Wedding in Kilkenny

After celebrating Thanksgiving we went to a wedding on Friday in Kilkenny. The wedding was at Mt. Juliet, a country estate. The next day we went on the Smithwick's brewery tour.

Bride and groom, Carrie and Anthony

Weston, Andrew, Richard and Lauren

Celine, Kelsey, Britta, Lauren

Smithwick's brewery tour

Because it's an active brewery, we had to wear safety vests and glasses

A sample of the freshest pint!

St. Patrick's Day 2011

One reason Jesse and Michelle came to Ireland when they did was so Jesse could celebrate his 30th birthday, which happens to be on St. Paddy's day, in Dublin.  We did lots of celebrating.

Counting down to the big 3-0

Birthday-Bushmills

On the way to the St. Patrick's Day parade

Michelle made Jesse a birthday shirt

While out on the town we found a new store that for the most part sells
only American products (at pretty steep prices).  They also sell marshmallow fluff,
Aunt Jemima, pancake mix, Nerds and jelly beans.  I can live without these things.

Glendalough

We recently went to Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains.  Glendalough, or Gleann Da Loch in Irish, translates to "Glen of two lakes".  We saw the monastic settlement founded in the 6th century and walked through some of the old stone structures, some which date to the 8th-12th centuries.  Afterwards we did a hike to the two lakes, with a lakeside picnic in between.

Bull Island

On Sunday we went for a walk on Bull Island on the north side of Dublin Bay.  The island is fairly recent as it was inadvertently created by natural siltation after construction of the sea walls of Dublin Port.  Now it's a nice place for a walk and very popular with kite surfers on windy days.

Bridge to Bull Island

View of Howth Head from Bull Island

Killiney Hill + New Swimming Destination

On Sunday we took the DART to Dalkey, then walked to the top of Killiney Hill.  It was a really beautiful day and clear enough to barely see the peaks of North Wales.  Towards the end of our walk we discovered a new secluded swimming hole that's next on our list.

Killiney Hill

Killiney Bay and Wicklow Mountains

New swimming destination in Dalkey

Finnegan's in Dalkey

Family Visit

Mom, Dad, Aunt Patti and Uncle Dave are visiting Ireland for two weeks.  They were in Dublin last Thursday through Sunday, and this week are touring around the south and west of Ireland (Kinsale and Galway).  They'll be back in Dublin for the weekend.

St. Stephen's Green

I always ask my parents to bring me bay leaves from
the tree in their yard whenever they visit us.  Thank you!

Whiskey tasting at Jameson

Dun Laoghaire farmer's market

Irish coffee at The Long Hall

Dalkey

It was a cold day, but Richard still swam at Sandycove

Dad, Mom, Patti and Dave

Irish cheese tasting with soda bread - Cashel Blue,
St. Gall and a third I can't remember the name

Bru na Boinne - Newgrange and Knowth

I love Irish words- it is pretty much impossible to guess how they're supposed to be pronounced.  Bru na Boinne is definitely one of those that make it really obvious that you're not a local.

Bru na Boinne is one of the largest prehistoric megalithic sites in Europe.  It comprises various burial tombs and passage graves that were built about 5000 years ago.  They are preserved quite well because after they were abandoned and forgotten, over time they were naturally hidden from view under soil and overgrowth until they were rediscovered and excavated in the mid 1900s.  Portions of the tombs have been reconstructed.

The site is in County Meath in the Boyne Valley.  We got there via a shuttle bus that left from the City Centre.  The guided tours were fairly long and detailed so now I know things like what the word megalith means and that 5000 years ago people really liked to carve swirls into rocks.

View of the Boyne Valley

Boyne River

Knowth Burial Chambers

Rock art

Newgrange passage grave entrance

Newgrange

Candice's Visit to Dublin

View of Dublin Bay and Wicklow Mountains from Dalkey

Our friend Candice visited us from Nashville and we had a lot of fun catching up and showing her around Dublin.  And what a good guest she was-- she arrived in Dublin at 8am last Wednesday bright-eyed and wide awake despite the fact that she was probably completely jet-lagged.  AND, she had done her Ireland homework so she already had some good ideas for side trips, which made our job as tour-guides much easier.  In the five days she was here, we packed in a lot of sight-seeing and fun.

I took the day off for her first day and we did some typical Dublin sight-seeing: St. Stephen's Green, Trinity College, the River Liffey, Dublin Castle, the National Gallery, National Library and the Chester Beatty Library (whew).  The second day I worked while Candice continued with her sight-seeing: Guinness Brewery, National History Museum, a Viking Dublin walking tour, shopping, etc.

On Friday we went to Howth to do the cliff walk.  I have done it so many times but will never get tired of it.  It's beautiful and the end of the hike takes you to a cute town with good food and pub option-- perfect.  Saturday we went to Bru na Boinne which was exciting enough that I'll talk about that in another post.  On Sunday Richard finally got to hang out with us.  He had been busy finishing up a study so was working quite a bit during the week and all day on Saturday.  On Sunday we went south to Dalkey, swimming in Sandycove and to the Dun Laoghaire market.

Candice, we miss you already.

At the Temple Bar listening to Lad Lane

Candice at the Dublin Castle park

At the top of Sheilmartin Hill on the Howth Walk

Lighthouse on the Howth Cliff Walk

Howth

Dalkey

Sandycove Swimming Hole

Richard taking the plunge