Stop #18: Galway lies on the River Corrib near the Galway Bay. It is Ireland’s fourth biggest city. This city seemed to me an arts center with great nightlife in pubs and clubs with live music almost anywhere we went. There are medieval town walls, shops hocking Claddagh rings, and busy streets and sidewalks with […]
Stop #17: Donegal Castle sits right in the city center of Donegal Town. Fully restored in the early 1990s, the castle consists of a 15th-century rectangular keep with a later Jacobean style wing. You can see in some of the pictures the River Eske. The castle was the stronghold of the O’Donnell clan, Lords of […]
Stop#6: Cahir Castle is one of the largest castles in Ireland. It sits on an island in the river Suir, which explains why much of the park near the castle was flooded by recent rains. It was built from 1142 by Conor O’Brien, Prince of Thomond. Located right in the town centre, the castle is […]
Stop#5: Blarney Castle is a medieval stronghold near Cork and, incidentally, the River Martin. Though earlier fortifications were built on the same spot, the current keep was built by the MacCarthy of Muskerry dynasty beginning in 1446. I did not kiss the Blarney Stone after hearing all the stories of how people have done disgusting […]
Stop#4: Cork actually means “marsh”. With all the rains in Ireland this year, I can see why! The city is a University town split into a few islands by the River Lee. Viking invaders expanded the area around 915, and Prince John, Lord of Ireland, granted the city’s charter in 1185. Like many European cities, […]
Stop#3: The Ring of Kerry is a 179-kilometer-long tourist route in County Kerry, Ireland. We drove the route counter-clockwise to avoid being on the outside lane on all the cliffs that plummeted to the sea (Ireland drives on the left side of the road)! If you ever drive this road, be prepared for a harrowing […]
Stop #2: King John’s Castle is a 13th-century castle located on King’s Island in Limerick, Ireland. The River Shannon runs in front of the castle, and with the heavy rains, much of the park surrounding the castle was flooded. The site dates back to 922, when the Vikings lived on the Island. The castle gets […]
With temperatures in the units this week, the Potomac River and the Tidal Basin were frozen over. After freezing to get some of these pictures, we spent the day in the Sackler and Freer Galleries (and mad a couple quick stops in the Hirshhorn and Air and Space Museums).
Stop #3 Orava Castle (Oravský hrad) sits on a high rock above the Orava river . Dating to the 13th century, Original design was in Romanesque and Gothic style, but it was later reconstructed as a Renaissance and Neo-Gothic building. It is now a National Monument. We were lucky to see it in autumn, with […]