Here are some of the shots from Dublin. There are three cameras on this tour.
NEWGRANGE WAS AWESOME!
It is older than both Stonehenge and the Pyramids. Mesolithic man made it some 5000 years ago without mortar or cement and it is still watertight to this day. It served as a burial place (a passage tomb) and an astronomical watch, lit up by the sun on the Winter Solstice for mere minutes in the morning when the 'window box' above the doorway allowed for sunlight to stream into the chamber. You have to enter a lottery with some other 30,000 people to go in around Yule to be part of this ancient holy observation, I SO want to!!! But that's for the future I think.
On the same Newgrange tour we went to the Hill of Tara - ruling place of the ancient Irish kings. Now looked after by sheep. Seriously. I didn't get the same rush of connection as with Newgrange, though it was fun to think of Scarlett O'Hara - but now I've been to Tara I don't know if I can say 'I'll think about it at Tara'...
YarnMama, the below is for you. It's one of the nicest dorms I have ever been in. Only one bathroom for eight girls, but it had a wee kitchen and super big, bright windows, and comfortable beds, and a rug on the floor for me to roll around doing Yin Yoga in the mornings (I was waking up at 5am!). Gave us a nice vantage to experience the midnight rain/thunder/lightning storms from as well.
On our way to Cork we stopped in Kilkenny, a quaint little town. Went up to St. Canice after touring through the Kilkenny Castle - and we climbed the tower. 160 'steps' - on a ladder! Eeeeek! No, it wasn't so bad. Very windy at the top. My concerns about going down - going up never bothers me for some reason - weren't flared even, so you know, it was fairly low on the Adventure Girl scale.
On our arrival to Cork we had two goals: find food, find drink.
Both were fulfilled.
Above are the two Welshman and the one San Fran boy we met in the hostel bar. I wasn't a fan of any of the folks there really, though two of the girls from the states were very sweet they went to bed early as they had an insane early wake up. These three gentleman were both all intelligent and friendly and not sleazy or absolutely wasted. Or very old or very young (okay - the younger Welshman was a baby, but not annoyingly so, especially as his older friend seemed to be shepherding him well.) The bar was owned by an Australian who got naked, save a small Red Bull apron, at the end of the night. I'd have liked to have gotten Miss Lit with the taller of the Welshman, myself taking leave of prowling this month, but she was on the make rather well it turned out with the chap from closer to home.
The next day we drove to Iskeroon, where we are still happily ensconced. I'll try to post our photos from here on Friday, before we leave and go to sketchy hostel wireless. And after we've seen more cool things!
OMG OMG! sooooo cool!!!! so jelouse! if you have the time can I get a guiness shirt too!?? like the castley things! lots of love-
laura
Posted by: scuba | Thursday, July 09, 2009 at 08:06 AM
Totally cool! Totally Jealous! Miss you!!!
Posted by: Leonesse | Thursday, July 09, 2009 at 06:23 PM
Postcard received, thank you so much! x x
Posted by: R | Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at 01:00 PM