The Cliffs of Moher...Ireland

I meant to add this weeks ago and I just haven't had much time to sit and add it...On our last day in Ireland I was fortunate enough to have Gary tour with me and we took a 10 hr tour to see The Cliffs of Moher.  The cliffs were beautiful!  Such an amazing sight!  On our way up the weather wasn't the best...rainy and foggy but by the time we made it to our stop, it was nothing but pure sunshine!  We couldn't be happier...there are many rainy and overcast days in Ireland...but not today!

The amazing Cliff of Moher...so breathtaking

Of course I wanted to go beyond this point...it looked like such a great view from there but Gary then pointed out...

this sign...oh well

Yeah Gary pushed me...I could have fallen!  Thank goodness for the fence being there.

We were told this castle tower behind us is owned by an american family.  Yeah could that be my vacation home please?  Gary, get on that would ya?

Yep he should be scared! haha

These aren't the Cliffs of Moher but they are still amazing...



We would like to go back please



Endless amount of rocks out on this side of Ireland....so of course Gary had to throw a few

This was is the entire group from Gary's audit along with the driver, Brian who was there every day to pick the guys up for work and to take us to and from the airport.  He was like family by the time we left!

More Ireland...does it ever end?

I feel like I have toured so much of Ireland...but in reality I have only see maybe half of the country...
I was trying to think of a tour to take and Gary and I had watched the movie "In the name of the father" which took place in Belfast, Ireland and I thought, that might be a cool place to see.  So I booked it and headed North to Belfast.  Northern Ireland is part of the UK not Ireland so there is still a bit of anomosity between the Catholics (want to be a part of Ireland) and the Protestants (want to be a part of the UK).  They have their own "Berlin Wall" in a sense.  It spans 3 1/2 miles and divides the 2 groups who to this day (according to the local tour) do not mix other then in the "netural zone" which is their city center.  The gates along their dividing wall are closed every night at dark to avoid and teenagers starting fights between each other (which is obviously a learned hatred from their parents).  There are still many terriost groups in the area and the police station is surrounded by a stone wall and barbwire (as if it were a prison) due to the amount of debris and other objects thrown in at them.  It blew my mind thinking this still goes on (well other then in the middle east).  They aren't divided because of religion (Catholic & Protestant) it is more political (Catholics are more for the Irish way and Protestant are for the British).  Anyway, it was a rainy day (which generally is any day in Belfast) and not a very pretty place to view but I loved hearing the history!

Some of the graffiti on government owned buildings...this is of a member of one of the terrorist groups who died in his apartment but is thought to have been killed rather then an overdose.  It is illegal to paint these but the authorities do nothing about it in fear of an uprising.

This is the famous Black Cab tour of Belfast I did...pretty interesting information.  The drivier wouldn't tell me which side he was on...the Protastant or Catholic.  I have my hunches though...



The "Berlin Wall" of Belfast dividing the 2 groups. People also write peace messages on the wall...

All in all it was a very interesting tour...not much to see but lots of history.

Oh Paris...

Where do I even begin!  Paris was an amazing city to visit...Gary was certian it would be my favorite city and he was right.  All the buildings have the same look and are beautiful!  We did about as much as you can in one day and could have stayed much longer.  I didn't want to upload ALL the photos but here are a few of my favorites...

The entrance to The Louvre

Standing beside the famous Mona Lisa painting by Da Vinci

Arc d'Triomphe

Eiffel Tower - we of course went to the very top (Mom, not sure you could have handled it - I was a bit unsure some of the time) and what a view! 



Outside Notre Dame




Sacre Coeur - this church has an amazing view of the city



There were the cutiest little neighborhoods with shops all along the way...Just loved the areas!

The Moulin Rouge...Reminds me of the movie (which is one of my all time favorite movie!)

The Eiffel Tower all lit up.  For 10 minutes every hour on the hour the tower sparkles...it's amazing to see!

The view from our hotel...beyond the trees is The Louvre.

Needless to say we had an amazing time...Pictures just don't do it justice. I was told I would fall in love with the city and that I did.  Until next time...

Week 2 in Ireland

Week two is winding down so I thought I would post some pictures of my tour I went on.  It was called The Wild Wicklow Tour.  The tour takes you a little south of Dublin into their mountains (they are really more like hills but mountains to them).  We drove through some of the cutest little towns! One of which was a main spot for the filming of Leap Year the movie.  I haven't seen it but definitely plan on it now :o).  We drove out the the Sally Gap which is where they film a lot of movies such as P.S. I Love You (one of my favorites), Excalibur, Bravehart, Far and Away and the new movie coming out called Camelot.  Of course those are highlights for me but the scenery was amazing!

This was one of our first stops in South Dublin called Forty Foot Beach...Here people swim all times of the year and say it helps promote good health (because the water is so cold!)

The only people I noticed swimming were elderly people...oh how brave but if you look a little closer, the gentleman standing there with his swimming cap on, yep he was swimming in the nude.  WOW!

A brave soul swimming in the freezing ocean.

This is on the drive up to Sally Gap.

All of the brown you see on the hills is heather and is purple in the summer months...

They call this, a pint of Guinness because the water is as dark as a pint of Guinness.  The Irish sure love their beer.

Many films (as mentioned before) were filmed in this location and at the top of the "mountain".

To the left there is a little view of a lake...that is the lake in P.S. I Love You where the girls are paddling out and get stuck in the rain.  If you have seen the movie you know what I'm talking about :o).

The wind was so insane up at the top there...I guess it is a tradition (as least for the touring company) to take a shot of Jameson Whiskey up there (I opted out of course) but the wind were so strong it was blowing the whiskey out of everyones little plastic shot glasses...pretty strong.

Such a great view!

The Upper Lake in Glendalough

There are many many sheep in Ireland and they mark the sheep with colors to know whose sheep and which ones are pregnant.

The tower in the distance is a monk bell tower...and it was a warning post as well to see if there were any invaders approaching.

The tower a little closer

The actual door is four feet from the ground...there are many around the area and all have the doors four feet from the ground.  I can't remember why that is so - sorry for leaving ya hanging there.

The rain was rolling in...