Cardinal Direction

Last week I traveled around Ireland with my Aunt Shirley and cousin, Denise. I had hoped to blog about the experience immediately upon my return, but I first turned my attention to editing all the photographs from the trip—591 of them. 

Almost everything we did was new to me and I suppose I have waited several days to write about this trip because my hope was to capture every minute of the fun and adventure.  This task felt daunting.  How could I write about every beautiful scene, every friendly Irish person, every story, every history lesson, every silly thing we laughed at, every sheep and cow grazing in the fields…?  I don’t think I can without writing a book. 

Also challenging was the task of naming this blog entry.  Aunt Shirley, Denise and I batted some ideas around during our last few days.  I was most struck by what Denise wrote in a postcard; she pointed out that on the trip we had visited all the coasts of Ireland:  Belfast to the north, Dublin to the east, Cork to the south, and Galway and the Ring of Kerry to the west.  I searched “north south east west” on Google and learned that these are called “Cardinal direction.”

North: 

On our trip north we experienced a combination of breathtaking scenery and history.  We visited the Giant’s Causeway and the Carrick–a-Rede (means “rock in the road”) rope bridge.  In Belfast we toured the area where the Titanic was built.  The Titanic and her two sister ships were modern marvels and the workers were very proud of their accomplishment.  Most notable to me was the phrase, “When she left here, she was fine.”  I was fascinated to see how Northern Ireland differed from the Republic of Ireland.  We saw many murals depicting “the troubles.” 

Giant's Causeway

The walk to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge

Denise and Aunt Shirley on the bridge

The room where the Titanic and her sister ships were designed

Belfast mural

East:

Dublin was our home base during this trip.  We were in the city during an interesting time. The Queen of England was visiting and, as we left, the city was preparing for a visit by Barack Obama.  From what I can gather in the media and from talking with people, both visits were extremely successful.  The people of Dublin, though, put up with quite a bit of inconvenience as security for both trips was tight.  The Queen’s visit, in particular, was a challenge because it lasted several days.  President Obama was only in Ireland for one day.  We returned to Dublin on the evening of the Queen’s state dinner and almost all traffic in the center of the city was shut down.  We attempted to take a taxi from the train station to our hotel but our driver told us he could not get us there.  The driver shared some, ahem, “colorful” words about the Queen’s visit.  Surely taxi drivers were among the most inconvenienced.  He dropped us off near a tram stop and, one minute later, the trams stopped running.  We had no choice but to walk the mile and a half to our hotel.  That’s not all that far, but after a long trip and carrying our backpacks, it was a little taxing.  When we got to our hotel we were able to see the Queen’s entourage drive by.  This marks the second time I have been in the same city as the Queen of England and the second time I have seen the Queen.  Okay, I didn’t SEE the Queen this time, but I saw her car.  I think that counts.

Trams stopped while the Queen visited

Security for the Queen's visit

I'm pretty sure the Queen is in this car

South:

Though we were only there a short time, I loved the city of Cork.  We visited the harbor at Cobh were we toured the Heritage Center which featured the story of emigration from Ireland.  When the Irish left their island in the 1800s, they knew they were likely leaving for good.  Parting was excruciatingly sad.  It’s hard for me to imagine considering how difficult it was for me to leave my home and loved ones for a year. 

Blarney Castle.
Warning:  I kissed the Blarney Stone

Annie Moore, the first immigrant to be processed at Ellis Island.
She departed from Cobh, Ireland.

West:

One of the most exciting events of the trip was during our tour of the Ring of Kerry.  We stopped to see a sheep dog demonstration.   I was utterly fascinated.  The shepherd who trains the dogs, border collies, demonstrated how the dogs herd sheep based on his word and whistle commands.  Each dog has his or her own commands so he can direct them separately.  These dogs are SMART.  I have never seen anything like it.  After the herding demonstration, the shepherd showed us sheep of many different breeds.  As we climbed back on the bus I thought to myself, “THAT was incredible.  The only thing that would have made it better is if I had seen a little lamb up close.”  We saw many lambs from the bus windows and they looked adorable.  As we approached our next stop, a photo opportunity, our tour guide mentioned there would be a man sitting in the parking lot with a lamb that we could hold.  I almost didn’t believe my ears.  Sure enough, the man had a three-week old lamb.  I first asked if I could take a picture and then he asked if I wanted to hold it.  I was in heaven.  This moment is on the list of the top five things that have happened this year. 

Border collie herding sheep

Shepherd showing different breeds of sheep

Little lamb

I have left out so many sites, sounds and stories from this trip…  My aunt and cousin’s visit came at just the right time.  Our jaunt around the island felt like my last Irish hurrah.  I had been working so hard on my book that it also felt good to get away and clear my mind.  Aunt Shirley and Denise are excellent travel partners.  I look forward to exploring another part of the world with them soon.

The last night of our trip we attended a night of storytelling and music at the oldest pub in Dublin, the Brazen Head.  We had great fun.  Our storyteller, John, shared Irish tradition and history along with the stories he told.  John told us a lot about how stories of fairies taught important lessons.  For example, if a person has a good heart and is kind, that person will be rewarded.  I’m sure Aunt Shirley and Denise will be abundantly rewarded by the fairies!