I just returned
from my wonderful trip to Ireland.
It’s amazing how much our Irish immigrants to America had influenced our
American culture in their music, dance and values for freedom and land
ownership.
Photos here:
A group of about
30 something left by bus from the church parking lot to catch our plane in St
Louis. I was surprised to still
see the airport boarded up since the April tornado had struck the airport.
The other half
of the group left from Chicago and was supposed to meet with us for the flight
in Newark to Ireland. They didn’t
make it till the following day with many difficulties along the way.
Once we arrived
in Shannon, we were met by our bus driver and guide, William. He dropped us off at our Bed and
Breakfast house. There were 2
houses we were split among. Later he took us to Moriarty's for shopping. Nothing there that I needed. William warned us that we’d have to go
in the bushes to use the toilet but actually the entrances were in the hedge. They hosted us with Irish Coffee (not
strong at all kind)
We saw a rainbow
near the Gap of Dunloe where fairies frequent (so I’m told) by the McGillicutty
Mountains.
I liked how the
road signs said “Bends Ahead” and “Traffic Calming”
Saturday we had
Mass at the “Prince of Peace” Fossa Church which was built in 1970. The cross was outside of the church
through a glass window with the mountains behind. The alter was inscribed with
“Oh ye mountains and Lords bless the hills”. It was the Saint Day for Saint Robert Bellarmine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bellarmine
A few of us
opted to take a brief Jaunty Cart ride in Killarney National Park.
We enjoyed Irish Music at Murphy's Bar:
Ireland was
formed by Eskers and drumlins left by the Ice Age.
We visited the
Muckross House. http://www.muckross-house.ie/intro.htm
but were not
allowed to take photos inside but there are a few pictures on the inside of the
rooms used by Q Victoria on her visit. It was really remarkable and ornate. Often dark to preserve the contents of
the house
We visited
Kylemore Abby but didn’t have time to spare for the tour so it was a lunch
stop. http://www.kylemoreabbey.com/
It rained there. This is where
Madonna wanted to send her daughter Lourdes to school some years back but was
rejected. No longer a school but
just an Abby. Also in the Connemara
marble factory that makes mostly jewelry now since there is
not enough of the green marble left. http://www.connemaramarble.com/
and a pit stop at the Peacock Hotel where there is a replica cottage of the
same in used in the movie “The Quiet Man” http://www.peacockes.ie/ I took a photo of the bridge that was
featured in the movie thru the bus window.
I’m glad that I
watched that on Netflix before going.
We toured Molls
Gap and Black Valley. At the gift
shop I fell for a cute umbrella by Lisbeth
Dahl but resisted because it was made in China.
We visited Our
Lady of Knock Shrine. http://www.knock-shrine.ie/ It is traditional to say the rosary on
the way and that is what we did on the bus. There were no words spoken at the apparition but Mary’s
message has always been fasting and prayers and the Irish already knew hunger
so her message was prayer. We had
Mass and our St of the Day was Andrew Kim. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Kim_Taegon
We drove to see
the Cliffs of Mohr but the weather got rough and the authorities were calling
people back when we got there.
Wind gusts were up to 140MPH and there is no insurance payout if
injured. In fact, there’s a 10K
fine to your heirs for the recovery of the body. Turned out to be nothing but a bathroom stop.
We had dinner at
Dirty Nelly’s dates back to 1620….. http://durtynellys.ie/
The last Day in
Ireland was ‘Arthur Day’ celebration for the man who invented Guinness. You know what that means – Pub parties.
I watch the
Bridesmaids on the way there, and Spinal Tap and The Jones on the way back.
Since I was
without a cell phone, I called from the airport in St Louis that I was on my
way. The airport was still
boarded up since the April tornado hit.
http://youtu.be/oiV8VBygAbk The bus driver took a rural route so it
took a long time. Without a call on arrival, I was pleased to see
my son waiting to pick me up.
Joanne had
called me months earlier to inquire about sharing a room on the trip. She was nicknamed Giggles on the trip.
She brought 2 of those hang-on-the-hook cosmetic bags. She got up at 6AM and
then woke me at 7AM so I could shower.
Even with a lead on time, I would be ready for 8AM breakfast before
her. Once she walked out of the
room dragging hose from her shoe and once she left powder footprints on the
carpet. It’s a good thing she had
a room mate. On the plane she was
watching a movie with the ear phones and laughing so much that she was making
the rest of us laugh. I don’t
think she realized it with those ear phones. HA!
Ah yes, over 400
emails in my Yahoo, not counting gmail and hotmail.
Got up at 4AM on
Saturday which is not bad. I rode
the little motorcycle downtown to the Route 66 Festival. I walked around and looked at the
cars. Got a little hungry and had
some chili. Stopped briefly in the
Old State Capitol which was good because I realized I have tour guide duty next
Saturday. I fixed a batch of
zucchini that I had in the fridge from before I left that need to be used up.
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