Ireland: Rock of Cashel, Glendalough, and the Wicklow Mountains

I think it's about time to wrap up this Ireland trip. Agreed? After we left Killarney we drove to Cashel to stay the night. We planned to visit the Rock of Cashel first thing in the morning to ensure we had enough time for our other stops before heading back to the airport. We pulled into town and stopped at the first B&B we saw. It was about 8:00 if I remember right, and I was afraid we were being rude to come knocking so late. Luckily she had vacancies (in fact she told us later we were her only guests that night), and she showed us our room.   I originally thought we would go out on the town and see what was happening on St. Patrick's Day. But I "rested my eyes" for just a few minutes and before I knew it I was asleep for the night.

In the morning we came into the dining room, and our hostess asked us if we had gone out the night before. We told her we ended up falling asleep, and she said it was probably for the best. She told us her kids had gone out to get a movie and came back saying there were "Garda" (police) all over the place. I guess people were getting crazy up on St. Paddy's Day.

This lady had such cute touches to her B&B. I kept thinking what mine would be like if I ever ran one. Or if I could even pull that off.

Breakfast was divine. Except I wasn't a huge fan of the black pudding. Not bad, but not my favorite. That bacon, however...oh goodness.

After breakfast we got into the car. I got in on the right side and sat down and waited for Dusty to get in. He stood outside my door for a while, and it took me a minute to realize I sat down in the driver's seat. I also realized I hadn't taken a picture of Dusty in the driver's seat yet.

Something is just not right here!

The Rock of Cashel is a famous for being the seat of the ancient kings of Munster. St. Patrick also converted and baptized King Aengus here in 450 A.D. Clans fought over the Rock for hundreds of years until it was finally donated to the church. I'm not going to sit and type up a bunch of the history behind the pictures. Mostly because I just want to publish this post and move on with life, and also because I honestly don't remember much and don't feel like doing the research. For now, it is good enough to know that it was historically significant.

The shape of the round towers are unique to Ireland. Though they appear to be a good place for monks to hide from attackers, they were actually used primarily as bell towers and lookout posts. They would use a rope ladder to get to the door at the top.

From the Rock you also get a view of Hore Abbey down below. It was named for monks who wore grey robes, roughly the color or hoarfrost (ice crystals that form on morning grass).

This is the chancel arch, which is lined with fist-sized stone heads (they just look like roughly round stones in the picture). The faces near the bottom are very grotesque, while those nearing the top become more serene as they come closer to god. You can also see that the arch is off center to the nave, symbolic of Christ's head drooping to the side as he died on the cross.

After the Rock of Cashel, we drove to Glendalough  to see the monastic settlement there. On our way, you wouldn't believe it, but we drove right through Hollywood. They even had a sign up on the mountain. Can you see it? Something tells me it looks a little different in California.

As we started driving up into the mountains, we came across some completely unexpected terrain.

Are we really in Ireland?

We came back down into the valley where the monastic settlement lies. It was founded by St. Kevin in the sixth century. The misty fog and rain seemed just about right for an old, ruined place like this.

While this was once a place where monks gathered to commune with God, it is now dotted with ruins of churches, the 110-foot-tall round tower, and a sea of grave markers. It is quite possibly one of the neatest cemeteries I have ever set foot in.

And I was really there!

During all the shopping and browsing we had done in Ireland, we noticed that many of the wool and knit items came from the Glendalough Woolen Mills. Since we were actually IN Glendalough, we decided we needed to check out the real deal. So we found the store and bought some things to take home with us. We bought a wool blanket with a plaid pattern that I absolutely love. I was so happy to take a piece of Ireland home with us.

We then continued our journey to the airport by driving on Military Road through Sally Gap. It was still very misty and rainy, but very beautiful. And I can only imagine how much more beautiful it would have been during the "greener" months in Ireland.

And just before we left the mountains, we drove straight into a blizzard. I could hardly believe the weather roller coaster we rode that day. We came up to a bunch of cars that were stopped right in the middle of the road, and I started to get nervous that we would miss our flight because we got caught in the snow. In Ireland! But they soon dispersed and we drove ever so slowly behind a car until we were back on normal roads again. Then we high tailed it to the airport!

I guess that is the last picture I have from the trip. What a wonderful trip it was. And also so wonderful to come home to the kids. It was late at night when we picked them up, and I remember Emmett looking at me on the way home with the biggest smile on his face, almost like he couldn't believe we were actually there. I hope to go back with them one day when they're older. Ireland has a way of stealing your heart and making you fall in love. Dusty bought me some Irish music for our anniversary and we listen to it frequently. Smiles come easily when I hear the kids sing "Molly Malone" and they beg us to dance with them to all the jigs and reels. So much happiness.

Ireland: Tralee, The Dingle Peninsula, and Killarney

After our fun night in Ennis, we woke up to another delicious traditional Irish breakfast. I still cannot get over the bacon there. Mmmm. We savored every last bite and said goodbye to Anne, the owner. Since we wanted to get to church and had a two hour drive to get there, we didn't stick around in Ennis too long.

We had quite a time finding the church building in Tralee. I wasn't expecting it to look like a typical church building (ours in Germany used to be an old dance hall where Elvis once sang, so we're used to non-traditional church facades), but we weren't even finding the street it was on. After making a couple loops around the area, we decided to park and search on foot.

We found the street, but there wasn't a house number in the address we had. It was just: O'Keefes House, Pembroke Street. In Ireland they only have house numbers if there are two buildings on the same street owned by people with the same last name. For instance, if there were two "O'Connor's" then they'd get numbers. Otherwise, they're just known by the name. Anyway, we walked down the whole street (it wasn't too terribly long) and didn't find it. We turned around and saw a young family dressed in church clothes, and decided we had to be close. And then we saw missionaries, and we knew we were on the right path! Ain't no mistaking missionaries.

When we found the church, I couldn't believe we hadn't seen the sign before. But really, other than the sign, there was nothing at all that resembled a church. And it didn't say "O'Keefe's House" on it anywhere. Just a regular door on a street full of stores. But can I tell you what I love? That I can find our church just about everywhere in the world. The. Same. Church. And I know that they're teaching the same lessons as I would have heard in my ward back home. I just love that. The church is true.

It was a very small congregation. We were one of the first people there, and I took this picture before the rest of the people showed up. Most of the chairs were full when church started, but it was still a tiny group. The branch president was a friendly man and made us feel welcome. I enjoyed the experience for sure.

After church we noticed locals were filling the streets and all walking in the same general direction (toward the music), so we decided to follow them! It was St. Patrick's Day after all...and I was hoping to catch a parade and see how they really celebrate in Ireland. At this point I also noticed that my camera battery was about to die, and we wouldn't have a chance to charge it until that night when we got to our next B&B. A little sadness pricked my heart, and I had to be choosy with what pictures I took. We still had a lot to see before the day was over!

Some people were super decked out in green, and some weren't. I guess it's just like any holiday in any country. But the glasses on this little boy were too cute.

Lots of people at the parade! I loved the green, white, and orange banners everywhere.

Before the official parade started, there was fun live music by one guy on a guitar. And during the parade there was a bagpipe band. Oh Ireland. How I love you.

After the parade in Tralee, we drove down to Dingle to see if we could catch their parade before driving the beautiful Dingle Peninsula. It was supposed to be rainy this day, so we figured going on a drive would be a good idea.

We did catch the last bit of the parade in Dingle. We saw some cute and interesting floats and groups go by. It was just like a parade you'd see in your home town, and I liked that. 

I guess Dingle is known for being a "Tidy Town"? All I'd really heard about it was from the movie Leap Year, but they don't mention that in the movie!

Seriously. Awesome.

Right at the end of the parade it started pouring rain. So we jumped in our car and started our tour of the Dingle Peninsula. Truth be told, I would have loved to hang around in Dingle a little longer and see what the town was like, but the rain took our day in a new direction. The peninsula is mostly known for its beautiful views, but there were a few landmarks along the way as well.

Something like 500,000 sheep call the peninsula their home.

Our first stop (where we actually got out of the car for more than a few seconds to grab a photo) was at these "beehive huts" that once housed monks in the Dark Ages. They came to Ireland to flee from the barbarian raids happening in the rest of Europe and find peace in the drizzle and fog.

And that my friends...is a beehive hut.

I'm not sure this is the right place, but according to our driving tour in Rick Steves' book, a scene from "Far and Away" was shot around here. It's the scene where the houses are being set on fire. I haven't seen the movie in several years, but it's cool to think about nonetheless.

More "beehive hut" remains.

We kept driving and came to a point where you can see the Blasket Islands. But it was pretty foggy and misty out there, so the pictures aren't fabulous. Nor are there very many of them because I just didn't think the hazy islands that I could hardly see were a good way to use the last of my dying camera battery. These birds on the wall were funny, though.

This definitely would have been prettier with greener grass, but it was still beautiful.

We also visited the "scant remains" of the Reasc Monastery, which dates from the 6th–12th centuries.

A little further down the way, we came to the Gallarus Oratory. It was built 1,300 years ago, and is one of Ireland's best preserve early Christian churches. Those incredibly thick drystone walls (made without mortar) are still waterproof. Impressive. It would have fit about a dozen monks inside. Unless they needed to do jumping jacks or something. (P.S. all of this info comes from Rick, not me. Even that bad joke.)

Unfortunately the gate was locked on this old ruined church, so I just took a picture from the outside.

After our drive around the Dingle Peninsula, we headed to Killarney for a quick stop. It is a super touristy place, and I didn't want to stay long, but I had to go! I grew up listening to Bing Crosby Christmas music, and "Christmas in Killarney" is one of my favorites. I couldn't be this close and not stop by.

Along our way, we ran into another one of my "must have a picture of"s. A sheep traffic jam.

Awww, cute wittle wambs.

We ate dinner in Killarney at a place I wouldn't recommend to anyone (we decided it was like an Irish Denny's), but my cottage pie was hot, and they let us charge our camera battery in one of their outlets (which happened because Dusty is about as selfless as they come, and asked an employee when I didn't want to).

Road signs had the English and Irish names on them. And this sign just happens to have all three of the places we visited that day. Mental note: If Vanna ever loses her job, don't get your hopes up.

I went to Killarney! You better believe I'll be singing that Christmas carol with extra zeal this year.