Blogs from Ireland, Europe - page 387

Wales was the next stop after Paris, to the farm where Rich grew up and where his parents still live. As some of you may know, Wales is a land of sheep and sheep farmers. Although both Rich's parents held full time jobs, they still managed to keep many sheep as a hobby. Now that Rich and his younger brother and sister are out of the house, his parents have downsized to 25 ewe’s. There was however, a time when they had around 70, which made lambing season a very hectic time. Lets just say Rich and his siblings are no strangers to the concept of “chores”. They also have chickens, kept in line by the rooster of course, and kept a horse during his sister’s riding days. They live five miles outside Brecon, a ... read more

Good morning everyone, Yesterday we left Connemara and went on the scenic drive to Doolin, along the western cost of Ireland. Along the way we stopped in Galway, which I now think of as Ireland's college town. The average age of most of the people there seemed to be about 23 -- lots of schoolkids and students. There was also a lovely pot smell through much of the city... good to see that some things about college towns are universal. We didn't do much other than wander around -- there isn't a ton to do or see in Galway, though the shopping streets are nice and typically European. There was also a fantastic cathedral (St. Nicholas) with green marble floors and a beautiful golden altar... and in a side alcove with a mosaic of Christ's resurrection, ... read more

When last we left you, we'd been exploring the Connemara area. On our last day in Connemara, we saw some really spectacular sights. On Monday, we drove from Clifden out to Cong, in Co. Mayo. Cong is famous for being the place where much of "The Quiet Man" was filmed (and boy is the town milking it-- there's "Quiet Man" everything for sale there) and the area is very scenic. We walked around the old Cong Abbey and gardens, which were truly lovely. We had lunch in town and walked around the quaint streets. Then, we drove out to Ashford Castle. The castle is a five star hotel (famous for being the place Pierce Brosnan got married) and it is so incredible. As commoners and not posh hotel guests, we were not actually allowed inside the ... read more

We're here! We arrived in Shannon on Saturday and drove from the airport to Clifden, in Connemara. Kevin got used to driving on the left really quickly, but Erin never really got used to the brushes with death every time another car passed on these tiny, tiny roads. The scenery in Co. Clare, where the airport is, is sort of typically Irish-- long, green meadows, rock walls, cows in pastures. Then we arrived in Connemara (Co. Galway) and were blown away by the beauty of this area. There are lakes and hills everywhere, peat bogs, Connemara ponies, wildflowers... it's just spectacular. We're staying in Clifden, the largest town in the area. Like every Irish town, there's one bar to every four or five inhabitants. We went to one of the more popular spots last night and ... read more

Today was a lot of fun! Mary and I took the Wild Wicklow Tour for a day trip outside of the city. We met the tour bus around 9am in front of the Gresham Hotel on O'Connell street. After several stops to pick up other passengers, we headed up along the coast. Our first stop was at a tower, the former home of author James Joyce, for a few coastal pictures. Next, we headed to Avoca crafts shop for a coffee/tea break. Personally i felt this stop was a big waste of time, as the store was ridiculously priced on everything they sold, and would have preferred more time at the coast. We then slowly made our way to Glendalough, where St. Kevin founded a monastic settlement. We stopped at Loch Tay, where several movies ... read more