Ireland

Trinity College

The Old Library at Trinity College - looked like something out of Harry Potter

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Bailey liked this one :-)

Bryan liked this one :-)

Very cool - super old Tavern...

Sweet Family

Dublin!

I thought this was funny.... Glad to know that "thieves" operate here (definitely not Bamberg :-))

The old Library - Gorgeous!

Mia :-)

We just got back from Ireland, and had a great time. The driving was definitely something to get used to.  (Picture tiny rental car, driver sits on wrong side of car, drives on wrong side of road, and must shift with a manual shifter with left hand :-) It was tricky, but in the end, we conquered it. It was a really neat place to visit. Speaking and reading everything in English was also definitely a plus! The rugged coast reminded me of Maine. The city of Dublin was neat, with lots of cool spots to check out. We went to Trinity College to see the famous Book of Kells, and the Old Library. St. Patrick's Cathedral (Where Johnathon Swift is buried) was beautiful. We also went to Malahide Castle, which was stunning. We visited Howth, which was a cute coastal fishing village, complete with Seals in the Harbor - too cute! The highlight for all of us though, was Newgrange.  Newgrange is dated back 5000 years (before Stonehenge and the Pyramids). It is an amazing structure that allows light into its cross shaped tomb only during the Winter Solstice. It is amazing to think that 5000 years ago, people could have had the engineering foresight to figure this out. We were able to walk into the tomb and have a private tour (apparently in the summer, you are very lucky to get in, let alone a private tour). We were the first ones there on a chilly day, so we totally lucked out. I would definitely love to go back to Ireland and spend a little more time. We met a really nice Irish lady on the plane, and she had suggested more than we were able to accommodate this time, but it was a great first taste of Ireland!