First the photos:
Ring of Kerry
Emma and Hannah in Killarney--chocolate!
Killarney is adorable!
The group enjoying time together in Killarney
"Don't go down dark alleys." "What about light ones?"
So Irish
Alley in Killarney
This is the hostel
The church in Killarney
Heading out on the Ring of Kerry
Dingle Bay and Dingle Peninsula on the far side
Enjoying the view
Seth and Noah show their distinctive smiles
Trevor and Gabe share a laugh
Seth and Erika
Enjoying the beach
Waterville
Learning to skip rocks
Molly found a crab!
That white house WAY in the back? Charlie Chaplain's family still owns that.
Callista, Crystal, and Molly
Gus, Seth, Jacob
The town is so cute!
If you zoom in a LOT and look for the island that is hiding in the mist, you will see Skellig Michael. This is where the final scenes of the new Star Wars was filmed. Yep, Luke has been hiding in Ireland.
You can see it a bit better here
Audrey, Callista, Crystal, Victoria, Jacob, Hannah, Jaci, Noah, Emma, Molly, Seth, Gabe, Benjamin, Trevor
This became a game
Lambs!
Gabe and Jacob ran up the hill
This is where we had lunch. You should see the view from inside!
The town of Sneem
The creek/waterfall in Sneem
The map of our route
Side of the cute church with the old graveyard
Celtic cross
The church in Sneem
Seth, Trevor, Jacob
Hannah learns to play her flute while Jacob enjoys his ice cream. Emma plays the game.
Callista in Sneem
On the coach: Callista, Noah, Molly, Jaci, Erika
I realized I completely left the bog museum off the trip report from the other day! Well, it's not huge, but it has tons of recreated homes--blacksmith, fisherman, farmer who died in the potato famine, etc. They explain how the chunks of peat bog were cut, dried, and used as fuel. Additionally, we saw Irish Wolfhounds, the world's tallest dog, and Kerry Bog ponies, which are incredibly rare ponies. Our kids knew how to avoid getting bitten, but apparently not everyone did!
Irish Wolfhound at the Bog Museum
Bog
Piles of peat at the Bog Museum
Gabe, Benjamin, and Hannah inspect the peat
Jacob looks at farm equipment. Benjamin, Trevor, and Gabe laugh in the background.
Jaci plays the game.
The Kerry Bog pony is incredibly rare, but Erika found one.
The Red Fox Inn at the Bog Museum
Traveler's wagon
Okay, back to the photos from that trip:
Kilmare
Stone circle
Seth, Jacob, Jaci, Audrey, Victoria, Callista, Molly, Hannah, Emma
Victoria prevents Jaci from playing the game
Enjoying the stone circle up close
Erika, Gus, Crystal
Kilmare
The Kennedy sisters in the center of the circle (after we reenacted the human sacrifice--I somehow survived in spite of playing the victim)
Kilmare
Blarney
Callista, Crystal, Erin (from the Connecticut group) and Molly have just kissed the stone
The courtyard from the top of Blarney Castle
The top of Blarney
Hannah comes up from kissing the stone
Emma leans down
Gus kisses the stone
Victoria and Audrey wait their turn
Victoria has the gift of gab
Audrey comes up
From the top of Blarney Castle
Two happy gabbers
Noah and Jaci come up the castle
Jaci
One of the fun parts of the castles is learning about stuff like this
Erika waits for us
A garden full of poisonous plants!
Don't touch or eat
Emma and Hannah
The Blarney Stone from below. The guy in the picture is the staff guy who helps you lean down and come back up. The bars ensure you don't fall!
Blarney Castle
Stable Yard
Romany wagons
Blarney Castle on the way to the Badger Hole and dungeons!
Erika made a friend at the Rock of Cashel
Crystal and Callista
Exploring!
At the Rock of Cashel
Hannah plays hide and seek
Make a face, girls
Tired
Dublin
Georgian architecture
The doors were painted. This was an act of defiance because they were supposed to be painted black to mourn Queen Victoria, so the Irish painted them bright colors. This also helped them find the right home after a night at the pub.
Even the lampposts were pretty.
The best door in Dublin
Such pretty architecture
St. Patrick's cathedral
The lovely stained glass
Tile floors
We loved the floors!
The cathedral
Oh, no. Too late. Gus bought the tie.
The Pepper Pot church (as locals call it) along the Liffey
The Papal Cross in Phoenix Park
The Irish president's residence. The light is on in the window between the far left and second column on the second floor
The Long Room at Trinity College (no photos allowed inside at the Book of Kells)
Books!
Brian Boru harp, pictured on the Irish Euro coins
Lunch at an Irish pub: Victoria, Emma, Hannah, Jacob, Callista, Audrey. . .
. . . Jaci, Noah, Seth, and Gus (yes, adults were there)
Grafton Street
The shopping area
Umbrellas?
Buskers on Grafton Street
Colors!
Impressions of Dublin
Gus with his kindred spirits
O'Neill's pub, the most famous in town
Jacob, Gus, and Callista enjoy street performers
Seth is skeptical
Callista at the House of Lords
Gus thought he was an earl. Now he thinks he belongs in the House of Lords.
Tapestry
Free Hugs!
Seth likes the Temple Bar district
It is pretty!
Seth, Gus, and Jacob enjoy hot chocolate
Jacob, James Joyce, and Seth
Frank and Joe, the bus drivers in Ireland. Frank drove the other coach--Joe was our guy! Thanks, Joe!
Wales
Well, you made it this far! We used the ferry ride to relax and sleep, write limericks, draw, journal, play cards, and just hang out. You see, tomorrow we have a longer bus ride, so there is a limerick competition. David (our tour guide) has even purchased prizes. It was fun watching the kids work together on this form of poetry. The lit teacher has her own entries, of course . . . .
First, a note about the weather. We have been exceptionally lucky up until now. Other than a few droplets, we haven't had any rain. Well, this morning it rained a bit, and though it wasn't raining in Wales when we arrived, it was VERY windy. After having our passports checked--we did, after all, cross into a new country--and claiming our luggage, we met a creepy Easter bunny, then headed out to meet our new driver, Gary. Wales is home to 3 million people and 11 million sheep as well as a lot of rain and wind (today, anyway).
The Welsh have their own language, and much like in Ireland, the signs appear in both. However, unlike the Irish, who mostly learn it in school and speak very little, the Welsh actually speak the language. Well, mostly. However, it is difficult to read!
At the ferry terminal--Gus liked the kid area.
Breakfast at the ferry terminal
On board the ferry
Writing limericks for tomorrow's competition (yes, really!)
Benjamin laughs as Trevor gets some sleep
Gabe is resting his eyes
Almost to Wales
Gus and Trevor look at his passport
Benjamin and Gabe at the ferry terminal
The creepy Easter bunny greeted us
Wild Wales
We started our journey at the ferry terminal in Holyhead, then crossed onto Anglesey, an island separated from the rest of Wales by a narrow strait. We headed over to Beaumaris castle. A few folks weren't feeling great or were cold, so they opted to go to a tea house out of the rain with Gus. Seth tried to order in Welsh and encountered probably the only people in the country who did NOT speak the language. Bummer! Meanwhile I heard it spoken a few times. The rest of us went into the castle, which was built in the 1200s but never completed because they ran out of money. It would have been magnificent, though, and as it is, Beaumaris is both beautiful and fun! The whole place was like a funhouse, and indeed a game of hide and seek developed. It was hard to get clear pics in the rain as my lens cover kept getting wet, but I will share the pictures anyway. We headed next to a place commonly known as Llanfair PG (pronounced Clan-vair PG). This place actually has the longest place name in the world. On the way there, we listened to a song that was about how to pronounce it. David gave us printouts of the name so we could follow along. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is where we went.
We are actually on the island of Anglesey
Roadside dragon
Headed to Beaumaris
The castle moat
On the wall
Gabe, Jacob, Benjamin, Trevor, and Emma in the courtyard
The courtyard
Tunnels perfect for games
Romping in the castle yard
Noah on the wall
Running through the rain
The village
The castle from the outside--David said this was the bowling green for lawn bowling, but Gus thinks it is the dragon landing pad. After all, the red dragon on the green and white background is the Welsh flag.
Our new bus
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Yes, that's it.
Llanfair PG, like I said.
This link is the song that helped us learn how to say it. But not really.
In Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch we did a bit of shopping before heading on. We did have one more stop in Wales, after all. We left Llanfairpwllgwyngyll-gogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (yes, I am having fun with the copy and paste feature!) and the island of Anglesey, which now at least has a bridge. We drove via Snowdonia to St. Margaret's church in Bodelwyddan. While the church is lovely, it is remarkable for its graveyard. Here a group of over 80 Canadian soldiers died of the Spanish Flu in 1918-1919 while waiting to return home after surviving the first World War. It was incredibly sad. Then it was on to our hotel outside of Liverpool in England.
The train station. It's hard to tell that the sign on the front and on the side both have the full station name.
The station platform with pronunciation guide
Old customs house from the bridge
Snowdonia National Park
Sheep
Welsh farms on the left, Snowdonia in the front and to the side
Wales
Snowdonia
Stunning beaches
St. Margaret's
The kids loved that IHS was represented in this church
The roof was wood and beautiful
Faces along the side door
Canadian soldiers
Canadian soldiers buried alongside local Welsh people
Castle beyond the church.
Everyone is now asleep after the rain, wind, the early morning, and the singing . . . . tomorrow we go on to Scotland!
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