Farewell Ireland

Tuesday was our last day with the tour group (we already miss Bernard and Jimmy!). First up was touring the Waterford Crystal factory, which made us both feel like broke college kids again. We got to see the intricasies of crystal making from start to finish: mold making, glass blowing, cutting, sculpting, and firing. We saw some of the most incredible finished pieces--even the men on the tour loved it. The showroom displayed the latest Irish Open trophy, huge chandeliers, and a piece called Cinderella's Carriage worth $51,000. Pocket change for us, of course. 

Then we moved onto a city called New Ross where we toured the replica of a ship that would have crossed the Atlantic during the Irish Famine. Apparently before the famine hit, a grown man would eat 45 potatoes a day--and we thought WE had eaten a lot of potatoes. The ship was eerily accurate, down to the wax figures of starving passengers and "sick bowls" (don't ask). Needless to say it made us appreciate our lunch that day. Tuesday night we ate our farewell dinner with the group, and sang the Ballad of Molly Malone for about the 30th time.

Yesterday was our last day in Ireland, so we went out the right way: with a tour of the Guinness Storehouse. Some of the highlights were: watching old Guinness commercials from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s; learning how to pour Guinness correctly; and drinking that Guinness on the 7th floor bar made of all glass. The view was really incredible. Later that day we saw the Book of Kells in Trinity Library, and, oh yeah, Colleen got a tattoo!! It is the outline of a small shamrock with an evolving celtic knot as the stem. It only took about 15 minutes, which was a good thing considering the faces she made while in pain.

Now, we're on a ferry from Dublin to Holyhead, Wales. The ship has a movie theatre, cafe, bar, gambling, and a gift shop. However, after going to three different exhibits on the Titanic this past week, we'll be happy to land on solid ground again. Once on land, we will be taking a train across to London to find our first hostel!

Kerry and Blarney

The last few days of our tour have consisted of very long bus rides. One of them took us through the Ring of Kerry, which was absolutely beautiful. We followed the Ring around the Iveragh Peninsula to see the mountains, cliffs and lakes. We ate lunch at a nice little restaurant near the top of one of the mountains and had a very nice view once the fog cleared away. Jimmy (our bus driver) did a fantastic job maneuvering the massive bus through the very narrow winding roads along the edges of the cliffs.

For dinner, we went to a working farm for what they called a Be My Guest meal. We toured the farm and saw the ducks, chickens, Irish Wolfhounds and Clydesdales. They also gave us a demonstration of how they make their butter. This was probably our most interesting meal. The appetizer consisted of a potato cake with a mustard sauce and a black pudding. In case you aren't familiar with black pudding, it is also called blood sausage and is made of congealed cow's blood and various other parts. We had traditional lamb stew for dinner, followed by bread and butter pudding with custard for dessert. COLLEEN MEAT ALERT: She wanted to have the full Irish experience, so she did take a few bites of the black pudding and ate the stew (but left the larger pieces of meat to the side).

The next day, we went to Blarney to visit the castle grounds and kiss the stone. We climbed all the way to the top of the castle via many narrow and winding steps. The stone is part of an outer wall, so we had to lay down and hold bars to lean backwards to be able to kiss it. We now have the gift of the gab!

Also on the grounds was a poisonous garden that was pretty cool. You are instructed to avoid smelling, touching and eating the plants for obvious reasons. The garden contained mandrakes, wolfsbane, cannabis, wormwood, etc. 

On our way to Waterford we also stopped in Cobh (pronounced cove), a port town which was the last stop of the Titanic before its voyage. Then we went to a thatched roof pub for some more traditional Irish music. The entertainers were very fun and did renditions of some American music, too.

Connemara-Galway-Killarney

Yesterday, we left Ballina bright and early (as usual) and headed south to Connemara. Words and pictures won't do any justice to the beauty of this region, but we'll post some pictures anyway! We stopped for coffee/tea and scones here in a minuscule town not far from where The Quiet Man was filmed--Maureen O'Hara still lives not far from the pub. Next we stopped at a little workshop called Connemara Marble where 600 million year old Irish marble is made into jewelry.

By lunchtime we made it as far south as Galway, where we shopped around for a few hours. We may have stopped in a local pub for a shot of Jameson as well. Shop street was bustling with locals and tourists, especially around the many street performers. 

Last night was the dinner of a lifetime. We ate and watched a show on the upper floor of a medieval castle built in 1520. It wasn't a huge castle by any means--about 60 people fit snugly into the banquet hall. We were greeted at the door with cups of mead, or honey wine, which was actually pretty good! Two of our newfound friends, Lloyd and Kathleen, were crowned King and Queen for the night, and they chose us as part of the "court" that gets to sit at the head table. The meal itself was fairly traditional with a lox appetizer, potato leek soup second, chicken, potatoes, and vegetables third, and apple pie for dessert. COLLEEN MEAT ALERT: She ate healthy amounts of the raw salmon and chicken! There was also unlimited wine, so we won't be able to provide details of the end of our night. A harp player and two singers performed between each course and gave a comedy skit/ poetry reading at the end of the night, quoting famous authors like WB Yeats and George Bernard Shaw. We really felt like we were in the Middle Ages!

Today we traveled to Killarney, where we first rode "jaunting carts"--horse-drawn carriages--through Killarney National Park. We rode as far as Ross Castle, then hopped on a boat for a tour around the park's largest lake. Again, we tried to capture the best views on camera!

Tonight we ate dinner at the Bleachfield Bistro. Throughout dinner we heard performances of traditional Irish music by a cross-dressing leprechaun and two older men and watched two Irish dancers. The musicians played the accordion, drums, bagpipes, flutes, bones, and spoons--impressive! The Irish dancers did the usual jig, reel, and triple reel, but they also did a "brush dance". Afterward Rachel was chosen to perform this dance in the middle of the room along with another man on the trip. If there is a video out there of this comically uncoordinated performance, we'll find and post it. Tomorrow, it's onto the Ring of Kerry!

Derry/Londonderry

We're a little behind on our blogging, but we'll try to catch up on everything...

A few days ago we spent the day sightseeing in Derry/Londonderry. Our tour guide for the city was Ronan, a very animated and knowledgeable man who claimed to be the only Buddhist in the area. He continued our history lessons about the "troubles" and how they affected his hometown. We saw a few more murals in an area known as the Bogside to support these stories. It's interesting that there have been such great progress in uniting the two sides of the arguments behind the troubles, yet these murals are still on display with their various slogans. Derry/Londonderry is also known as the "Walled City" because of the walls that were built as protection during times of war.

We also traveled to the most northern part of Ireland, the Inishowen Peninsula. This was a picture perfect place with the ocean and mountains in the background. The houses in this area were very unique, because many of them were original three room buildings with thatched roofs.

We stopped at Grianan Aileach, a circle stone fort that we climbed for more pictures. It was about this time that we decided we needed to buy wool sweaters because we felt like the wind was blowing right through us.

The next day we drove to Omagh, Belleek and Ballina. In Omagh, there is an Ulster-American Folk Park about the history of Irish immigration to the US in the 18th and 19th centuries. It reminded us of Greenfield Village because you walk through the houses the people in Ulster would have lived in to learn about their lifestyle and through a model ship that they would have traveled on before reaching the New World.

Then we went to the Belleek Pottery Center and had a tour of the factory with explanations for how the pottery is made. It is really amazing that each piece is made and decorated by hand so that no two are ever the same.

In Ballina, we stayed in a really cute (but very old) hotel on the River Moy. The town was very quaint and of course the people we met in the hotel were very friendly. On our way, we stopped at a holy well just outside of town that Bernard used to go to with his family. It was a very pretty setting with statues, candles and waterfalls. It was nice to do some reflection there in silence.

Titanic and Giant's Causeway

Today we woke up very early again to get to the Titanic Museum right when it opened. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that it was very interactive and told the entire story of the ship, from its planning and construction in Belfast to its discovery on the ocean floor. They even had a small section about the movie's portrayal which included part of Leonardo DiCaprio's and Kate Winslet's wardrobes.

We then got back on the bus for a few hours along the Northern coast, which was very scenic (we posted plenty pictures of this on Facebook). We were probably a little too enthusiastic about all of the sheep in the pastures on the sides of the road, but they are so cute!!!!!

Our stop was at Giant's Causeway, which was breathtaking. There are two explanations for how it came about--the Irish legend and the scientific explanation. The story goes that there was a giant living in Ireland who had a girlfriend in Scotland, so he threw large stones into the ocean to form a path to visit her. Unfortunately, the girl had a boyfriend (who was also a giant) back at home who found out about the Irish giant, and destroyed the path. This was a very shortened version of the story, so google might be helpful if you want it in its entirety. The scientific explanation is actually pretty boring--the rocks were a result of a volcanic eruption. Either way, we had fun climbing and walking out over the ocean for lots of pictures.

After that, we came to a new hotel in Derry (according to Catholics) or Londonderry (according to Protestants). Our tour is very classy and included another amazing dinner tonight. COLLEEN MEAT ALERT: Colleen ate fish tonight (!) before her actual vegetarian meal.

Belfast

So yesterday we woke up uncomfortably early and rode the coach up to the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland. When we arrived we were welcomed to an old fashioned candy factory by what looked like a jolly, rounder version of Willy Wonka (see below). We didn't stay long, but did get to taste strange, freshly made sweets like honeycomb and butter drops.  

Next we drove into downtown Belfast and took quite an uncensored "black cab" tour of the city. And by black cab apparently they meant multi-colored checkered cab. Our tour is the first from Ireland to delve this deep into Belfast's history and see the aftermath of what they call the "troubles", because the city has only recently become safe for tourism. The city has basically been divided into two groups since Northern Ireland gained independence in 1921(although the conflicts started long before then). They are the Nationalists, or Republicans who want to be under Irish rule, and the Unionists, or Loyalists who want to be under British rule. We toured the city in two parts: a strongly Loyalist (mostly Protestant) neighborhood and then a strongly Republican (Catholic) neighborhood. Ever since the 1960s, these groups have been in practically all out war against each other. Between 1969 and 1997 something like 3000 bombs were set off in Northern Ireland. For this reason, the groups now live in completely segregated neighborhoods, and the 48 gates surrounding the Catholic neighborhoods are closed from 6pm Friday to 6am Monday. The areas are also separated by a 45ft wall--taller than the Berlin Wall--that we got to sign! It was very insightful to here from the perspectives of our cabbies, because they lived through these troubles and the group was made up of members from both sides.

In the Protestant areas murals were painted on the sides of houses commemorating men who fought for their cause, and the Union flag was raised on every other lawn. In the Catholic area we saw a shrine to dozens of people killed on the street. Some of their houses had fence-like awnings on the back to protect them from objects thrown from beyond the wall. Even though it looks like Belfast has come a long way from what it was in the 90s (at least there are no armed guards on every corner), it still has a long way to go. The conversations sparked during the cab rides were also very eye-opening, as we learned more about life in South Africa from a couple who is on our tour. They told us that even though the fighting seemed shocking to us, they have become used to it similarly to the Irish.

In other news, COLLEEN ATE MEAT!!!!! Yes folks, for the first time in three years Colleen Anne Victor has eaten an animal. Last night we went to a pub downtown for what has to be the largest meal we've ever eaten. For those foodies out there, our appetizers were cream of vegetable soup and fried brie cheese with apple compote. Then Colleen tried cottage pie! It's a minced beef stew of sorts covered with mashed potatoes. But, she ended up sticking to her main course of vegetarian pasta. For dessert, we had plum-apple crumble and chocolate peanut butter mousse. If you see a picture on Facebook of us looking miserable, it's probably our stuffed-to-the-max faces. 

Tour of Dublin

Today was the first formal day of our tour. Our tour guide Bernard Creegan is only the cutest, happiest Irish man in the country. We'll be sure to snap a pic! We began with a canal ride on the Grand Canal, and the views were great!

After the boat ride, we rode through the city on a travel bus to see the major sites. We stopped at St. Patrick's Cathedral to take pictures, saw the oldest and smallest pubs in the world, and rode past the President's residence (which looked vaguely familiar..). Another thing we have learned is how much people appreciate and enjoy the outdoors here. We have been to a few different parks, and they are always full of people picnicking, running, playing various games, walking across tightropes, or just lounging.

After the tour, we ate a "light evening meal," which left us feeling completely stuffed. There was some live, traditional Irish music after our meal, too.

Tomorrow morning we will be leaving for Belfast!