F - Ireland

11

Tuesday, 28 June 2011

Day 11. 25th June. Burren and Doolin

Another day of travel and looking at stuff awaited us. We started of by heading to The Burren, a portion of Ireland that is kast landscape. A desolate looking rock strewn and wind swept environment. It is insane - this completely inhospitable looking land which is actually rather abundant in life. Between the rocks small ferns and grasses and flowers grow protected from the wind. 

Here are some ancient (over 5,000 years old) structures. Just a small organized construction of rocks, like the little bark huts children make in gardens. Pretty incredible really.

The rocks in this landscape blew me away, and more incredible is that people farm here, they manage to live and grow things here. We saw one freshly plowed field and the soil was more rock then dirt.

We saw lots of sweet little funny things like a donkey putting its head over a high wall to look at us over the stone fence.

How the trees – or rather bushes, no trees grow here - grow on this amazing angle all as far as you can see pointing in the same direction as the constant wind has shaped them.

It actually astounds me though that we managed to find any of the actual sights on our list to see. In Ireland it is incredibly difficult to ever find anything. The untimely progression of Elizabeth Wooten-Basset’s nurological disorder does not assist this issue, as she sometimes direct us and other times does not, but even so. There will be a sign to whatever it is you want to see and then you might follow these signposts for a few corners till they simply disappear, most unhelpful.

Anyway we did manage to see some things today and otherwise had a great time being stupid and giggling…a lot. 

12

Thursday, 30 June 2011

Day 12. 26th June. Doolin, Blarney

Today we set out to drive the picturesquely stunning Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry. This is a circuit highway route that takes you past some stunning inland scenery and the even more stunning coastal scenery including Skellig Islands. This would have been brilliant I assume, alas it seems Raina and I’s scenic pallet is not finely tuned enough to properly appreciate the glorious scenery of pure white nothing. :P

Yes, today there was a spot of fog. Like a lot of it. But still we had fun being ridiculous children throwing cookie crumbs on each other and other such nonsense.

Eventually we made it to Blarney, home of the Blarney Castle and of course the Blarney Stone. We went to the castle, which is a very cool castle. A might bit tourist-ed up but not enough to ruin it. The view from the top is a pretty spectacular one of the surrounding gardens, I can imagine it may have been like that in the 1500’s. Except then I realize that it more likely would have been disgusting mud slosh with pigs and goats and peasant markets and farming all around it. :P

Once atop we – both of us – kissed the blarney stone. This is an interesting experience as the top level of the caste has drainage gaps all around it that you can see straight down to the ground, a very long way. The Blarney Stone itself is the lowermost stone on the outer wall. So to reach the stone you have to lie down with your head facing the wall and feet facing the center of the castle. From here you proceed to (with the assistance of a lovely old Irish man grooping you) holding on to rails running down the wall, lower yourself upside down and smooch away.

I was expecting it to be far more frightening but in the end it wasn’t so bad. Because you are upside down you become totally disoriented and aren’t really able to realize how far below the ground is. That, on top of the logical knowledge that you can not really fall because there are bloody great metal bars secured just below, made the whole experience really not scary at all.
So we kissed the Blarney Stone and hopefully have contracted the gift of the gap (as that is it’s magic) and hopefully nothing else.

That night we stayed in Blarney at another pub and I finally found a coffee shop. Ahhh, the first in many days. Sigh