Com an Chiste Ring of Kerry Lookout
June 18 in Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F
This is our next stop on our Ring of Kerry tour. Could these places be any more beautiful?!?
Fun fact - Charlie Chaplin used to vacation here in Waterville.
Lunch with a view
June 18 in Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F
We had (way too much) cafeteria style food for lunch today at the Scarriff Inn! But when you're table is next to the window and you see this..... you forget all about it!
Ladies View
June 18 in Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F
This place is called Ladies View and is on Lake Killarney. According to Sam, it's called that because Queen Victoria's ladies in waiting loved that spot so much. I decided to climb a big rock for aRead more
Blarney Castle - The Grounds
June 19 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F
The Blarney Castle was built over 600 years ago! Unlike the castle we saw at the beginning of the trip, this one is on a HUGE property and is still privately owned.
Blarney Castle - Inside
June 19 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F
To see the inside of the castle, you (unfortunately) have to stand in a really long line that goes through the whole castle. The good news is that the line ends with the infamous Blarney Stone!
The Blarney Stone
June 19 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
Kissing the Blarney Stone gives you "the gift of gab". However, it is not an easy process of kissing it. You have to stand in line, walk up a VERY narrow spiraling staircase, and just when you thinkRead more
Outside the Castle
June 19 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
I promise I'll behave!
Papal Cross
June 20 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F
This cross was made in honor of Pope John Paul II when he visited in 1979.
Garden of Remembrance
June 20 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F
This was made in honor of the people who gave their life for Irish independence.
St. Patrick's Cathedral
June 20 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F
This cathedral is most popular because Jonathan Swift was also Dean of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. He was the author of Gulliver's Travels. They have archways along the side that are each dedicatedRead more
Trinity College - Part 1
June 20 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F
Here, we saw the Book of Kells, which is an "illuminated manuscript" that contains the complete gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and part of John. It is called an "illustrated manuscript" because it isRead more
Trinity College - Part 2
June 20 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F
The library also has an amazing globe that hangs from the ceiling and rotates. There is also the Brian Boru Harp, which is the oldest known Irish harp. The Irish harp is the national symbol of IrelandRead more
Potato Famine
June 20 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F
This set of sculptures was created to remember the devastating potato famine. In Gaelic, they don't call it a famine because there was enough food to feed the entire population; the British were justRead more
Jeanie Johnston Ship - Disembarking
June 20 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F
This was one of the ships helping the emigration (leaving) from Ireland and immigration (going) to the US/Canada. Normally, the ships had 300+. But because of how many people they were carrying, up toRead more
Jeanie Johnston - Sailing
June 20 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F
This ship was different. Their capitan limited it to 200 passengers. And unlike other ships, if they had to turn you away because you were too sick, you were given your money back (which was theRead more
Jeanie Johnston - Remembering
June 20 in Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F
What this ship is most known for is that there was never anybody who died while on the ship. Even after it had done many trips and started sinking, the crew (thankfully there were no passengers) wereRead more
EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum
June 20 in Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F
EPIC is a museum all about the emigration of the Irish people. There were a lot of connections that I didn't realize. For example, President Kennedy's family was of Irish descent, and when he wasRead more
Swan
June 20 in Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F
AJ saw a swan on our way back to the hotel.
Goodbye Ireland!
June 21 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F
We're on our ferry the "StenaLine" heading over to Wales!
We're in Wales!
June 21 in Wales ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F
We're arrived in Wales!
Slate Mines
June 21 in Wales ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F
In this area, there were HUGE slate mines.
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrob
June 21 in Wales ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F
So.... we stopped in the Welsh city of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. It is the 2nd longest (single word) named city in the world!
Betws-y-Coed
June 21 in Wales ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F
We stopped here for a snack and light shopping. The roads to get here were very windy (and today the weather was windy in addition...lol). The view was great though! They had a clothing store with anRead more
Lake Windermere
June 22 in England ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
Beautiful stop at Lake Windermere. Next time we visit we really need to do one of the boat tours!
William Woodsworth - House
June 22 in England ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F
William Woodsworth was a writer and was also the official Poet Laureate for Queen Victoria until his death. He lived most of his life here at Rydal Mount and Gardens. In addition to his house, he hadRead more































































































































Wow! The scenes are fantastic! [Sharon]