| Last additions - Ireland |
Aug 01, 2010
|
|
What an experience! This will be our last night here in Dublin, home of Yeats, Shaw, Wilde, Joyce and many other writers and poets This has been a fascinating, history-soaked adventure. One I will never forget. Thank you, Ireland!Jun 29, 2010
|
|
By now, our group was finishing up the parade, and I wanted one more chance to talk to some of the people. They were just so sweet. Tomorrow we go home......it makes me sad.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Through this whole parade, you could certainly feel the "Irishness" of the people. They were a bubbly and friendly group of people.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
One of the very unusual "floats" in the parade.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
I have NO CLUE what they were supposed to be. It was colorful though.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
This is a photo of the Lord Mayor of Dublin and two ministers of Parliament.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
He sure had a great spot for watching the parade.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
I just wanted to hug them. So adorable.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Just look at this adorable little face.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
So many cute little characters in this shot.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Just more happy people to photograph.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Wow! How Irish do THEY look!Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Stilllllllllllll marching! It was a long parade route.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
I love this picture. She was so sweet.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
It's a shame there is no sound so you could get more of the feeling of how incredible this parade was. Jun 29, 2010
|
|
People were everywhere!Jun 29, 2010
|
|
This magical scenery was all through the parade. So beautiful.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
As expected, there were lots of Garda (police) around, probably making sure somebody hadn't started drinking a little too early.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Even the big "kids" were having a great time.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
We passed out a lot of flags. Some waved them, and some ate them! :O)Jun 29, 2010
|
|
It was a cold, windy day, but it sure didn't take away from all of the excitement.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Talk about photo ops! There were so many!Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Go Ireland.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Not only was I proud of the band marching in the parade, but I was so proud of the red, white and blue!Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Well, this is what we came for. It's time for the St. Paddy's Day parade to begin.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
After their performance, they came out into the crowd and got us up and dancing. It didn't quite look like THEIR dancing, but it sure was fun.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
They put on such a great show.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
During one of our dinners at the Jury's Inn, we got to enjoy these cuties. Amazing dancers and definietly crowd pleasers.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
But then this one was pretty, too.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
I think this yellow one was my favorite.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Some more of the beautiful doors.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Another view of one of the 10 bridges in Dublin.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
A smooch from my buddy, Harry.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
It's St. Patrick's Day and we are on our way to the parade.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
It was a long day.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Even Ireland has it's traffic tie-ups.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
"I TOLD YOU SO!'Jun 29, 2010
|
|
"Harry, I think you are enjoying this a little bit too much!'Jun 29, 2010
|
|
....................or spear it with your knife! Oh.........or just use your fingers.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Medieval dining etiquette...........either sip it out of the bowl..................Jun 29, 2010
|
|
A pretty little gal serving us bread.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Our place settings.........with only a knife.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
A little entertainment before dinner.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Cheers to an awesome evening.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Finally making it to the top of the stairway, and being greeted by this Irish knight. (That is what he was supposed to be, anyway.) The stairway was cold, dark and narrow. I felt like I was right back in one of the medieval books I've read.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Ready to go inside the castle for our big evening.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Some of the band kids just chilin' in this huge rock that was shaped like a big bean bag.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
These guys were headed to work at the castle. They would be part of the big medieval festival we would go to later that evening.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
One of the parts of a castle I've always been fascinated with are the arrow slits, also called loopholes. As you can see, this is a vertical opening in the defensive wall. It allowed arrows or crossbow bolts to be fired on their attackers. The narrow slit was intended to protect the defender by providing a small target.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Look! I found a secret door!Jun 29, 2010
|
|
A few of the patrons of Durcy Nelly's pub. They came out, saw that I was waiting for Bev to take my picture, and decided to get in the photo, too. However, I'm pretty sure that the fellow on the right had partaken of several tanks of 98 proof ale. Talk about stinky breath!Jun 29, 2010
|
|
This my friend, Beverly, standing in front of the castle.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Bunratty Castle is a large tower house in County Clare. It lies in the center of Bunratty village. Built in 1425, it is the most complete and authentic medieval fortress in Ireland.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
After a few hours on the road, we finally came to the village of Bunratty.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
This castle was built in the 17th century. It is one of the few castle hotels that can trace its ownership back through history to Gaelic Irish families of royal heritage.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Dromoland is one of the most impressive and distinguished castle hotels in Ireland, and is one of Europe's most desired 5 star destinations.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
The castle spans over 410 acres.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Our next stop is the Dromoland Castle , where you can play a great round of golf..............if you've won the lottery maybe!Jun 29, 2010
|
|
So much for "the kids" going over the barriers! :O)Jun 29, 2010
|
|
At the highest point of the cliffs you see this round, stone tower. It is the O'Brien Tower. Folklore says that in 1835, Sir Cornelius O'Brien believed that since many Victorian people came to visit the cliffs, that this tower should be built thus benefiting the local economy and bring poor people out of poverty. But then it also says that he built the tower to impress female visitors! I wonder if it worked.......impressing females that is!Jun 29, 2010
|
|
The cliffs really were beautiful. In fact, they have been featured in many films such as The Princess Bride in 1987, and Harry Potter and the Half Blood in 2009. Another interesting piece of trivia was that the singer, Dusty Springfield, had her ashes scattered here after she died of breast cancer in 1999.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Now this sign was large and very obvious. However, I saw several kids going out to the edge and looking over. Their parents would have freaked!Jun 29, 2010
|
|
We decided to have a little snack before we tackled going up to see the cliffs. We were told it would be a long, cold, and windy walk.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
The cliffs, called the Wall of Thomond, stretches nearly five miles on the Atlantic coast and rises up to seven hundred feet.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
It's a new day and we are heading to the Cliffs of Moher, considered one of the most dramatic sights in Europe.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
And off we go!Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Unfortunately, the driver was nowhere to be seen. So, some of the boys on the bus got out and lifted the car over so the bus could go through. Boy! That was one time you had to be there. It was so funny!Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Oooooooops.......Houston, we have a problem! Right after I took the photo of that pretty window, the bus turned the corner to go down another little street when........there was a car in the road.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Even the windows were pretty. I would imagine in the spring, the flower boxes would be beautiful.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Since we didn't stop in this town, I just got this one from the bus. I was just fascinated with all the different styles of the little towns.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
For now, I'll just show you two. I'll have more doors later on, especially when we get back to Dublin.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
One thing I learned while I was in Ireland is that they love their front doors. They even have posters with just doors on them.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
If you like lots of green grass, tons of sheep, and delightful little towns, then you would love visiting Ireland.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Just another beautiful scene in Ireland.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
As you can imagine, we saw sheep everywhere.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
These were our bus drivers. Their brogue was really strong and hard to understand. We had fun trying, though.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Sightseeing and shopping.......check. It's back on the bus to return to our hotel for the night.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
I think they look like Clydesdale feet.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Time for lunch. Them are some big ol' legs!Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Ahhh....what a sweet horsey.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
I wish you could hear the kids. They were having such a great time.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Another place full of beautiful sweaters that I couldn't buy because I don't live in cold enough weather! :O(Jun 29, 2010
|
|
You could tell this was a tourist town.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
There sure was a lot of traffic for being such a small town.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
He was a nice old gentleman. I so love the accent.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
They were right when they told us it's a quaint little town. So pretty.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
The bus took us into the town of Killarney so we could see the town and shop around.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Several of the kids took rides through the countryside.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
This turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the manor................it's where the bathrooms were!Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Even the phones were green.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
The architecture was simply astounding.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
You could get lost in some of these manors.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Most of the rooms have been restored back to their original Victorian days. They are beautiful.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
The Muckross House is one of the finest manor houses in Europe.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
Our next stop was the Muckross House.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
This is my sweet friend, Bev.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
We had our photo taken with the Lakes of Killarney in the background.Jun 29, 2010
|
|
After a long night, without much sleep, we headed for the hills of Killarney. (The shower head broke and flooded our bathroom, so we were up a long time!) :O) Anyway, this is the road we took. I just loved all of these small and quaint roads.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
So, after a nice dinner, we headed into the pub where we thought we would just finish out the day listening to some NICE Irish music. We sat in front of the fireplace, chatted about the day, and then listed to the little band play........ AMERICAN COUNTRY WESTERN music and HIP HOP music! WHAT!!!!!!! They eventually played Irish music, at our request. :O) Much better.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
Having a delightful dinner with my three buddies.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
And this is definitely the beer of choice. I tried a sip of it. Wow! I swear it grew hair on my chest! Powerful stuff!Jun 28, 2010
|
|
Christy's Pub seemed to be one of the more famous ones.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
The hotel was huge! Lots of shops and pubs.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
We passed by so many marvelous castles. What must it have been like to live in them?Jun 28, 2010
|
|
Around 7:30 that evening, we finally arrived at our hotel called "O'Donogues Gleneagle Hotel.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
Here we are heading for Killarney.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
After all of that excitement, we got back on the bus and headed to Killarney. (No, your eyesight isn't going, I tried to get this photo as the bus was turning a corner.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
Here's my buddy Harry showing everybody what I had to do.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
OKAY....I DID IT! Now pull me back up! Wow, kissing the stone is supposed to give you the gift of "gab" but it just gave me a freakin' headache!Jun 28, 2010
|
|
This is freaky! Are you SURE you are hanging on to me!!!Jun 28, 2010
|
|
So, I'm supposed to turn upside down and kiss that black spot? (Supposedly the Blarney Stone.) And we are seven stories up!Jun 28, 2010
|
|
Okay.........here we go! He has just told me to sit down, hold on tight, and turn UPSIDE DOWN! You've got to be kidding me!Jun 28, 2010
|
|
This really shows the green of Ireland.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
This is just so much fun climbing all over this castle.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
This was taken looking down through one of the arrow loops.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
The first layer down was the banquet hall. Boy! I wish I could see what it looked like with everyone wearing their finery, and hear the music playing.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
Made it! Whew.....that was a pretty exhausting walk up those tiny stairs.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
I've always been fascinated with Medieval times. The castles, the food, the clothes, the knights in shining armor!Jun 28, 2010
|
|
The area around the castle was so beautiful.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
I've never kissed the Blarney Stone, but I'm getting ready to.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
Ah, I found the sign pointing the way to the Blarney Castle. (It looks like I needed to be pointed to the restroom.) :O)Jun 28, 2010
|
|
This a good view of the Wollen Mill. There was a nice pub in there so we had a great little lunch.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
I liked the sign. Plus it was a little weird driving on the other side of the road. Jun 28, 2010
|
|
We drove on to Cork where we spent two hours shopping at the Blarney Woollen Mills. All of the sweaters were so beautiful. It was hard not to buy a bunch. I didn't because I don't live in cold enough weather. I did get a scarf!
Jun 28, 2010
|
|
This was the last port of call.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
There was a wonderful museum there, and it had a lot of the photos of the people walking around before boarding. Sad really.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
It was rather daunting to think of all those people walking around here knowing what their fate would be.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
Now you can sit in this area and have tea and biscuits.......or a coke.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
This is the station that the Irish immigrates came to so they could board the Titanic. From here, they expected to be landing on Ellis Island.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
Now we continue south to go to the harbor in County Cork.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
This is the Rock of Cashel. It is considered to be one of the most spectacular tourist attractions in Ireland. It was started as a fortress.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
The next morning, we headed toward Tipperary, one of the 32 counties of Ireland. And this photo shows "that it's a long road to Tipperary." :O) Anyone remember that song? It was a British marching song during WWI.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
We arrive at the Jury's Inn, a beautiful new hotel, for the first night. For our first Irish dinner, we had Irish beef and Yorkshire Pudding. It tasted like some kind of pastry. It wasn't what I had expected.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
We can already see that the city is all decked out for St. Patrick's Day.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
This is one of ten bridges that crosses Dublin's Liffey River.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
We've landed, gone through customs, and will now get on the bus and head to Dublin.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
Getting our first glimpses of Ireland.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
Heading to Ireland in the pretty little green plane.Jun 28, 2010
|
|
One of my closest friends, Bev, lives in Kannapolis, N.C. Her niece was a band member of the South Rowan High School, and they had been invited to march in the St. Patrick's parade in Dublin. So, knowing how much I loved to travel, I was invited to go along and help with the photography. It didn't take me long to pack!Jun 28, 2010
|
|
|
|
