Welcome Home!

We arrived home after midnight on Wednesday after being up for about 24 hours, about half of which was spent in the air and the other half waiting for customs, immigration and airline mechanics to fix planes. As our taxi pulled into our drive, we were greeted by a large white blossom on our front yard cactus.


The bloom seemed to say, "Maybe you've been to a beautiful part of the world, but it's not so bad right here on your front doorstep!"

Dublin at Last!

We've come full circle around this beautiful island and ended up in Dublin for our final three nights. One full day was spent on the Hop-On Hop-Off bus sitting up top in the open air taking in the sights. We made stops at Trinity College to see the Book of Kells and other hand-written books, had coffee on Grafton Street and watched the people go by, and loved the jokes and banter provided by our guide.


Since we hadn't seen any step dancing yet, we took in the show at Legends at the Arlington Hotel.


One treat was listening to the Evensong choir at St. Patrick's Cathedral. The pews in the back of the church all had hand stitched kneeling pads, each of a different design. This church is where St. Patrick baptized many Irish converts and where Jonothan Swift is buried.


Dublin is known for its colorful doors. As the story goes, when Queen Victoria died, a decree was sent out telling all the people to paint their doors black. The defiant Irish pulled out the bright colors and made a statement.


A favorite photo spot is the bronze of Sweet Molly Malone, the tart with a cart.


Guinness has a very strong presence . . . in the pubs and on the bus tours. They've been around for generations, and many pubs have "pull your own pint" stations where you pour your own.

The Newgrange Burial Chamber

Newgrange is one of the best examples (if not the best) of an ancient burial tomb. The huge foundation stones were brought upstream from the coast over 20 miles away. Although the people living at the time were farmers, they also had a knowledge of engineering, geology, art and astronomy.


A view of Newgrange from the bottom of the hill. The white fascade is quartz brought from another area.


The monolithic entrance stone is a fine example of stone age art.


Gene in front of the entrance to the tomb. Groups of 24 enter the tomb through a narrow, low-ceiling passage. In the center is a circular area where ceremonies took place 5,000 years ago. The tomb is pitch black except for about 17 minutes on the winter solstice when the rising sun sends a beam of light through the opening above the entrance door into the inner chamber. A lottery selects about 50 people each year to experience this event.

A Day at the Races

The day was misty and cool at the Navan Racecourse. There is a golf course in the center of the track, but it wasn't in use the day of the race. The course is fairly flat, with a slight incline toward the middle of the race of one mile plus. Some Irish races courses have hurdles as well.


Across the finish line and ahead by two lengths! We didn't bet on this horse:(


The real fun began when a group from Belfast joined our table. This man was a winner and bought everyone a round!


All from the same Belfast neighborhood pub, the group had been planning this outing for months. We heard some good Irish jokes, for sure, and the girls had as much fun as the guys.

The National Stud

Mares and fillies resting in the pasture. The National Stud provides, you guessed it, stud services. Hourly tours take you by the stallion boxes, past the cover shed (where the magic happens) and out to the paddocks where the horses run freely. County Kildare, location of the facility, proved a successful area for raising race horses due to the calcium and other minerals in its waters. An on site museum gives the history of the horse, thoroughbred breeding and racing.


A Japanese garden adjacent to the stud farm has been immaculately kept for about 100 years.


A path through a running stream is provided to get you from one area of the gardens to the next.


When I asked these two Irishmen if I could take their photo, one of them said, "for a fiver." I gave him a kiss on the cheek instead . . . and he seemed happy with that!