Scenes from Éire (Ireland)

Remember the good old days? You know, the age when you could go outside without contracting emphyzema just by breathing? Those long lost days where the air wasn't a soupy, murky grey mucous... where you didn't need to consult the air quality index to decide if it was safe to walk out your front door? The days when we didn't envy the clean air of Beijing or Calcutta, where merely breathing wasn't a laboured exercise of choking down smog and ash. Yes, folks, I'm waxing nostalgic a little bit about those days before the smoke from the BC forest fires had ruined any plans for outdoor activities. I know it's only been a couple weeks, but it feels like forever. All that hyperbole to explain why we have not seen a mountain or summit in two weeks, and it's driving me a little stir crazy.

In my boredom of another adventure-free weekend, I found time to sort and cull through photos from last year's short visit to Ireland, where Alan and Cristoir showed us around their part of the world. Here's a short selection that includes the Guinness Storehouse, Kilmainham Gaol, scenes from Kilkenny, Trim, and Glendalough. More to come...


The tour at St. James Gate Brewery.






Views of Dublin from the Guinness Storehouse Gravity Bar.




Kilmainham Gaol (jail) in Dublin, the walls of which housed numerous Irish nationalist figures involved in the many attempts at independence.










A well stocked bar at The Sitting Room cocktail bar in Dublin, upstairs of the delicious Delahunt restaurant.


Kilkenny Castle.


The Long Gallery inside Kilkenny Castle.






Afternoon tea at Mt. Juliet Estate, Kilkenny.


The stunning exterior of Mt. Juliet Estate.










Smithwicks Experience brewery tour. And it's pronounced Smith-icks (silent 'w').


Pretty little window along the main street of Trim, Meath County.


Beautiful lush and gentle hiking trails in Glendalough, County Wicklow.