A Bit O' the Irish Countryside

After finishing up our time in England, it was off to our next part of the trip in Ireland.  We began by arriving in Shannon, Ireland, which is on the west side of Ireland late on Thursday night.  We grabbed a taxi to our hostel for the night, which was actually a Bed and Breakfast.  It is owned by a couple in their 60's or so who have been running it for the past 20 years.  It was like staying in their home and we had an amazing home cooked breakfast in the morning before the husband drove up back to the airport to pick up our rental car so that we could be off. 

We have been on the go non-stop for the past several days.  We explored the Cliffs of Moher, Ring of Kerry, Dingle Penninsula, several small towns and cities along the way and also numerous castles.  They have all been amazing to see.  The Cliffs were covered in green grass and wildflowers with straight drops down in the ocean.  There were beautiful views looking out into the spectacular ocean.  The Ring of Kerry and Dingle Penninsula were both beautiful as well.  Lots of lush, green grass and many wildflowers.  There were also several sheep along the way just hanging out all over.  The country side here looks like a patchwork quilt of green with sheep dotting the landscape.  All of the parcels of land are separated by green bushes and tall trees.  We went through several small towns along the Ring of Kerry and Dingle Penninsula as well.  The towns were very cute with several different colored buildings that look straight out of a movie set.  There are Pubs all over the place as well and people out walking around at all hours of the night.  We stopped at a beach to take pictures on the Dingle Penninsula and while there, took off our flip flops.  The wind was so strong that we ended up chasing them down the beach trying to stop them from blowing away.  Always a fun time!

We stayed in Kilarney for 2 nights and as we were out walking around that night, there was traditional Irish music playing, people walking all over down town, and brightly colored buildings that look like they are over a hundred years old.  My friend Tina said that she really felt like we were in Ireland at this point. 

We have seen several old ruins as well.  There are old remnants of churches, buildings, and other structures that are all over the country.  Some are well preserved and others are crumbling to the ground with only a glimmer of their former glory as several of the buildings are crumbling.  This has been great to see as I love this type of stuff.

Now, for those of you out there who consistently ask if I kissed anyone whenever I come back from a trip (and those of you know who you are), I can happily tell you that I kissed a something (although it may not be a someone).  We went to the Blarney Castle and all of us took our turn kissing the Blarney Stone, along with every other tourist who goes there, so I don't even want to think about what germs are hanging out on the stone that I kissed.  Supposedly now we should all have th gift of eloquence and gab.  We also walked backward up and down a stair case with our eyes closed, which has Druidic Roots and if you do that, the witch is supposed to make your wishes come true.  Not that any of us believe that, but we figured it would be fun to try this...and none of us fell! 

Today, we took a scenic drive along a coastal route through a bunch of small beachside towns before arriving in Waterford where we took the factory tour.  That was facinating to see them acutally blowing the glass and making the crystal.  It is quite the process and beautiful to see. 

Driving seems to be going better here as it is slightly easier than the first time was in England.  We have had no incidents where we nearly plunge off of cliffs as happened in St. Thomas, so that's been a good thing.  More than once we have gotten lost, had to turn around, or managed to be on the wrong road.  However, we have managed to nagivate the country without a GPS and get everywhere without any major mishaps.  That's been quite the miralce as well!  Between the 3 of us, we have managed to get around everywhere.  

Food has been delicious.  We have been enjoying lots of Irish food and ice cream every night.  None of us eat like this at home, so it has been a treat.  We stopped this morning at a Farmer's Market type place in Cork before leaving where we grabbed some apples, a homemade bread with sundried tomatoes, super yuumy Irish Chedder Cheese, smoothies, and Danishes.  We had our breakfast and lunch for the day there and boy was it yummy!  Tomorrow is our last day of driving before we are dumping the car and heading into Dublin to finish up.