I have gone on a number of small trips throughout the country these past couple weeks and have failed to mention them in my other blogs, so I thought I would take some time to describe my adventures across the country and within Dublin.
Cliffs of Moher
I took a Paddywagon tour out to the west coast of Ireland in County Clare for a day to visit the beautiful Cliffs of Moher and Burren. From the cliffs is one of the most spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean I have ever seen. The highest point of the cliffs reaches up to 215 meters or around 700 feet. It started out as a cloudy day, so I was a bit concerned that I would not get the best view. However, just as our bus arrived the sun peeked out from behind the clouds and the view was extraordinary. Our tour guide gave us about an hour to explore the cliffs and to get pictures from two of the view points. At the top of one of the cliffs is a small stone tower, called O'Brien's Tower. It is an observation tower, and from that particular point you can see the Aran Islands in the Galway Bay. It was absolutely breathtaking!
The Burren
On the same tour as the Cliffs of Moher, I had the opportunity to explore The Burren. It is also located in County Clare, not far from the Cliffs of Moher. We simply passed through a small town called Doolin in order to get from the cliffs to the Burren. The Burren is a karst-landscape, which is created by the deteriorating limestone along the Atlantic Coast. From the pictures you can see that it is made up of gray rocks that cover the plains and hills along the coast. There doesn't seem to be much vegetation, but if you look closely between the cracks of the rocks you will see tiny plants and shrubs and wildflowers. I don't know which area I liked best: the Cliffs of Moher or the Burren. Both were absolutely incredible.
Howth
One Sunday afternoon, Nick and I traveled out to a town called Howth. Howth can be seen from Dun Laoghaire, which is not far from where I live. It appears to be an island when looking out across to it from Dun Laoghaire, but it can be reached by the DART, or train system. And so, we took the DART out to Howth, which took approximately an hour due to all the train stops along the way. Neither one of us had any plans once we got there. I had heard about a cliff walk that was supposed to be neat, and Nick had heard about the Howth Castle. We did both. However, first we stopped off at a local restaurant to grab a bite to eat. Seafood is a big deal in Howth because it has a large harbor and port. We enjoyed the traditional fish and chips meal before setting off to find the castle.
As we approached the castle, I will admit I was a bit disappointed. I think this may have been due to the number of castles I had already seen. The Blarney Castle still remains the king of castles in my point of view. Although when I look back at my pictures now I think the Howth Castle is quite beautiful!
We walked around a bit, looking at the site from all angles and then decided to head out towards the coast for the cliff walk. What we didn't realize was how long this hike actually was. We had hiked for nearly and hour and a half along these beautiful cliffs, and yet there was no end in sight. Finally, we approached a small lighthouse on the edge of the coastline and from that point we could see across to Dun Laoghaire. We were only halfway around the Howth coastline. We found a trail sign, which suggested that the remainder of the hike would take another hour and forty-five minutes. And so we found a way to bypass this situation by cutting through the town itself to get back to the DART station. After another hour of walking, we were worn out! I believe we both fell asleep on the train ride back due to exhaustion.
Croke Park
Croke Park is the famous rugby stadium in Dublin. I had heard about the rugby museum and tour of the stadium through a friend, and so Nick and I decided to explore that side of Dublin to check out the stadium. Rugby is a big deal in Ireland and it is extremely entertaining. I have enjoyed watching a few matches on television, but never got the opportunity to travel out to Croke Park to see a big match myself.
The stadium was huge! Sadly, when we arrived, we were informed that there would be no tours for that day due to a large match on the following day. We were devastated! But we did watch that match on television the next day. There are four major provinces in Ireland, and they each have their own teams. Leinster is the province in which Dublin is located. Munster is over in the western part of Ireland. The Munster team has had a huge reputation of being the best team in the country, until they were defeated by the Leinster team in an upset of the season in Croke Park. It was an intense match! I think I'm finally beginning to understand the sport and it's rules. I much prefer it to our football in the United States.
Christ Church
I finally went into Christ Church to do some exploring. Nick had heard that the church showcased a crypt, and so we decided to go and investigate. The church was absolutely beautiful inside. It was constructed in the 1180s, but there have been many restorations in order to keep the church in viewing condition. One side of the church is leaning to it's side, which can be seen when looking at the arches from the center aisle. One feature of the church that I thought was particularly interesting was The Peace Chapel of Saint Laud. Each day there is a two minute prayer for world peace. People from all over the world come to pray and light candles for world peace. I think this is incredible.
We also went down into the crypt, which, I will admit, was a bit creepy. People buried into the walls just creeps me out a bit. But it was still fascinating. At one end of the crypt was the church treasury. In the treasury were gifts of gold and silver from different kings over the years. The chalices were extraordinary pieces of work in solid gold. Unfortunately, I was unable to take any pictures once inside the crypt.
Book of Kells
Nick and I took a trip back to Trinity College to get a tour of the famous Book of Kells, and it was definitely worth it. The tour took us through the process of creating the pages, the colors, and the text. I had no idea that the pages were made from calf skin. I also watched a video on the binding process of the books, which was very neat. The vivid colors in the pictures were created using a variety of raw materials. I was most impressed with how the paints were created and how the scribes and artists found such materials to make the colors.
I watched another video demonstrating the scripting process, which looked agonizing. It took so much time and skill to write just one simple letter. And then we were able to go an view a couple pages of the book itself. That was truly fascinating, although it was a bit hard to see with the number of people and the way the light was projected onto the pages. It was beautiful nonetheless. But what I found most beautiful was The Long Room. It is the main chamber of the Old Library. It houses nearly 200,000 of the library's oldest books. The shelves rose up two stories to the very top. If you wanted a book you would have to climb an old wooden ladder to reach them. I was amazed. Once again, no pictures allowed!
Dublin Zoo
I took a trip with the girls, Rebecca and Kathleen, out for a relaxed trip to the Dublin Zoo. It basically contains all the animals you would typically find at a zoo in the United States, so it was nothing unusual. We had to compete with all the little kids and their parents to see some of the animals, but other than that it was a really good trip!
Glendalough
My last major trip in Ireland! My host family had recommended that I make a trip out to Glendalough, which is out in the Wicklow Mountains, not too terribly far from where I live. Unfortunately I waited until the weather decided to take a turn for the worst. It was a cloudy day, and rain was to be expected throughout the entire day. But Nick and I made the best of the situation and enjoyed the trip all the same. Glendalough is a glacial valley that houses two beautiful lakes and an early Medieval monastic settlement. Still standing as part of this early settlement is a round tower, a cathedral, and a stone roofed church. The lakes were beautiful once the wind held up. Our tour guide also gave us a taste of Ireland's Jameson Whiskey. The tour was definitely successful despite the poor weather conditions.
