Ireland: Howth, Dublin

Rob and Anna arrived Sunday morning. We returned our rental car at the Dublin airport and met Rob and Anna after they picked up theirs. Rob bore the burden of driving the rest of the week. Coco, Lucy, and I had a hard time finding Rob and Anna at their rental car place, and we ended up trying to put all our luggage into their car on the side of the road where we were sort of in the way and got regulated on. It was nearly impossible to get everything into the tiny car, but Rob and Anna eventually managed to shove it all in. Anna had to ride with her legs up on the dash because there was luggage in front of her seat.

We drove to Howth and did the cliff walk. It was beautiful.

I closed my eyes and had crazy hair in all the pictures.

We ate lots of wild blackberries. This was a fake candid shot - a reenactment of true events just moments earlier.

Coolest wall made from zillions of shells:

We shared fish and chips at Leo Burdock in Howth after the walk. Some people were really hungry, but we wanted to save ourselves for a meal in Dublin, too.

The hall of fame of famous patrons was quite amazing. U2 was at the top of the list. 

My favorite, however, was "Justin Timberlake's parents."

We found Mamo Street and had a moment for Mamo.

After Howth, we dropped our stuff at our Airbnb in Dublin and did a quick highlight tour.  This giant spire is a memorial to Ireland's fight for independence from England (the Easter Rising).

We saw the General Post Office on O'Connell Street, where a battle took place during the Easter Rising (aka Easter Rebellion), when Irish republicans fought to end British rule. 

We ended up miraculously getting into the highly rated Boxty on Temple Bar, where we enjoyed a delicious dinner. 

We wandered a bit after dinner and went by Trinity College. Couldn't see too much, though, because it was dark.

Ireland: Glendalough

On Friday, September 27, I left for Ireland. I had a layover in DC, where Coco met me (with chocolate chip cookies because she's the best) and joined me for the leg to Dublin. This trip came about because Lucy was studying abroad at Queen's University in Belfast for a semester, and Rob and Anna wanted to go visit while she was there. Coco got involved, and then I got involved, and it was a party. My first international trip since marriage. Rob and Anna planned the whole thing. Bags and I were pretty ridiculous when we went through customs. The agent asked what we were doing there, and and we said we were meeting our brother and sister-in-law because our niece was studying abroad, and we didn't really know what we were doing because they planned the trip. He asked where our niece was studying abroad, and we were like, "Um, Belfast?" Didn't know the name of the school. We thought we were kind of amusing, but he did not.

We rented a car for a day. Contrary to all advice, we went with a stick shift and forwent their insurance, as my credit card (on which we put the car) had some coverage. The guy who helped us at the rental car place was 100% certain that we were going to get into an accident. He was basically like, "When you get into an accident, call us and your credit card company." After our week, I can see why he would think that. The majority of tourists must get into accidents. Driving there is crazy on account of no shoulders at all and driving on the left side. I made Coco drive, and she was up for the challenge. She did great.

Saturday she, Lucy, and I went to Glendalough. (Rob and Anna didn't get in until Sunday.) We wandered around the ruins and cool old cemetery with falling-down headstones, and then we hiked to see the lakes. There was a big stair-step section up a hill. (Poor pregnant Coco.) Halfway up, we started hearing music. We were super confused, and I wondered if for some reason there were speakers in the trees or something like at a ski resort. Finally we spotted a couple guys and a girl who appeared to be filming a music video. It was bizarre. Later, when we were down by the water, we saw them filming the girl coming out of the water in a bikini. It was freezing. I really don't know how she survived.

We saw lots of sheep. I guess that's what they were.

And we saw a bunch of these elk-like things.