Powerscourt

This is the view of the Powerscourt home and lake. All around the home are serveral types of gardens that you can walk around. You can also tour the home but there isn't much to see since most of it was burned down in an accidental fire in 1977 and the sections that have been restored are now mostly stores and cafes.

Powerscourt with Mom & Dad

Powerscourt is one of my favorite spots in the Dublin area. So when mom and dad came to visit we had to take them there. There are several gardens to walk around and see - all of them are breathtaking and make you feel like your backyard is just a pile of dirt.

Here you can see mom and dad walking around...from the looks on their faces they are really enjoying it, or mom is saying "my allergies are killing me but I can't let Erin know that."

Lincoln in London

Who knew we would find American history in England!

London for a Day

One of the great things about living in Ireland is the cheap airfares we can find. We found a round trip to London to be so cheap we flew there for the day! It was wondeful to walk around London and get a feel of the things we would like to do when we can come back and spend more time.

For those that remember National Lampoon's Vacation - Big Ben...Paraliment.

Brian the Guard

Don't mess with a member of the Queen's Guards!

Edinburgh in May

One of our favorite cities is Edinburgh. Brian had such a great time showing me around and taking me to all the pubs he drank at while living there...I mean libraries he studied in while living there. ;-D

This picture was taken of us at the Holyrood House which is the palace that the royal family stays in when they come to Edinbugh. We didn't get to see all the rooms but it was a great tour and they had a lovely garden.

Easter Weekend

We spent Easter at home but still managed to get out and about. We headed to Glendalough which is an ancient Irish Monastery. It sits between two lakes and we have gone back several times just to walk around and enjoy the scenery.




This is just one of the many pictures we have from this trip and I really like it beacuse of the daffodils that are in bloom.

A piece of home

While in Kilkenny we found this pub. It didn't server Miller Lite or Shiner Bock, but it did display the Texas flag with pride!

Welcome to Kilkenny

We took a trip out to Kilkenny for a few resons - 1) it is the craft center of Ireland and 2) it is where Erin's great-greatgrandfather is from. While we don't know where exactly in Kilkenny he is from, it was a great city to visit and we found a lot of neat things there.

This sign is what you see as you enter the city and says "Welcome to Kilkenny" in Gaelic.

March Moving Day

So we returned to Dun Laoghaire after four weekends out of town but had no time to rest, as our possessions from the States arrived. That was good, because we needed so many items from the shipment, but bad because we spent a weekend moving junk around.

We both hate moving day. Since Erin and I began dating, we've moved Erin's stuff three times. However, it has a hidden benefit -- we've been able to go through things again and again and donate to charity. We have duplicates of many things because we've merged two households so we've made some charities very happy.

We still have stuff scattered around because we’re short of storage space right now. If you want to come and visit, give us some advance notice because we’ll have to empty some closets for you!



Brian doesn't look happy, but I think it's because he'd like to donate everything to charity.

Sightseeing in Berlin

Berlin was a very interesting city. Much of it was destroyed in WWII. It was odd to be in a city that’s full of history and not see signs of it.

One aspect of Berlin that caught our attention was a line of cobblestones about a foot wide, embedded in the concrete sidewalks and asphalt roads. Wandering around the city, you’d see this line of cobblestones again and again.

The cobblestones mark where the Berlin Wall used to be. So we’d step over this line of cobblestones and move from West Berlin to East Berlin. As we learned, hundreds of people died trying to make that crossing, and we could step back and forth dozens of times in a few days.


This is the Brandenburg Gate, which was used as a symbol by the Nazis. The Berlin Wall ran just in front of this monument. 

February 2005: Working in Berlin

We flewto Berlin for a work event and a few days of sightseeing. At the awards ceremony Erin won an award and got to go up on stage and shake hands with the Vice President of EMEA Enterprise. It was nice for her to get some recognition and the 19 inch flat panel TV she won is pretty nice.

We also had a great opportunity to interact with our co-workers. Settling in at work has gone well but as we're in very individual roles, we have few chances to interact with members of our team. We've been out with them every night.


This is Erin and I with our manager.

From Galway to the Cliffs of Mohar

That Sunday we drove from Galway out to the Cliffs of Mohar. The drive was beautiful but a little disturbing, as the roads were the width of a country lane and we’re barreling along at 50mph. The roads were bordered by high hedges on each side, and Erin got frightened when a cow stuck its head through the hedge on her side as we were driving past.


We’d been told that everyone has to visit the Cliffs, and once we arrived we weren’t disappointed. Imagine it’s about 35 degrees out, the wind is about 60 mph, and you’re standing at the top of cliffs that are a sheer drop down to the wind-torn sea.

For fans of "The Princess Bride," these cliffs were actually used as the Cliffs of Despair in the movie!

Erin spent a lot of time trying not to be blown away. It’s an awe-inspiring place, and we had a clear day to enjoy it. You feel almost like you are at the edge of the world. You stand there and look down and you are 660 feet above the sea and it is a straight drop down. Unbelievably breathtaking! 

Our Second Trip in January: Galway, Ireland

Next we spent a Saturday in Galway, which is about 200 miles away on the west coast. Galway’s a college town that’s solidly middle-class, so good bars, clubs, and stores are scattered all over the place. By Irish standards it's a substantial city, but since it only has about 60,000 people, by American standards it's a smallish town. That was a blessing because it was easy to wander around.

It’s very historic with a medieval town layout and pubs that are a few hundred years old. It's the largest town where Gaelic is regularly spoken -- Gaelic is the original language of Ireland, and is similar to Breton and Welsh.

We listened to a traditional music session in a pub after spending a day putzing around, shopping and exploring.

We had a good time and look forward to going back in the summer to explore the area, which is very beautiful. We think it’s one of our favorite cities.



The harbour is full of swans. There were hundreds of them swimming around having a good time.

Our First Trip in January 2005: Bristol, England

Then we went to Bristol, on the southwest coast of England, to visit Ben, one of Brian’s old friends from graduate school. As you might expect, we had crummy weather – cold and snowy until the last day, when it cleared up. We spent the weekend wandering around pubs, sightseeing, and exploring Bristol, which is an old port city. It's clearly an interesting place and has a different vibe than other English cities.


We also horsed around a little. This photo is taken by the Clifden Suspension Bridge, which is one of the earliest suspension bridges still used for traffic. Ben thought Brian was going to throw him over the fence!