Ireland trip day eleven, Tuesday 6/8/10
We got up early today in order to get to Belfast City Airport and fly off to Scotland. Specifically we were flying Ryanair to Glasgow. We were actually going to fly to Prestwick International Airport and then ride a train 45 minutes into the big city. Then we were going to spend the day shopping and touring in Scotland. That's not exactly what happened. As with any adventure with Keren and Michael, you have to be ready to roll with the punches.
So when we woke up this morning with a little rain we were undeterred in our plans. It always rains in Northern Ireland, right? Well, when we got to the airport, trudged through the rain, faced the dreaded security line, and got to THE gate (only one)we knew something was wrong. There were way too many people in the airport for that one little gate. Then we looked at the flight status board and realized we were really in trouble. There were no flights leaving or coming. For our flight status it said "wait in lobby and shop". Seriously? That's not a good sign. Our flight time came and went and the most information that we got was "check the board again at 11:00am". We starting getting worried that we weren't going to make it because after all we were only going for one night. We didn't want to fly over there just to turn around and come back. Finally we hear something positive for our flight. "For Ryanair flight to Prestwick International Airport please proceed to the gate area. We have moved your flight to the Belfast International Airport and we are arranging for a coach (bus) to take you over." WHAT!!!??? That's right. They moved our flight over a little bit of rain. I now had serious concerns over any European city to get me safely anywhere. So we exit through the gate and actually exit the building. There is NO ONE telling us where to go or what to do. There are a lot of people just hanging out waiting on the bus. Finally we ask someone with a walkie talkie and she tells us that they are shipping us over to the other airport and then we will have to go through security all over again.
To make a long morning and story a little shorter, we finally got to the airport. Michael got patted down in security. We made it on the plane for our 25 minute flight to Scotland and then took the 45 minute train ride into town. Finally in the town of Glasgow, the rain and the late time put a damper on our plans but we had fun anyway. We trudged up and down the streets, looked at all the Kilt shops, and had some excellent food. I couldn't bring myself to eat the haggis after all the cutie sheep I saw but we did manage to sample a little Scottish Whiskey. In a taste test between Scottish and Irish Whiskey, Michael liked the former better and I liked the latter. One thing I noticed about Scotland was that they really really like golf. We must have seen 6 courses in about 15 minutes. Crazy!
We went to bed early because we had to wake up early to catch another flight back to Ireland. What a whirlwind!
So I am off now. Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Ireland trip day ten
Ireland trip day ten, 6/7/10 Monday
We started the day with breakfast at the hotel. Then we went to the Museum of Free Derry. Not really knowing what to expect, we thought it would take 5 minutes to breeze through and maybe buy a souvenir. We knew we were wrong as soon as we stepped inside. The guide that took our money (3 pounds each) told us briefly about the events of Bloody Sunday and then let us know that his brother was Michael Kelly, one of the twelve killed that day. For some reason, being so close to the reality, it made an impact on me.
As you walked through the museum, there was a sound track playing of the actual events of Bloody Sunday. A reporter had captured all of the audio and donated it to the museum. There was an amazing amount artifacts. They had propaganda from the early 50's and told the entire story of "the Troubles". There were pieces of clothing that some of the murdered were wearing when they died with arrows pointing to the bullet holes. There was a video and pictures from Bloody Sunday. That coupled with the paper materials, physical artifacts, and the sound track, we were very moved. It reminded me of going to the holocaust museum in DC. It is amazing how inhumane humans can be and can get in a mob mentality. The museum was also not completely one sided. They acknowledged the UK citizens that were killed by the IRA and gave a really nice retrospective on it all.
After all that I felt the need to pet some puppies and kittens but instead we went to visit the Giant's Causeway. North of Derry and on the way to Belfast we headed over to the northern coast. A long, long, time ago a volcano or a glacier or a giant created this natural wonder. There is a real reason why this particular physical feature exists but I don't want to bore you with the details. To make a long story short, there are hundreds of hexagonal columns extending out into the sea. They are all at different heights and it feels like you are walking on stepping stones. We got to view them from the cliffs high above and also got to walk all over them into the ocean.
Finally we hit the road to Belfast. This is by far the largest city we have been to yet at 350,000 people. That may not seem like a lot by American standards but it is huge for Ireland. We walked ALL over Belfast. My feel and legs were super tired. But we made some great discoveries. We walked down to the Shankill area and got to see some more inspiring murals about the struggles in Ireland. We got to see all of the shopping in the city and we came across some names that were familiar:
McDonald's
Burger king
Yankee Candle
H and M
TK Maxx (not TJ)
Pizza Hut
Papa Johns
TGIFridays
Subway
Claire's
Build a Bear
Disney Store
KFC
Starbucks
Costco
Ralph Lauren
and although it is not American we also saw IKEA
We were amazed at how many store names that we recognized. We felt right at home.
Lastly, I wanted to let you know about the smells we have been experiencing. The country side has a distinct natural fertilizer smell but there are times when it feels like the sheep/cow/horse is in the car with you. It is almost paralyzing and difficult to breathe. Then when you get close to the coast and it smells like salty air. You can taste the salt in the breeze. And then there are the cities. There is a combination of sulphur, dirt, garbage, and beer. One time we were directly outside of a distillery and could really smell the alcohol. My nose may never recover from all the rich smells. I just wanted to let you know because my pictures won't give you the full experience.
Well that's all for now. Stay tuned for our adventure to Scotland.
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog.
We started the day with breakfast at the hotel. Then we went to the Museum of Free Derry. Not really knowing what to expect, we thought it would take 5 minutes to breeze through and maybe buy a souvenir. We knew we were wrong as soon as we stepped inside. The guide that took our money (3 pounds each) told us briefly about the events of Bloody Sunday and then let us know that his brother was Michael Kelly, one of the twelve killed that day. For some reason, being so close to the reality, it made an impact on me.
As you walked through the museum, there was a sound track playing of the actual events of Bloody Sunday. A reporter had captured all of the audio and donated it to the museum. There was an amazing amount artifacts. They had propaganda from the early 50's and told the entire story of "the Troubles". There were pieces of clothing that some of the murdered were wearing when they died with arrows pointing to the bullet holes. There was a video and pictures from Bloody Sunday. That coupled with the paper materials, physical artifacts, and the sound track, we were very moved. It reminded me of going to the holocaust museum in DC. It is amazing how inhumane humans can be and can get in a mob mentality. The museum was also not completely one sided. They acknowledged the UK citizens that were killed by the IRA and gave a really nice retrospective on it all.
After all that I felt the need to pet some puppies and kittens but instead we went to visit the Giant's Causeway. North of Derry and on the way to Belfast we headed over to the northern coast. A long, long, time ago a volcano or a glacier or a giant created this natural wonder. There is a real reason why this particular physical feature exists but I don't want to bore you with the details. To make a long story short, there are hundreds of hexagonal columns extending out into the sea. They are all at different heights and it feels like you are walking on stepping stones. We got to view them from the cliffs high above and also got to walk all over them into the ocean.
Finally we hit the road to Belfast. This is by far the largest city we have been to yet at 350,000 people. That may not seem like a lot by American standards but it is huge for Ireland. We walked ALL over Belfast. My feel and legs were super tired. But we made some great discoveries. We walked down to the Shankill area and got to see some more inspiring murals about the struggles in Ireland. We got to see all of the shopping in the city and we came across some names that were familiar:
McDonald's
Burger king
Yankee Candle
H and M
TK Maxx (not TJ)
Pizza Hut
Papa Johns
TGIFridays
Subway
Claire's
Build a Bear
Disney Store
KFC
Starbucks
Costco
Ralph Lauren
and although it is not American we also saw IKEA
We were amazed at how many store names that we recognized. We felt right at home.
Lastly, I wanted to let you know about the smells we have been experiencing. The country side has a distinct natural fertilizer smell but there are times when it feels like the sheep/cow/horse is in the car with you. It is almost paralyzing and difficult to breathe. Then when you get close to the coast and it smells like salty air. You can taste the salt in the breeze. And then there are the cities. There is a combination of sulphur, dirt, garbage, and beer. One time we were directly outside of a distillery and could really smell the alcohol. My nose may never recover from all the rich smells. I just wanted to let you know because my pictures won't give you the full experience.
Well that's all for now. Stay tuned for our adventure to Scotland.
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Ireland trip day nine
Sorry we haven't updated, there wasn't any Internet access the last few days. I will try and catch you up now.
Sunday June 7th, 2010 Day nine
We woke up in Galway after a fitful night of sleep. Let's just say that the partying went all night and morning long... But on a positive note, we got breakfast free at the hotel. It was included with the room but we felt extra special.
We went from Galway all the way to Derry/Londonderry. This was the longest drive of the trip. We tried to break it up by stopping in Donegal City. Donegal was a sweet little town that has absolutely nothing open on Sundays except the church. We did find a very old castle right smack dab in the middle of the town. And it was open too! The castle dated back to the early 1600s. It was owned by the clans/families of the O'Donalds and the O'Neills. They hardily fought the take over from the British but eventually fell to Oliver Cromwell. An Englishman named Brooke took over the castle, expanded it, and made it into a veritable fortress. We got to see what it would have looked like in the 1700s. Part of it was redone but most of it was all the original stone work. Quite impressive that it lasted so long!
We made it to Derry by early afternoon. Since we had such a long journey to get to Derry we read about the history of the town. Some of you may be familiar with the town from the popular song "Sunday, Bloody, Sunday" by U2. The song does not tell the story clearly enough. In brief, the Catholics/Republicans/IRA were fighting for equal jobs, pay, and housing as the Protestant/Unionists/UVF/British/UK. The sides of this war are very blurred and you will need to look up the info to fully understand it. The Republicans put up a blockade in part of the town, attempting to establish their own government/area separate from the Unionists. Things got a little heated and bullets were fired from the Unionist side. 12 men were murdered that day and over 50 died in all of the civil infighting. When we first got to Derry we were immediately confronted with the Bloody Sunday conflict as there are murals everywhere depicting the day. The murals have become a symbol of hope and of peace in the town. We walked down the same street that the tanks rolled down. We saw countless memorials to all the people who died in the conflicts they themselves label as the "Troubles". It was so interesting to see the battle that took place for civil rights in Ireland at the same time that the battle for civil rights was happening in America. We took many pictures of this site.
There are two main wars that took place in Derry. The first took place in the 1600s way before all that civil rights stuff, but it was basically the same battle Catholics vs. Protestants. I was going to write about it here but there is really too much information for me to type and potentially get wrong to do it. So google it and get in your history lesson. But regardless, the first conflict, "The Apprentice Boys" took place within the walls of Derry. There is a huge Wall of China barrier that surrounds the city. You can actually walk on the wall and go all the way around the inner city limits. Coolest thing ever! There is a ton of history in this city. Many monuments and churches all dating back to medieval times.
While we were walking the wall we had an interesting incident that happened with some boys. There is still a LOT of political turmoil in Derry and much of the town is segregated. In fact, there is a peace wall that keeps them separate. Well, as we passed the "peace wall" while walking on the city wall there was a group of tween boys having a gang argument. To resolve whatever issue they had (we suspect it was a Catholic/Protestant thing) they were throwing glass bottles and rocks. Michael was taking pictures of buildings and I wanted to run. I was going to saunter over to an area I thought was safer but I was waiting on him. It's a good thing I have Michael because 3 seconds later the area I was going to saunter over to got crashed by a giant green glass bottle and shards went everywhere. The boys were not including us in this battle, they just had very bad aim-baseball is America's past time after all. Totally appalled by their actions we hastily moved on to a different part of the wall. But unfortunately for us, that was where the one gang of boys were stationed. We were still above them on the city wall but they could clearly see us. It is also unfortunate that they happened to be in a beautiful scenic part of the town. We were taking pictures of the skyline and old buildings when I heard "f*** off." I moved away not knowing if they were aiming that at us or not. Michael was unaware of what they said and was still looking in their direction when they got their point across to him by throwing a rock at him. Don't worry, their aim is bad. They weren't even really close but it was definitely aimed at us. We decided it was time to move on and went about our business in a different section of town.
With a history so rich of civil infighting, is it any wonder that we witnessed some of it? It was a scary experience but not any more scary than walking late at night in downtown Atlanta. At least in Ireland we weren't afraid of a drive by shooting.
We ended our day with a lovely dinner in a local restaurant. Michael had chicken wrapped in "bacon"/ham and stuffed with cream cheese. I had a vegetable stir fry wrapped in a pancake and covered with goat cheese. YUM! Our taste buds were very satisfied.
It is getting late so I need to go. Next up is the story on Belfast.
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog!
Sunday June 7th, 2010 Day nine
We woke up in Galway after a fitful night of sleep. Let's just say that the partying went all night and morning long... But on a positive note, we got breakfast free at the hotel. It was included with the room but we felt extra special.
We went from Galway all the way to Derry/Londonderry. This was the longest drive of the trip. We tried to break it up by stopping in Donegal City. Donegal was a sweet little town that has absolutely nothing open on Sundays except the church. We did find a very old castle right smack dab in the middle of the town. And it was open too! The castle dated back to the early 1600s. It was owned by the clans/families of the O'Donalds and the O'Neills. They hardily fought the take over from the British but eventually fell to Oliver Cromwell. An Englishman named Brooke took over the castle, expanded it, and made it into a veritable fortress. We got to see what it would have looked like in the 1700s. Part of it was redone but most of it was all the original stone work. Quite impressive that it lasted so long!
We made it to Derry by early afternoon. Since we had such a long journey to get to Derry we read about the history of the town. Some of you may be familiar with the town from the popular song "Sunday, Bloody, Sunday" by U2. The song does not tell the story clearly enough. In brief, the Catholics/Republicans/IRA were fighting for equal jobs, pay, and housing as the Protestant/Unionists/UVF/British/UK. The sides of this war are very blurred and you will need to look up the info to fully understand it. The Republicans put up a blockade in part of the town, attempting to establish their own government/area separate from the Unionists. Things got a little heated and bullets were fired from the Unionist side. 12 men were murdered that day and over 50 died in all of the civil infighting. When we first got to Derry we were immediately confronted with the Bloody Sunday conflict as there are murals everywhere depicting the day. The murals have become a symbol of hope and of peace in the town. We walked down the same street that the tanks rolled down. We saw countless memorials to all the people who died in the conflicts they themselves label as the "Troubles". It was so interesting to see the battle that took place for civil rights in Ireland at the same time that the battle for civil rights was happening in America. We took many pictures of this site.
There are two main wars that took place in Derry. The first took place in the 1600s way before all that civil rights stuff, but it was basically the same battle Catholics vs. Protestants. I was going to write about it here but there is really too much information for me to type and potentially get wrong to do it. So google it and get in your history lesson. But regardless, the first conflict, "The Apprentice Boys" took place within the walls of Derry. There is a huge Wall of China barrier that surrounds the city. You can actually walk on the wall and go all the way around the inner city limits. Coolest thing ever! There is a ton of history in this city. Many monuments and churches all dating back to medieval times.
While we were walking the wall we had an interesting incident that happened with some boys. There is still a LOT of political turmoil in Derry and much of the town is segregated. In fact, there is a peace wall that keeps them separate. Well, as we passed the "peace wall" while walking on the city wall there was a group of tween boys having a gang argument. To resolve whatever issue they had (we suspect it was a Catholic/Protestant thing) they were throwing glass bottles and rocks. Michael was taking pictures of buildings and I wanted to run. I was going to saunter over to an area I thought was safer but I was waiting on him. It's a good thing I have Michael because 3 seconds later the area I was going to saunter over to got crashed by a giant green glass bottle and shards went everywhere. The boys were not including us in this battle, they just had very bad aim-baseball is America's past time after all. Totally appalled by their actions we hastily moved on to a different part of the wall. But unfortunately for us, that was where the one gang of boys were stationed. We were still above them on the city wall but they could clearly see us. It is also unfortunate that they happened to be in a beautiful scenic part of the town. We were taking pictures of the skyline and old buildings when I heard "f*** off." I moved away not knowing if they were aiming that at us or not. Michael was unaware of what they said and was still looking in their direction when they got their point across to him by throwing a rock at him. Don't worry, their aim is bad. They weren't even really close but it was definitely aimed at us. We decided it was time to move on and went about our business in a different section of town.
With a history so rich of civil infighting, is it any wonder that we witnessed some of it? It was a scary experience but not any more scary than walking late at night in downtown Atlanta. At least in Ireland we weren't afraid of a drive by shooting.
We ended our day with a lovely dinner in a local restaurant. Michael had chicken wrapped in "bacon"/ham and stuffed with cream cheese. I had a vegetable stir fry wrapped in a pancake and covered with goat cheese. YUM! Our taste buds were very satisfied.
It is getting late so I need to go. Next up is the story on Belfast.
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Ireland trip day eight
6/5/10 Saturday, Day 8
First of all, Happy Birthday to my nephew Dennis. He is one year old today!!! Sorry I missed it but I will bring you a pot of gold.
Today was such an amazing day! The whole trip has been like this. Every day is a fun adventure. We started today by saying goodbye to Kenmare and the country. We made our way over to a tiny town north of Tralee and caught a car ferry over to Co. Clare. It was so neat to be on a ferry and walk around. Your car was on the boat too! It takes very little to excite me. We then drove north and got to see the Cliffs of Moher. You can't really tell there are cliffs. You are just driving and all of a sudden the field of cows drops off into the ocean. This was by far the most "touristy" thing we have done. There were T-shirts and lots of people milling about. It was very crowded. Well, not like a Braves game but it was crowded for Ireland. The Cliffs had signs everywhere saying not to jump over the barrier that the cliffs are not stable. Well, we might have jumped the barrier in a "safer" section to get better pictures. Everyone else was doing it...I promise we were safe. The cliffs don't seem all that impressive until you get right on the edge. The drop down is HUGE! Grand Canyon huge!!! You can tell because the birds you can usually see as normal size are teeny tiny little dots down at the water's edge.
After the Cliffs we went to see the Burren. The Burren is a natural geographic wonder of the world, kind of like Stone Mountain only made of limestone and about 8 times taller and wider. We toured all the way around it and made several stops. One place was a recently discovered ancient burial ground. It looks like a stone table. They did an excavation in the 1980s and used radio carbon dating to place some of the objects from as early as 2600 BC. The found the remains of at least 30 people in this burial area. Most of them were thought to have died elsewhere and had been laid to rest in the chamber. The formation of the Burren is a result of a glacier. The flora and fauna represented in the Burren contains about 70% of all the species found in Ireland. We got some more great pictures of the burial ground but you will have to use your imagination on the burren. We got a few pictures but there was no place to stop at some of the most picturesque views. Oh well.
Lastly, we headed to our hotel in Galway City. Not only did we luck out and book on the same night as the power boat convention we also are here at the same time as the Havana Club Latin festival. Sense some sarcasm? The streets are crazy busy and people are really enjoying the adult beverages. It's also a college town and the June Bank holiday too! We are in party central tonight. Once we threw our bags down, we went on a historical stroll through town. Here's what we saw: a teenage garage band, a stand where you can buy cups of marshmallows covered with fondue chocolate, a Latin/Irish fusion band, a really inebriated man dancing the salsa, an old dude playing the saxophone, and a sign that said "the K bar". It was the most entertainment we have had since the Internet was invented. We did actually see some historical things as well. There is a monument to JFK as he visited Ireland weeks before his assassination. We also saw a monument to Christopher Columbus who visited Galway in 1477 a few years before his great discovery. There are several buildings still in use downtown that date back to the 1500 and 1600s. It is quite an impressive city. And considering all the love I have seen it getting tonight, i am quite surprised it is still standing.
Tomorrow is the longest drive of the trip so I'd better turn in and get some shut eye.
One last rant before I go, on driving in Ireland. Here are my thoughts:
*If you are going to build a road, please put two lanes on it.
*Why do we have to drive on the left? It is confusing.
*Other drivers--If Michael and I have to drive on the left, so do you, please get out of our lane.
*I do not enjoy the left side of the car getting whisked by the vegetation because there is a mammoth sized car in the other lane that won't get over.
*If there is a car in front of us I refer to them as "cow pushers" because they get the opposing lane cars to move over before we have to pass by them.
*Why is the speed limit 100 km/hour? First of all there is no way you can navigate the curves that fast. Secondly, the roads are so bad, you don't want to.
*In the movie "Overboard" with Goldie Hawn there is a scene where she is trying to use a chainsaw to chop some wood. Afterward she says nothing but "buhbuhbuhbuhbuh..etc" because she has been vibrating for so long. That is exactly how I feel after we get off some of these roads. They are crazy bumpy, filled with all kinds of holes and patches.
Ok, Rant over.
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog!
First of all, Happy Birthday to my nephew Dennis. He is one year old today!!! Sorry I missed it but I will bring you a pot of gold.
Today was such an amazing day! The whole trip has been like this. Every day is a fun adventure. We started today by saying goodbye to Kenmare and the country. We made our way over to a tiny town north of Tralee and caught a car ferry over to Co. Clare. It was so neat to be on a ferry and walk around. Your car was on the boat too! It takes very little to excite me. We then drove north and got to see the Cliffs of Moher. You can't really tell there are cliffs. You are just driving and all of a sudden the field of cows drops off into the ocean. This was by far the most "touristy" thing we have done. There were T-shirts and lots of people milling about. It was very crowded. Well, not like a Braves game but it was crowded for Ireland. The Cliffs had signs everywhere saying not to jump over the barrier that the cliffs are not stable. Well, we might have jumped the barrier in a "safer" section to get better pictures. Everyone else was doing it...I promise we were safe. The cliffs don't seem all that impressive until you get right on the edge. The drop down is HUGE! Grand Canyon huge!!! You can tell because the birds you can usually see as normal size are teeny tiny little dots down at the water's edge.
After the Cliffs we went to see the Burren. The Burren is a natural geographic wonder of the world, kind of like Stone Mountain only made of limestone and about 8 times taller and wider. We toured all the way around it and made several stops. One place was a recently discovered ancient burial ground. It looks like a stone table. They did an excavation in the 1980s and used radio carbon dating to place some of the objects from as early as 2600 BC. The found the remains of at least 30 people in this burial area. Most of them were thought to have died elsewhere and had been laid to rest in the chamber. The formation of the Burren is a result of a glacier. The flora and fauna represented in the Burren contains about 70% of all the species found in Ireland. We got some more great pictures of the burial ground but you will have to use your imagination on the burren. We got a few pictures but there was no place to stop at some of the most picturesque views. Oh well.
Lastly, we headed to our hotel in Galway City. Not only did we luck out and book on the same night as the power boat convention we also are here at the same time as the Havana Club Latin festival. Sense some sarcasm? The streets are crazy busy and people are really enjoying the adult beverages. It's also a college town and the June Bank holiday too! We are in party central tonight. Once we threw our bags down, we went on a historical stroll through town. Here's what we saw: a teenage garage band, a stand where you can buy cups of marshmallows covered with fondue chocolate, a Latin/Irish fusion band, a really inebriated man dancing the salsa, an old dude playing the saxophone, and a sign that said "the K bar". It was the most entertainment we have had since the Internet was invented. We did actually see some historical things as well. There is a monument to JFK as he visited Ireland weeks before his assassination. We also saw a monument to Christopher Columbus who visited Galway in 1477 a few years before his great discovery. There are several buildings still in use downtown that date back to the 1500 and 1600s. It is quite an impressive city. And considering all the love I have seen it getting tonight, i am quite surprised it is still standing.
Tomorrow is the longest drive of the trip so I'd better turn in and get some shut eye.
One last rant before I go, on driving in Ireland. Here are my thoughts:
*If you are going to build a road, please put two lanes on it.
*Why do we have to drive on the left? It is confusing.
*Other drivers--If Michael and I have to drive on the left, so do you, please get out of our lane.
*I do not enjoy the left side of the car getting whisked by the vegetation because there is a mammoth sized car in the other lane that won't get over.
*If there is a car in front of us I refer to them as "cow pushers" because they get the opposing lane cars to move over before we have to pass by them.
*Why is the speed limit 100 km/hour? First of all there is no way you can navigate the curves that fast. Secondly, the roads are so bad, you don't want to.
*In the movie "Overboard" with Goldie Hawn there is a scene where she is trying to use a chainsaw to chop some wood. Afterward she says nothing but "buhbuhbuhbuhbuh..etc" because she has been vibrating for so long. That is exactly how I feel after we get off some of these roads. They are crazy bumpy, filled with all kinds of holes and patches.
Ok, Rant over.
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Ireland trip day seven
Friday, day seven 6/4/10
Hello all! I guess your prayers for good weather were successful, because we got to go on our boat trip today! I am not sure how Michael found this character but we had reservations on a boat with a man named Des. We were told to call on the day of the scheduled trip to make certain that the trip was on. This morning Des was beside himself with glee that the trip was going to take place. He told us to drive to Portmagee and ask for Des's boat. Honestly? We're just supposed to drive out there and ask for him? Ireland is not a big place. The whole country has a small town feel. We drove out there and we were greeted at the only dock in Portmagee by a man. He asks us who we are looking for and upon our reply that we are looking for Des he says, "all the way down on the right". And that was it. We walked down the dock, met Des and our boat journey began.
Des was the owner of the boat but not the captain that day. Our Captain answered to the name of Cav. That's all the info I got about him except that I noted that he smoked about 100 cigarettes while on board. We climbed into the boat behind only one other couple. We were early so we struck up a friendly chat. The couple, not married, were from Austria and Germany. They were very nice and talked about the places that they had already seen in Ireland. We next met a pair of men. One was from Dublin and the other was American. Turns out the American used to be a professor of geography at Georgia Southern, Michael's Alma mater, and they were there at the same time. Michael never took his class but it was still neat. The Professor now runs a business of taking private tour groups from the US and shuttling them around Ireland. He had already finished with his tour and was doing a little sightseeing himself. He recommended several places to see before we left. On the rest of our boat we had an older duo of English ladies, a set of two women (one young, one old) from Ireland, and a French couple who had brought their 5 month old baby boy. Cav joked that he was the new Captain.
We were instructed to put on the rain slickers over our pants and jackets. Even though Michael told Cav the Captain that our clothes were waterproof, he insisted because it sometimes gets "splashy" on the boat. Turns out Cav was right. The extra layer kept us dry and also kept us warm, the wind was a little brutal. I have never been on a boat in the ocean and didn't really know what to expect. Well I'll tell you, it's a good thing that apparently I don't get seasick. That tiny little boat hit those big giant waves and we went up and down, back and forth. Yikes! The professor was tossing his breakfast over the side multiple times! The baby fell asleep. Michael and I were good until the end when we just wanted to get off the boat. It took us 90 minutes to go 8 miles. I am sure there is some sort of Eminem reference here but I can't think of what it would be (8 mile...). Anyway, by the time we finally got to Skellig Michael, we were worn out.
I know I mentioned this yesterday but I wanted to clarify what this place is that we went to. Built in early 400AD the first Christians to settle in Ireland built a monastery on this island for seclusion. I knew all of this and knew that the terrain was rough and there were lots of stairs but I really had no idea. The path to get to the top of the island was straight up. Gilligan and Skipper did not do this on their three hour tour. Not only was the path essentially all vertical, it was also all multi-sized hand placed rocks on the path that served as steps to the top. We were also warned by Cav to be careful because it sometimes gets "slippy". It's a good thing I have been working out! There were 618 steps-one way!!!! Michael and I are both athletic but the heights thing was a little scary. Picture going up and down into Tallulah Gorge only with out handrails, without even steps, and it is all on the face of the cliff, oh and it is also about 5 times as high up.
We made it about three fourths of the way up and stopped on the only flat place to eat lunch. After refreshing ourselves and stopping the shaking we climbed to the peak.
I can't begin to describe what it was like at the inner circle of the monastery. On the outside you could hear the ocean and the millions of sea birds and as soon as you walked through the walls it was immediately quiet. There was a sense of God's presence there. It was awe inspiring and humbling. The view from the top wasn't bad either. We explored their beehive like huts made all from stone and wondered what it was like to have lived there hundreds of years ago. I don't think I would've liked it. It would have been very hard to have lived so far away(seemingly) from the rest of the world.
After our retrospective time ended, it was time to head down. On the way, we decided to be brave and actually look around. There were lots of sights to see if you weren't scared to death you would fall. We took our time but we got some great pictures. We also finally got to see the puffin. The puffin is a tiny little bird that makes its home on the island. They are a cross between a penguin and a toucan. Trust me, they are super cute. We caught them on video and on camera.
Back on the boat, it was time to journey home. The professor started tossing his lunch right away and the baby fell asleep once again. Cav took us by Little Skellig so we could see all the animals. There are 29, 000 pairs of nesting gannets. That's a lot of birds. We also saw some seals, sunning themselves on the rocks.
We made it home in one piece and are now packing to leave our lovely cottage in Kenmare. Tomorrow we begin the roaming part of this voyage. We are traveling to Galway and then on to Belfast.
Stay tuned for more adventures!
Have a great evening and thanks for reading my blog!
Hello all! I guess your prayers for good weather were successful, because we got to go on our boat trip today! I am not sure how Michael found this character but we had reservations on a boat with a man named Des. We were told to call on the day of the scheduled trip to make certain that the trip was on. This morning Des was beside himself with glee that the trip was going to take place. He told us to drive to Portmagee and ask for Des's boat. Honestly? We're just supposed to drive out there and ask for him? Ireland is not a big place. The whole country has a small town feel. We drove out there and we were greeted at the only dock in Portmagee by a man. He asks us who we are looking for and upon our reply that we are looking for Des he says, "all the way down on the right". And that was it. We walked down the dock, met Des and our boat journey began.
Des was the owner of the boat but not the captain that day. Our Captain answered to the name of Cav. That's all the info I got about him except that I noted that he smoked about 100 cigarettes while on board. We climbed into the boat behind only one other couple. We were early so we struck up a friendly chat. The couple, not married, were from Austria and Germany. They were very nice and talked about the places that they had already seen in Ireland. We next met a pair of men. One was from Dublin and the other was American. Turns out the American used to be a professor of geography at Georgia Southern, Michael's Alma mater, and they were there at the same time. Michael never took his class but it was still neat. The Professor now runs a business of taking private tour groups from the US and shuttling them around Ireland. He had already finished with his tour and was doing a little sightseeing himself. He recommended several places to see before we left. On the rest of our boat we had an older duo of English ladies, a set of two women (one young, one old) from Ireland, and a French couple who had brought their 5 month old baby boy. Cav joked that he was the new Captain.
We were instructed to put on the rain slickers over our pants and jackets. Even though Michael told Cav the Captain that our clothes were waterproof, he insisted because it sometimes gets "splashy" on the boat. Turns out Cav was right. The extra layer kept us dry and also kept us warm, the wind was a little brutal. I have never been on a boat in the ocean and didn't really know what to expect. Well I'll tell you, it's a good thing that apparently I don't get seasick. That tiny little boat hit those big giant waves and we went up and down, back and forth. Yikes! The professor was tossing his breakfast over the side multiple times! The baby fell asleep. Michael and I were good until the end when we just wanted to get off the boat. It took us 90 minutes to go 8 miles. I am sure there is some sort of Eminem reference here but I can't think of what it would be (8 mile...). Anyway, by the time we finally got to Skellig Michael, we were worn out.
I know I mentioned this yesterday but I wanted to clarify what this place is that we went to. Built in early 400AD the first Christians to settle in Ireland built a monastery on this island for seclusion. I knew all of this and knew that the terrain was rough and there were lots of stairs but I really had no idea. The path to get to the top of the island was straight up. Gilligan and Skipper did not do this on their three hour tour. Not only was the path essentially all vertical, it was also all multi-sized hand placed rocks on the path that served as steps to the top. We were also warned by Cav to be careful because it sometimes gets "slippy". It's a good thing I have been working out! There were 618 steps-one way!!!! Michael and I are both athletic but the heights thing was a little scary. Picture going up and down into Tallulah Gorge only with out handrails, without even steps, and it is all on the face of the cliff, oh and it is also about 5 times as high up.
We made it about three fourths of the way up and stopped on the only flat place to eat lunch. After refreshing ourselves and stopping the shaking we climbed to the peak.
I can't begin to describe what it was like at the inner circle of the monastery. On the outside you could hear the ocean and the millions of sea birds and as soon as you walked through the walls it was immediately quiet. There was a sense of God's presence there. It was awe inspiring and humbling. The view from the top wasn't bad either. We explored their beehive like huts made all from stone and wondered what it was like to have lived there hundreds of years ago. I don't think I would've liked it. It would have been very hard to have lived so far away(seemingly) from the rest of the world.
After our retrospective time ended, it was time to head down. On the way, we decided to be brave and actually look around. There were lots of sights to see if you weren't scared to death you would fall. We took our time but we got some great pictures. We also finally got to see the puffin. The puffin is a tiny little bird that makes its home on the island. They are a cross between a penguin and a toucan. Trust me, they are super cute. We caught them on video and on camera.
Back on the boat, it was time to journey home. The professor started tossing his lunch right away and the baby fell asleep once again. Cav took us by Little Skellig so we could see all the animals. There are 29, 000 pairs of nesting gannets. That's a lot of birds. We also saw some seals, sunning themselves on the rocks.
We made it home in one piece and are now packing to leave our lovely cottage in Kenmare. Tomorrow we begin the roaming part of this voyage. We are traveling to Galway and then on to Belfast.
Stay tuned for more adventures!
Have a great evening and thanks for reading my blog!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Ireland trip day six
Thursday, day six, 6/3/10
Today we woke up very excited because we had booked a boat trip to Skellig Michael, or Great Skellig (islands 8 miles off shore) where there was an old Monastery dating back to early the 400s. I rolled out of bed early and went to take a shower. The first thing I noticed was that the back of my leg was itching. I went to scratch it and i felt a bump. I looked at my leg and saw a big fat tick!!! After I screamed for Michael and tried to remain calm, he extricated the bug with no complications. I feel fine but am a little creeped out that I had a foreign bug sucking my blood.
We were directed to call ahead for the boat trip as sea conditions change rapidly and we may need to reschedule. Sure enough, today's conditions were not conducive to visiting. We rescheduled for tomorrow and regrouped with our plans. We decided to visit a different island called Garinish Island, off the coast of Glengariff,County Cork. This was a formerly barren island that a private investor bought just before the "great war". He filled the island with gardens designed by a Spanish creator and had a summer cottage on the premises. The owner's son took over and ran the island and its many gardens until his death in the 1970s. It then became a public park. We rode a ferry over and were treated to seeing many seals on the smaller islands jutting out into the bay. We also saw a school of jelly fish and many many birds. The gardens were beautiful and slightly tropical. The climate in Ireland lends itself to being able to house many species of plants. We really enjoyed the gardens but didn't enjoy the double charge. You have to pay to ride the ferry and then you also have to pay to enter the gardens. Tricky.
To get to the island, we thought we knew the way. So we popped in the GPS and started out. Michael said that he thought we should go left even though the
GPS said right and there began our adventurous journey to Garinish Island. Everything was fine and we were following the road but neither of us recognized any of the landmarks. We had traveled this way just three days before and we thought we knew where we were. All of a sudden the road turns and heads up a mountain! I wasn't sure but I was pretty certain that we were no longer on the right path. As long as we didn't drive off the mountain I was ok with an alternate path. Turns out we should've rented the off roading package. This was essentially a dirt road that had twists and turns and 30 degree climbs. It was a heroic 30 minute drive that should've taken ten minutes on the highway. Michael, I think, secretly enjoyed putting the car through its paces. He was like a giggly little boy when we got on the main road. I half expected him to say "Let's do it again!" Needless to say we got hooked back up on the main road and made it safely to our destination. On the way back we took the road more traveled, not the heart attack trail.
The rest of the day we spent shopping and looking around the small towns on our way. We had more "take away" fish and chips because they were so good and we couldn't stop thinking about them.
There is no evening entertainment here unless you go to a pub. We already did that once and it can get expensive so we have been reading. I finished "The Help" and Michael is still working on "The Stand" and since we brought our Kindles I can go start on another new book. We could watch TV but there is only a few channels and all they do is talk about football-not the American kind.
So I am off to read more. Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog. Stay tuned and hope for good weather tomorrow!
Today we woke up very excited because we had booked a boat trip to Skellig Michael, or Great Skellig (islands 8 miles off shore) where there was an old Monastery dating back to early the 400s. I rolled out of bed early and went to take a shower. The first thing I noticed was that the back of my leg was itching. I went to scratch it and i felt a bump. I looked at my leg and saw a big fat tick!!! After I screamed for Michael and tried to remain calm, he extricated the bug with no complications. I feel fine but am a little creeped out that I had a foreign bug sucking my blood.
We were directed to call ahead for the boat trip as sea conditions change rapidly and we may need to reschedule. Sure enough, today's conditions were not conducive to visiting. We rescheduled for tomorrow and regrouped with our plans. We decided to visit a different island called Garinish Island, off the coast of Glengariff,County Cork. This was a formerly barren island that a private investor bought just before the "great war". He filled the island with gardens designed by a Spanish creator and had a summer cottage on the premises. The owner's son took over and ran the island and its many gardens until his death in the 1970s. It then became a public park. We rode a ferry over and were treated to seeing many seals on the smaller islands jutting out into the bay. We also saw a school of jelly fish and many many birds. The gardens were beautiful and slightly tropical. The climate in Ireland lends itself to being able to house many species of plants. We really enjoyed the gardens but didn't enjoy the double charge. You have to pay to ride the ferry and then you also have to pay to enter the gardens. Tricky.
To get to the island, we thought we knew the way. So we popped in the GPS and started out. Michael said that he thought we should go left even though the
GPS said right and there began our adventurous journey to Garinish Island. Everything was fine and we were following the road but neither of us recognized any of the landmarks. We had traveled this way just three days before and we thought we knew where we were. All of a sudden the road turns and heads up a mountain! I wasn't sure but I was pretty certain that we were no longer on the right path. As long as we didn't drive off the mountain I was ok with an alternate path. Turns out we should've rented the off roading package. This was essentially a dirt road that had twists and turns and 30 degree climbs. It was a heroic 30 minute drive that should've taken ten minutes on the highway. Michael, I think, secretly enjoyed putting the car through its paces. He was like a giggly little boy when we got on the main road. I half expected him to say "Let's do it again!" Needless to say we got hooked back up on the main road and made it safely to our destination. On the way back we took the road more traveled, not the heart attack trail.
The rest of the day we spent shopping and looking around the small towns on our way. We had more "take away" fish and chips because they were so good and we couldn't stop thinking about them.
There is no evening entertainment here unless you go to a pub. We already did that once and it can get expensive so we have been reading. I finished "The Help" and Michael is still working on "The Stand" and since we brought our Kindles I can go start on another new book. We could watch TV but there is only a few channels and all they do is talk about football-not the American kind.
So I am off to read more. Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog. Stay tuned and hope for good weather tomorrow!
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