My daughter's trip to Ireland

My teenage daughter went on a class trip to Ireland. She bought me some yarn, I was thrilled!

And she loved the signs (this was at Newgrange).

And below is Newgrange, a megalithic structure built circa 3000 B.C. It is huge and covers about an acre, and was built with basic stone age technology, i.e logrolling. They believe that over 300 men worked more than twenty years to build it.

One of my daughter's classmates fit perfectly into an ancient grave at a ruined abbey.
The lake at the foot of Kylemore Abbey. My daughter wondered if the nuns "broke out their bathing suits frequently".

She took lovely pictures of the gardens at Kylemore for me.

Shamrocks in bloom...
My daughter took the ashes of parents of friends of ours, and spread them on Crough Patrick, a sacred pilgrimage mountain, 2500 feet high.

A wonderful castle in the town of Doolin. Apparently rich Americans use it as their summer home.

Lichen growing between odd rock formations.
Eyjafjallajökull erupted while they were there. The sunset was striking that day.
The famous cliffs of Moher on the west coast.


A beehive hut. These were built by monks in the early middle ages.
The Japanese Gardens at the National Stud in Kildare. My daughter liked the 'Tunnel of Ignorance', but apparently made the right turn and ended up on the 'Hill of Enlightenment'.

The National Botanical Gardens in Dublin. Just look at those plants!
Trust my daughter to find the most bizarre flower. These were as big as her hand.

She liked the birds she saw, here's a Magpie. They are as common in Ireland as crows are here, but much more beautiful.
Her class also visited the Guinness visitor center in Dublin.
A Quote from the novel 'Ulysses', by James Joyce (one of my favorite authors).
Lovely tile work at a church in Dublin.
Molly Malone. Did the song mention the cleavage? It must have.
Because of the volcano, they were "stuck" in Dublin a few extra days. She loved her trip.
-Kathy