Ireland

Our European adventure began in Dublin. We stayed in downtown Dublin in the Temple Bar area. The Arlington Hotel

Our hotel had a pub attached to it and every night they had free shows with Irish bands and Irish dancers. We'd come back after a day of sight-seeing and enjoy a pint of Carlsberg or Matt's new favorite Smithwicks (the w is silent, which we were informed by a bartender after 4 days of misspronouncing it) and watch whatever show was going on that night.

Our hotel was right down the street from Christ Church Cathedral. The church was comissioned by Richard de Clare, aka Strongbow, in 1172 and remodeled in the 1870's.

Under the church is a crypt where they have tombs and other artifacts collected over the years. Jenaya's favorite thing in the crypt was the mummifed cat and rat that were found in an organ pipe in the 1860's

St. Patrick's Cathedral was a 10 minute walk from Christ Church. It is Ireland's largest church and is built on the site of a sacred well where it is said that St. Patrick baptized converts around 450 AD.

St. Patrick's Collects donations for the church's organ in a Guinness keg.

We went on a tour through the Wicklow Gap, a low spot between the mountains of South East Ireland and then to Glendalough, "the valley of two lakes."

The main sight in Glendalough is the monastic village ruins. The buildings date back from the 8th to 12th centuries and were built near the Lower lake.

Entrance to the monastic village

In the graveyard

Graveyard and mountain view

Ruins of St. Kevin's Cross

Small Chapel known at St. Kevin's Kitchen because the belfry resembles a chimney

Upper Lake surrounded by mountains

View of the Irish coast from the bus

One night we met up with Jenaya's friend Emily who lives in Dublin with her fiance Donald. We met at the Brazenhead, Dublin's oldest pub, then went to the Palace Bar, a small traditional style pub, and finished the night at the Bank, a modern pub built inside of an old bank. We were starving at the end of the night so Emily pointed us in the direction of Abrakababra, Ireland's equivalent to Jack in the Box.

So delicious!

The Temple Bar in Temple Bar

On our second tour we went to Blarney Castle. Until we got there, we had no idea that the Blarney stone was not a giant rock on the ground. It is actually attached to the top of the Blarney castle.

The tallest stone on the left is the Blarney Stone We also didn't realize that you had to dangle upside down over a giant hole with a Blarney Carney holding on to you so you don't plummet head first into the ground.

See how far down that park bench is? I was so nervous when Matt dangled down to kiss the stone I almost forgot to take a picture.

Oops!

The view from the top of Blarney Castle

Interior view of the castle

At the top of the castle

Farmer's Market in the castle parking lot

Another highlight of this tour was a quick stop in Cobh, pronounced "cove," which was the last port of call for the Titanic.

Titanic Bar There were also plenty of sights to see in Dublin right near our hotel. Grafton street, which runs from Trinity College up to St. Stephen's Green, is the main shopping area in Dublin. We did a little bit of shopping and a lot of eating in this area.

Entrance to St. Stephen's Green

Flower stands on the side streets of Grafton Street

The beginning of our European cheese obsession.

We had a wonderful 5 days in Ireland. We loved walking around in the misty rain and warming up with tea and pints inside of pubs every evening. It was a great way to start our trip.