Ireland, Day 9

Let's start with the way the day ended, which is to say, badly. Kate woke up right around the time we were going to bed, 11:30 or so (half eleven as they say here), and didn't want to go back to sleep. Or, she wanted to, but she didn't. For the next 3 hours, Emily and I tried to get her back to sleep. The crib, our bed, the crib again....it was ridiculous. She was exhausted, but didn't sleep. I don't know why. Finally, around the time we'd given up, we just dumped her in her crib and she wailed a bit more and then, finally, slept. A little reminder, I guess, that vacations aren't always easy on the youngest members of our traveling party. This morning I was in the process of apologizing to Niamh, as she and Abbey were in the room that Kate made much of her noise in. Niamh was kind of conceding she'd been woken up once or twice, when Robin said, Andrew, it's no worry, Niamh was fine. Niamh, Kate didn't keep you up too much, did she? Niamh: "No. Not at all." It was not entirely convincing, but we decided to go with that anyway.



Yesterday was a sight-seeing day. We drove out to Black Head, which was a point basically at the edge of The Burren looking out on the ocean; we could see the Aran Islands, which remains one of my best memories from my previous trip to Ireland. Lots of parking awkwardly by the side of the road, clambering out over slumbering children in car seats, and gazing out over the water.

We drove into The Burren and stumbled around on side roads looking for tiny signs that more often than not weren't there. Eventually, though, we stumbled upon things. We saw a Faerie Circle, which was where an old ring fort used to be, but was totally covered by the earth. You climbed over a little wall and were in a space that almost appeared natural -- as if it were designed by nature, since the man-made structures were covered in earth. Trees ringed it. There was a ridge -- probably the top of the inner wall at one time -- that could be walked on. It was pretty amazing, very Lord of the Rings. I couldn't help but think of odd occurrences like pagan rituals (Robin said there were various stories/beliefs around such things) or at the very least high schoolers sneaking out there on a regular basis. Kate and Jack were each determined to walk despite narrow pathways and unsure footing, but there were no serious tumbles. Robin staged a nice photo of Emily and Jack sitting on the huge branch of a cool old tree. Around the time we were getting ready to leave, nature decided to hurry us on our way by raining harder.

Later we stopped for lunch at a creperie. Jack had it in his mind that he wanted a milkshake -- I have no idea where that desire came from. Remarkably, the place we stopped did in fact make milkshakes along with its pancakes and creative, pricey crepes. Jack apparently liked the idea of a milkshake more than actually drinking one ("It has bubbles," he griped. Yes, Jack, it's a milkshake), but I enjoyed it. Kate ate some pancakes with strawberry syrup, Jack some with maple.

Our next stop was an old ring fort that we had to approach three different times to 1) find and 2) pull into. It's very difficult to turn around on narrow roads in The Burren. Eventually we made it, and Emily and I got out to check it out, leaving the kids in the car. Emily worked her way off into the underbrush, expecting it to be similar to the Faerie Circle, returning as I pointed out a stone path that led up a ways. And there was the fort, a very cool stone entrance way circa 500 A.D. to 1300 A.D. -- they couldn't be more specific. We went through the entranceway and I had images of being transported to another world or time, which is what happens I guess when you watch or read too much science fiction. After going through the entrance and walking along a path, you came to a wooden structure that had been built with a nod to visitors -- stepping up onto the platform, you could gaze out over the fort wall at acres upon acres of land below, with houses, farms, fields. You could see all the way to the water, miles away, a reminder that forts were built as they were to help those inside spot attackers. I can't pronounce, spell, or remember the name of the fort, but it was pretty cool, and I even think Jack and Kate enjoyed it. Well, Kate mostly liked running up and down the wooden walkway, back and forth and over again, but that was fine with me.

We returned home, had a cup of coffee with Robin's friend Catherine, had a tasty dinner, put the kids to bed, and went out for a drink at the pub. Came home early enough for a good night's sleep. Well, in theory, anyway.