Christmas vacation comes to an end... Kilkenny, Ireland

 For the last day of the trip we headed down south. We spent the day seeing the sights and enjoying local beer.

I love all the castles... reminds me of childhood days and Disney movies.

 This was one of the bars we visited and is said to be haunted.

After a couple of hours exploring we spent the rest of the evening in good company relaxing. I had to catch the bus at 2am to head back to Dublin for my flight into Spain. It was a wonderful end to an amazing adventure!

Belfast

The drive from Dublin to Northern Ireland was absolutely gorgeous! The roads were quite windy but the green rolling hills make everything better. Finally when we got into Belfast we settled into the hostel before heading out. It was New Years day so just about everything was closed. Since we only had one night in Belfast we had to make the most of it, so we headed out into the rain to venture around the city. First we came across the city hall.

Next we headed to the port to see where the Titanic was built. I am a little embarrassed to admit I had no prior knowledge that the Titanic was built in Belfast. I was told that, "Yes, Irishmen built the ship but it was an English man that sunk it."

Here in this picture are Samuel and Goliath who helped construct the Titanic.

After finally finding a place to grab some dinner, which included Coconut Curry Soup, we headed in for the evening. We had early plans to take a black taxi tour through the Catholic and Protestant districts of Belfast. I had seen some pictures of murals before but was really hoping to learn much more about the history through this tour.

The tour provided so much information. It was fascinating, sad, and in many ways hard to believe.

Here is a picture of the fence that is miles long and still divides the districts today.

This protective cage is an example of what families have built around their backyards to protect themselves from thrown rocks and grenades from the opposing side.

I highly recommend this experience to anyone that has the opportunity to visit Northern Ireland. Next stop we are heading back down south, Kilkenny.

DUBLIN

One of the many friends that I have met through this teaching experience invited me to spend the New Year with her. Her family lives just outside of Dublin. This was an amazing opportunity to experience Ireland through a local's eyes. She decided to show us where the craic is mighty!! We spent the first two nights at her place where her family so graciously welcomed us into their home. When we arrived late on the first night her mother had prepared an Irish lamb stew. It was delicious!! We met up with several other friends so that their was a total of eight in our party now. We had two rental cars and I will have to be honest and say that it was quite scary driving. I have been to several countries that drive on the left side of the road but never have I trusted a fellow American to give it a try while I am a passenger but all was well. After the most wonderful night's rest we headed out Dublin.

First we headed to Temple Bar... which is a district not an actual bar... and I started my morning out right with an Irish coffee. At home I always thought an Irish coffee was a bit different but I quite enjoyed my coffee with whiskey.

During my adventure this was about as close as I came to seeing and leprechauns.

This beautiful building is actually the Dublin post office. I had to make sure to get a picture in front of it for Dad! There is actually a museum inside as well. We didn't have much time so we explored a bit inside but didn't actually go into the museum portion of the building.

 Ireland really reminded how much I miss my evergreen state!

 Of course there is no way I could come all the way to Dublin and not get some fresh Guinness from the St. James Brewery. Barb, our Irish tour guide and dear friend did not join us since she was picking up our tickets for the evening New Years Eve show but here is a picture with the rest of our group.

 I am not the biggest fan of dark beer but I have always found Guinness to be a very light- dark beer. If I had enjoyed it before... I really enjoyed it now. This picture of the ladies is from the sky bar at the very top of the brewery. The brewery tour was a lot of fun and we all enjoyed our free pint at the end.

 Next we headed over the the Jameson Distillery. We didn't get to spend much time there but just enough to have a little tasting and do some shopping. I would have been very disappointed if I hadn't gone since this is my favorite sipping alcohol.

We finished up with touring several other landmarks but then had to return to get dressed up and head out for the evening. Again we were provided with a lovely meal and then rushed to finish our last touches.

We spend New Year's Eve at the College Green where several local bands were playing outside along with some river dancing. It was soooo much fun and definitely a New Years that I won't ever forget.

Our countdown! HAPPY NEW YEARRRRR!

After getting some late night "best kebob in Dublin" we caught taxi's back to Barb's house. We had an early start planned for the next day since we were heading up to Northern Ireland.

We of course made some stops along the way.

This is Trim Castle. I am told these are the largest castle ruins in Ireland.

This is the high cross in Kells.

Here is the round tower in Kells. This was our last stop before arriving in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Milan

We weren't in Milan very long and arrived late in the day. That night we headed to the hostel to get some grub and a good night's rest before we caught our flight to Dublin the next day.

The next morning we woke up and checked out after breakfast. We decided to do some quick site seeing in the car on our way to find some real coffee. This was the first thing we saw... not quite sure why it is there or what to think of it.

Finally we found an American style coffee shop called Arnold's Coffee. Not only did I get a white chocolate mocha with an unreal amount of whipped cream but I also ordered a poppy seed bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese!!! Amazing.

Our last site before heading to the airport was the Cathedral, which I hear is the largest in structural size in the world. Obviously this picture does not capture its beauty and gothic style architecture. I will definitely have to return to Milan to get a better look. Next stop- Dublin for the New Year!!!

Venice

With all my vacationing coming to an end I have fallen behind on my blogging but will make sure not to leave anything out! We had exactly 24hours in Venice!!!! We made sure to get the most out of it.

I did not purchase a mask during my visit but still loved to look at them all and occasionally try a few on as well.

We purchased some very inexpensive and large bottles of Italian wine to enjoy while we explored the city. It smelled of the ocean and was much cooler than our previous destinations.

 With canals absolutely everywhere it was very easy to get lost. My map skills were definitely not up to par in this beautiful city.

 There were some gorgeous picture opportunities as the sun started to set and we wanted to hurry and catch a gondola ride before it got too dark.

 The sunset was gorgeous over the Grand Canal.

 We decided that this was the perfect place to try to bargain for a gondola ride.

 We found Nick, a long time generational gondolier. He was very entertaining!

 His puppy also joined us for the ride. We snuggled up with blankets as the temperature continued to drop.

 Luckily Nick was a great gondolier and we all stayed safe, dry, and warm.

 The next morning we set off for our last couple of hours. I wanted to find some Venetian glass rings.

 After we finished up our shopping and sight seeing we made one last stop before picking up the car, Harry's Bar! This is where the Bellini and Carpaccio was developed. Each one of these glasses cost fifteen euros (THAT IS OVER TWENTY US DOLLARS!). The bar tender was kind enough to split one glass into five cups so we could each have a sip of the original, which consists of white peach puree and Prosecco (Italian sparkling white wine). It was fabulous. The staff also gave us a few snacks and some post cards to help remember the moment as well.

Next stop, Milan! Our last Italian city before heading to Ireland for the New Year!!