Ireland

On Monday, July 3oth, we flew to Ireland. We landed in Dublin and took a bus to Gorey, where Ray and Lynne Crowe picked us up. They are friends of mine from Arizona that live in Ireland part of the year. They have a lovely cottage in Carnew. Their cottage is about 100 years old. They have remodeled it themselves. The area they live in is rolling hills and farmland. It is beautiful!



On Tuesday morning we went to the Craanford Mills. The man who owns it had worked there as a young boy. He went into other work and the mill later shut down. About 15 years ago he bought it and restored it. He gave us a tour, explaining the process of milling grain.


This is the room where they would light the fire to dry the grain. The main who owns the mill is on the left. The second picture is how the room looked without the flash.


After the mill, we went to Altamont Gardens. We had a picnic lunch. Next we walked through the gardens and then the trails through the woods that lead to a river.



This is a tree called the 12 Apostle's. It has one trunk and then twelve parts that grow off of it. I just had to climb up in the middle!


There had been 4 brown ducks on top of this rock. One by one, the white ducks climbed up and forced the brown ones off. A game of King of the Mountain!


This is an arch in the Altamont Gardens that is made of willow trees. As the trees grow they wrap (twist) them around each other to make the sides and top of the arch. It was amazing!


On the way home from the gardens, we stopped at a little village. I was looking at this shop and saw a gas pump in front of it. Then I realized it was also the post office and the grocery store!


On Tuesday night we went to the House of Story. This a a place where people come to share Irish culture and history. Everyone gathers in a small room around the fire. They pass a stick and each person has a choice to participate or pass it on. One can share a story, poem, or song. It was a very neat experience.

On Thursday morning, we took the bus back to Dublin. We went to St. Michan's Church. The church was founded in 1095. We went into the burial vaults underneath the church. The first vault had an area with coffins and then an open room with four "mummies." That is what they called them. They were very old skeletons. We got to touch an 800 year old skeleton!! I'm not sure we should admit that...some of you may think we are disgusting. But it was cool! The conditions of the vaults preserve the skeletons. The other room had different stalls with doors in which families would place the coffins.


We also saw Christ Church Cathedral. The inside of the church was huge and very decorative. However, there were many tourists there and it was pretty loud.