Snowdonia National Park, Wales

Today, we crossed back across the Irish Sea by ferry from Dublin to the port of Holyhead, which is located in Wales.  It was a rainy day ... but the crossing was a quick and smooth two hours.  Wales, like Ireland, is proud of their native language and signage is both in Welsh, then English (or not).  We typically heard Welsh folks speak in their native tongue to each other.

Snowdonia National Park is located in northern Wales and is Britain's second-largest national park.  The tallest mountain in both Wales and England is Mount Snowdon at 3,560 feet.  A sample of the town names in the park are  Betws-y-Coed, Beddgelert, Caernarfon, Blaenau Ffestiniog, and Portmadog.  Our lodge was near Portmadog ... and if you think you can phonetically say the names, you'll be wrong!

We arrived at the park on a rainy day

Even in the rain, the views of the park are stunning

Beautiful wildflowers

... and more beautiful wildflowers

Our lodge was located in the park

Can't get too much pretty

This cottage was near the entrance to the driveway of the lodge property

Gotta love Hydrangeas!

Even better...hydrangeas, stone and moss!

Several creeks runs through the lodge property

More hydrangeas!

Pretty little waterfalls on the lodge property

Nearby village in the park where we picked up sandwiches for lunch

Dublin, Ireland

Dublin is the capital and cultural center of the Republic of Ireland.  The city was founded as a Viking trade center in the ninth century.  Today's population is 1.2 million people, which is about a quarter of Ireland's population.  As most folks know, Ireland fought a tragic civil war to gain independence from Great Britain ... the origins of that movement were inspired by the American and French revolutions.

The city is a vibrant, happening place with international appeal and residents.  The River Liffey splits the city with most of the sights on the south side of the river.  The Temple Bar area is the city's nightlife hub with trendy bars, restaurants, pubs, theaters, shops, and galleries.  Grafton Street is the pedestrian shopping center ... and Trinity College, founded in 1592, is the prestigious university located in the heart of the city.

Side street off of Grafton Street

Georgian architecture of the city

Courtyard of Trinity College

Building of Trinity College

Beautiful buildings along River Liffey

River Liffey

Christ Church Cathedral

Dublin Castle

Barak Obama Plaza in Moneygall, Ireland

As we traveled on the motorway (an "M" designated highway very similar to our interstates) from Dingle to Dublin, we kept seeing signs about Obama Plaza and wondered what that was all about.  After a while, we needed to stop for a bathroom break ... and took an offramp to what appeared to be a mega two-story gas station/services structure and parking lot.  We didn't realize until stepping into the building that we had arrived at Obama Plaza.

On the bottom floor, it appeared Americanized in design with its fast foods (fast food places along the highways are rare) and on the second floor an exhibit of Obama's trip to Ireland (and County Moneygall) ... and the Irish peoples' pride in their relationship with our American presidents.  Four of our presidents received special recognition; Kennedy, Reagan, Clinton, and Obama.  It was a very impressive exhibit!

Sign welcoming us to Obama Plaza

Must be in America!

Our Irish president

22 American presidents have Irish ancestry

Reagan

Kennedy

Obama

Clinton

Bunratty Castle & Folk Park

The present Bunratty Castle is the last of a series of castles that was built on the same site and was constructed around 1425.  During the 16th and 17th centuries it was an important stronghold of the O'Briens.

Bunratty Castle

Heading down to the dungeon

The Bunratty Folk Park is a living reconstruction of the homes and environment of Ireland over a century ago.  The village, which would have supported the castle, has been recreated and furnished as it would have appeared at the time.

Village shops

The Bunratty house was built in 1804 and is typical of homes occupied by minor gentry.  This particular house was home to descendants of the O'Briens who lived in the castle.

Bunratty House sitting room

View from one of the bedrooms

Golden Vale Farmhouse

Rock wall and rooster

North Clare Farmhouse

Bunratty House formal gardens

Another view of the formal Gardens

Irish Wolfhounds

Bunratty Castle & Folk Park is a fun place to take a step back in time and imagine how life must have been over a century ago in Ireland.

The Dingle Peninsula

The beautiful Dingle peninsula is 10 miles wide and runs 40 miles from Tralee to Slea Head. The peninsula is home to just a few small villages but thousands of sheep.  Gaelic is the first language in most of these villages.  It contains more of those unbelievably green valleys and scenic coastline similar to the central coast of California.  Dunmore Head which is located in this section of coastline is the westernmost point in Europe.  Just off the coast are the Blasket Islands.

Beautiful green valley

Ventry Bay

Coastline along the Dingle Peninsula

Dingle peninsula coastline

Roadside crucifix

Dunmore Head - westernmost point in Ireland (and Europe)

View to Atlantic Ocean

Doolin, Ireland and the Cliffs of Moher

We stayed in the seaside town of Doolin, which is close to the Cliffs of Moher.  Doolin is known as a music town and we had dinner in a local pub to enjoy some traditional Irish music (or was it the Guinness).

The Cliffs of Moher is a scenic stretch of severe Atlantic coastline cliffs, where it is always very windy.  Native birds, including gannets and puffins, call the cliffs home. Cows graze along the green stretches of pasture land located across from the cliffs.

The scenic Cliffs of Moher located along the Atlantic Ocean coast  

Cliffs of Moher - many birds nest here

Lots of blonde cows in England.  This calf was in a nearby pasture.

Puffin colony - our lens just couldn't quite reach far enough to show them closeup.

Another view of Puffin colony.