Ireland

Back story - It starts

Arrival - Day one, arriving in the small country town of Roscrea to my Aunt, two cousins and first cup of tea.





Day Two -  Jet lag recovery and juggling online school work and
             time zones with little to no internet

--break for Munich trip--
A 48 hour stint in Munich for Oktoberfest by my lonesome turned out to be one of the best experiences of my trip due to the kindness of strangers and merriment of one of the biggest parties in the world

Red Heads -  The first red head I fell in love with would not be the last

Traffic Jam - Walking the loop around my Aunt's house, a regular occurrence due to surrounding dairy farms

Day trip to Clonmel - Day trip to Clonmel (home of Bulmers/Magners) and sunny waterside Dongarvan for cafe bites and shopping

Day to Day  -Settling into the house and family and their limitless hospitality

Irish Times-In country pubs, where I left bits of my heart and probably liver

Galway -Weekend trip to beautiful West coast of Galway beaches and brews

 --break for Nice trip--
 A stunning four days of farmers markets, alley ways, waterfalls and pastries

Back to basics (after Nice)- I missed Ireland greatly while briefly in France and came right back into the songs in pubs, the hurling matches (Irelands national game) and comfort food

What's up, Skin? - Irishisms and driving on the left side of the road

--break for Amsterdam trip--
Our stay on a house boat on a canal in Amsterdam trying to eat on the cheap and see sites on foot

Fish Farmin' - A trip to the nearby Monk monastery and fish farm

Country Side, Family Ties - My Aunt takes me on an informal tour of our family's ancestry in Ireland

Cookin - breaking bread

Cheers to the freaking weekend - Templemore, Birr, Turkeys - What seems to be the typical weekend I find myself in of farm animals, country pubs, and hangovers

A break for banana bread - exactly what it says

Over the pond -I befriended an elderly man on the flight over to Eire who kept me awake and entranced for our 5 hour flight with stories of his childhood and ghosts

The Big Smoke (Dublin) - My first trip to Dublin and a firey camogie (female hurling) win

Apple Trees - A day trip with my Aunt results in two new members of their landscape

Camogie Cups -Camogie wins, Rock of Cashel and traditional Irish Breakfast where I revoked my vegetarianism

Cashel - Dining in the Guinness bar of a castle fireside

Thanksgiving - A misplaced thanksgiving dinner

Potatoes -Trying to make my ancestry proud

Don't Send me Home - Falling hard for the country and remembering the road that took me here

Shopping, Burgers, Dancing
A weekend of Rest and Recovery for some Christmas shopping in Newbridge shopping center, break for veggie burgers and a night out in another small town to see a friends band play

Pampered
The unyielding hospitality of the Irish knows no bounds

Milk Market - Limerick
A fresh foods market in Limerick where I break my vegetarianism yet again and split a hot dog with cousin while perusing the local goodies of cheese, pastries and everything in between

Obamarama - Moneygall
Obama has relations down the road from my cousins house and came to enjoy a pint at a neighboring pub

Surfing Eire
Surfing in Inane on a rainy, windy chilly day

Nenagh -
A trip to Nenagh (ni-na) for Christmas shopping, window shopping and a hunt for decent pizza

Dublin take two
Back to the big smoke with different cousins for a romping Monday night. During the weekends people typically go home to their family in the country so Monday night winds up being a big night out


 

Milkin' Cows
My cousins introduced me to a friend down the road from them who let me come by and see what goes on at a dairy farm









Cow Mart
The same farmer let me tag along to the cow mart!  Farmers come around to see what's for sale


 

Dehorning Cows
My cousins have a small farm where they raise calves. Calves that need to be dehorned and tagged and turkeys that need to be chased

Leavin' on a jet plane
Say it ain't so






"Home" Back in NY

:) -Back to Ireland :)

Finding Internet-A brief stint of internet found on a bus en route to the big smoke

Return to the green land
A brief return to Ireland in February 2012 after being in NY for less than a month. Can't get enough.