We are finally back in Madison for good!!! Hallelujah! I am accepting a position as a Labor & Delivery nurse at the Monroe Clinic (near our 3 acres in New Glarus), and Kenny is starting back up at Sara Lee. We had an amazing 8-day trip to Ireland, and I might have gone overboard with the photo-taking...500 photos. Don't worry, I will not post them all here. But Ireland was beautifully green and clean, and the people were welcoming and friendly. The only crazy thing was learning to drive a manual car on the left side of the road, shifting with my left hand, and handling all the roundabouts they have there. But now I can officially say I am at least proficient at it! Kenny was quickly demoted to passenger after our first near-death experience while he was driving :) Needless to say, I cannot describe all the wonderful things we experienced and saw, but here are a handful of favorite photos from our trip!
Here we're at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, where we toured the facility and got a free pint!
We did a hop-on, hop-off bus tour of Dublin, and one of the stops was St. Stephen's Green, basically a huge park in the middle of the city with beautiful courtyards and flower gardens.
This is St. Patrick's Cathedral, the most famous in Ireland.
The day we left Dublin, we drove south through Glendalough (pronounced Glendalock), which has a beautiful ancient monastic community. This also happened to be near where they filmed part of Braveheart! Above you can see one of the old stone churches, dating back to the 6th century!
After Glendalough, we drove further south to Kilkenny, my favorite town, which had great narrow streets with colorful shops and a stunning castle, Kilkenny Castle. It just had a fantastic energy and atmosphere.
Here is the countryside just outside of Kilkenny, after we left to continue south to Kinsale, a village on the southern coast.
Kinsale is a very upscale seaside town that many Irish go to on "holiday". Great little shops and restaurants, and beautiful views. But a bit touristy.
We stayed just outside Kinsale in a very welcoming and comfortable B & B, run by the cutest couple ever, who we conversed with about Obama, the broken healthcare systems here and there, and made fast friends with their two dogs. It made us miss Zoey quite a bit. The cliffs above are near the B & B, and I think they rival the Cliffs of Moher in their beauty.
After we left our cute little B & B in Kinsale, we bypassed Cork but stopped at the Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney Stone, which is purported to give its kissers eloquence! I don't think it rubbed off on us :) Kenny is hiding in the bottom right hand corner of this pic.
After leaving the Blarney Stone, we headed to Killarney, another great town near the famed Ring of Kerry, a scenic loop that passes through mountains, valleys and along the western coast as well. It was by far the most beautiful and picturesque drive I've ever been on, and people say the views epitomize the various landscapes that Ireland is known for. Above is a spot just outside Killarney. Those yellow flowers are all over Ireland, and can you believe they're weeds? The farmers hate them.
This was about halfway through our Ring of Kerry tour, where we had breathtaking views of the Atlantic and the Aran Islands.
We headed to Lisdoovarna after leaving Killarney, which was close to the above Cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs are gorgeous and intimidating, especially with the plaque there that honors those lost at the Cliffs. There is a path that continues past the "official" trail, and it is dangerously close to the edge. We did not venture past the "Danger" sign, although many others did.
Our last planned stop was the Cliffs of Moher, so we headed back east across the country toward Dublin and our flight home. Along the way we stopped at Clonmacnoise, another famous monastic settlement, which was the home of a prominent Christian sect from 500-1000 A.D. They apparently were known as a great center of knowledge for hundreds of years, until the Vikings pillaged them relentlessly and they fell to ruin. Amazing sights; we kept busy from dawn until dusk each day and cannot have asked for a better trip! We highly recommend everyone to see Ireland, and if you need any suggestions or trip info we have tons!!!
Take care and Happy Spring!
Meredith
