"Put'em in the wash, they'll be grand"

You know it, you love it: It's... Dublin!!!!  

(For those who don't know, the title of this post is from the movie "Leap Year," which takes place in Ireland and Dublin.)

 First, a glimpse of the beautiful green countryside outside of Dublin and a headstone with some classic Celtic decorations.

Oh, did I mention that we ended up on the side of the motorway AGAIN? Our coach blew a tire on the way to Dublin, so we chilled on the side of the highway for an hour and a half. So, for the second time in 2 weeks, we played playground games on the side of the highway -- this time, it was just in Ireland rather than in the UK. We're making it a new goal to try and get stranded on a highway in every country we visit. :)

 We went to an Irish pub for dinner called the Hairy Lemon. The food was DELICIOUS, despite the unappetizing pub name. It must be a requirement that all pubs have weird names.

 Today we visited Trinity College and saw the library, as well as the Book of Kells. The Book of Kells is a beautifully illuminated of the 4 gospels transcribed by monks in the 800's.

 I like books. Books make me happy:)

 The Irish people are very proud of their Irish writers, such as Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, James Joyce, W.B. Yeats, and more. For your viewing pleasure, here's a very classy statue of Oscar Wilde lounging on a rock in the middle of Dublin.

 And here's St. Patrick's Cathedral! It is the first (an only) Catholic cathedral we have seen and will see on this trip.

 A sneaky view of the cathedral through a wooden cross motif.

And, before I go, here are a few pictures from the last week or two that were missed and/or sent to me by other people in my group. Please enjoy. :)

A few pics from our Snowdon hike earlier this week...


And a group pic in Glenalough National Park here in Ireland.

Hey, look -- I'm in Ireland again! :)

Finally, a few shots of my face in Tintern Abbey. (Photo creds to my friend and wonderful photographer, Mallory)

love you all!