The Cliffs of Moher were breathtaking, but I think I liked The Burren even better. It is a 500-kilometer karst landscape. It's a sea of limestones that are filled with fossils, rare vegetation, and the Aran Islands across the Galway Bay are an extension. They're wild and raw and beautiful. They're not traditionally beautiful, and they are so vast. They are butted against the water, and the wind whips at you as you look out over them. They are fantastic, and a totally di

Continuing on our walk along the Cliffs of Moher, we moved past the bird and closer to the tower and beyond.

A very photogenic air-monster.

On the day after the ISU game, we took a bus trip to the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, the Wild Atlantic Way, and Galway.

The River Liffey and downtown Dublin area

The Long Room Library at Trinity College is a showstopper.

Last group of photos from our tour of Belfast, Dunluce Castle, and Giant's Causeway!

A most gorgeous death trap!

The main reason that we wanted to go on this tour originally was Giant's Causeway. It ended up being either tied with or second to the Belfast black cab tour, but it was pretty special. There are two explanations given for the phenomenon of Giant's Causeway - "science or giants." There's a delightful story about Finn MacCool that is worth reading - making up the "giants" explanation. The scientific reason given is volcanic activity, which has less of a ring to it. Anywa

Last in my series of photos from Dunluce Castle.

This blog continues the tour of Dunluce Castle mentioned in the last blog. I really apparently liked this hole in the wall. Enjoy. Behold the hole in the wall. He actually had a brother, featured right above. JTD looking up at the vent from the stove/fireplace/something that was formerly where he's standing. That land waaaaay in the distance is actually Scotland. Another hole in the wall. This time it looked out on a gorgeous cliff that reminded me a lot of the Cliffs of

Dunluce Castle has had several cultural references. We visited after Belfast on our tour of North of Ireland.

The Peace Wall was a great portion of the day trip to the North of Ireland.

The last in the Clonard Monastery series - the interior beyond the rose window.

The Clonard Monastery's rose window is breathtaking. Here are some shots from the inside.

Sen. George Mitchell met with several of the religious leaders involved in the IRA peace talks at Clonard Monastery. We were lucky enough to get to see how beautiful it is.

Our black cab tour of Belfast began at the site of the Polgrom of 1969, the site where the RUC murdered a 9-year-old boy in his bed during the Troubles.

"And a castle, with a moat. How we get across? Boat."

Is it basic to stop by the Temple Bar as one of the first stops on our first day in Dublin? Most likely.