by Kay Hafner

Editor's note: Kay Hafner and her family recently went on a trip to Ireland. This is Part I of a two-part series on her visit.

Greetings from Ireland. I will be home by the time you read this, but I thought an international edition of On the Bright Side would be interesting. Internet access was very accessible in Dublin, the largest Irish city, and in Galway City. Both have large student populations, which probably helps.

We spent our first three days on the east coast in Dublin where we walked and enjoyed the sites. My favorite was seeing the Book of Kells, housed at Trinity College but actually created on Iona, an island way up north between Ireland and Scotland. This experience which captured my attention more than I thought it would. I've never seen anything so old and so precious. The fine artwork, created 1200 years ago, without modern tools and with infinite patience, was something to behold.

I managed to sprain my foot the last night as we searched for just the right child-friendly restaurant. It was raining, and I had clogs on because I was trying to not look like a tourist in sneakers. That's hopeless, of course. Even without sensible walking shoes and a camera around my neck, there's no doubt that I'm a greenhorn here.

During our stay in this the largest of Ireland's cities we traveled along Dublin's mass transit to the northernmost point of Howth and the southernmost point of Bray. The only other stop we made along the train route was in Dalkey, a lovely town to the south of Dublin which is novelist Maeve Binchey's hometown and, if cabbies can be trusted, also the home of Van Morrison and at least two members of the Irish rock band U-2. I can see why they'd like it. Charming architecture, quiet, a great view of The Irish Sea. We learned some history of the town, climbed a battlement, ate lunch and visited the library and a used bookstore. I didn't want to leave.

The next day, we rented a car and drove for the rest of our trip. This might be a good time to mention that Bob has done all the driving, from the crazy streets of Dublin to what we I suppose are the country lanes but are barely wide enough to be called driveways. Traveling on these lanes, and on the left side of the road, isn't easy, especially when 20 years of motoring experience and instincts tell you you're doing something very wrong. I navigated the best I could and we have to admit that the times we were "lost" made the trip very exciting and adventurous.

So, we headed southwest from Dublin toward Kilkenny, in the central southern area. After lunch, Bob and Vicki took a tour of the castle there. We did not have reservations anywhere that night, so we progressed to the town of Clonmel where some locals at a gas station directed us to what must be the nicest place in town. It was the last room, and with a steam shower and other excellent amenities, it was easily my favorite accommodation of the trip.

The next day, we drove west to and walked along the streets of Tipperary. It was hard not to resist being stupid tourists when I saw the tacky sign saying, "You've come a long, long way to Tipperary." We then took a scenic drive to the Glen at Aherlow, just outside town, which soon turned into an adventure when we followed a logging road (it definitely wasn't on any maps) along a ridge that offered some spectacular scenery. The best thing about this meandering was stumbling across Moor Abbey, a structure which dates from the 12th century. Around a bend and, poof, there it was. Not on the map, but with a nice plaque mounded at the entrance.

Irish locals seem to take these structures for granted. A pile of old stones that visitors gawk at and take pictures of. Again, I think it is the age and durability of abbeys, cathedrals and castles that make them so attractive, especially to Americans. Faneuil Hall in Boston is, to be sure, historically significant to our country, but seeing Kilkenny Castle, a structure built in the 12th century, gives a different, deeper meaning to "history."

We took so long on this drive through the hills above Tipperary that we only had time to park and find dinner in Limerick. As odd as it sounds, we ate at a place called Texas Steak Out and pondered the irony of coming so many thousands of miles to eat Americanized food and listen to mostly American music. Even odder, one of the waitresses was distinctly Eastern European.

On the Bright Side appears every other Thursday in The Post-Star.