Eire, A Montage

[caption id="attachment_1763" align="alignnone" width="645"] On our first two nights in Ireland, we stayed in the little down of Dun Laoghaire, just south of Dublin. We were out of the city, but just a short train ride away. This picture was taken on our first night, after we went to Saturday evening Mass, enjoyed a great pub dinner of fish and chips, and walked along the sea shore for a bit. It was rather grey, wet, and blustery, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1767" align="alignnone" width="645"] At Dublin Castle, we saw just the chapel and the bathrooms. It's quite stunning architecture, but I couldn't help dwelling on all the Catholics persecuted by imprisonment and tortures in this castle, including St. Oliver Plunkett and others.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1769" align="alignnone" width="645"] The tower is that in which Red Hugh O'Donnell was imprisoned, and later escaped from.  It's much different construction than what I mostly saw in Rome, the ancient brick or travertine.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1770" align="alignnone" width="645"] Our first big stop in Dublin was the old Trinity College library. Think Beauty and the Beast, only REAL. Enough to make a bibliophile weep with joy and jealousy! The oldest book here is from around 1594, with the inception of printing, and the youngest is at least a century old.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1772" align="alignnone" width="645"] This picture really doesn't do the library justice. We saw the Book of Kells in an exhibit before getting to this point, but for me, this library almost eclipsed even that spectacular work of art.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1771" align="alignnone" width="645"] Lindsay was bouncing with glee at finding Ireland's oldest harp. She's a great Celtic harpist herself, and I could see her fingers twitching as she oohed and aahed over this carved beauty.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1773" align="alignnone" width="645"] Next stop was the National Museum of Archaeology, which was quite fun. My favorites were the following gorgeous pieces of golden Celtic design. This is a chalice, I believe.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1774" align="alignnone" width="645"] A bishop's crosier - check out the knotwork on this.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1775" align="alignnone" width="645"] Close up of the base of either a processional cross or crosier.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1766" align="alignnone" width="645"] We were exhausted after a day of wandering around Dublin, so we stopped off at this cleverly titled coffee shop for a great cup of cocoa.[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_1779" align="alignnone" width="645"] Tic-Tac dispenser in the bathroom!!![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1801" align="alignnone" width="645"] Our next two nights were spent in Cork. It took us quite a while to get there on Monday, as we didn't realize that bank holiday travels are not easy. A taxi, tram, and train later, we finally arrived at our destination and basically crashed at the hotel. This slightly more cheerful photo was taken on our way out of town on Wednesday![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1762" align="alignnone" width="645"] On Tuesday, Brian and Lindsay headed off to Blarney Castle while I made my way to (for me) a much more fun destination.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1800" align="alignnone" width="645"] At the recommendation of a dear Irish friend, I made my way by train to Fota Island Wildlife Park, which happens to be on a corner of an island in Cork Harbour. The highly amusing contrast of rolling Irish countryside and...giraffes...strikes me as being a candidate for the title "strange", although it also qualifies as "awesomely fun"![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1798" align="alignnone" width="645"] Kangaroos in the daisies! And yes, it's plural, because there's a little joey in mama kangaroo's pouch.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1780" align="alignnone" width="645"] One of the great things was how close you can actually get to the animals. Some are fairly loose, although others are necessarily behind some sort of fencing.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1789" align="alignnone" width="645"] Oh really? Cheetahs? You don't say! ;)[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_1783" align="alignnone" width="645"] Hello, friend zebra.[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_1785" align="alignnone" width="645"] I think the giraffes were talking about me.[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_1790" align="alignnone" width="645"] Dieting would be so much easier if we all had to eat like this.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1791" align="alignnone" width="645"] Normally I object to the feeding of ducks, but I just couldn't help spending fifty euro cents on duck food and enjoying the company of the critters.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1792" align="alignnone" width="645"] One of the peacocks wandered over to hang out with the penguins. The penguins had a pond, and it was much fun to watch them zooming around and splashing like ducks![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1793" align="alignnone" width="645"] Some came over to greet me and show off their formal wear.  These are Humboldt Penguins, to be precise.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1794" align="alignnone" width="645"] A pelican was lounging by the bridge. He popped his head up just as I took the picture.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1795" align="alignnone" width="645"] Kangaroos in the picnic area! There weren't many people about, which was quite nice for me.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1796" align="alignnone" width="645"] After wandering through most of the park, I took a cocoa and journalling break in the cafe that was being stalked by a peacock.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1797" align="alignnone" width="645"] The lemurs, and I, were a bit chilly.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1798" align="alignnone" width="645"] Kangaroos in the daisies! And yes, it's plural, because there's a little joey in mama kangaroo's pouch.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1836" align="alignnone" width="645"] Next stop, Kenmare, which is about an hour south of Killarney, in Ireland's south-west corner.[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_1807" align="alignnone" width="645"] If you tourists can't find your way around with those fancy GPS systems, we just don't know what else to do...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1808" align="alignnone" width="645"] On our first night, we walked out to a stable that offered hour-long horseback rides. This was my first ever ride, and my muscles felt it, but it was such a fun way to see the countryside![/caption]



[caption id="attachment_1812" align="alignnone" width="645"] We decided to spend the next day in Kenmare, as the bus ride to and from Killarney was rather intense. For breakfast, we found this cute little place called Bella Vita, with a Roman and Italian theme! We just had to stop in and mourn our departure from the Eternal City.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1820" align="alignnone" width="645"] Holy Cross Church in Kenmare was a lovely neo-Gothic structure. It made me miss the beautiful churches of Rome, especially the ability to walk down the street and visit Our Lord.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1821" align="alignnone" width="645"] We took a little wander around the town and country that afternoon, after finishing up our shopping.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1823" align="alignnone" width="645"] Shaggy calf![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1824" align="alignnone" width="645"] Honestly, one of the best things about being in Ireland, for Lindsay and I, was the chance to be out of the city and enjoy nature for a week.[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_1830" align="alignnone" width="645"] Sorry, after a while I get tired of captions. This is Our Lady's Well, a little local pilgrimage spot.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1831" align="alignnone" width="645"] Brian found a friend, and I got some fuzz therapy.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1832" align="alignnone" width="645"] View down the street in Kenmare, in one of the rare spots of blue sky. Ireland was a lot wetter and greyer than I was expecting![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1833" align="alignnone" width="645"] One can't miss the proverbial sheep, of course. It was very pleasant to finish up our European experience in Ireland - it served as a good transition before coming home. We loved everything but the rain and the expensiveness, which means we enjoyed a lot of fish and chips, friendly bed and breakfasts, great views, fun experiences, and green grass![/caption]