Ireland, Part 4 (and Final)

Anyone still with me on this travel log? Wouldn't blame you if you weren't, but I'm not stopping now. Might as well finish. :)

Angie and I spent Friday and Saturday in Dublin. Preston met us Friday night, making me one very happy girl. There wasn't much time to cover all that Dublin has to offer, but I think we hit some highlights.

We stayed at the Trinity Capitol hotel. It was so fun, funky and kitschy! Highly recommended if you're staying in Dublin.

On Friday, Angie and I took a hop-on-hop-off tour of the city. I'm trying to remember what we say while on the bus... I don't remember really. But we hopped off at Kilmainham Goal, and old prison where many leaders of Irish bids for freedom were held captive. I loved visiting the jail because it was like a crash course in Irish political history. I was touched by the devotion these men and women had to the cause of fighting for their freedom.

Kilmainham Goal

Kilmainham Goal

On Saturday, we headed out to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells -- an ancient illuminated text of the four gospels of the New Testament. As with so many cool, antique things, no pictures allowed inside... But the exhibit was really remarkable. It's amazing to me that these sort of artifacts remain intact through the ages!

(Also of note here is that I should never attempt to write travel books. I can't sell the virtues of the cool sights I've seen. Trust me, if you're in Dublin, Trinity College and the Book of Kells are well worth your time.)

Me and Preston waiting in line to see the Book of Kells. I'm only slightly happy to be with him and not possessive at all...

Beautiful Trinity College

Cool sculpture on the grounds of Trinity college. Preston says there's a similar one in the Vatican, but I don't remember seeing one there...

With not much time to see Dublin, we mostly walked around and hit some of the nearby sights. I particularly love architecture and old churches. Dublin didn't disappoint, and I wish we'd had enough time to see more!

Christchurch Cathedral

Flying buttresses!

Another view of Christchurch Cathedral. Love the old stone and windows!

Yet another church. I'm feeling too lazy right now to look up what it's called. Maybe later... Probably has something to do with St. Patrick. They like that guy over there.

These last two shots are on the River Liffey. Beautiful Dublin!

It's over! I loved my trip to Ireland, but there's always so much that goes undone on any trip. Ireland has so much to offer, and I hope someday to go back and visit some of the things I missed this time around.

Ireland, Part 3

Reluctantly (at least I was reluctant, having missed my husband all summer long), Angie and I left Preston in Cork and headed up to Dublin, where Preston would meet us on the weekend.

From Dublin, we took a day trip out to see Newgrange and Monasterboice.

Newgrange is the site of a "megalithic passage tomb mound" dated back to around 3000 BC, about 500 years older than the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt. It was built in such a way that when the sun rises on the day of the winter solstice, it shines directly along the passage inside the tomb for 17 minutes, illuminating the passage floor. Human remains found inside Newgrange suggest that its main function was that of a tomb, but the construction's tie to the winter solstice suggests that this was probably also a site of great religious significance to the people who made it.

They take small groups in at a time. The passage is very narrow and cramped. Once inside, the tour guides replicate the effect of the sun on the morning of winter solstice. I thought it was truly amazing.

Newgrange was, hands down, the coolest thing we had a chance to see while in Ireland. The surrounding area has many similar passage tombs that we didn't have time to explore. Someday, perhaps, we'll go back...

Anyway, on to the pictures:

Newgrange from the outside. (Sadly, no pictures allowed inside.)

The entrance to Newgrange. The stones along the bottom are intricately carved.

A closer look at the intricate carvings on the stones at the base of the tomb. These are around the back of the structure.

Angie selecting a shamrock from the grounds at Newgrange while we waited for our turn to go inside.

Honestly, I don't know what this stuff is. Unmarked graves is my guess. Looks cool, though!



Monasterboice is the ruins of an early Christian settlement, founded in the 5th century. It features some amazing and intricate Irish "High Crosses", which are really the main attraction. I admit, I just wanted to roam about on my own at this point, so I didn't listen to our tour guide tell us about this place, but I thoroughly enjoyed my visit there.



Monasterboice was home to a monastery, which was burned in 1057. The ruins of a building and watchtower remain on the site.

Religious carvings depict the life and ministry of Christ on this High Cross.

Beautiful and intricate!



 



Okay. I'm sure you're tired of my pictures by now, but just one more post (rather brief), and our trip will be at an end. :)

PS: I'll brag a little, because I'm proud of it, that pretty much all of the pictures I've shared were taken by me. I'm not much of a photographer, so I'm impressed they came out so well. Of course, it helps to have something amazing to photograph. :D

Ireland, Part 2

One weekend we rented a car and drove from Cork to Killarney. The drive was beautiful! Every view was breathtaking.

Our first stop was Killarney National Park; a beautiful nature preserve. It reminded me a lot of the Pacific Northwest.

Me and Angie in our backwards Irish car

Pretty Ang!

Love birds!

There were blackberries growing along the side of the road everywhere!

And next to the blackberries, beautiful flowers.

Killarney National Park

Killarney National Park

One of my favorite things about traveling in Europe: random castles.

Beautiful Torq Falls

We spent the night in the town of Killarney, and visited nearby Ross Castle and Muckross House.

Quaint Killarney

Yum!

Ross Castle

These boats were docked near Ross Castle. I just loved the way the light was hitting them.

Muckross House

The grounds had loads of beautiful flowers and we took lots of close-ups. This one is my favorite.

This greenhouse reminded my of Harry Potter!

Stopping on Muckross grounds for a spot of tea...

Observing the flora and fauna

And I don't remember where this picture was taken, but it was on our little road trip somewhere. Maybe near Inch Beach? Wherever it is, though, it's just another example of how absolutely beautiful Ireland really is.

On the last leg of our trip before returning to Cork, we stopped in the picturesque seaside town of Dingle. A lovely end to a great trip!

Whew! Lots of pictures, I know. And this is only half of our trip! More to come!