Clouds moving in

I took this photo the day we were driving around the Ring of Kerry in Ireland back in June. I think it makes a great SkyWatch photo, so I'm linking here.

I will be taking a break this weekend to spend some time with my grandkids. See you next week!

Jameson Distillery Tour

We spent one of our afternoons in Dublin visiting the Jameson Distillery on Bow Street which was founded in 1780 by John Jameson. On our tour, we learned about Jameson's triple distillation process which sets it apart from Scotch whiskey (which is double distilled) and American whiskey (single distilled). The Jameson family motto is "Sine Metu" which means "without fear" and it is printed on every bottle. We got to taste some different types of whiskey for comparison purposes. I'm not a big whiskey fan, so that was not my favorite part, but I did try them all and I could taste the difference! After the tour we visited the Daily Grog counter for our choice of free drinks. The one I picked is in the last photo, Jameson and ginger ale with lime. I think I managed to drink about half of it, but my daughter finished hers off.

Jameson

I took this photo in Dublin, Ireland from a moving taxi which is why it is a bit blurry. We toured the Jameson Distillery while we were in the city and I will post some photos of that visit tomorrow.

Linking to signs, signs.

Blarney Castle

Blarney Castle dates from 1446 and was the third castle built on this site. It is located in Blarney Village, near the city of Cork. The famous Blarney Stone, also known as the Stone of Eloquence, is located at the top of the castle and legend has it that if you kiss the stone, you will never be at a loss for words. There was a two hour wait in line, not to mention a difficult climb to the top, to get to the stone. Once there, you have to lie down on your back at the edge of an opening in the side of the castle wall and lower yourself head first UPSIDE DOWN while a person you don't know holds onto your waist as you kiss that famous stone. I think I'm a pretty good talker already and so is my daughter, so we opted to skip that little adventure and walk around the castle grounds and gardens before eating lunch and then shopping in the Blarney Woollen Mills store.

Linking to Tuesday's Treasures and Our World Tuesday.

Killarney National Park

Ross Castle is a 15th century tower house on the edge of Lough Leane, the largest of three lakes in the park.

Here are some more photos I took during our jaunting car ride through Killarney National Park. It was chilly and rainy when we started our ride and by the time we were about halfway through, the sun came out for a bit. We found out on this vacation that the weather in Ireland can change very fast!

Critters in Killarney National Park

Our driver picked us up in his jaunting car in front of our hotel.

These two were hanging around the parking lot looking for a handout.

We had to stop at the gate entering Killarney National Park and wait for this little deer to be on its way.

Deer in a field.

Cows grazing in a field with Killarney House in the distance.

Another jaunting car coming up behind us.

He got pretty close.

A view of Ross Castle in front of us.

There is a blue heron in the stream along the side of the road in this video.

While we were staying in Killarney, Ireland, we took a ride in a traditional jaunting car through Killarney National Park. It was a little chilly and a few raindrops were falling, but our driver provided blankets for our laps and that made the ride even more enjoyable. We saw quite a few critters on our ride as you can see from my photos and the video. I will show more photos of Killarney National Park in a later post.

Linking to Saturday's Critters, Camera Critters, and The Bird D'Pot.

Visiting royalty

What are they looking at? One would think it was the beautiful scenery on the Ring of Kerry in Ireland. However those two people in the first photo were trying to zoom in on the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, also known as Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, and his wife Camilla, who were visiting the area on the same day we were. The second and third photos were an attempt to zoom in with an iPhone camera, so they are a little blurry. You can barely make out the three helicopters they used to get to that spot with their group and some tiny people walking around. That would be their Royal Highnesses and their entourage. Later on that afternoon, their motorcade passed us on our way back to Killarney and when we got back to our hotel, the motorcade passed right in front of it while I was standing in the lobby. Their car windows were tinted black so you couldn't see inside, so that was as good of a glimpse as we got of the visiting royalty unless you count their cardboard likenesses we saw standing outside of one of the local restaurants later that afternoon when we were walking around in Killarney. Now if that had been Prince William and Kate or Prince Harry and Meghan down there, I may have had to get more serious about getting better photos!

Note: I have been having a difficult time commenting on some of my favorite blogs lately, so I hope no one thinks I'm not visiting. I think I may have figured out a way to work around the problem though, so hopefully it won't keep happening.

Linking to SkyWatch Friday.

Connemara Marble

Connemara marble is regarded as one of the most authentic Irish products available in Ireland. Geologists estimate that it is about six hundred million years old. The color and markings in the marble reflect the natural beauty of the mountains of Connemara, the district in western Ireland where it is found. We visited the Connemara Marble Factory Visitor Center in Moycullen, County Galway. This particular company owns two quarries and conducts tours of its factory where the marble is fashioned and polished by skilled craftsmen into jewelry and gifts. They also have a showroom where you can buy some of their items. I showed some Connemara marble floors in my post about Galway Cathedral here last week.