Baltic Capitals Cruise - Day 14 IRELAND

July 4th

Dublin, IRELAND

We woke up in our European hotel room
(twin beds, no screen on the windows, no air conditioning
and you have to use your key card to work the lights)

it's raining lightly

 

we are in Dublin, Ireland!

Doug is driving us all over Ireland today.
We are driving on the left and the car is built backwards
with the steering wheel on the right.  It's HARD!
There are roundabouts everywhere - I have never seen so many-
and they all go clockwise!  It's hard to navigate!

we headed North stopping to see
the New Grange monument
Bend of the Boyne

There are 5,000 year old burial chambers here
from the Neolithic Period.



the actual site viewed from the visitor center

heading towards Northern Ireland

heading through Belfast, North Ireland

the countryside is foggy, wet and very green

the weather is improving but it's cool

 

we see sheep everywhere

this is what is weird!  We are driving on the left - correctly
but people park on any side going any direction
it is very confusing and I am glad Doug is driving!

the North Atlantic Ocean

The hike to the site was so beautiful and dramatic.

this is the Giant's Causeway

There are 40,000 black basalt columns
 that continue under the sea to
Scotland.
These volcanic columns were formed
approx. 60 million years ago.
 

we climbed all over the rocks
and had fun exploring

and then it started raining...

[Wes]
it didn't just rain it POURED
we hurried back up the hill to the visitor's center
but we were so wet - we couldn't get wetter.
 

 

fake cobblestones at the visitor's center to look like the
Giant's Causeway pillars

an Irish phone booth

this is a roundabout in Donegal

lots of pretty flowers



Ireland is so green

I like the stucco they use here

an old church

one of the small quaint towns we drove through

maybe Ballyshannon

everywhere are sheep or cattle

ruins of old castles on most high spots

 

this house has a castle in their backyard

stucco home with moss on the roof

we are on the left going clockwise

every town has a roundabout

our rental car

 

thatched roof

a castle ruin overgrown with vines

thatch

close to Galway, Ireland

the Western coast of Ireland

5 miles of 700 ft. cliffs

home to Puffins

a ruined castle on the Cliffs of Moher

Ireland's flag

cattle in the fields enclosed by rock walls

 

Now we are heading Southeast

to the interior and Limerick, Ireland

for the night.