Maldron Hotel Limerick

We got up early yesterday and drove down to Cork, stopping in Blarney on the way down. There Frank kissed the Blarney stone in Blarney Castle, ensuring him the "gift of gab"- we'll see!

We stopped in Cork and went to an art museum there and had lunch in the museum cafe. I must say we have been blessed with outstanding food on this trip.

From there we drove to Cobh, the port from which almost all of our ancestors emigrated from Ireland to the US, as ...

We have had a most relaxing day at the Adare resort. We took a walk around the grounds this morning, past the formal gardens, the 500 year old oak tree, past the ancient stones, and the pet cemetary!

We went into town for some shopping and lunch in a thatched cottage. We got back in time for massages at the spa and then had an appointment with the local garde (police) to ...

... in the traffic between the two penninsulas. It is a lesson in PR- one is called "The Ring of Kerry" and the other is "Dingle". Which do you think most people visit?

After three days of nonstop driving we are ready for a rest. So today we stay in Adare and explore this wonderful resort and the town. Maybe a nice massage...

... It ended up to be a 60 kilometer drive to reach someplace that is 15 kilometers away- but oh well- it WAS beautiful!

We got back to the National Park around 4:30 and found our horse cart driver- and we were off. Robert and his horse Susie gave us a lovely tour of the route to the Waterfall and then the Abbey, Irish stories all the way. We learned the REAL story of the Herbert family who built ...

Security came and found Frank's pants, his wallet and keys! Only the money was gone. That is a relief as we pictured a day spent dealing with these unpleasantries.

The resort has been nothing but kind. They have moved us into the Manor House. I believe this was an abbey originally. I will upload pictures. We had breakfast overlooking the formal gardens. We are off to Muckross House today.

... because I was overtired, overstressed, and overly homesick. I did a little exploring around the place after I woke up and it seems pretty cool. My room's a little bit gross, but I kinda knew that coming into this. I’ve met one of my roommates and she’s very nice. She’s from Galway and was helping me figure some things out in my room. I already broke my clock…I plugged it in and forgot a ...

... village, complete with, of course, a working pub. It gets dark at about 4:30, but I hear that it will start getting lighter in about a week? It also rains and gusts here every hour, and then immediately stops and is pleasant again. I need some Wellingtons really soon. Well I don't have much to report, because this is kind of the dull part of the trip. I will have much more to say when I'm in Galway. Everyone we meet tells us ...

... the characteristic rhythm," and "a particular feature is the use of open strings to provide a drone-type rhythmic effect" (ibid). Also, it was common in a duet to have one fiddle playing an octave lower than the other, a practice known as "bassing" (Vallely 1999, p.349). Of course, as Browne adds, this method "is not unique to Sliabh Luachra but is a hallmark of that style" (1997, p.65). The preservation of regional styles is an important goal for many of their ...

... those nights that brought me back in time, reminded me of an Under 16 mid term disco the local GAA, people popping in and out of the emergency doors of the sin bin and of course there was the congregation of girls in the toilet smoking.... tut tut!! Great laugh, lots of laughs - think the pictures tell the story!!! Click on em and cringe...........

... is the capital and it's legal to smoke pot there) friend Deitike's birthday with a small house party. All in all, it's been a great week, and I look forward to the weekend. We're planning on going to a concert at Dolan's Pub, one of the more popular and traditional pubs around Limerick, on Saturday. Then, on Sunday, we'll go rock climbing on the coast of the Burren with the Outdoor Pursuits Club. Very exciting! Slán.