So...we are moving to England!: Giorraíonn Beirt Bóthar

The Emerald Isle

During my Mum's visit to England she and I took a trip to the Mother Country. A road trip, that is. We spent a few days driving leisurely up the Atlantic coast of Ireland - from Cork to Shannon.

Our first stop was Clonakilty for lunch and a pint.

Look how excited my Mother is to see the sign that reads "Guinness is good for you."

The scenery was gorgeous and pictures do not really do it justice but here is an idea of the sights we saw along the way. These pictures were taken travelling through Bantry, Glengariff and the Beara Peninsula, a/k/a the "Ring of Beara" - more or less a single lane road which follows the coast for about 121 miles circumnavigating the peninsula. And when I say "single lane road" I mean that two cars cannot pass one another at the same time. One car has to pull over and the other has to squeak by - it was a like playing a slow game of chicken with lots of smiling and waving thank you.

Wicked artsy...

Irish traffic jam. These sheep actually jumped in front our car as we were heading down the road.

After a long days drive we stopped in Kenmare at Foley's Guest House & Pub (for those of you not in the family, Foley is my Mother's maiden name and the middle name of my son Henry).

Unfortunately there was no family discount because in Ireland every fourth person is named Foley.

Kenmare was full of pubs, restaurants and Irish music.

Bright and early the next day we jumped back in the car and continued north with a stop in Killarney for some proper Irish knit jumpers (sweaters) and a horse and buggy ride through the Killarney National Park.

Killarney National Park. Giddy-up.

Muckross Abbey. A Franciscan friary that was founded in 1448 and burned down during Oliver Cromwell's conquest of Ireland in the mid-1600's.

After Kilarney we checked out Tralee (Rose of Tralee anyone?) and then travelled on to Tarbert where we put the car on a ferry and crossed the River Shannon to County Clare where many of our ancestors are from. Since we had some of their last known addresses we decided to stop by and say hello. Unfortunately no one was home...

So onward we travelled to Kilfarboy where my Mother's great-grandparents were from.

Here is my Mum walking in the steps of her ancestors (literally).

Onward we travelled and were proud to see the flags of three great nations flying together -

The Republic of Ireland, the United States of America and Donald Trump-ville.

Our last stop of the day was in Lahinch - an Irish surf town.

We saw more cows and sheep than you can possibly imagine on this trip. Here are some living on the edge...

If you look closely you can see a surfer riding a few last waves as the sun was setting (which didn't set until almost 1O PM).

Back on the road through County Clare.

Lots of rock walls dotting the farmland and bordering the roads.

Our first stop the next day was the Cliffs of Moher. Standing 702 feet at their highest point they stretch for 5 miles along the Atlantic coast of County Clare.

A quick photo-op after hiking to the top of the cliffs.

Having conquered the cliffs we decided to hop on a boat to see the cliffs from a different perspective. The seas were rough and the swells higher than the boat but we survived.