The City of Dublin

End of September 2008....

Customs House

Beginning of the docks

Cool bridge on the Liffey

Fruit Market

DIT Angier Street- the campus I attend classes at

Grafton Street

Molly Malone aka Tart with a Cart

Grafton Street

American Hotdogs? in a can?

Roses

Newgrange and Drogheda

September 28th, 2008….

Newgrange

Today we took a bus to Drogheda and explored the town a little bit. It was built around the same time as Dublin and was quite similar. It was less crowded though, and didn’t have as much of a touristy feel to it. It was about an hour north of Dublin. The bus ride was grand; we went through the countryside, the green rolling hills, fields of sheep, everything Ireland is in the postcards. It was beautiful! Then after exploring the town a bit we headed to Newgrange. It is a burial mound built in 3200 B.C., making it 500 years older than the pyramids in Egypt and 1000 years older than Stonehenge in England. It was really lovely, it was in the middle of the country. Nothing big nearby. Very peaceful. The mound was really cool. The stones it was made out of were collected from three different places; the closest being 30 kilometers away, and to transport that much stone from that far would’ve been quite the task back in the day. The people who built it were believed to have worshiped the sun. While in the mound they turned all the lights out and showed us what the mound looked like without light. It was pitch black. Then they did a replication of the winter solstice. It was so cool. The entry way is lined up with the horizon and a small sliver of light comes in at first, then a little more making the inside of the cave glow just a bit and then after ten minutes all the light is gone. It was really neat. Great ending to a wonderful weekend. And once again, the pictures just don't cut it, but they give you an idea. the greens are so green and bright they glow. It's gorgeous!

Countryside from the bus

Michelle and me on the bus to Newgrange

The Boyne River

Boyne River with cow's drinking out of it

Michelle and I in Newgrange

Beautiful View!!

Entrance to the burial mound

Newgrange

Me in front of Newgrange

ben, michelle, and i

Me and the view

Sheep :) I want to take one home!!

Drogheda

Stainglass inside St. Mary's Catholic Church

Old telephone booth

the city of Drogheda

stopped to smell the roses ;)

walking along the wall

Howth

September 27th, 2008….

Howth

Howth used to be a fishing village. It’s north of Dublin and is along the coastline. We took the DART, it’s a train sort of thing. When we got there we had been recommended to go to Beshof Bro’s to get fish and chips. It was delicious!! Best thing I’ve ever eaten! Fish and chips, salt and vinegar, lemon and tartar sauce; can you get better than that? I sure don’t think so. Then we took a hike along the coast and found a great spot to sit and just watch the ocean. It was a great break from the city; very relaxing and calm. And it was so beautiful, the pictures don't even do it justice, it was breathtaking!

the boats in harbour


green, old stone, and ocean


crunchy leaf heaven!! yes, i do go out of my way to step on crunchy leaves, and yes i went into someone's yard to crunch all there leaves :)



The eye of Ireland, island off of Howth, no one lives there.

View from the top of the cliffs in Howth

Cliffs

more of Howth

the ocean :)




THE road in Howth

Me and Michelle on the first pier

The best fish and chips ever! fish and chips, salt and vinegar, lemon and tartar sauce; can life get better? I submit that it can not!! Look how happy I am; that's because they were so delicious!!

boats





fish and chips place

sailboats in harbour