Farewell to Ireland

We have completed our 360 degree tour of Ireland, and after a day spent in Belfast to hear about "The Troubles",we returned to the fair city of Dublin for some last minute shopping and walks to Trinity College, Temple Bar and along the river. We had a great farewell dinner tonight and head to the airport early tomorrow morning. We will miss this beautiful island with all of its history, literature and thousands of shades of green. See you soon!

from all of us in the Ireland '09 trip.

Last day photos

From Elizabeth W., Caroline and Christine

Top 'o the mornin', parents! Those of you who have been keeping up with the blog posts know that we have done some amazing things on this trip, but today seemed particularly unforgettable. Our full Irish breakfast was tip-top this morning (not to mention free!)which was a great start to a long day. Then we drove to Londonderry and had a brief tour before going to the Tower Museum where we learned about the history of the city and the influence of the Spanish Armada on Irish history. We then went to lunch and had free time (SHOPPING!). Then we went to the Carrick-on-sur rope bridge where we overlooked the beautiful Irish sea. To our luck, we have had rare, sunshiny weather the entire time we've been here, which has made all of our excursions even more enjoyable. Next, we went to the Giant's Causeway which was a breathtakingly beautiful sight made even more memorable because we got the chance to explore freely the natural rock formation. We just finished dinner with the group and are now settling down for a good sleep before our last day tomorrow in Belfast and Dublin.
See you soon!

Love,
The Gals

The Antrim Coast and the land of Finn McCool

The Antrim Coast and the Giants Causeway provided some of the most spectacular views of Ireland that we have seen so far. The rope bridge was a particular favorite. Golden sunny days have followed us everywhere we go.

Got Maeve? ...a visit to Sligo and Knocknarea

Today (Tuesday) we visited Sligo to see the burial sites of W. B. Yeats at Drumcliff churchyard and the cairn at the top of Knocknarea, the burial site of Queen Maeve, the queen of the Druid chieftians. The hike was steep in parts, but worth every step of the way for the panoramic views of all of Sligo as well as Ben Bulben in the distance.

Knocknarea and Sligo