We started out in Dublin for two days. This is the newly (I forget when) rebuilt part of Dublin Castle.	View of the grounds of Dublin Castle.
Our totally cool tour guide explaining to us that the throne was originally built for a king that weighed nearly 400 pounds, and then when a queen came into power it was too big for her so they built the stool (you can see it underneath) and chopped off part of the legs (there used to be lion's paws at the base).	Outside again, part of the old castle.
Kilmainham Jail, where Tudors 2 is currently filming. I took a lot of other pictures but then realized no one really wants to see pictures of a jail.	A church that I should know the name of.
The Guiness Brewery.	Us enjoying our free pints, me with a Guiness-stache.
Lydia and Lindsay both got picked to be taste-testers at the Jameson Distillery.	Temple Bar, which is where I'm guessing the Temple Bar area of Dublin gets its name, but maybe it was the other way around.
Then we started our tour around the country, starting with a hike in the Wicklow Mountains. Scenic view. And apparently Lydia can walk on water. Who knew.	Me and some ruins of an old miner's town along the trail.
Now in a different town, some monastic ruins.	Blarney Castle.
Me kissing the Blarney Stone. It's actually the bottommost stone on that level so there's this old guy (I think he's worked there all his life because he's in all the brochures and postcards) that helps you lean back while you kiss it. And it's just urban legend that the locals pee and spit on it - it's all locked up at night and I'm sure the locals have a million better things to do.	View from the top of the Castle.
Then we went to Torc Waterfall. I win the award for climbing on the most rocks while carrying my to-go coffee cup (not pictured) and not falling in the water.	Back on the road. This is all part of the "Ring of Kerry", a loop of scenic views along the Kerry peninsula. I'm sure I annoyed everyone in the car by continually singing "Ring of Kerry" to the tune of "Ring of Fire."
"Ladies View", so named because the queen's ladies-in-waiting really liked the view when they were on a tour of Ireland.	Sheep. There are LOADS of them in Ireland. And you can kind of see in this picture the markings on their backs - these are to like brands to show whose sheep belong to who because sometimes they get crazy and hop really high fences into other pastures.
This is the best B&B ever. If you are planning a trip to Ireland email me and I'll give you the contact info because it is so nice, has great food, and has a great view.	The Dingle peninsula is quite possibly the best part of Ireland. We woke up early to go on a walk along the beach and encountered a "Dingle traffic jam." I also reprised my "Ring of Kerry" song to now be "Ring of Dingle" as we toured around the Dingle peninsula.
Then we saw a rainbow.	And if you look closely (though I'm probably the one only who can see it because I was there) you can see the end of the rainbow and where it reflects onto the sand, creating a sort of pot-of-gold illusion. However, I checked and there was no pot of gold.
Some dork in front of some cliffs.	More cliffs
The cutest little town I've ever seen.	The dorkiness was pretty much un-ending on this trip. If you look at our shadows you can tell we were attempting to spell YMCA. You don't have to say it, we know we're cool.
Buying tickets to the Beehive Huts. Gotta love the dog.	The Beehive Huts, so named because of their shape.
It had rained that day (big surprise) and the road was flooded.	Good thing we had the Scooby Van to get us through it.
Scottie and Lindsay hiked all the way down to the edge of this cliff but I thought it was much easier to enjoy the view from where I was. Plus I was wearing my new outrageously expensive jeans that I bought at a random shop in the mountains and I couldn't bear to get them muddy.	See? Cool jeans.
My favorite picture of the whole trip.	We enjoyed a few Guinness at Crotty's Pub one night, and enjoyed the fact that for once Guinness was the cheapest beer in the bar. Oh, and since I haven't really named everyone yet, here goes - Ray, Scottie, Lindsay, Louise, and Lydia.
The Cliffs of Moher. It was a stretch but I still managed to sing "Cliffs of Moher" to the "Ring of Fire" tune. Basically, I pick a song and stick with it.	Mini-castle at the Cliffs of Moher.
Another view of the cliffs.	My favorite castle. It's just sitting there on the side of the road, completely abandoned, without so much as a sign. Very rustic.
The Burren. This is a huge area of Ireland that is all rock with plants growing out of the cracks. Very cool. We also went to a cave there but none of those pictures turned out.	Another roadside castle.
This is a castle that has been turned into a hotel, and is actually where Pierce Brosnan got married.	Fisherman's Hut, from when monks lived there. And that was pretty much the end of our trip!

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