The Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher are on the west coast of Ireland, about a 3 hour coach ride from Dublin. Early in the morning on Easter Sunday Scott and I boarded a coach for a day tour to visit these famous cliffs. In Dublin the weather was chilly and cloudy, but the day looked as if it would brighten. Not so on the west coast of Ireland! The winds were ferocious making the temperature feel absolutely frigid and, of course, there was some rain.. None the less we ventured out from the comfort and warmth of the visitor's center and were rewarded with some spectacular scenery.

The Cliffs of Moher vary in height from 120 metres to 214 metres, that's 390 feet
to 702 feet for our friends and family in the U.S.

Hi Kids! We're here ...... cold and wet and nearly blown away!

O'Brien's Tower was built about halfway along the cliffs in 1835. It's builder,
Sir Cornelius O'Brien, built it to impress the lassies. From the tower there are beautiful
views across to the Aran Islands.

Scott couldn't resist climbing up to the top! Yes, that's him up there.

After spending a good deal of time at the Cliffs of Moher we re-boarded our bus for the journey back to Dublin. Along the route we heard about the Burren region of Ireland. According to our bus driver/guide this large limestone plain was once part of the sea bed.

On our journey back to Dublin we also stopped at Corcomroe Abbey. This abbey dates from the early 1200's.

Castles are a common sight in Ireland. Most are in ruin, but occasionally there is a castle that is intact.

Dublin

Ha'penny Bridge across the Liffey
In Irish: Droichead na Life

Easter weekend arrived at last and Scott and I took a quick flight across the Irish Sea on our first visit to Ireland. We spent a couple of days in Dublin, and on Easter Sunday we took a coach trip to the Cliffs of Moher on the west coast of Ireland. We had a great time in Dublin where we learned a bit of the history of Ireland on a 3 hour walking tour, enjoyed some traditional food, Irish music and dance, and sampled one of Dublin's most famous products: Guiness. Hope you enjoy the photos!

On our walking tour we visited Trinity College and Christ Church Cathedral, both beautiful.

Christ Church Cathedral

Trinity College

Hollywood came knocking at Trinity College a few years ago. It seems the dining hall
was used for filming some scenes in a certain series of movies about a young wizard with a
lightening bolt shaped scar on his forehead, compliments of ,"He who must not be named".

We also stopped by Dublin Castle. We learned that during one of Ireland's many revolutions the original castle burned down. A castle has stood on this spot since 1204, but little of the original remains.

Dublin Castle
In Irish: Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath

The Bedford Tower dates from 1761. It was from here that the
Irish crown jewels were stolen in 1907.

Well...
of course, no trip to Dublin would be complete without a tour of the Guiness Brewery. Scott and I opted for the Connoisseur Tour where we learned the history of Guiness. We also received generous servings of 4 different types of Guiness to taste. Once we each had our favourites, we learned how to draw the perfect pint of Guiness by tapping our own pint, or in my case, a pint for Scott. I can still, honestly say I have never met a beer I like.

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Learning how to pour the perfect pint.

Scott and I ate at some great restaurants just off Grafton Street, the main pedestrian shopping street. We also wondered through the Temple Bar area and enjoyed some nice lunches there. Scott took a photo of the original Temple Bar.

Here are a few more photos from our trip:

Colorful signs in a mix of both Irish and English are common in Dublin. Don't let those
window boxes with flowers fool you though, it is still pretty cold in Ireland!

The tall spire is relatively new, replacing a monument that was destroyed. This one is officially
called "The Monument of Light", although it has many other nicknames.

Sights in Barcelona

Barcelona is filled with examples of Modernista architecture, and Antoni Gaudi is probably the most famous architect. Examples of his work can be found all over the city. Other architects left their fingerprints as well though and the result is a city filled with interesting buildings and details.

We spent a good deal of time walking in Barcelona, and came across this arch. Kind of reminds you of another famous arch, doesn't it?

Interesting and elaborate chimney's
characterize Gaudi's work.

Arc de Triomf

The Barcelona Cathedral is a Gothic cathedral and seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona. The cathedral is dedicated to Eulalia, a young girl who was said to have been martyred in Barcelona during the time of the Roman rule. 13 white geese are kept in the cloister here in honor of St. Eulalia who was 13 years old when martyred.

On Sunday Scott and I received an email from Andrew, our tapas tour guide, telling us of a festival going on in the city. We decided to go and have a look, and arrived just in time for a parade.

As you can probably tell from the way the people in these photos are dressed, it was not particularly warm in Barcelona. Barcelona is spread out along the Mediterranean Sea, however, and does have some beautiful beaches. We took these photos from our hotel room window, which overlooked the beach and the city of Barcelona beyond.

All too soon our long weekend was over. Scott headed to our home in Cumbria whilst I journeyed across the sea for a brief stop in our home in America. I was away for about 2 weeks and I was lucky enough to get to visit with all of our children! I arrived back in England to more record setting cold with plenty of moisture to go with it. As we headed into late March, we were looking forward to our next adventure.

La Sagrada Familia

Scott and I have lost count of the number of churches and cathedrals we have visited over the past year. Many have been grand and glorious, and I have often stood in awe of the craftsmanship and beauty of these magnificent buildings. None are more beautiful nor more awe-inspiring than Gaudi's masterpiece: La Sagrada Familia. This large Roman Catholic church has been under construction since 1882, and will, hopefully, be completed in 2026, one hundred years after Gaudi's death. In fact, when Antoni Gaudi died only about one quarter of the church had been constructed. When it's completed, the church will have 18 spires: one for each of the 12 apostles, the four evangelists, the Virgin Mary, and the tallest to represent Jesus Christ. There are three grand facades: the Nativity, Passion, and Glory. The Glory facade is still under construction but will be the largest and represent one's ascension to God. The interior of the church is equally amazing. Beautiful stained glass windows fill the area with light and every surface is ornate. We spent quite a long while inside the church. We took lots of pictures, and have included a few for you here. Truly  this magnificent cathedral is something that just has to be experienced!

Four of the spires can be seen in this photo.

The exterior surfaces are filled with sculptures depicting the stories of Christ.

The interior of La Sagrada Familia

Columns join the ceiling in the church.

Barcelona

It has been a long, long winter here in the north of England.

The 18 or so hours of daylight we enjoyed last summer quickly shortened, and by mid-December we had less than 7 hours of daylight each day. We have had record cold, and there have been very few days without some type of precipitation: here on the coast it's been mainly rain. By February
Scott and I were longing for some brighter days and warmer weather, so we took a long weekend and traveled to Spain's second largest city, Barcelona.

Razor Clams
We both tried them and I have to say, they were pretty good!

Full of beautiful buildings, fountains, beaches, and friendly people, we thoroughly enjoyed our time here. Our first night in town we booked into a wine and tapas tour. We met our guide, Andrew, at the designated time and place and set off at about 6:30 in the evening. We walked through several neighborhoods, tried all sorts of wonderful food and wine, and learned a lot about the history of Barcelona.

During the course of our evening we stopped at 6 different places, including a sweet shop and an absinthe bar. Our last stop was a great tapas bar in the Gothic quarter of Barcelona, where we sipped Cava and "people watched". Finally, at about 3:00 in the morning, tired, but definitely not hungry, we settled into a cab and headed back to our hotel. What a great experience!

Wine and Tapas Tour

Saturday morning we set out to visit Barcelona's most famous architectural attraction: La Sagrada Familia. If you have been following our adventure, then we know what you are thinking because we were thinking it too. "Oh no, not another cathedral!" Friends and family told us this cathedral is different and that we just "had" to see it, so we did. They were right. La Sagrada Familia is just amazing. Designed by Antonio Gaudi, this cathedral has been under construction for over 100 years, and it's not finished yet. Antonio Gaudi designed many buildings in Barcelona and his architectural style is quite unique. More on this on our next blog post!

After leaving La Sagrada Familia we wandered through some of the streets of Barcelona heading towards the Picasso Museum. We passed a complex that looked as if it housed an old stadium of some sort. We finally found the entrance and Scott and I pooled our limited knowledge of Spanish and figured out that this was an old arena used for bullfights. For a few Euros, we could go inside and look around. I was quite surprised at how small the bull fighting ring was, and how close the spectators could be to the ring. We walked through a museum which included photographs of matadors as well as exhibits of matador costumes, and a few stuffed bull's heads. We left the bull fighting arena happy to know that sport is illegal now in Spain.

This is how the bull fighting arena looked in days gone by.

This is the inside of the arena.

We eventually found the Picasso Museum, which we enjoyed. We also tried a Flamenco Show and a Spanish Guitar Concert. We found out that traditional Flamenco Dancing was a typical art form of the areas of Spain around Madrid but was generally not typical for the people of Catalonia. The Spanish Guitar Concert was really great!

Las Ramblas is a long pedestrian mall in Barcelona. Lined with shops, restaurants, and hotels, it's a favourite with locals and tourists alike.

A market along Las Ramblas

A shop along Las Ramblas

There are one way streets on each side of the pedestrian mall. These bikes were parked in front of one of the shops.