車前往下一站 - 沿海的Cobh。

After the delicious seafood dinner, we started the journey again to Cobh.

在Cobh，我們預訂了Bella Vista Hotel，它位於半山上，離Cobh的地標St Colman's大教堂只兩街之隔，房間很寬敞舒適，可眺望海岸及大教堂。

We checked in Bella Vista Hotel at Cobh.  It situated on the slope, but not far from the Cobh's landmark - St Colman's Cathedral which was just two blocks away.  The hotel room was spacious, window opening to the view of the Cathedral and the shore.

第二天早上，在酒店的餐廳服務員殷勤的招待，讓我們邊享受從窗戶透入的溫暖陽光，邊享受半自助早餐，是這一天一個好開始。

In the next morning, we sat in the restaurant with attentive waitresses, bathing in the sunshine which seep through the windows.  The semi-buffet breakfast set us with a good start of the day.

Cobh是當年鐵達尼號沉沒前所停泊的最後一個城市，它的碼頭繁忙，帶著魚穫的漁船來來往往。

Cobh was the last stop of Titanic before she sank in the ocean.  The pier at Cobh was busy with ships coming and going.

St Colman's Cathedral

所有來到Cobh的遊人都一定會看看St Colman's大教堂，大教堂位於這城市的高地，聳立於五顏六色的小屋之中。一排一排漆上不同顏色的小屋，是Cobh的一大特色。從不同的角度看大教堂，都可以有不同的顏色小屋作襯托。

St Colman's Cathedral is a must-go for people visiting Cobh.  The Cathedral locates on highland, being surrounded by houses painted in different colours.  This is a special characteristic of the city.  When looking at the Cathedral from different directions, one could find these colourful houses to be next to it.


有用網址 Useful websites:
Max's Restaurant - http://maxs.ie/
Bella Vista Hotel - http://www.bellavistahotel.ie/
Visiting Cobh - http://visitcobh.com/


..... 待續 to be continued .....

大自然的瑰寶 A Gem of Nature - Ring of Kerry

愛爾蘭環島遊(第5天) Round Tour in Ireland (5th Day) - Killarney - Ring of Kerry

Church in Killarney 市內的教堂

這天，吃過早餐，在Killarney市內閒逛了一會，看看那裡的outlet mall，這商場店舖並不多，所以無甚收穫。
After breakfast, we walked around in the city centre of Killarney for a while as well as visiting the outlet mall there.  As number of shops in the mall was not a lot, we did not buy much.

之後我們便繼續我們Ring of Kerry 的行程。沿著Ring of Kerry這環狀旅遊路線 ，可欣賞到天然所打造的瑰寶 ─ 藍天、綠草、高山、白浪都可盡收眼簾。Ring of Kerry所伸延到達的地方包括之前那天所到的Gap of Dunloe和Ross Castle，還有這天來到Glenbeigh的Rossbeigh海灘。

Then, we started to continue our journey to Ring of Kerry.  This circular tourist route could bring visitors the gem of nature:  blue sky, green grass, tall mountain, white waves.....
Ring of Kerry could lead to many popular points including the Gap of Dunloe and Ross Castle which we had visited on the previous day as well as Rossbeigh beach at Glenbeigh which we went this day.

我們把車停在海灘旁，但海風非常大，在那裡看了一會，拍了幾張照片，便開車上附近的山上，在山上高處可俯瞰整個海灘，它很平而且很長，一直伸延到遠處。

大風得臉都被頭髮遮蓋 
Strong Wind - Face Covered by Hairs

We stopped the car next to the beach but it was very windy to stand there.  After having a view and taking some photos, we drove up to the mountain to have a birdview of the Rossbeigh beach.  It was flat and long, extending far far away.

沿著Ring of Kerry一路走，看到的風景都很美。
The scenery along Ring of Kerry was amazing.

順著Ring of Kerry，我們來到Cahersiveen小鎮。
Following Ring of Kerry, we arrived the small town Cahersiveen.






這裡的Cahersiveen Old Barracks，屹立於河邊的古蹟建築，是當地的一個地標。
The Cahersiveen Old Barracks, a heritage building sitting next to the river bank, is one of the landmarks there.

在Cahersiveen 的大街上，我們選了Cafesiveen吃了一頓不錯的簡便午餐。
On the main street of Cahersiveen, we have entered the Cafesiveen to enjoy a light lunch there.

用餐後，我們便開車前往下一到訪的沿海城市 ─ Cobh。路途上還可繼續欣賞Ring of Kerry的自然風光，離開Ring of Kerry後，在前往Cobh的路上還幸運地看到彩虹。
After lunch, we drove the car towards our next stop of seaside city, Cobh.  We continued seeing the natural scenery of Ring of Kerry along the way.  After leaving Ring of Kerry, we were lucky to have seen a rainbow.


有用網址 Useful websites:
Ring of Kerry - http://www.ringofkerrytourism.com/
Rossbeigh Beach - http://rossbeigh.com/
Cahersiveen Old Barracks - http://www.oldbarrackscahersiveen.com/


..... 待續 to be continued .....

山峽和湖泊交織的圖畫 A Picture of Gorges and Lakes

愛爾蘭環島遊(第4天) Round Tour in Ireland (4th Day) - Killarney - Gap of Dunloe (Ring of Kerry)

Gap of Dunloe

從Limerick驅車約一個半小時便到達甚受遊客愛戴的Killarney，皆因這裡有Killarney國家公園、Ring of Kerry 和Gap of Dunloe的天然美景，當到達Killarney之時，都感覺這裡較其他的城鎮熱鬧，到處都見到大大小小的酒店和旅館，有瑰麗豪華的、有平實雅致的、各式其式。After driving for about 1.5 hours from Limerick, we arrived Killarney which was a city full of tourists.  There were the famous natural attractions nearby - National Park, Ring of Kerry and Gap of Dunloe.  When entering Killarney, we could feel the bustling of the city.  There were numerous big and small hotels and inns, some being gorgeious and luxurious while the others practical and accessible.

Houses with Two-bedroom Apartment

我們這晚預訂了有兩個睡房及附有廚房、客飯廳、泊車位的公寓套間。由於到達是只是約下午4時，我們便爭取時間，盡快安頓行李，房東為我們解釋怎樣前往Gap of Dunloe並提供了地圖，趁著5月中較晚天黑，便立即出發去Gap of Dunloe。We have booked a two-bedroom apartment with kitchen, living/dining room and parking.It was almost 4pm when we arrived, we quickly settled the luggage.  The landlord explained to us the direction to Gap of Dunloe and gave us a map.  As sun set was quite late at mid May, we headed to visit Gap of Dunloe immediately.

Gap of Dunloe是數百萬年前冰川所形成的山峽，位於Lakes of Killarney的西面，有分兩個入口，一個是從Kenmare山上 Molls Gap進入向下走往Black Valley，另一個較容易前往的入口則位於十九世紀的建築Kate Kearney's Cottage，臨近Beaufort高爾夫球場及Dunloe高爾夫球會，這入口有不少車伕，向到來的旅客推薦坐他們的馬車進入Gap of Dunloe欣賞風景。Gap of Dunloe的路較狹窄多彎，闊度只夠一輛車經過，最好是駕小型車進去，且要注意對頭車，大家互相退讓。在旺季或旅客太多時，有機會汽車駛不進去，要把車停泊在Kate Kearney's Cottage附近的停車場，然後步行進入。Gap of Dunloe was formed by glaciation millions of years ago.  It located at the west side of Lakes of Killarney.  There were two entrances.  One located at Black Valley, down from the Molls Gap on mountain at Kenmare.  The other entrance, where 19th Century-built Kate Kearney's Cottage lied, near the Beaufort Golf Resort and Dunloe Golf Club, was easier to access.  There were lots of carriage grooms at this entrance, asking tourists to ride on their carriage into the Gap to view the scenery.  Road in the Gap of Dunloe was narrow and winding, wide enough for only one car.  It was better to drive a small car into it and needed to watch out for cars coming in the opposite direction, give ways to each other.  During peak season or when there were too many tourists, it may be difficult to drive in.  Cars might need to be parked at the car park near Kate Kearney's Cottage and visited the Gap on foot.

從Lady's View看到的Lakes of Killarney
View of Lakes of Killarney from Lady's View

由於Gap of Dunloe有馬車接載遊客遊覽的入口可能還是有點繁忙，我們選擇了從Black Valley那邊進入，所以我們開車上山，經過Lady's View，到達Kenmare的Molls Gap後往下行駛向Black Valley；在Molls Gap路口會見到一間Avoca咖啡店及紀念品店，見到它便轉右，留意Black Valley的指示牌，便找對了在右邊往下走的小路入口。As the entrance with horse carriages might still be a little busy, we chose to enter from the Black Valley.  Hence, we drove up to the Molls Gap at Kenmare and went down to the Black Valley.  When arriving Molls Gap, there was a small building of Avoca which was a cafe and souvenir shop.  Turning right from this and keep looking for signage of Black Valley, it would be easy to find the small road at the right side, going downwards.

我們駕的是7人大車，要駛入Gap of Dunloe的窄路，便要份外小心，可幸5月中還未算旺季，我們到達時已差不多下午5時，車不算多。沿途上，間中在路旁有少許位置可避車，亦可讓我們可把車稍停下來拍照。We were driving a 7-seater which was quite big for narrow road in Gap of Dunloe.  Hence, we drove with extra care.  Luckily, there were not a lot of cars as mid May was not peak season yet and it was almost 5pm when we entered.   Intermittently, there were small spaces at the side of the road where we could stop to let the cars from opposite side go.  Also, we could stop the car at these spaces for a short while to take photos.

從Molls Gap進入Black Valley，便聞到清新的草香味，還可看到在這裡畜牧的白羊，它們都像是很自由的在山谷中覓食，它們頭頂上被噴上了少許色漆，方便各主人辨認。When entering Black Valley from Molls Gap, we could smell the refreshing scent of grass. There were flocks of sheep which wandered to feed themselves from the grassland.  The top of their heads were sprayed with a tip of colour for easy identification

穿過山谷便走進Gap of Dunloe，沿著路走，會看到山峽和湖泊所交織如圖畫的風景，加上車路的迂迴，豐富了照片的構圖。而且，一路上還有那些陪伴我們這個旅程的可愛白山羊。
After passing through the valley, we entered the Gap of Dunloe. Along the way, we saw the breathtaking views of gorges and lakes while the winding road enriched the natural scenery to form a magnificent picture.  In addition, we were accompanied by the lovely sheep hopping around on the grassland.

因途中不時停下來影相，我們在Gap of Dunloe停留了差不多兩個小時，可到達Kate Kearney's Cottage那邊的出口時天還未黑，在回Killarney市中心時，我們還先去一趟Ross Castle.  這城堡建於十五世紀，屹立於Killarney湖邊。其實，城堡後有一小碼頭，可參加一些坐船的導覽團，欣賞這裡湖上的風光.
We had spent almost two hours at Gap of Dunloe, including the time for photo-taking.  When we arrived Kate Kearney's Cottage, it was not dark yet.  Hence, we have gone to Ross Castle before arriving back Killarney city centre.  The castle was built in the 15th century, next to the Killarney's lower lake.  In fact, at the back of the castle, there was a small pier.  People could join some guided boat tour to discover the beauty of the lake.

有用網址 Useful websites:
Killarney - http://www.killarney.ie/
Kate Kearney's Cottage - http://katekearneyscottage.com/
Ross Castle - http://www.killarneynationalpark.ie/Ross%20Castle/Ross%20Castle.htm

有關Gap of Dunloe:
- http://www.discoverireland.ie/Activities-Adventure/gap-of-dunloe-cycle-route/71399
- http://www.chooseireland.com/kerry/gap-dunloe/

- http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Ireland/Things_To_Do-Ireland-Gap_of_Dunloe-BR-1.html

- http://gapofdunloecamping.com/

- http://www.karenbrown.com/Attractions_Guide/Ireland/Munster/Dunloe/Scenic_Areas_and_Drives/Gap_of_Dunloe/1708.php

..... 待續 to be continued .....