Irish Easter

We had the wonderful pleasure of hosting Mom again for a portion of her 3 week European holiday, though we did have to share her with her cousins/"sisters" for 10 of the days.

After returning from her river cruise, she stayed with us for a few days before we flew over to Ireland.  We flew into Cork, headed into town to find our B&B, and then got a recommendation for a good pub around the corner.  We really felt like celebrities walking in as we were immediately greeted by several locals.  They bought our first round of drinks, and we had some great and funny conversations.  Two funny cultural things stood out:
1. The Irish asked where we were from.  We replied as we do in Holland, "We're from the US".  Their response was, "Yes, we know, but where in the US?"  The Dutch cannot hear the difference in accents between British, Americans, Irish etc.  But the Irish easily can, just as we can appreciate they are not from Texas.
2. The Dutch don't know the name "Brandon".  Further, not many people here appreciate the difference in the sound of the name "Brendan" versus "Brandon".  But the first person we met when we walked in was named Brendan, and it was comforting to have someone appreciate the importance of the difference between the names.

We got a good sleep and then woke to a nice full Irish breakfast before collecting the rental car.  Our trip on Good Friday took us from Cork, down through Skibbereen and West across to Bantry and Kenmare before turning South and taking in the Ring of Kerry.  Here are some photos of our route:

After driving the Ring of Kerry, we headed down the Dingle peninsula to the town of Dingle.

Our B&B in Dingle

Saving Mom from being blown in the water by the wind

My typical hair style in Ireland

Dingle

Dingle harbor

After driving around the Dingle peninsula, we headed North towards the Cliffs of Moher and on to our Bed & Breakfast in Galway.

Our lunch picnic spot

Cliffs of Moher

Cliffs of Moher

Cliffs of Moher

Irish scenery

Galway cathedral

Galway

We spent Easter morning in Galway, and visited the Galway cathedral.  We arrived very early for the service, which was completely unnecessary as everyone arrived about 10 minutes before the start time.  But, our status as the only parishioners meant that we were asked to take part in the service by bringing forward the wine and chalice.  We left Galway behind and headed back South to Cork where we would spend our last night and then fly home.  We stayed across the street from University College Cork.

University College Cork

We also took time to drive out to Blarney castle to kiss the Blarney stone, and then looped around to the small town of Cobh.  Cobh was the last stop of the Titanic, and given the 100 year anniversary of the event, the town was abuzz.

Blarney Castle

Blarney Castle

Cobh

This was an amazing trip.  We really had a great overview of the southern part of the island, and enjoyed meeting Irish people, and seeing the countryside.