It was so solemn among the gravestones. They are beautiful marble crosses and stars. Each one has the man's name, the state he came from, and the day of his death. MOST of the ones we saw were June 6 or very shortly thereafter.
It was moving and so humbling to be there and to overlook the beach. I know there have been many movies depicting that day, but Saving Private Ryan in particular came to mind (don't know if it is an accurate depiction, but if it is anywhere close -wow). We were thankful to actually see those beaches- even attempting to picture the events gave us chills. It is a really amazing monument to the sacrifice of all of those men and I am pleased that France is hosting such a beautiful memorial.
Then we drove onto the Ferry - you park your car down below then you go up to your cabin. The boat had a movie theater, a few restaurants, and a little gift shop. It all seemed like it was going to be a fun night!
Here we are in our room before the boat took off. It turned into a night for the record books. It was a huge storm at sea and the boat rocked and sloshed for 16 hours. It was the WORST!! Henry turned 10 during a terrible bout of seasickness. It was so pitiful. We were still swaying HOURS after we got off the boat. But we made it to our house in Ireland and we're still able to celebrate the birthday boy!
First day exploring- we went to some nearby villages. We were staying in Cork County so had a few day trips from there.
I saw my name ( or a variation) all over the place!
A cute little town nearby.
This house looked like what I pictured seeing in Ireland.
This house is NOT what I pictured. Ha.
Loved seeing another American flag! Not sure what the connection was - this was a yummy seafood restaurant in Kinsale, a charming little fishing village.
Many of the towns and actually a lot of the landscape reminded me of New England, Maine etc but with a few more mountainous hillsides.
We stayed in a little cottage on the grounds of what was more of a resort called Castlymartyr. It had a golf course and the ruins of a beautiful old castle.
One windy day we had a great time playing croquet! I creamed the boys!
Henry met some Irish boys and they played a quick game of soccer.
We had our last night at an Italian restaurant on the grounds.
The next morning we woke up and went to Blarney Castle.
We had quite a view!
We all kissed the Blarney Stone- it is supposed to give the gift of eloquence. We shall see?
Here are the trees on the grounds- they are supposed to be "cosy" since they are wrapped in scarves? They look like trees wearing leg warmers!
We had a fun time at Blarney Castle! Then we drove practically all day to get to Northern Ireland where we were staying one night.
We arrived at dusk at one of the prettiest, most amazing sights I have ever witnessed. The Giant's Causeway was so beautiful it made me excited for Heaven! It seemed like it was a place that would be on some bucket lists. We are grateful that we were able to see it! I don't feel these pictures do it justice so at the end I'll put a few from the Internet taken by better photographers!
Here are the professional pics of the Causeway:
Henry waiting for his Fish and Chips for dinner.
Our last morning in Ireland we walked around Belfast
And went to the Titanic Museum- the ship was built in Belfast.
This is the shipping company that built the biggest ships at the time
It was such a cool museum- with a ride and a ton of interactive exhibits.
Here is a replica of the ship
The china made for the Titanic's first class passengers.
And a sampling of some of the movies made about the voyage.
Here is a picture of the front of the museum. Sorry a bad pic!
We are off to Scotland!!
