Ireland Blog

The Blarney Stone - the end

June 12, 2017

Today we traveled from Killarney to Limerick and went by way of Blarney.  We weren't too sure how we would fill several hours at Blarney as we climbed off the bus, but in the end we were hurrying to the bus because we had more than used the time and we could have spent more time there.  First we we're blessed with a dry day and the castle grounds had some of the most prolific gardens one could hope to see.  There was a rock close with twisting paths that had surprises around every corner.  The Victorian English garden was packed with so many colors, shapes and aromas that it was difficult to take it all in.  Fern garden.  Fairest.  Arboretum.  Oh, and a manor house to tour.  There was a village but we ran out of time.

Climbing the ancient castle to wait in line to kiss the Blarney Stone was a must.  We were in Blarney castle after all.  Even if it did require one to lay down, hang onto two pipes for dear life while doing a backbend so that you could reach the stone while partially hanging upside down.  Oh, and the guy holding your feet so that you don't slide down too far was at least 75 years old.  At least 4 safety violations were zipping through my head, but that didn't stop me from doing it.  The castle is a partial ruins with very good signage so it was an interesting tour.

Blarney Castle  

ok, I scratched some skin off my nose on the Blarney Stone rather than really kissing it.  Does that count?

Take a look at the two bars standing between a person and the ground, and the ground was several stories down.  We never would have been allowed to do this at work without a harness and several other layers of protection! 

The Ohio gang with our wax lips to show we all kissed the Blarney Stone (or at least walked the property).  Thanks Jane! 

A waterfalls in the Rock Close garden. 

Waterfalls in the fern garden.

This Western Red Cedar in the arboretum is very happy and has grown very big. 

One of the most unusual gardens was the poison garden.  The  scary part is that most of the flowers in a garden are poisonous, so a lot of the plants looked very familiar.  One unusual specimen was poison ivy and poison oak.  Who grows that on purpose?

After Blarney we stopped in Adare for a bit and enjoyed this quaint village. This town had all the usual buildings but there were a large number of thatched roof buildings, too.   Dean found a heritage center, so it was one more place for him to learn more about his ancestors. He now has the family crest.

We arrived in Limerick and are spending our last evening in Ireland here.  For dinner we all went to Knappogue Mideaval Castle for a mideaval dinner and a show.  The food was good, the wine was flowing and the entertainment was fun.  This was a nice way to end the tour.

We were greeted as lords and ladies by the folks at the castle. 

Long tables were laid out with plenty of food and drink.

We ended our night at this Irish bar that Bob and Nikki found.  It was a great ending with old and new friends.

To everyone: slan abhaile (safe travels).

Killarney - Dingle Peninsula Road

June 11, 2017

Today we visited the Dingle Peninsula.  As with yesterday’s trip we saw lots of green rolling hills, water and villages.  The mountains were on the opposite side of the bay so we did not ride high ridges today, but we did have wind. Lots of wind.

The patchwork of fields common to Ireland is in the Western most peninsula, too.  Due to poor planting conditions found in the rest of this part of Ireland, this is also sheep country.

The rugged coastline was beautiful and, sometimes, a bit too close to the edge of the road for comfort. 

Wind.  Yes, they have plenty of it here, too.  Dean seems to enjoy watching Sue's hair fly.

The Atlantic waves crashed on the cliffs.

When we got to the tip of the peninsula, we came to the westernmost point of the European continent, the Blasket Islands. The Blasket Centre is a museum dedicated to explaining the Blasket Island culture, writing, art, and the end of the community. This community formed in the 1600’s when all Catholics were pushed into western Ireland. Some of the people moved to the island for farming space and freedom from the British forces. After WWI the population started to leave the island to look for an easier way of life and the last remaining people were removed from the island in the 1950’s. They kept the Gaelic Irish language strong throughout their stay on Blasket Island and wrote books talking about the island life in Gaelic. This group of humans reminded me of the Inuits in Canada that we saw last year. These people happily live subsistence lives but the young are connected with the rest of the world via the internet and are slowly leaving their home and culture to find a new and easier life elsewhere. I fear that their culture will be lost in 50 years as The Blasket Island culture died.

A common boat used by the people who lived and fished for a living on Blasket Island.  This one is in the Blasket Centre. 

One gallery focused on freedom and what this means to the Irish.  This piece focuses on the concept that wild things are free.  The beauty and happiness seen in the wild is juxtaposed with the dark life in the city.

Dingle is a typical colorful village in Ireland.  It is a fishing village and had wonderful, fresh seafood in the restaurants so lunch was yummy.

Meet Fungie, a local bottle nosed dolphin who accompanies the fishing ships in the harbor.  This statue is in his honor. 

Some things you see are just plain comical.  This duo were in Dingle.

We road this jaunting cart through the Killarney National Park.  It was a quiet ride through woods and gardens, along a river and a large lake dotted with islands.  There are also herds of red deer, a restored castle and a manor house on this property.   This national park is a great place to slow down and relax.

How do you cap off a nice day with a large group? Date night in Killarney!

This thatched roof cottage was the carriage house for the estate that is now the national park.

Our ride ended in town and we then found a nice French restaurant for dinner.  The seafood is so fresh and delicious here that we were looking for a place with all the options and this one did not disappoint.  This was a wonderful ending to our stay in Killarney.

Killarney - Ring of Kerry

June 10, 2017

Today we took a tour of the Atlantic Coast around the County Kerry's central peninsula called Iveragh.   We were in the mountains or rolling hills all day on a long,winding and sometimes narrow road.  Sometimes we were in the valleys but more often we were on a mountain ridge witnessing an awesome view.  I'm glad someone else was driving!  We passed through many colorful villages and stopped at a couple. The homes are painted many vibrant hues, not just the white or stone cottages that many of us on the tour expected to see.  Dingle Bay and ocean are clear with beautiful blues and turquoise colors.  When the sun shines, and it seems to shine some part of most days (It also rains some parts of most days and it can cycle on and off quickly.), the colors are vibrant.

This is also a very windy coast.  I'm not talking about a little wind but a sustained strong wind.  It has been in the 50's and 60's and the wind can make it seem even colder.  This is why everyone in the picture has multiple layers on.  

We traveled through Killarney national park last quarter of trip.  Beautiful forests punctuated with occasional lakes.  Herds of deer.  Next week 10,000 cyclists will be doing this route and we wish them well.

Typical coastline on Dingle Bay. 

St. Mary's cathedral in Killarney  is a towering and majestic building.

The organ sits in the back of the cathedral in a loft.  Windows here and all around the church are filled with colorful sacred symbols.  The arches inside are rather unique in their design with a rough kind of stone used to line each arch.  

We started our day at the cathedral and a casket was sitting in the sanctuary waiting for the burial service that would be later in the day.  It made our visit a bit more poignant. 

Did I mention that it is windy?  This is what happens when one forgets to bring a hair tie!  There were spots around this Island with very strong sustained winds.  It makes simple things like walking rather difficult and comical.

Charlie Chaplin liked to vacation in Waterville and has a daughter with a home there, so they made a bronze statue to him.  This part of the country is sparsely populated and it is fun to see what they celebrate.  Charlie is one!

Meet Puck.  This fellow was hanging out in one of the towns we stopped to visit.  Goats are nicknamed Puck which is an anglicized version of the Irish word for goat.  They have a Puck fair in these parts every year which is one of the oldest fairs.  They catch a wild goat, crown him King Puck and party for three days.  In the end he is set free.  Did I mention they like to get together and party?

The beautiful rolling hills filled with farms and fields.  This country has no shortage of rolling green land.  It is rather amazing that so much of it is such poor land to grow crops, too much water and rocks and not enough sun.  But, it is good grazing land.  Everyone that we have encountered in Ireland are so friendly and giving and helpful.  Many love to talk and tell stories.  Demonstrates the resiliency of humans even with a history of famine, war, oppression.

On the road to Killarney

June 10, 2017

Our first stop was the Rathbone farm owned by Mr. Fintan. At this sheep farm we saw a ewe being sheared and she didn't seem to mind the awkward position at all. The border collie showed off his love of herding sheep. Finally, we fed two very hungry lambs. The farmer told us that there is little money in Irish wool today so the sheep and lambs are raised for meat. They shear them but economically count on meat production. One of the highlights of our visit was a snack of the scones with rhubarb jam and clotted cream and a cup of tea or coffee. The scones were delicious and it was one of the rare cups of tea that wasn’t bitter. The Irish not only make their tea strong but seem to like it bitter, too.  Given the chance I'd have shown up here for daily tea!

This quaint cottage with a thatched roof was where scones and tea were served.

The collie is rounding up the sheep. And below, the ewe gets her yearly shearing.

Cromwell and his army came through this country desecrating all churches in his path and burning the wooden roofs To render them unusable. He wanted a simple Puritan society and tried to destroy all Catholic Churches. As with other acts of terrorism against religions, these people found ways to survive. They often left the churches as Cromwell had left them and sometimes had open air masses in the ruins. More often they built a new church and left the old one as a reminder.

Tourism is strong in Ireland.  We see lots of busses. Some roads are wide enough for two busses and some are questionable for even one bus.  We carried a branch clear to Killarney that we picked up on this road.

Cliffs of Moher are tall, rugged cliffs that drop sharply into the Atlantic on the southwestern shore of Ireland. Nice trails lined with Liscannor rock provided a couple of miles of hiking. Since the cliffs have edges that break off, there are rock walls to keep you safe. The views are beautiful thanks to the ocean waves breaking on tall walls of striated rocks punctuated with occasional caves. The coastline is jagged so one gets a number of different views of the cliffs.  Many sea birds soar around the cliffs adding to the beauty.

The cliffs are beautiful!  You can see people walking along the top if you look carefully.  It was a walk with breathtaking views. 

We had dinner at Kate Kearney's in Killarney.  Say that fast three times!  This wonderful group played Irish music on a vAriety of instruments and two girls danced traditional Irish dances to a few of their tunes.  Folks in the pub even got up and danced their own versions of the jig. 

Connemara region

June 8, 2017

Our first stop this morning was in Connemara and to see thei famous marble. As one would expect, most of it is a shade of green. Light chartreuse to dark jade, pick your shade.

It stands to reason that the country covered with so many colors of green would have marble in many shades of green.

Our drive through Connemara took us through bogs where you could see cutting and footing of the peat. There is so much rain here that it is tough to raise crops. Something unique in this area is that the signage is only in Gaelic and there are many hoses with thatched roofs. We saw a number of stone fenced pastures with cute Connemara ponies and sheep.

Peat cutting out chunks and footing (drying) the chunks. 

Kylemore Abbey is a castle that a wealthy man, Mitchell Henry, built as a surprise for his wife. When she died at 45 he was so heart stricken that he built a lovely Neo-Gothic church as a memorial to her. Benedictine nuns from Flanders turned the castle and church into an abbey in 1920 and still have it today. The castle and church are decorated not only with carved wood but carved marble from the area. The grounds include lakes and streams, pathes through forests, a large Victorian garden to enjoy.

The castle, above, is getting a facelift but is still stately even with scaffolding.

The church on the property.

Our last stop before returning to town was a boat ride down the Killary fiord. Waterfalls flowed from the hills thanks to the abundant rain. Muscles and various fish are farmed in the fiord. Fresh muscles were enjoyed by many during the cruise.

One of many waterfalls coming down the hillside. 

Muscle farming on the fiord. 

This rhododendron is almost squeezing this home along the fiord.

Dean really liked his muscles and ale.

Sue and Mike and Sharon Black enjoying the cruise.

We finished the evening with dinner in Galway.

Derry to Galway

June 7, 2017

This morning we woke to clear blue skies over Derry.  It was a very pleasant surprise.  As we loaded the bus to travel from the midpoint of the northern shore to the midpoint of the western shore in Ireland everyone was searching for sunglasses.   

The view of Derry from our bedroom this morning. 

We saw rolling hills, lakes and mountains today.  This is a typical scene from the west side of Northern Ireland.

As we passed into County Donegal, the fences turned more into rock walls rather than the hedges that were so common on the eastern and northern parts of the island.  Same critters and same green pastures.

We stopped in Donegal to explore the village and visit the Irish House, a family run tweed business.  The wool is still dyed with natural dyes as it has been done for 5 generations.  The tweed is made on hand looms.  They have been modernized a bit over the years but still produce beautiful tweed.  Irish coffee was passed out while on tour which probably helps a bit with their sales.  I look forward to enjoying my tweed cape at home!

A stream runs through Donegal.   This quaint town has shops, restaurants and pubs, a castle and several churches to explore.

After passing mountains and beautiful lakes and countryside, our next stop was Carrowmore Cemetery in Sligo.  This is the largest cemetery of Stone Age (5000-6000 years old) tombs in Ireland.  It was interesting to hear what archeologists have discovered and what they still don't know about these ancient tombs.  As with anything in Ireland, there are many stories (tall tales) about what could have happened in this area.

We finally arrived in Galway in the late afternoon and had a walking tour.  By now the daily rain had returned, but we were expecting it.  These flags are of the original 14 chieftains in the area.  We learned of the history of this mideaval city, walked the narrow streets and learned about buildings that have been around since the 1500's.  As with many old cities, it has grown and been destroyed multiple times but some mideaval buildings have survived.

Area near the Spanish arch. 

St. Nicolas Church started out a Catholic Church whose interior was destroyed by Cromwell and then morphed several times into various Protestant congregations.  It is now an Anglican Church that is also used by Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox congregations.  We were told that St. Nicolas is the patron saint of the marginalized and outsiders, so it is living up to its name sharing the building with those who needed a home.

We are staying at The Ardilaun hotel.  It has a quiet garden where we took a walk after dinner.  To our surprise it was filled with many wee houses for the little people!   You have to look carefully as they are pretty well disguised.

Northern Ireland Coast

June 6, 2017

We left Belfast this morning and have spent the day on Ireland's windy, cold northern shore.  Our bus took us on a drive that had breathtaking rolling hills and farmland on one side and the ocean on another.  After a couple of stops in a small fishing village and a place that had view of islands that had a rope bridge for the very daring between on island and the mainland, we arrived at the Giant's Causeway.  If you ever come to Northern Ireland, do not miss this area that has been placed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site for a good reason.  The natural basalt columns made by volcanic activity are interesting and beautiful.  The trails allow one to walk to and around the formations and to hike far above to get a birds eye view.  We spent two hours hiking and could have spent more.

Giant's Causeway

Sheep, cattle, and lamas all are at home in the lush pastures. 

One of many quaint villages on the coast.

Another view of the Giant's Cuaseway.  You will have to decide for yourself if these formations were created by successive lava flows over 60 million years or from a giant named Finn McCool who threw hands full of earth into the water to walk to Scotland because everyone knows that giants don't like getting their feet wet.

Some columns were extremely tall.  This formation was said to be Finn's organ.  He only plays it on Christmas morning. 

The trails got to be very high with a shear edge if you wanted to hike up for a view of the ocean and formations.  Not a place for one who doesn't like heights!  Susan Studebaker is not a fan of heights but took the hike and we met her and Kent on their trip down.  She is smiling because it was worth it.  Kent said he is holding her up!

Our finals stop today is Londonderry/Derry.  What it is called depends on if you are a loyalist or republican.  We heard much about the events that happened in this town over thirty years of strife and what they have been doing to bring peace to the people in this region.  The smaller towns don't seem to have quite the animosity and lack of trust that the cities have, but this one is working to make sure that the next generations get to know others with different points of view personally so that they realize you can disagree and be friends.

This statue, Hands Across the Divide, was designed at the beginning of the peace process.  The two men are moving toward each other to shake hands but haven't quite gotten there yet.  We were told that the plan is to move the men together once the peace process has been deamed successful.  We can only hope and pray that the people of this country as well as those having struggles around the world can find the humanity in their struggles.

This wall was built in the late 1600's and is the only remaining completely walled city in Ireland.  The Walls, which are approximately 1.5km in circumference, form a walkway around the inner city and provide a unique walkway to view the layout of the original town which still preserves its Renaissance Style street plan to this day. This historic city is easy to walk and enjoy.

There are many murals in the town depicting scenes from the riots.  Each had a poignant story.

This mural was one of my favorites.  It was designed by Protestant and Catholic school children as one of the peace forming activities. The dove represents peace and the oak leaf represents Northern Ireland.

Belfast - Day 2

June 5, 2017

Today was a day of touring and learning more about Irish history.  Our first stop was the Titanic museum.  It was a celebration of how large ships were made, what it was like to work at a ship yard and what Belfast was like during the turn of the century and early 1900's.  It was also a discussion of the Titanic design, sinking and underwater discoveries. 

The Titanic museum was very interesting and worthwhile. 

There were many interactive exhibits including this one where you feel you are standing just over the sunken ship as it was found by a robotic sub. 

More driving through the streets of Dublin.  Today focused more on the loyalist/Protestant side.  The issues in the struggle focus on power, wealth and greed much more than religion.  We kept hearing that the fighting is not a holy war but a war on rights and power.   It just depends on one's point of view as to what is right and fair.

The Stormont Estate, the Irish Parliament building.   We had a beautiful, rare sunny day to explore Belfast today. Beautiful gardens and grounds surround this building.

Our afternoon was spent touring Castle Ward and the estate grounds. 

It is a stately old building sitting on top of a hill overlooking a loch (lake).  It was built by a wealthy farmer to impress and it does. 

The dining room.  Every room has ornate carvings and fireplaces, crazy ceilings, beautiful furniture and secret doors.

In the late 1800's it was common to have odd taxidermy decorations. This one is red squirrels boxing.

The lady of the manor designed unusual ceilings when the home was built in the late 1700's. She had lots of creativity and more money than she knew what to do with. 

The gardens at the castle were particularly beautiful. 

It is cloudy most days and it rains most days.  There is enough sun mixed in to make the gardens spectacular.  Most plants are much larger and have many more blooms than those grown in Ohio.

'Peace lilies' grow in many gardens in Ireland including this one. 

The Crown is an old pub that is famous in Belfast.  The wife was a loyalists and wanted the restaurant to be called 'The Crown' and have a crown symbol.  The husband was a republican who was against British rule.  So, he called the pub 'The Crown' to please his wife and put the crown symbol on the floor at the front door so that everyone would walk on it.  Welcome to Ireland.  They had good beer.  The rain had returned by the time we were ready to walk back to our hotel.  We are beginning to get used to the rain.

Belfast - Day 1

June 4, 2017

We headed to Belfast this morning toward our second city on the tour.  The original plan was to stop at a castle along the way but a bicycle race across Northern Ireland caused the driver to come up with plan B and C and D.  We did see some beautiful country along the way.  Many shades of green, rolling hills dotted with fields surrounded by tall hedges and occasionally a farm or small village.  It rained off and on all day.  The rain would start suddenly and stop just as suddenly.  Rain gear is definitely a necessity in this part of the world. 

Northern Ireland farms.

Fields of sheep and cattle lined with hedges.  When you get up close these hedges can easily be 6-10 feet tall. 

These energetic folks caused our bus driver to divert us numerous times.  We saw beautiful scenery along the windy road to Belfast. 

Belfast city hall with a Titanic memorial in front.  This is a beautiful building with a museum about Belfast and Northern Ireland.  We took a city tour today and also spent time walking through the center of the city.  This city is much smaller than Cincinnati.  We were expecting a larger city for all the news we heard about the fighting for decades. 

You could try on the robes that the city officials wear.  Bob Reynolds looks right at home in this place!

We saw the international wall that was built in the area where the Catholics and Protestants fought.  This wall is painted with murals depicting fights for rights and freedom around the world.  This section honors the bloody Easter rising in Dublin in 1916.  Yesterday we went through the Dublin post office museum about Irelands fight for freedom and learned about the first fight in 1916 that started them down the road to independence.

The peace wall in Belfast is over a mile long and separates the Catholic  and Protestant neighborhoods.   It has been almost 20 years since President Clinton helped the two sides finalize a peace agreement.  For many reasons, a big one being lack of trust and not wanting to allow an imbalance of power, the wall still stands.  New murals are constantly being painted because everyone who visits the wall wants to sign it.  

Sue signed a section where someone had written "peace and love one another". Her brother, Bill Gantz in the yellow jacket, is signing near by.

Dean and Sue signed here.

Sir Alberts clock is the leaning tower in town as one side is sinking into the ground.  It has been shored up to prevent further sinking.

Another walk in the rain (getting to be a common activity).  We found this fish near the bay at the confluence of two rivers.  It is covered in mosaics that have to do with the history of Ireland.  It is significant because the river had been so polluted that the fish died.  The rivers were cleaned up and the fish have returned.

Dublin

June 4, 2017

We have spent the last 2 1/2 days enjoying this beautiful city and its gracious inhabitants.   Dublin is an old city of non straight roads, many shops and pubs and a few large parks.  We have walked.  A lot. Our tour has taken us to Trinity College and the library to see the 9th century Book of Kells, the four gospels written in Gaelic and famous for its precious illuminations.  Trinity is a beautiful college and the library is breathtaking for anyone who loves books.  We have walked through miles of Georgian archectecture stopping along the way to see a historic building, shop restaurant or pub.  

We toured the Guinness facility and the Jameson Whiskey facility.  We did stop for lunch in between since taste testing was part of the experience.  Every pub seems to have a stew, seafood chowder or soup and we have enjoyed these at lunch with our beverage of choice.

Four couples that we are touring with were with us on our Australia/New Zealand tour and it has been great catching up with them.  Dean's sister and brother in law are also with us and we have had fun not only delving into family history earlier in our trip but also traveling with them on the tour.  We are having fun starting to get to know the other folks on the tour, too. 

Guinness facility

Sue, Mike, Sharon, and Dean enjoying the Guinness rooftop Gravity Bar.  The view was awesome. 

Jane an Don Leach at the Gravity Bar with the hills surrounding Dublin in the background. 

We have seen Christchurch  and St. Patrick's cathedral (yes, another one), gardens, and parks.   Christchurch and St. Patrick's Cathedral which were Catholic Cathedrals that became Church of England Cathedrals. The religious history of this country is complicated. Visiting places like Christchurch catacombs and the post office help illuminate a part of the complex picture. 

St. Patrick's Cathedral. Christchurch and St. Patrick's are beautiful buildings in their design and awe inspiring in the precision that they were built in a time with simple tools.

Trinity College, the oldest college in Ireland is stately but bustling with students.  The Book of Kells is a beautifully decorated manuscript of the four gospels.

Trinity College Library. 

Dublin streets.  We love the Georgian architecture! 

So many gardens, so many flower and they are beautiful.

And the roses smell as good as they look!  We were in one garden following a rain that smelled lovely.   

Phoenix Park, which houses the zoo and a herd of deer among other things is home to this giant cross.  It commemorates a recent visit from the Pope who said mass on this hill. 

We will end with a picture of the chandelier made of Jameson bottles at the distillery. The tasting package was good. 

Ancestry search done - now onto the tour

June 1, 2017

The final wounderfull B&B breakfast.  Yep, three mornings of a multicourse breakfasts and wonderful conversation.  Edith has a real gift for hospitality and it was a joy to spend a few days in her B&B.

More gravestones but maybe not direct family connections. Still . . . We're here, might as well check them out.  Today we checked five cemeteries. in the rain.  Our shoes are still drying out.

But, Crozier's are every where here.  

Following the final search we had lunch in Market Hill and spent time in the Orange museum in Loughgall learning a bit about the conditions that existed when James Crozier left Ireland and some possible reasons for leaving.  As with most countries, this green corner of the world has a complicated past.  By dinner time we are back in Dublin and Dean turned over the rental car keys and is happy to say that the car was returned with mirrors and bumpers intact.  Those close calls with wide trucks and tractors on narrow lanes lined with tall hedges and walls are now distant memories.

We chose Dublin's oldest pub, Brazen Head, to enjoy dinner and a couple of pints. 

And finally, after many attempts, Dean finally got the ultimate prize when ordering a Guinness. The fabled shamrock.  

The search for Crozier

May 31, 2017

We visited 5 cemeteries in three towns today looking for the lost link in the Crozier genealogy.  We found one George Crozier who lived in the right area and time so Dean will be searching through new found web sites to see if this is his great great great grandfather.  Yesterday the genealogy librarian gave great advice on other places to search.  So the search goes on. 

In our wandering today we found the hometown of Francis Crozier, a famous explorer of the north and south poles.  There was a large monument to him.  This is our third encounter with a possible distant cousin.  First was in the Faulklin Islands where a pub and a few other things were named after him.  Then, last summer while in the Arctic, we learned of his failed try and death while trying to find the northwest passage. Then, today in his hometown of Banbridge Ireland, a quaint town that produced a very adventurous man.

Captain Francis Crozier monument.  Turns out there is a nice pub where you can get a good lunch and a pint at the inn next to his statue.

we found this sign too funny at one cemetery.  Where are they crossing to?

Mike and Sharon at one of the nice pubs that we have found this week in Northern Ireland.  The other two phantom glasses belong to Dean and Sue. We had another great dinner then returned to Reuanne House where Edith was waiting with an apple pie, shortbread and strawberries and a tart!  A little tea and this was a great ending to a good day!

Green, rolling hills.  Pastures separated by tall shrubs.  Everything is so green and lush here! 

The roses are blooming and are they ever beautiful! Red, yellow, pink....

Armagh, Northern Ireland

May 31, 2017

Edith, the proprietor for Reuanne House, has been so gracious and served us a huge Irish breakfast while telling us about the area and making suggestions to help in the genealogy search and places that she thought we would enjoy.  The  B&B is an old Presbyterian manse and sits in lush rolling hills near Armagh in Northern Ireland.  No bowl of cereal here for breakfast.  That was part of the first course.  Then we had the Irish fry up that include three kinds of bread, two were fried, eggs, three kinds of meat and lots of caffeinated beverages.  No need for lunch.  

We are in Armagh to learn more about the place that Dean's great, great grandfather left to come to Ohio and to try and find out more about his family.  We headed to Thomas O'Flaich library to do some genealogy searching for James Crozier and his father.  Bernard was extremely helpful, found some information and led Dean to new sources to continue the search.  Records from 1800 are rather hard to come by but he found a couple of leads.

We spent the rest of the day touring the city of cathedrals, including not one but two St. Patrick's catedrals.  One Catholic and one Protestant.

ST.Patrick Catholic above and Church of Ireland below. 

Armagh is a quaint old town full of history with beautiful architecture, many coffeehouses, restaurants  and pubs, and very winding roads.  No simple intersections for this town.  We enjoyed an open air farmers market, walked to many churches and other historical sites enjoying the architecture along the way, and took breaks by stopping at a few of the aforementioned establishments.  Although we sampled different local beers, the jury is still out on which was the best and we will need to do some more testing tomorrow. 

Wonderful design on the wall. 

This is a mural! 

Any idea what this is?  Hint, it was in the men's toilet. 

The travel begins

May 30, 2017

So, off we go from Columbus to JFK to Dublin for the Ireland adventure. Part ancestry trip but mostly just because it looks like a nice place to visit. Oops, airline issues (weather, maintenance, whatever) but Delta will take care of us. Our plane lands in Detroit. Wait, that is the wrong direction. Oh well, always wanted to fly to Detroit for supper. PF Chang, lettuce wraps, wantons, beer. Not exactly what I had in mind for Ireland but . . . OK, Delta still taking care of us. On plane, heading east (correct direction this time) and over the pond. 7 hours later, wait Dublin is down there, going too far. Oh well, always wanted to visit Amsterdam. . . . OK, Delta is still taking care of us with flight from Amsterdam to Dublin. 

Finally, the wandering stops and we are in Ireland. I guess not unlike the ancestors from 1800's only in reverse. We wandered  around God's green earth trying to get from North America to Ireland due to weather, mechanical issues, staffing, whatever. The ancestors we are tracking did the same thing in reverse. They wandered around God's green earth trying to get from Ireland to North America and I am sure they had the same issues. Weather, mechanical issues, staffing, whatever all caused issues. Same end result just different technologies. We all got to where we wanted to start adventurers.

Our B&B and car rental are all very understanding and helpful.  But, wait, everyone is driving on the wrong side of the road!  Ah, this will be an adventure. 

First Irish meal. Some wild bore sausage and mash, some venison burgers, and some Guinness.  The owners of Ryandale Inn in Moy stayed open late so that we could have a meal since we got into town rather late!

Edith, the proprietor for Reuanne House, has been so gracious and served us a huge fry up breakfast.  This B&B is an old Presbyterian parsonage house and sits in lush rolling hills.

Ireland, Here We Come