Retiring in italy giorno di giorno: Back from 3 weeks in Ireland (my other favorite country starting with I)

We went to Ireland for three weeks in August to escape the heat and tourists of Tuscany in August and it was a highly effective strategy--the average temperature was about 14 C (57F) during the days, with frequent rain. The weather is incredibly volatile, sunny, then rain, then sunny, then foggy--makes Seattle seem like southern California in comparison. We felt right at home in the rain and cool temperatures, and with the green everywhere (many, many Irish jokes about 50 shades of green). Rhododendrons and hardy fuchsias grow wild along the roads, along with thousands of crocosmia, making driving through the countryside on the tiny little roads a beautiful if terrifying experience. Of course we visited all the expected places (Dublin castle, Dingle Peninsula, Donegal, giant's causeway), and some less expected places as well. Tom mastered driving on the left and the incessant roundabouts, I did not master being calm when turning blind corners on narrow lanes and seeing a giant truck coming straight at us. We adapted to beer with lunch instead of wine (traveling does involve some sacrifices) and even kept up with our italian because there were many, many Italian tourists, especially in the south. They had some trouble coping with the temperatures--Italians wear down jackets, wool caps and scarfs when it is 70 degrees out, so you can imagine how bundled up they were for Ireland. At our B&B near Donegal town, it was 7 Italians and us, which was entertaining, especially as one of the young Italian men was ridiculously good looking.

I was going to use 21 pictures to show our 21 days in Ireland but couldn't winnow down the 800 plus pictures that severely. Following are some highlights, not necessarily in the order in which we encountered them.

Of course we visited Trinity College, Kelly's 'alma mater'

There was an interesting exhibition of sand sculpture outside Dublin castle

Nothing says Ireland like drinks and traditional music at a pub in Temple Bar

sunset on the river liffey

Kilmainham jail where the British held Irish political prisoners--not used since Ireland achieved independence, but a symbol to the Irish of their brutal treatment at the hands of the British. Below, inside a cell at the jail.

Next was a drive through the Wicklow mountains to Cashel, where we visited the Rock of Cashel, which was the seat of the Munster kings for centuries, but was eventually given to the Catholic church. Myth has it that the rock was originally 20 miles away but was magically transported to its current location when St. Patrick banished Satan from Ireland.

Onward to Cobh (pronounced cove), the last port of call for the Titanic and home to the Titanic museum. En route (as is true everywhere in Ireland) we saw many sheep and cows.

Also many green fields and rolling hills:

We visited nearby Kinsale which involved taking a tiny car ferry across the Shannon River, and went on a guided tour of the town which involved more talk about the Titanic and the Lusitania.

Cathedral in Cobh. There are baskets of flowers everywhere in Ireland.

We didn't drive the whole Ring of Kerry road which is now very developed compared to 40 years ago when I rode my bike there, but we did tour a stately home and garden on the Ring of Kerry road.

Muckross house and garden

Wine is expensive and bad in Ireland, so we were forced to drink beer. Instead of expresso and biscotti, we had tea and pastry for our merenda.

We spent several days each in the Dingle peninsula and Donegal, both beautiful and wild areas of Ireland with many ancient ferry rings (3000 year old stone circles) and ruins.

Portnabrone tomb

fuschia lined walkway to the ancient beehive church--wild fuschias everywhere

and fantastic water views everywhere

As in Italy, there are shrines in unexpected places

A day trip to Inishmore, one of the Aran islands was particularly interesting. Dun Aengus is an ancient fort built on top of a cliff overhanging the water and well worth the hike up to the top.

fort charles near Kinsale

the burren--an area of Ireland with a strange, rocky landscape

Too many castles to enumerate...

Donegal castle

And many dramatic cliffs, from the famous cliffs of moher to the less famous but more spectacular slieve league, the highest cliffs in Europe.

cliffs of moher

slieve league in Donegal

Tom loved the antiquities and of course can never pass a museum, which is why we saw a 40,000 year old bear skeleton which had nothing to do with Ireland except that a rich Irish guy bought it and made a museum.

also at the 'museum'

We watched sheep dogs herding sheep, went to Derry and the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, and finished the trip with a visit to Newgrange and Knouth, 5000 year old passage tombs which the guide quickly pointed out are 1000 years older than Stonehenge. Following is a miscellany of pictures of these and other events.

The murals above are 2 of 12 murals by the bogside artists which commemorate the struggle for Irish independence in the late 60s and 70s. The entering free derry sign memorializes the sign put up by Catholics in Bogside in 1968, based on a similar sign posted in West Berlin after the wall was built.