Alexa has been looking for leprechauns since we arrived in Ireland. We haven't seen any....not even one! She was thinking maybe they didn't exist, but then we did some research on the internet. The sites I found for her to check out explain that Leprechauns are wily, clever creatures. They are very difficult to spot......the only real hope you have to see one is to catch one in a trap. And if you are lucky enough to catch one, well, then they will grant you three wishes if you will let them go. The website cautions you to be very careful about your wishes, because those tricky little fellows will get you to make wishes that end up getting you into trouble instead of making you happy. Luckily there are directions online about how to build a trap......so our first stop this morning was to get trap making supplies!
We ended up in the little town of Terenure, looking for a store that might sell some of the stuff we needed........and not only did we find a great little dry goods store, but the town itself was out of a "Visit Ireland" guidebook. The people were lovely and there was a beautiful church that we stopped and explored. All of the parish priests were buried in the small graveyard at the church, and on their headstone was their birthdate, date of death, and number of years in service to the parish. One of the priests, who died in 1846 at the age of 96, had served the church for 82 years! Amazing! Alexa and I had a great time checking out that little cemetery.
Back on the road after our stop, we wind our way down the to the southern most part of Ireland, just south of Cork, to the Blarney Castle, to kiss the Blarney Stone. Legend says that anyone who kisses the Blarney stone will be given the gift of gab........can't imagine any of the three of us needing that, but what the heck!
The castle was built in the 1500s....and is no longer a working castle, but simply a landmark. To get to the magic stone, you have to walk just about a mile, along a pathway lined with trees dressed in "leg warmers".
We never could find out why they were all covered with these "sweaters", but it was interesting.
When we got to the castle, we explored the dungeon a bit before heading up the 40 meters to the bottom floor of the old castle. Arriving there we followed the signs to the Blarney Stone and soon found that the only way up was a narrow stone circular staircase, a staircase that had been there for 500+ years. It was damp and slippery and so narrow there was no rail, just a big rope in the middle to grab hold of in order to try to stay balanced!
But we made it....and we....ALL THREE OF US....laid flat on our backs, trusted the handsome young man working for tips to hold onto us, scooted out over the edge of the walkway, leaned our heads back and kissed that old dirty rock!
Regardless, it was a great afternoon. Worth every minute of the drive and every step to the top!
We headed north, planning to go through Waterford and look at buying some pieces before we returned to Dublin. We just had to stop and get some fuel before we got there.
Any of you who have followed my blog before, know I had some trouble with the whole gas/diesel issue in France. So we double checked what went into the car.....yep....diesel. Saw a small station that sold "gazole", Irish for diesel. Pulled in and the two pumps both had only one handle on each side. Both on my side were green. Diesel...right? Just to be sure, I checked to see if the nozzle would fit without any rigging like I had to do in France. Yep..fit just fine. So I filled up and we were on the way again!
About 10 miles down the road the car started sputtering. Then it died. Started it back up, drove about 30 feet....dead again! OMG...could I have really done such a dumb thing again? Yes....not only could I ...but I did. Luckily we were near a small little store. I went in and embarrassed by my stupidity, ask for some help. The two men in the store came to check and be sure that I had actually put in gas and not diesel. They both sniffed of the tank....and agreed....yep...this woman is dumb!!!!
About that time, a friend of theirs came up on a big tractor. He checked out just how dumb the American woman was as well. They were so friendly and helpful though...even though they must have had a good laugh at me. Mom and Alexa both needed to go to the restroom, so they allowed them to go into the house attached to the store. They then had the tractor guy call a mechanic in the nearest town....who drove out, drained the gas out of the car....and gave us some diesel to go on our way! The only good thing about the situation were the four new friends we met...charming and gracious and funny. No one can have enough friends like that, no matter the circumstance of their meeting!
By the time we got back on the road, we didn't have time to shop in Waterford, but we did drive along the beautiful coastline there and enjoyed every minute of....feeling lucky to not be stranded on the road somewhere with no one to help us.
We didn't get back to the hotel until almost 10...and we still had a Leprechaun trap to build and set!
We headed to bed, finally, with big hopes of catching us a little buddy before we left the next morning. We, of course, planned on practicing the catch and release style of leprechaun hunting!
Well, up early to get ready to head to Northern Ireland, Alexa and I went out to check out our trap.
Some little wily leprechauns had torn up our trap, spread the fake gold we had used as bait all over the ground, and lefta us a snippy little note about not being tricky enough to catch a leprechaun! They did, however, leave Alexa a cute little stuffed leprechaun. We tried to follow there footprints that they left after walking through the glitter we had put out.....followed them to holes in some nearby trees.....but just couldn't find us a leprechaun. Probably for the best, we had heard that after you catch one, they will grant you three wishes to let them go....but you have to be VERY careful because they are tricky about how they grant wishes. No telling what we would have ended up with!
Today we drove to Northern Ireland. Before going to Belfast, we drove all the way to the very northern tip of the island, to a place called Giant's Causeway. WOW! This is one of the most amazing rock formations I've ever seen. They are almost all perfect hexagon shaped columns that rise up out of the surf and the coast line. It was cold and windy and magical. We had to walk over a mile to get down to the formations, and then did some climbing to get on top of them....but it was so worth it. We had an amazing day exploring the natural wonder.
We are now in Belfast.....near the port. There are tributes to the IRA everywhere as we are evidently in the middle of where most of the conflict happened decades ago. More about this on the next post after I have a chance to get out and explore.
I can't close this post out without a quick note about Mom, especially since I was just talking about natural wonders! The past two days are just perfect examples of what kind of traveler she is. Scared to death of heights...... she climbed the steep stairs and inched her way around the top of the Blarney Castle. Once up there, she was not about to miss out on the opportunity to do a thing, so she laid down, leaned back and kissed that danged rock! And EVERYONE knows she doesn't even NEED the gift of gab! She never even raised an eyebrow about me putting gas into the diesel engine....just fell right in, making the best of the situation, even though she really wanted to go to the Waterford Crystal Store. Today, cold natured and again, afraid of heights....she climbed up to the top of the formations at Giants Causeway. Kept us with us step for step! All at 79 years young! I still, more than ever, want to be her when I grow up! She is the best travel buddy in the world!
And now....she is snoozing away....so if I want to keep up with her tomorrow, I better get some sleep myself!
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