Last Day in Ireland: Wicklow Tour

Before we went to Dublin, my friend Kathleen Webber from back in MD suggested that we take a tour of an early settlement called Glendalough. We found a touring company that included this village in their tour of the Wicklow area, which was south of the city. On this tour, we were supposed to see some incredible views, including mountains, lakes, and waterfalls. Of course, we expected to see lots of rolling green hills (isn't that all that Ireland is made up of?). And although Ireland wasn't as green as we expected (it is Fall after all), we certainly weren't disappointed with what we saw.

These pictures were taken at our first stop, where we could overlook the city of Dublin in the distance. Not a bad start.Next, we were driven to a lake that was up in the mountains. The land surrounding it was marsh. It was almost like a swamp set up high in the mountains with lots of low-lying brush. Very tricky to walk in, but worth it to see this lake.On our journey, we drove past this area which is where they filmed parts of Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan (the Normandy scene), and P.S. I Love You (a more recent film that I haven't seen yet). We then stopped at a small waterfall which was the start of the River Liffey (the river that flows through the city of Dublin).Our next stop had an increible view of a lake and mountain range.
(Isn't this a beautiful shot?!)After lunch in a small village, we stopped to see a larger waterfall,
and then we headed to the village of Glendalough. Glendalough (meaning "Glen of Two Lakes") was a 6th century Monastic settlement founded by St. Kevin. We entered the settlement through the originally-built gateway. We were able to see the cathedral,the round tower, and a building known as St. Kevin's Church.In this picture, our tour-guide Tony, was explaining the design of the Celtic high-cross to us. Did you know that early missionaries to Ireland combined the Christian cross symbol with the symbol (ring/circle) representing the sun-god? They did this to help the pagans understand that the Christian God is the one who gives life (like their version of the sun-god). I never knew that before.

We finished up out time at Glendalough with a lovely hike before heading back to the city.This picture is of Maddie with her "iPod Rock." Hey, it's cheaper than a real iPod! :)
Once back in Dublin, it was time to head to the airport.

Our trip to Ireland was a whirl-wind three days for sure! As always, the challenges of traveling, (including flying) with three kids were exhausting at times. But, it was certainly worth it! Looking back, I am so pleased that in just three days we were able to see so much of Ireland, not just the city of Dublin. It was a great trip!

Ireland: Day 2 - Newgrange

On our second day in Dublin, we decided to take a tour bus north of the city to a World Heritage Site called Newgrange.

Newgrange is a Neolithic Passage Tomb that is approximately 5,000 years old. That makes it older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Egypt!As we approached the tomb, it appeared to be a pronounced grass-covered hill surrounded by large rocks. Our tour guide led us to the tomb entrance and gave us a little background information about what we were looking at. She admitted that very little was known about the people who built this tomb, except that they were most likely farmers who had settled in the area. Much of the stone was found locally, except for the large stones (called kerbstones). They suspect that they were brought in by raft via the local river, and hauled up the hill to be put in place.
Newgrange lay hidden until it was discovered in 1699 by a local resident looking for some stone. However, it wasn't officially excavated until the 1960s, which meant that the tomb lay open for people to take pieces from it for many years. Some graffiti from Victorian times can even be found within the tomb.

What is so remarkable about this tomb, is that it was designed in such a way that on the five days surrounding the winter solstice, at sunrise the sun will shine right through the window above the entrance and eventually flood the whole tomb with light. When they excavated the tomb, they found evidence of human remains. This led them to suspect that the people who built the tomb designed it this way so that as the sun beam retracted, it took with it the spirits of the deceased. While inside the tomb with our tour guide, she used a light to try and re-create what it looks like on the winter solstice. It wasn't a very strong light beam, but it helped us to appreciate the design.

If you're interested in learning more, I've included this YouTube video about it (it's less than 4 minutes long):


Nowadays, they hold a lottery to decide who gets to be in the tomb during sunrise on the solstice mornings.

During our time in the tomb, we also were able to appreciate its construction. In the picture here, you can see what the ceiling looked like. Remember that these were Stone-Age people who built it, so... no tools, nothing to adhere these large stones to each other. They were just stacked upon each other until it was topped with the capstone, and they stuck some small stones in the gaps. This construction has lasted for 5,000 years, it has never collapsed, and has never even let a drip of water into the tomb! Amazing!In the pictures above, you can see the designs that were carved into some of the kerbstones. There are many theories about what the symbols mean on each of the stones, but no one really knows what they mean.

After we left Newgrange, we took a shuttle to another landmark not even a mile away called Knowth. Knowth is another passage tomb (there were a handful in the local area), encircled by 17 other satellite tombs. Unlike Newgrange which was left untouched for so long, there was much evidence found at Knowth to suggest that there were inhabitants on this mound throughout much of history. The passage tomb has many similarities in design to Newgrange, but one main difference is that Knowth was designed to recognize the equinox. A sandstone pillar was placed in front of the entrance to the tomb and would cast a shadow on the 2 equinox days each year.What I found so fascinating during our visit was the designs carved into so many of the kerbstones. I was humbled thinking about how much time it must have taken for these Stone-Age people to carve these designs, and it of course left me wondering what they were trying to say through these symbols.We returned to Dublin that afternoon, and don't be mad, but we didn't get back in time to see the Guiness Storehouse tour as we had planned. I pacified Ethan with dinner at a local brew-pub called Porterhouse, and we all enjoyed some yummy Irish burgers while Ethan really enjoyed tasting a few different ales. We strolled around the city a little more, bought a few souveniers, and walked to see the River Liffey.It had been another full day!

Ireland: Day 1

The kids had last week off from school, so we thought we should take a short trip to one of the places on our list. Our destination this time was Dublin, Ireland!

We flew out very early last Monday, and arrived at Dublin Airport before 10am (the flight from here was less than an hour). From the airport, we took a taxi to a small coastal town just north of Dublin called Howth (pronounced "Hoat"). With all of our carry-on luggage stuffed in the stroller basket and around our shoulders, we took a lovely stroll around the town, beginning with a walk along the pier. How delighted we were to have the sun actually come out than morning. Irish eyes were truly smiling on us!

The island that you can see off the coast here is called Ireland's Eye. There's actually an 8th century church on this island which used to function as a parish church for the village of Howth. Today, the island is mainly an animal sanctuary, and many seals and sea birds reside on the island.

We stopped for lunch and got some delicious take-away Fish-n-Chips which we enjoyed eating on a bench overlooking the harbor. After lunch and some time on the community playground, we found the train station and took the DART train into Dublin.

We reached Dublin too early to check into our hotel, so we decided to walk to Trinity College for some sight-seeing. The foundations for Trinity College were laid back in the late 1500s, so you can imagine what an important element it is to the city. The college was just beautiful... cobblestone lined walkways, both historical and modern architectural elements. Our main destination within the college walls was the Library (I know, it seems like a pretty boring place to go if you're a tourist). However, the library contains an exhibit on the Book of Kells, which was highly recommended.

The Book of Kells is a Latin manuscript of the four gospels from the New Testament. It was transcribed by Celtic monks circa 800AD. Historians don't know the exact details regarding its inception, but what is so remarkable about the manuscript is how unbeliveably ornate it is!!! The decoration includes Christian icons and symbology, along with what we characterize as Celtic design with its woven lines and swirled knots. We were able to read some history about the Book of Kells, learn about its symbolism, and see how the book was actually made (i.e. how they would produce colored ink during that time and how they would bind it). At the end of the exhibit, you could see a few of the actual pages on display.

Here are a few examples of what we saw:
This page is a drawing of the four authors of the gospels. You can see that they were basically mythologized in their character.And we got to see the actual page of this last example which is Christ's genealogy.After the exhibit, we headed upstairs to see what is known as the Long Room of the Library. You can see how it got its name!My jaw dropped as I walked into this room. It was the perfect image of what an old college library should look like, with thousands upon thousands of books, sliding ladders reaching to the top shelves... it was amazing!

After we left Trinity, we decided to head to our hotel. On the way, we stumbled upon Grafton Street, which is a big shopping area in the city. We also came upon a Butler's Chocolate Cafe. Our local friend in our village who attended Trinity College recommended that we try the white hot chocolate there. I have to tell you... it was heaven in a cup. Oh my gosh, was it good!!We sipped our white hot chocolate all the way to our hotel, where we settled in for the night. We only went out again to buy a ridiculously small and expensive pizza for the four of us (Dublin is expensive!), quickly followed by a trip to a small grocery store where we bought more food to bring back to our hotel room.

We all slept well that night......

Happy Halloween!

What a fun Halloween we had this year! Last night (the night before Halloween), the kids and I went to a carnival they had on base with face painting, crafts, games, etc. They did some Trick-or-Treating on base as well, which was a MAD HOUSE! About 300 kids and 30 houses. My kids had to stand on line at each house!But today, on Halloween, the weather was just perfect. A nice night with a mostly full moon. We went Trick-or-Treating around our village with some of our local friends, and had a ball. There was just something so sweet about walking around our little English village and talking with our neighbors. We went back to two friends' houses for mulled wine and conversation, while the kids let loose on their candy bags. So much fun for all.Here are a few pictures from our Halloween. Tim was Darth Vader, Maddie was Hannah Montana (we don't watch the show, but she wanted to be a rock star with pink hair- so Hannah Montana seemed like a good fit), and Collin was my little cheeky monkey! (Don't you just love his curly tail and banana?)Here's a short clip of Collin doing a monkey dance (with our neighbor's robot toy)!

Stoke-on-Trent

Two weekends ago, it was "Girls Weekend Away"! I went with my friend Haley to the shopping Mecca of the UK: Stoke-on-Trent.

Stoke-on-Trent is a city about 2 hours South-West of here that is known for its history in pottery. In the 17th century, pottery factories such as Wedgwood, Spode, and Royal Dalton, emerged in this city due to the local availability of clay and coal.

Many of these factories remain. And what is especially nice (and enticing) is that the potteries often have factory stores where they sell the dishes, etc. that aren't quite "up to snuff" for a great discount. They may have a small defect in the glaze or print, but most of the defects are hard to see.

Haley and I traveled there on a Friday afternoon and spent the night, so that we could have a full day of shopping on Saturday. And we went without kids! A MUST when shopping at the potteries (or else we would literally learn what the expression "bull in a China closet" means!). My goal for the day was to find THE perfect tea set, and I had visions of it calling my name from its shelf somewhere.

We started at Wedgwood and found some incredible deals! If I was in the market for buying a China set, this is where I would go! Lots of fancy dishes, lined in gold and silver... just stunning, but not my taste. I did buy an ornament, and a beautiful table runner and napkins (I know, not pottery... but hey, they were on sale!).

We went to a few more factory shops where I found some Christmas gifts (of which I can't go into detail about, of course). But nothing called out to me.

And then we went to the Burleigh Factory.When I stepped through the doors, I was practically salivating with tea set excitement. There was no fancy China in this factory, but everything was decorated in a lovely country pattern that was exactly my taste.

And then I found it... the perfect pattern. The problem was, they didn't have all of the pieces of a tea set that I would need. Hmmm.... it was time to get creative. My friend Haley suggested that I put together a mismatched set with different patterns within the store. The two of us spent the next half hour putting my tea set together until it was just right. It was a combination of four different patterns that worked together perfectly. I left a very satisfied woman.

I love my tea set. The more I look at it, the more I love it. And I hope someday to have the pleasure of serving YOU a cup of tea from my perfect, mismatched set!

Whitby

A couple of Saturdays ago, we took a drive to the coastal town of Whitby. Whitby is located on the eastern shore of England, just north of Scarborough. Bram Stoker helped make this coastal town well-known by selecting it for the setting of his book, Dracula.

We couldn't have chosen a more perfect day to go to the seaside. The skies were clear and the sun was strong. We began our day at Whitby Abbey which is located on the cliffs overlooking the North Sea. Whitby Abbey was originally founded in 657 AD, attacked by Vikings in 867, rebuilt, and then later destroyed by Henry VIII in 1540. As you can see, the ruins that remain are very photogenic (as are my cute kids!).After a nice picnic lunch near the abbey, we took a stroll down to the village of Whitby. As you can imagine, being a coastal village, Whitby has a strong history in fishing, whaling, shipbuilding, etc. We headed straight to the beach, where the children enjoyed wading in the chilly North Sea.After the beach and some ice-cream, we spent some time window-shopping. We finished up our time with dinner at a restaurant that had been voted a favorite by the locals called Mister Chips. And what did we eat for dinner? Seafood chowder and fish-n-chips, of course! It was the freshest fish-n-chips we've had!

We left with the sun setting on the abbey. A beautiful day....

My Baby is One!

Yes, it was a year ago today, almost to the exact minute, that my sweet baby Collin was born! The year has been very full and yet it has gone so fast. And I feel like I'm on an emotional see-saw of sorts, wanting to celebrate his first year of life, and mourning the fact that I am through with the baby stage of life. Will I always be this depressed on his birthday?

Anyway, Collin is doing so well. He he happy and healthy, and I am still as in love with him as the day he was born. He started walking a few weeks ago, and his record stands at 11 consecutive steps. Collin continues to be an incredible explorer (this is my nice way of saying that he gets himself into trouble a lot!). He LOVES going into the cabinets, etc. and pulling out as much as he can. It only takes a moment for him to make a monumental mess. For example, he found my pile of coupons last week, and this is what my kitchen floor looked like 5 minutes later!Collin seems to be talking more emphatically nowadays with lots of "google-ly, google-ly, goo" kinds of words. He has the sounds for "Ma-Ma" and "Da-da", and we even got a "bye-bye" out of him once. We're also pleased that he's started using some of the sign language we've been showing him (ex. "all done" and "bottle/milk"), although he doesn't use it much.

Collin enjoys playing with toy cars and trucks, and he can already jump on our little trampoline (it has a handle). He likes looking at books, but is almost like the Gong Show when it comes to reading time. You can start reading a book to him, but if he doesn't like it or gets bored of it, he will take it from your hands and throw it on the floor. Collin's favorite toy by far is his Curious George. It melts our hearts when he grabs and hugs George... his buddy.

We had a small party for him here the other night. We invited our friends the Kollepps and Dales to help us celebrate. Here is the cake I made for him. It was certainly cute, but not nearly as messy as a cake should be for a one-year old since I used fondant. Oh well.I cannot bear to think about my post a year from now or I will start crying. For now, I will try to enjoy my sweet baby Collin (who, no matter how big he gets, will always be my baby) as much as I can. Happy Birthday Collin Frederick! We love you!