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...

Hello from IRELAND!

We are starting our second week in Ireland and are having such a great time!  Gary is busy working away while I am touring the city...doing it alone isn't my ideal way of seeing the country but it's my only option so I'll take it :o).  Here are a few of the pics I've taken so far.  I've gone all over Dublin, up the North Coast and we made it to London this past weekend.  So busy in the first week but we are just getting started!  There will be more to follow so keep checking back.



Some of the beautiful country of Ireland




This is my best friend while in Dublin...The Hop on Hop off Bus is directly across the street from our hotel which is VERY nice!



This is Merrion Square which is about a block away from our hotel...they have beautiful parks.  They are all gated and close 30 minutes before dark.



I couldn't help but take a picture of this tree.  What an amazing looking tree.  It is in Merrion Square and that is the true color of the tree.  Amazing!



Merrion Square

Yep me in Merrion Square.  This is how all my days are spent...alone.  Until about 5:30pm then Gary is back from work are we wander around the city at night!

THE St Patrick's Cathedral.  Beautiful!

Christ's Church

Definitely a tour to do if you are ever in Dublin.  This is Kilmainham Gaol (Jail).  The history is amazing and the building is FREEZING!  It was built out of limestone which does not retain heat.  It was about 36 degrees outside and inside the Gaol(jail) it was easily 10 degrees lower.  Back in the 1800's when the jail was in use, the prisoners only had the rags they wore and a thin blanket.  I was freezing and was layered up pretty good.  Years later they installed gas heat but only ran it one hour a day. They were also given a candle that was to last them 2 weeks.  If it ran out then they were just out of luck.  And the sad part is, they had prisoner's as young as 5 yrs old in there (for stealing a metal rod).  They meant business back then!  Also there was so much poverty that people would purposely do wrong to be thrown in jail because they were guaranteed 3 meals a day there.  Outside in the city they were starving.  Such sad history but very interesting!

This is the stone yard.  The prisoners weren't allowed to speak and were confined to their cells 22 hours a day.  The other 2 hours were spent here in the stone yard where they broke apart stone - in silence of course.

The stone yard was also the location of multiple hangings.  They weren't very good at hanging since they couldn't get the ropes right.  Some were too short and would slowly strangle the prisoner and some were too long which would cut their heads clean off!  They also did firing squads out here as well.

St. Stephens Green.  This is a large park directly across the street from our hotel.  Even with the cold weather there are always numerous people sitting and walking in the park.

Here is the President of Ireland's home.  Unlike our president, he doesn't get involved in politically affairs.  Only matters pertaining to the state.  So he basically has it pretty easy :o)

I did a tour of North Dublin County...the drive was just beautiful!  Here is a castle we stopped it.  It is called Malahide Castle.  The family lived in this particular castle for more then 700 years.  That's amazing to be able to keep it in the family that long!  It has since been donated as a monument.

Some of the grounds of Malahide Castle

North Coast of Ireland

In the distance you can see "hills", they call them mountains...but that is where you can find homes of Bono from U2, Enya and etc...VERY expensive area.  Of course I want to go over there but they don't permit tour buses out there.  I wonder why?  Probably because of people like me :o)

North Coast

I was so excited when I saw a glimpse of the SUN!  It is rare to see it in Ireland (well at least this time of year).  It lasted maybe 2 minutes...oh well.

More amazing scenery  

The homes in the city of Dublin look nothing like this.  They are all attached to at least one other home and are not as nice looking as this one.  The tour guide said that this home back in 2008 would go for a price around $1 million Euro (which equals $1.37million dollars).  Since the economy crashed this house would go for around $700,000 Euro (that comes out to be about $959,095 US dollars.)  I think I'll stick with a house in The States thank you!

That was all from my first week in Ireland...Now on the weekend we were lucky enough to hop on over the London, England.  It was only an hour flight but we were only able to really tour the city on Saturday since our flight was so late on Friday and so early on Sunday.  But here is what we were able to see...

We made it to LONDON!

Trafalgar Square

The entrance to Buckingham Palace

This is MINI BEN

BIG BEN!

Westminster Abbey

Driving on London Bridge

Behind us is the lawn where they beheaded Anne Boleyn (and others) at The Tower of London

A view from The Tower of London of London Bridge

Just a few guardsmen at The Tower of London

The Tower of London

Crazy that they beheaded people here...this is in The Tower of London.

We were exhausted Saturday night and it was bitterly cold in London (colder then Ireland) the entire day but it was well worth it!  London is an amazing city and we were only able to squeeze in one day.  We could easily spend a week there just checking it all out!  Oh well, until next time!

Quick Holiday update

Our lives have been a bit hectic lately but we are loving it none the less!

We had a wonderful time in Utah the week before Christmas.  We celebrated Christmas early with The Olsen family.  We stayed up in Heber in a cabin that gave us all plenty of room to spread out.  Since The Olsen family is from California we were all looking forward to a "White Christmas" and we weren't disappointed!  It was beautiful!  The kids played in the snow and we did a little tubing up in Soldiers Hollow.

From the front of the cabin in Heber



Soldier Hollow tubing



We also were able to do a family photo while we were all together and I think they turned out really well!  A friend of mine came up and shot some pictures for us which was extremely nice of him to do.  We really appreciate it Zack!

The day we were all leaving we got a pretty good snow storm...Gary and Scott were out from 7:30am til 10:30am clearing the driveway so we could get the cars out.  We all made it out safely but the snow was beautiful!

Gary and I left Salt Lake City and flew down to Tucson, AZ where my brother Matt and Aubrey live.  We picked up my younger brother, Will's truck and drove it across the counrty to Florida.  I clearly wasn't in my right mind when I agreed to the cross country drive but we pushed through and made it to Florida on Dec 23rd (we left on Dec 21st). 



This was the only picture I took and it was in the beginning of the trip! Which might be why he is still smiling -

We had a great Christmas in Florida as well...Christmas Day, Nieces & Nephews, LOTS of good food and of course our Christmas night movie with a stop at Waffle House on the way back.  I really enjoy spending time with family!  Olsens and Heaths~

When we returned to New York from Christmas we had to get all our things packed in our apartment.  We decided to move all our stuff and myself back to Nashville temporarily instead of signing a new lease.  With Gary traveling so much with work we felt it would be a good move.  The downfall is we are apart...
                                                        Farewell our tiny New York apartment

Our apartment #10A5



We had 21+ boxes packed with all our stuff in it...

Our tiny kitchen

We had some great memories in New York and met some really great friend who will be missed BUT I'll see you guys again...I'm sure I will be back in New York City sometime!

So now I'm in Nashville staying with our friends Chris and Chantelle and Gary is back in New York...but in one week we will be heading to Ireland for a three week period!  I am fortunate to be able to go to Ireland with Gary while he works.  The weather might not be the best but I'll be in IRELAND!  Updates to follow!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!