Ireland

I took myself on a mini two day vacation (within the vacation I am already on, ha) to Ireland last week! I have been dying to get to Ireland forever, so when I found a cheap flight on RyanAir I booked that sucker so fast. I was especially excited to visit the Cliffs of Moher, but as my Irish luck would have it, I didn't see any Cliffs!! The fog was so thick you could barely see right in front of you, so I spent the entire time at the gift shop. I would have taken myself for a walk inside the park, but the rain was coming down sideways and my umbrella was turned inside out....I was soaked by the time I got inside! Good ole' Irish weather.... I did get to see much of the Irish countryside on the bus ride, as the Cliffs are about four hours from Dublin and we made stops at Corcomroe Abbey, the little coastal town of Doolin for lunch and Burnratty Castle.

I spent my second full day in Dublin seeing every major attraction the city had to offer, including Trinity College, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Temple Bar area, Phoenix Park, the Guinness Storehouse, Dame Street with shopping and Christmas decorations (which have not yet made their way to Roma) and Clarence House, the hotel owned by U2. It was a fun trip, but I managed to catch a pretty nasty cold which has now turned into a fever and I have decided to cancel my trip to Athens this weekend and stay in Roma and get well.

Andrea and Mel are here for a few days, so I am rallying and so enjoying spending time with two of my very best friends! This is their first trip to Italy, it has been thrilling to take them around town and show them the beautiful sights. We took a day trip to Ostia Antica and the beach on Sunday, it was spectacular and I will post photos soon.

Corcomroe Abbey 

Burial at the Abbey has to be passed down from generation to generation 

My view of the Cliffs of Moher : ( 

What the Cliffs are supposed to look like! 

Burnratty Castle 

Dublin Christmas decor!

Lego Santa for Connor!! Sorry, bud- this wouldn't fit in my suitcase ; ) 

Starbucks! I have decided McDonalds and Starbucks are the only two things that are truly international...

Trinity College

Trinity College 

Trinity College

Oscar Wilde in the park. As Oscar once said, "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist, that is all." So happy I made the choice to start living. 

KC Peaches for lunch! Adorable spot which reminded me of Whole Foods, but more delicious!  Dublin had SO MANY great little coffeehouses, restaurants, bars and pubs. There are 650 churches in Dublin but over 800 bars- guess they have their priorities straight, ha 

Molly Malone- the most photographed statue in Dublin

My red cup!! 

Temple Bar area 

They forgot to mention crabby in the mornings, stubborn, mean when hungry and laughs too hard at her own jokes ; ) 

Christ Church Cathedral 

St. Patricks Cathedral 

St. Patricks 

Beautiful stained glass of St. Patricks 

The home of the Irish President in Phoenix Park. Looks a lot like the DC White House, as it was designed by an Irishman! 

I can't stand Guinness so I didn't waste money (or calories) drinking one! Wine...well, thats a different story ; )

Guinness Storehouse Factory which consists of 64 acres in Dublin

In case anyone was wondering why Irish cinema has yet to go mainstream....Not sure "Dude Where's my Donkey" will be a blockbuster this holiday season ; ) I laughed so hard every time I saw this ad!