I was really there! And I have more than a ticket stub to prove it.
The Trinity Library is also home to the beautiful
Book of Kells, an ancient biblical manuscript. We were not allowed to take pictures of the Book, but you should know that it was amazing and definitely worth seeing.
After we had our fill of staring at lovely book spines, we walked over to the nearby Christchurch Cathedral. We paid a little extra to join a guided tour, which was completely worth it!
From the tour, we learned that half of the cathedral fell apart back in the Medieval days. It was many years before it was finally rebuilt, by a famous architect. He was sure to build it exactly like its still standing counterpart. He even employed out-of-use techniques for authenticity's sake.
We also learned that the Tomb of Strongbow, which has been at the cathedral for hundreds of years, is missing his nose because people used to conduct business at the tomb-- to somehow reinforce the validity of the deals they made. They would pass money across Strongbow's face, which eventually led to the decay of his nose.
One of the highlights of the tour was climbing the narrow stairway to the belfry. Here, Jared overlooks the city of Dublin. (Oh, and we learned why someone in the bell ringing profession might develop a hunchback; hint: staircases).
An elaborate system of bells. Both Jared and I took a turn ringing them, and I'd dare say, we did an excellent job.
Another fun fact is that the cathedral currently has costumes from the latest English royalty TV series, The Tudors, on display. Apparently the cathedral serves as a set location for the dungeon? And a few other places. The costumes are in the crypt below, along with a bunch of cool artifacts that nobody knows what to do with...
Once we left Christchurch, we had a small dinner at a tiny restaurant-- I've forgotten the name. Had a sandwich and some pasta. The first Thanksgiving where we did not experience the sensation of being completely stuffed with mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, and stuffing... But little did we realize, we'd experience our very own Thanksgiving-like coma in just a few days...
Friday, November 28, 2014
This was my favorite, favorite day of our trip. We left the hubbub of Dublin and drove south to Glendalough (lough is pronounced "loch"), which is truly one of the most peaceful, beautiful places in the world. Picture green, tree covered hills, surrounding a deep blue lake. Then picture ancient ruins, churches, houses, gravestones-- remains from the religious order that once lived here.
Glendalough was founded in the 6th century by Kevin, a hermit priest. To me, it seemed like the perfect place to contemplate the divine. It is easy to see what compelled Kevin to build his home in this valley.
Pondering the people who lived here hundreds of years ago.
Small chapel and lichen covered headstones.
Window slits, an ancient architectural trend.
A tiny home.
The Irish Cross.
Ready for adventure!
Good thing we didn't bring Firpo.
As we wandered through the woods, we happened upon this uprooted tree.
We spent the entire day exploring Glendalough. I kind of guessed we would before our trip, so we did not plan anything else for the rest of the day.
After Glendalough, we drove west to Cahir. We stayed at the Cahir House Hotel, a decent little place, near the enormous (but unfortunately closed for renovation) Cahir Castle. By the time we made it to Cahir, we were starving. We went in search of vegetarian fare, which brought us to
Lava Rock, which had a veggie pasta on the menu.
Lava Rock was so, so good. For one, they surprised us by offering to make a stuffed bell pepper dish for us, in addition to an order of the veggie pasta. Just thinking about their food makes me want to book a ticket to Ireland so I can eat there again...
The bell pepper was filled with rice and vegetables and complimented by a creamy, tomato sauce. The pasta was filled with vegetables and served with a cream sauce and topped with a sharp parmesan cheese. And of course, the presentation was perfect.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
So, why did we drive out to Cahir? To see the Rock of Cashel, an ornate castle atop a hill.
A perfect November day.
Walking among the graves.
Look closely and you'll see paintings underneath the whitewash. At one point in history, paintings were considered to be irreverent, so they were painted over. Today, people are hard at work trying to restore the elaborate artwork beneath.
Our lady.
Looking out over the farmland.
Walled in Cashel.
Tiny slits for arrows.
Inside the musky chapel. Once castles were no longer considered essential to survival, they fell out of fashion and into disrepair.
Next stop, Lough Gur. Another picturesque lake surrounded by greenery and ruins.
Complete with wildlife!
There are many small sites of interest near Lough Gur, but the one we were most keen on seeing was the Stone Circle.
Pagan ritual spot?
Randomly Interspersed Travel Tip: One of the wonderful things about going to Ireland in the winter is that normally touristy spots are empty.
Aside from a man smoking a pipe (yes, a pipe), Jared and I were the only people at the Stone Circle. And once the man left, it was just me, Jared, and grazing cows.
A tree alone in an open field.
There is something wonderful about the way the Stone Circle is perfectly round. I wish there was some way to know more about the people who created it.
After spending a good amount of time standing the middle of the circle, we headed to Kilkenny to see Mosse Pottery. To explain this choice, let's rewind our trip a few days, to our flight from New York to Dublin.
Jared and I sat next to a really nice Irish man named Michael. He has lived in Zambia since the 1970s doing Catholic charity work. In fact, he was catching a connecting flight from Dublin to London, then another from London to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Nairobi, Nairobi to Zambia.
We shared with Michael that Jared's true last name should be Moss. Michael asked if we had heard of the Mosses in Kilkenny. He told us we should check out their Mill, find out if we might be related.
Some Internet digging led us to Mosse Pottery, and we decided to visit. Turns out Irish roads are not always the most well-lit and our GPS SIM card map of Ireland was about three years out of date, but after a bunch of wrong turns and set backs, we finally made it to Mosse Pottery. Owner, Nicolas, had already left for the day, but the shop was still abuzz with shoppers.
We never did find out if we are related to the Mosses. But we did buy a lovely little cooking tray adorned with hand stamped flowers. A birthday gift for my mom.
Randomly Interspersed Travel Tip: Ireland has many different types of roads, the best being "M" (which stands for motorway). These are equivalent to American freeways and tend to have wide lanes and occasionally lights (especially when you arrive at a roundabout). Then there are "N" (national roads), "R" (regional roads) and "L" (local roads). Regional and local roads are incredibly narrow and not always in the best shape. Whenever we could, we would avoid them, but truly avoiding them is impossible. When we told Evelyn we were scared of driving at night, she said she was, too.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
We set out northwest from Limerick to see the famous Cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs are majestic. As we walked towards them, we came across a man playing a bagpipe. We could have sworn he was playing Come Thou Fount, but when we asked, he claimed he was playing Danny Boy.
Randomly Interspersed Travel Tip: The Cliffs have WiFi! Of all places. This was great news because the B&B we were staying at was waiting for the local Internet provider to repair its connection, and we needed a way to email our family and look up college football scores.
Atlantic waters.
The sunniest day. Jackets not necessary.
Cliffs of Insanity!
Somewhere on Sunday.
The Cliffs are close to a geographical area called The Burren. Whilst watching a multi-part documentary on Ireland, I heard this quote describing the landscape: "it is a country where there is not water enough to drown a man, wood enough to hang one, nor earth enough to bury them."
The landscape is rocky, rough. Millions of years ago it was at the bottom of a sea. We followed a map of the Burren, trying to locate points of interest along the way.
No tourists in sight to take photos of the both of us.
One of the most fascinating landmarks in the Burren is the Poulnabrone Dolmen, pictured below. The tomb was most likely used around 3600 BC, thousands of lifetimes before ours. Excavations have revealed bodies were buried here.
The Portal Tomb.
Similar to the Stone Circle, relatively little is known about the ritual surrounding this tomb or the people that built it. There was something surreal about being so close to an ancient human construction, like Poulnabrone.
Aside from a few grazing cows, Jared and I were the only people there. There was nothing but a rope fence to keep people from walking right up to the tomb.
We stayed in the most lovely place near Limerick-- Avondoyle Bed and Breakfast, run by a woman named Evelyn. When we got back from the Cliffs and the Burren, she had a fire going in her living room. Jared and I helped ourselves to her magazines, and relaxed by the fire.
Later, Evelyn made us hot chocolate. We chatted with her about life in California. Her eldest son is actually a lawyer in the Bay Area.
Hot chocolate, warm fire, and Irish tabloids. Need I say more?
Randomly Interspersed Travel Tip: If you go to Ireland and find yourself in the Limerick area, check out Avondoyle B&B! The room we stayed in was so comfortable and cozy. Evelyn was such a sweet hostess. Breakfast was delicious-- fresh baked muffins, fruit, and yogurt-- although there is a rather extensive menu to choose from, especially if you prefer meat options.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Finally, the cold caught up to us. When we left Evelyn's home in the morning, it had been raining on and off for the last several hours. But we were eager to get to our next destination, Dromoland Castle.
Entering Dromoland...
Once a real life castle, Dromoland had been transformed into a 5-star hotel. And one benefit of traveling in the winter is that normally pricey hotels, like Dromoland, have deals. For about $200, we stayed in Dromoland's smallest room (which was still not all that small).
Apparently electric towel racks are a luxury thing. They heat your towels while you bathe. I'm really hoping that's their purpose... But I've been known to confuse my luxury item purposes before.
Icy fields surrounding Dromoland; clearly, it is December.
We chose Dromoland because Jared's dad highly recommended it. He stayed there for a few days on business, and particularly remembered the beautiful Walled Garden. Unfortunately, gardens are not all that colorful in the winter.
Jared and attempted biking around the castle, but after 15 or so minutes, we were met with a downpour of rain, and abandoned our plans.
Before the rain. So 19th-century romantic!
For us, the highlight of Dromoland was our fabulous dinner at the Earl of Thomond Restaurant. Remember how I mentioned it would be a few days after Thanksgiving that we'd finally get the gargantuan meal we were used to? The Earl did not disappoint.
Jared, looking handsome as ever. The restaurant requires fancy attire.
Jared and I have talked about our meal here at least once every other week since we got back from Ireland. It was just phenomenal, and so worth the price (and skipping lunch).
Not wanting to look like foolish Americans, we did not take photos of our food. By the time we made it around to dessert, we felt very foolish indeed, wishing we had photos to remember every course by.
Alas, I will attempt to recreate our six course meals from memory:
Jared: (1) mango salsa with feta, (2) paprika roll and four-cheese gnocchi with vegetables, (3) parsnip soup, (4) taggliate pasta with avocado and vegetables, (5) petits four and tea, (6) sorbet and brownie (see below).
Victoria: (1) mango salsa with feta, (2) paprika roll and parmesan/truffle risotto, (3) bitter greens and hazelnut salad, (4) feuilletee (puff pastry) stuffed with mushrooms, peppers, and other vegetables, (5) petits four and hot chocolate, (6) chocolate souffle (see below).
Gin and tonic sorbet. Brownie. Poached pear.
Vanilla ice cream and the most divine chocolate souffle I have ever seen or eaten. (Petits four in the top left corner).
Service was excellent (like something out of Downtown Abbey). Food was so delicious. And so abundant. We were just millimeters away from exploding at the end of the meal. Thankfully we didn't have far to walk before collapsing on our bed and simultaneously regretting that we had eaten so much and wishing we could eat it all over again...
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Time to leave the Shannon area and return to Dublin (west coast to east coast). By now, the castle grounds were covered in frost. Our car was covered in ice-- which was surprisingly a first for this trip.
Not having a set itinerary for the day, we just leisurely headed back to Dublin, stopping at sights of interest along the way.
We took a detour to see the Rock of Dunamase, a castle owned by Strongbow. In spite of the ruin, you could tell that the castle had once been a very large, reinforced building.
Not sure what part of the house I'm standing in...
Ancient doorway?
Facing the sun. The only way to get warm.
Park entrance.
Aside from a handful of exploring youths, we were the only people at the Rock. It was really quite magnificent. Surrounded by farmland, adjacent to a tiny chapel still in use today.
One thing we began to realize after our first day outside Dublin is that the landscape is just dotted with ruins. There is really no comparison in California. Structures from before colonial times and missionary settlements are rare. Towers, houses, castles, churches-- they are all over the Irish countryside.
Our next detour was to a manor where we had a small lunch-- pea soup and bread-- the only vegetarian items still available that late in the day.
So Downton!
Finally, we made it back to Dublin, where we stayed at the lovely Roxford Lodge, which I would highly recommend. The accommodations are tiny, but very nice-- i.e. the bathtub had jets! And after a long day of driving, a bath is exactly what you need to wind down.
That, and a couple of sandwiches and a chick flick. Yes, since the sun had set and we weren't about to brave narrow Irish streets, we decided to stay in and watch one of the hotel's offerings, "Sliding Doors." If you haven't seen it, you should know it is kind of sad.
Relaxing. Notice the fake stained glass window?
In just a few hours we would be on our way back to California... Where in a just a few months, we'd start planning our next big trip.
Until next time...
