We're married and going to Ireland. Woo Woo!
I actually wore this on the plane (minus the bouquet).
So happy to be Mrs. Bloom!
Two Mrs. Blooms!
Aunt Marlene and Uncle Harold were in the same hotel as us, so we had a spontaneous breakfast with them the morning after the wedding.
Blooms!
Free champagne on the plane!
I'm going to Ireland!!!
Aer Lingus baby.
Entering Ireland
Shannon Airport coffee shop. I put my veil back on at the request of another woman from our flight.
Our rental car was upgraded to...a red Hyundai Accent (the car Geoff drove when I first met him).
Ah the memories.
But wait, the steering wheel is on the opposite side!
Here we go (off to fill the swear jar).
Driving on the other side of the road.
Cows!
Newpark House, our first B&B in Ennis, Co. Clare.
The B&B's garden.
Look at that long license plate.
I love the old skeleton keys.
Geoff loved the canopy bed.
Old structure in the B&B's back yard.
The flowers were all so vibrant.
Pretty path behind the B&B. It went to someone else's backyard.
Geoff being artsy.
Our linens had the smell of fresh Ireland air.
Pretty purple flowers.
This dog loved Geoff and wanted his belly rubbed.
Woof!
Scary chicken coop.
Chickens
More pretty flowers
In the garden....
TIme to go to our next destination.
This was what we saw as we came out the front door of our B&B.
Another view of Newpark House.
So pretty.
This road must have used every cone in Ireland.
This is a major road in Ireland.
There were lots of old, random structures on the sides of roads.
Beautiful (this caption may be used multiple times).
Carpark at Cliffs of Moher.
We walked up that hill there to get to the top of the cliffs. There was another one just like it on the other side, which we also climbed.
Post!
So green.
All of the shops were built inside of the hill.
Another view of the walk to the top of the cliffs.
Amy in front of the Visitor's Center.
It was really a 5p press. We made one with the Cliffs on it.
Amy getting ready to walk to the cliffs.
The Cliffs of Insanity!!!
Yeah, let's not do that.
He does great impressions.
They were breathtaking.
Could we blow this up for our living room wall?
It was in 8pm in Ireland (3pm EST) and the sun was shining on the water.
sigh.
There was a tower on one side of the cliffs. I forget whose it was.
We swapped photos with a family there.
Climbing up toward the tower.
We're here and loving it already!
Geoff at the Cliffs of Moher!
The Cliffs of Moher.
Taking a closer look. There are supposed to be puffins that live at the cliffs!
So pretty....
Love it.
Gorgeous.
The stairs back down.
Amy is so excited to be at the Cliffs of Insanity!!!
Our favorite cows in Ireland.
Mooo.
Bailey's Irish Cream comes from happy cows like this one!
We learned that something like 40,000 of Ireland's cows give milk solely for Bailey's production.
How now, brown cow.
A view from the other side of the cliffs.
Beautiful (see, there's that caption again).
Zooming in on the cliffs.
There was a memorial to all who lost their lives at the Cliffs of Moher...accompanied by Danger signs telling us to go no further.
Geoff was disappointed that he didn't get to lie on the edge and look down...but Amy was okay with that.
G <3 A.
Another one for the wall.
Flag poles.
A (two-way) street in Ennis.
After a long search we finally found a place that would serve us food at 10pm. We had Atlantic chowder, Almond encrusted brie, duck spring rolls, and assorted cheese breads.
Yummy. We also had Bullmer's cider. mmmm.
Bailey's Tobelrone Cheesecake!
A cool hand outside of an Ennis church.
The May Fly Amy had to kill while Geoff was conveniently out of the room. It was so loud and flew around like a drunken helicopter.
The canopy over the bed.
Dealing with the rats that killed the TIGER?
Topaz gas and Chinese take-away.
A street in Limerick. Notice the GameStop.
Funderland!
The Entrance to the University of Limerick.
Fountains at the University of Limerick.
A typical sign. All of the roads are numbered.
Wexford strawberries that we bought from a roadside vendor.
Yummy.
When you get to the arrow, go from 50km to 100km. Ready...GO!
Speed Kills!
Driving in Tipperary.
Amy loved the colorful buildings and shops.
Pretty Irish town.
Another pretty Irish street.
Amber has gas!
Road to the Rock of Cashel
Pretty statue by the Rock of Cashel.
Amy really liked it.
Irish cat.
Rock of Cashel
A trough in the men's bathroom. Geoff had to pee against that.
Pretty gate at the Rock of Cashel
Geoff sporting his Guiness lanyard at the Rock of Cashel
Some high schooler climbing the wall.
Pretty views.
From the Rock of Cashel, you could see this other structure.
Griffins (for Amber)
Griffins
St. Patrick's Cross.
Art at the Rock of Cashel.
Stained Glass
Geoff peeking through a cross.
Amy loves archways.
There we are at the Rock of Cashel.
Geoff getting artsy at the Rock of Cashel
Rock of Cashel Cemetary
Scary birds at the Rock of Cashel
More scary birds. They're in my hair!
Gargolyes
Gargoyle
Wall art
Birds kept flying in and out of these holes.
We thought this one looked like Voldemort.
View of another structure from the Rock of Cashel.
Geoff at the Rock of Cashel
Thatched roof!
Mitchelstown Cave
Flag at the house where we had to buy tickets to see the cave.
Geoff in the bathroom at the cave.
View from the walk up to the cave entrance.
Creepy shed near the cave
Bales of hay.
Another breathtaking view.
It was so beautiful; we weren't sure how to capture it.
Another beautiful view...and some mountains!
Geoff at the Mitchelstown Cave
cool flower
Another vibrant flower/weed.
The entrance to the cave. We couldn't take pictures inside due to copyright reasons.
Cave entrance. You could feel it get colder in only a few steps.
Above the cave entrance.
Amy's purse? Green for Ireland!
We had to knock on someone's front door to get tickets to the see the cave. A little creepy.
The house where we bought tickets. Notice all of the surveillance cameras. There was also a family plot on the right as we walked up toward the cave.
Cool flower near the cave carpark.
More cool flowers.
Babbling brook.
Palm tree??
Our Accent. We didn't even lose a rear view mirror!
Super straight trees as we start up a mountain the GPS brought us on.
Driving up the mountain. The further we went, the more rhodendrons we saw.
It was a beautiful mountain.
We had to pull over to take in all of the purple. The rhododendrons covered the mountain as far as we could see.
Locals call this place the "V"
Cute bridge in the middle of Purple Heaven.
Purple heaven!
No doubt Amy's favorite place on our trip.
Gorgeous!
The V.
There were hiking trails so I walked up amongst the flowers.
I took a flower home in our travel book.
An amazing view shortly after the V.
Sheep! Baaaa.
The first of 5 or 6 hairpin turns as we made our way back down the mountain.
Beautiful!
Baaa.
We had such beautiful days.
The side of the mountain, covered in purple flowers.
So cool.
Random structure on the side of the road.
The road to our second B&B
Our second (and favorite) B&B.
Front of B&B
The B&B had beautiful gardens.
The name of the B&B. It's Irish, the old name of the town. We still aren't sure how to pronounce it.
Entrance to the B&B.
More views of the garden.
Wishing well!
The view from the back garden. Upon entering the B&B, our host encouraged us to go out here and relax while she made us tea.
So happy after a day of history, the cool underground, and lots of purple!
Our tea, complete with homemade scones and homemade raspberry jam. Yum!
Geoff even had tea here...with lots of sugar.
The bench where we sat, and the cute little tables she carried out for our tea.
The beautiful view while we sipped our tea.
It was so calm and quiet out there, with just a slight smell of farm air.
Pinky up!
Cute little teapot.
Our room.
Our room
Ireland soaps in the bathroom.
More of our room.
Mint Aero bar. I've dreamt of these since I first discovered them in Oxford.
Dungarven
Pay to Pee.
The Quay (pronounced Key).
The Quay.
Robert A. Merry's pub. We tried their own Irish Cream. Geoff had original and Amy had white chocolate flavored. Yum! Geoff also had his favorite meal here - a burger made from fresh Irish beef and wedged chips dipped in Irish Mayo.
A booey (that does not look right).
Geoff loved the booey (seriously, is that how you spell it?)
Amy liked the colorful doors.
Dungarven castle
A neat sculpture by the Quay.
Geoff thought it was a slide. Weeee.
Knocking on the door to Dungarven castle.
We were tricked. The husband of our B&B hostess told us that there was music up the road at the pub. We were thinking traditional Irish music, but when we got there it was Country Irish music. Still, it was a fun experience, and the people in the pub were very cute. One could smile with just his eyes. We also both had our first (and last) Guinness here. Yuck.
Breakfast!!! All homemade.
Rhododendrons at our table to remind us of the V.
MMM.... Porridge with a bit of Irish Whiskey. Add some honey and homemade granola and it's delish.
More scones!!! Amy's favorite.
Irish honey...
An assortment of butter and homemade jams.
The full Irish breakfast.
The two round things up top are black and white pudding. Black pudding is made with pig's blood. White is without the blood. We tried both. Not bad, but maybe not a first choice at breakfast.
Amy had a poached egg with her breakfast. Lots of protein to keep us full all morning.
We brought our tea (and Geoff's hot chocolate) back out for one more look at the view before we left.
Irish kitty cat.
Side view of the house.
Beautiful landscaping.
Looking a bit sleepy.
Our hostess. We gave her a copy of our wedding favor, which she was very excited about.
Outside the Jameson Whiskey Factory.
The Jameson Experience... the most touristy thing we did, but pretty interesting.
Grind wheel thing outside of Jameson.
Beginning the tour.
Tractor.
They had some silly wax figures here and there.
The water wheel that used to power the factory.
Jameson.
Huge barrels.
45,000 gallons
Geoff getting artsy again.
Electric shock!
Oh no!
Irish whiskey is superior, according the Jameson tour, because it is distilled three times.
Scottish whiskey is distilled twice...
American whiskey is only distilled once.
Great big chimney.
More wax figures.
Amy posing by a tractor.
Geoff was ready to hop on.
Amy's artsy shot?
Geoff amidst all of the whiskey barrels.
"Free" whiskey with ginger ale.
"Free" whiskey with cranberry juice (Ginger ale was better).
The Irish spell whiskey with an e, while the Scottish spell it without.
Wool caps. See Catie and Phil! They are an Irish thing!
Cool purple car.
Apparently these are from some Irish classic car rental place..
Zooming in.
Interior.
Bathroom, night 3.
Geoff was pooped when we got there so he took a nap while I read, had tea, and sent a quick email home.
Another view of the room.
Most of the B&Bs had tea and a hot pot ready for use.
This was a very swank B&B.
The entrance way.
Siting room.
The family that owned the place.
The view out front
The view out front.
I had tea in those seats and read my book while Geoff napped.
Another beautiful view.
Rivermount House, Kinsale.
The house.
Another Irish cat.
These were cool little fountains.
Bullmer's Cider. mmmm
So much better than Guiness.
Amy enjoying her cider
Geoff, upside down.
The Irish offer such variety for dipping.
Geoff!
Yum Yum
Our meals. Amy had turkey cutlet, mashed potatoes, and veggies. Geoff had szechuan noodles.
The pub was called Hurley's and was in Ballinspittle.
Hurley's!
They had a lot of signs.
The beach
Sunset at the beach
No kite surfing
Pretty beach
Little did we know that there were sandhoppers lurking!
Ew, what are those things!?!
Another artsy shot by Amy!
It was such a pretty night.
Geoff loves the ocean.
Amy getting her feet wet.
It was cold!
So cold!!
Brrrrr
Blue Flag Beach
What exactly do they mean by "slow" in Ireland?
The dashboard?
On to our next destination!
Tough to see around the corner.
Driving into Timoleague.
Please co-operate.
We thought this looked cool and had to stop.
Timoleague Abbey
This was an old abbey, but is now used as a cemetary.
It was silent and beautiful.
TImoleague Abbey
Beautiful statue at Timoleague Abbey
Geoff having fun with the camera.
She's holding up the tower!
Geoff takes some nice photos.
View from TImoleague Abbey
This showed the old floor plan. There were also stones letting you know when you entered the kitchen, library, etc.
A ceiling at TImoleague Abbey
This was one of the few places where there was litter. I appreciate the cigarette packs in Europe (and Canada) for telling it like it is.
The library.
There were once books here!
Desmond!
That crow was sitting on the cross until the moment Geoff took this picture. Tricky tricky bird.
Bathrooms, or Toliet as the Irish say.
The pipe to this sink just stopped and the water all spilled out into a trough below.
In Irish, Ladies (Mna) starts with M and Mens (Fir) starts with F. Could get confusing if the bathrooms only have the initials.
A trolley
Driving toward the Beara Peninsula.
Cloudy, but still beautiful.
Coastal area.
Another pretty town.
A flea market at which Geoff would have loved to spend hours perusing.
He didn't end up stopping though.
Flea market.
TIGHT roads.
Driving along on the opposite side of the road.
Weightwatchers. That last one-Oat Digestive Biscuits-sounds awesome.
Pretty!!!!
Another pic from the passenger's seat
Clouds!
Mountains on the Beara Peninsula
Beara Peninsula
One of our stops to take in the views.
So beautiful.
You could see the shadow of the clouds on the mountains.
Another cute town
We tried to stop at this bakery, but it was closed.
Small Irish town
cool building
Going off the beaten path
Driving out to a lake...
We saw a beautiful white horse along the way.
The white horse made it all the more peaceful.
There were horses on the other side of the road as well.
A connemara pony, the only horse native to Ireland.
Geoff liked the pony.
Horses on the Beara Peninsula
The road we drove down to get to the lake
The lake.
Pretty tree.
This is the area where they still believe in fairies, and I can see why.
More rhododendrons! They were everywhere.
Amy exploring.
Look, there's a lighthouse.
see!
Geoff looking all GQ.
So peaceful.
A newer castle like building by the lake. I hope they aren't going to make that into a B&B and ruin this secret spot.
Geoff looking handsome as always.
The water was so clear.
You could see right to the bottom
A puddle in the rocks.
A French couple took a photo for us.
We're married and in Ireland!!!!!
There were ruins here, too.
We climbed to the top of the ruins and took more pictures.
This is a close second to Purple Heaven. It was gorgeous. I could have sat there all day.
Pretty
Exploring the ruins/looking for fairies.
Holding up the roof.
Grrrrrr.
We skipped stones down here.
There were lots of nice, flat rocks
Skipping stones.
stones by the lake
The road less traveled.
A rusted boat we thought was pretty.
Horses
Scariest animal ever. Thank God for the fence.
Cattle crossing!
Mooooove!
Geoff loved this.
Passing the cows. Notice the two cows on the other side of the fence watching intently.
Lilt soda (Geoff's new favorite drink).
The artist's town on the Beara Peninsula
