After a day in Dublin, we drove around Ireland for a few days, through the rolling farmlands of the south, to the rugged western coastline, and to the neolithic tombs in the Bend of the Boyne.

In the Wicklow Mountains south of Dublin lies a large private garden called the Powerscourt Estate.

The main house of the estate.

It was one of many gardens we saw that had a pet cemetery.

The first night away from Dublin we ate at Ballymaloe House, reputed to be one of the best restaurants in Ireland. It's located near the coast in the southwest part of Ireland. In addition to the huge number of courses that came with dinner, we were there on a Friday when the local fisherman bring in an a delicious buffet of seafood hors d'oeuvres.

The delightful view of the Irish countryside from our B&B's dining room.

The barren Beara Peninsula on the west coast of Ireland.

An oddly sheared sheep walking around near the road.

Pink rhododendrons were endemic all around southwest Ireland -- I liked the way their reflection in the water matched Ray's shirt.

The owner of a nursery told us about this garden on the Beara peninsula which had a collection of tree ferns from Australia.

Caution - smash and grab.

The waterfall in question, in Killarney National Park.

We had lunch at a hotel in central Ireland which had had some customers that had arrived by helicopter, parking on the front lawn.

Cahir Castle, where some of Ray's ancestors hung out.

A hotel near the castle. Always stay in a hotel with a portcullis.

The ruins of the cathedral on the Rock of Cashel.

The cemetery at the Rock of Cashel.

A curious name for a car wash.

Ruins of a building at a small cemetery, overgrown with ruins of a vine.

We went to the Boyne valley, where there are three large Neolithic "passage tombs" and many smaller ones. Two of them, Knowth and Newgrange, were open to visitors. Here an exhibit shows that the tombs were older than the Pyramids.

A tunnel in the Knowth passage tomb.

A view of the Newgrange tomb from Knowth.

The front of the Newgrange tomb.

Standing in front of Newgrange. For five days around the winter solstice, the sun shines in the upper hole and illuminates the inner chamber for 15 minutes as it rises (assuming it's not completely overcast -- this is Ireland in winter, remember...) They have a lottery where you can try to be one of the lucky ones to witness this event.

On to Dublin