Taking it easier

Planning a trip like this is half the fun and gets me fired up about where we are headed. My original planning this time produced a multi page spreadsheet (maybe 15 pages?) and although distances seem short on paper, the reality is quite different. Plus we have found that lunches and any conversation with a local cannot be expected to be short.

The final blow to the spreadsheet agenda was laughter and multiple statements of "oh, my" by Cornelia. She said, first, it was not achievable and, second, it would not be enjoyable. Relax. She got us to eliminate a few things and adjust our expectations. I'm good with that. 

First, an item of interest from the cemetery we visited. Many of the graves had these globes, filled with flowers and water. They kind of looked like bubbles across the cemetery.

Moving on down the road, we would suddenly find something of interest, like this tomb from around 2000 B.C. It was later used as an altar by Catholic priests during the time when it was illegal to conduct a mass. They would hold mass out in a field like this.

We then headed southwest to the most southwestern tip of Ireland, where one finds the Mizen Head signal station, some incredible ocean views, and, in our case, some pelting rain. This is the walkway to the station. What you can't see is how high above the rocks and water we are. My photos won't/can't show that.

Apparently, there was some reonvation going on at the signal site. King John perhaps?

And out in the middle of that bridge, a lock. ?

Back to Crookhaven for lunch. Ourr directions were to drive into town to the pier and to the end, where we found O'Sullivan's pub. I had my first Irish coffee and Vicki and Cody found a new cider. Ireland is enjoying a craft cider revival, much like the States are enjoying a craft beer surge. 

Again, just driving along, we spy a sign for the Kilheangul Burial Ground. We don't pass these by, especially with Vicki on the hunt for her royal ancestors. This old celtic cross stood out, especially in contrast to the new marble behind it.

We had heard that we might encounter farm animals as we drove and sure enough, on a road already too narrow, we encounter cows that would nonchalantly wander out in front of you. I snapped this with the iPhone as we finally got this one to move over.

The main drag of Kenmare, our location for the next 2 nights.

Kenmare has a very old stone circle in town, but on the way there, we encountered this one in the middle of a road. I don't think it is nearly as old as the othe one, and unless there is a lot of rock attached to these underground, it wasn't nearly as hard to build. 

And then there was this at the edge of the stone circle area. All kinds of gods were worshipped; why not Santa as well?

This morning, we went down for our breakfast at our B&B. Cody had ordered the Irish porridge - but requested a fried egg on it. Our host had never heard of savory oatmeals and this threw her for a loop. But it was good, and it may be that Cody just started a food trend in Kenmare!

Driving

I hear that the scenery that we passed today was lovely. Here's what I saw:

These babies just moseyed on in front of us. They were in no hurry, so neither were we. 

We were sad to leave the beautiful home of our host, Cornelia O'Keeffe. Here she is, along with some photos of her B&B:

Cornelia O'Keeffe, a real make-lemonade kind of person. She's very zen and very cool. If you end up in the southwest part of Ireland, stay at the Rock Hill B&B in Schull.

Cornelia papered several bedroom doors with the spines and covers of book jackets. So cool!

This is the view from the john in our bedroom. IT'S THE VIEW FROM THE JOHN. Unbelieveable.

Dan posted photos of the old Schull church and graveyard, along with some other beautiful shots that were taken this morning. 

We traveled from Schull to Mizen Head, which was incredible. Again, look for Dan's post, which will cover the photography. However, I will share with you a photo of the steps that we took as part (part) of the journey back from the most southwest point of Ireland:

We then drove to Crookhaven for lunch and afterward tried to find our way along the coast to Three Castle Head, but without GPS, a detailed map, and/or directional signs, we were screwed. However, we did see very narrow roads, some of which had precipitous cliffs. At times, I felt like someone was going to have to pry my hands from the wheel, once we finally arrived somewhere. Here's a shot of the road from Dan's side of the car. Please note that this is a two-lane road, sometime traversed by RVs, full-sized trucks, and buses. 

We are spending two nights in Kenmare, where there is a stone circle as well as a place called Cromwell Bridge. While some people think that the bridge is named after Thomas Cromwell, who deeded this area to the town's founder, it's more likely that the name is a misunderstanding of the Celtic word for 1) mustache or 2) arch. 

The most exciting find if the day, at least for me, came in the form of an email. I've spent a little time tracing my ancestry,  and I received information today about the O'Keefes. My 2nd great grandmother was an O'Keefe, and it was her parents who emigrated to the U.S. during the potato famine of the 19th century. According to the information that I received,11 of the first 25 kings of Munster were O'Keefes. And all O'Keefes are all descended from that line. Cody and I were sure to remind Dan several times today that he was in the presence of royalty. We also kept the "O" part of O'Keefe, which meant that we "didn't take the soup" during the famine. Apparently, at that time, the English were trying to anglicize the Irish, and one way to do that (in addition to not allowing them to practice Catholicism) was to allow them to take food from the soup kitchens if, and only if, they would drop the "O" from their names. So O'Sullivans became Sullivans, O'Regans became Regans, etc. I see where the stubborn streak, so evident in my mother and my children, came from. (It skipped a generation.)

What day is this?

I had to ask what day it was. I think that is a good sign.

So Tuesday, our first stop was Blarney Castle. Yes, it was touristy, but something one does. Yes, we waited about 40 minutes to kiss a stone, or at least I did, since the other two in my party thought it highly unsanitary. I used hand sanitizer on my lips when I finished. (Thought to self: what about a chapstick that disinfects?) But I'm a fundraiser - any help I can get, even from a rock, is a good thing.

So here are a few shots from Blarney:

We then had a pleasant lunch at a pub in town and hit the road again. We had to drive to Kinsale, down on the southern coast of Ireland. Distances here don't match up with distances at home. It may seem like a drive of 40-50 kilometers is no big deal for those of us used to interstate and wide roads. But here, that is another matter. There are no shoulders on the average road, so branches and vegetation are always hitting the left side of the car, my side, and I occasionally remind Vicki where that left curb is, or could be. Sometimes verbally, sometimes by snatching my arm away from the window, even though it is closed. Then there are the tractors, taking more than their half of the road, or the village streets, where parking already takes one lane and everyone takes turns weaving in and out of limited space. Not a calming experience. But Vicki is handling it. 

So our plans were to make multiple stops, but we were thinking about timing and we buzzed by several of the towns we intended to visit. We diid stop at the 12 Arch Bridge:

but mostly moved on until the Dromberg Stone Circle, a scaled down version of Stonehenge. It is dated to at least the Bronze Age (11,000-8,000 B.C.). It is out in the middle of the countryside, and is definitely not touristy. Pretty hard to find, pretty hard to get to, but I thought it was well worth it.

This is the altar stone, on which one can find an item or two left for whatever reasons.

Last night, we made it to the Rock Hill B&B in Schull. As noted in the previous blog post, it was absolutely wonderful. Our host, Cornelia, welcomed us and poured us a glass of wine. We went into town for a special dinner and I made it well past my bedtime. 

This morning, I woke early, so I went out and walked until sunrise. 

There is an old church ruin and a large cemetery overlooking the water. 

There are gravesites within the walls of the old church.

And I saw a pheasant and rabbits on the way back.

So now, I sit and type, waiting for my kippers, drinking good Irish tea, and very glad to be here. If we could stay longer, I would want to. This place is wonderful.

Tuesday's checklist

✔️ Visit the English Market in Cork. Look at lamb liver and tripe and not throw up. 

✔️ Go to Blarney Castle, getting lost on the way. Look at Dan kiss the Blarney Stone (as if he needed help with the gift of gab). 

(This is Dan being held by the Blarney Stone dude. Someone actually gets paid to keep people from falling through the hole as they put their lips to a stone in a castle. This stone has just been kissed by who knows how many people carrying who knows what diseases.  Cody declined the honor of getting germicide, and I got vertigo just thinking about putting my head in that position.)

✔️ Cuss the Irish for not using fecking directional signs on their roads. 

✔️ Manage to drive without killing anyone. This includes rounding a very tight corner to see a truck not too far ahead of us in our lane. 

✔️ Book a KICK ASS B&B. (See Dan's photo.)

✔️ Take a photo of Cody being a dork: 

✔️ Enjoy a lovely three-course dinner with my two man dates. 

Too tired to blog, but...

I had to share a shot from our B&B tonight. We made our way from Cork to this place outside Schull, and it is fantabulous. This is the 180 view from the back yard/patio:

More to come tomorrow.

Dan

Cody is keeping his own blog...

For those interested in Cody's perspective, he is keeping his own blog at http://fishnchipsplease.blogspot.ie/. We invited him to post here, but noooooooo.... Our blog isn't good enough...

Castles, Fortresses, and a Hore

The Rock of Cashel is a stone fortress, actually a collection of medieval buildings built upon an artesian

spring.

The buildings are incredible and the various stories of its changing ownership are intriguing. For example, Cromwell's army came to take it, warned everyone to get out, then came in and killed all 800 or so inside. 

Then there is Cody, trying to mimic the building itself.

This is one of the crosses marking a grave at the Rock. There are still about 6-7 people in the village who have the privilege of being buried there. Once they die, the cemetery will be closed to new burials. 

These are the ruins of Hore Abbey, taken from up on the Rock of Cashel. 

As this abbey is in a field with evidence of cattle grazing, I kept expecting a bull to appear. I was aware where the closest fence was and that I didn't have to be fast, just faster than Vicki or Cody. 

Dan taking a photo of Vicki and Cody taking photos of the abbey and Dan.

Cemetery at the Abbey.

Cody took this good shot.

There was a woman with a selfie stick taking shots in the abbey. It's not like there were not others to take the shot. And it would take a really long stick - or a tripod (three sticks?) - to get the whole abbey in this shot. 

So we left Cashel and moved on to Cahir, where there is one of the best preserved castles in Ireland. Our guide told us that they used to eat anything that moved and that the "four and twenty blackbirds baked in pie" was certainly plausible - but that they were placed in a crust already cooked, so when the pie was cut, they all flew away. Great spectacle, I suppose, but who wants blackbirds flying around the dining room? 

Below is the portcullis. Across a small entrance area was the entrance to the interior of the castle. Unwelcome visitors might get past this, only to have it slam shut behind them, trapping them in this area. At that point, defenders could proceed to pelt them with rocks, pour boiling nasty stuff on them, or throw down leftover pies, filled with four and twenty angry blackbirds.

Castles always have cool doors. I want a door like this for our house. 

  

Or this one. 

After Cahir, we made our way to Cork. We traveled at a greater speed, because we took the highway. We took longer to get there, however, because street signs are nonexistent and our atlas doesn't mention taking the third roundabout and turning left at the gaol (jail). And asking for directions from someone here gets you a long discourse with options. Even a map drawn for us by one of the B&B owners: "Go to where the road just levels out. How do I draw the leveling?" He settled for just drawing the line of direction darker and harder. 

Cork is a city of 120,000 and marks the point where we turn west. We stayed at a B&B and hit the Hop On, Hop Off bus tour.

This is the former Gaol (jail).

In this close up, note the three rectangular outlines where scaffolding used to be. Prisoners were hanged there as a public spectacle. 

One hop off was here at the candy store Vicki mentions.

Justt around the corner is the Butter Museum. I know - visiting a museum about butter sounds lame. Actually, it was pretty cool. At one point, Cork was the butter capital of the world. Butter used to be graded before being shipped out all over the world, kinda like cotton was in Memphis.

Just down the street is this church tower

that Cody and I climbed to ring the bells. One is given ear protection to wear. Cody played, pulling on these ropes

then we climbed progressively smaller stairwells to the bellfry, where that ear protection was very important.

The view from the top was nice.

Finally, Cody and I went to tour the old Jameson distillery. Great tour with a tasting at the end. They put out some Johnny Walker Black, some Jameson's, and some Jack Daniels and you taste the three, hopefully coming to the realization that the Jameson's triple distillation process renders the smoothest whiskey of the three. Our guide noted disdainfully that the Americans add sugar to Jack Daniels. There in their tasting room, I did not choose to note that in every pub we had visited, JD is on the front line of their whiskeys, right next to Jameson's. 

Here, I am telling my son to be still. Get it?

Nothing else can be visited in Cork after 5, so we all went out for a very nice dinner. At the time of writing this post, we are waiting for breakfast. Then we head out for Blarney, Kinsale, and points west. More to come.

A day (and night) with no wireless

 Let me just say, first of all, that I am GPS dependent. I love map apps, but I'd REALLY love to have one in a country that does not label streets and roads. 

Yesterday (Sunday) was a day to get from Limerick to Cork. We wanted to go to Cashel and to Cahir (pronounced "care") on the way and thought that the backroads would be a lovely way to do it.  We didn't get too lost for too long, but one wrong highway could have been our last. GPS > atlas - or at least, I'm guessing that it would be. We are doin' navigation using 20th-century techniques. 

Dan and Cody assured me that the scenery on the drive was lovely. All that I saw was the road, the lines that marked the very tiny lanes, and all of the things on the left that I was trying not to sideswipe. Cashel was very cool, and our guide had a lovely sense of humor. Dan will post more photos, but here is a shot of Cody imitating the sad face made by part of the remains:

After the tour of the Rock of Cashel, we hiked down to Hore Abbey, which, along with a billion other places, was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell in the 1600s. The hike involved climbing stone walls and not stepping in cow patties.  Again, Dan has photos to post. We climbed back UP that freaking rock and then into the village of Cashel, where we popped in for a quick lunch and a pint. It ended up taking about two hours and, due to a misunderstanding, being served two pints of cider each. We then decided to head to Cork via the M8. How hard could it be to find city centre from a major highway?

Hard. The answer is hard. We finally found the B&B, but were unable to find anyone to answer the door. Are you freaking kidding me? Dan and Cody went off to find a phone so that we could call to see if anyone was around to let us in. They were, and we dropped our bags and headed out to find dinner, which turned out to be more difficult because apparently Cork puts a cork in it on Sundays. Also, we couldn't attach to the wireless in the B&B, so Dan and I went night-night and Cody stayed up to conquer the internet router. 

Monday (today) brought lots of sunshine and no driving for me. We hopped on and hopped off the Cork tours, visiting the Butter Museum; St. Anne's Shandon, where Dan and Cody climbed the stairs to the bell tower so that Cody could play "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head"; and Shandon Sweets, where a cute little man has made sweets for over 50 years. Here he is:

Dude handles 300-degree melted sugar with his bare hands, so while he might look kind, he is probably dangerous.

So we hopped back on the hop-on, hop-off to complete the tour, which went through streets that looked too narrow for a small car, much less a freaking bus. But those bus drivers somehow do it. It's amazing. We hopped off for lunch and then Dan and Cody went to Midleton for a tour and tasting at the Jameson's distillery. I hung out at the tourism office and chatted it up with Anthony, a lovely native Corkian (?) who told me that it would be very difficult to trace my O'Keefe ancestors without knowing which parish they came from or the name of the ship that they took when they emigrated to the U.S.  So if anyone has that information about John and Ellen (Mahanney) O'Keefe, do let me know. Thanks. 

Tomorrow, we are off to Blarney, Kinsale, Clonakilty (known for its black puddings - ick), Glandor, Ballydehob, and Mizen. We are staying in a B&B run by a woman called Cornelia O'Keefe. Maybe she knows about John and Ellen. 

First night's stay

We stayed at Twin Oaks B&B (http://www.twinoakslimerick.com/) on our first night in Ireland. The breakfast was delicious albeit cholesterol-laden (eggs, toast, bacon (which is like American ham), white pudding, black pudding (don't ask), and coffee/tea). The shower, like many over here, was like having someone pour water from a watering can. It was not unexpected. Here are two things to look out for in a place: a skylight in the bedroom (especially when sunset is after 9:30 pm and sunrise is at 5:30 am) and neighbors who are out drinking and yelling (Irish cussing uses the same words as American, BTW) until sometime after 2:30 am. 

We are off to Cashel and Cork today via the back roads.  Cody is doing his Sean Connery impressions about going to see "a cashel in Cashel." It's gonna be a long day. 

Vicki