We had one main attraction on our to do list which was visiting the Waterford crystal store and taking the tour. We ate lunch at their café. I had carrot and coriander soup and mom had a ciabatta sandwich. The desserts looked amazing! We had our tour at 1:40. It was amazing to watch the blowers and cutters work their magic on the glass.

I believe the inside of the furnace was in the 1800 degree range. Of the pieces on display, the one that stuck out to me was the memorial piece to the fireman and officers who died during 9/11. I took some pictures and hopefully will be able to post a few.

After the tour, we walked the town, but realized that it wasn’t very impressive. So, we headed to the Bishop’s Palace. Now, we were mostly just killing time at this place, so I have to be honest and say that I didn’t retain but a few things from this tour. Each of the rooms give insight into the Waterford of the 18^th century. One interesting story: when they were restoring the home, they found fabricated chairs that were badly damaged. They called a shop that happened to know where the chairs were originally from which was a store in Paris. That store still exists today, only 12 workers, and all family owned since the 1800’s. And even crazier, they had the order form from the original order of those chairs, and they were able to run the same exact pattern and restore it in the exact original dress. Also, during Napolean Bonapartes time, men would often wear corsets to slim the waist. Or even go as far as have ribs removed to slim down.

When we got back to Dublin, we visited a Superquinn grocery store, picked up salads, olives, sundried tomatoes, and hummas with breadsticks. We had a google plus video chat with Dad and DJ. Tomorrow is going to be a kickback day of shopping and sleeping in.

We arrived to the Cliffs at 11:30, and had 2 hours to spend there. Just like the Grand Canyon, you have to see the Cliffs of Moher to really behold the grandeur. We were lucky that it wasn’t a windy day. We ate veggie soup in the upstairs café and then walked the cliffs. Then, we walked the cliffs for a bit. There were a couple live musicians there. I got a harpist on camera. Music always adds that special touch to landscape grandeur. 

After loading back up, we drove along the coast and through the Burren, an area where still standing are rock cottages built during starvation times. My favorite part of this drive was the farms along the side of the ocean. I love seeing the cows, sheep, horses and even llamas with the ocean as a backdrop. It was such a peaceful drive.

We arrived in Galway at 3:30. This city is very congested, though there is a main strip of stores, pubs and restaurants that is only open by foot. Our tour guide pointed out a few key buildings and walked us along a beautiful river path that leads to the ocean. We didn’t have much time here, so mom and I got dinner at Mixtgreens, mom got a salad and I got a soup, we walked for a bit then headed back to the bus with our tour guide. We may take the train in to Galway and do some shopping and visit the cathedrals that we didn’t have time to see today.

On our journey back to the hotel, we stopped in a convenience store. Nerd that I am, who loves my company so much, I asked the cashier about their Wrigley rep. I took a picture of a front counter display and then bought a flavor of Five that I have never seen in the US. It’s called Evolution – a sweet to sour citrus pear flavor

I learned a lot of Irish history today. I learned the truth about leprechauns, why so many Irish last names have an o’ before it, and I learned that if you have an itchy nose, it means you’re either going to kiss someone, or fight someone, so have someone slap your hand so that neither occur.

 GUINNESS! The Guinness Storehouse was so cool. It has 8 floors of interactive education from the raw ingredients to brewing process and the making of the wood barrels to store it. One floor was dedicated to all the advertising throughout the years. At the end of the tour, we got to pour our own glass of Guinness. We are officially certified to pour the perfect glass of Guinness. And guess who likes the taste? We tried Guinness and loved it. I always thought it would taste dark and strong, but it was actually very light and flavorful. And bonus, it’s one of the lower calorie beers out there.We took our beers to the top floor called the Gravity Bar, and got an almost 360 degree view of Dublin. I was so surprised at how much I enjoyed the storehouse. I highly recommend it.

Jean gave us some souvenirs and packed us up with sandwiches for the train. I also tasted treacles, it is similar to molasses and used in baking here. Our train took off at 2pm from Bennyhaunis and we arrived back at Dublin around 5pm. Mom and I took our first ride on the Luas, like an above ground subway, and we went to dinner at Milano’s on Dawson Street. I had eggplant antipasto with breadsticks, green olives, sundried tomatoes and arugula (they call arugula ‘rocket’) and mom had a simple pizza with pesto. Wish I had taken a picture of this meal.

Jimmy explained to me that there are two sizes of beer – a pint, and a half pint, but they call a half pint a glass. So far, I’ve tried lager and Bulmer’s, an Irish cider. Two more to go: Guinness and an amber/bronze beer.

Our time at the McDonagh home was so special. As mom and I packed our bags into the car and checked the cottage one more time, Jimmy said, “They say if you leave something behind, it means you’ll be back.” I really hope we left something behind!

For lunch we had tomato and cheese sandwiches, and then headed off to Hennigan’s Heritage Center.

Hennigan’s Heritage Center: There isn’t enough space in this entry to tell all the stories I heard today. Tom Hennigan turned his homeland into a museum of the way poor Irish lived back in his day as child. He turned his parents’ home and furnishings and land into a four or five room museum displaying the history of his family and this land and how it plays into overall Irish heritage. Over the years, visitors have surprised him with pieces of information that brought more light to one of his stories. For example, one of the beds in the kitchen was always called an output. It was the bed closest to the fire, and the children would be placed there when they were ill. He never knew why it was called an output, but, he learned from one of his guests, it was actually a Protestant term and not Irish. Some stories I heard today that stuck with me: The 1908 tragedy of Wigen, when 40 men died in a coal mine explosion in England and it left 122 children in Ireland fatherless; that chestnut tree branches actually have a horseshoe shape at the base of each branch, and it shows seven notches in each one, seven being significant because the Lord rested on the seventh day. One of my favorite stories was told by an image on the wall of a teacher glaring at a boy who arrived late to school. The schoolmaster asked him “Boy, why you late to school?” The boy answered “Had I a spoon…Had I?” Breakfast was the most important meal of the day and there weren’t enough spoons for all the children. The young ones got fed last, but no child ever left the home without breakfast. Tom explained that this was the beginning of rhetorical questions to provide an answer. I also saw actual tools that were used for building the Titanic. Many visitors have appreciated his work at this museum and have donated items to him over the years. If the walls could speak, the stories they’d tell….

It was just the five of us at the end of the tour, as we had originally joined half way through a large group tour and then Tom took us around to the beginning, and he blessed us with a shot of true Poitin (Poy-chin), a home brew liquor, or also called moonshine. It will get your toes warm in less than 10 seconds. This museum visit was a major highlight of the trip, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. It isn’t near a major city, but I imagine there are buses that would come in for the day.

He ended the tour with this question, and I’ll ask it to anyone reading this: What weighs more, a pound of gold or a pound of feathers?

We then went to another gravesite. I was a bit nervous after Jean told me to be careful not to fall in to any sites. I thought she was joking at first. The ground has softened over the years and it does happen that you can fall through. Can someone say worst nightmare ever? Jimmy drove us to the old train station as well. We then went to dinner at Kelly’s Gateway Hotel and mom had fish and I had veggie spring rolls. After dinner, we drove around town and Jimmy took us to the Robert McCallion Memorial Pitch where a practice game of gaelic football was going on. Jimmy is very proud of the stands here because it was built all by volunteered time. He was one of the volunteers.

We ended the evening with more tea, Bailey’s, and TV or as they would say here, the “telly.” Mom and I settled for bed at 1pm.

Learnings from Swinford:

Other Irish sayings: Fella, Lads, Ladess’, paddies and biddies (though these aren’t used as often because they can be understood as a racially explicit in some contexts). They refer to their parents as “Daddie and Mommie.”

There are different accents across counties. They can usually tell where an individual is from by the accent.

One thing I noticed was that Jean and Jimmy knew so much about their home and heritage and people of their town. As we drove, they would point out the names of people who were along the road and would wave to others. I love the small town feel where everyone knows everyone.

Tom at the Heritage Center left me with some advice. He said, “In Ireland it will be said that you always have a tool with you in case things are going poorly, it’s six-inches long, and behind your teeth – your tongue.” If ever you need help, just open your mouth and ask, then have a drink, and some Irishman will help you on your way.

Mom and I headed for the bus at around 11:30 to make our train for Swinford that took off at 12:30pm. We left from Dublin Heuston station and headed to Ballyhaunis station. We had a 2 ½ hour train ride which gave us a great view of the country. This was the Ireland I imagined, green, animals roaming free on the land, cottages and grey skies. I loved the train ride and would highly recommend it if even for just seeing the land.

Jean and Jimmy McDonagh picked us up at the train station at 3pm. Jimmy is a first cousin to my Grandpa John Quinn, and this was my mom’s, and my first meeting with them. They took us to Knock which is a major site for catholic pilgrimage. We then went to the gravesite of the McDonagh family, and then headed off to Jean and Jimmy’s home in Swinford.

The Cottage: The cottage we stayed in was the first home of the McDonaghs on this land. It was built before 1890. Jimmy’s grandfather was John-Sean, and his father was named Jack (who married a woman by the name of Kamp). The Kneisey family owned this land before the McDonaghs and what was probably the original home on this land is now used for outdoor storage. This cottage was the original house of the McDonaghs. They have since built in a home just across the yard for Jean and Jimmy. It was built in 1980, two years after they got married. The cottage was originally four rooms and a main living room with a fireplace. At one time they had 10 people living here. They have, of course, updated it since it was built. Mom and I walked in to a fully stocked pantry, fresh flowers, and a blazing fire. The stoves run on oil out in the country and these are still the main source of heating the kitchen area. Jean and Jimmy made this place so cozy for us. And I must say, it has been a dream of mine to stay in a bed & breakfast so I can experience the real Irish country. This was more than I had ever hoped for.

Dinner: Jean cooked a traditional Irish dinner that they called bacon and cabbage and turnips. We would call it ham, cabbage, and rutebeggas and potatoes. And Jimmy made sure we had Kerrygold butter since someone listed on Mom’s facebook page that we had to have this butter while we were in Ireland. After being stuffed, Jean made pudding with banana ice cream and jelly. She said that some foreigners just got a kick out of the jelly and the way it moved and couldn’t get enough of watching it. One of Jimmy’s favorite desserts is NickerbockerGlory – ice cream jelly and fruit cocktail. It was something he discovered as a child.

After Dinner: Many of Jimmy’s siblings came over to our cottage. There was his sister Mary Quinn and husband Tommy, sister Kathleen, first cousin Mary Bones and husband Pat, and Mary Bones’ brother Johnny Lydon. Jimmy’s brother Tony, and his daughter Jackie with her husband Paddy and children Liam and Mark. In Ireland, if you are the ones being visited, you must host. So mom and I hosted this party of 14 in our cottage. It was wonderful watching everyone look over the pictures my mom brought to see who could figure out the missing pieces. Mom got a lot of questions answered.  We also discovered that the woman we refer to as Grandma Peggy was considered Aunt Maggie to the McDonaghs.

We had more desserts and Bailey’s over ice.

After most everyone left, Mary and Tommy Quinn asked if we wanted to go out. Mom and I thought they were joking because at this point, it was 10:20pm. They were not joking! Mary’s first cousin owns this bar in Foxford called the Hideout. And so, we headed out for dancing and Guinness….I’m joking about the Guinness. Too dark of a brew for Mom and I.

The Hideout: This bar was full of locals who come out every Monday night for the live music. We enjoyed watching all of the men ask the women to dance. There were two-steps, waltzes, and fast dances. Mom and I were both asked to dance. Brian said to me “Now when you go home you can say you danced with an Irish farmer!” They loved to tap their feet. One man even hammered a broken floorboard down in the middle of the dance. I got to dance to Galway Girl, one of my favorite songs. I also danced to “The Siege of Ennis” where your partner spins you around the floor and you stand in two lines like red rover. And with a couple lagers in me, I had a grand ol’ time!

We finally ended the night around 2pm.

It was a ‘chill’ day for two reasons: We didn’t really have an agenda, and it was super windy and cold out. Mom’s Brass Pro jacket and my Columbia brand Wrigley jacket really saved us. Mom and I slept again for 10 hours last night, and didn’t make our way to the hop on hop off bus till about 12:45. We got on our bus at St. Andrews Church, and made our way to the Kilmainham Gaol, however, they didn’t have tours available for another 2 hours. So, we got back on the bus and went to the National Museum. We had lunch at the café there called Brambles and had veggie soup, bread and I had a yummy pesto bean salad. It was about 3:30 at this time, and the museum is only open from 2-5pm on Sundays, so we were only able to visit the military ward of the museum. We may try to go back this week to visit the other halls. I’ve added some pictures from the museum to this post.

My learnings for today:

-          The top floor of the tour bus is great. I thought it would be cold, but it has great views and the wind wasn’t as strong as I thought it would be.

-          We have a 15 minute walk into Grafton Square each day, and I LOVE all the walking we do. We walk after each meal and get so much fresh air.

-          Dublin is fashionable. I am in love with the styles in the windows. Don’t they say that it takes 2 years for the fashion from Europe to reach America?

So, after a google live chat with Dad and DJ, we are trying to head to bed before 11pm so we can get on a normal schedule. Tomorrow, we head out to Swinford to meet Grandpa’s cousin Jimmy and his wife Jean. We are going to stay with them for 2 days. It is about a 2 and half hour train ride from Dublin. I am looking forward to getting out to the country and away from the busy Dublin life. Will write again when I can!

After the river tour, walked Temple Bar area. They have a food festival on Saturdays which was definitely worth visiting. I got a warm apple cider with a shot of Whiskey. YUM. Wish Starbucks could do that with their Apple Cider. There are tons of pubs in Temple Bar because it used to be a place where ships would dock. The streets have beer caps settled in the tar. Was this planned, or just a byproduct of beer laden streets for the last 200 years? A few takeaways from today:

-          Bring a small reusable grocery bag

-          Common words used by locals: Mate, Brilliant, Rubbish, and the boat driver is called the skipper.

-          Great to be here when there is still light out at 9:30pm. I would definitely consider this when traveling to other countries. It gives us the confidence to stay out later than normal.

Dinner was our best meal yet. We headed out at about 8:15 and went to Pinocchio in Ranelagh, just a five minute walk. We shared a bread basket with dipping spreads of olive tapenade, sun-dried tomatoes, hummas, and pesto. We each got a bowl of minestrone soup and Mom got an Italian Merlot and I got a Pinot Grigio. We were there till about 10pm and raved about the food. This may be a place we frequent again before we leave.

Tomorrow we head to the hop on hop off bus to check out the rest of Dublin.

Finally, we have arrived! I must admit that 20 hours in airports and flights wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. As long as you sleep, eat, and stretch when possible, it goes by fast.

On our descent, I could see all the plains of Ireland just as I imagined them. Around 10:30am, mom and I got picked up by our driver who took us to our hotel. We both commented that we would have NEVER found the Hilton on our own. There is only one small sign and it is squeezed in between two other buildings. After dropping off our luggage, we hit the town. We are right down the street from St. Stevens green, so we hit up Starbucks, and walked through half of the green. Then we went to a public mall and browsed the shoppes. A few things I learned today:

- Even if the weather forecast is sunny and warm (warm being high 40s), LAYER up. The wind chill can be unbearable and it is cold in May!

-          Public toilets cost money, approximately €.20 per person

-           Need to add the following to packing list: hat that covers ears, rain-proof shoes

-           My new favorite snack is sweet n spicy tea with cinnamon graham crackers!

After we ate delicious lunch wraps in the comfort of our room, we rested up for dinner. We had a 15 minute walk to Grafton street where there are endless restaurants to eat. We went to Cornucopia, one of Dublin’s most renowned Vegetarian restaurants, and ate a delicious meal. Mom had eggplant pasta, and I had roasted tomato and mushroom with chili soup, and thai vegetables with tofu and tempeh. We were sereneded by the sound of Irish chatter and a harpist. We headed back to the hotel and didn’t even realize that the sun wasn’t down and it was 9:30! Even now, at 10:10 pm, there is still a bit of light out. Now time for some much needed shuteye.

Our families helped us move in on Saturday. Some of my favorite moments from the day:

• Mark finding all the herbs and growth we didn’t even know about
• My nephews playing in our yard
• Wyatt and Drake helping pull stickers off the walls
• Adam’s picture he made for us
• Pam screaming when she saw my walk-in closet!
• Abby working to get the contact paper just right in my cabinets
• Our families celebrating with us in our home

On the first night, we had our parents and Abby over for Red Brick pizza and salads, and we sat around talking, sipping wine, and with Friends DVDs playing in the background the entire time. This was the first time where DJ got to assign who would pray over dinner and, naturally, chose his dad who usually assigns DJ to pray over the meals.

We are BLESSED beyond understanding. From the get-go, God continues to bless us with income, opportunities, and joy. Like a child, I keep praying “So, what’s the catch?” But He blesses those who love Him, and I am continually humbled. Some of our blessings that I don’t want to forget:

• HE gave us a home right smack in the middle of both of our parents homes
• HE allowed me 3 days of admin work from Wrigley to be home to deal with appointments and making sure the house was moving along
• HE gave DJ a promotion 2 weeks before we got our keys
• HE gave me a bonus that was way over what I expected
• HE left us a large sum of money in our savings
• HE allowed our closing costs to be way lower than expected
• HE gave DJ and I jobs that we love, so we can be joyful each day
• HE gave us twin uncles who are installing and hooking us up with appliances!
• HE allowed Janet to be our realtor who found this home for us and walk us through the entire process with patience and guidance
• HE gave us everything we were looking for in a home and more – Irish touches, fresh thyme and rosemary growing, friendly neighbors, open kitchen plan, loft area, large master bathroom, home prewired for sound, birds visiting our yard, and the list goes on and on

I always want to be mindful of the fact that we are undeserving of these good things, but we accept them, and hope to extend the arm of blessing to those around us. SO much to share, but hopefully I’ll get back to blogging weekly so I don’t have to pour it out all in one post.

The very humbled, grateful, and full of joy – Maddie