Ireland

My grandparents visited this past week and to fulfill a lifelong dream of my grandma's we headed to Ireland.  My grandma was hoping to trace down her ancestral routes while Cory & grandpa were hoping to taste pints with the locals and maybe spot a leprechaun.  We started our trip in Dublin. We had a nice walking tour stopping by Dublin Castle, Trinity College, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Christ Church, Brazen Head Pub (the oldest put in Ireland and the Guinness Storehouse. We spend the most time in the Guinness Storehouse.  I personally am not a Guinness fan.  I made every attempt to drink and enjoy the beers that were given on the tour, but am sad to report I was not able to finish it.  I do have a new found appreciation for the art of beer making and can say that I learned how to do the perfect pour.

Day two we headed back to the Dublin Airport to pick up our rental car.  Cory had agreed to chauffeur us around the country and was a bit nervous about his debut driving on the left hand side of the road.  He did a great job, but we did have one funny incident worth sharing.  On our first leg of the drive we had a toll booth to stop at.  Cory pulls up to the toll booth on the left hand side and the attendant was sitting on the right hand side waving at us.  There were about 4 cars behind us waiting for us to back up and pull up to the correct side.  The lady said Cory was definitely not the first to make this mistake and it happens all the time.  She was getting a pretty good laugh from the situation.

On our drive we stopped at Cashel and visited the Rock of Cashel.  The Rock of Cashel is actually a church/castle that was home to the various leaders of the time, but got it's name because it sits up high on a rocky hill.   There is a lot of history here and it was interesting to learn more about it.

After our stop at Cashel, we got back on the road to head to Cobh, our destination for the evening.  Cobh was a very picturesque town that was on the Celtic Sea.  It is actually the second largest harbor in the world next to Sydney, Australia.  We found a nice place to have dinner overlooking the Sea.  After dinner we stopped by our hotel bar and they happened to have a traditional Irish band playing.  They weren't exactly great singers, but they had so much fun playing and singing that it was fun to watch.

Blarney was our next stop on the tour.  It was a necessity to make a stop at the Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney stone.  I was imagining a big rock on the ground, but it is actually a wall on the top of the castle where you have to lay down and have someone assist you to make sure you don't plummet to the ground.  I will say that I think I may have sprouted my first grey hair at the Blarney Castle. (just waiting for it to show up any day now)  We decided to take Brady up with us and there were about eight flights of winding stone stairs.  Each flight and floor had various spots where a two year old could easily climb and fall out.  I have never been scared of heights, but climbing castles that are over 500 years old with a two year old adds a new element to the experience.  Fortunately Cory was much calmer than I was and was able to ensure we safely made it up and down.

Our B&B for the next two nights was in Killarney.  Outside of touring the area, a highlight of the B&B was they had AMAZING breakfasts.  We haven't stayed at too many B&Bs in the past, but I will say that the food at all of them was much better than what you would get at a Hampton Inn or Embassy Suites buffet.   After our amazing breakfasts of lemmon pancakes, porridge with cream & baileys, scrambled eggs and bacon, we set out for the Ring of Kerry.  The Ring of Kerry is a picturesque peninsula that takes about three - four hours to drive.  We made many stops to soak in the scenery.

For our last night we headed north to Bunratty which is near the Shannon airport.  We went to the Bunratty castle for the afternoon.  It was a little different than some of the other castles as it also had a 1800s village to walk through.  The village contained all sorts of replicas of houses, farms, shops, etc.  Brady enjoyed the animals and thought it would be fun to feed the chickens M&Ms.  Probably not their normal diet, but I'm sure there's worse things they could eat.

All in all we had a great vacation and enjoyed sharing the experience with my grandparents.

Wales Company

In the last post I failed to post a picture of our Wales travelling company.  Here's a photo from our Welsh dinner at the B&B.

Wales Weekend

For Easter weekend we went to the Gower peninsula in Wales with 5 other Americans who live in London.  We stayed at the Blas Gwyer in Llangennith, Wales.  I can't find the official population, but to give you an idea the town has a church, a pub, a surf shop, a couple of B&Bs and about 30 houses.  Definitely the smallest village that I have ever spent a night in and a drastic change in pace from London. We went four whole days with no TV or Internet.  We were not roughing it as we were staying in a boutique B&B that was quite nice.  It actually had  a flat screen TV and Internet, but our TV had some issues and the wireless was down so decided it would be a good 'break'.

Our first full day in Llangennith I decided to give surfing a try.  Even in a full wet suit it was still pretty chilly.  I had envisioned my first surfing experience being in a warmer climate, but how many people can say that they surfed for the first time in Wales?  Brady and Cory enjoyed playing in the sand watching.  I wouldn't say that I was good, but I did get up so I'm calling it a success.  I am ready to book a trip to Hawaii so I can practice some more.

That evening we called Bill the Bus, our transportation for the weekend, and had him take us to the Brittania in Llanmadoc.  We had a wonderful meal.  Highlights were the lamb steak and sticky toffee pudding.  Brady enjoyed playing outside in their garden which had a slide, rabbits & birds. 

Saturday we ventured into Swansea for the day.  We hung out in the city centre and had a picnic.  Brady had fun on the carousel and insisted that he ride more than once.  He picked out a bus to ride on the first go round and when he was done he said he needed to go on the motorbike.  After the motorbike go round he thought he should try out another vehicle, but we decided to put a stop to it as it could have been an all afternoon activity and at £1.50 per 2 minute ride it could have gotten pretty expensive.  While we were in Swansea we also sampled local Welsh cakes from the market.  I think they taste a lot like a shortbread cookie, but have a softer texture.

On Sunday we hiked to Rhossili, which is another village on the Gower peninsula.  It is set up high on the cliffs and overlooks the beach.   Rhossili is near Worm's Head which is one of the most recongizable landscapes in Wales.  When the tide is high Worm's Head is an island, but at low tides you can cross over the rocks.

 

Highlights of our trip to the Gower Peninsula:

• Brady's view - Digging in the sand, throwing rocks, jumping off the rocks, lots of sheep and llamas, his new Toy Story Mr. Potato Head, hanging out with his new 'friends'.
• Cory's favorites - Full Hot Welsh Breakfast each morning, eating some of the world's best lamb, beautiful scenery, relaxing with the family, Brew Dog at the King's Head.
• Kari's favorites - disconnecting from the world (although this was difficult), taking in the sites, surfing for the first time.