Giles wrote:
>The Irish have a very idiosyncratic idea of place and how to get to one...
>
>You might think this scheme of route designation perfectly reasonable but
there is a
>twist.
One evening I was trying to find my way from Johnny Fox's back down to the
B&B in Laragh. I roamed for the better part of two hours trying to
negotiate my way back to civilization. I got lost on some mountain road
and ended up so twisted around I didn't know which way was
up/down/north/south/east/west/left/right. I just didn't want to end up in
the middle of the Table Mountain Artillery Range.
On my last trip to Ireland (hopefully not THE last), I finally started
figuring out the "system." Well, actually only the system that is valid in
one county. But my bewilderment level was greatly reduced at least.
To any American who hasn't travelled oversees but would like to, I'd really
recommend Ireland. It is a very beautiful country and the people are
extremely tolerant of "The Dumb Things Travellers Do", unlike, say France
or Miami. Also, the language barrier is relatively minimal. For us
English-only speaking Americans, the ability to understand an Irish person
ranks somewhere between Swahili and Japanese. <g> Of course, that's with
the English language--if they start speaking Irish, it's all over with.
Road signs are a hoot, too. "Loose Chippings" and "Soft Margins" are among
my favorites. In America we have singular words on our roadsigns like
"Stop", "Yield", "Merge", etc. In Ireland the signs are more descriptive,
but it takes five minutes to read them and even then you have to apply an
archiac logic to fully understand the implications. But at least you have
the time--when there is a farmer herding his cows or sheep down the road.
Someday, when I'm rich and famous.... I'd love to have a place in the
Galway area. (America East). I could spend my days exploring Connemara,
and Karen would be happy because there is a shopping mall in town. I think
it would make a nice contrast to Iowa.
OM Content: Bring lots of film when visiting Ireland.
Ken (gift of gab) Norton
Kenneth E. Norton
Image66 Photography, Broadcast Consulting and Audio Engineering
image66@xxxxxxx
(515) 791-2306
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