blog….Ireland
Posted on June 27, 2015
Ok, Blog
Ok, blog. Hmm. I’ve never written a blog, read a blog, been a part of a blog, basically just learned how to spell blog…BUT…as my beautiful sister in law, Pepe, stated…I have made her go through dog doors, ride a horse, shoot a gun, do sports, and throw knives… I owe it to her to be a little uncomfortable myself. So, for you Pepe, I will do my best.
Ireland is amazing, the people, the places, the small scary windy roads that let you know you are alive! It was one of the most memorable times of my life. But what made it even better was that I got to spend it with two of my most favorite people on the planet. They put up with my heavy itinerary, bland food choices, and snoring! Thank you Pepe and Popo from the bottom of my heart!
First day I was delusional, pretty sure I saw dead people. I was in major jet lag mode…it got way better!
Woke up the next day to a pigeon walking on the INSIDE window ledge in the hotel…weird….CORRIGAN’S BAR – this special, lively, Irish CHEERS bar….They only thing they were missing was “the know it all” mailman, Cliff.
The purpose of the bar was
1) to meet an Irish Corrigan – check (and he was spectacular)
2) try Guiness for my husband – this was his only request since he was not coming with me – check
3) get my Irish on! Which I did with Irish coffee
Two of the most vile beverages I have ever tasted. Guiness – seriously how does this company stay in business? yuck! Irish Coffee – smelled delicious, looked delicious – it was all a ploy…would have much rather had the beer!
LEPRECHAUN! (insert jig here)
The Car – Popo drove the car… I white knuckled it in the passenger seat. It reminded me of teaching him how to drive so many years ago! He nailed it!! Was confident and decisive and only sweat a wee bit. Pepe in the back pretending to be spa-ing it.
Giants Causeway – fecking amaze balls.
I drive – while Popo white knuckles it in the passenger seat… Pepe in the back fighting of nausea.
The real hero of the whole driving process was Pepe. This chick is a mastermind at map reading and direction giving. Would have probably drove into the ocean if it wasn’t for her!
KILCAR and CAROL – she was my Irish doppelganger. Parallel lives, thousands of miles a part from each other. From kids to husbands, our lives could have molded into each other very easily. We had an amazing stay with Carol, a pretty spectacular woman…and really chasing her laundry around in the wind and taking her bra off the tree made it all the more special!
The day we almost died – Slieve League Cliffs. Pepe always asks…. “ why must you two always climb to the tops of mountains because you happen to see something at the very top?” I have no answer…we just do!
It was a long windy hike, amazing views of the ocean, was raining a bit – nothing that we hadn’t encountered already…until….about half way up the monsoon rains hit, and the tornado winds picked up. But damn it – there was a pile of stones at the top we had to reach! So walking sideways in the rain, hunkered down as to not blow off the cliff, we got to that spectacular pile of rocks. And then went back down. About half way down, Popo and I look at each other and say…”that was probably a bad idea”…but we couldn’t say it to Pepe! SPORTS!
Belleek Castle – I can’t even describe the feeling when we first walked in. It was like being transported back in time. It was phenomenal. The history, artifacts, and people were awesome. HIGHLY recommend it! And make sure you take the tour of the castle and say “ hi” to our new buddy, Brian McDonagh. Just remind him of the three that stretched out the 45 minute tour to 2.5 hours…he’ll remember us!
Old guy at gas station – He was like the John Wayne of fishing in Ireland. This guy was smooth. Somehow, I managed to find out that he was a fisherman and had four boats at one time, all made in Scotland, and that he regretted that he didn’t live his life…pretty amazing what you can get out of people when you ask them where the cream is.
Enniskillen – Dick Ville.
Cliffs of Moher – fabulous! I promised Pepe that we would stay away from the edge, we did pretty good for the most part. Incredible view, magnificent cliffs and Inuksuks!
Stayed at a great little B&B here and woke up to cows shagging outside my bedroom window…BIG cows shagging…
Doolin – had to race into Doolin to get something to eat from the Cliffs… We went to Gus O’Connells – had great food, and even better entertainment. No wonder Irish people are so happy and friendly when you walk into a pub to listen to live music that makes everyone smile! Blessed.
What kind of potato would you like with your meal? It doesn’t matter because you will get them all.
Leaving – so sad. Left Pepe and Popo and got on a bus for home. I didn’t want the adventure to end but they needed a rest. Bus ride was 7 hours, through little towns…there are only so many little towns you can see before you want to jump out the window of the bus that did not have a loo on board!!