What Have I Been Doing?

...other than not blogging ;)

During International Week, there was a talent contest between each nation represented by students and teachers. My fellow Americans and I sang 'Ring of Fire' (Johnny Cash).

Lots of goodbye parties for some of the German and Dutch students who have to leave early. (Bas, on the right, is staying longer.)

Some silliness!

Discovering a charming little Boglands meadow preserve just off the Falls road.

Taking in the view.

Giant's Causeway

A beautiful, inexplicable volcanic feature of the Northern Irish coast. Here's a summary of the legend, which I pulled from wikipedia. Enjoy :)

Legend has it that the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) built the causeway to walk to Scotland to fight his Scottish counterpart Benandonner. One version of the legend tells that Fionn fell asleep before he got to Scotland. When he did not arrive, the much larger Benandonner crossed the bridge looking for him. To protect Fionn, his wife Oonagh laid a blanket over him so he could pretend that he was actually their baby son. In a variation, Fionn fled after seeing Benandonner's great bulk, and asked his wife to disguise him as the baby. In both versions, when Benandonner saw the size of the 'infant', he assumed the alleged father, Fionn, must be gigantic indeed. Therefore, Benandonner fled home in terror, ripping up the Causeway in case he was followed by Fionn.

Tara

Finally, on our way back to Dublin, we stopped by the Hill of Tara, the place where ancient kings were once crowned. It had gotten colder and a mist was falling, but it was still beautiful.

One remaining bit of an old church that once stood at the foot of Tara.

The stone of Tara, immeasurably ancient.

A view of the hill.

Some sheep; also, you can see the way the landscape has been sculpted.

The Hill of Hostages, with Tara in the background.

Newgrange

Our third stop was Newgrange Tomb.

The tomb from a distance, with some standing stones in front of it.

The side of the tomb.
The entrance. The people should give you some sense of scale. Note the carved curb-stone. The original tomb would have been all white quartz and to enter the tomb, its builders would have had to clamber over that stone. When the site was unearthed they reinforced the walls with cut stone so the public would be able to visit.

The view from in front of Newgrange, looking out over the Boyne Valley.

Another carved stone at the base of the tomb's side.

The rear side of the tomb-- it really does blend, hill-like, into the landscape.

Mellifont Abbey

Our next stop on the tour was the ruins of Mellifont Abbey, established by an important Irish priest.

Monasterboice

This past Saturday, I went down to Dublin and, with Jason, went on a bus tour of the Boyne Valley. Our first stop was Monasterboice, a ruined monastery and site of one of the famous stone crosses of early Christianity.

The crumbling tower, probably built to protect the monks from Viking raids.

The cross itself, with a graveyard off to the left.

Sitting amongst the ruins of the monastery.

One of the scenes carved into the cross.

Closeup of the top of the cross.

Out and About

Some daffodils blooming outside, along the Falls road. Another sign of spring!

Another view of the horizon (St. Peter's Cathedral and Divis mountain) from the bridge.

Confiance moored in the Lagan Harbor at the edge of the city. The Thanksgiving statue and Queens bridge are in the background.

A closeup up the Thanksgiving statue, which celebrates the peace agreement in the city.

A big tiled fish down by the waterfront.