Extended Weekend

I'm off the Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday until Tuesday for the extended weekend we are allowed. yay!

It's pretty interesting...

Now that I’ve been to different parts of Ireland – geographically speaking – our trip to the Bunratty Castle, which is near Shannon, has seemed the most like Michigan, home :) Aside from the actual castle, and the folk park which had thatched roofed homes and 19^th century buildings and houses I felt most at home today. Riding on the bus and taking in the country side around the Shannon and Galway area I noticed it’s more developed here, yet there are still huge sections of land that remain wide open divided with rock walls and shrubbery.

In the Bunratty Castle they burned wood for heat verses turf or peat which is what we use in our cottages and what people in Ireland still use today. Our guide mentioned that Ireland used to be covered in forest, but the people of Bunratty Castle were not the only ones using wood so now there is not nearly as much forest covering the land. That really surprised me because the Ireland I have come to know is mostly bog land, open fields, or a city. Then within the castle in The Great Hall large tapestries covered the walls keeping the heat within the banquet hall. The tapestries are French, Belgium, and Flemish - and interestingly enough while I was on spring break I spotted very similar tapestries in Rome within the Vatican museum and in a couple castles in Germany, the Neuschwanstein castle and the Oberschleissheim castle.

We also went to Coole Park today and that is probably my favorite place in Ireland. I could easily get lost in my thoughts there. Although we did not stay there long, I was enthralled with the park as a whole but especially the trees. It reminded me of a forest I went to in Sweden, very cool stuff. 

Dublin Recap

I've decided to do an entry about our time spent in Dublin, because we saw quite a few things as a group before we departed for Spring Break.....Here's a little recap of my time spent in Dublin. I went to Newgrange, which is a massive stone tomb and the majority of the very top of it is covered in grass. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures on the inside. 

At Trinity College I had the chance to see The Book of Kells (but we weren't allowed to take pictures inside either). 

Then at the the Guinness brewery I tasted the best pint of Guinness, hands down. I even made a purchase at the gift shop; I bought a coffee mug that looks like a pint of Guinness :) 

While strolling around the city we set foot in the General Post Office see the bullet holes from the 1916 East Uprising; and took a tour of the Kilmainham Prison, where the rebels of the Uprising were held and later executed. One cell which is labeled as Mrs. Joseph Plunkett contained a painting which is said to be painted by Grace herself while she was housed there. Then there were pictures in the prison of what the prison was like when it was in use. In one of the court yard the crosses on the ground mark the spots where the executions of two of the rebels took place. It was a bit creepy to stand in between them. Across the street from the prison were statues of the rebels standing in a circle around the Proclamation on a table in the middle. The tall figures have bullet holes in them as well. I don't have any actual pictures of the Post Office, just the signs in the front lobbies. 

I snapped a couple of pictures of the city streets in Dublin, just to give you an idea of what the city looks like.

Enjoy the pics!

Back to my home away from home...

In the past 20 days I have covered 3 countries and seen major sites almost every day and now I’m back in Tully Cross, my home away from home. Dublin, Rome, Nice, and Munich have all been good to me. I loved staying busy on my trips and seeing all the new things, but I also revisited old sites I have seen before although it was at my own leisure which made all the difference.  Here are some highlights of my trip…In Dublin: Newgrange, The Book of Kells, the Guinness Brewery. In France: Beth, Christy, and I enjoying beautiful Nice, the ancient village of Eze, and Carnival parade (part of the Mardi Gras festivities in France). In Rome: Christy, Me, Jacqueline, Maggie, Beth, and Patricia (taking the picture) climbed the dome of St. Peter’s Cathedral, enjoying gelato in Rome. In Munich: BMW world museum and office building, part of the Olympic park, Neuschwanstein Castle, and the Alps.