Cliffs of Moher

They have some barriers around the cliffs to prevent people from accidentally falling and actually have suicide signs up as well. Laura and Cindy stayed far back! They toured the Burren area too--a colorful tour!

Galway--Aunt Cindy and Laura

Laura and Cindy went on the train to Galway--I'll get some shots up next of the Cliffs. It was a chilly day when they were there. Laura took at least 50 pictures of the swans--here is an up close version.

Laura's School

Here are a few shots taken around Laura's school--Wesley College. It takes a while to get used to the naming since several of the high schools have "college" in the name. She is enjoying her time there--she is taking American History, Math, Biology, Classical Studies, English, Geography, Film Studies, and PE and Games. The one photo has her two friends in there too--Eve and Olewan. The school is literally across the street from us.

Guinness

We had a chance to tour the Guinness factory--lots of history associated with the brewing history in the country and the operations of the factory. I liked the part of making barrels and the view from the top--incredible 360 perspective on the city. You can see parts of the medieval portion of town, the new spire, and the mountains. It was a day that there was some sun even! The bar tender would put a shape in the head of the beer as he poured. I stuck to Fanta soda!

Winter in Dublin!

Here are some assorted shots. The first if of the Luas, the train we take into the Dublin. It takes about 10 minutes to walk to the train, about 20 minutes on the train, and another 20 minute walk to my office at DIT. Winter hit with snow on February 2nd. You can see Laura walking down the steps of our building--lots of snowball fights at school over the past two days! There were lots of little snowmen along the parkway--not much by Michigan or NY standards, but fun nonetheless. Apparently the last time there was snow like this was at least 2-3 years ago. The hill range is the Wicklow Mountains--just South of our apartment and part of the place that Andrew and I hiked. Today, the traffic on this was at a stand-still with the latest dump of snow.

The bridge is the ha-penny bridge--a pedestrian bridge that crosses the Liffy River that divides North and South Dublin.

Royal Irish Academy

Here are some shots from the Royal Irish Academy. I attended a seminar here sponsored by the University College of Dublin Clinton Institute. The seminar was titled Change in America--there were two plenary sessions at which their were representatives from the foreign service and from various universities including Tufts University--discussing the changes on the political scene with Obamas's election. Quite amazing how much the Irish follow politics. It was a lively conversation in a wonderful setting! The RIA is located just down the street from Trinity--lots of history in a few block area.

On Sunday, we visited the Botanical Garden. The sun was out for a spell, but the walk was pretty frigid. Very impressive buildings and grounds. We'll make it back in the spring when things are in bloom to get some shots of the grounds--amazing rose gardens, hedges, etc. A nice place with lots of families around for the day. All of the parks are free to the public--this one is located on the north side of Dublin.