P.J. and Carl

A special note of thanks to Carl, formerly of ABC Destinations, for going well above and beyond to pull this trip out of the fire and turn it into a phoenix.  We had a great time and appreciate all your hard work.

Finally, we can't leave Ireland without acknowledging P.J. Hammond, our unflappable, funny and insightful driver/guide.  Ireland is a good sized island and we spend many hours in P.J.'s exceptionally clean and comfy coach.

P.J.'s knowledge of his native land is deep and broad and he shared it willingly with us, even singing us a song or two.  Thanks P.J.!

The (very) Merry Ploughboys

Our farewell dinner was a rollicking night of food, music and dance at the Merry Ploughboys Pub, a short seven miles from downtown Dublin.  A good time was clearly had, especially when Allie and Elaina were selected to join the dancers on stage.

Bob & Marie

Cackie, Brian and Leigh

Dan & Betty

Dennis

Dolores & Ann

Elaina & Rob

Jane

Leigh

Lynn

Pat & Marty

Shirley & Tom

The Silver Fox

 

The band on stage at the Merry Ploughboy

The musicians are also the owners of the pub and they are very hands-on.  The Silver Fox was there to shake our hands as we left, and the lead singer was directing traffic so we could get safely across the street to our coach.

The Sun Shines, and so do we

This, our last full day in Ireland, was spent visiting the fantastic gardens at Powerscourt, in the Wicklow mountains, and enjoying free time in Dublin.  We ended the day with a farewell dinner at the Merry Ploughboy pub.

The weather could not have been more cooperative for our garden visit; the sun shone brightly as we meandered about the 47 acres of gardens designed and built between 1730 - 1875.  This is a case where pictures tell the tale.

Ann, Dolores, Marie & Bob at the Japanese garden

Marty

Marty, part of Pat, and Marge

Rob & Elaina at the Powerscourt Pet Cemetery

Dan "cops a squat" at Powerscourt

Betty, Marie & Elaina

Tom, Shirley, Elaina, Leigh, Rob, Marie, Bob, Dolores and Ann

Linda and Marge

An Old Grave and a New Beer

We boarded our coach early this morning and headed north to the Boyne Valley to visit Newgrange.  While it is not certain what functions this building served, it is believed to have been a passage grave.  It was built around 3200 BC, which makes it older than Stonehenge (3100 BC) and the Pyramids of Giza (2500 BC).

Newgrange

The site was discovered at the end of the 17th century, but was not excavated until the 20th century, and access to it was unimpeded for most of that time.  Only recently was a visitor center added and access to the site was restricted in order to preserve it.

We saw a short film about the site, then we took a short walk across the Boyne river to the shuttle buses, which we took to the site.

View from Newgrange

We squeezed through the narrow passage and crowded into the main chamber, where the guard turned off all the lights and demonstrated how, on the winter solstice, the sun lights the chamber, making it the world's largest solar observatory.  Tickets to be inside the chamber each year on the winter solstice are distributed by a lottery, which a few of us entered for 2013.

Marge and Brian at Newgrange

Entrance to the chamber

Marty at Newgrange

Pat at Newgrange

 After lunch at the visitor center, we headed back to Dublin for a free afternoon.  For many of us, this sign we passed on the way back was true.

We made some new best friends at the Galaxy Bar, the room at the top of the Guinness Experience with a 360 degree view of Dublin.  Several of us didn't want our pints, so we gave a friendly group of young men from the Netherlands our extras.

The Dutch Boys at the Galaxy Bar

Downtown Dublin

After breakfast we were off to tour the capital city.  Our first stop was at Trinity College, where we had a quick overview of the history of the school and then went to see the Book of Kells and the old library.

Trinity College campus

Sign outside (no pictures allowed inside)

Old Library at Trinity College

As we drove around the city we saw a couple of famous statues:

Molly Malone statue, AKA "The Dish with the Fish" or "The Tart with the Cart"

Just in front of our hotel we saw another statue, which had to be moved to this location because it was too popular (in the wrong way) in its previous, more accessible spot:

Anna Livia monument, AKA "The Floozie in the Jacuzzi"

The monument was named after a character in James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake, Anna Livia Plurabelle, who represented the river Liffey.

We toured Dublin Castle where we visited the State Apartments and climbed down to see the foundations of the Medieval undercroft, which were rediscovered after a flood in the 1980's.

Steps from the river and undercroft up toward the castle

After a quick lunch we moved on to Pheonix Park (the largest enclosed park in Europe), and then the Kilmainham Goal, which imprisoned generations of Irish revolutionaries.

Listening to the guide at the Gaol

Main hall at the Gaol

Then it was back to hotel, where the bar has a warm and inviting fire.

Leigh and Allie at the Ashling

A Hump and a Castle

This was our hump day, after four nights in Killarney we travelled to Dublin by way of Bunratty in County Clare.

Bunratty Castle, built in the 15th century and abandoned in the 19th century, was restored to its 17th century look and opened to the public toward the end of the 20th century.

Marty, Betty, Shirley & Tom in the great hall of Bunratty

After an entertaining tour with Jack/Sean, we wandered the castle, climbing up to the battlements and down to the dungeon.

Queen Cackie on her throne

Allie & Ron on the battlement

The view from the battlements was amazing:

The view from the battlements (photo credit: Ron)

Our luck with the weather, which had been pretty good until this point (rain falling only while we were on the bus, or during the night) failed as we left the castle to tour the adjacent folk park.  Rather than wander in the pouring rain, we found cozy spots for lunch in the park.

Jane and Marge at MacNamara & Sons

Then it was off to Dublin, where we checked into the Ashling hotel and enjoyed a group dinner.

Jane, Ann and Dolores at the Ashling



Blarney, a Cork and some booze

It was gloriously sunny almost all day on Tuesday, the rain held off until we were on the bus heading back to Killarney.

Blarney Castle and Gardens

Our first stop of the day was at Blarney Castle and Gardens.  The gardens are quite large and much was still in bloom, even in mid-October.

A view of the gardens from the top of the castle

The climb up to the top of the castle, where the Blarney Stone is located, is not for the feint of heart or the claustrophobic.  Much of the way there are tight, narrow, spiral stone steps with only a rope to hold onto.

Allie climbing the castle steps

Those who make it to the top are rewarded with the view and the opportunity to lie on their backs to kiss the stone, after which (according to legend) they will receive the gift of eloquence.



Ann, Dolores and Ron at the top of Blarney Castle



Allie assumes the position

Dennis

Elaina

Marty

Rob

This was Dan's birthday and he got a kiss from Betty rather than a stone.

Betty & Dan

Marie & Bob at the Castle

After the castle there was some serious power shopping at the Blarney Woolen Mills, billed as the largest Irish shop on earth.

Lunch followed, then we climbed back on the bus for a panoramic tour of the city of Cork.  From there we were off to the Jameson Distillery in Middleton.

Arriving at the Jameson Distillery

Toward the end of the tour the guide asked for volunteers to participate in a taste test, pitting Jameson's Irish Whiskey against Johnnie Walker scotch and Jack Daniel's.  From our group Allie, Leigh, Dennis and Rob were chosen.

Leigh, Allie and Rob hard at work

Warden AND Taster in Chief

Success!

Their hard work paid off as all four of our tasters "graduated" and received their certificates.