Paris Sights and Smells

We're going rapid-post style again.  Here's a bunch of places we went in Paris.

The gothic south side of Notre Dame

Interior rose window of Notre Dame

The most photographed gargoyle in the world (you can see the basilica Sacré-Cœur in the distant background

Quasimodo under Emmanuel (the bell's baptized name) 

Pyramid entrance to the Louvre

The Golden-gilt gates of Versailles

Flowers in the gardens of Versailles (you can see the palace in the background) 

The glory of Saint Chapelle - this beautiful chapel built to house the supposed crown of thorns uses gothic techniques to open up space for stained glass windows

Rodin's "The Thinker"

French Bakery Diet

Step 1: Eat loads of crepes, tarts, beignets, etc.

Step 2: Climb 2500 steps per day (Arc de Triomphe + Notre Dame Tower + Eiffel Tower second level)

View from the Eiffel Tower (after our climb to the second tier) 

The Eiffel Tower in all it's glory (striking photography by Shawna Henderson), this was just before we were verbally assaulted and threated by some crazy guy, evidently we were taking our pictures next to the bush he lives in. 

More London Pictures

Okay, we're way behind on blog posts because we've had spotty internet access for the last week.  Here's some pictures from places we went in London that we haven't posted yet.  We had an awesome time in London and could have stayed much longer.

The Tower Bridge (as seen from the  "centre" of the London bridge)

Posing in front of a soldier from the lifeguard regiment

Casting a spell in front of Gringotts bank: Avada Kedavra!

Muggle rejected by Platform 9.75

St. Stephens Tower, home of Big Ben (the bell)

Changing of the guard in front of Buckingham Palace

These guys just kept marching back and forth throughout the whole ceremony

Wimbledon, center court!

We thought it had been a pretty great day already after soaking up a bunch of medieval history at the Tower of London, enjoying fresh sandwiches from the borough market, strolling through Hyde park, listening to Big Ben chime, and seeing a bunch of dead guys at Westminster abbey (seriously though, it is an amazing and humbling church). We even stayed for their evensong service. However, one of the most exciting events of our trip was still yet to come. We thought it would be interesting to take a trip out to Wimbledon on the tube and see the excitement of opening day. I thought we would be lucky just to see the courts from afar. But after buying some cheap (only 14 pounds) evening tickets and a few lucky turns, we were actually able to watch a match on center court! We saw Brit Heather Watson beat Ivela Benesova, and caught the conclusion of a couple other matches.

The West Coast

Grandma's House

We spent most of our time in Ireland on the western coast, in county Galway and county Mayo.  This area is a must-see if you come to Ireland, as it is an incredibly beautiful area and rich with cultural legacy.  Here in Galway, the Irish language is thriving.  We were graciously housed by cousin Máirín and Paddy Joe, who prepared us Irish meals every morning and night, and gave personal tours of the area.

Aran Islands

We ferried to the Aran Islands, home of Dun Aenghus, a rock fort dating back over 2000 years.  Unfortunately, there are no records from that time, so no one really knows what the fort was defending.  We also visited Clifden on the western tip of the country and landing site of the first transatlantic flight, courtesy of cousin Maureen King.

Grandpa's House

Next, we made our way to Crossmolina and visited Fiddaunageeroge, my grandfathers birthplace and home until he emigrated to America in 1929.  I have to tell you though this is when I started getting emotional. We were able to ask a few people where there house was when we got to town. It didn't hit me where I was until we asked an older gentlemen where the house was. He reminded me of my grandpa. He was probably at least 85, standing outside of his house with a shovel and I could barely gets the words out. Marty had to finish the conversation because I had too many tears. I loved my grandpa a lot and I knew that he was so happy I was there. I had been waiting to see his birth town for a long time now.

We enventually arrived at John and Mary Coyle's house and had a great visit with John. He told us stories about my Great Uncle Ned and my grandpa's uncle Tom.  They drove us to my grandpa's old house, where cousins Annie and Philemena now live.  We had tea and cookies and heard some more stories of my family history. We had an excellent time in western Ireland and want to thank all our family that housed us and showed us around: Máirín and Paddy Joe, PJ, Ifa, Sarah, Maureen King, John and Mary Coyle, Annie, and Philemena.  We hope you can come visit us in the states sometime!

Croagh Patrick and Dublin

Before leaving western Ireland, we hiked Croagh Patrick, despite rain and wind.  This is the mountain St. Patrick hiked to fast and pray and source of the legendary driving the snakes out of Ireland.

What better way to celebrate St. Patrick than by drinking a beer!  Sláinte (cheers) from the Guinness brewery in Dublin.  Though we only had a day in Dublin, it was a fun day between the brewery tour, national gallery, and a musical pub crawl celebrating "Trad", Irish traditional music.

The Bog

It was a bit of a surprise to me when I learned that people use the bog to fuel their fires.  My cousin Máirín explained to us that people around the west coast of Ireland cut out pieces of the bog called turf, which contain oil and are used to build a fire for cooking and warmth. When she was younger, her family would take the donkey, water, tea, and some brown bread to work on the bog during the summer months. When they walked to the bog they would set up a fire and have some tea and bread. All of the local people would get together and start digging out the bog. This was very hard work. She recalls playing in the oily mess as a child and helping her father pull it out to dry. Once it's dry they would brings the bricks of turf back to the house to use.

Our First Day in Ireland

We had a fantastic first day of our trip, even after a mere 3 hours of sleep over the last 2 days!  We arrived in Shannon, Ireland around 10am Monday morning and picked up our rental car from there, which initiated the fun experiment of driving on the left.  We've already seen family from Shawna's grandmother and grandfather's side.  The hospitality here is terrific as we were greeted at Maureen and Paddy Joe's house with a delicious lamb roast and potatoes and some Gaelic songs by students studying their Irish for the summer.  That evening we walked around the beautiful city of Galway and had a pint (Guinness, of course, and yes it does taste better in Ireland) at a local pub featuring Irish traditional music.