Wednesday, February 04, 2015



Ireland
800 Miles in 4 days
(August 2014)

Day 1: Blarney Castle

Ireland looked like it wasn't ready to wake up yet.

Never lost because you never leave the parking lot.  We had to get 4 different GPS's from Hertz before we got one that worked.
First driver.
Two lane roads that don't fit two cars.  It's the Irish motto.
I don't like beer, but I always try it on the off chance that it won't suck.  Guinness in Ireland doesn't suck.

When I look at it now I don't see what was so funny.  But this guy cracked us up for kilometers.

The best chips in the ENTIRE world!


Blarney Castle
One of my best friends came here when we were little.  I though of her a lot that day.



He's lucky I'm Irish.

The Castle in the stone.


A little Blarney weirdness.








Kiss it you fool!

The bars used to not be there. Someone would hold your legs and you would dangle in mid air.
The view from beloooooow.

The gardens surrounding the castle were amazing.  I was sad that we didn't have a picnic or time


Don't mix these guys up.
Don't worry we got this from the edible side.


Sasquatch busted.
A second castle on the grounds.  We were too late for look around.

Fake flower things, weird.
These trees are something special...please read below.




In first looking up I thought it looked like the moon.
On to the next, headed to Waterford.
Look out Ireland, I'm driving now!
Double rainbow with a third reverse rainbow and still no pot of gold!

Day 2: The ocean, Waterford, and Dublin

We were awake early, so we headed for the southern coast. 


PY's next album cover.



We tried to drive up to these lighthouses(?) out on a cliff. We didn't make it.  Pasture land was in the way, with a friendly note that made me think they would shoot us if we tried.


But we did meet a local guard dog.


And some cows who must not get much company.

Back in Waterford
On the waterfront.

The Viking Triangle
The boat we sailed over on.

Viking sneeze
Viking Cheese
Waterford Crystal
Seriously, who would buy this?
This Strongbow fellow is rather popular.


OOH! Look, a church, let's go in!





Our stupid rental car.  It was easy to find though.

Dublin!
 Not much commentary here, also not much for order, but enjoy the pictures.
A famous pub, I thought we'd make it back for a better picture, I was wrong.  Lesson learned.
We're actually here!

There was an American college football game in Dublin the day that we visited.
Hop on, hop off? Yes please.

A thing.
From another angle.






CONGRATULATIONS!
We are all waiting for someone.
Yes, I'm immature.
My kid is famous!
Oscar Wilde relaxing in the park.






It's a valid question.

Molly Malone.  Our tour guide had some rather clever rhyming names for her.

Some Church or another.
St. Patrick's Cathedral.  The reason for entering is obvious.

The death mask of Jonathan swift.  He was once headmaster of St. Patrick's school.




Names of modern day soldiers.



With labeling like that who wouldn't send their kid!
Who would have guess that selling a bad batch of beer on the cheep would turn into the empire that it is.
The factory of all factories in Dublin.  We tried to get off the bus to do the tour but the guy wouldn't let us off!


This place loves the Youngs.



Day 3: Newgrange, Carrick-A-Rede, and Giants Causeway
We thought it would be a 15 minute stop, boy were we wrong.

Because it was a guided visit, no doing it yourself here.
There it is! A passage tomb.
Ireland was putting on a show for us on this morning.

The countryside is dotted with unexplored tombs.


Hagrid's hut.
A great place for a senior picture pose.
The majority of the exterior stones had migrated downhill.  The current structure is what someone thought it might have looked like. Not everyone agrees.
This person made my day.  Thank you fellow nerd.

Northern Ireland
Belfast

We just drove through the city, not much to photograph.

And then we hit the northern coast.
It was a gorgeous drive.
Poodles!
With my gorgeous husband.
Burgers at the sea side.
Not the best burger, but the ocean view made up for it.


It was clear enough for us to see Scotland.

Not Scotland.

Get on with it people, there is more to see!

A pod of Dolphins, or Whales, depending on which of us you ask.  Still an argument that we have.

Carrick-A-Rede
A rope bridge 30m above the sea, connected to an island, all to get at the salmon.
Such a beautiful day.

I was freakin' dying walking to the bridge, the pace was just shy of a jog.
At least the views were nice.

Very nice.
Here we go!
I did it! I'm on the bridge.
We were a smidge higher than sea level.
Isn't every moment a good time to take a picture?
On the other side of danger.
PY and the derring do.
We met in the middle.


The Giants Causeway



The first cover/bay thingy on our way down to the real deal.


It rained just as we got there, fortunately it didn't last long.
The Sea was being a bit showoffey, so I took some pictures so that it would calm down.
He's not Irish, but he sure looks the part.
Tide Pool within the rocks, a tiny little ecosystem.
Yup, we were here. Along with the Pen State Alumni tour group.
The rocks were slippery.  PY was smart about it, I was not.
Proof that it was worth visiting, this place was very cool. 
It was a bit windy out and PY was crazy afraid of the fros, mostly the grey ones.


The Dark Hedges
This road wasn't on our schedule but our GPS thought our trip wouldn't be complete without seeing it.


The GPS was right.

 Back in Ireland

After a long day of driving this bridge looked like a menacing spider.
And at the end of that long day this was our room.  We jumped on one bed, short sheeted another, and slept in the third.

Day 4: Kilkenny and then home.



Someone I know was loving his name being all over the place.
 A large castle type thing.


Looking down the river toward town.
The photographers muse
And on the back side...
tons of grass!
Did this pano on purpose, I'm so proud.
The trees of Narnia walk and dance.  Hiding in Irish dirt won't fool me tree!
A small cemetery on the property.
Pets aren't allowed in hallowed ground.
If I see a family name, I take the picture.
The name is more exciting than the actual place.

I do not lie.

The former home and business of Alice Kyteler.  The first Irish woman burned at the stake for witchcraft.

Why would people just leave this out, I have NO self control!
Still Proud after all these years.

Ireland is so amazing.  I wish we'd had more time there.  But we got to see almost everything on our list.  The Ring of Kerry was our only miss.  But it gives us an excuse to go back again.

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