Karas time in Ireland

We have been a very busy family in Ireland. As I already mentioned my family came in a day late to the farm, but we've enjoyed each other's company since. Saturday morning, I showed them around the farm and said my farewells to the animals. It was especially sad to say goodbye to my goats. Then we got in the car around 11:30 and headed to Cork. We parked and walked to the market where I spent many of my afternoons selling food. Unfortunately, Leades House did not have much to sell for this market so they had already left by the time we got there. O well. We still enjoyed the market and i got to buy my Kinder Surprise.

Then we went to Blarney Castle. This was one tourist attraction I saved to enjoy with my family. We all kissed the Blarney stone, of course. It was pretty difficult to do and the man that instructed you was very rude, but with the gift of eloquence, I couldn't really cuss him out. hehe. We walked around the grounds, and I bought a Blarney Castle t-shirt.

Sunday, I had to say goodbye to Leades House. I didn't expect it to be so emotional. I cried saying goodbye to Anne, Sally, and Colin. It hit me how much I have experience at the farm and how much I will miss it. It's truly been amazing. I am so greatful for the experience. the rest of the day was a long day of driving, and my dad did such a great job. It's very nerve wrecking not only driving on the left side of th rode but driving on skinny Irish country rodes that often are shared with tractors and sheep. I played tour guide and took us to Mizen Head peninsula. It's a very scenic drive that ends at the coast. My dad had a hard time enjoying some of the scenery due to the stressful driving, but the rest of us loved it. We also made a stop in Killarney where my dad bought and authentic Aran sweater...it was on his list of souvenirs to get himself. We ended up in Galway by 9:30 and enjoyed a Guinness at a pub. It was well deserved.

Monday, we woke up and had a great breakfast next door to our hotel. I ate lots of fresh fruit and a scone. Yum! We spent the day walking around Galway and taking in the local color. I took the family on a similiar walking tour that Jill and I took earlier this summer. Galway is definitely more crowded now. We had a big Irish dinner and ended up at a pub. This is a pretty typical way to end the day. This pub was great because they had Irish step dancers. It was the first time I got to see some traditional dance. It's simply amazing. The movement vocabulary is completely different to what I am used to. I would love to learn some one day.