Irish Travels

This is a little late, but better late than never.

Last week I was so lucky to have my mom and aunt visit for 7 days! Instead of celebrating American Thanksgiving we were traveling around Ireland staying in castles and eating potatoes!

We rented a car and headed out from Dublin. I have become a big fan of Irish Rail but to really see the island you need to rent a car. In classic Griswold Vacation style our rental car was about as big as a bike. My mom and I like to shop and both saved up (mentally and financially) for this week. Not that the car had any extra room to begin with, but we crammed stuff in every spare corner possible. By the final day I was buried in the backseat under bags, literally. Packing the car from destination to destination was like one big puzzle and served as a great form entertainment the entire week.

(not sure this picture really does the size of the car justice)

We started out in Waterford, which is in the south of the island.  For all of you lovers of fancy things, Waterford Crystal is a product of the small but powerful island of Ireland. The plant itself has had some trouble over the past few years (according to one man “you Americans aren’t buying this stuff like you used to”…I guess in recessions beautiful crystal is the first thing to go) but they still hold a small outfit in the company’s namesake, Waterford, Ireland.

We stayed in a converted castle on an island in the middle of the river that runs through the city. Cool stuff.

(Waterford Castle)

(They knew us well enough to put us in the Burg room. Hattiesburg represent!)

From Waterford we drove across the middle of the island cutting through Limerick and made a stop at Bunratty Castle. (starting to notice a theme here?) Bunratty is definitely a tourist stop, but that’s what we were and it was really neat. They created an entire village around a castle to show life in Ireland through the generations. I get the feeling it was the Irish version of Jamestown but that feeling doesn't have much weight because I've never been to Jamestown. 

(Mom and Aunt Deanna at Bunratty Castle)

After our pitstop we made it to the windy west of Ireland and Galway. We had a spot on Galway Bay so the wind was extra sharp. We spent a day in Galway on a tour that took us south of the city into County Clare and finished at the tour’s most famous stop, the Cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs of Moher are one of the iconic images of Ireland. They are an incredible display of land abruptly meeting sea. Unfortunately for us the weather was pretty terrible (foggy and raining-which is pretty typical for this time of year at the cliffs) but towards the end of our time at the Cliffs the fog opened up just a little and we got to see their magnitude.

(scary fact: on average about 15 people die every year at the Cliffs of Moher because of the powerful winds and people getting too close to the edge. This year there are been 12 deaths so far)

(With my Mama at the Cliffs of Moher)

(Other highlights of the tour included Celtic crosses...)

(AND a leprechaun! Like I said, we were tourists)

In Galway we spent a night at a local pub with all of three regulars but had a great time. We headed from Galway back to Dublin to finish up the week doing some more shopping and seeing St. Patrick’s and Kilmainham Jail (it was so good the first time, I had to go back).

(St. Patrick's Cathedral. The largest Anglican Cathedral in Ireland)

I was THANKFUL to have my aunt and mom with me for a week. I was happy to get to share some of Ireland with them as well as getting to see new parts of the island that I haven’t explored yet. I think my aunt and mom both had a great time and really like Ireland. My mom is planning on coming back in the spring and bringing my dad.

When they left, I got a little homesick. They reminded me how much I miss all the people that I love so much at home. But I’ll be home for a month in just two weeks and whenever I get homesick, I just remind myself that this experience far overpowers any brief moments I have of missing Mississippi and all its good people.

I’m off this weekend to Amsterdam! My maternal grandmother (who I’m eternally grateful for for teaching me acceptance and strength) was born in Holland and immigrated to the US following World War II.  So besides all the great things I’ve heard about Amsterdam being a really cool city, it has an extra special meaning for me. 

cheers,

 chelsea