So my first day with a car in Ireland and...

"I can do this" I told myself. "I can drive on the left. And sit on the right. Right?"

Despite my same-word rhymes my mind wondered.
"There's one way to find out.."

So I tossed my backpack in the trunk and adjusted my mirrors, turned on the Irish radio for an accent that made me feel at home, then put the car in reverse.

You know those trucks that beep when you back up? My car beeps when I do. Inwardly to me though. Does the rental car (er- hire. They call rentals here "hire"). Does the hire company not trust Americans to know when they are backing up? haha.

Beep. Beep. BEEEEEP! It beeps the closer I get to things. It's got a freakin' sensor? Hmm. A trunk-view camera would help more. C'mon Irish technology, let's do this thing.


I am going to do this. Neil Armstrong took mankind's first step on the moon. Paul you can ease out onto your first Irish road. Yes you can, little Paul, yes you can.

I'm at the car hire place. My vehicle is parked on the side of the road. I back up and try to ease outta there. Zoom. Car. I look in my mirror. The cars parked on the road are kind of blocking my view. And a truck comes out of nowhere from behind me (perpendicular) to pull onto the street.


I'm feeling uncomfortable that any car can pull out from the driveway behind me. So I do the next logical thing. (without shooting the hostage) I put myself in the driveway.

I do a three point turn to back up in the down-sloping driveway. I lie. I do a seven-point turn. Maybe even a niner.

Beep Beep beeeeeeep! "Quiet!" I yell, and I think of all the cars zooming by, how they're living the Irish life and this is me, attempting to assimilate, initiate, enter, and become one with them. (sounds Borgish?)


"I can do this." I say.
"You're taking too long!" my devil voice says.

Anyway I back up and now I'm facing the road 90 degrees. I can pull out, right? Just like walking for the first time. Forget that my sightlines are nonexistant. Let's go!


I creep up fast enough to be dangerous..
Haha..nah I creep like a turtle. At least my car ain't beepin'.

Vroom. Gas. Vrooom. Here I go. Turn right. It's clear. I'm on the road!

My GPS (Sat-Nav, they call it here in Ireland) tells me to turn right. So I do. And I stay to the left!
I can do this. I pass some city streets and the stop lights use the same colours, so I am good. Sometimes the red turns to yellow before green, as a nice "hey, I'm gonna turn green soon" thing. Even the street lights are friendly!


Fifteen minutes of driving and I got this thing.
So I'm thinking..
I'm on my way to Malahide Castle. After that maybe Mellifont Abbey but definitely Newgrange ruins. Just enough time for -POP!- gerboom gerboom gerboom.

The car felt different.
And I thought to myself, "You fool, you got a flat tire."

My feeling wasn't panic. Even with this my first flat ever. In a different country. On my own. With no knowledge of how to change it.

I knew what I did too. Being so close to oncoming traffic, I veered into the curb on my left and hit it at full speed. I see cars behind me in my mirror and oncoming cars passing me. I wonder what they thought seeing me hit the curb like that. "Some borg.." they'll think.

I wasn't panicking. I was frustrated. Now I have to figure out how to fix this and now I won't see the two things I wanted to today. This puts my whole schedule out of whack, which is fine except that I'm supposed to meet Kaeylea (my first couchsurfing host) tomorrow...and now I'll have to double-back and change my route and use more gas and blah. haha. Little things like that get me. But it's for the best.. (you'll see)


Let's do this. I pull into a gas station that comes into view. Whew.

Pull over. Look at tyre. Two punctures as big as my thumb. This baby needs to be replaced.
The car hire place says collision damage doesn't cover flat tyres since they are the driver's responsibility. I let out a "doh!" that can be heard from Scotland. But it's cool.

I call Ireland's version of AAA and they say they'll be here "within an hour and a half" to change to the mini-spare. Alright, I go in the station and ask the girl for the closest tyre place. I'm gonna have to buy a new tyre for my car after they put on the mini-spare. "There's one down the road for five minutes, on the left." I buy an Ireland road map.


The AAA-Irish version arrives. As he jacks up the car I ask questions about the tyre-changing process. I may have to do this when I'm on my own in the Irish countryside. No way am I gonna wait for someone to come out there.

He tells me and shows me where my tools are in the trunk. Mentally prepared, I venture off to buy a new tyre. I do that and finally it's 4:30 and the castle's probably almost closed I'm thinking. So where do I go now? First day driving and I did nothing. Do I go to my first lodge now? The tours are closed now and then I have to double-back later to see the castle arrghh!


I put it in my GPS just to see. Malahide Castle: 8 minutes away. Alright I'll see it from the outside then go to the lodge.

I go.

I see signs.

Here I go.


Malahide Castle.


Entrance.

I turn left.

and as I round the turn something comes into view. It's a freaking castle. I say that. Loud.

In the distance across green hills it protrudes from the natural landscape. Is this real? Am I in some sort of medieval matrix?

I exit the car and nab my camera bag and tripod and make my way across the field -which is greener than green mind you.

I traverse a flat field and suddenly the emotions in my head get to me. All the planning, the research, the hundreds of pictures that inspired me to come here, the stress of leaving my job and committing to this trip, the uncertainty -the times I almost cancelled the trip, the flat tyre, and finally this. I'm here. This is real. And now I'm seeing my first castle. Literally, tears ran down my cheek. I never felt this way before. Not like this.


I pass some trees and a mini bridge with water going under it. I get caught up with a perfect picture with those elements and go..."what am I doing, there's a castle over there!" then pull myself away.

The field is so...natural. It's hard to explain. I pass people dressed in bright colours. Kids playing frisbees. People walking dogs. It's quiet yet full of something. It feels so peaceful. I mean we have parks in the U.S. but the feeling here is different.


It's as if people are free from the binds of stress. It's as if they are simply being. Living. Being free, here, close to something very ancient.


I march up to Malahide Castle (my first castle!) and take HDR photos. Of the door. Of the gardens (from the fence) I see three wild rabbits run through the fields. I hear birds chirp. Different birds. Flowers adorn the front terrace.

I take a dramatic wide-angle shot of the door looking up. Sure, the interior is closed at 5:00pm but I don't care. The outside is enough for me. And it's sunny. People are laying on the grass. Kids are playing. I am here. Taking pictures. This is the beginning of my journey.

Welcome to Ireland. :)