Striking out with Irish canines, too

After the beach cows, we got back on the road and soon found yet another beach! It looked nice, so we stopped briefly.


The bistro looked interesting, but we weren't hungry at this point.

I was on a walkway above the beach, taking a few photos, when I saw someone walking on the beach.


See her there? In the bottom right?


Here's a better look.


She came up the stairs to the walkway, so I thought I'd get to say hello.


I said hello, but she went right past me.

I usually get along very well with animals, but I was striking out on this day! Neither bovine nor canine felt like chatting.


Hey, what's over there across the road? Across from this beach, can it be more... ?


Yes, it's a field in Ireland, so there are cows!


On the road again!


Fields seen from the car


More from the car


The car in this photo gives you an idea of the size of the road. Click on the photo (or any of the photos) for a better look.

That road isn't even that bad. We dealt with smaller ones, and at least that one didn't have stone walls on both sides like so many of them!

Next up: Aughnanure Castle, a friendlier dog and a territorial horse.

Irish Beach Cows

What? You've never heard of beach cows? Here's the thing: everywhere you turn in Ireland, there are cows. Other farm animals, as well, like sheep and horses, but nothing in the abundance of those cows! In addition to beach cows, we saw mountain cows in Ireland (like mountain goats, but cows... cows on the side of steep hills). :)

During our travels, we found our way to a few different beaches. Going along skinny, little roads, we found the narrow beach you'll see below. When we got there, as you will see, we found a beach to our right, a narrow parking lot and a field to the left. There being a green field, and this being Ireland, cows had been placed on it. As I told Marc, I wonder if there may be more cows than people in Ireland. Seriously! I may have to poke around online and look for an answer.

So here are some photos of the beach and cows...


The parking lot, with beach to the right and field past the wall to the left.


And here we first spy the beach cows.


I seem to have captured the interest of this cow.


We say hello.


A profile shot; and notice the fancy earring!

And then I apparently said something wrong. Let the stampede begin! (Okay, a small stampede.)


Run away! Run away!


My new friend ran, and so the others followed. I guess they were worried they might miss something!


And now, a beach shot.


And one more.

Okay, that's it for today's post!

Onward through Ireland

Next stop... Galway! Yes, all the way to the west coast. It looked like a nice, short drive (a few hours), but we didn't count on the sucky roads and ridiculous traffic.

Anyhow, here are some photos.


A roadside place we stopped at for lunch on the way to Galway. They had good fish & chips, but I think they're a chain, unlike the local pubs which were one source of good, reasonably priced food at other points during our trip.


One of the gazillion stone walls in Ireland


A marina in Galway


Processing scrap in Galway (nothing but the best sights on this blog!)


An establishment down by the docks


This swan was convalescing with the help of some local people who came by the feed it while we were there.


The swan was mellow with me, but it stood and spread its wings to drive off another person who came by later. I guess it liked me. :)


I love the colors of the houses.


More multi-colored facades in Galway


Love this little boat


Marc waiting for me in the car as I take some photos

BTW, in that last photo, Marc is in the passenger's seat. Remember, they have that bass ackwards car thing there, driving on the wrong side, etc. :)

About those flowers...

When we left off last time, we were at Powerscourt Gardens. Let's continue there with some flower (and grounds) photos...






A nice little garden for a stroll



















As always, you can click on these for a larger version. The full-res versions aren't linked in this post, but you'll still get a pretty good size view.

Okay, that does it for Powerscourt, but there's plenty more of Ireland to come. Stay tuned! :)

Powerscourt Gardens

Time to start sharing some trip photos. I'll share rugby photos eventually, but first I think I'll share some of the post-rugby sightseeing photos. So let's start with our first stop, Powerscourt Gardens.


The view from the back of the house




Strolling down into the grounds


Everyone should have a pond and fountain like that


I loved these Pegasus statues flanking the railing above the pond


Closer view of the pond


Looking back across the pond toward the house


Looking further out from the path beyond the pond


Marc stops to take some flower photos

More to come!