Ireland: Days 1 & 2...

Buckle your seat belts, folks. This is going to be a fast-paced journey over 1,000 miles of Ireland (independent European Union nation) and Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom). What took us six days of driving is about to take you only a few sessions of reading. Ready, set, go!

In blue you can see the circuit that we drove. We were in the car a lot. Like, almost an entire 24 hours if you add it all together.

This is simply a more zoomed-out view of the first map. We blazed quite the trail if I do say so myself. For comparison sake, the island is roughly the size of the state of Indiana.

We flew in and out of Dublin, picking up and dropping off our rental car at the Dublin airport. And when I say "we," I mean Matthew, our Chilean friend Tomas, and me. I must mention that Matthew did every single minute of the driving. So, he drove on the left side of the road and sat in the right side of the car, shifting with his left hand. That's about as backwards and as opposite as you can get from how we drive in the US. Meanwhile, Tomas and I were totally content to handle the navigation aspect of our journey. And can I just ask this real quick question: how did road-trippers survive before global positioning systems and iPhones? I'm fairly confident that by now we would have made our home amongst the green hills and sheep had it not been for technology.

First things first, let's start with day one, which we spent in Kilkenny and Kinsale.

After driving all morning (sometimes in circles), we were glad to finally get out of the car and stretch our legs. First stop, Kilkenny Castle.

Allow me to introduce Tomas, who was kind enough to willingly trap himself in a compact car with a bickering married couple for almost a week. It was raining (surprise, surprise), but we were headed inside the castle anyway. Ain't no weather gonna keep us down!

The castle itself wasn't too special, but the cafe in the kitchen of the castle was a hidden gem. My latte, soup, and homemade bread made for the perfect lunch on a dreary afternoon.

And the setting was very Downtown Abbey or Upstairs, Downstairs. It was easy to imagine the castle staff creating meals under the copper lamps on the old fashioned wood-burning stove.

After lunch, we walked around town, which looked a lot like the other towns we would later visit. So, I'll save some time and show the better pics I got on subsequent days. No time for dawdling, we got back in the car, and aimed south.

The weather cleared and exposed the quintessential Irish landscape. I thought that it looked a lot like a Windows operating system desktop background.

We checked into our bed and breakfast in Blarney (which was owned by the sweetest Irish couple), and we got a dinner restaurant recommendation. We were told that Kinsale was the place to go for fresh seafood and quaint surroundings. Dino's was the very thematic location that we settled on for delicious fish and chips. It was situated on the marina, and we dined on freshly caught delectables. I don't normally care for seafood, but I was happily proven wrong. 

This was the view looking out across the water from Dino's. Ireland seemed to fit every stereotype I had in my mind. I expected green hills, adorable fishing villages, sheep, and cliffs. I got almost exactly what I expected. Plus a little more.

These up-turned boats attracted my eye with their color and texture in the twilight.

How charming is this window? Shutters, anchors, flower pot? It was only missing its flag for the holder on the right under the lamp.

Not sure why there was an American flag, but I liked it. Matthew and I agreed that of the countries we have visited, Ireland is the most similar to the States. I could have claimed that this photo was snapped in Maine, and you probably would have believed me.

As the sun went down, we decided it was time for sleep. With full bellies, we went back to the B&B to snooze.

Day two was packed with a visit to Blarney Castle, a pizza and ice cream break in Kenmare, a short hike in Killarney National Park, and a walk about town in Killarney proper before settling into our hostel in Dingle. (Yes, Blarney, Kenmare, Killarney, and Dingle are real places. Love Irish names.)

Blarney Castle, home to the infamous Blarney Stone. Legend has it "that whoever kisses (the rock) never misses to grow eloquent."

We set out that morning with every intention of only fake kissing this rock. Matthew is one of the biggest germophobes I've ever met, and he wasn't about to put his mouth on something that millions of other people have touched their lips to. However, once we were there and climbed to the top of the fortress, we got caught up in the heat of the moment. You better believe all three of us smooched that stone for all its worth.

In order to kiss the stone, you have to lay upside down in a fairly compromising position, trusting this old friendly Irish gentleman to keep you from falling. I felt like he was baptizing me as he told me what a "pretty lass" I was.

We had to grab both poles, lean back, and...

...MWAH! Kissed it. Eloquence received.

From the ground, you can spot the hole where the stone is. See the patch of sky popping through above the tallest window and below the wall? It is slightly daunting to hang there knowing that the strange priest-man is your only safety net. One fellow tourist was not so keen on dangling above the hole, and we overheard her slight panic attack.

Blarney Castle sits on acres of gardens, lakes, and walking trails. Having accomplished the mission of a masonry make-out session, we did some wandering through the grounds. This giant tree is indigenous to Oregon, and is surprisingly young for such a big guy. It's around 150 years old, but most trees that age would only be a fraction of the size. Something about Ireland's climate and soil supposedly accelerated its growth.

Blarney House is an occupied residence on property. I thought it was even more attractive than the castle.

We passed by fields of cattle and then stumbled upon Mr. Ed. I think it was almost snack time for this happy fella because he was waiting at the fence and got excited when we walked up. (I probably totally misread the situation, and he was probably displaying some type of aggressive defensive posture. But, we interpreted it as smiling.)

We knew we had a lot of ground yet to cover, so we hopped in the car and drove awhile until we reached Kenmare. It was a festive little town, and we met a friendly woman selling homemade ice cream.

Pennant flags and pastel facades. Adorable, right?

This creamy mint, slow-churned dessert was definitely my favorite part of the town. I also admired the ceramic pottery from the street vendor behind me. Thought about buying a piece until I remembered that I have a cabinet full of coffee mugs that I made last year in my ceramics class. Then I almost had an emotional breakdown realizing that my ceramics class was that long ago and that I missed college.

As we traveled further north and west toward Killarney National Park, the topography began to transform. The flat places were replaced with jagged outcroppings, which were quickly swallowed by lush, dense forests.

The drive might have been long, but it wasn't boring. What a route for a bike ride!

We stopped at the Torc Waterfall, and it reminded me of Arkansas. Super mossy and damp.

Waterfalls like these belong on inspirational posters that hang on the walls of office buildings. They usually have captions like: "Steadfastness: Standing firm when your surroundings threaten to wear you down and wash you away."

I tired quickly of the abundant and nibbling mosquitoes, (plus I wanted to squeeze in some browsing at the Aran sweater outlet in the Killarney city center before it closed)... so we hit the road once again. Killarney was honored as Ireland's Tidiest Town in 2011, and it was cute indeed. There was even a movie theater, which was the most substantial sign of urbanization we'd seen since Dublin. We shopped around and made it to the Aran outlet, but sadly I couldn't justify spending €60 on a wool sweater shortly before moving to the tropical climate of Houston. Oh well, less luggage to take home.

Hate to say it, but time is not on my side tonight, and I'm afraid this is the end of the line for now. Our taxi is coming at 4:00am tomorrow, and we are destined for Napoli! In 2009, Matthew and I visited Rome, Florence, and Venice, and we couldn't have predicted that we'd be returning to Italy. Our family friends are stationed near Naples with the US Navy, and we are going to stay with them until Monday. We'd hoped to spend the 4th of July with fellow Americans, but the flights didn't work out that way. Regardless, we are looking forward to spending time with other Okie emigrants. Please be patient, and I'll finish our stories from Ireland when I get back! Too busy living life to write about it!!!