The Land of Our Ancestors

I'm half Irish. My mother is 1/2 Irish ~ her maiden name is Kelly. My father is also 1/2 Irish ~ with relatives from Tipperary I believe. While I'm not a 100% Irish decent, it was still exciting to be in Ireland where I am descended from. My mother's side of the family has some very defined roots in Lawrencetown, which is in East Galway.

First we headed to the Milk Market in Limerick, which is on our way to the north. (We went through Limerick everyday except once to head north.) It's a traditional country type market. There was fresh cheese, breads, chocolates, fish, and so on. The weather was lovely ~ cold, rainy, and cloudy. We enjoyed the narrow streets, difficulty navigating my mother in the wheelchair, and the weather that was working on getting us sick. We bought cheese. I love cheese. Uncle Dan bought some lovely veggies ~ which would later become our meal on Monday evening.

After we chaotically ran around town, we ended up heading north to Lawrentown. We found the road to our ancestors by reading our way through the map... it was a bit tricky, but we got there all right.

There is one major attraction for the twelve Kellys in tow. The Church! We're all god fearing people, and clearly in need of a church. He he he. There is a very special window that was dedicated to my great-great-grandfather and great-great-grandmother. It's a beautiful stained glass scene with a small plaque commerating them. In addition, there is an offertory stand asking you to pray for the donor ~ Mamie Maldoune Kelly.

After getting busted by the local priest for our raid of the church and our continual picture snapping, we did the logical thing a group of Kelly's should do. We went to the local pub. The barmaid was friendly, a "football" game was on, and we got complimentary "chips," popcorn chicken, and mini sausages. Delicious.

Bunratty Castle & Folk Park

After a rigorous day of driving on Thursday, we opted for a more relaxed start to our day on Friday. We soaked up breakfast at the Manor House. They are over-the-top with service and I ordered some yummy crepes. The Manor House breakfast was a definite step up from the Carriage House. You're able to customize your hot breakfast as well as choose from a buffet of baked goods ~ our favorite was the croissant ~, fresh fruit, smoked meat, salmon, cereals, and yogurt. They have a variety of freshly squeezed juices, miserable offering of coffee (I'm told), and just about anything else you can want to drink. I ordered some yummy hot chocolate.

In late afternoon, we headed to the Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. The main attraction is the 15th century castle that was restored in the 1960s. The restoration of the old castle includes some fantastic views from the tall towers. We had a lovely guide give us information about the castle and was dressed in a period appropriate outfit. She was a wealth of knowledge and pointed out spy holes in the main room that the Lord used to gather information. She also told us that there are no records of how much it actually cost to restore the castle, just that it was a lot of money. There is also an extensive collection of antiques from this time period in the castle (they don't have any originals that survived and thus they have a collection from the 15 and 16th centuries).

After the castle, we wondered around the "folk park." In Aunt carol's words, we paid full-admission in the off-season for an off-peak experience. I believe that there are supposed to be characters in period dress with info, but besides the guide at the castle, we saw no one else. With the steep admission price of 14 euro, almost 20 USD, it just wasn't worth it.

After Bunratty, we went to the Durty Nellys. It claims to be the oldest pub in Ireland. As typical, we settled in for a pint and soaked up the atmosphere. Durty Nellys was very grungy and appeared to have that ancient feel to it. It almost reminded me of "the wick" ~ the wickaden pub in Providence, RI.

Ring of Kerry

I forgot to bring my camera to the first stop of the day ~ the Catholic service here in Adare. I think we'll be going back into town tomorrow and I'll be able to snap some shots of it then. Besides a few Celtic prayers, it was business as usual.

After church, we got a slow start south towards the Ring of Kerry. It is a popular scenic drive in Southern Ireland. It is a peninsula and had really amazing views.

It took us a bit of navigating to get there, but we did arrive after what seemed like a really long time. We landed at the Muckross House and Gardens. It is a victorian house located on an immense estate. We missed the tour but peeped around for a bit and watched a movie about the state park.

Killarney National Park was the take off point for the gorgeous scenery. The windy roads were difficult to maneuver, but I wasn't driving so I had that going for me. My dear Aunt Carol, Uncle Dave, and Dad had that weighty task. It is impossible to describe the breathtaking views, but I will say that all the while my eyes were open and soaking it all up. (Uncle Rob, on the other hand, took a snooze when the sky was clear and the sun was shinning.)

We were unable to complete the 117 mile loop before the sun went down, it was merely the cliff notes tour. What we saw, we enjoyed throughly.

On our way back, we stopped off and had the best meal we've eaten in Ireland. I ate traditional Irish boiled bacon and licked my plate clean. It was an extremely hearty dish topped with a creamy parsley sauce. I also tried a bite of the prime rib, mom's pasta, stickey toffee, and the apple crumble. All were yummy .. and our drinks were the most reasonably priced I've seen. The exchange rate is really killing us over here.

The rest of the ride home went smoothly and I look forward to our last full day in Ireland tomorrow.

ps. i do need to catch up on some posting, but i'm tired... so not just yet.

Cliffs of Moher

<----- car window shot, fantastic, eh?



We awoke at the lovely townhouses and headed off to breakfast (well, 8 of us lucky ones did). The breakfast isn't worth 23 euros, but you certainly can fill yourself up and enjoy yourself. They do work hard on service and pride themselves on this fact .... I think. Loading into the cars took some work to get us all going, but we did pull off with Dave as the lead car driver, my pops in 2nd place, and Aunt Mary Carol pulling up the rear. There was a little bit of an issue with the speed limit -- Dave and Dad have MPH listed in big white numbers, with the KPH listed in small. Carol only has KPH... just a slight difference on speed.

We got moving and enjoyed the scenery along the way. We spent all day in the car watching the Irish countryside go by. Our long drive resulted in many roundabouts and narrow twisty roads. As it was all in good fun, we also hopped a few curbs and cut it close. Its all just a part of the learning to drive on the "wrong" side of the road.

Our first major stop was anti-climatic, a gas station break. Then right around the bend was the Cliffs of Moher. They called a "bogey" ~ similar to a golf cart ~ from the parking lot gate and ran mom, grandfather, and daddy-o up to the top. The rest of us just hiked it up the hill. The view was stunning and very enjoyable. It was not too cold or windy for me, though I am certain it was a bit more chilly for mom.

When we felt we'd all taken enough pictures to keep us happy for a lifetime, we descended back down the hill. Since there is 12 of us, we felt the need to dilly-dally some more . .. before heading towards the Burren.

The Burren must be some slang deterioration of barren - because that's what this land is. A long stretch of land that is impossible to do much with. It is still interesting scenery, but it's just a large uninhabited stretch.

The Barren is the route we took towards Galway, I imagine there is a shorter way but we were along for the drive and enjoying the scenery. Driving in Galway was stressful for everyone. We hit the city a rush hour and had many a roundabout to work our way through. Trying to be a three car caravan and not knowing the way was extremely difficult for everyone. We did eventually navigate it all and managed to park. As nothing that costs euros is cheap, the parking was 1.60 euro for an hour until 7 pm, then three euro for the evening. The problem is that you can't pay for both at the same time. We arrived at 6:15 and had to return to the cars 45 minutes later to pay for our night parking. Oh well.

We were looking for buskers a pub that Nina researched. It took a bit of navigating, but it wasn't too difficult to get to. I was very elegant and I ordered the lamb and Guinness stew with a side of Guinness. It was delicious. I tried some of Dad's bangers and mash and that was yummy, too.

It was a lovely dinner yet it took forever and was expensive. The waitress was working the crew over and got them to tip 15%, though in Ireland its not customary to tip on service. Especially not that much. Oh well. You win some you loose some, and it was lucky for the waitress.

We split up driving on the way home, and tho Dave left first, they took a different route and didn't make it back for an additional 1/2 hour or so after we were already home. We checked out the Tack Room Bar and met some wedding guests. It was an enjoyable evening ~ Nina after two Gin and Tonics is always entertaining.

The Tack Bar

at the hotel

bob is just a fun guy .....

We MADE IT!!! 12 Kellys are in Ireland staying at a fabulous mansion in Adare, Ireland. We almost didn't make it .... a few times over.

1.) Loaded up and ready to go, right? Dan decided to take a shower at 1:30 pm, thus he wasn't in the lobby until 2:15 pm. The shuttle was ready to for 2:30 pm. Whew!

<-- Our luggage & people took up the whole shuttle.

2.) In range of Chicago, a wrong turn nearly cost 4 travelers their free parking and shuttle to the airport. But let's be honest, I had no problems because I stayed at a Holiday-Inn Express last night. ;) Dave, Kathleen, Nina, and Robert were under the gun to make it to the hotel on time. The shuttle driver was loading us up and said we've only got 5 minutes to spare. Luckily, Dave excels as a driver in difficult situations and pulled in to the hotel in the nick of time.

Daddy-o forgot to mention to the driver we were headed to the international terminal, not domestic. Oopsy.

And last, but not least, Uncle Dan went missing when they started to close down the security lines. There was some mild worry, but I never batted an eye. Affterall, Uncle Rob was buying the round of drinks.

The 6 hr plane ride was boring and such. I got caught up on the movies, not on my sleep. I was lucky enough to sit next to my darling-ly not so quite Uncle Rob and behind my dearest Grandfather. oh well.

<---The first picture on Irish soil.
We arrived in Dublin without any problems, as a matter of fact, we were early. But lady luck had left us. The equipment that takes the frieght off the plane broke down completly while attached to our plane. It only meant an extra 1 1/2 hours in Dublin sitting on the plane. On the upside, they let all twelve of us into Ireland without getting flagged for misbehavior.

Adare Manor is beautiful and we checked into our townhouses and rested this afternoon. Being we had just arrived, we decided we just couldn't not go to the pub for dinner.

Oh yeah, and we picked up our 12 companion, my brother, in Shannon. (he was routed differently to Ireland.)

The First Leg of the Trip

The goal to get out of town was 10 am originally. With all of the errands we had to do (doctor's office, city hall, dry cleaners, gas, picking up swimsuits, scanning passports, bank, sandwiches.... and those are the ones I know about) we quickly bumped it back to noon. We were out of the city of St. Louis and on Highway 55 by 1 pm.

The van was packed to the gills -- very little breathing room available. Mother is the bag lady by far ~ she just has so much stuff to bring. On top of the large bags mom has along, there is a scattering of miscellaneous items that have yet to make into bags. We have plenty of time to figure it out tomorrow, right?? The surprising heavy packer was honestly my dear Uncle Dan who managed to pack a rolling duffel, a brown leather carry all, and a briefcase-like bag.

We arrived to our Holiday-Inn Rolling Meadows after 6 pm to check in. We were warned that our hotel is under renovation. The "holidome" is up and running. There is at least one pool down there and it appears there are two hot tubs to try out. Everything has a Polynesian theme and while its far from fished here at the hotel, the accommodation is still pleasant.

I arranged to pick up my cousin Kyle from the train station and off June and I dashed to get him. Unfortunately, the staff didn't know how to give us proper directions to the nearest train station and we got lost. Kyle was able to direct us to the station and we found him, brought him back to the holidome, and ordered some yummy Chicago style pizza. Delicious!

Tomorrow is our big day of departure. 5 of us have already checked in online and I have the PDA boarding passes on June's laptop. Boarding starts at 5 pm, we leave after 6 pm. We're hoping that security and everything runs smoothly.

The Big BIG Trip

The Big BIG Trip is quickly approaching. It will be a new experience for us -- all twelve us that are along for the ride. This upcoming Monday, November 12th, 6 of us will set out from St. Louis and head to "shytown" (AKA Chicago). My dearest sister June, my parents, my grandfather who is a young 83 years old, and my "favorite uncle in the whole world Uncle Dan."

The Crew Along for the Ride: 5 Smiths - Mom, Dad, June, Warren, & myself. My grandfather RLK Sr., Aunts Nina, Kathie, and Mary Carol; Uncles Robert, Dan, and Dave Boyer.

After a nice evening at the hotel, motel, Holiday-Inn.... we have most of the day to prepare to depart O'Hare International Airport on Aer Lingus. While a majority ~11 of 12~ will be departing on the same flight, my "little" brother Warren IV will be meeting us in Shannon International Airport in Ireland.

Our fabulous travel package includes our airfare, rental cars, and 6 nights accommodation at Adare Manor. "The Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort in County Limerick, Ireland, is the ultimate luxury five star vacation destination complete with an 18 hole championship golf course, a luxurious Spa, world-class dining facilities, fishing, shopping, sightseeing and a host of other estate activities guaranteed to make memories which will last a lifetime." Another bonus of our package includes a full Irish breakfast every morning. We have high expectations and look forward to our luxury destination.

Be sure to check back for more blogging and pictures in the week to come.