Spring Break on the Green Island

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Now that I’m back from my class trip I can update about Ireland and Berlin.
On Monday we flew from Paris to Cork. At the airport we picked up a rentel car. At first we had trouble just trying to figure out how to put it in forward gear. Then my dad did a few rounds in the parking lot to get used to driving on the left. We still had to remind him to stay on the left while turning up until the last day! Even just bring there for a week, though, it felt weird on the bus in Germany to be on the right again. Once we got the car we drove to the Blarney castle, which was built in 1446. We climbed up it and went in all the rooms. We also kissed the Blarney stone for good luck by hanging over backwards off the edge at the top (with the help of a worker). We walked around the park near the castle a little and enjoyed the sun (rare in Ireland) and the really green grass and blooming flowers. We drove to Kinsale next, which is a small town south of cork on the southern coast. There we ate a nice Irish dinner with potatoes and fries as our side dishes because apparently these are two separate food groups.

The next morning we took a brief historical tour of Kinsale before it started to rain. After lunch at the farmers market we drove to get a great (and foggy) view of the town. We also quickly ran into Charles fort (from medieval times) just outside the town. For dinner we had great seafood at a restaurant called Fishy Fish where my sister was mistaken for someone who is old enough to drink wine…a little weird!

The next day we drove along the coast to see the beautiful views on the Dingle Peninsula. One strange thing we noticed all over Ireland was that many people, especially if they live near water, have palm trees. We thought it was kind of weird. Anyway, we pretty much drove along side the ocean and stopped numerous times to get pictures. I was only disappointed that the water wasn’t warmer because I wanted to get in! That night we stayed in a town called Ennis at another B&B. The pub where we ate dinner had live traditional Irish music that we listened to shortly. This was pretty cool to hear, and I wish we could have heard more of it.

The next morning we enjoyed a traditional Irish breakfast consisting of bacon (like our ham), sausage, and eggs. This breakfast didn’t include the black and white pudding that the one at the last B&B had. If you want to try this “pudding” I wouldn’t suggest insisting that your mom tells you what it is made of before you’re finished eating it. Anyways, we left Ennis to try to find my mom’s grandmothers house. It took all morning to find where it was with the help of some random lady whose house we stopped at. It was really cool to see, but I only took pictures of what used to be the barn because at the time that we thought that was her house. It was pretty rainy this day, too, but because we were in the car most of the day it wasn’t too bad. Our next stop was the cliffs of Moher. Basically they are huge steep cliffs right next to the ocean. We ran out and saw these quickly but the pictures don’t do it justice because of the rainy and clouds. We finished the day in Galway. We were rushed trying to shop around because the stores close around 6 or 7. I got a Claddagh ring and most of my family got wool sweaters that are known to be from Galway.

We drove to Athenry the next morning to find my mom’s grandpa’s house. We met up with my mom’s second cousin (or whatever my grandpa’s cousin’s daughter is called). We followed her to her house and met her family (her husband and 7 kids!). The kids ranged from 17 or 3. It was slightly awkward at first, but eventually they started telling us stories of people that I’m somehow related to. It was cute to hear their Irish accents, minus the dad who none of us could understand because his accent was so thick. My great grandpa’s house wasn’t actually there, but the lot was so they showed us around. The kids were really excited to show was the calves and lambs they had, too. After our visit with them we drove to Dublin. We saw St. Patrick’s Cathedral, but apparently it isn’t Catholic (something I still don’t understand) so we couldn’t go to Easter mass there. For dinner we found a restaurant in the Temple Bar area (known for bars and restaurants). It was good Friday, and according to the law alcohol cannot be served on this day, so most of the bars were closed. Luckily we still found a good restaurant. One random thing I noticed in Dublin and Galway too to that there aren’t as many red heads and people with freckles. This was much more prevalent in the smaller town and in the west. It actually surprised me to see so many red heads…I didn’t know the stereotype was so true!

The next morning I went to a farmers market with my mom. Then we went to Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells. This was written by monks I believe somewhere around 600 A.D.. It’s all four gospels and its written/painted on calves skin. The pictures are colored and are very detailed. We met up with the rest of my family, and we all walked to Kilmainham Gaol (jail). This can be compared to Alkatraz in California…a very old prison and pretty creepy. The Irish revolutionaries were held and killed here, so that’s why it’s famous. It was originally built for around 100 prisoners, but during the potato famine people would commit crimes so they could come to jail and be fed. During these times it held up to 3000 people! The rest of the evening we spend shopping around and eating dinner. Some of us got boxties at dinner, which are traditional potato pancakes stuffed with something, like corned beef and cabbage. To me it tasted like a potato crepe…it was very thin and pancake-like….not like a fried bunch of hash browns. After dinner my mom, Sean, and I went to the original Temple Bar. It looked small from the outside, but it spread out behind the surrounding buildings. There must have been maybe 6 separate rooms. It was a fun crowd but different than I’m used to. Sean and I were the youngest ones in there along with many people my mom’s age and some in their twenties.

The last day in Dublin was Easter day. We went to mass at St. Mary’s. This church is where St. Valentine’s remains are. We arrived with maybe 5 minutes before mass, and to our surprise there were maybe 15 other people there and they were all older. Later we realized that many people put flowers on loved one’s graves because the cemeteries were packed with people and there were bouquets all over the ground. After church we went to Newgrange which is an ancient burial site outside of the city. We got to go inside the 5000 years old mound which was really cool. It was built so precisely that during the winter solstice the sun shines right through a slit above the doorway and goes all the way into the back of the walkway/cave. The mound actually slants upward in the middle, so where the light hits is actually ground level even though its maybe 7 or 8 feet above the ground when it enters. There are markings all over the inside and outside, but no one knows for sure what they mean. After Newgrange we went to a small town north of the city walled Howth. Apparently this is where everyone and their brother goes on Easter, because it was packed! We walked along the boardwalk and the market that was going on. We realized that the Irish tend to treat Easter like how we would treat Memorial Day. They spent it outside hanging out with friends and family in this port town. For our Easter dinner we wanted some good seafood, but we got impatient and settled for a fish and chips place called Bloodly Scream…this is not somewhere my mom wanted to eat on Easter, but that’s how it worked out. That night we got to skype both sides of the family. This, along with going to mass, was the only thing that made it seem like Easter, so that was nice. It made me really excited to come home, too!

The next day we all went to Dublin airport. Luckily our flights were very close together, so I stayed with them until they had to go through customs. Unfortunately, my flight was delayed, but I passed time by people watching which is always interesting in an airport. Arriving back in Luxembourg was weird because the weather was warm for once, especially compared to Ireland. It was nice to be able to come back for one night in between spring break and my study tour, because some people didn’t get to do that.

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Photos

Charles Fort
after we'd run in the rain with my broken umbrella turned inside out

Kinsale
the view when it wasn't raining from a hill

The divided land
These divisions are made by medieval stone walls. The English made the Irish divide up their land so no son would recieve too large of a land piece

Great grandmother's house in Knock
...actually the barn, though

Some random person's grave
But, it says Anne and David Brown...pretty weird!

limestone (?) rock
left over from glaciers. It covers the ground in this region of the country

great grandpa's land in Newcastle
The house would have been on the side of the existing house that's closer to the camera

St. Patricks
in Dublin

pretty flowers
from the park by St. Patrick's

Kilmainham Gaol
and dad

Comments

[Grandma D]

FANTASTIC PICTURES AND COMMENTARY!
Lauren, If you ever decide to change your mind about your chosen career You would excel in photography, narration, tour guide and/or historian. I feel like I have been to all the places you have visited! It will be very exciting to hear about some of your adventures from you in person! Good luck with finals! Can't wait until you get home! Love, Grandma D

[Patty]

Great summary!
Lauren, Thanks for doing a much beter job than we would have in summarizing our trip to Ireland and including some great shots! It was wonderful to spend time with you and can't wait to see you in a couple of weeks! Love, Mom, Dad, Sean and Katelyn