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For this blog:

This blog is about our month long stay in Ireland.  We drove in a circle around the entire island, visiting both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

Please do read through this blog for our narrative and the related photos.  

Sometimes there is a More ... link in a post at the end of the discussion about a place.  These are slide shows containing more photos about that place.  They open in a new window. 

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Abstract
Animals
Architecture
Castles
Churches
Coastline
Countryside
Flowers
Gardens
Honeymoon
Villages

Slide shows of photos in this blog

     Blog photos week 1
     Blog photos week 2

     Blog photos week 3
     Blog photos week 4
     Blog photos week 5

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April 13 - Nice France to Dublin Ireland

Mid-day we caught a taxi to the airport.  The check-in process was a bit of a hassle as our luggage was a bit over their weight limit and we had to shuffle things around.  Thought we would never get it to a satisfactory arrangement.  They didn’t even like the weight of our small pieces plus they insisted we check those as well.  Fortunately we finally got the weight down to something close enough.

The rest of the process (security and customs) was fine.  Once inside we decided to have a bit of lunch.  Unfortunately the terminal we were in had very few places to eat.  We finally settled on wraps at the Starbucks. 

The flight to Dublin was pretty uneventful.  We had our luggage and were through customs very quickly and we were met by a driver who took us to our hotel.  By the time we checked in it was after 7:00 so we went next door to a pub, The Bleeding Horse (can you believe the pub names), for dinner.  We didn’t want to go too far as it is pretty cold here, in the high 40’s to low 50’s. 

Then it was to bed.

April 14 - Dublin Ireland and and Evening of Irish Music and Dance

Today is a day of leisure and we ended up spending most of the day working on photos (so much for leisure) and not venturing out…it is still cold and expects to be for the next few days.

This evening we went out for dinner and a show of Irish music and dancing.  The band consisted of four individuals, a guitarist, a violinist/harpist, a flutist and a dancer who also played the little Irish drum called the Bodhrán.  All but the dancer also sang.

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Video of musicians

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Video 1 of dancer.
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Video 2 of dancer.
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It was an excellent and varied performance with each musician performing a solo and the dancer performing several different styles of Irish dance.

April 15 - Glendalough Monastic City and Powercourt Gardens

It is cold and rainy, not a good day for sightseeing.  However, we gamely headed out to the nearest tram station and boarded is for a trip to our tour pick-up point.  We have a double decker, enclosed bus for the tour.

We drove a couple of hours into the countryside to Glendalough, the site of an old monastic city.  It was established by St. Kevin in the 6^th century. 

Most of the monastic city is in ruins but there was still much to see.  The highlights included the little church (called St. Kevin’s Kitchen for some reason)

with its cemetery that is still in use today and

the very impressive Round Tower.  It is about 100 feet high with a conical roof.  Round Towers were relatively common in Ireland and served as a landmark for pilgrims as well as a bell tower. 

We were pretty cold so didn’t spend as much time exploring as we would have liked.  Instead we went in to the Tourist Center and watched a film on the Monasteries of Ireland.

Then it was off through the countryside.  Right now the gorse is in bloom with its beautiful yellow blooms everywhere.

We passed several little churches...

and lots of green fields full of sheep.

Our next stop was Powercourt Gardens.  We had lunch at the café and then headed out to tour the gardens.  It was still a bit wet but not too bad.

The estate started as a 13^th Century castle that underwent major alterations over the years.

First stops were in some of the walled gardens.

We there was a fountain with a large basin just beyond the walled gardens

Next we went to what is one of Ireland’s largest pet cemeteries.  It was the resting place of many of the pets of the original owners of the estate, the Viscounts of Powercourt.

We stopped for pictures at Triton Lake with beautiful views of the Grand Staircase and the Manor House above.

And then went to visit the Japanese Gardens. 

There were a lot of flowers in bloom including tulips, daffodils, rhododendrons, and azaleas.

The best way back was up the Grand Staircase where we had views of the house, Triton's fountain and the gardens.

There just really wasn’t enough time to see the gardens at a leisurely pace but we saw most of them and besides, it was too rainy and cold to linger.

Then it was back to Dublin and a light dinner at the hotel.

April 16 - Dublin

It is still pretty chilly in Dublin today but at least it isn’t raining…although it occasionally drops a  light mist and wants to act like it will rain.  We took the tram back across town today to catch our Dublin Walking tour. 

The very first sight we saw was the Dublin Spire, officially named the Monument to Light (and unofficially variously known as the Nail in the Pale, the Stiletto in the Ghetto, the Spire in the Mire and any number of often irreverent or racy names…the Irish apparently love to give things nicknames).  It is a 390 foot high stainless steel spire that was installed as a replacement to a monument to Admiral Nelson…a British war hero that the Irish didn’t really care about.  

The tour started at the GPO (General Post Office) where the guide talked about some of the history of Dublin and Ireland and the various rebellions that took place. 

Behind the GPO we visited a pedestrian area with lots of shops, a covered arcade and an area with flower stalls.

We also visited a protestant church that had been de-consecrated when the protestant population of the area dropped so low that it was no longer needed as a church.  It fell into decline but was eventually bought and restored and is now used as a pub and a restaurant.  The organ and the major stained glass windows are still in place.  It’s a pretty lovely place to have a pint.

We crossed the River Liffey with its many bridges…

and stopped at the former Royal Exchange (now the City Hall)

and Dublin Castle. 

We then headed into Temple Bar, an area of pubs and nightlife.  Stops included the Music Wall of Fame…

and Grafton Street…a pedestrian walking area with lots of shops.

After the tour ended we found a nearby Gourmet Burger Kitchen and ordered burgers and their great chocolate milkshakes.  Gourmet Burger Kitchen is one of our regular stops while in London.

We walked back to the hotel via St. Stephen’s Green Park. 

We spent late afternoon and evening in the hotel and had dinner at the adjacent pub. Then it was time to pack.