Day 38 - Packing and Good-byes

The morning began with lots of packing. We dragged out our eBag and Eagle Creek packing cubes and got busy rolling clothes :) 

It surprisingly took a lot less time and energy than we thought it would. 

Packing in progress

In the afternoon, we headed over to Mike and Andrea's house to say farewell and to thank them for their warm hospitality, and we were treated to a delicious shrimp appetizer.

Shrimp Appetizer ... Mmm Mmm...the sauce was so delicious

It is really amazing when you end up meeting people so far away from home and feel like you have known them for ages.  We were sad to say goodbye, but thankful for all the technology that will keep us connected and future travels that could reunite us. 

From Left to Right: Baby Ginger, Hannah, Kian, Baby, Ciara, and Roisin

Richard and Veronica, the owners of the farm and the cottage, had kindly invited us over for dinner.  When we arrived at the house, once again we felt like family. We all started talking and the kids all had a great time talking, running outside, and playing with Sam (have I mentioned how much our kids love Sam?)

Our first course consisted of fresh and extremely scrumptious oysters still in their salty water. Mmmmmm.....Mmmmmm!

Goodbye Dinner

Freshly opened oysters

Goodbye Dinner

Closed oysters and mussels and the special seaweed that keeps them cool and fresh

Goodbye Dinner

Cheese and cooked smoked salmon

Goodbye Dinner

Lamb and vegetables :)

I am not sure if the most amazing thing about the dinner was the oysters, our delicious entree, or the fact that both Kian and Hannah tried salmon for the first time and loved it so much they kept asking for more! 

After dinner, Caroline played a bit accordion for us (which was awesome) and both Caroline and Richard (Jr.) sang a couple of songs. They are both very good and talented kids. We will definitely miss the entire family and Sam very much. 

From left to right: Richard (Jr), Hannah, Kian, Sam, and Caroline

Thanks again to Richard, Veronica, and the whole family for making us feel so at home this past month.  We are so fortunate to have found such a wonderful house in such a wonderful little town.  It was a really wonderful experience for us all, one we will never forget (well, maybe Hannah will, but thats what the pictures are for!).

And again, thanks to technology, we will keep in touch, and who knows maybe one day we will meet again.

Tomorrow morning we will head out to Dublin to catch our flight to France. We will have two slightly crazy and hectic days before we settle down in Nimes.

Adventure awaits...

Day 33 - The Croagh Patrick Pilgrimage

When we were first driving from Dublin to our farm house, we couldn't help but notice this very tall, perfectly cone shaped mountain about 15 minutes before arriving to Louisburgh.  We had asked the family who own the farm house what the name of the mountain was, and they told us that it is Croagh Patrick, a very famous mountain, and they explained some of the history.  This coming Sunday, the last sunday in July, is the annual Croagh Patrick Pilgrimage, in which over 25,000 pilgrims descend on the nearby town of Murrisk and climb to the top of of the mountain.  We've been wanting to climb the mountain since we first got here, but we didn't really want to do it when it's so busy, so we decided to hike the mountain today since the weather was nice and warm.  

For those wanting to know more about the history, as it's really rather interesting, here's an article from this months edition of "Ireland's Own" on the history and tradition of the Croagh Patrick pilgrimage.  

If you don't have time to read it, or find it hard to read from these pictures, here are some of the highlights:

• The tradition of the pilgrimage stretches back over 5,000 years
• It was on the summit of the mountain that Saint Patrick fasted for forty days, and is where he is rumored to have driven out all the snakes in Ireland (though no snakes were ever known to exist in Ireland, and the story is believed to be related to Christianity driving out the pagans)
• Over 25,000 pilgrims come to visit annually on the last Sunday in July.  Some venture up with bare feet, and traditionally they are supposed to start in the middle of the night..though both of these traditions are now recommended against for safety reasons
• There is a modern chapel on the summit where mass is celebrated and confessions are held
• There are said to be 365 small islands, one for every day of the year, in Clew Bay (which the mountain overlooks)

Today apparently is also a pretty popular day for climbing the mountain, according to the magazine it is known as "Garland Friday", and is when nearby residents typically do the pilgrimage.  I guess that makes sense for us, since we are officially nearby residents, at least for a little bit longer :)

We drove into town, parked at the local car park, and began our trip.  We were greeted early on by some signs explaining the pilgrimage and a statue of Saint Patrick.

Croagh Patrick

Sign explaining how to perform the pilgrimage

Croagh Patrick

Statue of Saint Patrick

With the mountain in the distance, we set off!

The hikers with Croagh Patrick towering above

Even with pictures, it's hard to see how difficult of a hike this is. To get to the peak, you have to first climb a long, windy path all the way up a first mountain, before looping around and going the rest of the way up the main Croagh Patrick peak.  It is a very rocky and steep path in parts, and we witnessed quite a few spills.

Try to follow the dirt path and you can see the way up

The way up was a loooong process, especially with two little kids.  There were a lot of people on the path, going in both directions, which made the atmosphere fun and full of energy, but occasionally difficult to navigate.  

We were glad we packed our little first aid kit, not for our own family thankfully, but early on there was a woman who had fallen and cut open her knee, and we were able to provide Neosporin and bandaids to our fellow hiker. Thankfully that was the worst of the injuries we saw. 

On a side note, one of our new friends, Mike (Ciara's dad) is on the mountain rescue squad. They have to deal with a lot of injuries on the mountain, especially on the Sunday pilgrimage, and to get injured people down they either have to airlift them via helicopter (if the weather is good), or more likely (when the weather is bad) need to have about 6 to people carry them down on a stretcher.

Croagh Patrick

Early on in the hike, you can see it was quite busy

Croagh Patrick

Mommy and Hannah on the rocky path

Croagh Patrick

Getting higher!

Croagh Patrick

One of the many breaks.  Just a little left to the top of this mountain!

Croagh Patrick

Kian checking out his progress

Croagh Patrick

This is as high as we made it.  It was about an hour or so left, and apparently at the end it is VERY steep, so probably for the best we turned around.

As we continued our climb, we started to realize we were not going to make it all the way to the top.  Both kids were doing all their own walking, and they were getting very tired, especially Hannah.  We set a goal to make it to the top of the first mountain, where it flattens out before looping around and continuing to the main mountain.  At long last, we made it to our goal, and were rewarded with spectacular views of Clew Bay.  In all, it took about 2 hours, with multiple short rests and a small lunch break on the way.

As high as we made it.  Clew Bay is below, with some of the 365 islands visible.

The way down was much faster, but not much easier.  Since it was so rocky, it meant lots of slipping and sliding.  Most of the falls we witnessed were people on the way down, so we were being very careful.  We held both kids hands the whole way, and while Kian was able to keep his balance and had a lot of fun, Hannah was a bit wobbly and had to be carried in some parts.

Croagh Patrick

Kian was so fast going down we had to wait for Hannah to catch up :)

Croagh Patrick

Mommy and Hannah making a cautious trip down

Croagh Patrick

Cooling down in a little river on the way down

At long last, we made it to the bottom.  The kids were great troopers and deserved a rest :)

Little hikers, big mountain

And were well rewarded with ice cream from the welcome center!

Hannah finishing Kian's ice cream and her own

After finishing the hike, we made our way over to Andrea's house for another playdate with Ciara and Roisin, and met their dad Mike.  They have a very nice house with lots of fun toys and a dog, including some of the same awesome Ikea toys our kids have, so the kids were all having a blast and didn't want to leave.  Hannah and Ciara were especially good together, and went off playing together like little girls do.  

Hannah and Ciara seemed offended to have their playtime intruded on with a picture

We all had so much fun, we setup more plans with them for dinner tomorrow at their house! We're going to make Persian food, yum :)

After leaving, we went to a local restaurant in Louisburgh, called A. Gaffney.  This restaurant is owned by the family of the people we met at Carrowmore beach the other day, and so they had recommended it to us.  It was a nice restaurant with very yummy seafood, and was a great way to end this fun and action packed day.

A. Gaffney

A. Gaffney

Delicious seafood platter

Day 31 - A Day of Mishaps

Another day in which we had every intention of getting out of the house early, but again for some reason this task took a while. Eventually the kids ran out to the back of the house to play on the lawn.

I washed and cut up some delicious fruit as a mid day snack for everyone. 

Midday snack :)

I came back inside, and shortly after heard Kian run in with a piece of paper.  "Mommy", said Kian, "Richard drew Hannah and I a picture of Sam so we don't forget him when we go back home". 

Picture of Sam drawn by Richard (Sam's owner)

We finally managed to get out of the house and head towards the playground. Unfortunately, it started raining.  With the way rain comes and goes here, we decided to go towards the playground in Louisburgh (a different playground than last time) and see if the rain would clear up by the time we got there. 

The playground seemed like plenty of fun, if only the drizzling would go away. Since we are too stubborn, we just put on our rain coats and continued with playing. In hindsight, we should have just abandoned ship and gone back home...

Both kids wanted to be pushed on the swings. Sure we said. 

Hannah being pushed on the swing by daddy

Shortly after all sorts of craziness happened.  Kian was trying to jump off the swing, since according to him he was all done swinging, but a combination of trying to jump while swinging fast, and a wet slippery swing, sent Kian flying off and landing on his chin! 

AAAA....As we rushed towards him to see the damage, Hannah fell off the swing! 

Seriously?

Kian's chin thankfully was just a bad bang up, soon to be a nice bruise, and Hannah was pretty unscathed. 

We headed back home to ice Kian's chin with our ice pops :) 

Kian stopped crying, and almost forgot about it after 20 minutes or so.  He decided to color a Batman picture for Richard, as a thank you since he drew the Sam picture for him and Hannah.

Kian showing off his Batman picture before giving it to Richard

And you know what happens after a boy colors a Batman picture? But of course, he will want to go and dress up as Batman and jump off rocks!

The serious Batman face!

Batman gliding

Thankfully, the gliding didn't end with a new injury.

And such was the story of a the day of mishaps. 

Day 21 - Louisburgh Horse Race

On Sunday morning, we woke up to rays of sunshine creeping through the windows. I decided to take advantage of this and go for a nice run. The pet lambs came to see me off, and I was on my way. I was able to go towards the the ruins of a stone church that I had seen from a distance before. It was a very uphill road, but it was totally worth it.

Church ruins near Devlin

Once I got back home, Kian, I mean Batman and I decided to visit the pet lambs.

Batman visiting the pet lambs

If you ever get a chance to pet a lamb/sheep, do it and don't hesitate for a second. They are so so soft and wooly :) After our visit, Batman, "glided" down the hill.

Batman "gilding" down

Then it was time to say good morning to Sam. I don't believe I mentioned this before, but Sam has two different colored eyes, one brown and one blue! 

Sam checking out Batman's cape

We also went to visit Blackberry, the hen that is sitting on eggs now, but her bucket was covered and we did not want to bother her. 

After all our visits, we headed back inside as daddy also seized the opportunity to go for a run. While lunch, was being prepared, the superheroes and super villain had a battle around the house.

BLAAAAMMMMM....

KA-POWWWW!

Lunch was served...chicken noodle soup with bread and lots of fruits.

Chicken noodle soup with bread and fruit

After lunch, we all got ready and headed down to Carrownisky Strand for the Louisburgh Horse Race. Yay for sunshine and blue skies!

What a wonderful family event. There were bouncy slides, a face painter, balloon animal makers, food, ice cream, and more. There was also an area for people who bet on the racing horses. We found out later that the horses come from all over Ireland for this race. 

Batman

Hello Kitty

There was a small admission fee for adults, but a good number of the children's activities were free. 

Yay balloon doggies! 

It seemed that the races were on every 15-30 minutes. It was really neat to see horses race on the beach. 

Racers coming down the beach

Kian was also able to test out his driving skills on the go-karts. He only crashed a few times and had a blast :)

Vrrrrrrooooom...Vrrrrrooooommmmm

Back home, we continued enjoying the beautiful day and grilled some burgers for dinner, while trying to get some internet access.  The chickens were extremely interested in the laptop and hung about for a bit.  This picture would make for a great meme...caption suggestions anyone?

Chickens checking out the laptop

The cheese burgers were served with a side of home-made fries, or chips as they say here.

Cheese burgers & chips

After dinner, Kian and Daddy played some soccer in honor of the final world cup game, as Mayflower continued her munching on grass. 

Kian catching Daddy's attempt at the goal

Then we all watched the final game and cheered for Argentina :( We were bummed out that they lost, but I was glad Kian stayed up and watched the whole game with us, even though Hannah didn't quite make it to the end before asking to go to bed.

Thank you sunshine! We had a lovely Sunday being outside.

Day 11 - Killadoon Hill

Fresh eggs from the chickens on the farm! mmm! That's how we started our morning. A delicious omelet with tomatoes and scallions and just a bit of white cheddar cheese.

Delicious Omelet made with fresh eggs 

Since our hosts are away this week (they live in the house adjacent to our little cottage), their neighbors stop by at different times during the day to feed the sheep and the chickens. They are all very friendly, especially the lady, Geraldine, who comes to feed the chickens. After we had finished breakfast she came and knocked on the door and asked if the kids would like to help feed the chickens. We put on our shoes and ran out to feed the chickens and get the eggs :)

Little farmers at work feeding the chickens and roosters

Farmer Kian and his eggs

Since it was raining, we lounged around the house and played.  We headed to the Ocean Lodge, a nice restaurant/hotel very close to our cottage with incredible views of the Atlantic Ocean, for lunch. The restaurant was not very crowded which allowed us to hang around, and as the kids played a game of pool I was able to take advantage of the Wi-Fi and catch up with our blog postings.

Goat Cheese Salad

BBQ Chicken Wings

I forgot to mention before that milk and cheese in Ireland are absolutely delicious. The goat cheese on the salad tasted so fresh. If you are ever in Ireland, even if you are staying at a hotel you should definitely get some milk from a grocery store or at the restaurant. So good! Trust me, you won't be sorry!

Once we got back home it stopped raining and we decided to hike to the top of Killadoon Hill. This Hill is about 267m at it's highest point and it is practically across the street from where we are staying. There are no real paths to follow so you have to go through the grass and up the rocks and sometimes use your hands. Also you need to be on the look out for deer and sheep poop!

Hiking up with Hannah repeating over and over, "I can do it"

Half way there!

The views from the top are well worth the hike. 

Hiking Partners

The view from the top of Killadoon Hill

We hiked back down the hill a lot easier than I thought we would and we even carried a tired Hannah most of the way.

We saw a cool frog on our way up, but it was too quick to hop away. We also saw a few neat cactus flowers randomly spread out on the hill.

Cactus Plant on the Hill

Hiking makes hungry children and hungry children are the best eaters. Both plates were cleared of all food within minutes :) 

Hopefully our soggy sneakers will dry by the morning for another day of adventure.

Day 10 - Wet Sheep

We woke up to a very cloudy and rainy day. Later we found out that the beautiful sunshine we arrived in is a nice tease in these parts. I walked in the kitchen to put some dishes away and start making breakfast and say hello to our wet sheep :)

View from the window above the kitchen sink

While I made breakfast the rest of the family played hide-and-go-seek.

Kian counting as Hannah and Daddy ran to hide

We were all still a bit tired from traveling a lot the previous day and so decided to take it easy and spend time at home and around the farm. Hannah wanted to play outside on the rocks and Kian wanted to visit the pet lambs.

Hannah Playing with the rocks

Kian visiting the pet lambs

The wind was too strong to stay outside so the kids came back in and started playing a game of tic-tac-toe together. 

Playing tic-tac-toe

But of course in every game there is a winner and a loser and the loser was not particularly happy about the outcome of the game.

Losing is no fun especially for a 2.5 year old :(

After this we decided to head into Louisburgh to buy some meat for dinner from the butcher in town. This was my first time driving the stick car and much stalling was in order. It is also quite terrifying driving on the "wrong" side of the road. Asides from remembering that you have to drive on the left you are also very confused about keeping proper distance on the left side. I almost nicked the mirror on the passenger side!!  Oh and did I mention the roads are very very narrow and the locals drive pretty fast. At least it seems fast to a driver terrified of stalling and being on the wrong side of the road! 

We bought the meat and managed to make it home unscathed. Kian helped me make dinner, Beef Stroganoff with rice. 

Teaching Kian how to cut peppers 

Kian mastering the art of cutting peppers :)

While I finished up a few final touches the kids played with daddy-o.

pre-dinner fun and games

Dinner was served shortly after.

Beef stroganoff and white rice - The kids also ate this with mostly the meat and also some yogurt on the side

After dinner the clouds finally parted and we were able to enjoy some beautiful views over the ocean.

Sunset over the atlantic Ocean - View from our living room.

We wrapped up the night by watching The Little Mermaid for our family movie night which happened to be on Wednesday this week. 

Family Movie Night - The Little Mermaid

Day 9 - Gorgeous Louisburgh

We left Dublin shortly after eating breakfast. Dublin is a 3 and half hour drive from Louisburgh. The drive was smooth despite being on a 1 lane “highway” for a good amount of the time. We stopped around 1PM in Westport for lunch. 

We ate at a restaurant called The West. Their seafood chowder was marked on the menu as worldwide award winning. It was truly the best seafood chowder we have ever had. If you are ever in Westport you must try this chowder! 

The delicious award winning seafood chowder

The drive from Westport to Louisburgh is about 20 miles and on a clear sunny day (which is exactly what the weather was like while we drove) it is absolutely gorgeous. As you drive you have tall hills and mountains to the left and the glimmering Atlantic Ocean to the right.  

We pulled up to the house around 3:45 and were immediately wowed by the incredible views. 

The view of the Atlantic Ocean

The hosts are extremely nice.  They welcomed us, gave us a quick tour of the house and then started to show us the farm. About 80 sheep, 10 chickens, 2 roosters, and 2 horses live here. We are allowed to pet the sheep’s wool. Oh my gosh they are so soft! 

Kian with the Pet Lambs

We took a quick walk to the beach to check it out. It is a nice beach and the sand entertained the kids and myself :) The Atlantic Ocean is still very cold so we just dipped in our feet.  There were some jellyfish type creatures the locals call "wafer fish" which had washed up on shore, Kian enjoyed analyzing them.

The Mortons

On the half mile walk back from the beach, the kids kept themselves entertained by picking fluffy dandelions and making wishes.  

"I wish the adventure would last forever" - Kian

"I wish for Dora" - Hannah

After we got back, we headed to the closest grocery store in Louisburgh called Durkans. Most of the items are very expensive, but we really needed some fruit and a few things to cook dinner with as we were tired of eating at restaurants. We will go to a much larger grocery store in Westport on Thursday or Friday.  20 Miles is a long way to drive for a good grocery store, but at least it's a nice drive.

After dinner, the kids were showered, had ice cream and went to bed. We were warned the the roosters will start with singing at 5AM.

A Note to our readers:

We do not have internet access in this cottage so the posts will likely not always be available on a daily basis. We will try our best to update the blog as frequently as possible.