St. Patrick's Rock, Cashel, Ireland (2003)
Brenda writes: "This was a trip I had always wanted to take, and I'd love to go back with DeeDee. I fell in love with the Irish countryside, the Irish Sea and the people, who are a bit hard to understand, but warm and inviting. When it gets a bit rainy, they call it 'freshening." You drive on the wrong side of the road, and the passenger side is usually about three inches from a vertical cliff, which is altogether unsettling for a person with a fear of heights. And, if there is a car approaching, I can guarantee, on the one-lane country roads, it will be at 70 mph, and you'd better move off to the side. If you can. Without going over the cliff.
This dirt road was a surprise path to the Irish Sea.
"So, I happened to be there on Halloween, drinking ale(s) in a pub, surrounded by miles and miles of farmland and stone fences. It was a full moon, and as I walked out of the pub, I remember how surreal it looked. A little trick-or-treater had come in to the pub, looking for candy, fully encased in a black garbage bag, just a hole for the eyes and mouth. I laughed and asked what he was pretending to be. His answer? 'A garbage bag, mum.' He got five Euro. How cool was it to be in Ireland, land of pumpkins and giant turnip roots, carved out and with lit candles, on Halloween?"
Sheep are all dyed with a color, which indicates ownership, because they typically just roam freely, and are gathered in every couple of days or so by really intelligent dogs, and men with binoculars in little bitty farm trucks.
The Dingle Peninsula
I was absolutely freezing hiking through the mountains to get to these waterfalls. The mist, the moss on the rocks and the amazingly clean, fresh smell is something I will never forget. Now I know why they named a soap after Irish springs.
"All in all, I managed to tour the Jameson Irish Whiskey brewery, the Guiness Brewery and several wool farms and factories. Stayed in charming B & B's, saw a lot of cemeteries and at least 20 churches with something ancient in them. One church, the Black Abbey, has the bones of 1200-era Vikings, and I'm sure there's a really interesting story there. There is merit to renting a car and traveling without a tour bus, with no pre-determined stops. It allows you to really get into the country, to discover and explore. To fall in love and develop your sense of place in the world."
"All in all, I managed to tour the Jameson Irish Whiskey brewery, the Guiness Brewery and several wool farms and factories. Stayed in charming B & B's, saw a lot of cemeteries and at least 20 churches with something ancient in them. One church, the Black Abbey, has the bones of 1200-era Vikings, and I'm sure there's a really interesting story there. There is merit to renting a car and traveling without a tour bus, with no pre-determined stops. It allows you to really get into the country, to discover and explore. To fall in love and develop your sense of place in the world."