Ireland
The Journey Begins!
The Journey Begins!
Dublin Biking Waterford Blarney Castle Ancient Sites County Kerry
Tour Home Click on any picture to see a larger version of it. Hubcat Home
Dublin, our first step of the journey
Dublin is a great city. We spent 4 days there before heading out on our bikes, and another day and a half before we left Ireland. (We would have spent 3 more days there before leaving, but couldn't get a reasonably priced hostel or B&B anywhere in town because of a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert that had brought about 100,000 people to the city for the weekend.) There is an open-top bus tour that gives you the highlights and history of the city and allows you to get off at any stop and then back on as much as you like for 24 hours. It was a wonderful introduction to Dublin, and allowed us to determine which areas we most wanted to explore in more detail.The old Georgian-era architecture was fascinating. However, as you can see by some of the pictures, most of the Georgian townhouses are very similar if not identical. That is why the doors are so colorful and distinctive. The door decor is one of the few ways to show one's taste and individuality. The townhouses are aligned in rows along each side of a square central park. For many years, most of the parks were "turn-key" parks; that is, they were for the private use of the townhouse owners. So the parks were (and still are) surrounded by gates and only the residents had keys. Today, only one of the parks remains private, with all of the others having been given to the residents of the city as gifts at one time or other. You can still get access to the remaining private park by buying one of the €1,000,000+ townhouses. J
| The Kinlay House Hostel, in the Temple Bar area of Dublin. |
| The spire, or spike as the locals call it. The top 20 meters light up at night. |
| Dublin's famous O'connell Street |
| Cool Dublin street lamps |
| We really got a kick out of these |
| Buddy Christ poses in front of his namesake, Christchurch. |
| A Georgian-era line of town houses |
| A couple of ornate townhouse doors. |
|
Bike Route Details
Biking Stats:
Route Info:
|
|
| Jeff smiles as Adrienne stops to take pictures of a ruin. |
| Adrienne sitting around Ardmore. |
| We take a break at the top of the Dungarven Hill. |
Waterford
We initially rejected the idea of going to the Waterford Crystal Factory, because neither of us are big crystal fans. But we were told over and over how great it was, so we acquiesced. As it turns out, the tour is really fabulous. It gave me a new respect for crystal and for Waterford in particular. Of course, I still wouldn't pay the exorbitant prices to own crystal goblets. However, if I had a spare €1776 ($2220), I definitely would have bought the globe!
| Blowing the glass. |
| All of it is hand cut. |
| A small portion of the display. |
| A huge, working, crystal grandfather clock. |
| Cinderella's coach, all in crystal. |
| Adrienne's (well, it should be) crystal globe. |
Blarney Castle
Blarney Castle was our first real "tourist" attraction. I didn't even know what to expect, but I felt we couldn't really leave Ireland without kissing the Blarney stone. (In truth, neither of us knew why we should kiss the Blarney stone until we got there. If you don't know, it's to get the gift of eloquent speech.) In any case, like the Waterford Crystal Factory, Blarney was a pleasant surprise that was more interesting than we had expected. Kissing the stone itself wasn't such a big deal, but old ruined castles with Druid sacred groves on them is right up our alley!
| Blarney Castle as one approaches. |
| Another view. |
| And another, with the watch tower. |
| An interior view. |
| The parapets at the top of the castle. |
| Adrienne kisses the Blarney stone. |
| Now it's Jeff's turn. |
| Jeff gets creative with the camera. |
| A view of the watch tower through a murder hole. |
| Over in the Druid area, the Witch Stone reminded us of Leticia! |
| Adrienne is shadowed at the top of the Wishing Steps. |
| Jeff poses with one of the sacred trees. |
Ancient Sites Around Ireland
Here is a selection of pre-Christian stone circles, ring forts and Ogham stones (the earliest form of Celtic writing) along with images of an 8th century Celtic Christian Monastic settlement on Skellig Michael Island. This represents some of our favorite sites around Ireland.Drombeg Stone Circle and Site (County Cork, on the south coast)
| Move around on this very large photo to read about the stones. |
| View of the circle from the portal stones (entrance). |
| View from the axial stone. |
| The site also contained huts. Move around this large picture for details. |
| The roasting hut. |
| The complete site layout. |
Derrintaggart West Stone Circle (County Kerry, Beara Peninsula)
Teernahillane Ring Fort (County Kerry, Beara Peninsula)
The world's largest Ogham stone (County Kerry, Beara Peninsula)
Rock of Cashel (County Tipperary)
Great Skellig Island (County Kerry, off the Iveragh Peninsula)
A different style than Drombeg with thinner, flatter stones.
Posing
This horse was grazing near the stones, he liked the energy of the place.
So what exactly is a ring fort?
This ring fort is very near the Derrintaggart stones.
A close up of the earthenwork.
Ogham is an early Celtic alphabet using parallel lines.
Ogham is most often found as inscriptions on stones.
Yes, this one is very phallic.
Originally a fort, the Cashel "rock" was eventually given to the church.
The ruins are from numerous periods as the cathedral was redesigned over time.
An impressive site.
Many of the structural details have survived.
Here faces have been carved directly into the cathedral walls.
These sit on the sides of the arch.
Notice the ornate window.
This intricate tomb was found in one of the later-era church ruins.
The graveyard is still in use today by families that can show proper heritage lines.
In the 8th century, a group of monks decided that this would be a great place to live.
They built their settlement at the very top of the island.
This is the entrance. The open area in the foreground was farmed.
Remains of the central cross.
These "beehive" huts were the living quarters.
Most of the site remains intact, including the oratory on the left.
Behind the oratory is the graveyard. The monks buried their dead on site.
A puffin! (Neighboring Little Skellig can be seen in the background.)
About 60,000 mating pairs of birds live on Little Skellig Island.
The Beauty and Wonders of County Kerry
Reputed to be the most beautiful region in Ireland, County Kerry contains all three of Ireland's western peninsulas; Beara, Iveragh (home of the "Ring of Kerry") and Dingle. Killarney town, gateway to the peninsulas, is a lovely place surrounded by the countries first national park containing the tranquil Lakes of Killarney.
A view from the Beara Pennisula
And another
The Beara Hag, a unique rock overlooking the sea
Sheep! They roam all over the pennisulas.
This one's a view from the Iveragh pennisula.
The Kerry cow, who reportedly gives the richest milk.
We journeyed out to Kerry's famed chocolate factory.
And this is how we found it...
The rugged beauty of the Dingle pennisula.
A view from the Dingle's tip.
Several views of the lakes of Killarney
We spotted this doe in the woodland around the lakes.
We also caught a glimpse of a buck, but he was too fast for the camera.
