Westport Part Two

These pictures don't show the detail I would like them to. I am hoping on a larger computer that they would show the rock fences better. I am still amazed at the human spirit. The glacier that covered Ireland removed the top soil and deposited it farther south. All that was left behind, basically, was a layer of hard rock. They picked and chopped at that rock, moved it out of the way, and then made soil with seaweed and sand. On top of that, this area was the hardest hit area when the potato famine hit. Over all a million people died in Ireland, over a million people left. Mayo County (which is where we are right now) still hasn't recovered and the famine was in the 1840's. I need to read up on the famine. I knew it was bad, but wow!

Westport has beautiful flowers, like all the cities we have visited. The garden art was cool. It was a series of plates suspended on a pole with red gazing balls added too. I have a feeling that this little city really celebrates art. There are more pieces of art work, for example, in our motel here than any other place.

We took a ferry ride today. They served coffee, tea, snacks, espresso, and Irish Coffee. I had a coffee and a latte. The coffee was great, but I miss the Storyteller's coffee and the size! Little bitty cups of coffee of any sort isn't enough for a coffee drinker like I am. We were hoping to see dolphins, but they didn't want to show themselves today.

When Ireland joined the European Common Market (or is it called the European Union?), they had to change what they raised for crops All along this fjord you could see where the farmers were harvesting seaweed and mussels.
This photo is going the wrong way, the little roundish balls of the kelp should be heading south. I took this photo because it could become a pretty cool quilt one of these days.

Dave our tour guy sure is super. He is knowledgeable and I wouldn't take a car where he drives that bus. His sense of humor is almost greater than his wealth of knowledge. He is holding peat from a bog. We all stood on this peat and jumped. Forty of us made the ground shake. An art teacher from California was gracious enough to let us think that we created an earthquake. The peat is gathered, dried for six weeks and used as fuel. It is very smokey, but I bet is warm in the winter. Each farmer has their own space that they harvest the peat. A foot of peat cut from the land took 1000 years to grow--it is a plant! Grandma would have had a problem with this. We couldn't even pick her flowers, let alone cut up her plants!


This was a summer home for a rich couple built in the 1800's. It was purchased by nuns who used it as an Abbey. They had a school for girls that just closed. I don't know what will happen next. I bought a piece of needle felting here. I couldn't afford the one I wanted and it wouldn't fit in a suitcase anyway, so I got a small one. I wish I could find the roving as well as the art. I did get a web site, but Lucy's Sheepcamp always has what I need. It would just be cool to have a piece of roving from Ireland.

This bird looked like a crow, but had a black face. Kind of made him/her look grouchy.

Well, on to Dublin. We tour the Guinness Factory tomorrow and maybe ride an open air bus. It should be fun, but I don't want this trip to end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Westport

I am sitting in the cockpit of the flying boat. If only Dad and Ken could have been there with me. I bet I enjoyed the Irish Coffee more than they would have. It was invented at this airport to serve to tired and freezing cold passengers. It was very good and I'll have to try to make some at home!

We stopped at some pretty cool castle for a bathroom break. I asked one poor person in Kilkenny where the restroom was, she didn't know what I was talking about. The restrooms are marked toilets and that is what you ask for. Somehow the way Archie Bunker said toilet always comes to mind. Anyway, I loved this red phone. Somehow I see Harry Potter entering the booth to go to headquarters.

This is a picture of a golf course we saw on our way to the Cliffs of Mohr. The course was huge and looked like a challenge. This was pretty level there. We were told that movie stars come to visit and play here.

The Cliffs of Mohr was a pretty spectacular place. This is just one part of the horseshoe. It was very windy, but beautiful.

We had a long drive today through some beautiful, lush, green countryside, In fact the bus is so comfortable that I fell asleep. Mary told me I missed 150 sheep and 20 castles.
I am so impressed with the history behind the buildings and the fact that even if the roof is no longer there that everyone respects them. I have seen graffiti in the cities, but NEVER on the old buildings. The rock walls were impressive along the coastline. They wanted to have sheep and farm so they carried the rocks away and built fences with them. It took many, many years to do one little place. Then they brought sand and seaweed and mulched it. Wow, man can sure be stubborn when needed. The fences are very, very old. I can't remember for sure how old or how long it took them to build them. I think the fences took maybe 100 years to build and they have been around for many, many more years than that. I should have kept a diary, thought this would take it's place. I'll post some photos.
I really thought about my brother and dad today. Ken finds all the strange airplane places and dad was a pilot. We visited a flying boat museum today. Ireland was the landing place for the first transatlantic flights. The airboats flew across the ocean and landed on the water. Pretty cool. They built a replica that we could go in. Far more comfortable than planes now, it even had a honeymoon room. It is also the first place to make and serve Irish coffee.
There's so much more to Ireland than this trip. I hope I have time to do a better job sharing soon.

I Miss My Will the Pill!!!

Tomorrow is my darling Will's birthday. He'll be five and there will be a party at his house. I hope I found something for him that he will like!!!

Happy Birthday Will!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope you like what I found for you. After all, Thomas the Train lives just across the Channel from here.

Kilarny, Night Two

Here are my partners in crime just about ready to kiss the Blarney Stone. We only had about 3,000 more steps to climb, well it seemed like that anyway.

Photos of our buggy beginnings to the national park. While there in the park we saw a pretty fancy thatched house. The top of the house was amazing. I wonder if there is a quilting pattern in there somewhere?

Peggy, thanks for the many excuses for a pint of Guinness!

Today was a beautiful trip. I'll post more pictures later. We got to see some dogs herding sheep, and we got to see some types of sheep. One had four horns, sheep have horns The dogs were amazing The only thing that bothered me about the whole thing is that they sold sweaters, but no roving anywhere we went. What's a quilter who needle felts to do? Our bus driver sure was amazing. He sure could get that bus in tight places, I know that's what he is paid to do, but wow. The Atlantic Ocean is beautiful. Our day was perfect, rain in the morning and fog lifting so that we could see the highest mountain in Ireland. It is almost 4,000 feet. Strange to think that we are far away from mountains in Thermopolis and we are as high as their highest mountain. We saw some Celtic ruins but I didn't take pictures as we didn't stop. There were walls of houses around that were sad to see. When people either died or left because of the potato famine, the houses were left alone. Now all the wood is gone and only the stone walls remain. They are all over the place. The other thing that was great was a place called Skellig M____ (I need to write things down). There are two islands off the coast that are really just two big rocks out along the coast. Monks carved out homes on these islands and lived there 500 years after Christ was born. They had to carve 600 stone steps into the cliff side just to get to their monastery. What a hard, long job they had. The places they built to live in were of course small and looked like bee hives. We saw pictures of them, we would have had to go out by boat and climb the 600 steps, I complained about the 101 at the Blarney Castle, I don't think I would have liked those steps, no rails and one slip and it would be the ocean for you.

Two things I have noticed that I find interesting. Little things, but fun. First of all, the roads are marked just the opposite of ours. The sides have the dotted lines and the center is a solid stripe. The bus has the right of way, so no one tried to pass us so far, I wonder if cars pass each other The other small thing I noticed is that people here pronounce the "th" sound as just a "t" so thirty, for example, it tirty. I think it makes sense and it is a delight to hear.

Again, the flowers were beautiful.

Kilarny, Night

Killarney

I am sitting in one of the most beautiful hotels ever, flowers all over!! We even have a huge tub in our room that I hope to try out tomorrow. It is in Killarny. Guess there is some major golf tournament starting soon, so the streets are busy. They said who was here, but sorry, I am not a golfer and I don't remember the name of the famous golpher guy who may be walking all over today
Before we got to Killarney, we stopped at the Blarney Castle. I walked up 100 or so steps with Anna, Curtis, Kelly, and Sue. The castle was really beautiful and I took pictures, I'll put the on the blog tomorrow. (This picture business isn't as smooth as I would like it to be!!) Any way kissing that stone was kind of scary, but one must be a tourist on a tourist trip. I will share the photo with folks when I get home. My photo from my camera is awful, I look dead, truly dead--yuck!! Not only was the Blarney Stone there, but also the woolen mills. Mom, sweaters were not that expensive, but I got your leprechaun instead. We had a beautiful drive to Killarney after our shopping trip.
Killarny is beautiful. Nearby is a national park, much smaller than Yellowstone, but just as beautiful. We took a brief tour (you can't drive a car, you must walk, ride a horse, or go by horse driven buggies) on a horse drawn wagon and of course ended at the Castle Ross. Beautiful, beautiful.
Dinner was superb and I had a Guinness for Lynda and Bob. We also went Pub hopping and listened to beautiful music.
Pictures tomorrow, It's late and we have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow.

Part Two

Kilkenny is a beautiful place. I walked all over looking for a quilt store, but was unsuccessful. I did go and visit a castle. Just think, two blocks down from our beautiful hotel was a castle!! It is owned by the government, and you can zip through it, or take a tour. Since I wanted to revisit a bookstore and see the craft museum, I zipped. I was hoping that the folks at the craft museum could tell me where quilting supplies might be found. They couldn't, oh well, it was great to see this city with narrow streets, colorful buildings, and all sorts of interesting people. The first photo is only a small part of the castle, the second is of a pub. I am sure that the pub is a very wonderful one, but when I saw the name and the color, it was sort of amusing. Just like the Left Bank (a bank of course) was on the right the first time I saw it.

There are so many different types of beer. I had a guiness for Peggy the first night and didn't get a picture. Sorry Peggy, I know I promised, so here's a Harp for you!!

What a wonderful day, on to the next town after kissing the Balarney Stone.

Stud Farm near Kilkenny

Our road trip around Ireland began today with a visit to a stud farm. The guide pointed out places along the way that were interesting. For example, the huge battle for the movie Braveheart was filmed in Ireland rather than Scotland. Mel Gibson wanted to find 1000 idle men to be in the battle scene and so he wrote to the Irish army and they allowed their soldiers to dress up and be in the film. Seventy five were sent to the hospital! The picture beside this is of a horse at the stud farm. He earns 45,000 euro for having his way with the females.. Wow. It use to be more, but the economy has plunged here as well as in the United States.

The stud farm was also home to a beautiful Japaneese garden. This combination of signs really cracked me up. In case you can't read the sign with the three, it says, "Tunnel of Ignornance" What a combination.

The gardens were beautiful. The red bridge reminded me of the bridge my brother made for mom. This one crosses a stream in Ireland and Kenny's crosses a ditch in Tesuque. Both are in beautiful places. I wish this picture showed how pretty Anna was standing on the bridge.

This statue was really cool. I wish that I could find something like him to put in our yard in Thermopolis. I thought of my husband, Dave, when I saw this bonsi. These trees are really cool and Dave and I have admired them for many years.

I'll post more tomorrow. I still haven't talked about the pub visits, shopping (sorry Dave) and the castle!!

Part Two of Dublin on a Saturday

This is a huge thistle plant growing just outside our hotel in a beautiful little park.

Swans were at a park a few blocks down. They were also swimming in the River Liffy.

I was told these are sometimes put in flower arrangements at home. I need to talk to Dave about getting flowers so that I can see them in arrangements!

Aunt Ruth--the begonias are beautiful and I thought of you when I saw them. They must grow easily here, I am use to your beautiful ones in pots that must be carefully cared for.

I loved the plants. The flowers were amazing. Many I know, some are new to me. I find it interesting that there are no sprinkler heads or other obvious ways of watering. Guess living in a dry area makes me appreciate the amount of water Ireland has. I am also surprised at the flower combinations. For example I saw a beautiful pot of hanging flowers with begonias, petunias, verbena, and fusia (I am having trouble spelling this one!). In Thermopolis I would have two of them in the shade and two in the sun.

The pubs were fun. We were tired, so didn't stay in any of them for very long. I'll try to post some pictures of pub life later. Maybe I can even get some humans in a few :-) I am so glad that I am here. Wish my family and friends were here too!

These photos are from Dublin. We were very tired while there, but it is a beautiful city. I didn't even try to find a quilt store. I hope I can find one somewhere in Ireland this week, but I am enjoying the people, the countryside, the buildings, and the beer!!!
This is a church that is famous and guess who forgot the name. Mary had to remind me that it was St. Patrick's church and boy was it beautiful. We only had time to snap a few pictures, but I loved the grass and flowers. We didn't have time to go inside, but I guess we have time to do that at the end of our trip if we'd like.

These two photos are of statues created commemorating the famine. Millions of people starved during the potato famine, millions of others had to leave. The art was beautifully done, but very sad and very moving.

This is a picture from our hotel. The hotel is only a year old. Boy was it beautiful. Mary and I were on the fifth story. This shows the city and a beautiful mini park right in front of the hotel.

I have not figured out how to add more than a few photos at a time. I'll keep practicing!

Day One of Ireland Trip!!

It is 9:30 p.m. and I have been in Ireland since 11:00 this morning. We left JFK about 12:00 and flew through the night and landed this morning. I have seen some fantastic buildings and have met some really nice people. I have beautiful pictures and want to put them on the web. BUT after very little sleep (very cramped seats on the plane) and a taste of Jamison at the old Jamison factory, a pint and dinner at a pub, I am bushed and my mind won't let me make this posting with pictures easy. I'll post some pictures of beautiful places tomorrow. One thing that amazed me is the plant life.

More of Santa Fe--- and Ireland practice

I am still learning how to get pictures on the blog. I think that I need more patience, less coffee, and more knowledge. The pictures above are of some of the artwork on Canyon Road or near the plaza. My favorite restaurant is a wonderful place called The Shed where I learned to eat enchiladas with garlic toast. It has wonderful artwork and wonderful food if you are looking for an eatery near the plaza. While we were there, the city had organized music in the plaza and a really cool juggler was showing his art.

Since I am new to blogging, I thought I should practice before I leave for Ireland. I just spent about three fast weeks visiting family in Santa Fe, New Mexico. My great grandfather moved from Germany to Tesuque, New Mexico in the 1800's, he owned a spot of land with orchards and sold produce to people in Santa Fe. In the early 1900's (1910) he built the house that my mom lives in. It has 6 rooms, a huge hallway, and is made of double adobe.

This is a picture of the old garage, now a favorite place for grandkids to stay, and the patio where we all sit and watch the birds. It's a great place to relax and a great place to be with family.

I am just starting this blog. I have thought about doing this for a while, but wondered if I would keep it up once I started. We'll see. I am a quilter and will probably share thoughts and processes of my quilting on this blog, but for now I have just returned from New Mexico and I am getting ready to go to Ireland next week. I thought it would be fun to blog my way through Ireland so that when I return I will have a journal of my trip and my family can see what I am doing while there.