Ireland

We saw Trinity College and the Book of Kells, one of the world's most beautifully illuminated manuscripts consisting of the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We went to the town of Dun Laoghaire on Sandy Cove. Dr. Feinstein swam in the Forty Foot Gentlemen's Bathing Place, which is written of in the first chapter of James Joyce's Ulysses.  Back in Dublin we saw Dublin Castle, which was very impressive. We visited the Church of Ireland on Tara Hill. On a bus tour we saw Trim Castle (where parts of Braveheart were filmed) and the ruins of St. Peter and Paul's Cathedral. At Newgrange we saw an ancient burial tomb carbon-dated to 2000 B.C. We took a ferry from Rossaveal in the Bay of Galway out to the Aran Islands and visited Inish Meain, the smallest of the three islands. We explored the island and many of us ate fresh fish and chips. In the town of Galway, we all met in a pub to watch authentic Irish dancers jig to an authentic Irish band.  Very exciting!  Driving through the countryside we saw Dunguare Castle in Kinvara and Leamanagh Castle nearby. We saw the stone structure Poulnabrone Dolmen, a 5000 year old tomb used by stone dwellers to bury their dead. The Cliffs of Moher were a spectacular site. We saw Bunratty Castle in Bunratty and King John's Castle on the River Shannon in Limerick.  We saw the Lakes of Killarney from a view called Aghadoe Heights. On the way to Killarney, we saw MacRoom Castle, birthplace of William Penn. At Blarney Castle, most of us kissed the Blarney Stone, promising us a lifetime of eloquence. On our last day in Ireland many of us visited the famous Guinness Brewery and Hopstore and Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin.  -- Sarah Key