How come all the rocks are different sizes?

The wife hails from Galway as do the rest of her family.  Galway, or Connemara to be more precise, is a stunning part of the world, full of lakes, rocks, mountains, harbours and tourists.  Apart from the tourists, its the thousands of lakes and the millions upon millions of rocks that catch your eye.

We took a spin out to Connemara visiting Aughnaure Castle, Ballynahinch Castle and Roundstone. 

On our way out to Aughnaure Castle, we got stuck behind a slow driver, one of those people who drives at around half the speed limit, even though the road is straight, wide and flat.  This guy was doing 60KPM on a 100KPH road and managed to create a train of over a dozen cars in the space of 5 or 6 miles.  I sat behind unpatiently, cursing the man under my breath...well maybe not totally under my breath...but as we were taking a turn off for the castle, we would soon be rid of this slow fool...Captain Slow took the turn ahead of me.  We had maybe two miles of a narrow country road to the castle and Captain Slow was promoted to General Slow.  He ambled along while behind him, I was darting from left to right, filling his mirrors while screaming "Comon! Comon!  FFS!!".

As we entered the car park, I tore past him and parked two spaces up.

I looked to my left in order to see what this tool looked like only to find him staring across at me...I looked away.  Round 1 of the staring competition to Mr. 3rd Gear...I got out of the car and stretched...My enemy got out of his car and stretched...I look over at him and he looks over at me...I was bigger, younger and had a beard...he looked away...Round 2 to me...We walk off to the castle...we get there first...I win he loses...In your face Mr. Shorty-no-beard.


Aughnaure castle is an old castle type house from the 16th century, of which there are around 200 in Galway alone.  Most are just ruins but this one still has floors and a roof.  The grounds or rather the small river that circles the castle, is absolutely gorgeous and worth the €3 entry fee.

Next stop was Ballynahinch Castle. This place is a working hotel set on stunning grounds with a river running past it.  It sits high up on a valley just shy of a 90 degree turn in the river.  There was a nice homely feel to it and if you like fly-fishing, then this is the place to be.

We stopped here for a coffee and as the sun was out and we had such a nice view, I decided a cigar was in order.  I went for the Macanudo 1968 as it was all I had with me.  A bit too much cigar for a coffee and coke but enjoyed all the same.

We then drove to Roundstone and stopped for more coffee but didn't hang around as it was too windy to really enjoy the place.  Further along the road, we stopped briefly at a beach which was ferociously windy so we had our coffee in the car.  We decided to call it a day and head home.  The drive back was about 90 minutes so we stopped and picked up some hitcher-hikers for company.  They were French.

All in all, we had a nice day out in Connemara and would recommend this as one of the places everybody should visit at least once in their lifetime.

Aughnaure Castle

Ballynahinch Castle

Macanudo at Ballynahinch Castle

I was wearing my Blue Jumper

We rounded off the week in Dublin with a trip to the Zoo.  I wore my blue jumper.

Dublin zoo is the 3rd oldest zoo in the world and the 2nd oldest scientific zoo in Europe after London zoo.  I won't tell you what the oldest zoo in the world is because this is not a zoo blog...google, that's all I'll say.

Dublin zoo is where my Grandfather and Uncle worked and so we spent many a happy day there as kids.  Apparrotly,  I got lost there twice.  You see what I did there?

Another nugget is that Dublin zoo produced the first lion to be used as the famous MGM "Leo the Loin" mascot.  Raar.

Anyway, the sun was out as myself, the wife and baby, my sister plus her 3 kids headed off to the zoo.  There isn't a lot really to say about it apart from we all had fun and saw some animals. 

We then went for lunch and the kids had some play time.  I then visited my Grandmother and then after that, went to the brothers house for a well deserved cigar and beer..

The cigar was the Macanudo 1968 and the beer was Guinness.  Both were lovely.  I've mentioned the Macanudo previously and once again it didn't disappoint.  Great cigar.  I've got one left in the humidor and already I can see it being a struggle leaving it alone.

"To the Mainland"

After a enjoyable and victorious day on the golf course with Mikkel, the plan for the evening was to meet up with the MJ's and their lovely Spanish friends, plus Jackie and Libby, for a knees up in Temple Bar.

Jackie lives way out in the sticks and was unable to get a lift back to civilisation so it wasn't looking good.  Thankfully though, we brought our car with us on the ferry, so we went and fetched her.

The venue for the evening was "The Garage".  A great little pub if you don't mind sawdust on the floor or unisex toilets.  The smoking section at the front is reasonably good. I spent most of the night there.

The cigars for the evening were the Grafton reserve and a new one for me, a Macanudo 1968.  The 1968 was the discovery of the trip for me, a great cigar.  Big, very big.  An all round great smoke that lasted for almost 2 hours, burning consistently throughout after taking only a few minutes to get going.  I did bring some of these back with me to the UK and will set about finding a cheaper source than Dublin for my next batch.  All this was thanks to the wife who kept me supplied me throughout the trip. 

I was unable to source the 1968's in the UK, so I contacted cgars.ltd  and according to them, they're due to be released to the UK market sometime late May.  I look forward to it. 

"Going to America"

The second game of golf played on the trip home to Ireland was at the K Club with Mikkel, my old friend and golfing rival.  I nearly always meet up with Mikkel for a game of golf when home in Ireland, a tradition stretching back about 8 years or so now.

The K Club is famous for staging the Ryder cup in 2006 and still milking it for all it's worth.  I was at the Ryder cup in 2006 and 2010, did I ever mention that...

This was the first time I smoked a cigar on a golf course and it wasn't that easy.  Well the smoking part was easy but lighting wasn't. The course is described as an inland links, which basically means that wind is pretty much a permanent feature.  Thankfully though, it wasn't a particularly windy day.  It was actually quite mild but it still took 6 or 7 attempts to get the cigars going.

When we arrived at the K Club, for some reason we struggled to find parking, even though we were actually in the car park.  All the spaces appeared to be reserved for members.  All members appeared to be elsewhere so we parked up and went inside.  We left shortly thereafter as we had selected the wrong course and had to drive back the way we came.  In the car park, K Club security had pulled up alongside my car but they made off as soon as they saw us coming.  Lucky for them.

We had no problem find a parking space at the Smurfit course, which by the way, is not the one the Ryder cup was played on, but a pretty course all the same.  Not too long with some nice holes and I somehow managed to score 36 points while playing off 20.  Mikkel was a little bit behind on the score sheet, which basically means he lost the last golf day between us on Irish soil.  I think we're about even now, but the trophy (pictured below) stays with me.

As the title of this blog suggests, somebody's going to America and isn't me.

Best of luck to Mikkel and his family as they up sticks and head across the pond.  This of course means that the golf rivalry will have to recommence on American soil.  Maybe we'll do it Ryder cup style but I somehow doubt Ireland will be hosting it again.

The cigars I went for were a Grafton reserve and a Juan Lopez Havana.  The Grafton is only available on the Irish market.  A great little cigar.  Perfect burn and smoke.  I bought a few of these over in Dublin and really like them.  Mikkel had the Grafton.  I had the Juan Lopez which was OK but not great.  Maybe it was a bit too windy to really enjoy the cigar.  Next time I'll save the cigar smoking until after golf with a pint of Guinness.

I wasn't the slightest bit sad that this was my last golf day in Ireland with Mikkel, which is not to say he and his family will not be missed.  I was just very happy for them and so wish them the best of luck on their new adventure to America, which no doubt will be an exciting and amazing experience for them and the kids.

I shot J.R.

If I was my brother and J.R. was my ass.

It hurt.  It hurt a lot.  I know, it was my ass, so believe me, it hurt.

OK, so it wasn't a real gun.  I was shot in the backside by a BB gun.  A double tap from a BB handgun to be precise, marking my fleshy rear end with two BB sized wounds that stung like nothing every stung before, only twice.

The shooter as I said was my brother.  An airsoft extremist who likes to shoot people from behind.  People who happen to be running away.  My crime? I made mocking shooting noises Ali G style, see link Ali G Shooting for more precise details of the pow pow noise I went for.  The disturbing picture below shows one of the wounds in graphic detail.  It also shows part of my ass.  Be warned, it's not pretty.

Before the shooting incident, I enjoyed a Romeo y Julieta Churchill and a Cohiba Maduro 5.  The R&J Churchill is a great cigar and I enjoyed this one from start to finish.  No complaints there. 

The Maduro 5 was sitting in my humidor for about 3 months and I was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately though, it was disappointing at best.  It was weak, uneventful and tasteless. Big fail.  Not sure I'll go for a Maduro 5 again.  I smoked the Maduro before the Churchill, only smoking the Churchill because I needed some cheering up after the disappointment of the Maduro.  That said, it was a much more enjoyable double tap.

A great night at the brothers house, even if it did end with me running out of the house screaming like a girl, while he laughed like a loon at the door after putting a cap in my ass, twice.

"Burn in Hell for all Eternity"

I suppose if you're going to do anything that flies in the face of religious tradition, you might as well have a BBQ on Good Friday, which is supposed to be a day of abstinence from meat and alcohol.  I'm not sure if alcohol is supposed to be included in that but either way, the pubs are shut on Good Friday and we're not supposed to drink.

Most people stock up on drink the day before and sit at home drinking or have a party, but most people don't celebrate by staging a massive BBQ, the likes of which, Finglas has never seen.

Thankfully, the Menendez-Jevins's are not most people.  Massive steaks, huge sausages, an octopus!  Beer, Cuban rum and of course cigars aplenty.  Oh and salad.


Apart from the lovely and delicious food laid on by the Menendez-Jevins's (the MJ's from now on), Mr. MJ (a.k.a. Raul the wise) generously produced a 6 pack of Vegafina Robustos.  I brought two cigars with me, cigars I was really looking forward to sharing with Mr. MJ.

The two I brought were Luis Martinez Crystal Churchill's.  They come in a glass tube supposedly to ensure they remain in good condition.  Slight damage was visible and once out of the tube, felt extremely dry and flaky.  I cut mine and it fell apart.  Bad start.  Mr. MJ left his one alone and saved the day by handing me one of the VegaFinas.  Great cigar which I don't think is available on the English market but is on the Spanish market so I'll be buying a few of these next time I'm in Spain.

I emailed Fox of St. James's who apologised and offered a free cigar with my next purchase.  A bit presumptuous but can't complain.

The cigar was enjoyed with a great Cuban rum, pictured below.  Mr. MJ insisted I take the remaining Vegafinas home with me.  None of these cigars have made it back to the UK.  All gone.  I only hope the Churchill I left in return is enjoyed at some stage in the future.

Back to Reality

After almost three weeks in the old country, roaming the land, searching out new cigars and new places to smoke them in, we're back across the Irish sea, full from hundreds of sausages, rashers and spuds, three stone heavier, tired but happy with the memories of a great trip home.

The blog will continue shortly with pictures and stories including a shooting, a run in with the law, new cigars, exotic locations, pubs, barbecues, pints of Guinness, more Easter eggs than I care to remember plus a special guest appearance.

New postings to follow shortly...