August 2005: Brian's Parents in Ireland

Mom and Dad came to Ireland for a visit. It's only the second time they've been overseas so it's a big deal for them. This photo was taken at the Sunday outdoor market near our home.

We also took them into the Wicklow mountains for some sightseeing. As you can see it was a beautiful day and a beautiful spot.

They also had a few special experiences, including visits to a few stately homes and a trip to Connemara.

The Connemara Cow

This cow was minding its own business when Brian nearly drove into it. In Brian's defense, he was dodging a car behind him while the cow veered in front of us.

But it was still pretty funny.

July 2005: Connemara

In July we took a long trip to Connemara, a sparsely populated region on the west coast of Ireland. It is stunning and we wish we could afford a holiday home there.

 

June 2005: Waterford with Steve and Jane

We drove Steve and Jane around the country during their visit. We wandered down to Carlow, Kilkenny, and finally to Waterford to see the home of Waterford Crystal.


This is a master carving designs into the side of a crystal bowl. 

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.