Ireland, Day 4: Glendalough, Powerscourt, St. Stephen's Green

• Day 1: Adventures with Ryanair
  
• Day 2- Walking Tour of Dublin

• Day 3 - Newgrange, Tara and River Dance

• Day 4: Glendalough, Powerscourt, St. Stephen's Green

We continued on our bus day trip on this day. Glendalough, which means Glen of the Two Lakes, is one of the most important sites of monastic ruins in Ireland. St. Kevin built a retreat there in the 600's. For 500 years it was one of Irelands great ecclesiastical foundations and schools of learning. The establishment was attacked, burned and plundered by the Danes, who were based in the stronghold of Dublin, a shortish distance away, and making it an easy target..
Glendalough, despite extensive fire damage in 1163 A.D. prospered until the early 13th century. In 1163, Laurence O'Toole, Abbot of Glendalough, who later became Irelands first canonised saint, was appointed Archbishop of Dublin.
The arrival of the Normans in Ireland sealed the fate of Glendalough, as in 1214 the monastery was destroyed by the invaders and the Diocese of Glendalough was united with the Sea of Dublin. After that, Glendalough declined as a monastic establishment and gradually it became deserted.

Entering into the cemetery:

Next we walked around the two lakes.

The first lake...

The second lake.

After our hike out to the lakes, we were off to Powerscourt Gardens.

Powerscourt Garden is a 45 acre blend of formal gardens, sweeping terraces, statuary and ornamental lakes together with secret hollows, rambling walks, walled gardens and over 200 variations of trees and shrubs.

A view of the main estate building from the pond below:

The Italian Garden...

Close up of the lily-pads...

Entrance to the Japanese Gardens...

Pet Cemetery...

The Walled Garden...

Rose Garden...

Finally we drove back to Dublin and took a short walk in St. Stephen's Green.

St Stephen's green is a peaceful oasis in the heart of Dublin.Within the stone walls of this public park you will discover nine hectares of gardens/ponds/trees/lawns.

Ireland, Day 3: Newgrange, Tara and River Dance

Returning to our Ireland trip from this summer:

• Day 1: Adventures with Ryanair
• Day 2- Walking Tour of Dublin
• Day 3 - Newgrange, Tara and River Dance

So after we had our historical overview of Dublin/Ireland, I think we started our next day going to the beginning of that Irish History. The idea was to take our bus day trips the first couple of days before my nephew's family and my hubby joined us later in the week.

Newgrange:

Newgrange is a Megalithic Passage Tomb built around 3200BC. This makes it more than 600 years older than the Giza Pyramids in Egypt, and 1,000 years more ancient than Stonehenge. Megalithic means "big rocks" and a Passage Tomb is, obviously, a tomb in which there is a long passage way to get into the tomb area. At the base of the mound there are "kerbstones" (big rectangular carved rocks) that go all the way around.

Two interesting things about Newgrange

1) the "megalithic" carvings in the rocks

2) The passage and chamber of Newgrange are illuminated by the winter solstice sunrise. A shaft of sunlight shines through the roof box over the entrance and penetrates the passage to light up the chamber. The dramatic event lasts for 17 minutes at dawn on the Winter Solstice and for a few mornings either side of the Winter Solstice. (think Indiana Jones when the light comes in the tomb and lights up the jewel on the staff that opens the secret chamber...only here there is no secret chamber....that we found.). On the tour they demonstrate this with a flashlight.

As we approach:

When of Professor Michael J. O'Kelly excavated and restored the mound, he decided that the quartz rocks would have been like a retaining wall. This is a controversial decision.


Close up of the wall:






The entrance to the burial site. The square thing in the middle is where the light goes in at winter solstie.




Close up of the detail on the "kerbstone":





View from the Hill:



Next on our Bus Tour was "The Hills of Tara".


The Hill of Tara was once the ancient seat of power in Ireland – 142 kings are said to have reigned there in prehistoric and historic times. In ancient Irish religion and mythology Tara was the sacred place of dwelling for the gods, and was the entrance to the otherworld. Saint Patrick is said to have come to Tara to confront the ancient religion of the pagans at its most powerful site.



As you enter the area at the base of the hill:








When you go up to the Hill of Tara, the key word is Hill. This is the High Cross. There are some ancient rings that are still seen in the hill...I think we climbed up and down them but I was too worried about sheep "offerings."







The Sheep of Tara:






When we got back we saw Riverdance which is still playing in Dublin.


We heard an older lady ask "I wonder if Michael Flatley will be performing." Alas, no dear, he left the show in 1995. Did you know that Micheal Flatley was actually born in the USA?

Ireland, Day 2: Walking Tour of Dublin

Day 1: Adventures with Ryanair

Day 2:

To get some of the history of Ireland, we took a Historical Walking Tour of Dublin.

Our guide was Lisa.

For a brief history of Ireland, see here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A707906

Go ahead, take a look. I'll wait......Really, it's no problem....

First we ran in to Molly Malone...little did we know we would see her on the "Hop on Hop off bus" about 300 more times...Molly is commemorated in a statue designed by Jeanne Rynhart, erected to celebrate the city's first millennium in 1987. Placed at the top of Grafton Street in Dublin, this statue is known colloquially as "The Tart With The Cart," "The Dish With The Fish," and "The Trollop With The Scallops."

The first stop on our tour was the former parliament building (when the Irish were still under British Rule) but is now a bank.

Dublin Tourist tells us:
The prestigious offices of Ireland's national bank began life as the first purpose-built parliament house in Europe. Completed in 1739 it served as Ireland's Parliament until the Act Of Union in 1801 this imposed direct rule on Ireland from London. Today attendants lead tours that point out the coffered ceiling and oak panelling. There are also huge tapestries of the Battle of the Boyne and the siege of Derry, and a splendid 1,233-piece crystal chandelier dating from 1788.

The former room used for upper house of the parliament is still open to the public.

Next stop was City Hall:

Erected between 1769 and 1779, and formerly the Royal Exchange. It is a square building in Corinthian style, with three fronts of Portland stone. Since 1852, however it has been the centre of the municipal government. The interior is designed as a circle within a square, with fluted columns supporting a dome shaped roof over the central hall. The building contains many items of interest, including 102 royal charters and the mace and sword of the city.

View looking up in the lobby:

View looking down:

Next stop was Dublin Castle:

Built between 1208 and 1220, this complex represents some of the oldest surviving architecture in the city, and was the centre of English power in Ireland for over seven centuries until it was taken of by the Irish Free State in 1922. Highlights include the 13th-century record tower, the largest visible fragment of the original Norman castle and the State Apartments, once the residence of English viceroys and now the focal point for government ceremonial functions, including the inauguration of Ireland's presidents. The newest developments for visitors are the Undercroft, and excavates site on the grounds where an early Viking fortress stood, and the treasury, built between 1712 and 1715, believed to be the oldest surviving purpose-built office building in Ireland.

I'll show you the most castley-looking part of Dublin Castle:

After the tour we walked down O'Connell Street in the heart of Dublin:

Wikipedia tells us:

On the site of the Pillar (blown up in 1966), a new monument was erected in January 2003. Officially named the Spire of Dublin, this tall needle-like structure has already received a number of nicknames including The Spike, The Binge Syringe, The Stiletto in the Ghetto, The Nail in the Pale (see the Pale), The Pin in the Bin, The Stiffy at the Liffey, and The Erection in the Intersection.

Close-up!

Trade Union Leader James Larkin:

"The great appear great because we are on our knees: Let us rise."

Éire: Day 1

In which we go to Ireland...

Day 1: Adventures with Ryanair

You may have heard of Ryanair...they're the one's that supposedly were going to charge for toilet use? Their model is to fly out of minor airports, charge a nominally small fare (but taxes and fees and luggage fees and would you like to get on first fee and how about flight insurance and would you like to buy a soda? are added) but generally be a NO FRILLS low cost airline.

In fact, I can say the flight was just fine. I had low expectations. They are quite firm that your 1 and only 1 carry on can only weigh so much, as can your checked bags. I dutifully weighed mine ahead of time and we were well under the weight limit.

The airport (Memmingen) was 2.5 hours away. It is a relatively new airport ( From 1959 to 2003, it was the home base of German Air Force fighter wing 34 „Allgäu“.) and as such was not in my Navigation system! Oh NOES! After a short delay (reboot the computer back up, find out where it is), we had an uneventful drive since it was a nice day.

Now the Ryanair planes are definitely no frills...there are no pockets in the back of the seats (less to clean out), if you want food you have to buy it (they have a menu), and if you can buy a charity scratch off lotto ticket if you would like! At one point the little one's tray table would not come down and I told her "you have to put a euro in if you want to use it" :-) I think she half believed me.

Anyway, after an uneventful flight we touched down in Dublin. There was a few ways to get to the hotel...taxis, airport bus and city bus. City bus was the cheapest and was easy to find and we were in no hurry so we went with that. I knew which bus stop to get off at and I had a map from there. What I DID NOT KNOW is that unlike every other bus/public transportation I had been on, there was no way to know what stop was next. No map, no announcements. Even the map at the airport just showed like 7 major stops and mentioned that oh, yeah, this could take up to 90 minutes to get to the end. You could barely read the signs at the bus stops to see what stop they were. So I thought I would ask the Bus Driver: "How do I know when we are at Camden Street stop?" "I'll give you a shout."

There was no shout. But thanks to the eagle eyes of the eldest, we saw clues about where we were and got off at the right stop. A short walk to our hotel and we check in.

Now normally the avg. daily temperatures in Dublin are 11-20 degrees Celsius (52-68F) but it was 23 degrees. Not really so hot, but you can tell they are not prepared for heat as our room feels like it is 400 degrees. We ask for and eventually get a fan. A tiny fan.

The first night we do a lot of shopping as the girls love them some shopping and I was not sure how much time was allotted for that. We were near Grafton Street which is a major pedestrian shopping street.

We notice a BOOK Store. As we go in, we notice there are books, lots and lots of Books, in ENGLISH! WOOT! German book stores have a little English section usually but it is limited to best sellers and the classics. The girl's want some teen-type books and there are a bunch. We all get a book or two and are happy as clams (as happy as clams with books can be, I suppose).

After shopping we get a bite to eat at a Thai restaurant. We have now had American Thai, German Thai and Irish Thai. All pretty similar (unlike Mexican!). We sit down and the waiter puts a giant pitcher of ice water in front of us. Did you hear me? A Giant Pitcher of (FREE! FREE!) Ice water (WITH ACTUAL ICE CUBES!!) in front of us. Now maybe to you in the U.S. this is perfectly normal! Not in Germany. In Germany they don't do tap water and the beer and the water are about the same price. Ice? Never heard of it. The girls order their customary coke/sprite but I am revelling in the ice water.

Of course we are in "I am visiting in a Foreign Land" mode but are being careful not to say "Danke!" (German for Thanks!) to all the shop keepers.

We get back to the hotel and it is only 350 degrees in the room...but what is that noise? Is it coming from the hallway or the window? I try the hallway. It seems the people next door are having a party with the door open. They do not mind closing it (I don't think I was too scary in my Piglet pajamas, but it worked). I still hear more party noise. I am pretty sure they would keep it down for at least 5 minutes, so I check out the window. Why there is a night club right out back!(Note to self: as this is the second hotel that I have gone to with an attached night club, always ask before booking. Also the fact that the hotel provides free earplugs in the nightstand drawer should have been a clue).

I try to go to sleep. I put my ear plugs in. Still doesn't work. But remember it is 350 degrees in our room and I face a choice of : AIR or QUIET. If I close the windows, it is quieter, but hotter. At midnight I feel I should not have to make this choice. I feel greedy that both should be possible. I try calling down to the front desk, but the phone isn't working.

OH YES THEY DID MAKE ME GO DOWN IN MY PAJAMAS!

Please sirs, help me. I came to this hotel to sleep as that is what I believe they are there for: Sleeping while away. They offer another room...that is down the street in another building. Sorry, don't really want to wake up the kids at this point. Then they say How about we take this giant floor fan that is keeping the poor dude at the front desk from melting? Oh, no.....

But they say "He's used to it!"

With two fans, earplugs, and some sort of unit outside our window that hums, we go to sleep.

Next: Day 2, a walking tour of Dublin.