London

The end of May rolled around and since my Irish work visa was only for 5 months, I had to leave the country by the 30th and come back in to the country as a tourist. Complicated as it was, it was the perfect opportunity for me to take a fun little romp through another country. I decided to go to London because I found tickets through Ryan Air for only 2 euro. How could I pass that up? So I started out my little excursion in London. I went to the British Museum, which is awesome by the way, then met up with a friend, took a tour of Westminster Abbey, walked on the Thames, and went to the Tate Modern. I had a really great time, very different from the last time that I was in London, for one, I actually went INSIDE buildings.

Oustide the British Museum

In the British Museum's Hall of Knowledge. So many cool things.

The Rosetta Stone

This is a clock

I met up with a friend and he took me to Brixton, where apparently 'Electric Avenue' is. The song is based on this area of London.

It's hard not to find an Irish pub. This was about a 5 minute walk from my hostel. Right near Kings Cross Station (yes Harry Potter).

This is the 24 hour diner that Briana and I stayed in two years ago waiting for the train station to open. We didn't have a place to stay that night, obviously.

The London Eye

This is like the Viking tour of Dublin that Allison and I took when she came to visit. It's an amphibious vehicle from WWII.

Big Ben, double decker bus, pretty buildings, it must be London.

Walking down the Thames I found this statue that had a plaque saying that the holes along the wall and statues were from a bomb exploding on the street nearby in WWI.

The British sure do love to steal from other cultures. An Egyptian obelisk? Really?

The Thames

Inside the Tate Modern

The Globe Theater where the Royal Shakespeare Company's housed

The Burren Adventure

So I know I got really bad at posting on here while I was in Ireland, but now that I'm home and not doing anything, I figured I had the time to finally do it.

There was one week where Danny, Meg and I decided to rent a car and head out west to the Burren for a quiet vacation from Howth. It was getting a bit stressful with everything at work and our house so it was much needed. We went to relax with Danny's family and take a few short road trips around the Burren. Including to Ballyvaughan, Monks, Fanore (so I could get some sand from a beach that I had promised my sister), and to the Burren Perfumery. Now I had never been to the perfumery before, but had experienced some of the delightful scents from some of the shops around Ballyvaughan. It is a really gorgeous place, and smells great as well. It's also extremely peaceful. I wish I could go back right now. Anyways, I do have some photos from the trip.

Meg, Danny and me in the Burren on a soft day.

My favorite sign in Ballyvaughan.

I love the skies in the West.

Joe and Danny in the pub.

Danny in front of our cute little rental car. We stopped on the side of the road to take fun photos. Just because.

The view of the Burren from Danny's parents' house. It's so pretty with the sun.

Jump!

JUMP!

Mmmm yummy Burren pizza.

The Perfumery

During the slide show we decided to play. This is Meg and I attempting to capture the badger.

There was a cute, but ironically very stinky dog in the perfumery... with all the shampoos, and good smelling things.

Danny and Meg in the gardens. Very cute.

Meg and I in the gardens.

I love these shoes. I want some.

I really miss the Burren. And Ireland. And Dublin. And everything, I'm ready to go back please and thank you.

A Nice Little Holiday

Another visit from a friend from home. Allison, someone I used to work with back at Telefund, came to visit me as my last visitor. I probably did the best showing her around town and Ireland of all the visits (even my parents). It probably has something to do with the fact that I had a lot of practice with Jamie and then my parents. She got in on a Saturday, left on the next Friday and we did enough things to fit into three weeks. We did all the typical things like the Guinness Storehouse, the Hop On Hop Off bus tour around the city, and ate fish and chips with a bit of Guinness on the side. Duh, things you HAVE to do if you come to Dublin.

In addition to those fun adventures we took a trip out west. We booked a hostel for one night in Galway City and took a day trip to the Aran Islands. For how many times I've been to Galway, I never stayed over night. So it was fun and new for me as well as Allison. We went for a walk around the city when we first got there and then at night we went out to a local pub that had traditional Irish music. Galway, and the west for that matter, is known for the music. The weather was in our favor as well, surprisingly enough. That never happens on the west coast because you're right on the Atlantic so the winds bring bad weather quickly, but just as quickly take them away again. We saw a few rainbows (no leprechauns or pots of gold though). On our second day there we took the ferry out to Inis Mór which is the largest of the Aran Islands. Again this was something that I had never done so it was new for both me and Allison. We were only there for a few hours and did a short little bus tour and a bit of a hike up to see an old stone fort. It was excellent weather again and we had a great time. I can't even explain how pretty it was, but I do have some photos (obviously).

The River Corrib.

Allison walking down Quay Street.

Allison jumping under the Spanish Arch.

Me jumping in Eyre Square.

A fun shop front.

Allison and I in front of the River Corrib.

The name of the stone for that we hiked up to on Inis Mór.

Me and Allison in front of the fort.

The cliffs on the Island.

I laid down on the edge of the cliff and looked down. This is what I saw.

I'm so glad Allison was able to visit. I think she had a great time, I know I did.

Ain't no Better Zoo Than the Dublin Zoo (Well Maybe)

One day when the sun was bright and the weather in our favor, Meg, Danny, Paul and I decided to go have a quick romp around the Dublin Zoo. It was an incredibly nice day and the spring flowers were blooming like crazy. It was nice just going on a fun little outing and being able to act like a kid. We all had loads of fun. Gosh I love zoos.

Paul, Danny and Meg walking around the zoo.

Meg acting like a Tiger.

Meg and me with flamingos in the background.

Gorilla hand = 2x Meg's hand.

The broken glass from inside the gorilla enclosure. Scary.

Marmoset there'll be days like this.

Elephants are so cool.

They had TWO baby elephants.

Me and Meg with one of the babies between us.

ELEEFONT!

Fun with the Parents

My parents were able to come visit me a few weeks ago. We did a lot of fun tours around Ireland. We went to Northern Ireland to go see the Giant's Causeway which is something that I have been wanting to see for a long time now. Not as long as my mom who has wanted to see it since she was young. It was a pretty amazing tour. We took the train from Dublin to Belfast then off on a long bus tour around the coast of county Antrim, which is gorgeous if you ever get the chance to go. We went to the Bushmills Whiskey Distillery, the Giant's Causeway and also a few random stops along the way.

The Carrickfergus Castle. If you look far off to the left you can see a little British Soldier ready to take out imposing armies... or small children.

This is the village where Winston Churchill grew up.

The Old Bushmills Distillery

Far off in the distance you can see Scotland, but only if you look really hard.

This is Dunluce Castle. This is the castle that inspired C.S. Lewis (a Belfast man) to create Cair Paravel, the castle in the Chronicles of Narnia.

Mom and Dad on our way down to see the Giant's Causeway.

The basalt pillars of the Giant's Causeway.

Me and Mom at the Giant's Causeway.

It really is one of the coolest places I've ever been to.

We also went on a shorter bus tour a little closer to home. We went to see the Hill of Tara and Newgrange. Both are ancient sites from the celts. The Hill of Tara is the ancient capital of Ireland and even in the recent past has been used as a gathering spot for revolutionaries. On a clear day from on top of the hill you can see three quarters of Ireland, which is pretty impressive. Newgrange is an old passage tomb dating back about 5,000 years (which is older than the Pyramids at Giza). It's a tomb built into a hill and when you go into it there's a tight passage leading to a small room. The ceiling is still water tight, never has a drop of water leaked through in the 5,000 years that it's been there, pretty amazing stuff if you think about how wet the weather is here in Ireland. The most amazing thing about Newgrange is what happens on and around the winter solstice. At the exact moment that the sun rises on the three days leading up to the solstice and the three following, a line of light slowly creeps along the floor until it reaches the room, lights it up and then disappears again so the room is left in darkness. This proves that the builders of this tomb were incredibly intelligent and that they were attuned to the world around them .

A view from on top of the Hill of Tara. In the distance you can see the ruins of a castle.

I just like this photo. You can see a little robin on the wheel.

Newgrange

Mom standing in the entrance of Newgrange. They're really low ceilings until you get into the inner chamber. Also if you look at the big rock in front you can see a lot of markings. This is one of the most photographed rocks in the world.

Another rock at the base of the structure decorated like the one in the front.

That week was full of so much touristing about the land of Eire. It was well worth it though.