I guess a little vitamin C can't hurt, right? :)

Do we live in nature or does nature gives us a place to stay?
Surely we would have to give more respect to the "mother", but it's also society that made us do all that we do, to survive.
Living respectfully towards nature and making a living for ourselfs with what natures has to offer, is the way it should be.

With spring -  there is new life, new beginings, new cicle...

We can make a lot for ourselfs, just go out to the woods, meadows - in the nature, and be amazed what a huge health factory this place is. You'll be relaxed and you'll have a new plant or a herb to make something of it, whether it's a tea, syrup or a jam.

The beginning of May is the perfect time to harvest spruce tips or spruce shoots. All you'll need is few hours in the woods, brown sugar and jar glases.

 

Put one layer of each in tha glass (sugar first, then spruce tips, then sugar again) and seal it. Put the glasses in the sun and leave it for a month or two - as long as the sugar needs to melt. After that just pour the syrup in different glasses and put it in a dark space, until you'll need it.

Different name for this is also a cough syrup, so it's good for you when you have a cold or sore throath. Spruce is filled with vitamin C  - and I guess a little vitamin C can't hurt, right? :)

Green is all there is to be

If you don't fancy the reading - just look at the pictures and VISIT Ireland!!!

But if you don't mind, please read the rest ;)

Sure this blog is about pictures and expressions, but this post deserves a little more than just pictures - it deserves a few more words about the actual experience of traveling and as for the travel blog should be - a travel itinerary. Why? Because Ireland's west coast is just to enchanting not to visit it, when on the island! And I wish that at least one person who will read this, will go and see this mistical island.

It took us five days to visit the west coast by car, if travelling on foot or by public transport, you should multiply this with at least 2 or more.

After browsing a million of tourist brochures - which by  the way, you can get almost everywhere - we decided to visit three main areas: 1. Connemara national park with  famous Kylemore Abbey, 2. Drive around Ring of Kerry, and on the way back also drive around Dingle Peninsula. Basicly drive part of the wild atlantic way, anticlockwise.

Started in Galway and traveled through Connemara, embrasing tipical landscape, which is blanketed in naturally wild bogland, that Irish dig by hand, dry the turf and use it as fuel during the winter. As I've read somewhere: this is Ireland unplugged - and it sure is! The landscape is so rough and places are so remote from all that citylife back in Galway, that you can truly feel the irish spirit. It's also irish speaking area - Gaeltacht. But you'll get through with english ;)

We visited Spiddeal, Maamcross, mountains of Connemara, drove through village of Leenane, stoped at Killary Fjord (Ireland’s only fjord), where we saw  the salmon and mussel pots floating on the surface of the water where the fish are farmed. And on the peak of the tour - arrived at the Kylemore Abbey. 

Peaceful and almost fairy tail alike place, which was built in 1867 as a romantic gift from a man to his wife. 

It sure gives a woman a lot to think about - at least it gave us a thought, if this kind of mansion is worthy of giving birth to 9 children :) History aside - it's truly peacuful, wild and far far over the hills - a place to spend an afternoon at, just embrasing the Ireland unplugged.

Kylemore Abbey

Killary Fjord

After returning back to Galway, we decided to rent a car - much more conveniant way to see Ireland. Driving on left is an interesting experience, but deffinately worthy one (just make sure you're over 25 ;)!

Driving along the coast, you'll get from rocky cliffs to long sand beaches and amazing green landscape, full of sheep. Castles and stone houses are as common as sheep, so this is for my oppinion the most impressive and wild Ireland there is! 

Firstly we drove from Galway to County Clare, stopping at Kinvarra for a coffee, visited Donguaire castle and continuing on the wild atlantic way to Doolin - a small town from where you can take a ferry to Aran islands or just stay and treat yourself with a local food, pint of guinness and live irish music in a local pubs. Here Irelands landscape varies in many ways - from tipical "Burren" - limestone, cliffs, sandy beaches and of course green whereever your sight reaches.

Here is where I remembered why I love to travel  - people actually say hello, they all come to a pub in the evening to play and listen to native music, they are proud of their natural beauty and aren't shy to show and promote it - he're you can get a glimpse of how this society lives, remotely on an island, facing atlantic ocean, affected by history, living with it and not trying to change it. Just living with what nature gives them and not taking advantage of it.

Burren landscape

Dodaj napis

Cliffs of Moher

View from Cliffs of Moher to Aran islands

Doolin

Poulnabrone

Donguaire castle

All the time in Ireland - the weather was amazingly sunny, but the real irelands rainy day was awaiting us, so we took the highway from Doolin, passing Limerick, turning to Adare and heading to Killarney, which was our starting point for the Ring of Kerry.

Elderly irish said: "I remember last summer, it was nice, it was a tuesday" - humor aside, we truly had a wonderful weather all week.

Even rain has its charm, so we left the town and visited the Muckrose house, passed the Killarney lakes and started to adore the shore. Even the sun fighted its way through the clouds and amazing evening blesed our jurney.

Muckrose house

Killarney national park - Arbutus (or Killarney Strawberry Tree)

way to Torc Waterfall

Killarney national Park

Muckrose lake

Lakes of Killarney from ladies view

After reaching Kenmare we tried to find a place to stay, but there was something pulling us all from inland to the shore. Also there was no room for us in Kenmare, so we continued the atlantic way and the Ring of Kerry. The best decision ever - the winds sent the clouds away, sun had the best canvas to paint - and it did! the paintings were amazing!

Waterville was our rather gohstly stop for the night, but the morning brought sunny day! 

Morning meditaion on a deserted beach and a round tip to Dingle Peninsula as the day evolved. Day brought breathtaking views, surfer paradise beaches, picnic on a cliff along slea head drive, some sort of mammel watching :), passing Conor pass (the highest mountain pass in Ireland) and wrapping our roundtrip by returning to Galway.

There was so little time and yet so much to see - but something has to stay undiscovered so the traveler has something to return for, right?

Back in Dublin for a quick city tour and relaxing with, of course, pint of Guinness! ;) before returning back home...