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Photo Album Ireland Honeymoon

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My wife Rosalind and I spent a week in Ireland driving across the countryside and staying at bed and breakfasts.

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	After arriving at the Shannon airport, we obtained our rental car and located a bed and breakfast in Bunratty with an available bed. We found a place to eat dinner across the street from the Bunratty Castle, shown here with Roz.
		The B&B we stayed at was called the Tudor Lodge and had some lovely gardens outside.

	There was a light rain, and the temperature was in the upper 50s. Roz was feeling a bit cold.
		On our first morning in Ireland, we toured the inside of the Bunratty Castle, and I took this picture looking out from the top of the castle.

	This is looking out from the top of Bunratty Castle over some rooftops.
		Some of the rooms in Bunratty Castle had been restored.

	This is us at the top of another part of Bunratty Castle.
		Our next stop was at the Minnocks Farmhouse B&B just outside Birr. This is a working farm, and the dog shown was rounding up the dairy cows and bringing them in just after we arrived.

	This is the Minnocks Farmhouse, where we stayed for our second night.
		This is Roz in front of The Thatch bar and grill, where we ate dinner.

	After dinner, we set out to try to find Leap Castle (one of the most haunted castles in Ireland) so that we could visit it the following day. Here is Rosalind by the gates to Leap Castle.
		Leap Castle. The central structure was built during the 1200s, and the two wings on either side were added during the 1700s or 1800s. It was burned in 1922 during Ireland's war for independence.

	Another building sits to the side of the castle, and possibly once sheltered livestock or slaves.
		The driveway coming into the entrance to the castle. There are a couple of flights of steps sitting to the side intended for future rennovations.

	Part of the wing that has not been restored.
		Part of the wing that has not been restored.

	A tree grew in part of the wing that has not been restored.
		Looking up from the entrance to Leap Castle.

	The owner's dog finally went inside and found the owner. He agreed to show us the inside of the castle the following day.
		Part of the wing that has not been restored.

	Sunset outside our window at Minnocks Farmhouse.
		When we returned the following morning, we saw some of the inside of Leap Castle. This sits just inside the front door. The owner, Sean Ryan, plays the tin whistle. He gave us a history of Leap Castle and the clans that occupied it, as well as some of the history of Ireland.

	Building ruins.
		Part of the wing that has not been restored.

	The front of Leap Castle. The small structure with the windows acts as a small greenhouse off of the main downstairs room. The windows were salvaged from a church that was being torn down nearby.
		Rosalind in front of Leap Castle.

	The front of Leap Castle.
		The front of Leap Castle.

	Ruins next to Leap Castle.
		The view from the front yard of Leap Castle.

	The view from the front yard of Leap Castle.
		On the way back from Leap Castle, we stopped to see what St. Kieran's Bush was.

	There is an interesting collection of things hanging off of the branches of St. Kieran's Bush.
		Closeup of things hung on St. Kieran's Bush.

	A typical landscape in Co. Offaly.
		We next went to Birr Castle Demesne. One of the features of the grounds is the Millennium Gardens. This is the view just after you walk in one of the gates to the Millennium Gardens.

	There are two paths that have archways over them. This is half of one of them.
		This is the full length of one of the paths. Roz is walking at the other end.

	The sides of the archways have windows cut in them. This is looking through one of those windows to the archway on the other side of the garden.
		A statue with roses growing up around it.

	Rosalind walking down a garden path looking at the flowers.
		More flowers in the Millennium Garden at the Birr Castle Demesne.

	A door in the wall of the garden.
		One of the flowers growing in the greenhouse in the Millennium Gardens.

	A tree in the garden.
		After walking around in the garden for a while, a cat showed up and started following us. Rosalind is always happy to have something fuzzy to pet.

	The hedge to the left is in the Guinness book of world records as being the tallest box hedge in the world. It is over a hundred years old.
		The third Earl of Rosse inhabited Birr Castle and began work on a telescope in the 1840s. This is that telescope. After it was built, it remained as the largest telescope in the world for 75 years.

	The telescope can easily pivot up and down between its supporting walls using a system of counterweights. It also has a small amount of movement from side to side.
		When in Ireland, don't forget to stop and smell the flowers.

	A lovely flowering tree and a couple of swans.
		Another flower on the grounds of Birr Castle.

	Another flower on the grounds of Birr Castle.
		Another flower on the grounds of Birr Castle.

	Birr Castle, home of Lord and Lady Rosse.
		Birr Castle, home of Lord and Lady Rosse.

	Birr Castle, home of Lord and Lady Rosse.
		A foot bridge (currently closed off) and some very large-leafed plants.

	After leaving Birr Castle Demesne, we headed south to Blarney and found a B&B to stay for the night. The following morning, we went to Blarney Castle to see (and kiss) the Blarney Stone.
		Looking up at Blarney Castle.

	Blarney Castle. The Blarney Stone is at the top of the castle, so we had to climb many narrow spiral staircases to get there.
		The arrow in the picture points to the Blarney Stone. In order to kiss this stone, you have to lay down on your back and bend backwards about two feet (while holding onto two railings) so that your head is upside down.

	Here is Roz pulling herself back up after kissing the Blarney Stone. The camera is pointed down and she is laying on her back. The light behind her is the ground outside the castle (about 100 feet down).
		Roz standing next to rock covered with small flowers.

	A florist in downtown Cork.
		Rooftops in Cork.

	We had stopped at a gas station, and thought this was a great name for potato chips. Gas was 0.98 euros/liter, which is 4.57 US dollars/gallon (one euro was 1.23 dollars).
		This was my favorite Irish sign. Here in Boston, we don't have anything remotely similar to calming traffic, and this was a really nice change.

	Landscape on the way to Tramore from Cork.
		Landscape on the way to Tramore from Cork.

	Rosalind in her natural habitat -- a large sunroom at Cliff House in Tramore, the B&B we stayed at.
		The view from our room's balcony at Cliff House.

	We toured the Waterford Crystal factory. This craftsman is heating a piece of crystal so that a handle can be affixed to its side.
		The molten crystal for the handle is applied to the side of the container.

	The craftsman pushes the piece for the handle into the correct shape as it cools into place.
		This craftsman is preparing to place a molten piece of crystal into a mold to be blown into shape.

	The craftsman on the left is blowing a piece into shape in a mold below the floor. The other two are preparing molten crystal to be blown.
		This craftsman is grinding a pattern into a piece of crystal with a grinding wheel. The pattern is drawn onto the piece with a marker.

	This is the Swallow's Rest B&B we stayed at in Wicklow. The house is on a pretty steep hill, and the other side (where our room was) has sliding doors at the basement level with a lovely view.
		The back yard and view from Swallow's Rest.

	The back yard and view from Swallow's Rest.
		While sitting at a picnic table at the B&B, a neighbor's cat wandered up.

	I climbed up the hill behind our B&B around dusk (about 10 pm) and took this picture of the town of Wicklow.
		After the sun set a little further (around 10:30 pm), people in the town started turning their lights on.

	Glendalough is a monastic site that was founded in the sixth century. The round tower visible here is one of a few remaining ruins in this scenic valley.
		Another view of the round tower in Glendalough.

	The view leaving the valley that Glendalough is in.
		Some sheep that were by the side of the road.

	Our final B&B, Ashmore in Swords, had a lovely dog named Missie.
		The view out our window at the Ashmore B&B.

	Malahide Castle.
		Malahide Castle.

	Roz was afraid people wouldn't believe I actually went to Ireland, so she made sure there was photographic proof. So, here's Noah in front of Malahide Castle.
		Our rental car, a Nissan Almera, served us well.