A Wee Bit O' Ireland

Mom and I spent the weekend in Ireland and had such adventures! Besides getting a flat tire, lost in the mountains for nearly 2 hours, nearly spending a night in the car, and having countless mini-heart attacks everytime we drove on those tinie-tiny Irish roads, we enjoyed the breath-taking scenery, the ancient castles and abbeys, and the accent and kindness of the Irish. Now, we've met people from a wide variety of countries, but I have to say this for the Irish: they are THE most friendly people I have ever met in my life. No joke. There's nice people, uncommonly nice people, ridiculously nice people, and then there's the Irish. It's a whole different level. Have a flat tire? No problem. The guy behind you will stop and change it for you while his wife strikes up a conversation. (Note to the general population: If you are ever asked by an Irish lad or lassie, "How's the crack?" or "How about a bit o' crack?" respond positively because crack is actually spelt 'craic' and means either conversation or fun. Gaelic is a cool language.) Lost? No problem. Someone will not only tell you where to go but they will either walk or drive an unlimited distance to show you where you need to go. The B&B lady gave away your reservation to someone else because you were late (due to being lost and a flat tire, fyi)? This one was a bit of a problem but, after 2 hours of driving around at 11 pm looking for hotels or B&Bs that had vacancies and even debating sleeping in the car, someone was kind enough to call around for us so we didn't have to drive around, and we were able to get a room! Everybody always wanted to know (for authenticity, say with a very very thick Irish accent...thick on the 'r's), "Where are yer from?" "Where are yer headed?" and "Are ya enjoyin' yerself?". Needless to say, we joined in on the accents and had some good times!

I've posted some pictures that you will understand hardly say enough but will have to suffice: the one with the car is from our exploratory adventure in the mountains. This, by the way, is a 2-way road. Yes, indeed. Now you can see why we had heart-attacks everytime someone came from the other direction! Mum is a rockin' awesome driver! The next photo is of Mum and I at the Gallarus Oratory, a temple built between the 7th and 8th century that used no mortor and is still in amazing condition despite the winds and rain of Ireland. We also went to a pub and were amazed at how just regular people are amazing musicians. People would just whip out their flutes or guitars or fiddles and join in on the fun. We ran nearly 3 miles back to our B&B to get our cameras because we were unwisely camera-less at the time. The music was amazing and these guys just had a blast playin' and singin'. It took all of my self-control not to bust out some Irish dancing! We later bought some CDs so that we could rock out in the car as we drove through the sweeping hills. The last picture is of Mum walking down to an abbey by the Rock of Cashel. It seemed like every town, every bend in the road had ruins: castles, abbeys, towers, fortresses. You can see how lush and verdant the land is. We are in love with the green land and the dark skies and even wanted it to rain, but I'm glad we had beautiful weather because we were able to fit more in to our trip. Thanks Mom (and Dad indirectly) for such a glorious weekend. I love Ireland!