IRELAND!

We went to Ireland in the first week of December. It turned out to be the worst week of weather they could remember (snow, ice, "freezing fog"). We rented a car and by the time we were driving out they had closed the airport down behind us. The sites we hoped to see in the first few days were inaccessible, or if we did reach them, they weren't open. As Olivia said, "Ireland is closed."

We got to Cork without crashing and were happy to have a pint and a warm meal.

It was also their worst economic week since they joined the EU (they were in the middle of a multibillion dollar bailout).

What struck us throughout the entire week was, in spite of it all, how great the people were-- friendly, warm, and welcoming. And genuinely so-- not just to get the tourist dollar. We also came to love all the open fires in the breakfast shops, tea rooms, and pubs, and the smell of burning peat.

As we went south and west, the roads got better, and we were eventually able to do most of the things we had hoped to do.

Among the highlights not shown in the pics:

--a wonderful seafood dinner in the charming harbor town of Kinsale, just south of Cork. Kinsale is Newport, Rhode Island's sister city. (There is an annual exchange of chefs between Newport and Kinsale each year).

--sheep.

-- a great traditional Irish music pub in Galway.

-- lots of things in Dublin, such as the Chester Beatty rare book museum, the Book of Kells at Trinity College library, the nooks and crannies of Christchurch Cathedral, all the street music on Grafton Street, Irish step dancing at the Algonquin hotel bar, and all the statues in St. Stephen's Green.

-- sheep. (Maybe Olivia will rectify this with a post of her own)

In the end, a fantastic trip in spite of a rough start.