Countryside of Ireland

We crammed 6 people and like 12 bags into a Euro-style minivan, an Opel Zafira, and starting driving south from Dublin. My dad Howie had to quickly learn how to drive on the left side of the road and in a stick shift car, no easy task. I may have pooped myself a few times along the way, because a lot of the country roads were tiny.

Along the road south, we stopped in Kilkenny (great name) to explore the small-towniness of it and to see the Castle Greens.

The next two days were spent exploring Cork in the south of Ireland. I swear, the people down here were some of the nicest people I've ever met. In Cork, we spoke for hours with a string-instrument-maker who's made a guitar on commission for James Taylor, and offered one to Willie Nelson. This man shared his musical knowledge, his technical knowledge of instruments, his political understanding of Ireland and the world, and even made us all coffee in his shop.

Later on the trip, we drove up the west coast of Ireland to see beautifully huge cliffs, cows in the road, small surfing towns, and The Burren, a vast rock formation that is a remnant from the Ice Age. Jawdropping in its simple beauty. Lots of fun too.

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