Céad Míle Fáilte.

Translation: One Hundred Thousand Welcomes.

Welcome to our blog. From Friday, April 2nd through Monday, April 12th, 2010, we spent 10 magical days in the country that stole our hearts 4 years prior. Ireland. We hope you enjoy the pictures and stories that recount our journey. If you're married to the right person, you fall in love with them over and over again. That's what happens to us with Ireland. We fell in love with it all over again--and know we will continue to as we journey back again and again throughout our life. To us, this land isn't a vacation destination. It's something more--like home. If you've never been, we hope what you see here will convince you to add it to your list of places to visit in this lifetime. It is not to be missed.

*John & Kristen*

There are 28 posts on the blog. To navigate, when you get to the bottom of the page, click on "Older Posts" to continue reading. All posts can also be accessed on the right navigational bar.

About the Author/Blogger

This is John talking. This is my one and only post on this blog. I want everyone to know that my wife put a lot of her time and effort into creating this blog so that our many memories of our 2nd trip to Ireland are captured forever. Kristen is the ultimate traveling companion, especially when it comes to Ireland. That is to say, she loves it as much as I do, and I love Ireland to the core of my soul. It's because of that mutual infatuation with Ireland that we had such an amazing, life affirming trip. In other words, I couldn't have done it without her, just like everything else in my life. So to my wife, the best Ireland blogger I know, I say "Tanks," I love you, and Slainte! Let's do it again soon.

Loughrea

We arrived in Ireland on Good Friday. After collecting our baggage and car, we headed west for a 3.5 hour drive. Our desitation was Doolin, where we stayed throughout Easter weekend. I knew we were going to need to stop and stretch our legs somewhere near the middle and I discovered Loughrea on the map. Loughrea was said to have a beautiful lake and cathedral, so that's where we stopped.

We arrived just as the town's people were headed to Good Friday services. We entered the town on the opposite side from the cathedral which happened to be great because we discovered St. Mary's, a smaller, but still beautiful church. After spending some time on the grounds of St. Mary's, we followed the town moat (the only one still in use in Ireland) through to St. Brendan's cathedral. Nearly every single shop window had a sign stating it had closed for a few hours to allow for worship. We thought that was great and made perfect sense. We did find a coffee shop that was opened and grabbed a cup for the walk. We were able to stop in St. Brendan's for part of the service but didn't stay long. It was packed with towns people and was standing room only!

Pointing us to our destination.
St. Mary's







Me & the moat.
Walking over to St. Brendan's.
Loved this which adorned the iron gates upon entrance.

The Winding Road

Anyone who risks their life and the lives of those they love by driving in Ireland deserves a medal. My husband, having done it twice now in our marriage, deserves two. All joking aside, driving some of Ireland's roads is no walk in the park. The major highways are a cinch, but most of the country is not highway. Many of the roads leave you asking, "Is this really a road?" or "How are TWO cars passing at high rates of speed not going to collide?". The non-highway roads that are paved well--you can count on those to be filled with twists and turns. And that's after you realize you're driving on the opposite side of the road.

The roads lead you to your destination--and once you arrive you realize you'd quickly travel them again and again. Trust us when we say experiencing Ireland's roads is part of the incredible adventure.





See? The view is worth traveling the winding road.

Cliffs of Moher

Our first full day in Ireland was spent traveling south on R478 and stopping many times along the way. The first stop on our day's journey is one of Ireland's most visited spots--the Cliffs of Moher. Lucky for us, it was located just one mile south of our B&B. The morning we visited was a little cloudy and misty, but that didn't take any joy away from our visit. That is Ireland.






We got to climb to the stop of this tower to experience an even better view.

St. Brigid's Well

We experienced so much of Catholic Ireland during this visit. It was something we were really looking forward to this go-around. Just south of the Cliffs of Moher was St. Brigid's Well. It's hard for non-Catholics to understand the devotion we have to Saints, but it is something so central to our faith. We are all called to be Saints and they, having been human themselves, are examples we call upon to help us strengthen our own selves. They are beautiful examples to us.

Many believe the waters of St. Brigid's Well have healing powers. Said to have been converted to Christianity by St. Patrick himself, many have left symbols of thanksgiving at this place for the healings they attest to her intercession. Our wonderful hostess Ann told us of this spot--many thanks to her because we would have passed by and never had known otherwise. It was so peaceful.