England/Ireland Highlights: Post 2

One of my favorite things about going from England to Ireland was seeing the dramatic difference in the landscape. And because I hardly suffered from jet lag (miraculously really), I didn't take many car naps and got to enjoy it all. We took an overnight ferry from Wales to Ireland and proceeded to drive across the southern portion of the country to get to the south west peninsula known as the Dingle Peninsula, stopping along the way at cool castles and former monasteries and abbeys. And really, how could you not already love an area called Dingle? It's hilarious.

monastery that I thought was so cool but unfortunately cannot remember the name of

Rock of Cashel, seat of many Irish, medieval monarch, and now mostly just a cemetery, but really cool

the wall at the Rock of Cashel that overlooks the countryside and one of the cool monasteries that surrounds the hill/castle

on the drive around the Dingle Peninsula, unfortunately there was so much fog

Atlantic Ocean view (my cheerleading moves need work apparently...)

city of Dingle harbor, clearly the fog burned off

drive up the western coast of Ireland

cool castle just sitting there on the side of the road as we drove through the country

The saddest part of this trip was that we really wanted to go to the Cliffs of Moher but when we got to the site the fog had set in again and there was zero visibility. Unfortunately for us, everyone said this was the wettest summer in Ireland on record. We had lots of rain (not new for Oregonians) but that meant lots of fog and that was the saddest part. Also, we have zero pictures of Dublin, someone forgot the camera that day... But we took a tour of Trinity College, saw the Book of Kells.

England/Ireland Highlights: Post 1

Oh hey there! I'm blogging! Summer is over and I am back on my game.

Last month (ie. August) I went to England and Ireland. I never blogged about it because I was too lazy. So here I am, finally blogging about it and giving you five of my highlights. (Even though the entire trip was pretty awesome.)

Highlight 1: Visiting the Estates. We hit up Chatsworth (used as Pemberly in the 2005 P&P with Keira Knightly); Highclere Castle (better known as Downton Abbey); Haddon Hall (used as Thornfield Manor in three Jane Eyre adaptations); and a walk through the grounds of Lyme Park (used as Pemberly in the 1995 P&P with Colin Firth)

(Chatsworth. I think my favorite thing was that there were sheep all over. And once all the cars left for the day, the sheep moved in to take over their spot. And look at all our curly hair!)

(Highclere Castle. It was fun to hear about the real family that lived there and how they balance while living there and the show's filming.)

(Haddon Hall grounds, they were beautiful grounds. And the inside was so much older than the other estates we visited. And we liked thinking there was a crazy wife hiding in the attic.)

(Lyme Park grounds. It was a rainy rainy day. Lyme Park is barely seen at the end of the row.)

I think what I like most about visiting these places is that they're still kept up beautifully and it's fun to imagine people really living there, throwing parties there, and living how we see them in movies. I guess I haven't changed a whole lot from the squirmy seven year old who pretended with her grandma that they were princesses while walking around castles in Germany years ago. Now I just pretend to be an Elizabeth Bennett or Lady Mary. Should I be embarrassed?