I don't always have the patience to journal well when I travel.
(Even when I am not traveling actually. ha!)
5-23-09
The exchange rate is a killer. Around $500 dollars exchanged to 331.65 Euro. BLAST!
It’s extremely overcast and quite cool. The accents are quite amazing. I love listening to the guys talk.
Outside of Bantry is one of the most breathtaking places I’ve seen yet. Luckily the sun has come out so we are able to see it from our car windows in all its beauty. :D
…………………………………………………………………………….. ^^^^outside of Bantry ^^^
Outside of Bantry is just the start of the beauty. As you continue to drive along the coast you curve along the wining roads and you can see the body of water on your left side. It’s a good thing that people drive on the left side because otherwise a lane of traffic and many passing cars would hinder your view. Just about everything great was on that side. The road also goes through mountains and valleys. I love the way that the clouds cast shadows on the mountains.
5-24-09
Even though we went to bed at around 9 and slept till 11 the next day it didn’t stop up from going right back to bed not an hour later. Ania is sick today. It is probably from flying and the jet-lag and all that stuff, it takes getting used to. We were so tired last night though. And our beds are so comfortable.
Our first obstacles were figuring out the toilets temperament, like sometimes it just wouldn’t fully flush or something. The shower was also an issue for me because I didn’t realize I would have to pull a random cord across the room from the shower in order to get the shower to turn on.
*early afternoon* Ania and I are sitting in the “leather lounge” because it is alittle too chilly outside with wind blowing. We can’t wait till Ania is fully recovered so that we can climb some of the rocky hills and mountains that are calling for us!
*Hours later*
There is something so magical about this little piece of Ireland. There is nothing like it. From where I sit in my bed playing mandolin is a perfect view from my window. The view over looks down over some of Allihies and a good part of the cove and where it opens into the ocean, There are houses and fields that spread all the way out to the coast. The sight of running horses is one of the most beautiful sights ever to me. I honestly don’t think I have ever seen horses running around a pasture as much anywhere as I do here. Every time I look out my window I see a horse running. The cove is so beautiful. The waves constantly crash into the rocks in a breathtaking manner. Now a misty fog has settled over the hills and mountains on the other side of the cove from me. The little houses down the hill from here remind me of the houses in Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” painting. I wish I could stay here forever. I would like to have my parents and sister here with me though.
*night*
Poor Ania is still sick. I feel so bad for her. It’s no fun to be sick esp. on vacation. I’m queen of being sick on important days like Christmas and Thanksgiving so I can sympathize. I hope she feels better tomorrow. If not I am not going to let her out of bed. :P
Tonight Grandpa and I went to the pub for dinner. The food was great and incredibly filling. I had pasta, big shocker there. I have not had a beer yet. I am going to wait to share that experience with Ania. I heard a woman say “Feck” today. HA! It was classic.
I’m so glad I brought my mandolin here. I have had so much time to practice. I played while Ania napped today. I am getting pretty good at playing “Prettiest Girl in the Country” which I learned in Ania’s honor. It’s a great song. I love this house, everything about it. I love the views out of the windows, all of them. Except the bathroom window which has a weird fogging glass that makes everything look blurry. I love the quirkiness of Europe. I also love the familiar lived –in and full-of history and memories feeling. Have you ever walked into a house and thought “WOW, not only is it cozy here, but I bet soo much great stuff has happened here.”? Well that feeling is everywhere. The Pub feels like a bar in Wabeno,WI. No wonder people stay in Wabeno forever even though it gets unbelievably cold.
Today I explained to Ania my philosophy on something. I told her that when in doubt I go with what will be the best memory or story in the end.
Sometimes its better to not have anything to vedge out on so that you are forces to think of something better to do.
Allihies from our front door ^^^^^This is turning out to be quite a task really.
I have all the time in the world to sleep yet here it is 6:54 am Ireland time and I have been awake for the past hour. I am probably awake because I think I got 8 hours last night and I believe the jet-lag has worn off. So here I lay in my bed. I am tempted to get my mandolin out and play it but I worry it will wake Ania.
*hours later*
So the plans for today are undecided. Ania just wants to chill around the house today because she is feeling better but doesn’t want to relapse. I am getting anxious to go do and see, but this is best just letting Ania totally recover. Ania and I are thinking that we will walk to the store and buy some apples to eat for breakfast. We figure that we can dip the apples in Ginger Ale. We could at least try it.
Ania is listening to “Lord of the Danse” on my IPOD insanely loud! I can hear it perfectly and the earbuds are in her ears! HA!
It’s incredibly foggy outside this morning.
*Night*
It is sometime after 8pm. It is still light out and all. Earlier today we went to Castletown and got groceries. That wasn’t too exciting.
Today Ania and I walked down to the coast, it was lovely. We took a bunch of pics there. We walked barefoot in the sand and on the rocks then walked up on some grassy ledges and lay in the tall grass to rest. The grass was so cozy.
After going to the beach we went to the Pub. Ania and I got out Guinesses. They weren’t too spectacular. I drank the whole and felt nothing more than a slight amount of drowsiness, which is normal for me most of the time. Near the bottom of the pint my cheeks got a bit rosy I am told. Poor Ania (who is feeling better) didn’t quite finish hers, but that is probably due to fact that she has been sick and hasn’t had much to eat.
We had spaghetti for dinner again tonight. (it is a cheap and easy dinner, so we prepared it in the house.) I’ve had a lot of pasta since I have been here.
After going to the beach we went to the Pub. Ania and I got out Guinesses. They weren’t too spectacular. I drank the whole and felt nothing more than a slight amount of drowsiness, which is normal for me most of the time. Near the bottom of the pint my cheeks got a bit rosy I am told. Poor Ania (who is feeling better) didn’t quite finish hers, but that is probably due to fact that she has been sick and hasn’t had much to eat.
We had spaghetti for dinner again tonight. (it is a cheap and easy dinner, so we prepared it in the house.) I’ve had a lot of pasta since I have been here.
5/26/2009
I was jolted awake by a knock on my bedroom door at about 10 this morning. I jumped in the shower and then got ready to leave. I didn’t really know where we were going but I heard something about the Ring of Kerry so I figured we were going there. We loaded into the car and headed around the peninsula going the opposite way then we usually do. It was a cool enough drive only the roads were more narrow than before and there were hedges on the side of a lot of the roads which made it even narrower. We went through Eyrie or Eyeries maybe? ( something like that) The houses there were even more colorful. We then kept going and wound up making a wrong turn which took us along the Ring of Beara. We were lost but it wasn’t in vain, for we found some caves that opened into the ocean.
Ania and I walked down among all the rocks that lead into the caves. Leading up to caves and in the caves was so loud. It reminded us of the scene in the LOTR movies when Saruman was talking to his huge army and they would all let out a sort of battle cry and pound their weapons and shields onto the ground. It sounded like that. It was awesome! The rocks were covered in snails. The 7 year old in me came out and began to freak out with excitement about all the snails. I then went looking for empty snail shells, I found some (like 3) and treasured them.
Ania and I walked down among all the rocks that lead into the caves. Leading up to caves and in the caves was so loud. It reminded us of the scene in the LOTR movies when Saruman was talking to his huge army and they would all let out a sort of battle cry and pound their weapons and shields onto the ground. It sounded like that. It was awesome! The rocks were covered in snails. The 7 year old in me came out and began to freak out with excitement about all the snails. I then went looking for empty snail shells, I found some (like 3) and treasured them.
We then got back on track and made it as far as Kenmare. There we stopped and walked around town. We went into some shops and then got lunch. When we went back to our car we realized that we had accidentally left the lights on so the car wouldn’t start. My grandpa went in search of someone to jump the car for us. While he was looking the car battery had enough time to rest and recharged itself. We didn’t need a jump in the end. It was a close call. HA!
After that it was time to head home. We stopped in the Caha Pass which was a beautiful and vast valley. It was so unreal I could not believe my eyes as I stood looking down over the valley. We took a bunch of photos but it could not even do it justice.
We stopped again in Castletown to see what sort of shops we could find. We didn’t find and good shops. Castletown is not as big of a tourist place. There was no shortage of Pubs though.
We then finished the drive home. When we were right down the road from our house a whole bunch of sheepies crossed the road in front of us.
Once back Ania and I went to the Post office and got stamps and envelopes then went for a walk. Then we all headed to the Pub for some desserts and drinks. My TREAT!!!
We all shared and Apple crumble which is like an apple cobbler served atop an English custard. It was divine. My grandpa got a beer that ended up to be just want he was craving and I got a good ole Baileys. Then Ania and I walked about some more. (this story involves a lot of walking. We walked so much over the course of the Holiday.) She and I encountered some local guys whom Ania had already had a few exchanges with.
5-28-2009
Day 5 in Ireland. We got up at 6 this morning and were in the car by 7. We drove to Killarney first in search of the “James Coffey” pub. When we got there we wound around the narrow streets and found the pub along with a “Coffey’s bed and breakfast” right next store. ( sometimes I feel like my house should have a sign like that. Maybe I will paint one.) It was there in all it’s glory and my dad’s name in big letters across the front of it. The Pub itself was closed though which was discouraging. We walked across the street to a little toy store and talked to the person working there and he told us that James Coffey retired and that is why the Pub was closed. After looking around the toy store Ania and I (being good guardians Haha) dropped my grandpa off at a pub as we went and looked around the town. We got there early enough that the town was just waking up as we started our trip around the town. The city was small so we weren’t too long walking around. Once we met up with my Grandpa again we drove on to Killearney.
Killorglin >>>
We got lunch at a small bakery which had a small connecting room in which to sit and eat. After we filled our bellies we went to discover as much of the town of Killearney as we could. Our favorite part of both Killorglin and Killearney were the little bookstores that were filled with the best sort of books. We were able to find the coolest books on Irish Folk Lore and just all around good fantasy and a lot of these books were brilliantly illustrated. I got back to the house having purchased “Tales from the Perilous Realm” by J.R.R. Tolkien (who I adore) which includes “the Adventures of Tom Bombadil” “Smith Wooton Major” “Leaf by Niggle” and “Farmer Giles of Ham”. I am so excited to read it. I also bought a clay pipe and 2 little stuffed sheepies (black faced ones). I bought the sheepies because my sister and I do this thing when we travel where we buy a gift for the other person that symbolizes our favorite part of the trip. It’s like we are bringing a bit of the place back with us for the other person. It’s really cool.
^^^^^^^Killearney ^^^^^
When We got back naturally we ate dinner at the Pub, complete with Baileys a burger split in half and some baileys cheese cake.
Then Ania and I hiked up the mountain to what remained of an old copper mine. In all of our brilliance we hopped fences walked through pastures which meant stepping in thistles, and climbing up very steep rocks to get up there, only to realize that there had been a road that lead up there that we could have taken. Oh the brilliance of that discovery. When we were hiking up there we came upon some grazing sheepies. My head about exploded with the excitement of being so close to them in “the wild” haha! Again out came the 7 year old in me! The view once we got up there was exquisite! It was worth stepping on all the poky thistles. We could see everything for miles and miles. We could see out over the ocean, we could see way beyond the town of Allihies itself. The air also had a sort of green tint to it. It was the most beautiful time of day in the most unbelievable place ever. The weather was also nice enough that we took off our coats and sweaters and shoes and took it all in. On the way back we took the path, we barely made it home before dark.
It was a great experience walking up there.
When we got back it was late so we just chilled and played the mandolin and hung around the house.
*tomorrow the plan is to horse back ride in the morning and maybe visit Dursey Island.
*5-29-09
Today..oh man what a day. We went riding this morning. It was really fun. I rode a horse that was technically a pony but it was still a larger horse than I'd ever rid. I also rode english and the lady who owned the stable said I had amazing balance. It was a beautiful ride. We rode all over the coast and the weather was perfect for it.
After riding we did nothing special for the next few hours; well being in Ireland doing nothing is still special. We went over plans for the next few days. We decided on Mizen Head tomorrow.
For dinner we wandered to a little place down the road from our house. It was a ladies house that was an art gallery and a dining area. She served mostly sandwiches. The art work were scenes of Ireland landscapes. Brilliant!!!!
The meal was perfectly priced and proportioned.
My grandpa then thought it would be a good idea to drive around and see the mines. It was insanely windy while up in the mountains.
After seeing the mines Ania and I asked to be dropped off at the Beach and we would walk home. While at the beach we scoured the sand and rocks and found so many beautiful shells. We seriously picked through shells for an easy hour; my hoodie pocket was bursting at the seams with my treasures. THe weather was so beautiful. We stayed on the beach front for hours.
I have no concept of time since being here, I have no watch or anything, or appointments.
Ania and I went to the Pub once we got back. We went with the desire to share a dessert. The guy at the Pub totally slighted us. We found out later from some local kids that the guy at the pub is a crabby old man. They even went as far as too mimic his walk and talk.
Upon returning home Ania grabbed her sketch pad and I my Mandolin and we headed to the back porch to enjoy life. I had to run back into the house to grab something, and when i came back out I was greeted by 5 or 6 Irish boys sitting on the porch with Ania. I guess they invited themselves over. All of these boys had severe A.D.D. It is almost impossible to remember details of what happened with them over. One thing I will say is that they had absolutely no filter at all. The fact that we were girls didn't effect their conversation in the least. They also all swear like sailors. Even the little ones. They used the F-word inter-changeably with any word. Each sentence made use of it at least 3 times. It honestly made it hard to follow what they were saying, and the fact that they were ADD didn't help that problem at all either.
This is where we met Tom, Sean. Key characters in this story. Tom tried to convince us that his name was George, I am a fabulous B.S.er so I spotted his lie immediately. I then went on to convince the group of them that my grandpa was a hitman. That he is actually paid to kill people. It was so ridiculous! haha
At one point Ania told the boys that they were the horniest guys she had ever met. TO which they replied, "what do you expect? We are Irish?" haha
*It's funny because all through out the trip I found myself saying to my grandpa "These are our people!"Then there were times when I found myself saying "These are my people??" It explains so much. haha
