I just added pictures of London on "Arde Londres."
Cheerios...
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
The Irish Highlands (Jan 12th-Jan16th)
I have found the most beautiful place in Ireland. I am not kidding. This place is absolutely incredible. You don't believe me? Knock yourself out!
Right before crossing the mountain range.
Facing Dingle and the Dingle Bay. Amazing? Yup!
After Connor Pass.
I know I know!
My future home!
The Dock
A friend we made. Look at that hair style!
Facing the Highlands.
The north side
Anyway, what you just witnessed is the splendid landscape of Kerry (a county in the southwest of Ireland); host to the highest peaks in Ireland. The majestic cliffs of Moher are also located in this area!
Ellen and moi were lucky enough to be granted free access to Jean's (Ellen's aunt) get-away house in Castlegregory; a minute town, about 2 hours southeast (considered and lengthy ride by Irish standards!) from Limerick, on the outskirts of Tralee (a somewhat bigger town on the west coast). This town dwells on the Dingle Peninsula, with the Tralee bay to the East and the Brandon Bay to the West. Castlegreagory may not be Cancun on Spring break, but it was loads of fun anyway. But... what made our incredibly long journey worthwhile is what lingers on the other side of Connor Pass (and the scenic route that led us to it), the Dingle Bay. This has got to be the most fabulous place in Ireland. Hills that seem to dive abruptly into the sea to the south and look up to highest peaks in Ireland to the north, added to a handful of islands that want to headbutt the horizon make this place completely magical. The vegetation changes from a rusty red underbrush on the Highlands to the luscious green grass of the hills, which makes them unmistakably Irish.
The only problem was getting there; Connor Pass is a challenging road that, from time to time, becomes an unmarked one-way road (this may not to be of any surprise to the Patagonians but it is quite a thing in the first world). Instead of yielding to the cars going up hill, one must yield to the crazy drivers first, then to the sheep and goats that seem to frequent the pass unrestricted and finally to the crazy cyclists that have nothing better to do but freeze their souls on the rugged landscape of Kerry. Ellen was the DD and, to my surprise, she did a remarkable job! Once over the mountains, Dingle is the first sign of human settlements. Dingle is quite a touristy town that, aside from tourism, relies heavily on fishing. We arrived there at noon, had lunch, walked for a good while and commenced our way back. The lovely sunny day that greeted us in the morning morphed into a typical Irish rainy and windy day. Regardless, here are some pictures from the pass and some evil sheep we encountered on the way to Dingle.
Look at those evil evil eyes!
"Are you scared?"
"Nah, I'm cool... I'm cool... Man it's bloody high!"
Right before crossing the mountain range.
Facing Dingle and the Dingle Bay. Amazing? Yup!
After Connor Pass.
I know I know!
My future home!
The Dock
A friend we made. Look at that hair style!
Facing the Highlands.
The north sideEllen and moi were lucky enough to be granted free access to Jean's (Ellen's aunt) get-away house in Castlegregory; a minute town, about 2 hours southeast (considered and lengthy ride by Irish standards!) from Limerick, on the outskirts of Tralee (a somewhat bigger town on the west coast). This town dwells on the Dingle Peninsula, with the Tralee bay to the East and the Brandon Bay to the West. Castlegreagory may not be Cancun on Spring break, but it was loads of fun anyway. But... what made our incredibly long journey worthwhile is what lingers on the other side of Connor Pass (and the scenic route that led us to it), the Dingle Bay. This has got to be the most fabulous place in Ireland. Hills that seem to dive abruptly into the sea to the south and look up to highest peaks in Ireland to the north, added to a handful of islands that want to headbutt the horizon make this place completely magical. The vegetation changes from a rusty red underbrush on the Highlands to the luscious green grass of the hills, which makes them unmistakably Irish.
The only problem was getting there; Connor Pass is a challenging road that, from time to time, becomes an unmarked one-way road (this may not to be of any surprise to the Patagonians but it is quite a thing in the first world). Instead of yielding to the cars going up hill, one must yield to the crazy drivers first, then to the sheep and goats that seem to frequent the pass unrestricted and finally to the crazy cyclists that have nothing better to do but freeze their souls on the rugged landscape of Kerry. Ellen was the DD and, to my surprise, she did a remarkable job! Once over the mountains, Dingle is the first sign of human settlements. Dingle is quite a touristy town that, aside from tourism, relies heavily on fishing. We arrived there at noon, had lunch, walked for a good while and commenced our way back. The lovely sunny day that greeted us in the morning morphed into a typical Irish rainy and windy day. Regardless, here are some pictures from the pass and some evil sheep we encountered on the way to Dingle.
Look at those evil evil eyes!
"Are you scared?""Nah, I'm cool... I'm cool... Man it's bloody high!"
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Corcaigh (Cork)
Friday January the 2nd Ellen, Mary (one of Ellen's aunts), Garret and I left Limerick, early in the morning, to head south towards Cork.
Cork is the capital of the county of Cork and the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland (third in the islands of Ireland). Cork comes from Corcaigh which is Irish for "marshy place" or "the place of marsh." This city, and some of the county as well, has been known to be quite rebellious. In fact, Cork has been THE stronghold for the Irish, ever since the British set foot on the Islands.
Anyhow, the point of the trip was to do some shopping; but I had a different idea in mind. I decided to walk up and down the streets of Cork and visit some touristy cites. The River Lee divides the city of Cork, with the aid of it's northern southern canals, into 3 section. The city center is bounded by the aforementioned canals and inhabited by countless shops and restaurants. This part of cork is the oldest and, as far as I could tell, best preserved. The north part of Cork is quite hilly; in fact Irish car buyers are advised not to purchase cars from Cork given the, often encountered, rather poor state of clutches.
And now, the pictures.
A typical side street in Cork.
Downtown Cork.
Beautifully decorated park in Cork.
Notice the "designer" lamp posts on downtown Cork.
More of DT Cork.
Well, maybe I did do some shopping!
Dinner at the most inefficient restaurant EVER!
River Lee, North Canal and the hilly part of Cork on the background.
Cork is the capital of the county of Cork and the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland (third in the islands of Ireland). Cork comes from Corcaigh which is Irish for "marshy place" or "the place of marsh." This city, and some of the county as well, has been known to be quite rebellious. In fact, Cork has been THE stronghold for the Irish, ever since the British set foot on the Islands.
Anyhow, the point of the trip was to do some shopping; but I had a different idea in mind. I decided to walk up and down the streets of Cork and visit some touristy cites. The River Lee divides the city of Cork, with the aid of it's northern southern canals, into 3 section. The city center is bounded by the aforementioned canals and inhabited by countless shops and restaurants. This part of cork is the oldest and, as far as I could tell, best preserved. The north part of Cork is quite hilly; in fact Irish car buyers are advised not to purchase cars from Cork given the, often encountered, rather poor state of clutches.
And now, the pictures.
A typical side street in Cork.
Downtown Cork.
Beautifully decorated park in Cork.
Notice the "designer" lamp posts on downtown Cork.
More of DT Cork.
Well, maybe I did do some shopping!
Dinner at the most inefficient restaurant EVER!
River Lee, North Canal and the hilly part of Cork on the background.Saturday, January 3, 2009
Christmas y Año Nuevo (Update)
Hello everyone! Again, my apologies for taking so long on updating my blog!
Quite frankly, things have been somewhat slow in Eire for the last couple of weeks. Nevertheless, a few exciting things happened throughout that time:
Quite frankly, things have been somewhat slow in Eire for the last couple of weeks. Nevertheless, a few exciting things happened throughout that time:
Dara's B-Day
Dara is Aiofa's (pronounced as Eepha) son; Aiofa is Ellen's sister. He turned 6 on December the 10th. We had quite an enjoyable afternoon together and ate some delicious food! In terms of food, Dara is rather picky, to say the least. He will only eat vanilla flavoured cupcakes as a form of dessert, and nothing else. Hence the cupcake "cake," beautifully adorned with m&ms and some white chocolate icing.
Ellen, Dara and Jack (Ellen's youngest brother)
Half of Garret's (Ellen's eldest brother) chest, Ellen, Dara, Jack and the back of Anne's head (Ellen's mother).
Ellen, Dara and Jack (Ellen's youngest brother)
Half of Garret's (Ellen's eldest brother) chest, Ellen, Dara, Jack and the back of Anne's head (Ellen's mother).
Christmas
I spent Christmas Day with Ellen's family in Limerick. We tackled such day in the following manner: lots of good food and doing nothing at all. We were visited by most of Ellen's family early in the afternoon and later that night we had a fabulous Christmas dinner. Dinner entailed: turkey, peas, stuffing, potatoes, carrots, gravy, bread pudding and some lovely Chilean wine. As far as dessert goes, Ellen made a Toblerone cheesecake and Anne contributed with a cherry mousse.
Christmas is taken very seriously in Ireland; aside from the massive amounts of shopping that gets done every year, Christmas is taken as a time for family only; needless to mention, Ireland is predominately Catholic. Hence the, aforementioned, family-time spent in the Murphy's house.
In the county of Claire. Traditional Irish "fence."
A church in Ballyvaughan
Typical Irish landscape, absolutely beautiful!
Christmas is taken very seriously in Ireland; aside from the massive amounts of shopping that gets done every year, Christmas is taken as a time for family only; needless to mention, Ireland is predominately Catholic. Hence the, aforementioned, family-time spent in the Murphy's house.
Año Nuevo
As far as New Year goes, Ellen and I abandoned Limerick in search of some fun further up north. Our destination was Galway; an absolutely beautiful city and home of NUIG. A good few of Ellen's friend decided to get together and throw a house party. Everything went according to plans: lots of alcohol + a good crowd = wicked new year!
I am an antagonist of house-party pictures; so none to show in this topic! Nevertheless, Ellen brought me back to Limerick through a different route. This route is commonly referred to as the "Coastal Road." It threads together quite a few typical Irish towns from the west coast of Ireland, and yes, I have some pictures to show.
A fishing port in Kinvara. That gooey looking snot is exposed algae on low tide.
Downtown Kinvara.
A beautiful Irish bar in Kinvara
I am an antagonist of house-party pictures; so none to show in this topic! Nevertheless, Ellen brought me back to Limerick through a different route. This route is commonly referred to as the "Coastal Road." It threads together quite a few typical Irish towns from the west coast of Ireland, and yes, I have some pictures to show.
A fishing port in Kinvara. That gooey looking snot is exposed algae on low tide.
Downtown Kinvara.
A beautiful Irish bar in Kinvara
Driving through the province of Connaught. Certainly not the best land around!
In the county of Claire. Traditional Irish "fence."
A church in Ballyvaughan
Typical Irish landscape, absolutely beautiful!
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