The Ring of Kerry

People first, then money, then things.
Suze Orman - Money - Life - Assets

Your daily life is your temple and your religion. When you enter into it take with you your all.
Khalil Gibran

We left our B and B Saturday morning in Galway to continue south and because the adorable, hardworking Hannah had mentioned she was saving to come to America, we dropped a heavy tip and our address in the states into her hand before we left. Suze and Khalil would approve, right?

As we get older, we certainly see the fruits of Suze Orman's advice about not being tight with one's money (even if you aren't a millionaire like her), as it seems the more we give it away, the more we reap higher returns in other ways. We pulled over at a turn off to take a few photos before approaching the Ring of Kerry and had the great fortune of meeting Brian and Catriona Flaherty, who had also pulled off to stretch their legs. After getting some navigation suggestions about our trip around the Ring of Kerry, we soon found ourselves on a tour of the Ring and then as guests for lunch at their beautiful cottage in Ballinskelligs. "Just follow me." Following a near local through these parts was fantastic fun for two reasons. We never would have been brave enough to take the more rural and scenic route we took and I am quite sure we would not have gone as fast. Zipping along the winding roads, under Brian's deft leadership, was exciting and certainly gave Chip the courage to take command of the roads on the return trip as we started to lose our daylight.

We enjoyed the bounty of the Flaherty Christmas and New Year's family celebration goodies brought with them from their home outside Dublin. They have been coming to this area of Ireland for 28 years, since their oldest child was nine months old. The house has recently been renovated to increase the number of bedrooms to accommodate what they hope to be a a growing family of their children, spouses and grandchildren to come. From their windows, we could see mountains and sea.


I can't say enough about the beauty of the Ring of Kerry and the pictures (wonky Internet connection won't allow them to load, I think because they're just too beautiful the computer is overwhelmed) will have to follow. But the one picture of all of us loaded and I think that's perfect. I can't say enough about the generosity of the Flahertys for inviting a merry band of hungry American misfits to their house to share their food and drink. It was truly the best meal we've had on this vacation and thanks just doesn't seem enough. More pictures to be added later when I can find an Internet cafe with proper WIFI.
JUST ADDED:





Everywhere we looked, it was mountains, water, rocky terrain and rolling green. Wish to buy a house here, but commute will be difficult.

Galway day and night

Where river meets bay

A beautiful city....with excellent shopping. Not much to blog about today unless I went on to list and describe my fantastic haul from the Treasure Chest. Irish linen, Irish porcelain, Irish marble...how did they know that's what I wanted? Chip and the girls came and went for over an hour as I perused and finally purchased all of my tat. Belaboring my fixation on Catholicism, I must report that I fondled communion and christening linen, crucifixes and Beleek nativity figures with envy and longing. I settled on Celtic knots, lavender and shamrocks.



Allison and Olivia couldn't stand it any longer. All of their friends have seen Twilight and it just was not cool that they had not. So we dropped them off at the cinema and took a drive along the coast for a glimpse of the only sunshine to peek out all day. It was bitterly cold, so the car ride was a welcome break from the wind. Our bed and breakfast has WIFI, a shower, parking, good breakfast and excellent flat screen TV. What it lacks at times, like so many places in the UK and Ireland, is heat.



Chip enjoyed Galway Bay oysters tonight. Olivia shared one to be sociable, but her face spoke the truth. I could only watch him eat because it is an absurd culinary pursuit to let those slimy things roll over your tongue and down your throat as if that's a good thing. I can eat one if smothered in hot sauce, lemon and Worcestershire and placed atop a saltine....but I would just as soon have that snack minus the oyster. To each his own. Beddy early tonight for it's a long trip tomorrow to Blarney.

Giants Causeway, Derry and southward ho

I can’t do Giants Causeway justice, as I am not Yeats, so all I can say is it’s worth the trip. The sun was out and the sea very calm which may be unusual. The brochures show photos of rescued tourists, crying and wet, after being swept from the rocks. I guess some people forget it's not a theme park. There was ice though in a very thin coating that couldn’t be seen, so every step felt treacherous. I had noticed a sign for a medical center on the drive—good to know. But we didn’t need it. I will say that The Emerald Isle is not an exaggeration. It is very green and lush even in the cold weather. And the secret ingredient? The manure application in this area created an indescribable odor that permeated even the closed car as we drove to the causeway (it was so thick, one would have thought perhaps they were having a manure festival—a truck full of manure did drive right through the middle of Bushmills as we ate our lunch so maybe I’m not kidding). However, once we descended down to the causeway by the sea, we were shielded by the cliffs and greeted by the smell of an ocean breeze respite.




Crossing from the Republic into Northern Ireland was seamless…which seemed curious. The only signs we really knew we had crossed were that the road signs were no longer bilingual and there was a quite deliberate presence of the Union Jack on flagpoles and light posts. I can only describe the little I understand by thieving a line from a newspaper article. I read about the famous murals of Derry, painted to depict the struggles of the Republicans during the Troubles, described as “starting to feel like two sides of a common tradition.” Not sure the two sides are represented in a giant mural of Bobby Sands or a guy in a gas mask, but the sculpture entitled Reconciliation with the two figures reaching toward one another certainly felt representative. The fog was special ordered for the perfect effect to this ghostly visit. We stood literally where four civilians were killed on Bloody Sunday. The girls were jamming to their iPods in the backseat. Sigh.





New Years Day, through Donegal, Sligo (where my family and Yeats are from) and finally Galway. Seriously, our B and B host is Seamus. It’s perfect.

Her last name should be Guinness

It's fitting that a woman with a penchant for the hoppy brew
is a New Year's baby through and through



A loyal friend to all, with a pitcher of Two Hearted Ale
She arrives to every party, happy to share the bounty of her kegerator




We hoist a pint to her health and happiness in 2009


It's closing time. Best get the kids home.
Happy Birthday Anne C. We love you.

Dublin in a day

Mission Dublin: Accomplished. St Patrick's Cathedral and the Guinness Storehouse. Upon entry to the Guinness Museum (Ugh, Mom, it's not a museum-stop calling it that), I said sarcastically to the guy selling us the tickets, "We're good parents, aren't we?", pointing at the girls. Without missing a beat, he said quite seriously,"The best kind. I wish my parents would have brought me here."

The famous doors of Dublin

Dublin has a buzzing economy, especially compared to England's north, with restaurants, department stores and shops all open and full of people. The absolute friendliest people. I ran back into St. Patrick's to ask the woman at the desk about a recommendation for a pub for lunch. She was so nice that I came outside and literally started to cry. Her directions weren't great and the pub food was just ok, but it didn't matter. The English are helpful but without any warmth and after six months, I felt this release from the shackles of English formality. Chip and girls whisked me immediately to the pub for a Guinness and some food and there were no more tears after that. The girls think I'm nuts anyway and truly fear everyday that I will do something embarrassing like say....burst into tears inappropriately in public. I was probably hungry but it is delicious to let them believe I've boarded the train to Kookytown.


The Liffey runs through Dublin
St Patrick's Cathedral

Love the nans
Chip explaining beer to Allison
Complimentary pint at the Guinness Storehouse

A real department store downtown

When I was a kid, department stores downtown were glamorous places. It's nice to know they still exist in Dublin.

Stealing a signal

Fab Four

Jubilee Bridge at Runcorn

Me and John outside The Cavern



The Three Graces, Liverpool waterfront

My blogging has been hampered the past few days by not having wireless for our laptop. Although I took a little tip from a certain teenager and was able to steal a signal here and there, it wasn't enough to post many photos--here are the rest. I haven't championed the cause of ethical use of the wireless Internet this weekend--should I feel guilty? I don't.

We said goodbye to Liverpool and our friends, off on a great drive through North Wales toward the ferry at Holyhead. The drive has islands, ocean, mountains and castles. And Welsh signage which is cool and weird and right out of Lord of the Rings.



Say what now?

It occurred to me today that many people may still be going to holiday parties, returning their gifts to the mall and trying to find babysitters for New Year's Eve. We've hopped in the time machine with Dr. Who. We have no holidays--no tree to take down, no parties, no leftovers. We're citizens of a parallel universe for the next two weeks--the open road is our home. Like retirees in Winnebagos. Off to Ireland we go, in style.





Club class, baby

I get seasick easily but have today determined that complimentary white wine, Stilton and Ritz crackers keeps the beast at bay. Or was I just too drunk to notice the nausea?



Docking in Dublin