dnalerI

.Germany in living since visitor first our had we :firsts of week big a was week Last

,Germany to moving since trip international first our took We

as beauties such included which ,too, road the of side left the on drove we and

.roundabouts clockwise

.us Excuse .world dominated-right the to back adjusted quite haven't still We

Ah. There we go. So my mom arrived two weeks ago and as soon as she was rested up, we headed for Ireland. We started off in Dublin, where we enjoyed a couple Guinnesses, listened to much live music, and watched traditional Irish dancing. We visited many of the highlights, including the Guinness Storehouse. The self-guided tour was crazy informative and a great mix of visual, audio and olfactory stimulation. We learned the secrets of a perfect pour, which we’re guessing is why it tastes different in the US, then enjoyed a complimentary pint at the top of their tower while overlooking the city. The other major highlight was the writers’ museum, which sent us off yearning to read so many classics. None of us realized how many major authors hailed from Dublin and Ireland: Yeats, Shaw, Beckett, Wilde, Swift, Joyce, the list goes on.

After two days in the capital, we picked up our rental car and the true adventure began. As someone who gets motion sick ridiculously often, there’s nothing like being the passenger on the left side of the car while driving on the opposite side of a narrow windy road lined with rock walls to really throw off your perception and inner ear…but my stomach made it through. I did find that in times of mounting motion sickness, I was all the more likely to become my mother and grab for the glove box or my door or seat or whatever was in reach. You know, the logical response to perceived danger.

We headed towards Galway, and stayed in the small town of Spiddal, chosen for the glorious bed-and-breakfast we’d booked there. We stayed in a thatched cottage (Cloch na Scith, if anyone happens to go to Ireland) run by an Irish family. The husband was born at the cottage, as well and his father and grandfather. The woman was a joyful do-it-yourselfer who gave us a soda bread baking demonstration and was proud to have Gaelic as her mother tongue. (The Galway area is definitely a good place for linguists.) We spent both days driving around the area, taking in the scenery, which consisted of many rock walls that stretched far into the distance, many sheep walking in the middle of the road, and many thatched cottages. Each night we enjoyed bread, cheese and wine next to the turf fire. Our first full day there, we stopped at a local craft fair, then drove up to Connemara and explored the area. The next day we left for the Cliffs of Moher, passing through The Burren along the way. The Cliffs were impressive, especially in the massive rainstorm we were caught in. When we bundled into the car again, we stripped down our layers and laid them across the hatch to dry as we started the journey back to Dublin. We stopped only to grab a late lunch at a hole-in-the-wall café with quirky mismatched lampshades that were really pieces of art.

It was a great trip, better than we had expected, and we wished it could have been longer. The people were incredibly nice (…plus their awesome accents helped), the sights were gorgeous, and our ears and tastebuds were pleased, too. Every bit of it was stimulating. Plus, we’re thinking it was good prep for the city of the Celtics, Boston. Next year Dan will be at Boston College’s Graduate School of Social Work for his Masters of Social Work, and I will be at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education for my Masters through the Language and Literacy Program. We’re both excited, but I think Dan’s mostly looking forward to being closer to Kevin Garnett.