Ah, Ireland

Today I went looking for some pictures to write about and my fingers naturally found my Ireland CDs of shots from our June, 2004 trip. Such a beautiful land and a lovely, exuberant people. We'd go back in a heartbeat.

This is a view of and inlet towards the west coast on our way to The Dingle peninsula. We had a picnic lunch here soaking in the sea scene like thirsty plants as we munched and chatted.

We had to go to Blarney Castle as I remembered my grandmother talking about kissing the Blarney stone on her visit there. Imagine our surprise when, after waiting as our line of tourists snaked its way up the narrow steps, past single bare stone rooms on each floor, we reached the top and this view of the scene below. The centre of the castle was missing with only the outer walls still standing. For anyone who dislikes heights, this could be a bit of a challenge. When we finally made it to the kissing place, I declined as (1) I didn't want the 'helper' man holding my waist while I leaned out, and (2) I just figured I didn't need all the germs of the hordes of people who had kissed that stone before. Enough it was just to climb the tower, thank you very much.

Far more lovely and interesting to me were the remnants of other towers on the property and the lovely walking paths, complete with stone-stepped trails and the flavour of days gone by. I just love this shot, heightened with that indescribable colour of green found only in Ireland--and maybe here in Ontario in the first few weeks of spring.

My husband took this beautiful picture of me before one of the many castles we toured. Didn't he do a great job?




Finally, this is a view from the front yard of one of the Bed-and-Breakfasts that we enjoyed. It is very reminiscent of the scenic vistas that Ireland affords your eyes.



What do you think? Want to go there?