Dublin

Saturday we drove down from our home in Omeath to the Dublin Airport where we dropped off our rented van to Irish Car Rental and said our sad good-byes. We put some 1500 kilometers on the odometer and it got us around this green island in style.

A 20 minute taxi ride into Dublin and we were situating ourselves into our B&B, which are prevalent here in Ireland. We found a nearby cafe which was delicious and then proceeded to buy tickets for the Hop On Hop Off bus which takes us around the major sites of Dublin. We took the whole circuit before getting off anywhere, which took a total of 90 minutes or so. Second time around we hopped off at the Dublin Castle which ended up being a bust since we would have to wait 45 minutes for the next tour and we heard that it wasn't really worth it. Getting back on the bus we found out that our next desired stop, Kilmainham Gail (jail), was already closed, seeing that the day was getting late. So instead my mom and I split up from the group to do our own thing. We ended up walking through Temple Bar area which is a pedestrian walk with tons of stores, restaurants and bars. We made our way across Half Penny bridge and over to Henry/Mary street, with more shops. We only had our rudimentary map given us from the bus company, and had an idea of where home was, but in this crazy city where streets names change every 5 blocks we didn't want to end up kilometers from home. So we bought these really cool maps and made our way home.

This morning we had a taxi pick us up and take us to the Finglas Ward which met at 11 am. My grandparents had a wonderful time chatting and visiting with members. Back from our taxi ride we ate lunch and then all headed off on our own. So my mom and I took off again and headed for Trinity College, where we toured the Book of Kells exhibit and the Old Library which was amazing.

Beautiful Ireland

Much has happened since the last time I posted seeing that it was almost a week ago, but I'm not able to remember all details since there was so much. So I shall jot down in bullet form all the fun and amazing things we have done.

Saturday 5 July 2008

• drove across the island of Ireland from the west coast to the east, where we are now staying and will be continuing our trip. Crossed through towns such as Westport, Sligo, even up into Northern Ireland's Eniskillen. Arrived at our new house in Omeath around 6 pm and settled in.

Sunday 6 July 2008

• got all dressed and ready for church in Dundalk, where my grandparents served for about 5 months of their mission, only to find that the address we had was for a residence. They used to hold church services for the branch in my grandparents duplex when they lived there so obviously it had relocated when they left.


• took a nice stroll around their old duplex and saw lots of dead jelly fish on the rocks.

Monday 7 July 2008

• drove south thru outskirts of Dublin to visit Wicklow Coutny.


• visited Powerscourt Manor with its gorgeous gardens and landscaping


• toured thru Glendalough and surrounding lakes, which was a monastery back in the 11th century.


• briefly drove thru Bray, another area where my grandparents served.

Tuesday 8 July 2008

• visited Newgrange, which is a burial edifice built around 4000 B.C., being even older than the Pyramids of Giza.


• walked thru grounds of Trim Castle

Wednesday 9 July 2008

• drove up into Northern Ireland along the coast.


• walked across the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge


• hiked through Giants Causeway

Thursday 10 July 2008

• slept in until 9:30.


• tried to find Internet cafe in Carlingford in the pouring rain, which ended up not opening until 4 pm.


• took a nap from 2-3 pm.


• ate dinner and am now at Internet cafe


• if you couldn't tell, today was our relaxation day and a time to rest from our busy schedule.

Friday 11 July 2008

• tomorrow we drove back up thru Northern Ireland to Portrush where we visited Dunluce castle which is falling into the ocean below as the cliff gives out.


• splash it up at Water World, an indoor swimming facility where my cousin Aaron had a grand time swimming.
  

Aran Island

When we stopped by the Doolin ferry area a few days ago to get information the waves were 20 feet high and extremely powerful. So when we headed out this morning to catch the ferry from Doolin to the Aran Islands we hopped that the conditions were a bit calmer. Irish eyes must have been smiling down on us because the small port area and surrounding ocean was calm.

Our boat, The Happy Hooker, ferried us across the Atlantic Ocean to the island Inishmoor, the largest of the the three Aran Islands, taking about 1.5 hours. Once there we split up- those who wanted to hire a bike and trek out across the island, and those of us who wanted to view the passing island from the comfort of a minibus. I was in the second group seeing that I wasn't really wearing biking clothes or shoes and the chance of being caught in rain was not appealing to me. My uncle Brent, aunt Ellen, and cousin Ethan braved the elements though.

Our first stop was at Dun Aonghasa, a 500 BC fortress on the edge of a 350 foot cliff. The 1 km hike up wasn't too bad and the view from the top was amazing. What really is a shocker and would never happen in the USA is that there was not a single railing or fence. You could walk right up to the edge, sit down with your legs over and take a picture, like one crazy guy did. I opted to lay on my stomach but I did stick my head over and get a picture.

We then had a light lunch in a cafe before heading down to some shops and waited for our tour guide to come back. Back in the Kiloraun village we stopped in a wool mill shop that had tons of wool sweaters. I was tempted to buy a limish green knee length coat, but decided not to seeing that I already have a green coat. I wanted to buy this grass green sweater but they did not seem to have any other than the display one.

The ferry back was slower and more choppy but somehow I was able to fall asleep for 30 minutes. We plan to have hamburgers and potato salad, if my aunt and uncle can find the right stuff to make them, in order to celebrate the 4th of July.

Galway

With only an hour or so drive to Galway, we soon found ourselves in this modern, bustling city which blends itself into its rich history. A port city where the Spanish Armada used to harbor, it now houses about 65,000 people- 20,000 of them being students attending the university.

We hopped on a tour bus which took us around the city and our guide not only told us about the history and current events of the city but he also managed to serenade my grandmother right there in front of my grandpa. Smooth. After the drive about we split up for lunch and shopping. My mom and I found the underground mall and some pedestrian shopping centers where we bought a few souvenirs and gifts for others and ourselves.

On the drive back we stopped at the Dunguaire Castle and took a quick tour. They have medieval banquets here twice a night for 51 euro, think Medieval Times but without the horses and cheesy acting.

The rest of the drive home was through a corner portion of the Burren which is a landscape full of rocks and reminds one of Mars instead of Ireland.

Dingle Penninsula

Yesterday was a full day of driving for but it was well worth it. We left from the house around 9 am and headed south on the N67 following the coast for a bit as we passed through Kilkee, Kilrush and Killimer before coming to a ferry which took us across the Shannon River. On the other side we continued down the N67 for another 2 hours or so until we hit Tralee, our first major city. After being on small rural routes and passing through countryside it was weird to come to a metropolitan center, but Tralee is very nice. Not too big, but not too small.

From there we made our way across the Dingle Peninsula and down over to the port town of Dingle. A small fishing village on the Atlantic ocean, which happens to be the most western point in Europe and if you ask the locals they will tell you that the next parish over is Boston.

After Dingle we continued our way around the peninsula and happened upon this old fort which was built in 500 BC along the top of the cliffs. Not much is left of the fort but the view below is spectacular as were many of the views as we wound our way around. We even found a little beach with some rather decent size waves and one young boy brave enough to boogie board in it.

Coming home we found a short cut through the some farmland instead of hugging the coast and this cut off about 45 minutes, but still we didn't get home until around 9:30 pm. With it not being dark until 11 pm, you could really fit a lot into each day. We are taking turns making dinner and it was my mom's and my turn, so we quickly made spaghetti with bread and salad in a flash, and it came out quite well I must say.

Greetings from Ireland

Top of the morning to you!!! Sunday around 4pm my mom and I boarded a plane from LAX and flew non-stop to the land of leprechauns- Ireland. The 10 hour flight went by quickly and was very smooth sailing. Once in Dublin we took a short commuter flight to Shannon airport where Frank, our driver, then took us to our house in Lisdoonvarna. It was on these small windy country roads that my stomach got a bit uneasy and we made it to this quaint town just in time.

After a quick tour of the house we were off to see the town square and get a bite to eat. We then stopped by the local mini-market for some food later that evening and in the morning, with mini being the word to desribe this establishment. By 4:30 pm we were exhausted and both of us took a 2 hour nap. Upon waking we watched a movie and had some soup and bread. Around 10:00 pm I looked outside to see that it was still somewhat light out and it didn't fully get dark until about 10:40.

Woke at 5:30 am, tried to go back to sleep until 6:30, read my book for 30 minutes and then fell asleep until 10 am. Showered and was eating breakfast/lunch when the rest of the family pulled up in the rented van. The reason we are here in Ireland is because my grandparents served one of their 4 missions here in Ireland back in 1992. They wanted to come back to visit and invited whoever wanted to come from the family.

After a quick rest for them we loaded up the van, drove to Doolin and stopped at the bay, wherre the waves were huge. We then proceeded to the Cliffs of Moher where we walked and climbed about. They are a good 600 feet off the ocean and just amazing. On the drive home we stopped in Ennistimon for dinner and happened upon The Cascades, a very cool river formation.