Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Woman posts Ireland pics! Readers faint in disbelief!

Finally, at long last, I'm posting some pics of our pilgrimage to Ireland. I plan to do several posts on this topic because there are quite a few pictures and I don't want you to be overwhelmed and go into Beauty Overload. Seriously, Ireland is a place of unrelenting beauty, and you find yourself almost wishing to see a strip mall or an industrial waste plant simply because after a while it almost hurts to look at it.

So, in no particular order, here's the first batch:

Augnanure Castle, located along the main road from Galway to Clifden (Connemara region). This is a 16th century tower fort, and there are over two hundred remains of these houses in Co. Galway. This was one built by the O’Flahertys, scourge of Galway Town, known for kicking the severed heads of their enemies around like a soccer ball. Don't they just sound precious? I'd just love to invite them to one of my dinner parties.

aughnanure



Me, being attacked by one of the devil watchdogs of Aughnanure! These great watchdogs are known for wandering over and collapsing in unsuspecting visitors' laps, which this one did shortly after this photo was taken.

watchdog



Ruins of a 13th century church, located in the Burren (one of our two favorite regions in Ireland). To this day, local people are still buried in the ruins of churches. It's a bit jarring to see modern tombstones scattered about such old ruins.

burren



Kilmacdaugh, an early Christian monastery complex, the first building of which was built in the 7th century. The complex was in use up until the 16th century. The big round tower is an example of the towers incorporated into these monastery complexes, and they were used by the monks to escape Viking and Irish marauders. The entrances were built 20+ feet up and could only be accessed by rope or ladder, which the monks pulled up behind them. We only knew about this place because Chris had heard of it in one of his Irish history classes. It was one of our favorite experiences.

kilmacdaugh



The Twelve Pins Mountain range of Connemara (our other favorite region). The only word for this place is "breathtaking". The large bushes with the yellow flowers are gorse, and they carry the most incredible smell of coconut-- don't ask me to explain it, because I can't. I wish I could get gorse to grow in Georgia, but I have a feeling that it's impossible.

connemara



A typical example of a western Ireland “highway”. Oh, I prayed, dear readers, how I prayed (wait till you see the picture of the tour bus):

freeway



The Giant's Causeway, close to the northernmost point of Ireland. The geometric shapes were formed by cooling lava. We spent a whole morning here, hiking up to the cliff above and back down to the Causeway itself. It was a gorgeous day, and a really amazing experience.

gintcause



Somewhere in the mountains north of Donegal:

donegal



The grave of W.B. Yeats and his wife George, located in the cemetary of Drumcliffe Church, Co. Sligo.

yeats


Well, I hope that you've enjoyed the first installment. Look for more pictures in the near future!

Kimberley

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a lump in my throat and tears of longing in my eyes... These pics are just so beautiful, and I love your funny elaborations. It sounds like Connemara and the Burren should definitely be on our 'must visit' list - thanks for the tip! I will be back for more!

SmilingJudy said...

Oohhhhhh, now you're making me want to go back. Like now! Looks and sounds like your trip overlapped with very few of the places I visited, so I'll be looking forward to future installments.

tea time and roses said...

Beautiful Kimberley! Oh how I wish to visit someday....thanks for sharing!

Smiles...

Beverly

Kimberley said...

Hi, ladies!

I am so glad that you enjoyed the pictures :) Ireland is truly spectacular, and we hope to go back someday and take Liam.

Sandy said...

The pictures are just beautiful!

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