Monday, May 24, 2010

Departing Dublin and Ireland

Our final day was spent visiting the Temple Bar area and walking the major thoroughfares. Along the way, Louise took some very nice photos.

Temple Bar Area Pubs
Louise and the Palm Bench
Another Pub












Burt and James Joyce




















St. Stephen's Green Afternoon Relaxation













House at St. Stephen's Green Entrance










 
 
 
 
This offering concludes our postings to the Travels with Burt and Louise blog. It has been an amazing and wonderful month of experiences. We hope you had some pleasure traveling along with us.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Dublin and Vicinity Sights

Rather than give lots of verbiage, we have provided the following photos from Louise's eye.

Georgian Doorway















St. Stephen's Green Shopping Arcade (Front)











St. Stephen's Green Shopping Arcade (Inside Clock)












DART Train Station










Lighthouse at Howth














Seal at Lunch in Howth Harbour








Street in Dalkay















Glendalough


















Avoca Weaving












Pouring a pint at the table at “The Bleeding Horse”

Friday, May 21, 2010

Wexford to Dublin

We traveled a national motorway, arriving in the city of Dublin by noon. After a short orientation bus tour, we had a photo stop at St. Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral. This was followed by our own visit to Trinity College of Dublin. The highlights here were the Book of Kells and the the Long Room. The latter was a magnificent library of ancient manuscripts and busts of famous authors, philosophers, physicians, politicians, etc.  Unfortunately, no pictures or videos were allowed.

St. Patrick's Cathedral















Sphere within a Sphere - Sculpture at Trinity College











Campanile on the original foundation of Trinity College













Trinity College Quadrangle Building











Trinity College Archway















Molly Malone w/ cart & baskets of cockles, mussels and friend







Thursday, May 20, 2010

Cork through Wexford

The rain and cold finally arrived. Unfortunately, we did not get good photos on our trip from Cork to Wexford. However, our walk around the town of Wexford the following morning was excellent. Later in the day, we visited the Irish Heritage Park where it was very warm. We actually did a little perspiring.

Walk around Wexford

Ancient Wall















Remnant of a Church













More Wall











Irish Heritage Park


Stone Circle similar to Stonehenge











Monastery Replica


Turning the Boiling Bacon














Viking Sailing Vessel w/ Crew

At the Wexford Quay

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Killarney through Cork

En route to Cork we took a diversion for a sheep-dog demonstration. Very interesting presentation of how the dogs are trained and the attachment of the farmer to his hard working animal. After a short ride, we made a pit stop in a small village (Macroom) and also had a scone and coffee before heading to the Blarney Castle experience. We managed the extremely narrow & slow-moving spiral staircase to the top of the castle for a view of the famous stone. We opted to forgo the twisting, bending, backbreaking upside-down “kissing” of the stone. Of course, the Blarney Stone is reputed to have more germs than anything else in the world. An uneventful trip to Cork, a pleasant vicinity walk and dinner at the modern Clarion Hotel. The last 3 photos were taken in the village of Cobh (pronounced, Cove) famous as an emigration point for America, Australia and other places accepting the Irish.

Hugh with dog, Rose, & flock












Blarney Castle















Annie Moore, first ever immigrant through Ellis Island, w/ brothers.  (Statue in Cobh)














Home hosted lunch w/ Larken (4 y.o.) & pearl poodle

Row houses in Cobh






 
 
 
 
 
 
Although the day in Cobh was cold and rainy we enjoyed all of the activities including our final walk in the Cork pedestrian area.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Galway through Killarney

A long scenic ride from Galway to Killarney. The most interesting sights were the Burren, a “moonscape” of glacial rock, and the Cliffs of Moher. The most important feature of this segment is easily discerned. No clues at this point.

Along the Drive

Burren









Cliffs of Moher









Ring of Kerry

Abandoned narrow gauge RR bridge








Playing w/ Peat










Another Famine House








Family Affair

Our First “Cheers!”

More “Cheers!”

Dinner in Killarney


Dingle Experience

On Dingle Peninsula

Dingle Street









Dingle Harbor







Dingle Shores









Lunch in Dingle

Conclusion: An absolutely wonderful time and experience with Gary. We are so lucky to have had this 24 hours together.