Very jaunty.
Typically European, the streets are narrow, often leading up to a beautiful church.
Castles, castles everywhere. Some are painfully restored
And many are simply ruins
Ireland's history is evident in the very old church statues, this one from the 1200's.
This Gothic cross is even older.
Sheep everywhere, inside walled pastures, outside in the road. Most are marked with spray paint for identification of the farmer that they belong to. I am guess that these are not "wool" sheep, but rather for their meat.
Yesterday was sunny and glorious, as we drove the Ring of Kerrry, along the pensulia on the southwestern coast.
But even in paradise, one has to watch for thieves.
Just look at the water.
We also saw the ring forts, ancient stone structures that were used for both housing and defense.
These two views are apparently the artist favorites - we saw a lot of photographs and paintings of them for sale.
Ireland lived up to the leprechaun's promise of a rainbow, but no lot of gold. Poo.
I wanted to kiss the Blarney Stone but after reading Rick Steve's description, we decided to pass....
"Blarney is only famous as the place of tourist pilgrimage were busloads line up to kiss the stone and get the gift of gab. The best thing about this lame site is the opportunity to watch a cranky man lower lemming tourists over the ledge, belly up and head back, to kiss the stone while an automated camera snaps the photo which will be available for purchase at the parking lot. After a day of tour groups mindlessly climbing up there to perform this ritual, The stone can be literally slathered with spit and lipstick."
Ugh.
Today it rained off and on. Mostly on,
More sheep, this time in the road.
Even in a fog and rain, Ireland is beautiful.
The pastures of sheep are lush and green, each pasture separated by stonewalls, creating a patchwork quilt appearance.
Oh, and the roads… Let me tell you about the roads...THIS Is a 2 way road, with the speed limit of over 60 mph. There are wee pull over areas, but most of the passing is done in the road. Luke did a great job driving, but they are NOT fun...
Tomorrow we got back to Dubin, with a little sightseeing on route. We fly home on Tuesday!
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