The final frontier. No, not space...Ireland.
:)
Our first stop, Giant's Causeway!
Basalt deposits in crazy awesome hexagonal shapes... Another UNESCO world heritage site on the list!
From Wikipedia:
"According to legend, the columns are the remains of a causeway built by a giant. The story goes that the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill was challenged to a fight by the giant Benandonner. Fionn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two giants could meet. In one version of the story... Fionn hides from Benandonner when he realises that his foe is much bigger than he. Fionn's wife, Oonagh, disguises Fionn as a baby and tucks him in a cradle. When Benandonner sees the size of the 'baby', he reckons that its father, Fionn, must be a giant among giants. He flees back to Scotland in fright, destroying the causeway behind him so that Fionn could not follow. Across the sea, there are identical basalt columns... on a Scottish isle, and it is possible that the story was influenced by this."
From the Causeway, we went back to Dublin, where we tried (and failed) to find a place to stay. Hello Dublin Airport at 2 am... Sometimes you've got to do what you've got to do!
Then it was on to Galway!
And the Cliffs of Moher!
Also the cave from Harry Potter 6!
After Galway it was a train and bus to get to Dingle, the small town on the Dingle Peninsula.
We spent our nights at the luxurious Hideout Hostel!
The little town of Dingle gave Harmon and I wonderful memories... One of which was the live pub music every night!
But our top Irish memory was biking around the Dingle Peninsula! 25 kilometers with the sea on the left and sheep, stone walls, and farmland to the right.
After a nice ride we rewarded ourselves with Carmelized Brown Bread and Butterscotch ice cream!!
Then began the artery clogged portion of the night!
Away from our beloved Dingle and on to Blarney!
"Kiss like you've never kissed before!"
From Blarney it was back to Dublin, where we would spend our final Irish night.
We stayed once more at the Dublin Airport, in a place we were growing quite fond of...
We were awakened a wee but early, thanks to a fire alarm and subsequent evacuation... But before we knew it we were on the plane to the US of A!
This trip was truly incredible; an experience that cannot be described in these blog posts. But thank you for enjoying these portions of our journey with us!
And now for a good ol' Irish blessing:
May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, May the rains fall soft upon your fields, And, until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of His hand. |
