Hello from Ireland!

That sounds a bit postcard-ish, doesn’t it?  But never mind. 

It’s hard to believe we have only been here for a few days as Kathy, Ireland and I have fallen in step with one another quite nicely.

Dublin was an energetic beginning: lively pubs, festive St. Patrick’s Day decorations, bustling streets.  Kathy and I took a walking tour of the city on the 16^th during which we saw City Hall, Christ Church Cathedral, the Temple Bar District, Ha’Penny Bridge, Trinity University and St. Stephen’s Green.  After the tour, we did a little exploring on our own.  A visit to the National Museum of Archaeology proved to be very interesting.  We had the pleasure of meeting Old Croghan Man—or rather—a Bog Body.  Croghan Man was recovered from a peat bog and is thousands of years old.  But you would never guess it.  His leathery, decapitated, legless body is somewhat youthful looking... 

...albeit in its own very, VERY unique way.  A stroll around St. Patrick’s Cathedral 

and a Guinness at the cozy pub around the corner from our B&B was the perfect end to the day.

The next morning was St. Patrick’s Day.  And there was a parade.  Or should I say, THE parade.  I’m not sure whether the crowd—and what a crowd it was—or the parade itself was more entertaining.  Those in the procession included St. Patrick himself, 

the Prime Minister in his Royal Coach, 

the Dublin Fire Brigade Pipe Band, 

and dozens of floats, dancers and bands.

Following the conclusion of the parade, we boarded the first of two buses that would take us to Killarney.  Bus Twelve took us to Limerick (and here is one for you to enjoy:           

                        A flea and a fly in a flue

                        Where caught, so what could they do?

                        “Let us fly,” said the flea.

                        “Let us flee,” said the fly.

                        So they flew through a flaw in a the flue.)

which was an absolutely beautiful drive. We watched the pace of our surroundings slow from the City’s bustle to the Country’s stroll through observing grazing sheep, open fields criss-crossed with hedges and brightly colored small towns.

And being that I’m one for the strolling, I welcomed the change of pace. 

Bus Fourteen was responsible for the last leg of the day’s travels, a dusky drive to Killarney.  I love how the low light causes objects to take on different colors—green hills become deep purple—and how silhouettes, by eliminating visible details, reduce things to their simplest forms.  Having the opportunity to see the countryside at that time of day was worth the late arrival into Killarney. 

Yesterday we went on a (much-longer-than-planned) hike through Killarney National Forest.  As it turns out, our misinterpretation regarding the orientation of one arrow in particular was responsible for the resulting outcome.  But given that we saw much more of the park, 

enjoyed a pastoral lunch of bread, cheese and meat on mossy toadstools,

and laughed our way down the trails, it wasn’t such a terrible mistake after all.  

Today we traveled from Killarney to Cork—and experienced our first rainy day in Ireland.  And in true rainy day fashion, it has been lazy: a day to recover from yesterday’s hike and to rest for tomorrow’s trips to Blarney and Kinsale.

And by Monday, Kathy and I will be on Sherkin Island to start WWOOFing.  This is for you, Mom: Hooray!