Saturday, March 17, 2012

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Two weeks ago, I returned home from a lovely trip to Ireland.  The country is full of lovely, fun people, lots of lush green (even in February), many cozy and welcoming pubs, gorgeous countryside and RUINS.

Many of you may be unaware of my adoration for stone arches.  I think they are the best, particularly in ruins.  I love ruins that somehow have collapsed around stone arches, like this 16th century friary did in a small town called Adare:


I also really love stone arch bridges like this one, also in Adare.  Adare is a stone arch lover's paradise.


One of the more famous stone arches in Ireland is the Spanish Arch in Galway, which is on the way to the adorable and very yummy restaurant Ard Bia.


And the ruined 6th century monastery at Glendalough had one, too:



The Burren in western Ireland had a megalithic stone arch to mark a burial place.  This was actually not as impressive as I wanted it to be, I admit.  I am sure that, engineering-wise, it's quite a feat, but it wasn't nearly so awesome to see in person as it was in the very dramatic pictures.  It's pretty small.  (Says the jaded modern tourist, I suppose.)


Really, once you fall in love with stone arches, you see them everywhere!  And there's a reason- arches are very strong, ARCHitecturally speaking (I couldn't help it), and often stay standing after buildings fall apart around them.  They even stay standing for thousands of years, as in the case of the megalithic one above.

And, technically, a cave is a natural stone arch, correct?  Can you spot the stone arch here at the Cliffs of Moher?  (Yes, that's me!  And my Medusa-like hair.)


 Sadly, Oscar Wilde was not seated on a stone arch, but he is awesomely Irish enough to warrant inclusion here.


As is one of the coolest geological formations on Earth, also somewhat shaped like an arch, wouldn't you agree?  And made of stone.


Everyone's Irish today, including me!  Have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day :-)

17 comments:

  1. *sobs* I wanna go too!

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  2. Beautiful pictures! I especially love that arch bridge!

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  3. Happy St. Paddy's! Thanks for sharing the pictures!

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  4. Anonymous3/17/2012

    Thanks for sharing your pictures! Now I reallllllllllllly want to go! Especially to all of the ruins.

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  5. Great pictures! I've been to Dublin but I really want to go back and see the rest of the country. I'm glad you had a good time!

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  6. That first picture is my favorite - I love the color on it! Old buildings and structures (arches or not) are just fantastic. And Oscar Wilde. :D I love that there's a sculpture there. :D

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  7. I share your fascination with stone arches, especially when they're in ruins. There's something magical about them.

    If you ever get the chance to go, Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire is chock full of arches among the ruins. I spent two or three hours there, photographing just about every arch I could find. It was glorious.

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  8. Gorgeous!

    It is one of my regrets that in living in the UK for five years I didn't actually make it to Ireland. One day...maybe!

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  9. Oscar Wilde! Woot! He wasn't very Irish but I am always delighted to see monuments to him, in arches or on just regular rocks.

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  10. happy st patricks day hope you had a good day it was my birthday day after so had a good weekend love giants causeway been a few times ,all the best stu

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  11. Oh, these photos are so lovely, and just what I had been hoping for! I need to spirit myself away to Ireland one day. It seems so beautiful there, and the arches are indeed fabulous!

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  12. Sounds like an awesome trip & I'm so glad you shared photos!!!

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  13. Gorgeous photos! I would love to visit Ireland one day.

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  14. Beautiful photos! It sounds like an amazing trip. I loved seeing the Cliffs of Moher when I was there, and it was just as windy!

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  15. OOOH lucky you! Some gorgeous photos there. I love the one with the rock formation. Where did you go in Ireland? I want to go one day too. Did it rain often while you were there? My ex says it rains all the time in winter, it's why it's so green. I love ruins too, so now you've made me more determined to get there.

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  16. Love the photo of the Giant's Causeway. Such an odd natural landmark to look at and so cool. And I can identify with what you said about the ancient stone arch. Stonehenge was also a little underwhelming especially as the tourists are roped off at a distance from the structure. Avebury was a better stone circle because you could walk right up to them.

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  17. So jealous of your trip. The photos are truly amazing.

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