Ireland pictures. Some highlights

I have not yet gotten a good slideshow online that I can share with everyone and I was holding off on sharing too many pictures until then...but since I am in the blogging mood tonight..I will share some!

Here is Gavin at a Barrycourt Castle


The whole family at Muckross House in Killarney


Brenna feeling the ocean on her feet for the first time ever! With our dear friend Deirdre..


The kids at the beach.


It was a beautiful place



A pub we visited in Dingle.



A kiss....


Another kiss. Me kissing the Blarney stone.


Another beach in County Cork.

Banoffee Pie

In Ireland, we tried a dessert that we really enjoyed. Banoffee was created in England in the 1970's and is now quite popular in England and Ireland. It really was an easy recipe to make and could be made even easier with some more shortcuts.

Banoffee

1 9 inch graham cracker crust (I used a pre-made one.)
2 bananas
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups whipping cream (you could use cool whip in a pinch, but making your own is not hard at all and WAY better tasting.)

Boil the can of condensed milk for 3 hours. Yes, the whole can. Just put it in a deep pan and make sure it is well covered with water. Don't simmer it, boil it. You will have to check on it frequently to make sure it stays covered with water. It could explode if you don't keep it totally covered with water. I think I had to refill mine about every 45 min or so. I also turned the can over half way through. Now, you can boil several cans and they will stay good in the cabinet for a long time. Then you really have an easy dessert to make. Trust me and just do it. You are going to like this pie. I didn't and now I am kicking myself! Let the can cool for about 15 min. When you go to open it, wrap it with a paper towel because some of the hot toffee is going to come out. Pour the toffee into the pie crust. Let cool. Slice bananas and put them on top. Put your whip cream in a large bowl. I like to put a bit of sugar in it to sweeten it. I probably put in a tablespoon or so. Use a hand mixer and beat well until it is very thick. Don't beat too long or it will turn into butter! Spoon whip cream over the top and spread around. I read that some people add chocolate shavings to the top. Put in the fridge for awhile before serving. Maybe 30ish minutes. Delish!

Ireland

One of the most beautiful places on Earth! Slea Head in County Kerry.

Home

We arrived home on Friday evening and although we miss our friends in Ireland, we are happy to be home. I was so glad to have the weekend to recover because we are all so tired!

Tomorrow we are back to work and will try to get back in schedule!

Megan and I made a slideshow tonight of all our pictures and will be posting that as soon as we can. As soon as I figure out how to edit the videos, I will post those too!

July 8th, Ireland

Today we went and all got to kiss the Blarney Stone. So we will all be eloquent speakers I guess when we get home! It is a total tourist trap, but pretty neat at the same time. Beautiful castle. You have to walk up a lot of steep narrow stairs, which culminates with you being on top of a very high castle! I was scared out of my mind. Then you lean back over a big hole and kiss the back wall.

Afterwards we walked around the grounds and then went to the very large gift shop there. We contributed greatly to the Irish economy. Next we went into Cork City again and bought Gavin a hurling stick and Cork football jersey. Some of us also got another chance to walk through the wonderful English Market. Later, we went back to the O'Neills and Gavin played hurling with Tommy and JW.

For dinner we went to a great local restaurant and had a fabulous meal. Some of Ann's family came as well so we all got to have a drink.

Tomorrow is our last day with the O'Neills which just seems impossible. The boys are golfing with Eammon at his local club and then we are all heading to Clonakilty or Kinsale for the beach and some shopping. On Thursday we will be heading to Limerick for an overnight stay and will visit Bunratty Castle as well. Friday we are headed back to Kansas!

July 3rd, Ireland

We had a full fun day today. Ann came to pick us up mid-morning and we went to Fota Wildlife Park. It was really neat. Lots of giraffes, zebras and other sorts of animals that you could get very close to. It rained on us a couple of times, but really only sprinkles and it lasted for only a few minutes.

Next we went to Barryscourt Castle which has been recently renovated. It was built in the 16th century (wow!). It was amazing to be inside and try to imagine what it was like then. They showed us the "murder hole" that was located right above you when you walked in the front door. If the person who walked in was an invader, they would shoot arrows through the hold and pour down boiling water. We also got to see where the lord and lady would have resided and their bedroom. You should have seen the narrow, steep and incredibly difficult stairs that you had to climb. The lady of this castle had 19 pregnancies, so our guide asked us to keep that in mind when we were walking up the stairs! Lastly we went to the bottom to see the dungeon. Gavin got a kick out of that.

Next was Cork City. It is such a pretty city and full of people! We went and saw De at work and then went to something called the English Market. Lots of produce and butcher shops. Really neat. Went to the fish market too and got salmon for dinner. Afterwards we went to a great irish cafe/chocolate shop for coffee and treats. The kids got hot chocolate. They had a large vat of melted chocolate. They would scoop some out and add the hot milk. Very good!

We were all pretty tired after this, so we went back to Ann's house and I had a bit of a nap on the couch. The kids played outside in their yard. Ann made us a great salmon dinner and we had a dessert called viennata afterwards. And ice cream treat.

Tomorrow we have to pack and get ready for our weekend in Dingle. We are staying right on the sea. We will also be watching an Irish football game at a pub which I think will be great fun. The adults may be going out in Cork City tomorrow, if everyone is up to it. All the travelers (Zack, JW, Dad, Megan) get back tomorrow, so I can't wait to hear how their trips have gone.