West of Ireland - Part 3

We woke up to another sunny day on Sunday.  Thus, we set off at a reasonable hour for some sightseeing.  Our first stop was a nearby castle, near the water between Fanore and Ballyvaughan (can't remember the name, sadly).  The girls enjoyed exploring the castle.

The castle and the sea

Enjoying the beach near the castle

Then the girls played on the rocky beach for quite a while.  Next stop was Corcomroe Abbey in Bel Harbour.  It was quite an interesting abbey, originally built at the end of the 12th century.  Again, the girls were very well behaved and seemed to enjoy exploring the ruins.

LBJ and ORBJ at the abbey

The abbey ruins

Notice the nice weather!

ORBJ not getting the reaction she wanted (yet again)

After that, we headed into the Sunday craft market in Ballyvaughan.  We bought a few lovely stained glass ornaments - two chickens for the girls and a celtic-like one for an upcoming gift.

Then it was time for lunch at a cute little tea shop in Ballyvaughan, before heading back to the house for a bit of a rest (while watching RTE jr).

Our afternoon sightseeing was loy key.  We drove down to a rock climbing area, put the girls in their harnesses, and watched them go.  No, not quite.  But we did spend some time climbing around the rocks and enjoying the view.  Some kids were climbing rocks, so I asked about possible outings for FABJ.  However, they were scouts on a trip from Limerick and would not be back the next day.

Stuck in traffic in the Burren!

We got stuck in a bit of traffic on the way back to Fanore, as you can see above.

LBJ needed some time to do some work, so ORBJ, FABJ, and I went to the pub.  We got chips and watched a bit of hurling on the TV.  FABJ got a bit bored so she decided to do a bit of dancing on the stage in the pub.  Fortunately, the few other patrons there were engrossed in the game.

Dinner that evening was in Vasco, a nearby cafe / restaurant.  The food was very tasty.
 

West of Ireland - Part 2

After the beach, we attempt to visit the Poulabrone Dolmen near Ballyvaughan.  I say "attempt" because the roads are not the most clearly marked.  I did not account for a road that was not on my map, and therefore got us lost.  However, we eventually came to an intersection with actual road signs, and we were able to figure out my mistake.

The kids fell asleep in the car, so they weren't initially excited about checking out the historic site.  Eventually FABJ was quite excited with the rocks and such, but ORBJ was still sleepy and grumpy.

Poulabrone Dolmen

FABJ enjoying the West of Ireland

May in the West of Ireland

ORBJ and I dressed for the weather

By this time, we were all ready for lunch.  So we were off to the Roadside Tavern in Lisdoonvarna for lunch (a 15 minute drive).  As you can see, it was voted best gastropub in Munster (the southwest quarter of the island, including Cork).  The food was excellent, as was the beer brewed on site.  LBJ's only complaint was that she had to drive home.  I assured her that I would do the driving on Sunday.

After that, we went back to the cottage for rest.  During our rest (and tv watching: RTE jr.), the weather turned and started to rain.  So we had leftovers from earlier in the week for dinner - the one meal other than breakfast for which we brought provisions.  Still, despite a lazy afternoon and evening, it was an enjoyable day in the West of Ireland.
 

West of Ireland - Part 1

The girls were excited for weeks about our trip to the west of Ireland (the Burren).  ORBJ told everyone at her daycare: "I'm going to the West of Ireland!"

However, the trip almost got off to a terrible start.  I left the house around 4:15, picked up the girls, and got stuck in traffic on the way to a suburban train station (where we picked up LBJ).  The girls were happy looking at books and chatting in the back.  Then, FABJ says "my tummy doesn't feel well."  I ask if she feels like she might throw up, and she said yes.

Suddenly, I had flashbacks to a trip to France a couple of years back when FABJ threw up all over the back of the rental car.

So I frantically try to figure out what to do.  Stopping wasn't really an option in stop-and-go traffic on the motorway.  Finally, I figure that I can use one of the containers of our snack (apples).  So I empty them all into one container (and a few on the passenger seat) and hand the container back to FABJ.  At which point I hear her ... well, you know what.  Then she felt fine and the car was fine (except for the snack container, that is).

We picked up LBJ easily and started on our way.  We had a hard time finding a dinner restaurant - the nice place LBJ found on the web was closed.  So we ended up at a take-out pizzeria (with a couple of stools) in Moate.  But the pizza was tasty and the girls were well behaved.  The rain was steady, but otherwise it was an uneventful three hour drive to our rental.  It had beautiful scenery and good value, albeit a bit isolated.

We woke up to sunshine and wind, so we were off to explore the local Fanore beach.  Here are some photos.  More next time:

Who cares about gale force winds - it's a beach!

Dancing on the beach

Crazy surfers in Fanore

 

Birthday in Ireland

Indeed, my birthday was a couple of weeks ago.  As you can see, ORBJ wasn't happy about something.  Being 3, the smallest detail can set her off.  If I remember correctly, it was something about the blueberries on the cake.  Can you tell how old I am?  If not, ask FABJ - she's happy to tell everyone my age!

2 of out 3 household members were happy during this picture

For my birthday, we went out for dinner to a restaurant called Neon.  The kids love it because it has a soft serve ice cream machine in the restaurant - a cone is provided with your meal.  ORBJ ate the biggest ice cream cone she's ever had, yet she still had room for a slice of birthday cake when we returned home.

Can't look - too busy with noodles

Needless to say, it was an enjoyable birthday.  I received several nice gifts.  The kids got me an Ireland rugby jersey (on which my colleagues complemented me when I wore it work the following week). LBJ got me a magnetized wall map for my office at UCD, where I can track my world travels.  Best of all, I got two birthday dinners out of it, as LBJ took me to Vintage Kitchen earlier in the week.  It seems like every time we go out for dinner, it rains.  This was no exception.

death in Ireland

Sadly, LBJ's grandmother (i.e. Granny) died a few weeks ago.  She was 96 years old and in a nursing home.  She wasn't doing terribly well the last time we visited about 2 weeks before her death.  Still, it was a sad event.

Explaining death (or, rather, trying to explain death) to a three year-old is challenging and does not exactly help the grieving process.  For about a week after the event, ORBJ kept asking "Is Granny dead?"  Of course, that would just make us sad.

For a while, it felt like the movie Groundhog Day, except without the humor.  My favorite quotation (which I'll paraphrase):

Phil Connors:  What would you do if you were stuck in one place, and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?
Guy with dead-end job: That about sums it up for me.

Then, ORBJ kept asking "are we going to die?"  So we would keep explaining that, yes, someday that would happen, but not until she was really old.  To which, she responded "Dada, you're not really old.  Mama isn't either."

Next was the concern that flowers were going to die soon.

Thankfully, the "phase" ended fairly quickly, but it was not a particularly pleasant week.

On the bright side, the funeral and associated arrangements went smoothly.  It was nice to see some of LBJ's family whom we had not seen in quite a while.  Also, the funeral service had very nice things to say about Granny, who was a very generous and well-liked person.  She will be missed.

On a more cheerful note, the next posting(s) will cover our recent trip to the "west of Ireland".