Nomadic Lives Local, Experiential India Travel Blog
7. The Lost Art of Waving
The rural Irish are wavers – it’s amusing, very endearing and very beautiful to experience. My persistent insistence on unearthing virgin, non-touristy villages and towns, took us deep into rural country all throughout western Ireland. As we cruised on roads with grass growing between the tire tracks and broad enough to accommodate only one vehicle at a time, every human we crossed waved at us with genuine delight. Somehow, the image of a tiny old woman struggling to walk with her walking stick and the transformation she underwent on seeing our car, causing her entire face to light up and her arm to wave frantically, was amongst the most memorable sights from my journey.
8. Family Owned Business
Irish pubs are largely family businesses – it’s amusing, but so many of them Irish pubs are run by Ma, Pa, Son, Daughter and whoever else in the family they can get their hands upon.In many cases, even the husbands of daughters and their children happily take up jobs on the pub and run it ‘in-house’. I was fortunate enough to make friends with one such family and get a first hand account on the history of a pub that had been the cornerstone of the whole town for more than a century.
I used to live in Ireland and I’m heading back there to cycle the Wild Atlantic Way on Sunday, couldn’t be more excited hence I was happy to come across your post!! Totally agree about the pub culture but what, are you saying that leprechauns don’t exist!? 😉 Only point I didn’t get was the myth about Irish being stupid, is that a stereotype in some part of the world..?
oh, well my fascination with everything Irish began a few years ago when I discovered the charming work of one particular William Butler Yeats. I’ve been actively reading up on everything Irish since and I noticed a lot of affinity towards perceptions in certain cultures tending towards labeling the Irish as some sort of a redneck sub-sect. Might have something to do with the fabled ‘red hair’, which too is an unqualified generalization. In general though, everybody that has ever been to Ireland can think of its people as nothing but warm, friendly and charming 🙂
Are you going to be on a bicycle – it will truly be wonderful if you get some sunny days! Hope you have a good time!
Splendid photos, really made me smile. I wish to visit the land leprechauns someday.
One day soon we’ll be there. Ireland has it’s own magic, I loved my first, very short, visits.
Ireland has always been on my bucket list of places to visit – for a permanent kind of vacation 😉 Thank you for sharing so many beautiful photos!
Hello Sanket,
I am planning to go alone to Ireland this month end and can you please suggest how many days i should spend in Dublin and what all i must cover and what all over rated places i should avoid? I won’t be having much time in hand else i was planning to go to Galway – Cliffs of Moher, Cork and some more places close by.. also could you please suggest some good, budget and safe hotels/hostels?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Isha,
Dublin is beautiful, but it is like most cosmopolitan cities in the world. 2-3 days should be more than enough. Go out into the country if you want to experience local Ireland. Cliffs of Moher and Galway are very popular. I’d say Cliffs of Moher is a must do – nobody goes to Ireland and misses out on that. It really depends upon how many days you have on hand. There’s also the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula – circular roads, very beautiful to drive around. My favorite part of Ireland though was down south-west, deep into County Cork – some really beautiful villages and hamlets down there, and not quite as infested by tourist coaches as the ones mentioned above. Why don’t you drop me a note on my email with more details and I can help you out more. Happy to share some hostel recommendations too.