Surf, Sand and Stone...

It is amazing  how much I accomplished up to this point so far in my journey... I recall the two things I wanted to do while in Ireland; the Guinness Factory tour, and visit Mountrath.  Already done and so much more.  One of the ideas that struck me as unique about the Emerald Isle was the surf culture.  That's right, surfing.  Apparently on the Atlantic side there are some little known (except for avid surfers and folks like me who stumble on them) great spots to surf. 

I took the rental down one morning and chanced the weather was great that day.  Most of the time it is either overcast or even rainy, and up in Dublin downright chilly.  Unusual for this time of year - figures the fluke weather hits while I'm here.  It took me a bit to figure out where the rental shop was.  I ended up chatting with a man living in his RV on the beach for directions.  The folks at Jamie Knox's were super.  I think the guys name was Greg, and he set me up with a good kit after sizing me up for a wetsuit and board, I was on the way to Brandon Bay. 

I am hooked!  After snowboarding for so long I figured surfing wouldn't be that difficult to pick up. Boy, Is it!  Although in my first day I only manged to get up on the board and ride some whitewater in once, it was a great accomplishment.  Surfing is HARD.  On snow you have a constant surface to work with varying your speed and cuts.  In the water it is a totally fluid environment.  I truly appreciate the Zen in the art of surfing now.  To ride the perfect wave has got to be such a rush... I foresee a lot of California beach time in my future. 

Another great place in Kerry County (where Cork is) to go is the Blarney Castle.  Yep, off to kiss the stone.  The castle is a very cool tour in itself of the Manor House type of castle. 

 The crazy worn narrow spiral stone staircases gave me a little vertigo at one point near the top when the steps got really small.  The gardens were also incredible.
  

Of course when I saw the 5-series parked at the Blarney House, I thought I was home.  Alas it wasn't mine.  Darn!  Beautiful estates and a great day.

Corcaigh

Cork is a great city.  Although I stayed a little bit out of the city center it was very walkable.  The University College Cork is amazing.  There are some parts of it that look right out of a Harry Potter movie.  Shane was nice enough to walk me around, and having a historian take you on a walk through anywhere is educational.

St. Finnbarre's Cathedral is amazing.  The really interesting piece of it to me was some of the work that had a huge eastern influence in the architectural design near the altar.  Another cathedral that really impacted me was the Franciscan cathedral in the city.  It left an indelible mark.

 Shane has some really nice Ogham Stones near his house.  It was really cool seeing these after looking at the writing in college. 

One of the really cool day-trips from Cork was to the Drombeg Circle.  As with most anywhere in Ireland, the views were amazing. 

Kilkenney Castle

I was excited to see the insides of my first castle. The tough part is I can't show you the cool things inside because there is no photography. Very smart for the ministry of tourism.

It is a beautiful place.  It would be nice to spend a day or two in the town, but we needed to get to Cork before it got dark as I was driving and it was a little scary at points on the narrow streets and folks driving quickly.

Mountrath

One of the reasons.. no it wasn't just for the Guinness Factory tour.. I wanted to go to Ireland was because my mother's family is from there.  Specifically a speck-on-the-map town called Mountrath.  Her sister, my Aunt Mickey diligently researched the family tree and found the town.  We have not mad the connection with anyone living there as related yet, but I am sure that will come.

I stopped and talked with the butcher for a while. He was a very nice man and I felt welcomed there.  I was giving Shane a ride back to Cork, so we grabbed some tea there too since we were in for a long day with Kilkenney Castle on the way.

All in all it was a nice town, nothing truly notable about it. Oh, it did win the 'Tidy Town' award last year.  Ireland has this cool competition in each county where all the towns compete on being the tidiest.  Based on frontage landscaping, rubbish, and other factors I don't know.  Very smart.

Coffee and Guinness

There is an AWESOME pastry spot in Dublin called the Queen of Tarts.  Cool name, I thought the sign inside was pretty cool too.

Hanging out with Shane after gettin my ink done. Thank goodness for Guinness!

Dublin

Sightseeing in Dublin was a blast.  So much is in walking distance.  The old Dublin wall was cool, and the museums had a lot of educational pieces that got me more enthralled with the Emerald Isle.  Since I was staying right across the street from Trinity University, I did see the Book of Kells. No, no pictures were allowed.  It is as beautiful as the published pictures. The rest of the tour in the museum is really cool too.  It ends up in the old Trinity Library.

I also got to see the new Iron Man and Robin Hood movies while I was there.  Those were a real treat.  Something about the mundane.. going to a movie, making dinner.. they are all so nice to do while I am on R&R because it helps me detach from the world I just came from.

Go Leinster!

Apparently the Magner's Cup is a little controversial.  As with all things Irish there is always some angle on it that comes up hot.  After learning some of the history it seems like they - well I guess we.. being  of 1/2 Irish descent... love to get into a riot and burn things down. Actually that sounds pretty accurate except I never have any matches handy.

I was fortunate enough to be in Dublin during the semi-final fixtures or the Magner's Cup.  I was rooting for Leinster.  I started following the IRU (Irish Rugby Union) a little while I was getting ready to head on R&R and Leinster seemed like a solid team. I was right.  They won the match!

Of course I had to grab a scarf while I was there.  It was a great time, the only thing that might have been better is if I had one of my new Irish drinkin' buddies there.

Castles and Ink

So many cathedrals and castles. The city of Dublin has so much history it is amazing.  Every where you look there is an ancient wall or cobblestone.  I was savvy enough to stay near the Temple Bar area of town, so I could walk to a lot of the classic sights.

Of course I couldn't leave without a bit of Ireland and what better way than to indelibly mark it on my skin? 

The Dublin Castle was pretty cool even though I never made it inside.  By the time I managed to get over to that side of town it was closed the two days I tried.  However the bread pudding in the cafe.. Good Grief!  Soooo good.  The gardens out back were really cool too. I got a little dizzy trying to follow the maze pattern with my eyes.

Áth Cliath

Someone asked me about the blue jacket in all my pictures.. it was FREAKING COLD when I was there.  The worst was the day it felt like almost freezing rain.  I really didn't bring too may cold weather clothes because of the average mean temps are usually pretty mild in May.  Not this May.  I toughed the cold days out and had a blast nonetheless.   

Dublin, my home for the first week of R&R.  I had so many mini adventures here.  Starting with the Guinness Factory.  My buddy Timmy hooked me up with the Factory tour.  What a great way to start off after not being allowed to drink spirits of any sort for over six months. Needless to say I was a little toasty after two of them.  The fresh stuff tastes incredible. The tour was very well set up and informative.  I think the coolest for me was the 600 year lease for the building and grounds.