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Project 365 – Week 20

This week’s photos come to you from Ireland, where we are on holiday for just over a week. Visiting family and seeing friends aside, we’ve also gone on an impromptu – and looong (as in the distance) – roadtrip as well as stretching our legs for a few hours via walking excursions. All in all, it has been a great week and even the weather has been pretty kind to us. Couldn’t ask for more!

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Turning Point sculpture

13 May: Our flight was delayed so we arrived in Dublin about an hour later than expected. At Terminal 2 (we flew with Aer Lingus), a familiar sight which greeted us was the sculpture of Turning Point by Isabel Nolan. A yellow, abstract-y object, I used to think this was a representation of some sort of an atom, with the charges flying around the core, you know. Anyway, it felt good to be back to familiar territory, even if the immigration officer only gave me a visa valid exactly till the day of my scheduled return to Paris. (Why so strict? If I had wanted to overstay, I would have never left in the first place!)


Church organ

14 May: Despite being rather familiar with Wexford, I’ve never visited its churches except for one occasion – the school mass for final year students. We peeked into the Church of the Immaculate Conception today, and among the things we discovered was this set of ornated organ, looked after by a quartet of angels. Not the kind of organ that I’ve got used to seeing in France but quite pretty nonetheless, won’t you agree?


Lighthouse

15 May: We started our two-day roadtrip to the west with a stop at Hook Head, and this lighthouse is reputedly the oldest in Ireland. Not only that, if you’ve heard of the expression “by hook or by crook”, it is said to have originated following the determination of Oliver Cromwell to take Waterford either via Hook or via Crooke, both lying on the estuary leading to the city, although admittedly Crooke is a lot closer to Waterford.


Kylemore Abbey

16 May: As if a long drive from Wexford to Galway via Cliff of Moher (more on this in another post) yesterday wasn’t punishing enough, we pushed on to explore Connemara today and of course, Kylemore Abbey was one of our main stops in the region. Formerly a private home, it is today a relatively young Benedictine monastery, having been establishes just under a century ago, after the World War I. Its grounds with Victorian gardens, nature trails, a Gothic church and a lake makes it a magnificent place for a visit, and its history makes it a fascinating tale to be told.


Temple Bar

17 May: I’m beginning to think I’ve never left France! The big Heineken Cup weekend has brought 3 French rugby clubs and their supporters to Dublin – the Irish team of Leinster completed the line up of the Top 4 – and it matters not where we go at all, I’m hearing French all around me. Plenty of colourful jerseys around, many complemented with flags and scarves and wigs and whats not. Some groups also broke into songs and chants, evoking a jolly good time in town. May the best team win!


Lovely

18 May: While I’ve never really acquired the taste for Guinness, I do enjoy bringing visiting friends to the Guinness Storehouse, in particular for the panoramic view from the Gravity Bar. As we walked about the section on Advertising and Sponsorship, I was drawn to the view outside this normally opaque windows. It was, indeed, lovely. OK, not quite the same league as that from the Gravity Bar, but still…


Glendalough

19 May: What F loves about Dublin is its proximity to both the mountains and the sea. For the mountains, just head south towards Wicklow and a variety of trekking options would be available. We have opted to walk at Glendalough, specifically the Spinc and Glenealo Valley (White) route, which offered a spectacular view of the lakes of Glendalough Valley (more on this in another post too!). I just love this unusual lead from the valley to the lake that I want to share it with you now. Maybe you’ll find it as captivating as I have ;)




Category: Project 365

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4 scribbles & notes

  1. Janice says:

    Kylemore Abbey is beautiful! I’ve added this site to my long list of places to visit :). There is a famous french song,”Les Lacs du Connemara” by Michel Sardou …. cant’get this song out of my head now.

    • Lil says:

      I don’t know that song, but yes, Connemara is a beautiful region. More photos to come soon :D

  2. med says:

    Wooooowwwwwwww….lovely lovely week indeed lil ;) glad u guys had a fantabulous time back at ireland! and that last pic, pretty high up yeah

    • Lil says:

      Definitely a busy and varied week ;) And the last picture, I’d say about 340-350m? Ireland doesn’t do very high mountains and the route we took had its highest point chalked at 380m.

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