Ireland, December 15-22, 2015
Ireland...a place I have DREAMED about going to basically my entire adult life. Scott ended up having to go to Cork, Ireland for work for a few days during the girls' winter break, so we decided to revolve our Christmas trip around those few days, and extend it longer so we could be tourists. We planned a weeks vacation, with the help of an Ireland travel expert named Jody, around Ireland, including the Counties of Cork, Limerick, Clare and Waterford. Though the weather was not awesome (rained some, but cold and VERY windy the whole trip), the trip itself, and the things we got to see and do were amazing.
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| Maya kissing the Blarney Stone |
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| Hanna kissing the Blarney Stone |
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| Ringing the Shandon Bells at St. Anne's Church |
Cork/Cork County- we stayed at the Fota Island Resort, right outside of Cork. We stayed in a small duplex, with a full kitchen, two full baths, two large bedrooms...VERY good for a family of four. It gave us some good privacy and space, plus it had a nice Spa that the girls got to swim at a few mornings after Scott went to work. While in Cork, we visited the city, including the shopping streets and rang the Shandon Bells at the Church of St. Anne's. The girls LOVED the bells- they had a music book for them to ring the bells in song...I basically had to drag them out!
Cliffs of Moher- by FAR our favorite part of the trip. The cliffs are a natural wonder- beautiful, scary, great hike, phenomenal views....it was an active day, and we have found our family does better when we are active!
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| Maya and Hanna- Cliffs of Moher |
Adare- we visited the Adare Manor in Adare, Ireland and went on a Hawk Walk. We got to hold all different types of birds- Hawks, owls, eagles....it was amazing. We also got to fly an American Bald Eagle (did you know that they do not get the white feathers on their head until they reach maturity at 4-5 years old?), and take a Hawk on a walk (he would fly back to us and land on our arms/hands). Aside from the cold weather, the experience was amazing and educational!
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| Hanna at the Hawk Walk |
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| Maya at the Hawk Walk |
Bruff- we stayed at The Old Bank bed and breakfast in Bruff- a tiny little town between some of the sites that we hoped to visit while in Ireland. Miriam, the owner, was quite animated, full of stories and actually offered to babysit the kids so Scott and I could go out for a drink one night. The bed and breakfast was wonderful. We went to church at the very old Catholic church down the road which was also super cool, and then Miriam recommended a little bar called Mary's Place right down the street as a place to stop and have a drink. I kid you not, Mary's place was a big as my living room, with a bar in it, including a trough outside in the back for the Gentleman to go to the bathroom. When we walked in, everyone turned around to stare, and by the time we walked out, everyone was yelling Good night! Has to be the friendliest European country- would love to go back!
Waterford- we took an overnight trip to Waterford. While a beautiful town, we went for the Wintervale- a Christmas festival that was supposed to turn the town into a winter wonderland....a cheesy, 1970's plastic winter wonderland. We visited the Waterford Crystal store (no factory tour), but all the other things we did their were very cheeseball! We did have some good food, and took a really nice horse driven sleigh ride through the town, so all was not lost.
Castles
We had the chance to visit two castles while we were in Ireland, and both were fantastic and very different!
Bunratty Castle and Folk Lore Park was built in 1425 on what was originally a Viking Trading camp in 970. It was restored in 1954 to its former medieval splendor and now contains mainly 15th and 16th century funishings, tapestries, and works of art which capture the mood of those times. It was very neat to see how all the rooms were set up and what they were used for. The skinny, tight cement staircases and you wound your way up to the rooftop of the castle were really neat. The Folk Lore park allowed us to enjoy the sights, sounds tastes, scents, of this time period as you stroll from house to house or around the charming village street complete with school, post office, doctors house, hardware shop, printers and of course McNamara’s pub! For those of our friends in the U.P. it felt like Fort Wilkens, where you could get an active idea of how life was back in the days that the Castle was actually occupied.
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| Blarney Castle |
Blarney Castle- this was a last minute add on- as we were heading back from Waterford, we decided to go check this out before we headed to the airport....simply said, I am SO glad we did. This was one of our favorite things we did while on this trip. The grounds were amazing, and the castle was as is- no recreations or restorations...so we had the opportunity to walk through the castle without furnishings...using out imaginations. We got the chance to kiss the Blarney Stone (upside down, over the edge of the castle...a bit freaky!), walk through the poisonous gardens and take in the beautiful scenery.
Rock of Cashel- A spectacular group of Medieval buildings set on an outcrop of limestone in the Golden Vale including the 12th century round tower, High Cross and Romanesque Chapel, 13th century Gothic cathedral, 15th century Castle and the restored Hall of the Vicars Choral. This Cathedral, cemetary and grounds were simply amazing with a spectacular view of the countryside (exactly how you imagine the countryside of Ireland to be!)
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| Rock of Cashel |
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| Charles Fort in the POURING Rain |
Charles Fort- The Charles Fort is a star shaped fort built on the coast of Ireland. The day we went was the only day that it poured buckets, so we didn't get to stay long, and didn't get to enjoy it as much as we would have liked. I would love to go back and check it out on a nice day, where we could walk the grounds for a longer period of time.
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| Kinsale |
Kinsale- unforunately, this was the same day we visited Charles Fort, and we did not get to enjoy it as we would have liked. That being said, the town reminded me of Newport, Rhode Island- small, cozy, quaint, sailboat filled port that on a great, warm day (if that happens in Ireland!) would be amazing to hang out in. We also took a Heritage tour with Dermot Ryan, which allowed us to learn a little more about the town, it's history and find cute shops and restaurants!
Jameson Experience- Scott and I took a few hours one day, let the girls hang at the Fota and did the Jameson Experience tour. Super cool, plus we got a chance to "try" out quite a few whiskey's! Not normally my thing, but when in Ireland.....
Titanic Experience- on one of the days Scott had to work, I took the girls to Cobh, Ireland- the last port for the Titanic before if headed to sea and to the it's next port in the United States. The girls and I went to the Titanic Experience, and all 3 of us thoroughly enjoyed it. We were given names of actual passengers who were on the ill fated Titanic, and then at the end had a chance to see whether "we" lived or died. All three of us SURVIVED! The crazy thing was that all three of us had the last name of Murphy- my maiden name, and all of those Murphys (two were sisters, the other unrelated) ended up settling in the Michigan/Illinois area....aside from that coincidence, we learned a lot about the ship, the passengers, and the night the ship hit the iceberg. Interesting and sad (and now Hanna claims she will NEVER, EVER go on a ship again).
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| Dinner with the Ridderman's |
Dinner with friends- we had the chance to meet up with some friends from Kalamazoo, who were finishing up their expat assignment in Cork, and moving back to Kalamazoo a few days later. We had a fantastic dinner at Sage in Middleton, good conversation a an overall great night!
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