Dublin's Best Kept Secret Museum

This last trip to Dublin I discovered the best little museum! I hadn't seen it advertised anywhere, not even on the grounds. How did I find it? Checking the hours of the main museum on the grounds.

Okay, that is a little vague, I'm just going to tell you what this amazing little place is: the Zoology Museum at Trinity College! I have never seen it mentioned in a guidebook, visitor center, or even at the college. When I went online to see when the Book of Kells and Library opened on the bank holiday, they listed the hours for the Zoology museum, so we decided to check it out. We stopped at one of the information booths outside the library to ask where it was, and they were so happy and surprised that we asked! Apparently no one knows about this museum, and that is a real shame, because it was one of my favorite things of the trip.

Located WAY at the back of the campus, the building is beautiful, like most on the grounds. The only acknowledgment that the museum exists is the small chalkboard sign out front.

Follow the signs to the second floor and you find the museum. It's two fairly small rooms, but they're packed with really cool things. The student guide was so nice and helpful! Instead of just answering questions, he helped us figure out the answers and was a fount of knowledge on all things animal.

The first thing I noticed was a giant horn on the table. I immediately knew what it was: A narwhal horn! One of the coolest things about this place: anything on the table you can touch and pick up. INCLUDING THE NARWHAL HORN! 

I would've held it up on my head except it's surprisingly heavy (also, ceiling). But seriously cool. I'm still really excited that I held a narwhal horn.

I had to ask what this next one was and was surprised because I didn't think it'd be so small! Can you guess based on my clue?

While we're talking about bones, you can play with lots of bones here! Like, look at this bucket of vertebrae!

Or this tray of chimpanzee bones for you to reassemble:

You can pretend you're Brennan working on a special case for Booth...or is that just me?

There's a complete elephant skeleton, too, but already assembled.

These were some of the mystery objects to identify. The top right you could pick up and handle to help figure out what it is (and no, I'm not telling you).

 Now, on to the teeth! There were plenty of different kinds to touch.

How cool are humpback whale teeth???

And finally, I leave you with these teeth and my lovely face. 

Help! I've been eaten by a Great White Shark! 

Giant's Causeway and Northern Ireland

This post is part of my British Invasion 2014 series. For all posts in the series, click here.

We've reached the end of my Ireland posts (for this trip anyways). I think that's why this post has been so delayed. I felt like writing it means the trip is officially over with a capital "O". In reality, this isn't true, because the best trips never really end. They live forever in the mind of the traveler, replaying the memories over and over. So allow me to share my last day in Ireland with you, the Giant's Causeway/Northern Ireland day tour with Irish Daytours and our driver Bud. 

Warning: this post contains lots of pictures because they were all beautiful and I couldn't narrow it down to just a few.

This was a long day, since it's a lot of driving to get to Northern Ireland from Dublin, but it is a beautiful drive. The day started off rainy and foggy, so you couldn't see much of the scenery, but it made for it's own type of beauty. There's a big hill behind those clouds.

The rain and the twisty roads made for a bit of motion sickness, but the iconic Irish vistas helped a little.

We made a stop in this sleepy little riverfront town called Carnlough....or Larne. There were signs saying both, so I have no idea what it was actually called, but I enjoyed it.

They have a monument to a pigeon named Paddy here in Carnlough/Larne. It's got a plaque as big as the one commemorating a shipwreck.

Even in the fog, this is a beautiful and serene place.

After another while in the bus, the sun finally broke through the clouds, just in time for us to venture across the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge.

The Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge is suspended a hundred feet over the water, connecting the main land to a small island. In the past, this bridge (the scarier version, anyways) was used by fisherman. Currently, it's purpose is to make tourists like myself feel brave and daring. 

The noise of the waves, and the wind whipping my hair around made it a scary walk, though not as bad as I expected it to be. If you look closely at this picture you can see both the terror and excitement in my eyes as I cross. 

 Once you make it across, though, you're rewarded with beautiful views and the most stunning colors I've ever seen in real life. This whole day was like walking through a 120-count-box of Crayola crayons.

 I'd love to come back here someday with more time to explore the hiking trails all around the area.

Lunch was a quick stop at the very touristy -but delicious- Chilly McCools. I've seen mixed reviews online, so here's my two cents: It's Irish fast food. It doesn't claim to be anything super special, and it's obviously a tourist stop, with a cafeteria style. But they did have good food. I had the Steak and Guiness pie. Yum.

Then it was on to the main event: The Giant's Causeway! FYI, when I have a husband and kids, I plan to be this family:

As hard as it is to narrow down my favorite part of this trip, Giant's Causeway (this whole day, really) comes close.

It's so classically Ireland, and there's just something magical about it. So unlike any other place, while still being familiar. 

I mean, it's basically a "beach", right? Ocean meets land, just like home. But the rock formations make it something so different, so foreign, unlike anywhere else. 

Then there's the little surprise ecosystems happening in some of the crevices.

I can't put my finger on why I loved this place, I just did. So much. 

 Really wish I could've stayed longer, just relaxing on these rocks. Someday.

I couldn't resist putting my feet into the "wrong" side of the Atlantic, thinking about how crazy it is that this same water touches the shores of my home state.

Some visiting tips: Avoid the visitor center. According to Bud (we didn't test it ourselves), the visitor center charges just for admission to the building! We just headed straight to the Causeway. There is about a mile walk from parking to the Causeway. They do have a shuttle service for a pound each way, if you need it, but if you're able, I recommend the walk. It's gorgeous, and not difficult.

Our last stop of the day was in Belfast. We didn't have long, and we arrived late in the day, so almost everything was closed, even the church-headquarters-turned-mall. All we did in Belfast (besides take a few photos of the gorgeous architecture) was eat dinner at the famous Crown Liquor Saloon.

On our way home, we had to stop for a few minutes to let the cows cross. It was a great way to end our first Irish adventure!

Have you been to Carrick-a-rede or the Giant's Causeway? What did you think?

Disclaimer: I am not cool enough to have affiliate links or sponsors (at least not yet). All opinions are strictly my own, and all links are shared because I think they're awesome.

A Day in Moher and the Burren

This post is part of my British Invasion 2014 series. For all posts in the series, click here.

For our third day in Ireland, we took the Moher and Burren tour with Extreme Ireland led by the friendly guide, Mac. Our first "stop" was at Ollie Hayes Bar in Moneygall, famous now because President Obama stopped in for a pint a few years back. Frankly, I didn't find it very interesting (especially since it was about 7am, so it was closed), but the flower boxes above the bar were beautiful.

The main attraction for the day was the Cliffs of Moher (pronounced like "more"), but as we came to expect from Extreme Ireland, there were several other intriguing stops along the way. Plenty of them on this day, especially!

The first was along the River Shannon in Limerick, where we had a perfect view of King John's Castle. Well, one of them. Apparently there's more than one "King John's Castle" in Ireland. 

The site where we stopped is famous for this rock:

The Treaty Stone is where a peace treaty was signed between the Irish and the English after the Battle of the Boyne in 1691. It was later installed on this pedestal to prevent the stone from being ruined by people.

Then it was on to the Cliffs! They were beautiful. So much green and blue!

The tower was closed, so I got a little artsy with the doorway.

After a few minutes around the tower, we headed to the other end of the cliffs, following this path:

That photo above seem familiar? It's been in a few small movies...like Harry Potter.

I call this next shot my Nike Ad.

We didn't see any of the puffins that are known to live on the cliffs, but we I did get a little gutsy and live on the edge for a few minutes!

After a while exploring the cliffs, and using the free wifi to post some awesome shots to Instagram, the tour moved on to lunch. We stopped in Doolin to eat at McGann's Pub.

McGann's is this warm little pub with some pretty good food. They've got these police, fire, etc. badges all over the walls near the bar. At first, we just thought it was cool decor. But looking closer, we noticed some familiar names. Many of the badges come from the towns near my home in Massachusetts! According to the bartender, there's a McGann's in Boston, too!

The next stop was in the surreal Burren in County Clare. It's this vast space of limestone overlooking Galway Bay that makes you feel like you're on another planet. Because of how the sun hit the limestone,  the colors of every photo I took came out differently!

Someday, I'm coming back and doing what the lady (that you can't see very well) in the middle of this next photo is doing: Sitting in the rocks, with a book and a drink.

I feel like this should be the alien landscape in some Doctor Who adventure.

From the Burren we went to Corcomroe Abbey, built sometime in the 11th century. Like many other spots in Ireland, it's a beautiful, slightly ruinous chapel that is now home to a graveyard.

What set this one apart, for me at least, was what our tour guide said when we got in: that there's a crypt you can stick your hand/camera in and maybe get a picture of the bones inside. He said he never believed this rumor until he recently saw another tour guide's photo, but that no one on his tours had captured them on film...or whatever the proper term is today.

So I made my way over to the crypt, going to the narrow space between the crypt and the window:

In this space just a little wider than my body, I got down on hands and knees, as Mac directed me to the ground-level opening in the center of the grave. At his instruction I nervously put my hand, camera attached, into the tiny hole, blindly pointed my camera to the left, and clicked. On my first try, this is what I came away with:

Look! Bones!! A skull!! Others took turns, all unable to get a glimpse of the elusive bones, then I went back for another chance. Stuck my hand in and shot at a few different angles, and wasn't disappointed. 

A full skull! What I assume is a femur!

I have no idea why there's a hole in the crypt, but this was a cool, albeit a bit morbid, experience. And I'm proud to say that me and my point-and-shoot got the shots no one else, with any camera, was able to get! Mac seemed pretty happy, too.

Thank's to Mac's tour guide buddies, we had an unplanned stop. There was a new chocolate factory up the road, so it was kinda mandatory that we stop. Hazel Mountain Chocolates was a cute little place, but seemed a bit pricey. However, it smelled delicious, and you could watch the chocolates get made, so it was a fun extra stop.

Our tour for the day wrapped up in Kinvara, an adorable little town on the water that is home to Dunguaire Castle and the annual Hooker Regatta.

According to Mac, the castle is owned by a wealthy English woman who now lives there and opens it up for banquets. A future goal of mine is to go to one of the banquets. Also to own a castle.

Hookers, for the unenlightened, are boats similar to this one, ancient in design, and prized by many Irishmen. Another goal is to go for a ride on one of these hookers.

The colors of the buildings here are beautiful.

This day was a bit dreary weather-wise, which caused some sleepiness and motion sickness, but overall it was another fabulous day in Ireland!

Disclaimer: I am not cool enough to have affiliate links or sponsors (at least not yet). All opinions are strictly my own, and all links are shared because I think they're awesome.