This morning we left our last B&B in New Market on Fergus, near Bunratty Castle. Our innkeepers had three little boys and last night Jay went to the soccer game of the 9 year old while the rest of us went to the traditional dinner at Bunratty Castle. The photo is of an older group of boys from the same school, waiting for their bus to take them to their game. Not only did he get to watch local kids play soccer (just across the street from our B&B) but he also caught the next Ireland soccer game on TV. I can't remember who they were playing or where, but I know that Ireland won and that everyone is pumped because the new coach from Italy is shaking it up a bit and they all anticipate a good season.
The experience at Bunratty Castle took place in what was once a corn shed, or something like that. It was a re-creation of what life and entertainment would be like a few centuries ago. We had brown bread, lamb stew, apple pie, flat orange drink, weak lemonade and coffee. Music and dancing were excellent and we were able to see Riverdance! type dancing and hear the violin and the drum. The drum used looks like a large tambourine and uses only one drumstick held kind of around the fingers. The music was lively and the jokes were good. Nice evening... We just saw the castle from the outside and it was nicely lit. I think that the inside of that castle is restored to what it may have looked like at the height of its activity, but I won't know for sure until my next visit.
As far as castles go, we have been lucky to see so many, and it's staggering to just be driving down the road and see some castle ruin or abbey ruin in a field surrounded by cattle or sheep. The cattle here are huge! The Irish are big beef eaters and we have seen a bunch of hamburger joints -- not something I expected. I have eaten seafood the entire trip, but I am about to have a huge hamburger -- red meat sounds great. They also hold 'mushy peas' in high esteem, and even though I am all about experiencing international cuisine, I am not having any part of mushy peas -- they look like mashed potatoes only soupier and green. Bangers and mashed potatoes are popular; bangers are big sausages.
In Limerick we found the Munster headquarters and bought all kinds of rugby stuff. I wish that someone I needed to buy a gift for liked rugby shirts -- I love the cut on the shoulders of those shirts. The shopkeepers at the rugby store were a hoot. Limerick was not as touristy as Dublin -- we shopped and ate with locals. King John's castle is on the Shannon river and we got a couple of shots as we sat in a traffic jam. Angela's Ashes took place in Limerick, and we drove through some of the places that looked like the setting for parts of that book/movie.
As far as driving goes, I know there is my version and Jim Poteet's version (as well as Robert, Donna, Peggy and Jay's versions.) I was in a hole in the back seat, so I couldn't see the road very well, but it seemed like everything went well. Jay, Peggy and Jim got better and better at figuring out the roads, but discussion in the roundabouts was always lively as they figured out which option to take. The roads are NARROW and that doesn't bother the Irish at all. Huge buses and cars just blaze by, but Jim keeps us out of danger's way with a quick brake from 60 kph to 30 kmp. We saw beautiful landscapes and homes and fields and ruins. The homes here are much simpler and few colors are used on the actual homes, but the doors on the homes are wild and exciting colors and many are very unique in design.
Okay, before I bore you to tears, let me tell you about the Cliffs of Moher. They are overwhelming and huge and beautiful. Very muffled splashing of the waves on the cliffs because they are hundreds of feet below. We saw hundreds of shelves on the cliffs with seagulls perched. I would love to see the cliffs from the sea and on a sunny day, but our misty, foggy experience today was so much what I expected. We wandered up and down the paths and took pictures trying to catch the magnificence of the scene. I even took a video on my camera of the cliffs while a pipe was played in the background. I will see if I can load that onto this blog when I get home. I loved the Cliffs of Moher.
Hmm....when I get home. I don't want to think about that just yet. Everything is going fine there without me....maybe I should just stay here a little longer ;-)
Funny thing on the cliffs. There was a group of four guys from Indiana and Kentucky. They were standing in front of this camera thing where you could have your photo made and then email it to someone for one Euro. So they take their photo and then they are typing in the message and the guy turns around and says, "Where are we? Are we at some cliffs or something?" It was sad and funny. I shifted into teacher mode and explained where he was and how to spell it. Maybe he sent the email to his folks and they'll think they are getting their money's worth out of sending their son on some world tour! lol
We headed out from the cliffs and on toward Dublin. We stopped in a great town -- Nenaugh -- and decided it was just perfectly charming. Again, lots of local action, but it did seem more upscale than Limerick. The shops reminded me of those I had seen in Cean a couple of years ago. A lady in a shoe shop told us a great place for lunch and she was right! Plus the shoes in her window were great. I think Ireland is a great place to shop for fun shoes; Italy is way to serious about shoes. I saw a bicycle with a basket and flowers -- and I just wanted to jump on and ride around, but it was for decoration of a place where we had lunch, and I don't think they would have appreciated my inspiration.
After our late lunch stop, we trekked on into Dublin. The traffic was frustrating, but I didn't mind because I used the time to work on my revisions to my comps. Yes, I worked on my comps, but I did jump into conversations or look at stuff along the way too. Those of you who post and tell me not to worry about them don't want to have to console me if I don't finish in time. Passing is not a given, and after my experience with Spanish, I don't take passing for granted. So....I worked on comps and rode into Dublin.
The guys are returning the rental car now. They have been gone a long time, and I hope everything is alright. The rental car industry here is pretty corrupt so I think they are going to video tape the entire transaction. Oh darn, I guess I missed that. So I am now in my very European Holiday Inn Express by the airport, watching British music videos and waiting for my hamburger. I will post again tomorrow with final thoughts and any other details that I think might be fun to write about -- I know that I am forgetting somethings, and I'll add them later. After that, this blog, as far as the Ireland trip goes, is a wrap. As far as my fieldblog and dissertation goes, I'll continue on, but I'll take you all off the email list so you won't be bothered with those postings. If there is anything I left out or anything you want to know, just comment and I'll make sure I cover that detail.
ttfn ~ slc
The experience at Bunratty Castle took place in what was once a corn shed, or something like that. It was a re-creation of what life and entertainment would be like a few centuries ago. We had brown bread, lamb stew, apple pie, flat orange drink, weak lemonade and coffee. Music and dancing were excellent and we were able to see Riverdance! type dancing and hear the violin and the drum. The drum used looks like a large tambourine and uses only one drumstick held kind of around the fingers. The music was lively and the jokes were good. Nice evening... We just saw the castle from the outside and it was nicely lit. I think that the inside of that castle is restored to what it may have looked like at the height of its activity, but I won't know for sure until my next visit.
As far as castles go, we have been lucky to see so many, and it's staggering to just be driving down the road and see some castle ruin or abbey ruin in a field surrounded by cattle or sheep. The cattle here are huge! The Irish are big beef eaters and we have seen a bunch of hamburger joints -- not something I expected. I have eaten seafood the entire trip, but I am about to have a huge hamburger -- red meat sounds great. They also hold 'mushy peas' in high esteem, and even though I am all about experiencing international cuisine, I am not having any part of mushy peas -- they look like mashed potatoes only soupier and green. Bangers and mashed potatoes are popular; bangers are big sausages.
In Limerick we found the Munster headquarters and bought all kinds of rugby stuff. I wish that someone I needed to buy a gift for liked rugby shirts -- I love the cut on the shoulders of those shirts. The shopkeepers at the rugby store were a hoot. Limerick was not as touristy as Dublin -- we shopped and ate with locals. King John's castle is on the Shannon river and we got a couple of shots as we sat in a traffic jam. Angela's Ashes took place in Limerick, and we drove through some of the places that looked like the setting for parts of that book/movie.
As far as driving goes, I know there is my version and Jim Poteet's version (as well as Robert, Donna, Peggy and Jay's versions.) I was in a hole in the back seat, so I couldn't see the road very well, but it seemed like everything went well. Jay, Peggy and Jim got better and better at figuring out the roads, but discussion in the roundabouts was always lively as they figured out which option to take. The roads are NARROW and that doesn't bother the Irish at all. Huge buses and cars just blaze by, but Jim keeps us out of danger's way with a quick brake from 60 kph to 30 kmp. We saw beautiful landscapes and homes and fields and ruins. The homes here are much simpler and few colors are used on the actual homes, but the doors on the homes are wild and exciting colors and many are very unique in design.
Okay, before I bore you to tears, let me tell you about the Cliffs of Moher. They are overwhelming and huge and beautiful. Very muffled splashing of the waves on the cliffs because they are hundreds of feet below. We saw hundreds of shelves on the cliffs with seagulls perched. I would love to see the cliffs from the sea and on a sunny day, but our misty, foggy experience today was so much what I expected. We wandered up and down the paths and took pictures trying to catch the magnificence of the scene. I even took a video on my camera of the cliffs while a pipe was played in the background. I will see if I can load that onto this blog when I get home. I loved the Cliffs of Moher.
Hmm....when I get home. I don't want to think about that just yet. Everything is going fine there without me....maybe I should just stay here a little longer ;-)
Funny thing on the cliffs. There was a group of four guys from Indiana and Kentucky. They were standing in front of this camera thing where you could have your photo made and then email it to someone for one Euro. So they take their photo and then they are typing in the message and the guy turns around and says, "Where are we? Are we at some cliffs or something?" It was sad and funny. I shifted into teacher mode and explained where he was and how to spell it. Maybe he sent the email to his folks and they'll think they are getting their money's worth out of sending their son on some world tour! lol
We headed out from the cliffs and on toward Dublin. We stopped in a great town -- Nenaugh -- and decided it was just perfectly charming. Again, lots of local action, but it did seem more upscale than Limerick. The shops reminded me of those I had seen in Cean a couple of years ago. A lady in a shoe shop told us a great place for lunch and she was right! Plus the shoes in her window were great. I think Ireland is a great place to shop for fun shoes; Italy is way to serious about shoes. I saw a bicycle with a basket and flowers -- and I just wanted to jump on and ride around, but it was for decoration of a place where we had lunch, and I don't think they would have appreciated my inspiration.
After our late lunch stop, we trekked on into Dublin. The traffic was frustrating, but I didn't mind because I used the time to work on my revisions to my comps. Yes, I worked on my comps, but I did jump into conversations or look at stuff along the way too. Those of you who post and tell me not to worry about them don't want to have to console me if I don't finish in time. Passing is not a given, and after my experience with Spanish, I don't take passing for granted. So....I worked on comps and rode into Dublin.
The guys are returning the rental car now. They have been gone a long time, and I hope everything is alright. The rental car industry here is pretty corrupt so I think they are going to video tape the entire transaction. Oh darn, I guess I missed that. So I am now in my very European Holiday Inn Express by the airport, watching British music videos and waiting for my hamburger. I will post again tomorrow with final thoughts and any other details that I think might be fun to write about -- I know that I am forgetting somethings, and I'll add them later. After that, this blog, as far as the Ireland trip goes, is a wrap. As far as my fieldblog and dissertation goes, I'll continue on, but I'll take you all off the email list so you won't be bothered with those postings. If there is anything I left out or anything you want to know, just comment and I'll make sure I cover that detail.
ttfn ~ slc
1 comment:
oh no! say it isn't so! almost over?
enjoy- savor- wallow in every final irish moment.
i love that you rode a bike instead of shopping. that's so you :)
hugs to you, miss "not 9-5"
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