Vacation Pictures! Part 1: Dublin and Edinburgh

 I haven't posted in over 2 weeks, but for good reason--we are back from our Europe trip! Nick's buddy Terry went with us (his first time to even fly!) and we showed the UK how Oklahoma rolls. I took a million pics but I tried my best to condense it down to the best of the best for your viewing pleasure....

We had a layover in Chicago then from there we landed in Dublin, Ireland! Here we are outside the airport at 8am waiting for the bus to take us into the city.

 

We checked into our hotel then all took a short nap before heading out to explore the city on foot for the rest of the day. Here is Dublin Castle....

The next day we got up bright and early to meet our bus for a day tour of Boyne Valley. We started at the Hill of Tara where ancient Kings ruled from over a thousand years ago. Unfortunately our group was the first of the day there and we discovered that the historic Rock of Destiny on the hill had just been vandalized overnight.

 

Also at the hill were ancient burial tombs, and a statute of St. Patrick who came there in the 4th century to spread Christianity with the 3 leaf shamrock--symbolizing the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost to the Pagan rulers.

After that we headed to the town of Trim where we toured the ruins of Trim Castle which was built in the 1100s.

 

Next we went to the ancient burial tombs of Loughcrew that date back 6,000 years. There are pictures engraved into large stones at the tombs, and we were able to go inside one of the large burial mounds in the hills.

 

Next we went to Monasterboice cemetery where saw the Celtic High Cross of Muiredach which dates back to the 10th century.

After that we toured the town of Drogheda and got to have a private whiskey tasting at a local pub, then we checked out St. Peter's church where they have a decapitated head on display from a martyred saint in the 1700s.

The next afternoon we caught a  quick flight over to Edinburgh, Scotland. We hopped a bus to our next hotel then walked around the city after resting up for a bit. I was happily able to find a phone to call home with!! I was 6 hours ahead of my family so I had to wait until later in the afternoon when I knew they were awake. This was our favorite stop of all 4 countries we went to. The city was very picturesque with cobblestone streets, historic buildings, and a castle sitting up on the hill looking down at us.

Here is the Edinburgh Castle in the background

 

An old cemetery at the base of the castle that we walked around through. The headstones mostly had dates in the 1700s.

The next morning we again caught up with our tour bus for a day in the Scottish Highlands! We were in the bus for a majority of the trip since we covered so much distance, but we had fun with it!

First we walked thru the vacant Doune Castle that was built in the 1300s.

 

Here Nick is standing in a huge fireplace that was in the kitchen.

 

The banquet room

 

In between towns we made a rest stop and were able to see some native Scottish cows!

 

Here is the abandoned Kilchurn Castle (built in 1400s) on Loch Awe

Next we stopped in the town of Inverary to see the castle (built in 1700s) and tour the town after lunch.

 

Here is Stirling Castle (built in 1500s) where the monument to William Wallace is at.

 

That is all for now! I hope you enjoyed the pictures, because I enjoyed taking them! Check back soon for part 2 and rest of my pictures from London and Paris.