The Gift of Gab

One item on our bucket list has been Blarney Castle.

I had been a little offish about this because it's one of the few 'famous' touristy things, so I just assumed it was touristy.

As with all preconceived notions, it's based on a few bits of knowledge one gains over a wide span of life that may or may not be true.  In this case, I admit I didn't really know its history, location, or pretty much anything about it.  But it is famous, and we really can't leave Ireland without having said we went there, so off we went.

As it turns out, just getting there was an adventure, a good 2.5 hour drive.  Because of my continued aversion and prideful disdain for paying road tolls, we took the countryside roads, and came across this little gem, Burnchurch Castle:

I know that this part of the world a castle ruin is a dime a dozen, but this one was cool.  Way off the beaten path and literally on a farmer's field, it's still in great condition though the entrance was gated shut.

It's hard for me not to walk around places like this and wax philosophical about humanity, progress, history.  People actually lived in these things for generations!  I wonder about their lives, their problems, their thoughts. Living in a castle must have had its perks over living out on the countryside, but it still must have gotten terribly cold in the winter, no running water, etc.

But this was only a first stop in a day of castles.

Next we headed to Cork for what we'd hope was a city tour and lunch.

I don't have any pictures of Cork because we never actually got to stop and take any.  We spent our time driving around the streets looking for parking.  And by streets I mean the 85 degree angle bike paths that run up and down the main part of town.  For those of you who don't know, Liz has serious problems with slopes.

We gave it our best shot, but Cork was a bust.  On to Blarney.

Luckily for us, parking there was plentiful, free, and horizontal.  After a short walk we arrived at the village and secured some pub grub.  As we all were famished, we wolfed it down quite readily.  Really, an Irish pub is a lot different than what I thought it'd be.  It's really more of a restaurant.  Sure, it has a bar, but most U.S. places do too.

Now off to Blarney Castle!  This is where my preconceived notions were about to be shattered.

It was a beautiful day, and the Blarney grounds are a well-maintained park, complete with a small river, flowerbeds, and even a boardwalk through a pond and waterfall.    It also had a handful of dolmens and caves with their on The castle itself is in excellent condition, especially considering the  number of visitors it hosts every year.

So I guess at this point I really should just let the pictures do the talking.  Here we go!

 Gabe absolutely fell in love with this hat from the overpriced tourist trap, er, gift shop. It looks good on him too, and he still wears it all the time! What's that saying about the invaders becoming more Irish than the Irish?

 Blarney Castle as seen from its base.  The fancy window on the lower right was the master chamber, of course.

 It's a little hard to tell in this pic, but a tree branch had grown horizontally into another branch, forming a natural beam.  Kind of your random nature freaky thingy.

 Springtime in Ireland, more of the beautiful foliage around castle grounds.

 Toward the end of the day, poor little Aaron was just getting too tuckered out.

 Liz taking a picture of me taking a picture of her.  I'm sure Douglas Hofstadter would have something to say about this being an eternal golden braid or something.

 More lovely scenery.

 Ok, check out the size of those leaves!

 And there really must be something interesting under that leaf, but I don't know what.

 The kiddies...

 David...

 The garden boardwalk

 More garden boardwalk . . .

 OK, one thing I didn't take into account was how high this castle was.  Of course, everything seems a LOT higher once you're on top of it!

 It's time to get our kiss on!  Go Gabe!

 Honestly, I hope he didn't really kiss it.  yick.

 On his way back, good job, bud!

 Sweety Sariah doing her best...

 Liz on her way back.  She's laughing because of the incredible awkwardness and somewhat scariness of the situation.  It used to be there were no helpers, handrails, or protective grates under the stone, you just had to have your buddies help you and hope they didn't lose their grip.  You really have to bend back to get to that stone.

 Liz gets down to do some serious smooching . . .

 What, did I lose my hat???

 And the best of all, little Aaron getting down there to do it!  What a champ!

 Liz and I taking more pictures of each other for no good reason.

 There was a line to kiss the stone, but it wasn't too bad.  I've been told that sometimes it can stretch accross the castle grounds!

 More of the hopeful waiting their turn for a kiss.

 and here's me.  You can get a little bit of the sense of how high you are above the ground,which being backward and upside down doesn't help.  Yeah, the old guy gripping onto you isn't much of a comfort, either.

 What's left of the innards of that castle.  I wonder what it was like in its majesty?  Must have been awesome to live there.

 A view of the castle grounds.

 another pic of the castle.

Obligatory picture time!

 More Blarney.

 I've noticed that the color in these pics is all messed up because I'd accidentally activated a weird filter on my phone.  Anyway, that orange-green tint is not the way things look up there.

 The kiddies enjoying themselves.

All in all, I really liked Blarney.  I am glad that it wasn't very crowded when we went, I may have enjoyed it less in that case.  Really, it was a perfect day despite the Cork incident.

On the way back, stop at the gas station - Super Mac combo (think Burger King) for dinner and a road break.

Another awesome weekend in Ireland.

Candy, Causeways, and Castles

(note:  Not much has been going my way these past few days.  I have  a bunch of photos to accompany this post, but because of issues I'm having with Google update, they're not available yet.  I hope to have this remedied soon and just update this blog accordingly.)

Through a little political wrangling and bribery, I convinced the family that we should spend our Saturday (May 18th, 2013) driving up to see the Giant's Causeway; something I've been wanting to see for a long time.  Friday had been a really beautiful day and I had no reason to believe that Saturday would be any different.  Really, you'd think having been in Ireland this long I'd know better.

We woke up to rain and it didn't stop all day.

Nevertheless, you can't let a little rain stop you from doing stuff in Ireland otherwise you wouldn't get anything done.

First stop in a day of firsts was Belfast.

It's an interesting town, lots of history, but much of it is based on conflict.  While technically The Troubles are past, I still felt a strong sense of tension in the city.  The Union Jack and the ROI flag both flew in defiance to each other in distinct parts of the city.  Large murals of masked gunmen adorned buildings.  As an outsider I felt it was probably wise to avoid the topic of religion and politics in this city.

Our scheduled stop was a candy store, Aunt Sandra's.  We got there just in time for a candy presentation and a brief tour of the "factory".  Really, it was for the kids but major props to Uncle Jim for keeping about 30 young kids attentive and entertained.  Even for the big kids it was cool to see how liquid candy is poured,  flavored, molded, and shaped to create common hard candies and lollipops.

I also have to say the candy was delicious, and the white chocolate lollies were the best I've ever had.  The store also does candy making workshops for the grown ups; I'm thinking I may just try to make it to one of those.  After the show was over we browsed the store's wares of confectionery delights, each of us getting to pick out a special treat.  After handing it all over over to the girl at the register I became suddenly aware of impending disaster:  I couldn't understand what she was saying.  Yes, it was the English language, and yes it was an Irish accent, but for the first time since moving here her brogue was so thick I could barely make out every third or fourth word.  The girl was super nice, she repeated everything she said at least twice, but I simply couldn't understand her.  Luckily, I did understand money and candy, and that was able to get settled OK.

After loading up on tons of sugary heaven, we loaded up our van and continued through heavy rain north, toward Giant's Causeway.  We had hoped to find a place for lunch Liz had read about, but neither the GPS nor our phones could find it.  Plan B was whatever was handy, in this case a tiny diner in Bushmills.  We were all pretty hungry at this point and the menu had a wide variety.  Our waitress was also super nice until I tried to talk to her: Again, her accent was so thick I could barely understand her.  Fortunately, her patience with us was enough to get some food ordered.

After enjoying a hearty lunch, we ventured out into the pouring rain again and headed toward the Causeway, the whole point of our trip.  No one was feeling very adventurous at this point, but we had come so far I at least wanted to give it a try.

We found the visitor's center and found out to park would cost about 7£ (or about 7.4 €).  I didn't want to pay to park and walk in the rain, that was enough to turn us away at that point, but the attendant, perhaps sensing our frustration, informed me that the nearby school had a free parking lot and an access point to the path that led down to the Causeway!  Free!  Yes, I love Free!  New energy came to me.

Now we found the free parking lot, and I saw a step ladder over a wall and what appeared to be a path to a fence.  Only Cookie and Gabe were feeling up to braving the elements to see the Causeway at this point, so Liz stayed behind with David, Sariah, and Aaron.

I trudged over the fence and through rough pathway toward a large, deep ditch, a fence,and then a groomed pathway.  But we three brave forward.  Cookie nearly slipped into the ditch in her attempt jump accross.  I stepped into a large patch of stinging nettle with my sandal-clad feet.  Gabe wouldn't dare jump across the ditch at all; rain pouring down we were ready to turn back when Cookie pointed out a gate to the main pathway only 20 feet from where we stood, one we could have accessed from the parking lot with ease to begin with.

So, lesson learned, we are on the main path now and making our way down to the Causeway.  Despite the foul weather, there's a considerable crowd attending with us.  We finally make it down and the kids and I begin exploring the magnificent columnar basalt  formed long ago when molten magma cooled and 'crystallized' beneath the earth before being exposed by the ocean. Mythology has a much more colorful explanation for their existence of course.  Finn McCool created them for his giant buddies to cross over from Scotland, a mere 30 miles or so across the northern sea.

After enjoying the rocks, ocean, and view, we headed back to the van, making sure to use the easy gate to get back to the parking lot. Reunited we headed off.  One last thing we wanted to see, the castle Dunluce.  This was something Liz was really interested in seeing.  At this point, only her and I, and little Aaron, were interested in getting out of the van to see the castle ruins.  Its visitor center was closed, so we couldn't get into the castle proper, but from the outside you can still see a lot.  Very impressive, to say the least.  The castle is large and sits precariously on what is essentially a sea stack, nearly surrounded by vertical drops to the ocean below.  Directly under the castle is a cave that leads to the ocean.  This place was cool, and Liz was so excited that she's already planning large day trips down there in the future.

That was pretty much the day, our will to see or do anything more was sapped by the cold rain.  We also had a 2.5 hour drive ahead of us, so we headed south for Dublin.

One quick stop for gas and dinner, and we're home!  Despite the rain, cold, stinging nettle, etc,we all felt like it was a good day, and well worth the trek.

Sunday, today, was beautiful; warm, light breeze, hardly a cloud in the sky and not a drop of rain, just like Friday. Go figure.

Also, it was Stake Conference, so the church's parking lot was very full.  An attendant asked if I would park on the grass which I did, but as I was backing up I ran into a tree branch and shattered the van's large back window.  Ouch.  Luckily, no one was hurt, it wasn't raining, and our insurance will cover the new window which is being replaced tomorrow.

That was my weekend, how was yours?

The Cliffs of Insanity!

First of all, happy birthday to the most beautiful, amazing, smart, wonderful woman in the entire universe:  Liz!  She's 20 today, and doesn't look a day past 19!  Love her!

Back on the long bank weekend of May 6, a very close friend of mine from business school, who also happens to be working abroad, took a few days of his valuable vacation time to spend with us.  To make the most of this, we booked a lot of trips and treks around Ireland.

The first big excursion was to the west coast; Galway, the Cliffs of Mohor, and a passage tomb called Poulnabrone.

Galway was interesting as sort of a cute Irish coastal village, but due to the parking meter only accepting coins and our shortage of such, we could only wander around for fourty-five minutes, grab some lunch, and then hit the road.

Galway  has this famous stone archway door in the Eyre Square . . .

The kids clearly enjoying themselves immensely . . .

Is it too late to point out a spelling error?

Time for some authentic Irish eats . . . sorta . . .

Pretty much glad we only had an hour in Galway because I was a little underwhelmed at that point.

Now onto the MAIN EVENT, what I've been wanting to see for a  LONG time . . .

THE CLIFFS OF INSANITY!

Actually, Ireland's amazing Cliffs of Mohor, one of its greatest natural wonders.

Luckily for us, the weather was mostly cooperative so we got a really good clear perspective of cliffs.

 A real Irish shamrock! Actually, I don't think they are.  Oh well.

Now, I have to take a second to editorialize.  Maybe it's because I'm naturally risk adverse, or maybe it's because I've made something of a career of risk management, or maybe it's because I have a fear of heights, or dying a horrible death, I dunno, but it just seems to me very foolish to see how close you can get to 700 foot cliffs.

This couple, for example,searching for the perfect shot ventured off the trail, down the wet grass toward to ledge.  Seems silly to me.  That photo may be your last, lady.

Obviously, the cliffs aren't as insane as its visitors.  This group ventured right down to the precipice.  Notice that tiny golden "M" on the girl's handbag?  That golden "M" is the University of Michigan, so I'm assuming this is an American college student.  She needs take a class in risk management.  Probability of event x loss given event.  I don't know about the first variable, but the second I'm fairly certain is asymptotically close to 1.

 OK, last one;this guy is sitting on a granite tableau that overhangs the cliff. Below him is a straight drop to the rocky shore, some 600 feet below. His legs are dangling an he's leaning over to get a nice view.

So am I just being paranoid?  Am I just not being adventurous enough?  Am I just a big wimpy baby?

I just don't understand why people, when given the choice between a path behind an earthen wall some 6 feet away from the cliff's edge would prefer to walk on a path that is the cliff's edge.  There is absolutely NO difference in the view between the two paths.

Rant over.

After the cliffs we drove out and about the countryside.  The soil here has largely eroded away exposing the limestone bedrock; it's about as close to a wasteland as I've seen in Ireland.  It stood in very stark contrast to the lush, verdant hills I'd had seen to this point.

Also out here was a very old portal tomb.  This one is Poulnabrone, perhaps one of the more famous ancient ruins in Ireland. The weather had really taken a turn for the worse at this point so we didn't stay long, but the place was impressive. It seems it was constructed as a tomb; how remains largely a mystery.  The capstone itself weighs several tons.  The fact that neolithic laborers were able to make something last over 4,000 years is pretty remarkable as well.  That's older than Stonehenge; older than the pyramids!

David, doing his best to fight the increasingly foul wind and rain.  It was a full day, so we packed it up and headed out.  The drive home was nice as I had the GPS avoid toll roads, which subsequently routed us through the country roads and towns.  It also gave us more time to chat and catch up on what's happened in our lives the past few years.  

But his was only the first adventure . . .