Stateside!

Day 10 was spent shopping and finishing up our tour of Dublin. By the time we got back to our room, and saw the damage our shopping had caused and the new dilemna of how to get all that stuff back home..we had a few hours of work ahead of us to be ready for our flight out yesterday. We've been struggling with good internet connections throughout our trip and the wifi in Dublin was weak at best. By the time we finished our packing we thought we'd update the blog one more time. But that weak internet connection and the late hour found us just wanting a few hours sleep!
Our taxi arrived at 5:30 yesterday morning and we were dropped off at the Dublin airport at 6 am.
We saw the country fade away as we left the ground..and knew we were only saying goodbye for a time.
It wasn't as difficult as we had expected it to be. Mainly because our family needed us and we needed them. But also because we surprisingly did not love Dublin. Oh, we liked shopping and riding around the top of the double decker bus with the cool Dublin air whipping at us! But for us...it was the least Irish place we had been! It reminded us more of Chicago or New York. Very culturally diversive, a thousand streets and shops. Intermingled with history, to some it would be a delight. But we had fallen in love with the farmlands. The barren mountains and passes. The rivers, shepherds paths and the sounds of the sea. Dublin for us was a place to tour and take note, but not a place that spoke to our hearts. Having ended our trip there it probably worked as a barrier to what might have been pain if we had seen the beautiful Irish side falling away from our airplane window. It was much easier to say goodbye to the city..I only wish we would have stood and looked a little longer
when we last stood at the top of a mountain looking out and down into a patchwork valley.
Our flight home was much easier than our flight there. Shannon is still heading home as she is driving from Michigan to West Virginia today.
We are not quite finished with this blog quite yet. We still have video and pictures to add. We hope to keep it alive a little longer.

Our second day there, we stood on the Cliffs of Moher and saw a woman named Tina singing and playing her harp. These are the words of one of her songs:

I wander o'er green hills and dreamy valleys,
and find a peace no other land can know
I hear the birds make music fit for angels
and see the rivers laughing as they flow.

And then into a humble shack I wander
My own sweet home and tenderly behold
The folks I love around the turf fire gathered
On bended knee, their rosary is told.

But dreams dont last though dreams are not forgotten
When we are back to stern reality
And though they pave the footways here with gold dust
I still would choose the island of Inisfree.

I still would choose the island of Inisfree.


Tomorrow we will add some of our favorites as well as "moments" we will never forget!
But for now, for us, the dream has ended. It is all committed to memory now, some words written in journals and blogs, captured forever in pictures and videos.
I've already bookmarked some seaside cottages I want to take my loved ones to. Shannon has already started planning places Dave will love. We've not been home for 24 hours and already we are counting the time until we return.
It will be beautiful and meaningful and feel like a homecoming I'm sure. But traipsing across the country with just my sister..that was a dream, a dream realized and now a memory. I'm so very thankful to my family for allowing me this time. I'm so thankful to Dave and boys for letting Shannon go. I'm in awe of a God who has created such beauty. His majesty knows no end. He is now and forever Almighty and worthy of our praise!

Thank you for following. Dont remove from your bookmark quite yet! We will post again tomorrow when the fog of jet lag has lifted a little!! xoxoxxo

Day 9...winding down!

We woke up in Cashel this morning and drove to the Rock of Cashel. It is called the Cashel of the Kings. We kind of thought that they were saying "castle" even though they were pronouncing it "cashel". So we went to the Rock of Cashel thinking it was the castle of the Kings. You know...cashel = castle.








We spent nearly the entire tour of the Rock thinking it was a castle..a little confused until we sat in the video tour and realized it was not where the Kings actually lived..but where they displayed their power. Its magnificent..it really is. But what it was..was when the Irish kings put the Catholic church as the authority in the land (barring themselves of course). This "rock" was built as a cathedral. There was quite a bit of history there and I managed to get some, what I believe will be, breathtaking images. The cemetery is inside the walls and the courtyard is filled with celtic crosses. Such a beautiful contrast to the magnificent stone walls and arches of the cathedral. As you stand on the top of the hill, inside the walls..the wind just blows you around. Its incredible, really. The sound of the wind and the feel of it..while you are looking at a beautiful cathedral from the 12th century..and standing in the cemetery filled with celtic crosses. Its actually very hard to rightfully describe. You can stand there and look across the hill, down into the valley of green patchwork. You can see the cattle and sheep grazing and see the mountains in the distance. It was hazy today and a little misty. At the bottom of the valley was a beautiful abbey ruin. It is where the monks came and stayed during the time of the reign of the church. We were struck by the contrasts. The beautiful, powerful cathedral, controlled by kings and archbishops. Their wealth and power displayed in extravagance towering above the surrounding areas. At the foot of the Rock were the monks. The extreme opposite, poor, quiet, yielding no power. The people were drawn to their quiet ways..both places are just outer walls now. Just places we visit and imagine what it might have been like. Standing in places kings and men of power as well as quiet men of faith have stood.





After the Rock, we headed to Dublin. Our time in the farmlands has ended. We will finish our time here in the city. We dropped off Sybil..I was kind of sad to see her go. I'd forgiven her for nearly killing us on day 1. We'll never be able to think of the town of Ennis without thinking of the FIVE traffic lights we sat through because she would not go, or stalling on a roundabout, or the downtown experience with a car that hit everything in site and blew smoke out of her engine.

Although we were nearly killed by a train today I dont think i can quite blame Sybil. See, we've been driving in the back country for most of our time here. Venturing out to towns, villages and port cities. Nothing quite like Dublin. It felt a little surreal to be driving on a real highway and then entering a big city. We were trying to navigate our way and realized we needed to turn right pretty soon. Shannon told me I should probably get in the turn lane as the road would approach soon. I, being very agreeable, said, "Yes, of course!" and moved into the lane. Mind you..there were three lanes going one way, and three lanes going another and two center lanes. It was a bit bumpier than normal..and took me a bit to look at the actual road. I noticed two rails built into the road. Confused me a bit until I said to Shannon, "Do you suppose this is some kind of track??" It was then we noticed the wire system above our heads. Turns out we were driving down the lane of what was the train trolley. Imagine our surprise when we looked into the rear view mirror and saw the train coming along??!!
Thankfully, the people around us let us back in the correct lane and we were able to stop driving down the train lane! We were quiet for quite a ways that time. Really, really quiet.

We are staying at Buswells in Dublin. We are right next to the famous Grafton Street. We walked around for a bit..did a little more shopping and had dinner at an Italian restaurant. Tomorrow we will get on a Hop on Hop off bus tour. Shannon has plotted all of our stops, where to catch the buses and where we need to go. This is probably good if you know anything about the time I meant to get on a trolley in Austin, Texas and ended up on a bus instead. So I will just go where she has planned.
Interesting to note, as we were walking back to our hotel from around the city this evening, we noticed alot of garda around. Alot. We began to see them in groups collecting everywhere. On horses, on ground..in helicopters circling. The closer we got to our hotel, the more there were. Turns out...the country is gearing up for elections and the working class folk are not happy. Not happy at all. In fact they had decided to plan a protest. Flags, signs, hundreds of people..all part of the Socialist party. As they were walking through the streets, flanked by garda,you could see the people following getting bigger and bigger.
Imagine how we felt when we saw that the place of destination..was outside of our hotel!! Of course it would! I stuck around to see if something would happen and Shannon went up to the room. It was kind of cool to be in the middle of hundreds of people chanting and yelling as the speaker was getting them all riled up! I wanted to yell "CAPITALISM RULES!!!!", but figured that would not be cool.

Tomorrow is our last day..and we plan to milk it as much as we can. We've fallen in love with this place, as we knew we would. We miss our loved ones terribly. We cannot begin to think that we will never step foot on this old ground again. We have traveled the mountains, down to the patchwork valleys, stopped for sheep to cross the road, walked through the forests and along the rivers, stood where kings have stood and near graves of loved ones buried on tops of hills overlooking valleys centuries ago. We've ridden in boats across the rivers, walked the streets of port cities, sipped tea in the tea houses, have laughed and been awed every day.

"Over it all - the white houses, the green fields with their stone walls, the long road winding, the slow herds coming along in the knee-deep dust, the sweet smell of turf burning, the little carts with coloured shafts, the soft Irish voices the quick Irish smiles- over it all, and in it as if imprisoned in the stone and brick of this country, as if buried beneath the grass and hidden in the trees, is something that is half magic and half music."

Give us one more day..and we will let go and come home. xoxoxoxoxxo

Day 8

This is going to be very abbreviated tonight as we are exhausted! We promise to make tomorrows extra long!

The abbreiviated version is this: 2 castles, scenic, life threatening drive, cottage, 5 mile hike to parking lot next to cottage. 5 mile hike back to car parked in the wrong parking lot for the castle.

Tomorrow morning we see the Rock of Cashel, and head to Dublin. We'll trade Sybil in for a bus ticket to get around the city and spend the rest of tomorrow and Wednesday there.

The most exciting thing that happened today was when we called our Bed and Breakfast for directions, this is what was said, " Oh, of course! When you get to Cashel, look for the really big street. Take that for 2-3 minutes. There you go now! See you there then!, bye!"
No lie. The really big street for 2-3 minutes. I'm not sure if variables were considered in this equation. It took us an hour to find the really big street. And we were unsure of what speed we were to go so sometimes we went fast...and sometimes we went slow. We hoped to average 2-3 minutes.
It was 40 degrees here today. Our hostess this morning said, "Now that summer is finally here, we can really enjoy the warmth." Hmmm....

That's about it. Promise for something more exciting tomorrow!! xoxoxoxo

Day Seven...On the Road Again!

Today found us leaving my favorite town of Kenmare. After a couple days of days without a car, it was nice to get back in and head for some new sites! We had planned on ending our day in the town of Kinsale, so the plan was to hit some sites on the way. The weather was beautiful again, sunny and high 50's. As we were driving we saw a ruin by the side of the road, did a u-turn and came back to visit it. It's history was much like many of the castles around here...with the twist of a man had been thrown out of the top tower. British soldiers had killed the man's wife..so he avenged her by tossing a Sergeant out of the tower. Not a great way to be remembered..but interesting! We snapped a few pics, and got back on the road. Sybil seemed fine today with the exception of completely messing up our GPS. To understand how bad that could be..you'd have to try to drive over here. First..NONE..and I do mean NONE of the roads are marked. It's horrible. You are never really sure where you are or where you are going. There are NO road signs. Just signs..that occasionally get changed, pointing in the general direction of the next town. Those signs are not posted until you are at the road you are supposed to be turning on. Today I was traveling at 110 Kph, and suddenly saw a sign pointed to a very sharp right turn. There's no warning..no slow down..just down shift and hope for the best. GPS is essential. It will not get you where you are going, because no one has a real address. I am not exaggerating at all..there are no addresses. You might be able to find out what street something is on, but not an address..and the streets aren't marked. So good luck! When you do call somewhere and say I'm trying to find you..they say things like this..." Oh hello!! Lovely day isn't it? Where are we?? Oh sure...do you know where the market is? No? Really? Well..you can't miss it. When you get into Ballyspittle, there'll be a supermarket (mind you..there supermarket is a corner gas station for us). Ballyspittle? No, no..we aren't in Ballyspittle...dont worry about that. You'll see a supermarket...when you get to the V, drive along the supermarket. We are the fourth house on the right. We are in the country. Yes, the supermarket is in the town. Everybody knows where it is..you can't miss it. Lovely, just lovely. We'll see you in a few!" Ok. Not even sure where to begin on this. First...what in the world does Ballyspittle have to do with this??? Nothing. Which we realized after we drove for 45 minutes up and down the town looking for the grocery store that doesnt exist. It is in Kinsale. The owner of the store is Norman Bate's mother. We know because we went in and talked to her. Well..Shannon talked..I watched the door. Anyway..you need the GPS because you can use it to get you in the right direction. Not find what you are looking for..but get you to the general area. Then you can start driving around until you find it. One thing that is important to know when you have the GPS over here...unless you tell it differently...it will route you where you're going by the fastest way. Something else you should know..that is not always the best thing. See, sometimes the fastest way is not a real road. No one should ever ever drive that way. It is meant for say..walking. Single file. By little people. Skinny little people. We know this, because we have done it..repeatedly. Today was tops though. We are driving down a main road..heading for the coastal drive. The GPS says our turn is coming on us..so I am getting myself ready to turn..cars behind me..in front..etc., and say to Shannon.."Is this it???" Silence. "Shannon, is this it???" Silence. " SHANNON!!!!!" "YESSSS!!!" See the problem was..Shannon could see the..for want of better word, road. And she needed a second to be sure that was reeeeeaaaaalllly where we were supposed to go. Lori (our GPS voice) was certain that was the way. I turned...kind of. Took a little work as it was not a road. It was a path. Filled with bottomless pot holes. One way...on grass. Through a mountain pass. No coastal scenes for us.We got a good look at the foliage in Ireland. We were going through a shepherd's trail. We saw nothing but brush coming in our windows. We did see a baby lamb stuck..with his rear end to us and face into the bush like if he didnt look we wouldn't be there. If that weren't bad enough..some local came barreling around the curve. There is not room for two of us...so we both hit the brakes. I am on a hill. So guess who stalls? He angles his vehicle enough so that if I turn my wheel as hard as I can I will be able to squeak by. Did I mention I was stalled on a hill? In the middle of Ireland? On a shepherd's path? With sticks sticking in our windows??? Gps..important...but letting it get you to your destination by the shortest method..not so much. After the castle ruin, we went to the Bantry House and Gardens. The Bantry House is 16th century manor overlooking the Bantry Bay. I would have loved to see this home operated as a re-enactment. As we stood there..I could imagine what it might be like to see ladies and lords around. The horses and carriages pulling up to the carriage house. We had tea and lunch in what was the old kitchen. I did not like however the inside of the house. Apparently one of the generations of Bantry's were collectors..and they traveled the world collecting pieces from..well everywhere. There were urns from Tibet and a rug owned by a King of France. I'm glad I went..but it did not stir me as much as a thatched roof cottage. It did not hold my interest like the Ross Castle. The outside grounds..now that is another matter. Beautiful everywhere you look. Interesting to note...we were looking for the entrance to the Manor grounds and found a little...road that appeared to get in. So we took it. The first entrance. Similar to the 100 acre forest first entrance. It was a winding path..riddled with mountain size speed bumps. We bottomed out..probably 10 times before I figured out I needed to go slower. Lots slower. When we finally made it in..we asked the greeter if there were a better way out. Of course, no. But had we went into the public entrance like everyone else did..we could have had the normal road and normal parking lot. Never, never go in the first entrance. After the Manor we headed to the Timoleague Friary. Another abbey ruin. I had been very excited about it after the Muckross Abbey. I loved that place and could have stayed there longer. I did not care for this abbey though. I dont know why. Maybe it was the setting. It is in the town of Timoleague surrounded by flats and bridges and cars. It could be that there are lots and lots of people buried inside the abbey, not just the outer courts. It could be the attack pigeons that made Shannon scream. I dont know what it was. If a peaceful good feeling could surround an old place..then the Muckross Abbey would have that. If an unsettling feeling can be associated with a place..then it was this Abbey. It had the same beautiful structure..I just walked away not liking it. I am glad I went..but I was not wanting to stay! The big stop for the day was the Drombeg Circle. After our disappointing results at the circle in Kenmare, we were sure we'd have better results here. As we said yesterday, this circle was complete with portal stones, recumbent stones, male and female stones. That probably is important. Unfortunately when we got there..we were not alone. Grandma and Grandpa were there..walking in and out of the cirlce..touching everything. As we stood outside the circle...waiting for them to step out so we could begin our circle, dance, step in and walk to the recumbent stone and then time travel...we heard the unthinkable. Little old sweet grandma decided then and there to relieve herself of her digestive issues. Yep..she farted. In the circle. She farted loud and long enough for us to hear, gasp and stare in shock. What had she done??? She had disturbed the air in the circle, that's what. We just stood there...as she stepped past us and walked on..we just stood there.

Who wanted to go in there now??? We finally decided to walk around anyway. We went opposite directions this time..just in case...we had to go twice because someone was standing by the portal stones when we got there the first time. We did a little dance..held hands..and stepped in and walked to the recumbent stone. We waited..and as we feared..nothing. Grandma had disturbed the air beyond repair. No dancing, twirling, vortexting and solemn approach into the circle was going to fix what grandma had done. So. A very disappointing ending for us inside the circles.

Kinsale is considered the gourmet capital of Ireland. The food everywhere is supposed to be all that. We went into the town not sure what we wanted until we saw the Thai restaurant. Mmmmmm...we've have had so much seafood..and good steak and pastas..that this sounded perfect. Perfect it was! I have no idea of the names of the foods we ate..but I had the hot and sour thai soup..and Shannon had the coconut and lemongrass soup. Her's had chicken and mine prawns. For our entree Shannon had a green curry with chicken and I had pad thai with prawns. It was wonderful and the soups were right up there with the mussels we had a few nights ago. Although today's stops were not as great as some of the others..it was a very good day. All of it together was just another day filled with wonderful memories and beautiful Ireland. How we are going to miss this place. I feel that I will be looking over my shoulder as we leave in a few days. Our hearts are with our families, but this little island will call us back, of that I am sure. Again, not an hour goes by that we are not thinking about those we love. Every site we see,place we visit, or food we try reminds us of you. The only shadow over us is that you are not here. We will be home soon!xoxoxoxoxxo P.S. We were completely reminded of our Isaac and Jacob today. The servers in the Bantry tea house were young men. I had ordered a salad which they gave me right away and Shannon had ordered a panini that came with a side salad. The panini was going to take a few, so they told us to have a seat and they'd bring it. So we did..I ate my salad..and Shannon was still waiting. I figured she could at least eat the salad while waiting for the panini..so I went up to the counter and asked if she could start on her salad while waiting. He looked down at the plate, which he had placed the salad off to the side leaving room for the panini, looked at me..kind of confused (as if to say.."Can we do that?!?!?") and said..."Of course" and handed me the plate, less panini. Seemed simple to us. Of course we are women. And we have come to learn that what seems simple and obvious to US..is not always simple and obvious to THEM. As Shannon was eating her salad..we saw one of young men hop and skipping over to us..saying over and over "ha, ha, ha, hottttt". He landed at our table and practically threw her panini, that he had carried in his bare hands on to her plate. Shannon and I could only stare at each other. Apparently it never occured to him that he could use another plate to carry the hot panini to the table with. We started laughing and both said that is so Isaac and so Jacob. Shannon reminded me that they would have chucked them at her half way! Some things....are universal.

Day Six...Goodbye to Kenmare

Today was beautiful. Gorgeous weather...sunny and mid 50's. As we are still in Kenmare, we are walking everywhere and the nice weather has made it even more enjoyable. We've lost count on how many times we've walked into town from where we are staying. It takes about a 10 minute walk into town and once there there are all kinds of streets, shops and places to see. We feel like we've covered this place pretty well and are ready to move on to the next place! We are so happy to have 2 full days here in Kenmare to relax, walk around, shop, shop and shop. It has been perfectly placed in the center of our trip and has been a much needed time of rest. We still can't seem to get to bed before 1 between blogging, journaling and talking to our families, it is late when we finish. But as fond as I have become of Sybil..I have enjoyed seeing her sit for a couple of days. I sure hope she enjoyed it too because tomorrow we have use of her again and the roads will require some mad skills to navigate! Our plan had been to do a little bit of shopping today and then catch a boat cruise tour around Kenmare Bay. They advertised their ships to be leaving at 10:30 (possibly) and 3:30. So..after breakfast we headed into town. We had met a couple from Otisville. Married 37 years, retired from GM, taught at Baker Flint...had earned alot of frequent flyer miles so was able to fly first class here (I add those details for my children..people tell me stuff). We met them yesterday while shopping and told them where we were staying. Lo and Behold..they came here too! So we had breakfast with them this morning and they wanted to know what we had in mind for today. Before I get ahead of myself..I have to fill you in on something yesterday. As yesterday was a shopping day, as well as today, we were thrilled to see a little music store called Soundz of Music. We stopped outside the window to look in and saw a very nice display of beautiful violins. As most of you know, I'm sure, Shannon has been saving for a violin. She is able to play many instruments and this was the one she's been waiting for...forever! As we stood there looking..I said, "Shannon..you can afford this!" You should have seen her face! It was a mixture of glee and shock! She said she knew she'd get one..it just never occurred to her that she would get one in Ireland! But she did! She has a used (which just adds to the value in our minds!) violin that she is bringing home from Ireland!! Well...that is a great story as it is...but it's not quite complete. You see..there was also a lovely harp. Just sitting there. Lovely, I tell you. Really, really lovely. And I wanted it. But it was more than I planned to spend on myself. So we looked, and looked...and walked away. Last night as I was going through my wallet I found a gift my card my daughter Leah had given me for Mother's Day. I had forgotten about it, and it had a substantial amount of money on it. We knew then, that with what she had given me and what I had set aside..I could go back and buy that harp. That was the plan. The plan we unwittingly shared with our new friends. The friends who did not know what to buy their daughter with her own music room. The daughter who loves music. The daughter with 2 young children that love music...blah, blah, blah. It would be comical to rewatch how things went from there. They asked how much it was and I told them. Not a problem. Shannon told them we were going to go get it. The wife looked at the husband said they were going there first. No kidding. We each finished our breakfast... and literally walked up the stairs to our rooms together. We grabbed whatever we needed for the day and went downstairs..our friends were waiting to check out. We smiled..waived..told them to have a great day and bolted out the door. We thought we had got one up on them till they honked and waived as they were driving by. We were too full from breakfast to run..but we did hustle along! Imagine our surprise and relief to walk in and they were nowhere in site! I tried bartering a bit with the shop keeper, but since he didnt want his portrait taken..I didnt have much to persuade him. I did try to joke, and laugh...and pretend to be interested in his life. He then gave me a video, a music book, a cd of music, a few magnets of Kenmare and a few other goodies. I ignored Shannon when she hit my arm...twice. Having bought her instrument the day before..she was a bit disgruntled to not get a bag of freebies. As we were waiting for our shopkeeper friend to get a box for me to carry my harp back with, imagine our surprise when our friends walked in. They strolled right to the harps..not noticing us until we sweetly smiled and said..."Hi!". He jumped a mile and said.."You're here!". Needless to say..they walked out with tin whistles. We walked out with a harp in a box and a bag of free goodies! Next stop was the Cupan Tea. A beautiful little tea shop that sells...well, tea. Tea and scones and cakes and pastries and teapots and cups and saucers! We spent a good bit of time in there learning about Mary. Her mother died unexpectedly a few months ago and fortunately the sister in law gave Mary back the tea set from her mother (people tell me things). She made us a cup of tea (on the house) and we sat and picked china pots and teacups out. We changed our minds a few times and would choose others. Its a wonder we didnt drive her batty. In the end..Shannon bought me a beautiful tea set and I bought her a tea pot! We saw a tea pot made in Russia...in the early 1900's. We saw a tea set that Mary's brother liked, who doesn't normally like those kinds of things. In the end... it was a bit of china we were walking out with..and a harp in a box..so Mary being the good woman she is, offered to give us a ride back to our place after she finished up boxing our things. Which of course worked fine because now we needed to go check into our boat cruise. We were a bit disappointed to see the ticket office closed....and apparently the boat left at 1 without telling us. Something about the high tide..which we can't seem to get right. First its in...then it's out. Different every day..very unpredictable. We were a bit disappointed as this really seemed like fun to us and was our plan for the whole afternoon. Instead..we decided to go visit a Druid Circle.

We have been told, by people who know, that some Druid Circle's have been known to be a portal. To other times. Imagine....
We pretty much figured that if we went back in time we'd need to ditch the cameras and recorders or we'd be burned as witches. Shannon could be a medicine woman. I'd have to think of something. Shannon told me I can't draw. I'd need a new career. I thought I'd be a listener or something. We got to the circle and figured we'd need to create some kind of energy to make it happen...best we could think of was a whirlpool. Seems like alot of energy when we do it in the pool...so we made an air whirlpool, counter clockwise, just in case that mattered. Anybody could go clockwise..we needed a vortex. So counter clockwise we went. We stopped at what we deemed the center of the circle. We held hands..took a deep breath...and walked into the circle. In the center of the circle is a large stone. Some called altar..but whatever it was..we thought the portal would open once we reached it. When we approached it seemed contact was going to need to be made..so with hands still clasped together...we laid on the stone. We laid there for a few seconds just waiting..then Shannon said, "Nothing happened?!?!" I said, "How do we know if nothing happened?!" I mean..it probably wouldnt look much different. As we were laying there trying to figure out if we were here or there..we looked over to our right. There stood a whole group of tourists, just off the bus, complete with cameras and fanny packs standing on the outside of the circle staring at us. We got off the altar as quick as we could so they could get their pictures. We're also pretty sure they sucked the energy out of our vortex.

We've concluded that the energy around this circle was not what we needed. We need a bigger circle.
So tomorrow..we are going to the Drombeg Circle. Complete with recumbent stones and a male and female stone. We didnt have any of those things at the dumb circle we went to today and are certain that will make all the difference. Not exactly sure what a male or female stone is..but it sounds impressive if not at least important to any circle stone portal. After that, we came back to our room with our cases of tea pots, cups and saucers and harp in a box, and was shocked to find out that the harp didnt fit in my suitcase. We did the only thing we knew to and wrapped the harp in all our dirty clothes and taped the box shut. I'm going to try and claim it as luggage and check it at the airport. Shannon is going to try and pass her violin and case off as a purse. It's European. We spent the remainder of the afternoon trying to figure out how in the world we were going to get the rest of our gifts back. We may have to throw away clothes and buy more. Its a never ending dilemma. We went to d'Arcy's for dinner. It was recommended by our good friend Mary. Her good friend Darcy owns it. They dont get to see each other much as Mary runs the tea shop during the day and Darcy runs the restaurant in the evenings (people tell us stuff..). Shannon ordered a spinach and ricotta tortellini with tomato sauce and basil pesto..it was divine. We could have licked the plate. My appetizer was a mousse made with seafood from Kenmare Bay, salmon, prawn, cod, scallops. It was served with a fennel sauce and watercress. It was very soft and delicious. We've been trying to order opposite and different dishes so we can share and try more things. Shannon got the vegetarian pasta, basil, Mediterranean vegetables and St. Toulic goat cheese. It was warm, creamy, rich and perfection. I decided it was time to try the famous Irish beef and went with a ribeye steak served with a wild mushroom and gravy mash. It came complete with french fries, boiled potatoes (yes..french fries and boiled potatoes) broccoli and pickled cabbage. All wonderful. There is not a good picture of mine..there was no light falling and we figured you can picture a steak. We had planned on the chocolate fondue..but just did not have room for it. We walked back and are finally in for the night. We have a busy day planned for tomorrow. Back into Sybil we go for a couple hours drive to Kinsale. We plan to see the Bantry House Manor, Timoleague Friary and of course the Drombeg Circle. We think the whirpool might not be enough and plan to dance around the circle this time. We are not far now from rejoining our friends and family. We are so blessed to not only be here, but to have families that allowed us to come and have shared in our joy with us while we are here. We are missing each of you! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Day Five...Half Way

It's hard to believe that after today we are in the last half of our adventure. Every day (barring Day One which we shall never speak of again), has been something beautiful and memorable in it's own way.
We do not have pictures to share today but will catch up tomorrow. We spent the day shopping in Kenmare..which was a complete delight to us!! But since many of our gifts are a surprise..no pictures! I should add, that Shannon is the one taking pics and video's for the blog. We have decided it's easiest for us to share duties..so I, Maureen, write and she, Shannon, adds information as she likes and also the pics and videos. My pics will come after the trip. My images will be edited and used to remind us when we return of just how beautiful this piece of old ground is.
We were just commenting today as we walked into town for dinner, that we could not choose which day we loved more. We have had days of driving through and on top of mountains...times of driving by the sea...we've explored old historical places, stepped into buildings that people lived at the time of Christ and some that hosted knights! Today we took a break, rested and found ourselves walking around in a beautiful village filled with shops, tea houses and outdoor vendors. Totally different than our previous days..but totally wonderful! We've continued to dine well. Tea house for lunch serving quiches and teas. For dinner we ate at Davitt's and had fine seafood and Shannon had lamb liver and onions. Can't say I'd like a whole dinner of it..but it really was wonderful.

We are excited about tomorrow as we go on a boat cruise to see 4 other castles from the view of the sea as well as find some sea lions sunning along the cliffs! We have a couple more shops to get into and a Druid circle to go dance around.

We are thinking of our family and friends each day. Ooooing and ahhhing over trinkets that remind of us each of you. Everyday we laugh at ourselves..and of course others! Shannon is speaking with a lilt in her voice..which makes me laugh. I just concentrate on keeping up with her!

We are tired and going to try and get to sleep before midnight..so sorry for the lack of pics but check back tomorrow and we hope to have history, scenery and dining to share once again!!!

Just a quick update...

Shannon has blown up the hair straightener. Literally. Sparks everywhere..big boom. Problem is..our European power converters are now not working. It appears as if she blew the fuse for the whole house. If our converters are blown..we could be in for some communication difficulties as our phones and notebooks are how we are communicate with our families.
Once the power runs out...we are hoping to have a means to recharge!
Will update....