Payoff Day

Though the route was its own payoff, today was definitely the payoff for the travel day.  Started at Blarney Castle.  And, if you were wondering, my dream of a date with an old stone came true, I kissed the Blarney Stone.  If Churchill could do it, I wasn't going to pass.  The small chambers and passage ways really give you a different perspective of such a large and imposing structure.  These could not have been very large people.  On the other hand, it's interesting to imagine the banquets that must have taken place in the Great Hall.


We also spent a good deal of time exploring the grounds.  Probably the most interesting part was the Rock Close.  A secluded garden with waterfalls, woods, and druid rocks.  There is a cave, and the Witch's Kitchen, they say was the site of the first cave dwellers in Ireland.  Some of the ancient Yew trees are intriguing in both their age and configurations.

Blarney House View from the Castle

Ancient Lime Kiln

Waterfall in the Rock Close

Family Room in Blarney Castle

Dalmen Rock - Druid Site

Wolfsbane in the Poison Garden - Blarney Castle

We headed south to the city of Cobh (that's Cove).  It actually started at Cove, was changed to Queenstown by you know who and then back to Cove with the Irish spelling.  We toured the Queenstown story museum which tells of the great emigration from Ireland.  Over one million people fled the country, many of them from this port, during the famine years.  The conditions they suffered in this passage, and the story of the "Coffin Ships" weigh heavy on your heart.  The Coffin Ships got their name because the demand for vessels was so great during the exodus of the famine years that old, unseaworthy, ships were pressed into service, and many of them did not make their destination).  This was also the last stop for the Titanic before it embarked on its first, and last, voyage.  It also fascinating to read of the tons of food sent over on American ships during these years.  Longshoreman donated their time to unload these relief ships and the storehouses sheltered the provisions free of charge.


But, the surprise find of the day was St. Coleman's Cathedral in Cobh.  It is the cathedral for the Cloyne Diocese.  Now this is a church!  I don't think the pictures come close to doing it justice, but even a glimpse of this magnificent structure is worth it.

Harbor at Cobh

Spire of St. Coleman's

Back of St. Coleman's Cathedral

Next we headed to Cork.  We walked most of the old section of town, including stops at the South Gate Bridge, the original bridge into Cork, St. Finbarr's Church, another great church, and Elizabeth Castle.  We also made it around most of City Center to get a good feel for downtown Cork.

South Gate Bridge to Old Cork

St. Finbarr's Church

There is, fittingly so, a monument to the United Irishmen who fought and died in revolutions for independence in 1798, 1803, 1848 and 1867.

Travel day again tomorrow, off to Killarney.  I can't wait to be serenaded with 27 versions of "Christmas in Killarney."  (Tam's channeling Bing already).

Traveling

Today was a travel day, but an equally enjoyable part of the whole trip.  We decided to take the scenic route from Dublin to Cork south through the Wicklow Mountains, down to Waterford and then over to Cork and on to Blarney. 

A MAJOR false start and a couple of slight miscalculations, but all in all, not too shabby for a couple of tourists navigating the old fashion way - - NO GOOGLE MAPS!  Yikes!  The major false start: they really want to keep your money in Dublin, so they don't mark the routes out.  Following along nicely, signs in the middle of the city, then all of a sudden the mountains were on our right and not straight ahead.  Since we didn't want to end up in the ocean, we decided to turn around.  About 20 minutes later, a very nice cabby (yes, I did stop to ask directions, NO GOOGLE MAPS) had us follow him and he got us straightened out and back on the way.

The views are the story here, so here they are:

Co. Wicklow and Co. Kildare line in the Wicklow Mts.

Dungarvin on the road to Cork.

Back roads in Dungarvin

Above Youghal on the Celtic Sea.  Up to this point, the most amazing part of the trip for Tam was the ungodly clean windows in all the houses!!!  Those of you who know her well will understand why this was a turning point.  (small hint:   COWS - - for a country girl, the numbers of cows has almost overwhelmed her ;-) ).


And, finally, this is where we are staying in Blarney:
 

 
Amazing.  And, Gabi, No Gypsies and No NRA.  Ha Ha.  On a serious note, if you ever plan a trip, use Exploring Ireland.  They are super accommodating and very easy to deal with.  Very prompt and very willing to get it right.

Walked into town for dinner.  Castle Hotel on the square.  It was fantastic.  Salmon Cakes for Tam, I had an Irish ribeye with mushrooms and a cream pepper sauce.  This ain't your fathers potatoes and sausage.  What they say about Irish cooking has been, so far, 100% wrong.  And, because KevinE told me, I just had to sample yet another unknown whiskey.  Inishowen.  Delicious!

More tomorrow, I have to dream about a date with a very old stone.     

Walk About x2

Not sure the family of the 4,000 shipped from Kilmainham Gaol to Australia would appreciate the title to these last 2 blogs, but gives them yet another connection to what we are seeing/experiencing on this trip - - a tip of the hat to the past, and one hell of a lot of exercise.  I think we managed about 6 miles today on foot, but it really is a great way to see a lot of different parts of the city.

We were immediately aware of an increased security presence on one of our routes this morning.  Turns out the first Sunday of the month is the horse traders' fair just a couple of blocks from our hotel.  Some serious looking security personnel, greater in numbers and in purpose than what we have been seeing, were conspicuously present.  Turns out, according to a very informative cabby, the fair brings in a lot of travelers/gypsies, who used to be seen walking down the streets of Dublin with horses that weren't exactly "papered."  They are trying to change that now, imposing more regulations without shutting it down, and trying to eliminate the violence that occurred last month - - a shooting and a stabbing.  We decided to not take that route at night again.

Well, move over Mood Swing, there is another wild ride in the park.  An American drives in Dublin for the first time.  Picked up the car today.  Why does everybody insist on driving on the wrong side of the road?  They just wouldn't get out of the way.  Kidding, it wasn't that bad, except Tam got a big kick out of my winding out the clutch the first couple of times.  We also squealed out of the rental car lot.  Bet they figured a new car is on the way.  No worries, that size car can't really cost more than a buck fifty.  Quite a trick getting in and out of a pop can on wheels.

First "fun" stop - Kilmainham Gaol - - that's JAIL.  An ominous place set on a hill which has had a major role in all of the fights for independence, including the civil war when brother guarded brother, and comrades in arms were forced by circumstances to do the unthinkable to their former fellow soldiers. 
   

The ONLY time I want to be in a cell.  Not much longer than me and even shorter side to side.  Can't imagine winters in a wet limestone cell, no glass in the windows, no heat in the cell.

 
Leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916 were executed in the Stone Breaker's Yard (they did exactly that, broke stones for constructing the streets in Dublin).  This site is where Connolly was executed, at the other end of the yard from the others - - because he was too weak from his wounds to stand, they brought him in the gate, tied him to a chair, and shot him.

 
Commemorative Plague in Stone Breaker's Yard.  The wife of Joseph Plunkett, Grace Gifford, was jailed here.  She drew the following image of Mother and Child in her cell (it's been restored).

The only reason this drawing was allowed, along with some of the graffitti outside and above the cells, is because these prisoners were afforded prisoner of war status.



Finally, this view of the East Wing has been seen in many films, including In The Name of My Father with Daniel Day Lewis and Michael Collins with Liam Neeson. 

From the unenlighted (administrators/gaolers) to the enlightened and educated.  Next stop was Trinity College and the Book of Kells. Was in jail once today, so didn't want to risk taking forbidden pictures of the Book of Kells and the oldest harp in Ireland (the Brian Boru or O'Neill harp - - the more tempting of the two ;-) ).  But, a good shot of the main yard in Trinity College.

We had a brilliant young man give us the tour, very pleasant, very bright with a great sense of humor.  A little potter-esque in his glasses and robes - - a fact not lost on him and quickly attributed to his boss, but fun to listen to.  The largest single chamber library in Europe - - by five feet - - is something to see with over 200,000 volumes.  The Book of Kells themselves were mostly displayed as blow up presentations, but two actual volumes were on display.  I don't have the right words to describe seeing such intricate, colorful manuscripts written over 1200 years ago.

We stumbled our way out of Trinity College and into St. Stephen's Green.  No, they didn't serve Guinness at the Gaol or at Trinity, it's just that day three was starting into its twilight and we were getting a little weary.  But, onward and upward, we had things to see.  And we did.  Three days of rain came to a halt, and the sun broke through. A perfect time to visit this magnificent park.

Of course, before dinner, we had to track down another mandatory stop.  The Celtic Whiskey Shop of course.  A wee bit of a surprise coming home in the carry-on!

So, as self-appointed honorary Dubliners, we are going south on Holiday.  We leave for Cork in the morning and will probably head there via the Wicklow Mountains.  Not the most direct route, but that's not what this trip is about and we have it on good authority that County Wicklow is the largest garden in the country!

Walk About

Got an early start - - out by 1:00 p.m.!  Ha Ha.  Slept almost 16 hours.  May have overdone the first day.  Awakened by front desk and I was sooo mad they were calling me at 3 in the morning just to tell me I had a package.  It was actually 9:30 p.m.  Awoke again about mid-night.  Was a little concerned I would stay awake all night, which lasted about 30 seconds until I fell asleep again.  Tam didn't move.  Best sleep she's had in awhile.

We did our kids proud and spent a couple of hours at THE ONLY PLACE IN DUBLIN that doesn't serve Guinness -- St. Patrick's Cathedral. (you literally can't walk a couple of blocks without passing a pub).  St. Patrick's is so old it leaves you speechless.  Founded near the site of the well where St. Patrick is believed to have baptized his flock in the 5th century, it is an awesome experience to be standing in a place where people have worshiped for almost a 1,000 years.

Of course, St. Patrick's was the SECOND stop.  We started at St. Jame's Gate and did the tour of the Guinness Store House.  It was definitely worth it, the freshest Guinness ever poured.  So much so, Tam even liked it!.  Interesting factoid:  Guinness Book of World Records was started by a president of the company to help bartenders answer questions like "what is the fastest hunting bird" - - an argument he had over a pint one evening.

 I knew I was on a health food diet!



We must have walked 6 miles today.  After St. Patrick's we had dinner at Sheehan's and then it was off to find The Stags Head (via Molly Malone, Tam just couldn't stay away).  We wandered into the bar frequented by James Joyce.  Near Trinity College.  A quick pint and a small one of Locke's 10 yr old.  Very Smooth.  So much so, Tam even liked it!  (a pattern emerging).  Ah, the water of life.  Too much fun.

Really proud of ourselves having navigated around a good portion of City Centre.  Must say, however, whoever laid out the streets must have visited Arthur's well - - the same "street" changes names after a couple of blocks.  After Stags Head, started for the hotel.  Quick stop in Frank Ryan's, a local pup a few blocks from the hotel, then "home" to rest up for tomorrow.  So many pubs, so little time.  Seriously though, there are sooo many things we still want to do before heading for Cork Monday.  Oh well, good reason to come back!
 
 

  

Tiny Spaces

     OK, everybody 6' and taller, over 200 lbs (not saying how much over!), and married, please contact Boeing and thank them for their thoughtful design of airline seats for transatlantic flights!  I love it.  Now, it had nothing to do with the fact that Tam spent the entire evening spread out over both seats - - on top of me.  But, I'm so glad they thought it necessary to make it a really intimate experience.   Seriously, though, the crew was great and the flight very smooth with only a few patches of turbulence. 

     Arrived Dublin on time at 10:30.  Room was ready by the time we reached the hotel.  A blessing and a curse because our first instinct was to take a nap.  Thankfully the urge for our first pint in Dublin won out!  Imagine our delight when we found out the first stop on our list - The Brazenhead Pub circa 1180 A.D. - - was just a few minutes walk.  This was only made better by the fact that Dublin has had the best weather in weeks, which ran out yesterday as we left the hotel and started to walk.  Well, it's true, you don't go to Dublin for the weather.  We proceeded to get wet, inside and out! 

1st Stop - of course.  Four Courts.  Naturally the judge from the states had to break the rules and take a picture inside Court 4.  Now that's a courtroom!

Brazenhead Pub.  Oldest Pub in Dublin.  Our first pint.  The Guinness was so sweet.  And, another whiskey to the list - - Crested Ten.  Jameson Distillery, but it was good.   

 Had dinner at O'Neills est. 1902.  Not as old as Brazenhead, but the stew and fish were fantastic. 

Molly Malone - - Tam's idol!  Ask her.

I know, did you stop at anything other than pubs?  Well, we made it back to the room and were asleep by 8.  So, today's a fresh start.  More later (more .....Guinness of course! )  Ha.