Ireland 2008

...scenes from a bus window

2008-06-13T22:42:00.009-05:00

...and other funky oddities

...day seven

2008-06-12T22:14:00.022-05:00

Glendalough / Guinness

Our last day in Ireland. I was so sad to see it end, but so thrilled with the entire trip. I experienced so much beauty in this country, and the people are so loving. I would love to return one day!

Glendalough is a treasure in it's own right! St. Kevin found this remote location, because he was trying to distance himself from the pressures and temptations of the world. Unfortunately for him, he was followed, and an entire community was formed here. It was amazing to stand in that chapel and think of the services that must have taken place there hundreds of years ago.

I was also befriended by a little irish robin. He plopped down right beside me, and proceeded to let me photograph him. He even seemed to show me all sides so that I could choose his best one. ha! When I was telling Julian (our tour guide) about the robin and how friendly he was, Julian said, "Well that's because he thinks you're a cow, and that you will feed him". Gee thanks, Julian. ha!

Guinness Brewery

We were given a tour of the Guinness Brewery on our final evening, followed by a nice dinner in the uppermost part of the building, overlooking the beautiful city of Dublin. WOW! What a way to end our trip!

...day six

2008-06-12T21:41:00.007-05:00

Avoca Handweavers / Blarney Castle

Once again we loaded up on the bus after breakfast and headed out on a daily adventure. Today was a trip to the Avoca Textile Mill and Blarney Castle. The Avoca Handweavers Mill was so interesting. It's the oldest of its kind in Ireland, and the quality of their creations is phenomenal! I left that place quite a bit poorer! Ha!

We also trekked up the many spiral steps of Blarney Castle in order to kiss the famed stone. Unfortunately, the battery in my camera decided to die just as we walked up to the castle. So my pictures are limited to that. No stunning views from the top of the castle or the interior, but some great memories of being man-handled while I contorted my body to kiss the Blarney Stone. HA!

waterford crystal

2008-06-11T22:01:00.009-05:00

killarney

2008-06-11T21:47:00.002-05:00

...day five

2008-06-10T22:20:00.010-05:00

Shannon Ferry / Ring of Kerry

On our way to Killarney we took the ferry across the River Shannon. After a night of dreadful storms, sleet, hail, rain, snow and pesky ghosts we were suprised the ferry was running! The skies cleared just as the ferry departed and I was able to go on the top deck to snap some photos of the trip. After crossing the river we were back on our way - through the snow capped mountains to Dingle Bay - what a sight! We wound our way through the mountains around the picturesque Ring of Kerry - a 100 mile panoramic view of Ireland's Southwestern tip. We stopped to photograph the Lakes of Killarney from Ladies View, saw a few rainbows, and settled in Killarney where we toured the town and had dinner at the hotel.

rathbaun farm

2008-06-10T21:13:00.010-05:00

After we left the Marble Factory we stopped at Rathbaun Farm where we learned the intricacies of sheep farming. It was peak lambing season so we saw the new lambs, one as young as a week old. Mom got to bottle feed one of the lambs; we also saw the farmer's border collie herd the sheep. He was such a happy puppy after he did that!

The farmhouse is over 200 years old, and still has a thatched roof, as do many of the homes in Ireland. I took several shots of the roof, it was very interesting to me! After we toured the farm we retired to the farmhouse for tea and scones (and more pictures, but this time of the interior!)

...day four continued

2008-06-10T13:45:00.009-05:00

The Burren/Galway

The Burren - limestone plateaus

Galway

...day four

2008-06-09T19:58:00.014-05:00

Ennis/Cliffs of Moher

We had breakfast in our haunted (to me) hotel. I fought with a ghost in the middle of the night, lol. Then we loaded up for the spectacular Cliffs of Moher. The cliffs are over 700 feet above the ocean, and the amazing thing to me is that the water is blown up the cliff from the ocean below. Now that's some definite wind power! A couple of my pictures show the water blowing up over the cliffs. The rain held off, but the wind was staggering. I braved it to to the top of the cliffs and was rewarded with the most beautiful view I've seen in a long time. Well worth every bit of wind burn!!

We then traveled across The Burren - limestone plateaus - to Galway, a quaint fishing village, where we stopped for lunch at McDonough's for fish and chips. Then we walked through the town and checked out a few of the shops.

Back on the bus to Connemara Region - in Moycullen we went to the Connemarra Marble Factory. No pictures from the factory, but I learned so much about the marble and amethyst that had been mined there. Some of the marble was 250 to 750 MILLION years old.

Ennis:

Cliffs of Moher:

bunratty castle

2008-06-09T13:55:00.007-05:00

WOW! What a beautiful, yet ancient castle. I was constantly amazed at how old the buildings were, and how wonderfully crafted they were. It was mind boggling to think of how they were built with the limited technology available to them.

Day three came to a close with a delightful banquet dinner at Bunratty Castle. It was an interactive type dinner banquet, with actors dressed in period clothing to entertain us during our meal. We were ushered in from the rain by the host, and given a welcome drink of Mead.

While we enjoyed our Mead, we were entertained by singers and musicians in the main entry hall. The furniture and stained glass were exquisite in their craftsmanship! I couldn't help but admire (and photograph!) it all.

We then were invited into the dining hall where we enjoyed a four course dinner of Potato(ish) soup, spare ribs, chicken and vegetables and fruit mousse for dessert. Wine and tea were provided to end the evening after some beautiful music and singing, and a touching rendition of Danny Boy.

...day three continued

2008-06-09T13:30:00.005-05:00

After our (much too) brief stay at the Irish National Stud, we loaded back up on the bus and set out for Cashel, where we saw the famous Rock of Cashel. We stopped at an adorably quaint pub called Mikey Ryans for lunch. There were authentic antiques adorning the walls, and as Julian promised I enjoyed the homemade mushroom soup, Irish soda bread and of course a delicious Irish Coffee which helped with the cold rainy weather awaiting us outside.

We wandered back out into the rain, bellies full, and drove through Tipperary to Limerick, where we saw King John's Castle at the mouth of the River Shannon. On to the hotel for (another) Irish Coffee and then dinner at the Bunratty Castle.

...day three

2008-06-08T20:34:00.009-05:00

Monday, March 10, 2008

After a full Irish breakfast in the hotel restaurant (I was too scared to try the blood pudding, ick) we were off to the west.

On our way to Ennis, we stopped at the Irish National Stud. Even in a rainstorm it was phenomenally beautiful. It's a government run facility, and I took some of my most favorite pictures of the trip here. As a result this will probably be a long post! ha.

The Irish National Stud also has some gorgeous Japanese Gardens that we toured once the sun came out. More stunning photo ops there!

the doors of dublin

2008-06-08T20:14:00.004-05:00

...day two continued

2008-06-08T18:22:00.014-05:00

The whole group boarded the bus, which would be our home for the next week. We actually stayed in different hotels each night, but spent most of our time on the bus, it seemed. George, our bus driver, was a hoot! And he was a great driver! I wouldn't have wanted to navigate some of the twists and turns he had to maneuver.

We took a tour of the city on the bus. We stopped at Trinity College, which was founded in 1592; and is home to the amazing Book of Kells, which was perfectly preserved in a peat bog for hundreds of years. ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! We then went up to the Long Room to view the library. What a place! No pictures allowed, unfortunately, so I had to settle for postcards. I could have spent weeks in that room, it was so incredible!

When we left Trinity College we drove by St. Patrick's Cathedral, Parliament, the Guinness Factory, along the River Liffey back to our hotel for dinner. Then it was to our room to rest up for another busy day!
One of the things I loved most about Dublin was the doors. All the buildings are so similar, the only way the homeowners can really express themselves is on their doors. I'll post a separate blog with photos of some of the doors. Here are some photos from Trinity College.

...day two

2008-06-08T15:49:00.018-05:00

Sunday, March 9, 2008

After breezing through customs, we got our luggage and met up with our tour guide, Julian. We were bussed to the hotel and given free time until 3:00 to tour the city.
We walked up to Grafton Street via the O'Connell St. Bridge. We stopped in the Chanel store where I held a purse price at 2,200 Euros! That's about all I could afford to do in that store. ha! We went sight seeing and picture taking, then stopped for lunch in a pub called Captain America's where I had my first Guinness while sitting next to Elton John ::wink::

When we left the pub we discovered it had rained while we ate. What great Irish luck! We made our way back to the hotel to meet up with the group.

We stumbled upon this sign when we passed another Pub. A good omen, don'tcha think?

Here are a few photos from our jaunt around Dublin:
(You can click on the photo to view it larger, if you like)

...day one

2008-06-08T11:21:00.001-05:00

Saturday, March 8, 2008

We left Jackson at 12:40 pm en route to Atlanta. Atlanta proved to be quite an adventure. We had several gate changes throughout our layover, and once Delta finally settled on a gate number we made our way there to sit and regroup. I was a bit nervous I would be claustrophobic on the long flight so about 30 minutes before we were to depart, I took a couple of dramamine to make me sleep through the flight. As soon as I swallowed those pills, an announcement was made that they couldn't find our pilot, and would have to bring another one in. They didn't know how long that would take. Whoops. I was sure to be a drooling mess getting on the plane!! My first dork moment of the trip. ha! Our flight left an hour late, but we still arrived in Dublin 5 minutes early!

Sunrise somewhere over the Atlantic. Isn't it beautiful?

40 shades of green!