Driving In Ireland

When I was in grade school, I vividly remember my Mom taking my Grandpa to a doctor's appointment. We were driving on the interstate and must not have been going to fast (after all my Mom was driving). But my Grandpa had his hand on the dashboard and was saying "oh, Jesus, oh, Jesus"-and this is how I felt while driving in Ireland.

And I wasn't even driving while we were in Ireland. I was just riding but I still felt this way! We thought, how hard could this be. Drive on the right at home, drive on the left in Ireland-not a problem. Ha! Driving on the wrong side of the road was quite a challenge.

I had a few very important jobs while on the Ireland roads:

• Reminding my husband to "slow down" countless times during the day
• Helping him get his hand stuck out of the Pringle can or Lemonhead box (after all he was having to eat with a different hand since he was driving with a different hand)
• Shouting "left side, left side" when I felt that he was unconsciously moving to the wrong side
• Looking from left to right and left to right and even left to right before turning
• Not wearing a hole in the car floorboard while braking for my husband (I did wear a hole in my shoe though!)
• Grabbing the bushes off of the side mirror when he got a little too close to them
  

I know, how could he have done it without me? Seriously though, the roads were like Lombard Street in San Francisco except the lanes were only 3 feet wide. On each side of the street were high shrubs and bushes so you couldn't see around the bend. And the speed limits? They were only 100 km-which is around 60 mph. And every car went at least that-every car except ours that is! The driving was crazy-and that is not even mentioning the roundabouts.

By our last few days, my husband had become a pro at driving and I was a little less nervous. Until we came to a roundabout where three lanes all flowed into the circle. And in the middle of the circle: a traffic light. Our usual method for the roundabouts was to go around a few times until we were sure of our exit-but this one, we exited as soon as we could! If you are wondering if you can drive in Ireland...I don't have an answer for you. I could never drive there but I am a great rider (most of the time!) But if you are up for an adventure, have good insurance and a strong heart-go for it!

(Yes, I know this post doesn't have to do with traveling with kids but sometimes you need to travel without the kids!)