at the heart of it Ireland 2009

4 03, 2019

Travel Missteps: Snack for a Sheep

By Lili|March 4th, 2019|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2009, at the heart of it Ireland 2009, Europe, Ireland, Ring of Kerry, Ring of Kerry Overlook, sheep|0 Comments

It will make for a cute photo, someone said, as I was handed a sheep. For a brief moment I cuddled with it, like it was a puppy. But the hungry animal saw my hair, and started eating it like it was grass. It wouldn't let go, and my mother continued to snap photos as I tried to figure out some way to get the sheep to stop or a way to set it down. The shepherd just laughed and laughed as the sheep snacked away. My hair felt pretty disgusting after that, but...the photos are pretty funny. Travel Missteps

31 03, 2017

Cathedral at the Rock of Cashel

By Lili|March 31st, 2017|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Travel|Tags: 2009, at the heart of it Ireland 2009, Cashel, Cathedral, CIE, County Tipperary, Europe, Ireland, Moor, Photo Friday, Rock of Cashel, ruins|0 Comments

Inside the ruins of the cathedral area at the Rock of Cashel. According to Wikipedia: In 1749 the main cathedral roof was removed by Arthur Price, the Anglican Archbishop of Cashel. Price's decision to remove the roof on what had been the jewel among Irish church buildings was criticized before and since. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.

24 03, 2017

Irish Thistle

By Lili|March 24th, 2017|Categories: Nature & Outdoors, Photography, Travel|Tags: 2009, at the heart of it Ireland 2009, CIE, Europe, Ireland, Photo Friday, purple, Thistle|0 Comments

I love this photo, as its one of my best unintentional depth of field style photo, where some parts are in focus and others are not. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.

17 03, 2017

Sphere

By Lili|March 17th, 2017|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Travel|Tags: 2009, Arnaldo Pomodoro, at the heart of it Ireland 2009, Dublin, Europe, Ireland, Photo Friday, Sphere, statue, Trinity College|0 Comments

Sphere Within Sphere is a statue by Arnaldo Pomodoro. There are actually multiple versions of this statue of various sizes around the world. This one is outside the Trinity College Dublin. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.

13 03, 2017

Travel Missteps: On the Wrong Foot

By Lili|March 13th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2009, Abbey Tavern, at the heart of it Ireland 2009, dancing, Dublin, Europe, Ireland, jig, music|0 Comments

On our last night in Ireland we went to a tavern for "traditional" Irish music and dance. It was a long banquet hall, with tables facing the stage area. While we ate we listened to ballads and music. Then it came time to watch the dancing. They whirled and jigged about. After a few songs they then went out into the crowd and grabbed volunteers. Of course my family pushed me up. Me: klutzy and injury prone and not graceful. Everyone laughed as I struggled to keep up with the dancers. Although I felt like a fool, I played along.

10 03, 2017

Celtic Cross of Cashel

By Lili|March 10th, 2017|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Travel|Tags: 2009, at the heart of it Ireland 2009, Cashel, Celtic Cross, cemetary, CIE, County Tipperary, Europe, Ireland, Moor, Photo Friday, Rock of Cashel|0 Comments

This Celtic Cross stands on the cemetery hill near the Rock of Cashel, and commands views of the green countryside. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.

9 03, 2017

Sweet Molly Malone

By Lili|March 9th, 2017|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Travel|Tags: 2009, at the heart of it Ireland 2009, CIE, Dublin, Europe, ghost, Ireland, Irish Ballad, Molly Malone, Photo Friday, statue, The Tart with a Cart, The Trollop with the Scallops, Travel Thursday|0 Comments

The story of Molly Malone is a bit sad. 300 years ago, she may have actually been called Mary or Margaret and was a fishmonger's daughter who not only sold her catch on the streets of Dublin, but as she was such a beauty (and poor) also sold herself. She died young after contracting cholera or fever from one of her clients in 1699. (Although there is some debate on if all the facts are true or have become shrouded in legend.) It is said she still haunts the city to this day. Her story is commemorated in a famous

3 03, 2017

To the Skelligs – Monument to St. Brendan the Navigator

By Lili|March 3rd, 2017|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Photography, Travel|Tags: 2009, at the heart of it Ireland 2009, Caherciveen, CIE, County Kerry, Europe, Ireland, Monks, Photo Friday, Skellig Michael, St. Brendan, statue|0 Comments

This statue by Eamon Doherty (1995) features 4 monks, including St. Brendan, on a boat elevated by 8 oars navigating their way to the monastery at Skellig Michael, an island off the coast of Ireland. You can view this statue, which overlooks the water in a park near Caherciveen, County Kerry, Ireland. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.

17 03, 2016

Ireland: Land of Sheep, Pubs, & Churches

By Lili|March 17th, 2016|Categories: Photography, Travel|Tags: 2009, at the heart of it Ireland 2009, Celtic Cross, Clonmacnoise, County Offaly, Dublin, Europe, graveyard, High Cross, Ireland, pubs, sheep, Temple Bar, Travel Thursday|0 Comments

When I went to Ireland a few years ago on a bus tour, I liked to joke that the only things we saw were Sheep, Pubs, and Churches...in that order. So in honor of St. Patty's Day, here they are: Ireland is truly as green (and wet) as they say it is. Which brings views like this one where fields contain slow moving sheep grazing and lazying. In Dublin, tourists flock to Temple Bar which is lined with numerous pubs. The most famous is this one, Temple Bar, which also gives this area its nickname. And then there are the

5 03, 2016

Souvenir Saturday: Fuzzy Sheep Magnet

By Lili|March 5th, 2016|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2009, at the heart of it Ireland 2009, Dublin, Europe, from me to ewe, fuzzy, Ireland, magnet, sheep|0 Comments

The first magnet I ever collected was from Dublin, Ireland, and it was a fuzzy, wool & wooden, sheep. I had never planned on collecting magnets, as I thought they looked cheesy on a fridge. But when I moved into a new place and the fridge was a hideous off-beige, and so the magnet collecting began. Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.