Cork Ireland. (Vacation Installment One)

Ok, first I have to say, I missed Orissa and Javin so much. Yes, I knew that I would miss them...what kind of Mum would I be if I didn't miss them! But I missed them before I even hit Chicago. Ten days without them was really hard. The first few hours were heaven! I didn't have to hear the whining or the fighting.
I did have fun, and I did love being there. I only wish I could have had them with me in theory that is. I know it would have made the whole trip harder and they would have grumped and complained, but in theory it would have been so wonderful to have the whole family there together! I am thinking in 5 or 6 years we will go again and the kids will be old enough to go too. And hopefully by the Orissa will like the outdoors better.
I took so many pictures, like 700 or so! This post is going to cover Cashel and Cork. I don't want to overwhelm the server with the tons of pictures I could put up if I tried to cover it all in one post. I am thinking three or four will do it!
We started out our time in Ireland with a rental car and a trip to Cork. We stopped a few times in a few small towns to see some of the countryside. Cashel has a gorgeous castle there, our bad luck though, it wasn't open, they are trying to restore it. We did get some pictures of the out side of it though.
(Cashel Castle, notice the scaffolding.)
( the wide angle view of the castle...really wish it had been open)
There are also some really cool old ruins out in the middle of a pasture...we were not sure about going in it, so I just snapped a few shots from the stone wall.


In Cork we walked all over. We had planned to drive a bit more, but the city owns all the parking in town and charges for all of it. So we found an all day lot and walked A LOT!
Mostly we went into the old cathedrals and churches. The largest one in Cork, St. Fin Carre's Cathedral was by far my favorite of the whole trip. Not only was it beautiful and rich in history (as all of them are), we were given a wonderful impromptu tour by one of the workers there. He had such a love of the building and the life of Christ. The stained glass throughout the building depicted scripture stories both from the the old testament and the new. The windows nearest the alter depicted the crucifixion, the resurrection, and Christ going to heaven. So beautiful. I was so grateful for the stories the guide told and the true joy that he had in sharing them with us.
(stained glass window depicting the Savior.)
(Aaron and I, in one of the few pictures of us together!)
(St. Fin Carre's Cathedral)
(a cityscape picture of Cork...and Aaron peeking over a fence to get a shot!)
(more of Cork's cityscape. really it is in such a beautiful setting.)
Well, that was Cashel and Cork...from our perspective. I wish that I could have spend days and days there. I found that the people of Ireland are as diverse as any big city. I adore this nation, and feel a kindred spirit to it. I hope you come back for the next installment. We headed to Dublin, and spent the rest of our vacation in that great city.