Ireland

[46Tbird]

So I got back this week from a 10-day trip to Ireland with my parents. It's a great place to visit if you're into old churches, old cemeteries, and old castles. Everything in Ireland is OLD and GREEN and WET. It's 180* from a Mexican vacation. Except the drinking, there is a lot of drinking.

Here's the parents at Kilkenny Castle. It was built in the 13th century, but has recently been restored to its Victorian-era condition and it was awesome.



Here are a few old churches and cemeteries. A lot of these places were destroyed or desecrated when Cromwell swept across Ireland in the 17th century. Most of them are abandoned now but the ruins are pretty cool to look at.

[46Tbird]

We flew into Dublin and immediately rented a car and drove out of the city.

It was kind of a bucket-list thing to get to drive a right-hand-drive car on the left side of the road. I got the hang of it pretty quick, but there's always that nagging feeling that you're doing something wrong or you're not yielding to oncoming traffic. What cracked me up was all the stickers on the windshield with bright yellow warnings to get over to the left, lol.

I didn't see many cool cars. The roads are not conducive to hauling ass, unless you're just trying to scare yourself or you've got a drunk Irishman on your ass. I didn't see any V8 cars or full size trucks. The hot rods were all modern imports like Subies and Lexus..es. I think I saw a Maserati. Gasoline runs about $8.50/gal so that's not surprising. Every car was filthy, and had at least one big dent.

We rented this little Suzuki, which was about the size of a Fiat 500. Three people and all our stuff was a little tight.







Note the factory tach and warning arrow, lol.





The speed limits were INSANE. This country road is about exactly the width of one lane on our highways, and it's got a 67mph speed limit - both ways. Some people were actually trying to drive that fast too.



And roundabouts - FUCKING ROUNDABOUTS!! Those things are nerve-wracking. The signs were pretty bad too. They would tell you "XYZ Church, 2km." So you'd drive two kilometers, and - no church - but just another sign pointing down another road with, "XYZ Church, 4km." Insane.

And sometimes it would take a couple of minutes just to figure out where the hell you need to go....

[46Tbird]

We saw some of Irelands natural and historical landmarks.

This is Newgrange, the oldest building in existence, around 3200BC. It is older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids. It has incredible neolithic (stone age) carving all over it. It is aligned so that during the winter solstice a long beam of morning sunlight shoots through the tunnel to light up a burial chamber. I got to walk inside, but they didn't allow photography.





This is Poulnabrone, a famous portal tomb dating to around 4000BC.



This is the Hill of Tara, which dates to around 5000BC. I'm cheating here, I got this photo off the internet because this thing was crawling with people the day we were there. It's in the middle of a park, and since we had perfect weather the place was packed.

There is a church nearby where St Patrick taught the local pagans about Christianity. They didn't understand the concept of the Holy Trinity. So he took a three-leaved clover (shamrock) and used it to explain how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were three distinct parts of the same being. Thus was born all the hoopla around St Patrick's Day and shamrocks in Ireland. As if you didn't already know.



This giant phallic symbol is in the middle, I'm adding it for Leah's benefit.



These are the Cliffs of Moher, one of the seven wonders of the world. They are about 900' high, and yes people do get blown off of them... or slip and fall... or about six times a year, commit suicide off them.





And there is SURFING in Ireland. I had no idea. They wear drysuits that cover their feet, hands, and head, but their faces poke out and they ride this shit. Awesome.

[46Tbird]

We saw some touristy stuff too.

The Guinness Storehouse might usually be cool, but on this day they had - literally - more people than had ever been there before. It was asses and elbows and not a particularly fun place to have a beer. But we had to do it anyway. We were drinking Stout the whole trip and this was the best one. If it looks like I'm tired, cranky, and hungry then it's because I am.





This is the Brazen Head, Ireland's oldest Pub. It was built in 1198. Damned good place to have a beer.



This is Slane Castle. A bunch of bands have played here, like U2, Oasis, Foo Fighters, GNR, etc.



Ireland is very rural. There were sheep, cows, horses, and chickens all over the place. That was pretty cool.





Golfing - in 60mph winds and with hundreds of hills. The "rough" was more like a "thicket." Don and Dave would have loved it.



This is a Bog Body. They think this was a (former) king, as he had his nipples cut off. Apparently it was custom for the peasants to greet their king with a kiss on the nipples. WTF. I'd cut him in half and throw him in the bog too.

[46Tbird]

And here are some random pics from throughout the trip.















And finally, here's Buddy Jesus giving ya the Deuce.

[kingjason]

Nice! I am actually thinking of taking my wife in May for her graduation present. Who did you book your trip thru?

[CJ]

The happy hooker ran aground.

[Kyle]

Bad ass pics. My wife wants to go to Ireland in the worst way! One of these days I'll surprise her with a trip.

[dee]

My wife has been wanting to go there for a while now just haven't gotten around to it yet.

[Shaggin Wagon]

How did the women look there?

[Geor!]

Everything is so green. I could see myself living there one day.

[46Tbird]

How did the women look there?

Surprisingly fat. But maybe that makes sense, as all they eat is meat and taters.

But the chicks in Dublin were teh hot. I think most of them were models, maybe even hookers (it's legal there). A few I saw were as hot as the chick in the Fiat commercials, and most of them were speaking German, French, or Italian.

[Fern]

what was Nando's all about?

[46Tbird]

what was Nando's all about?

LOL, glad you saw that homie. I think it's chicken...

[Shaggin Wagon]

Surprisingly fat. But maybe that makes sense, as all they eat is meat and taters.

But the chicks in Dublin were teh hot. I think most of them were models, maybe even hookers (it's legal there). A few I saw were as hot as the chick in the Fiat commercials, and most of them were speaking German, French, or Italian.

I figured skinny and European looking (I know that sounds wierd, they just have a "look", pale white, eyes farther apart, ect) I figured all the fatties were here. I was expecting more gingers in that bar, but I guess that was tourist though.....