We are back from an amazing trip to Ireland, our head full of greenery and our stomach full of Guinness!!
For 2 weeks, we roamed the narrow roads of the South and West side of the country, in search of the ultimate sight (and pub…). We found one of each at every – blind – corner of the road!
More than the beautiful landscapes, we discovered a very gracious people, always keen on telling a story (which we couldn’t understand any of it, but we nodded nonetheless…). It’s okay for me to make fun at the Irish, since ‘slagging’ is a national sport there, and we were the recipients of some of it, on occasion. It’s all good craic!!
Talking about sports, I discovered 2 new ones: Gaelic Football and Gaelic Hurling! They are HU-UGE in Ireland. It is hard to fathom as they are literally unknown anywhere else! At first, it looks a little like a kindergarten recess, with 30 kids scrambling to catch a ball, but once you get the hang of the rules, it is actually quite exciting! I ended watching the 2 Hurling semi-finals, and enjoyed every bit of it. I am still wondering how those players make it to retirement with all their fingers and other appendages…
Another highlight, besides people, was wildlife, or should I say, livestock. Our first week was in Cow country, and our second week in Sheep country. I have to say I know cows (don’t ask!), but the Irish cows are the healthiest, cleanest and overall most beautiful I have ever seen! Cow-crush!!! The sheep are okay, not as good looking. What is funny about them is that they play paintball all day long, as the red, blue and green paint marks on their coat proves!
One highlight of our stay was of course… the Rose of Tralee!!! Yes, same here… We first heard about it in Fermoy (co. Cork) when a supermarket cashier asked us where we were headed to. Upon mentioning Tralee, she got so excited I thought she was going to get an aneurysm! Apparently, we were going to be in Tralee right smack in the middle of the world-famous Rose of Tralee celebration!! At first, I thought it was a rose gardening convention (which reminded me of the lavender festival I stumbled into in Sequim, Washington, with 3 of my buddies… but I digress…) but upon research, we learned it was a one-of-a-kind ‘beauty’ pageant reserved for young women of Irish descent. This is a BI-IG deal in Ireland, like Gaelic Hurling, if you will… Like most Irish people, we were glued to our TV set on Monday and Tuesday to witness the presentation of the contestants. In the end, the Rose of Philadelphia Maria Walsh won the coveted prize, and the right to bring peace to the world…
Although we drove 1,000 km during our stay, there are so many places we didn’t get to. I guess we need to come back, but this time, we’ll hire a chauffeur…
In the meantime, enjoy the pictures!
Ghyslain
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Kilkenny Hidden Garden
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Street in Kilkenny
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Lismore Castle
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Sheep on Hill - Dingle Peninsula
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Conor Pass - Looking North
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Conor Pass
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Dingle Hills
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Ashe's Pub
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Kilgobbin Church Tower (Co. Kerry)
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Darn Yarn!
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Beautiful Cloud - Dingle Peninsula
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Irish Highway
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Who's gonna ride your wild horses?
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Trespassing, Am I?
Looks amazing Ghy, love the picture of Lismore Castle!