Dublin. Hello Europe with quaint shops, goodbye Walmart.
Flowers sold for cheap on the street is commonplace.
Trinity College Dublin
We had a very witty, yet snooty tour guide at Trinity.
Christ Cathedral. We went to an all Irish eucharist service here. We had to convince them, yes, we are tourists, bu yes, we do want to actually go to a service.
St. Stephen's Green. Men in kilts wearing workboots. Now that's a photo op!
the traveling crew at St. Stephen's Green
Green for Catholics, Orange for the Protestants, white for peace
Kilhaneam Gaol--very cool but eerie prison. Most of their revolutionaries spent some time there
The jail has amazing architecture and has been featured in movies. It has great acoustics, and U2 has recorded some songs here.
Squint hard and you can see Bono, the Edge's house. Also on a lesser note, Daniel Day Lewis and Enya also live in this ritzy part of south Dublin.
South Dublin coast
Bog of Ireland
Wicklow Mountains
Natural cotton growing Dublin
The Guinness family owns this gorgeous property. This lake is suppose to resemble a pint of Guinness. I think you need to have a couple of pints in you before you see it.
The most beautiful countryside you will ever see
It was where Braveheart was filmed
And Far and Away...and several others
Glendalough, Ireland
Monastery with graves close to 1500 years old
this is where U2 recorded their first album
This is also where it is legal to paint graffiti--so it changes everyday
The hostel was snug, but at least we had our own beds.
Paris. I love Paris! First stop the red light district. Seriously, I did not go in any of the shops. Had to take a picture of the famous Moulin Rouge even if it is kind of a sad excuse of musical.
Very cool old cemetery in the heart of Paris.
Degas grave. Much cooler after you have seen all of his paintings in Paris.
Kind of morbid, but fun.
Mimes in paris. The stereotype proves true.
The mime and the painter where very close together. Feeding off our tourist expectations.
Sacre de Cour. Amazing church.
the fruit seller was kind enough to pose
For a girl growing up on kraft singles, all the cheese choices can be overwhelming
just a fancy plaza in paris
European roses put American roses to shame!
Next time I play peek-a-boo, I'll try and find a bigger bush.
Notre Dame--so much cooler than the 3D puzzle I did when I was kid. Another amazing church, which is the trend in Europe.
The detail is incredible
View from Notre Dame. Obtained by going up inordinate amount of winding steps
Gargoyles with attitude
the Hunchback's bell
Just a small stain glass window found in Notre Dame
Good to know Stephen Colbert even has a presence in Paris
Hmm....fancy fountain. Could have been at a multiple of locations in Paris
Versailles. Home of King Henry XIV, XV, XVI
disappointingly, the fountains don't work. I guess there was never a time when all of them worked at once.
Good to know my Dad also has a presence in Europe. I think my dad would enjoy this too since they sell fancy pastries.
Versailles again. Beginning to understand why the aristocrats got their heads chopped off?
I always thought the French revolution seemed a bit gruesome, but after seeing how lavishly the Kings lived, I was more sympathy for the starving revolutionaries
Yep, this was King Henry's (choose 14, 15, or 16) bed
Hall of mirrors, picture it with more crystal chandeliers and that is how it looked when the Henrys lived there
Marie Antoinette's bed
the lady herself
the gardens at Versailles. You need some type of transportation mode to be able to see it all.
Monet's Gardens
This place was gorgeous
Me and my European savvy friend TB
After seeing how the beauty of the water lilies you see why Monet seemed so stuck on painting them
I got so mesmerized I couldn't stop taking pictures of them
No wonder the man was inspired to paint
Children hide your eyes! Michelangelo's sculptures at the Louvre
Indeed, I am squishing the Eiffel tour
So, the tower is gorgeous at night
My last night in Paris I ran into an accordian player. My trip was complete.
Notre dame at sunset. Now wonder I loved Paris.
Rome!
the Colosseum, if you couldn't guess
It is in pretty great shape seeing how it is over 2000 years old.
Inside the Colosseum
The Pantheon iis by far the best intact structure of old Rome
outside of Pantheon
Roman forum
Roman ruins
Arch of Titus
some famous sculpture in the Vatican
Vatican museums, which had amazing ceilings and art
St. Peter's
Vatican
courtyard in Vatican
So the Vatican is just amazing. But that is what happens when you have Raphael and Michelangelo on staff to decorate.
so these doors open every 25 years for the forgiveness of sins. I was confused, but I'm also not Catholic.
Yep, it is what you think it is.
Swiss guard serious about guarding the pope. They also don't like getting their pictures taken.
Vatican square
St. Peter's on the outside
Roman ruins!
View of Rome from the top of the Spanish steps
roman ruins
Really...use your imaginations and you might actually come up with something exciting
hmm.....maybe it does just look like a pile of rocks
do you see the theme of Rome...ruins
Circus Maximus. Okay, so it's a dirt circle now covered with trash, but if you squint you might see Ben Hur overtake arch nemesis Messala
Go Judea Ben Hur!
Trevi Fountain
Myself at the top of Palatine Hill
Roman baths
More baths...we kept going to baths hoping they might actually still be working, or at least have some water in them. Let's just say they weren't quite in functioning order.
we still tried to swim in the Roman baths.
Hello London!
At the Globe
And I do mean Shakespeare's.
So maybe not the best seats in the house, but at least we are not standing up like most the people watching.
it does indeed of have a thatched roof. We saw the Merchant of Venice which was hilarious.
A man in a dress--very Shakespearean
The Tower of London. Watch your heads.
I am sure he gets tired of us tourists.
Traitor's gate...many of England's monarchs have come through there facing impending doom
The British army was well armed
Henry VIII apparently had as many suits of armor as he did wives
Nice to see the Brits also honoring women's suffrage
British Museum. Sadly, not as many mummies as I had hoped for.
Tower Bride. This ill-informed Yankee thought it was London Bridge.
Me being an utter tourist
Buckingham Palace!
Changing of the guard
Long Live Queen Elizabeth II!
Wow, those bear skin hats look uncomfortable.
Female cop and really cool horse
So the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace is like an hour ceremony that they do everyday
compete with foot soldiers, calvary, and its own marching band
kind of lost of seriousness when the band starting playing over the rainbow
Very cool, but by the end I was reminded how glad I was were were a democracy and our taxes don't have to go pay for a queen and such pageantry
St. James Park. Had a very impressive array of waterfowl.
Big Ben which home to the House of Parliament. I got to see the House of Commons and the House of Lords. I was so excited.
The London eye. you two can ride for an unsightly amount of money. We decided to pass.
Paying homage to the brave Brits in WWII.
No. 10 Downing Street. Unfortunately they weren't even going to let us have tea with Tony Blair.
Honoring the women of WWII
Picadelli Square.
Yes the pidgeons are so tame they will come sit on you.
I saw Wicked again, and it was amazing! I also saw Mama Mia.
