Although it is now the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I am still catching up on memories from November...
Get ready for more photos of Ireland than you ever wished to see. We may not have spent many days in the country, but we took a ton of pictures. Our son teased us about it. He told us our memories would be less vivid because we took so many pictures, but we reminded him that he will forget much of what he has seen and done if he doesn't record it in photos or ink ... so here is some of both.
We left off Friday morning - Joe had an early class, so we took a quick walk around Dublin before loading up in our Micra to head west across the island to Galway. This trip takes about two and half hours without stops, but we broke it up with a stop at Clonmacnoise, another ruin of a monastery village. We talked about stopping at the Tullamore Distillery, but we couldn't do EVERYTHING - although I was up for trying!
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| Round tower of Clonmacnoise |
Clonmacnoise has more complete structures than the site in Glendalough, but the site at Clonmacnoise is more of a museum/tour site experience, whereas in Glendalough, you can just walk up to ruins, although there is a visitor center there, too. Clonmacnoise, founded in the 6th century by St. Ciaran, was a major site of learning and trade for over 600 years, and the manuscript, The Book of the Dun Cow, was written here in the 12th century, along with many other manuscripts and works of art. It is hard to imagine how the monks worked in such primitive conditions to create such beautiful works of art. The monastery was subjected to multiple attacks by Vikings and other marauders over the centuries, but finally succumbed to competition from other locations. A last looting took place in the mid 1500's by the English.
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| Small country road - not the highway. |
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| Green pastures of Ireland. I should edit this photo to bring out the experience of the color. |
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| On the shores of the Shannon |
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| The ancient pilgrim road |
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| Gotta love wax monks. |
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| This ancient cross with its story of salvation history has been moved inside for preservation after spending over 1000 years outside. There is mention of it in a text from 957. |
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| There are three church structures still standing |
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| Beautiful stonework above the "Kissing door" |
Pope John Paul II visited Clonmacnoise in 1979, and for years it was a site where ecumenical services took place. The day we visited, a funeral was taking place in the modern graveyard behind the ancient one, and a group of girls with sashes like beauty pageant participants were lining up to have their photo taken in front of the different structures. They seemed to be having a tour of the site, as well. Based on some photos of the site showing great crowds, we were blessed to be there on a cold, damp day in November when the place was quiet and nearly empty, and we could imagine monks moving from church to church in their heavy woolen robes.
From Clonmacnoise we arrived in Galway around 3:30, in time to find a little bed and breakfast, the Asgard, mentioned in the Rick Steves book. The room was tiny, but the breakfast was substantial and delicious. It was served in a greenhouse atrium with views of a pretty backyard garden populated by whimsical statues.
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| Still blooming in November |
After checking in and dropping off our bags, we walked into Galway. The sun was already setting on this gray day, so we didn't take as many photos, but we did enjoy the atmosphere. But sadly, we saw no sunset over Galway Bay, even though we sang the song to try to conjure one.
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| Walking along the River Corrib in Galway |
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| Galway Cathedral had beautiful mosaics but odd lighting |
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| I loved this picture of Mary and baby Jesus |
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| The Galway Cathedral |
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| Shopping |
We spent the afternoon in Galway going in and out of shops to pick up some souvenirs for the kids back home. Our third son had requested an authentic handknit Irish sweater. Prices ranged from almost 300 euro for a thick, chunky, 100% undyed wool handknit, to 40 euro for the mass produced part acrylic one. He had sent us with money and a detailed description of what he wanted. We ended up getting one of the 90e sweaters that said "handknit 100% wool," but I'm still curious about the labeling on these because compared to the 3000e ones, the knitting is so uniform. Other gifts included a claddagh ring for me and one for the oldest daughter and claddagh earrings for the other. I found a book of Irish legends for the youngest, and we picked up a shirt and a tin whistle for the other son. My husband got his shoes repaired while we were walking around, since he had already picked up a shirt in Dublin at the ND program office. I admit I picked up a book for myself, also, by Elizabeth Bowen, a writer I wasn't familiar with, but whose name I kept seeing.
Dinner in Galway was probably our most disappointing meal of the trip. We ducked into a little restaurant on a side street advertising a fixed price menu. I'm almost positive this meal was microwaved. My stew was okay, but my husband's mashed potatoes looked like they came from a box. The service was lackluster also. An older couple sat across from us all dressed up like they were on a fancy date. She even had on a big fancy necklace. I wondered if they were on an anniversary date, but couldn't afford someplace nicer.
The idea behind trying to save money on dinner was that after eating we were going to spend the evening listening to traditional Irish music in a pub. And we did. The first place was deceptively large inside, and we sat down to listen to a couple guys playing live music. As the place filled up, we were joined at the table by a trio of twenty-somethings. The two girls were both from Germany, and the guy, who was one of the girl's boyfriend, was from England where he still lived with his parents. They all had met while the girls were studying Chaucer in London, and now were meeting up in Ireland where one of the girls was working on a translation of Boethius as part of a graduate fellowship. I was having a fascinating discussion with the girls, but my husband and son quickly became annoyed by the guy, who had already had too much to drink, or was just naturally high spirited. We couldn't figure why the one girl was hanging on to him. Maybe this trip was bringing out their unsuitedness for each other.
When I finally got the clue that my husband wanted to leave, we made our exit politely and headed a couple doors down to a different pub. By this time all the pubs were filling up, but we squeezed into one with good music and a space in a corner to sit down. We soon got drawn into conversation with the people sitting next to us there, too, and ended up talking and laughing so hard we didn't really even listen to the music, which was hard to hear anyway, as more and more people packed in. Our tablemates were three friends and one of the guys' younger brother, who were visiting Galway from Dublin for a wedding. They had never been to Galway, although the one had spent a summer in San Diego and remembered buying a $12 hot dog in Coronado. On the other side of them was a family from North Carolina. The son and fiancee were working in Dublin, and the mother and sister had come to visit, so we talked about weddings and moving and living abroad. The conversation was animated and entertaining, making the evening the kind of experience that makes people fall in love with Ireland. When we returned to the hotel, I realized I had left my purse back at one of the pubs so we added to the magic of the night a run across town. Happily, it was waiting for me at the bar.
The next morning, after our filling breakfast of eggs, sausages, muesli, yogurt, and fruit, we packed up and drove south to see the Cliffs of Moher. It was another cloudy, rainy day, and we started out the drive with a disagreement about which way to go - the longer, scenic drive through the Burren national geological monument, or the more direct route. Google and my paper map disagreed. I, of course, wanted to take the longer route and stop at various ruins, but we made a compromise and took a road that passed a few old castles and some rocky hills that were representative of the geological formations of the area, before winding through Doolin along the coast a little ways to the Cliffs visitor center. Once again, I was happy we were visiting during the off season. It's obvious this place caters to busloads of tourists, but on this foggy, cold November day, only a couple tour buses were parked in the lot. Unfortunately, this weather also prevented us from experiencing the awe of the cliffs, but our imaginations filled in the details. The experienced reminded me a bit of visiting the Grand Canyon, however, not because of the view, but because of the informational signs telling visitors what they are seeing and the line of people snaking along the fenced path taking selfies. Of course, we took one, too. .. .
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| O'Brien's Tower at the Cliffs of Moher - we did not pay the extra fee to enter |
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| Watch out below! |
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| This sign was from the Powerscourt Falls visit, which caters to school children. |
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| There! A break in the fog |
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| Can you hear the bagpiper in the distance? |
After wandering the cliffside and studying the museum, we loaded up to head south another couple of hours to Killarney. Based on a recommendation from our priest's nephew whom we had coffee with in Dublin, we stopped in the little town of Adare for a cup of coffee and to break up the trip. Adare has a cute little downtown and houses with thatched roofs. We walked through the park, spied on a wedding in the beautiful stone church, and strolled down the main street. A sign for The Olde Creamery caught our son's eye, so we walked a few extra blocks to get to this place that might have coffee and ice cream. But, surprise! It was not an ice cream place at all, but rather, a Christmas store in what was once an old creamery. Lots and lots of Christmas tchotkes filled room after room in this funny little store. Upstairs they did have a tea shop, and we walked in on a charming little tea party made up of young girls, grandmas, and great aunts having a high tea complete with little tea cakes on a china stand. High tea had to be special ordered, so we just had tea and scones - and chocolate cake for our son. A cozy way to warm up on a misty, cold day.
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| The Augustinians church. The Trinitarians also have one in town. |
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| A thatched roof in Adare |
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| City park in Adare |
We arrived in Killarney at dusk with no reservation. My son called a couple of places from our books, but they were either closed for the season or booked. I was happy that our 1990 Fodor's guide had numbers that were still in service, but none could take us. My husband, who hadn't wanted to drive to Killarney in the first place, was getting grumpy and frustrated, especially after we stopped at a hotel and they were booked, too. He was tired of driving, hungry, and it was getting dark. Blessedly, he second bed and breakfast we stopped at did have rooms and was very affordable for much more spacious and luxurious. The little St. Therese holy water font by the front door was a sign.
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| Orchard House B and B |
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Not fancy on the outside, but friendly proprietors, although when they heard we have seven kids,
they told us how they eloped to save money and broke the law by using contraception after they were married. They were happy to help Joe set up his wifi to watch the Notre Dame football game in their game room. The game was airing after midnight Ireland time. |
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| More purple lights at St. Mary's Cathedral in Killarney where we went to Mass before grabbing dinner Saturday night. |
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| Is Duckett's Lane a nod to the martyred bookseller? |
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Dinner at the Danny Mann pub, named for an assassin who murdered a woman on behalf of her spurned husband.
My husband and son chose this place not just because of the name, but also because it had the Ireland soccer game playing. There were a couple of musicians trying to play as well, but everyone was watching the game, and their sound system was off, unfortunately. This was a much better dinner than our meal the night before. More meat and potatoes. |
After Mass and a good supper and game watching at a pub filled with soccer and rugby fans, we were happy to get a good night of rest, at least for me. My husband and son got up in the middle of the night to watch part of the Notre Dame vs. Miami game. My husband gave up and came back to bed when he found out ND was losing badly, but our son kept watching and communicating with friends into the wee hours. I get frustrated by this devotion to football, but they bond over it, and they promised me they would wake up refreshed and ready for our last full day in Ireland --- which I'll post about later!
