Little Catch Up

Sorry I didn't get to post yesterday... we stayed at a Bed and Breakfast last night and the internet went out before I got to blog. I will get the days news up when I have a little more free time but in the mean time here is what happened today!

Day 6 - A quick run down of the day... We got an good start to the day with a very nice homemade breakfast! Once we finished and our group loaded the bus we headed to the other B&B down the way to pick up the rest of the group. They had just as nice a time as we did with the exception of one little incident... The story goes as follows(it was told by the woman who runs the B&B at dinner). Apparently, long ago there was a father and his two sons who lived in the house and one day the sons killed their father and buried him in the back yard so they could be free to go to America. Well, I guess the father didn't like that much because he is now said to haunt certain areas of the house. Now the woman, I believe her name was Ilene, hinted that this ghost haunts one of the rooms the boys were staying in. So last night Payton had gotten a room to herself and was working on her journal and listening to music when she heard this thunk, thunk, thunk. So at first she said she thought it was the boys in he next room, but she could hear David snoring so that ruled that out. So a little freaked out she went back to righting in her journal when she heard thunk, thunk, thunk again but this time it was closer and sounded like it was coming towards the bed. At that point she grabbed her stuff and rushed downstairs where some of the other girls were staying and climbed into bed with Beth explaining the ghost was in her room! It sounded like quite the experience(I am glad it wasn't me)!

Once with the story of Payton's adventure we were on our way! First stop was St. Kevin's monastery in Glendalough. It is nestled in a valley near 2 lakes. St. Kevin was originally living here in solitude but slowly people began arriving and it grew into a monastic town. Interestingly, the town was attacked several times by the Vikings but never sustained any major damage. All the buildings within the sacred circle of the monastery were built of stone and most still remained, minus the roof as they we made of wood and have since been destroyed or collapsed. We didn't have much time here because we were in a bit of a hurry to get moving to the next place but it was definitely an interesting place to visit and much different than the rest of the gardens we have seen.
St. Kevin's 6th century monastery at Glendalough.


The next place on the agenda was the Powerscourt House and Garden. This was actually the garden I researched and did my write up on so I was pretty excited to get to see it! The castle was built in 13th century and the gardened have been continuously added to. I think I was most excited to see this place b/c it was featured in The Count of Monte Cristo, which is one of my favorite movies! The house and gardens definitely did not disappoint when we finally got there! everything was at such a grand scale but it didn't feel overwhelming. The different areas of the garden were well spaced and even the stairs from where the road use to come in all the way up to the house were not over bearing or even intimidating!

The Powerscourt House and Gardens.

The last stop of the day was a house and garden known as Killruddery. It to was a castle and estate, but on a much smaller scale compared to the Powerscourt. The neat thing about Killruddery is that it is still being lived in by the same family who first built the castle and over the generations its under gone several expansions and even a reduction! the gardens here were simple, mainly grassy areas with trees and bushes. There were a few more formal garden areas, but majority of the garden was simple grass. The simplicity of it was rather nice, and made strolling around enjoyable!

Killruddery

So for the remainder of our time on Ireland we will be staying in Dublin! It is the largest and busiest city we have been to by far! It has a different kind of historic charm compared to many of the other cities and towns. Rather than the small town stores that many of the towns/cities we have stayed in, Dublin has the feel of a city that has always been heavily populated and has thus had the money to build larger and more monumental buildings. The nightlife scene here is also much greater, for as you can guess the pubs were the on the agenda once again!

Jimmy and David enjoying a pint!

Michael, Alex, and Liz

Part of the group at the pub! (clockwise starting at the bottom left) Carrie, Payton, Sarah, Alex, Liz, Yilin, Jimmy, Beth, and Michael.

Definition of a Garden

Today we had a relaxed start to the day, so many of us decided to take advantage of having some time to roam the streets of Cork this morning. A bunch of us went to the local market where there was an abundance of color with the assortment of fruits and vegetables and meats that were for sale. We found some pretty interesting looking items as we wandered around. From there we walked along St. Patrick's St., one of Cork's main streets which has all sorts of stores along it and did some window shopping and stepping into a few of the stores.

Beth, Liz, and Stephanie trying on some headbands!

The first garden of the day was actually a private residence called the Lakemount Garden. The garden was started in the late 1940's- early 1950's by the mother of the gentleman who gave us the tour of the place and was very natural feeling as the garden was never actually planned out but instead grew and expanded over the years. There was a large variety of color in the garden which I loved and made for some great photos! The natural feel of the place also gave a greater sense of being able to just wander through the garden, there was no set path you were meant to take, which added to the pleasant and relaxed feel of the garden. It also had a nice mix of open grassy areas surrounded my flowers and other areas which were more secluded due to the density of the plants.

Payton at the Lakemount Garden!

The next place we went to was Ballymaloe Gardens. This was a different type of garden than we have been to so far. Rather than being a pleasure garden this one was a working garden that was part of a culinary school. So nearly everything growing the gardens were ingredients to be used in the school. They had everything from apple and peach trees, various types of lettuce and cabbage, mint plants, and even an entire herb garden. Needless to say that this garden was a different experience compared to the others we have seen and brought up the question about what a garden was. After an enjoyable afternoon at the Ballymaloe gardens we headed back to Cork and most everyone is currently napping, catching up in there journals, or out shopping. We are meeting up in a little bit to go get some grub and then hang out and enjoy our last night in Cork!

The herb garden!

P.S. The cat sleeps at midnight!

Gardens, Gardens, Gardens!

The Bantry House

Flower of Garinish Island

Today was our first day of hardcore garden visiting... we went to 2! I know that doesn't sound intense but hey, its a full day of walking around and using all our sense and that's tiring! The first garden we went to was Garinish Island, a beautiful garden in the middle of Bantry Bay. It was a short boat ride from the main land over to the island, and once we arrived we were free to wonder about. The garden had various paths that wondered around and some that led to different themed areas. There was a walled garden, a Italian garden, there was an area that had an old stone fort you could go up in, and there was even a temple. There were also paths that wandered through areas called "the jungle" which were more dense and felt as though you were actually in a jungle. Other paths, some a little off the beaten path lead you right down to the water. But where ever you went in the garden you were surrounded by various trees and flowers. It was definitely a sensory overload as you could see the beautiful reds, oranges, purples, greens, and whites of the flowers and trees. And the smell of all the flowers and just the fresh air was amazing. Add to that the sound of the birds chirping overhead and the wind rustling the leaves and even the very comfortable temperatures we had today and you have a sensory overload, but in a good way!

The second place we visited was the Bantry House and gardens. The gardens were beautiful. In the back there was a huge set of stairs that started and a little water feature at the bottom and went up 100 steps and overlooked the house, gardens and the water- you could see for miles and miles. It was a magnificent view! The gardens in the front of the house were very nice too. They were much simpler and relatively flat in comparison to the back, I suspect this was mainly to preserve the view out onto the water from the house. The front did have a grass tennis court in which a few people (Jimmy, Sarah, Carrie, and Andy) played an game of invisible tennis, I believe the girls team won! After touring the gardens we got to tour around the inside of the house. I, along with a few others, found the house to be creepy and was just waiting for a ghost to pop out and start chasing us down the halls! Luckily, no such ghost appeared and we made it out just fine!

Once we finished at the Bantry House we made our way to Cork where we are staying for 2 nights. We all wandered about the city for a while before most of us began turning in, myself included. Tomorrow we are planning to check out the fresh market in the morning before heading out to visit Lakemount Garden!

The Ring of Kerry

The Ruckmoss House

After a good nights rest and a big breakfast we were all ready for the Ring of Kerry today! The Ring of Kerry is basically a giant loop that you drive that offers all sorts of scenic views and places to stop and look around! If you were to drive the loop without stopping the whole thing takes about 2 hours. We did it in a little over 8 hours! Needless to say we stopped... a lot! We got started around 9 this morning and stopped in several places to take pictures and enjoy the scenery. We came upon a small town where we stopped for about an hour and a half to look around and get some lunch. The town itself was very small, the main street running through it was probably a half mile to three quarters of a mile.

From there we continued along the winding and twisting roads. Our driver, Patty, told us that coaches can only go around the loop in a counter-clockwise direction because of the narrowness of the road in some areas along with the sometimes tight turns. There were even area where buses and cars could not go by at the same time! And after experiencing the road I think we can all agree there is definitely a reason those rules are in place. So along with the scenic stops we also pulled over at a bog. Patty explained how they would rake the bogs to get all the old vegetation and trees out. Then they would basically pack the 'stuff' together so they looked like pieces of fire wood, same size and all, and then stack to dry out. Once they were dry the would get put in a pile to be sold or used as the equivalent of wood for a fire.

The last stop on our tour around the Ring of Kerry was the Muckross House and gardens. The house itself was beautiful and the gardens incredible! The house sits on a huge estate and looks out onto a lake and mountains in the distance! It was absolutely gorgeous! There were various plant species all over the gardens in a variety of colors, sizes, and textures. It was an incredibly peaceful place to be and a great end to the day.

Once we got back a group of us went out to dinner and then we went to find some happening pubs! The group I was with- Andy, Bin, Beth, and Jimmy- went to 3 different pubs. At each one the guys tried out different beers and at the first Jimmy was kind enough to buy me a glass of wine (I can't say I'm a huge fan of beer so I have been trying those who will let me- I haven't particularly liked any of the beers but the Irish cider is pretty good). We finally settled on a 4th pub after meeting up with another one of our groups, and most all of us enjoyed a pint or two of beer. The pubs themselves are pretty cool. Similar to the few bars I have been to in Knoxville in that they have music and are the big social scene. The biggest difference that I have noticed thus far is that the Irish don't go to the pubs to get drunk, for them (as Garry explained) it is their place for social gathering. The pubs have a long history of not only being for social interaction but also the place to exchange important information and do business. So it was definitely cool to experience it as a social hub rather than as a place to get drunk in a rather socially accepted way.

We Made It!!!!

Town of Killarney Cliffs of Moher

We made it to Ireland! Everyone arrived safe and sound this morning, even after multiple flights, various layovers, and a couple of delays! Needless to say that we are all exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep, but we pressed on and headed from Shannon up north to the Cliffs of Moher. Along the way our coach driver, an Irish gentleman named Patty, who will be with us during our entire stint in Ireland, began telling us about the Irish history, culture, native plants, and all sorts of little tid-bits. We enjoyed the Irish country side as we made our way down the narrow, winding roads until we reach our destination. The cliffs were breathe taking! They dropped some 650 ft straight into the Atlantic Ocean and continued for miles. The paths wound along the cliff edge offering some incredible views out onto the ocean and even when you turned around and looked inland all you saw were rolling green hills. It was incredibly relaxing! The only downside was that it was a brisk 50-55 degrees out and add that to a very strong and continuous wind and it makes for some rather chilly viewing conditions.

Once we all reassembled on the bus we headed for an area called The Burren, which is Gaelic for rocky land. And it was rocky! There were giant rocks every where! The neat thing was that even though most of the land was just rock there were still small flowers and plants growing between the cracks and in places you wouldn't think it possible for a plant to grow! It was very cool!

So once we finished up at The Burren we began our journey south to Killarney, which is the town we are staying in today and tomorrow. It was a 2 - 2.5 hour trip and despite our best efforts not to fall asleep, I can say with a great deal of confidence that we all ended up falling asleep at one point or another. We finally reached our hotel around quarter to 7. We got our room assignments, dropped our luggage off and then all met downstairs for our first real Irish meal. I have to say that it wasn't anything particularly exciting, it was actually a meal I could have had at home. Patty explained to us that Ireland actually imports most of their foods from other countries, so that explained why we didn't have anything that screamed Irish!

After dinner we all went exploring the town of Killarney. I found it to be a very exciting town. It is of medium size and has plenty of activity on the streets! The building line the narrow streets and have a historic charm to them that you don't find in many U.S. cities. Eventually our group began splitting up as some people went back to the hotel to shower and go to bed early and others decided to hit the pubs for a little while and experience some nightlife. And as I write this now in the hotel lobby I can hear all sorts of music playing from the various pubs around our hotel so I would say that is definitely alive at night! I plan on going out tomorrow once I've gotten some sleep so I will give you more details on the nightlife tomorrow. Till then I am going to sign off! Good night from the green isle!

The Final Countdown!

Hey everyone! It's Alex, your official Ireland/England blogger! A few quick things about me: I am an architecture major going into my fourth year, this is my second trip with Garry (went to Italy with him and Bill last year), and I am super excited for this trip!

As the blogger I will be writing updates on the goings-on of our trip- where we are, what we saw, the weird foods we ate, the havoc we are creating (just kidding) but you get the idea! Ideally, I hope to post every day or every other day, however, depending on internet access it may be 3 or 4 days. But I promise to write/post as frequently as possible! I will also post some pictures as we go, so look for those too! And please feel free to post comments! I went ahead and posted the itinerary of the places we are visiting each day (its over on the right side) so you can all know the general plans for the day!

I think that's about it for this post! Just a few more days till our adventure starts! I hope everyone is excited!!