Some Spring Traveling

To my few faithful readers who haven't lost patience with me: thanks for checking back. For various reasons I haven't been able to write much in the past two weeks, but primarily because of work and our mothers coming to visit.

Yes, the mothers finally made their much-anticipated trip to Ireland. Missing the volcanic flight disruption by only a day, they landed last Friday morning. Last weekend was devoted to Cork City––we strolled the city centre and hit all of the obligatory stops (the English Market and the Idaho Cafe). At night pubs were the destinations, and I'm happy to say that my mother also finds Murphy's to be the superior stout.

But the best part of the past week was our three-day whirlwind tour of western Ireland. First stop was Inisheer, one of the Aran Islands off of the coast of County Clare.

This photo sums up the island: stone walls everywhere. The island is only a little over two hundred acres in area, but has thousands of miles of stone walls. We thought this was some unique holdover from ancient Irish farmers until a local told us the real reason: not that long ago (early twentieth century?) the government offered grants to farmers so that they could build stone walls as "land improvement". The more stone walls they built, the more money they got. And since the Aran Islands are so remote, no bureaucrats ever stopped by to see if all of those walls were actually necessary. Well, you get the picture.

Inisheer, and the Aran Islands in general, are a treasure-trove of ancient sites. This castle was fun to romp around.

As were the medieval churches. One of them still has this wonderful carving on the altar, as well as the body of the patron saint of Inisheer buried a few feet away.

I can't recommend the Aran Islands enough. They are beautiful, ringed by rocky coasts, some sandy beaches, and Carribean-blue water. There is a slow pace of life, with the local population depending on ferry loads of supplies and tourists from the mainland. And it was fascinating to be in a Gaeltacht (or Irish-speaking area) for the first time, to hear the country's native tongue. Our first encounter with spoken Irish was in a pub next to our hostel, where we encountered several severely inebriated locals––at 1 p.m. After asking all of the females in our group if they were married, the merrymakers sang a traditional Irish song. One drooling fellow even played air guitar for us.

Our ferry ride back to Co. Clare from Inisheer was on rough seas, so after landing we made a nauseous stop at the Cliffs of Moher. Here's the group with some guy standing behind us:

Even in heavy rain and severe wind the Cliffs were wonderful. They definitely live up to the hype. Of course, I had to get a very close look:

To wrap up the western tour, we stayed for a day on the Dingle peninsula (another Gaeltacht, as it turns out). The town of Dingle is another tourist magnet that completely lives up the reputation. The town's setting is magnificent, ringed by spectacular mountains, lush valleys, and a nice harbor that has a friendly dolphin named Fungi.

A short drive around the the peninsula yielded the best scenery I've yet seen in Ireland, and––honest to God––we even got stuck behind a shepherd herding his flock along the road. It was good to see that "postcard Ireland," as we called it, still exists.

The peninsula also has several places named after St. Brandon, who is famous for being able to cure cancer. I didn't even know I was named after a Saint.

The best part was seeing my name in Irish. This is the sign that greets you coming into the village of Brandon. (As you might notice with the two signs, "Brandon" has a couple of spellings in Irish. I have noticed with with other place names in the country as well).

We all went to Dublin to conclude our mothers' visit. Heavy rain and fatigue prevented extensive sight-seeing, but all was well: we had a fantastic dinner at Shebeen Chic, an Irish-cuisine restaurant in city centre. If you're ever in town, do yourself a favor and stop by for a meal. It seems to be patronized mostly by the young and trendy; some of the customers were downright Greenwich Village-esque. But most importantly, the food was top notch.

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Sightseeing aside, Katherine and I are working––I have yet another thesis to edit––and preparing for more trips and visitors. We head off for Italy on Wednesday, and when we return there are several waves of siblings, friends, and relatives coming to stay with us. Spring will quickly melt into summer.