http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , Ireland en-us Sun, 08 Nov 09 20:53:56 +0000 Sun, 08 Nov 09 20:53:56 +0000 We made a good choice...the coast is fine when the whether is well...but last night really was too stressful for us. We drove through the cliffs of Moher in pouring rain and strong winds but after that the roads were much better. We drove through Limerick and arrived in Adare about 2pm found our new BB Church View House right on the corner of town. It's a pink house very quaint...I feel like http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Limerick/blog-451439.html Good Morning Everybody Just had breakfast at the Dubhlinn House recommended by Rick Steves. First of all just want to say thankyou to everybody who sent me bday wishes on facebook. If anybody is interested in how I spent most of it...well most of it was on a scary road from Galway to Doolin last night. The start of our day was mellow though...we stopped at the abbey to take pics take a tour an http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Clare/Doolin/blog-451328.html Hello Well as you have likely noticed I got a bit behind on blogging. However now that I am sigh back in California I have a lot of time on my hands and therefore I can now fill you in. First thing's first below is an email I sent to my family way back on October 4th. After that I'll give you a summary of the rest.Hello EveryoneEverything here is still beyond wonderful. Work http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Clare/The-Burren/blog-451300.html Okay somehow i will try to make this quick....First of all I survived my first day of driving in Ireland...Yeah Second of all this place is so charming and picturesque...I feel like royalty on vacation at a country cottage. It's a fairytale and a relaxing night well deserved after white knuckling it all the way from Dublin.I could not have made it without a great copilot either. Warren is http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Connemara/blog-451009.html Made it to Dublin Got a late start from Edinburgh as they forgot our wakeup call but still had time to grab my starbucks mug and sample some whisky for breakfast. Bought a really nice one to take home. Just a quick plane ride from Edinburgh and we were blessed with some sun. Yeah We decided that with limited time to take a cab straight to the hotel before venturing around. We really made good u http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-450538.html Just spent the last week driving through th south of Ireland. So here is the first leg. After a scary landing in windy Dublin we jumped in our hire car which was upgraded to a very cool Nissan something and headed to The Wicklow Mountains. We stayed in the middle of nowhere at a great family run hostel called Mountain view. Fresh air and drinking water from the local spring. Hospitality was fab. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Wicklow/Wicklow/blog-449735.html List of things on the To See agendaTemple BarTrinity College LibraryGuiness StorehouseGeneral Post OfficeNational Museum of Archaeology and HistorySt. Patrick's CathedralDublin CastleGlasnevin CemeteryMt Jerome Cemetery http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-448198.html Oct 13Today I had to finish packing and close down the house because tonight we are headed to Ireland. After I finsihed everything and was ready to go I had to bike about 3 miles with my 50 lb pack on me to jays house. Where we were supposed to get picked up by his friend Tom. However Tom had called and said he was running late and it would help if we could meet him on the mainland. So jay scrambl http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Clare/Doolin/blog-447572.html Guinness Guinness and more Guinness.Oh yeah and I did some other stuff.Have had a few days here now and it is really nice. Been cold and wet but hey it's Ireland. Saw St Pauls Cathedral Dublin Castle the Spire Oscar Wildes house Gallery of Modern Art Custom House National Museum Temple Bar and of course the Guinness Storehouse. Also taken some time to relax a bit before pushing off. He http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-447054.html Bit tripped out after just getting back from Prague but wanted to do a St Pats Day in Dublin and figured we might be gone by this time next year.Staying opposite St Stephens Green we were here for one thing so no tourist stuff this trip Straight to the pub for the Guinness. Which is where we spent most of our time. Did make it to the street parade but it was packed and eventually wandered off http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-445805.html Well we are finishing our last day in Dublin. Before I start I would like to say thank you to all of your who sent comments and messages. I really loved reading them. On this return visit we stayed at the Clarence Hotel Bonorsquos place in Temple Bar. The only two things on our list were the National Museum of Archeology and a return visit to Christ Church. The Museum was as interestin http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/blog-445546.html I had to save this for a separate blog. Ashford Castlehellip..Jim always says I think Irsquom a princess but I surely am during this stay at the Castle. Not only is the castle beautiful and are the grounds gorgeous with hidden gardens everywhere and a lake that has swans swimming along the banks but the castle is outside the town of Cong the place where the ldquoQuiet Manrdquo wit http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/blog-445413.html Roxie and I toured the Irish countryside by traveling to the Wicklow Hills and visiting Glendalough the valley of two lakes which is renowned for its early medieval monastic settlement founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century. The relics which remain are the gateway to the monastery a very small church the remains of a larger church floors walls a 98 foot high round tower that was probab http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-445319.html The rest of the pictures http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/blog-444786.html Sorry itrsquos been so long between blogs. It seems the days are just packed and then we fall into bed. Not to mention never ending internet issues. We left Kilkenny to head for Killarney and stopped at The Rock of Cashel and Cahir Castle. The site at Cashel has been in use since the 5th century. Presented to the church in the 12th century it was at Cashel that the Irish Princes paid homa http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/blog-444782.html Ladies and Gentlebugs another short blog... try to contain your sighs of relief...While Jo and Billy were on holidays we had a blast housesitting and catching up on our housekeeping. We walked the dogs along the beach everyday which was lovely as long as the weather was good. Which it sometimes was. Got a see a seal poking its little head up and watching the dogs and us with great scepticism w http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-444739.html This time I did it a bit differently. Usually I show up at a new place and sort of float around the country until the options dry up or I get sick of staying in dorm rooms. But with Ireland I wanted to do it differently and I did. I guess I felt like since I got my Irish citizenship I owed it to my 'motherland' to pay her an extended visit. And so I decided to sublet a place in Dublin for the m http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-444430.html What can we say Had such a fab day We felt so special the whole day and so happy that everyone had made such an effort for us. It was a great feeling to know we weren't exaggerating when we told people we were having a fantastic day and brilliant that it wasn't an anticlimax after all the planning. Stand out moments65293Walking up the aisle seeing Rach walk up the aisle6530765293 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Cork/Cork/blog-444066.html Well we picked up the car and headed out of the Dublin Airport on Thursday. I would recommend doing that since the traffic in Dublin is crazy and so is anyone who attempts to drive in it. This way we were outside of the city. Even so the first thing Jim did was turn the wrong way on a one way street leaving the car hire lot. As with all firsts the rest of the day was a bit stressful for me http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/blog-443586.html Para ns acostumados s dimenses do Brasil a Europa mesmo um ovo. Viajei Irlanda e Gr Bretanha em menos de 20 dias tipo ldquoSo Paulo Sorocabardquo ...e sem pressa. sem dvida a maior vantagem de viver no velho continente.Comecei por Dublin pois j era fim de vero e arriscava congelamento se esperasse o outono. A cidade bastante fria chuvosa e cinza na maior parte do ano mas e http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-443229.html