Wrapping up Ireland

What was your favorite thing about Ireland?

Tom - Driving through the cow pasture. 

Mary Anne - The beautiful scenery, the lakes around Killarney, the city of Galway Bay, and the people. 

Maddy - I liked how all of the people embraced their history, and I liked how all of their symbols are everywhere, hidden around each city. 

Darcy - The accents.

Cara - Our experience with Triona in the B&B. I loved her enthusiasm and her love for her country and her love of running the B&B. I could have just listened to her talk all day. 

What didn't you like?

Tom - The tour through the Muckross House. It was too Victorian for me.
Maddy - The car.

Darcy - The driving.

Mary Anne - I didn't like the third B&B with its heavy, iron duvet. It was like getting an x-ray. I had to throw it off and then I got cold in the middle of the night and thought I would get my coat, but I didn't want to wake the girls so I didn't get out of bed. I suffered with only the sheet. I also could say the small car and the food, but I wasn't really in the back in the car. 

Cara - Tom's wild, fast driving and not stopping so we could take pictures. Also, the lack of leadership in deciding what we were doing. That was what was so great about Triona. She told us and we did it and it was great!

What did you find different from the States?

Maddy - Towns were very small, separated by open spaces.  

Darcy - The weather

Mary Anne - The Cliffs

Tom - The width of the roads - quite narrow compared to what we are use to. 

Cara - Everything was done on the left; the driving, the flushing. The sinks were small with the faucets on the side so that water would go everywhere when you turned it on. The small amount of water in the toilets. 

Favorite tour stop?

Maddy - Ladies View because I liked climbing down to see everything. It was very pretty. 

Darcy - The Blarney Castle minus the Poison Garden. That was stupid. 

Mary Anne - The Blarney Castle because the grounds and gardens were so beautiful. Seeing the changes from when I was there 60 years ago. 

Tom - Touring Galway city and getting to ride the bus, getting a chance to walk around, and seeing the theater. 

Cara - The Cliffs of Moher. I found the sheer beauty of that place to be indescribable. I was sorry we got there late because I would have liked to have hiked up them some. 

Funniest happening:

Tom - The cow pasture.
Darcy - Grandma losing it and laughing so hard she couldn't stop.
Mary Anne - My toothbrush going off in my bag.
Cara - Driving through the cow pasture with Tom on a tirade and the cow mocking him behind his back. 

Maddy - The first day in the car when Dad and Grandma were trying to have a conversation and neither could hear each other. 

As soon as Madison said this out loud during the interview this happened:
   Grandma - "What did she say? I didn't hear that".

   Tom- "Did anyone see the irony in that?"

Ireland in three words

Maddy - Clovers, clovers everywhere.

Darcy  - Gingers, gingers everywhere.

Tom - Driving like crazy.

Mary Anne - Drinking Irish Coffee.

Cara - Green, lush countryside.

Extra comments or thoughts

Mary Anne - Everyone sleeps late and I don't have to worry about oversleeping. 

Cara - I have to give props to Tom for his driving four women around who obviously knew more than him in driving, directions, and well, everything. I know I complained about him behind the wheel, but what he did was remarkable.
Tom - I liked the Guinness.
Mary Anne - I enjoyed the Waterford tour too. That was one of the most interesting things we did too. I liked that. 

Maddy - I question Dad's ability in knowing how to drive a stick shift. Although he was good in the end, I was quite scared in the beginning especially that first day. 

Cara - I was amazed at how people just walked along the road because I felt they were taking their lives in their hands in doing so. I mean I could have reached out of the window and patted the backs of these people they were so close. And it scared me to death when we walked the roads the few times we did to cross or to take pictures.
Maddy - Pickpocketing was not as big of a thing as everyone said it was.
Cara - The amount of people with red hair. I mean I have never seen as many gingers as we saw while in Ireland. It was incredible. In Galway Bay I stopped counting after seeing 120 redheads.

Maddy - Nobody should smell Darcy's dirty clothes bag. She told me to smell this empty bag and I thought a bottle of perfume had spilled in it, and it was the most disgusting odor ever. I learned not to smell something when someone tells you to.

Cara - We had great weather. I expected all of this rain and we got none. I mean I can't even count the little bit of rain we had because it was more of a twenty second sprinkle or mist. It was simply great weather.