cliffs, trains, and beaches

Today seemed like two days in one. We started this day with the shores of Howth, which is about 45 minutes north of Dublin by bus. Although still cloudy, rainy, and cold, it was still a highlight of the day. The steep cliffs are stunning and we had to climb down quite a way to get to the edge. Sidenote: it is cold and rainy here all the time, so you'll never see us without our coats on, but these pictures really were today, not yesterday! I actually wish I brought a hat and gloves.


This is the view from the top of the trail when we first arrived. We walked all the way down to the edge for the picture above.



We then went to a little farmers' market that was an unusual find on a Sunday morning. They mostly had food, but a couple of jewelry and clothing vendors were there too. We also had the best latte ever from one of the tents here.


We then went to our first Irish castle and I'm too tired to look up the exact name of this one. We all agreed that this was prettier from the outside than from the inside. It was not very impressive inside and was used as more of a museum for furniture and art.

That was it for the scheduled events for the day. We then decided to take our free afternoon and go on the electric train with a group of other students and head down to the coast less than an hour south of Dublin.

We went to a little town caled Greystones and walked down to the beach. There were some unique rocks on this beach so we collected a few to take home. Kenyon decided to rinse a couple of rocks off in the Irish Sea, but a wave caught him and soaked his feet and lower legs.

Two minutes later our friend Dylan did the exact same thing. It was hilarious. Here they are with their wet feet and jeans.

Next we took the train to another town called Bray. It reminded me a tiny bit of the Jersey shore because it had a little bit of a boardwalk feel to it - yet it was freezing, and the boardwalk was actually pavement - but it was a beach town and had ice cream stands. Dylan and Kenyon climbed to the top of the hill in the picture below. There was a path and a monument at the top. They made it up and back down in 45 minutes. I waited with Dylan's wife Natallee at the bottom.

We took the train back into Dublin, got an overpriced dinner that wasn't really that good, and again as I type this tonight Kenyon is snoring on the bed in our room. Long day, fun day, and we get to sleep in a couple hours later tomorrow. Yay!

Hoping for some sun sometime soon. But we'll keep having fun regardless. We're working on renting a car and going up to Belfast and Northern Ireland to explore a little on our free day on Tuesday. Driving on the left.... please say a prayer!