NCMattJ.com: October 2008

Driving up to Father Ted's House

Driving on the back roads of Ireland up to Father Ted's house!

Posted by Matt Johnson at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments

Visiting Father Ted

Lauren and I went out to the edge of the Buren National Park, about 20 km from our place in Ballyvaughan, and had tea with the owner of the house used for the exterior shots in the British comedy "Father Ted". She is a lovely lady, originally from New York, who has owned the house for over 20 years and was able to tell us all about the filming they did there. I know many of you may not know who or what Father Ted is...but do yourself and favor and check it out by clicking [HERE].

Labels: Ireland

Posted by Matt Johnson at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments

Cliffs of Moher Video

A short video of the Cliffs of Moher in the evening. As you can tell, it was very windy.

Labels: Ireland

Posted by Matt Johnson at 2:16 PM | Permalink | Comments

Cliffs of Moher, Take 2

A few evenings ago we went back to the Cliffs of Moher...but this time we went in the evening and this time we went up top. The views in the evening light at the end of a beautiful day were amazing. The best part? Free parking in the evenings :)

Labels: Ireland

Posted by Matt Johnson at 2:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

Dublin

Last week, Lauren, Kim, Michelle and I all went to Dublin for the day. We had a lot of fun seeing the capital city, but it is just not the REAL Ireland in my opinion. Driving was a nightmare too. Sorry it took so long to post these pics, but until a few days ago, my laptop was out of order due to a broken power supply connector. It is back up now that the one I ordered from the UK has arrived :)

Labels: Ireland

Posted by Matt Johnson at 9:04 AM | Permalink | Comments

Bunratty Castle

Last week, on the first night that Kim and Michelle were here, we all drove down to the Shannon / Limerick area and had dinner at Bunratty Castle. It was touristy and kind of kitchy but we had a good time.

Labels: Ireland

Posted by Matt Johnson at 2:19 PM | Permalink | Comments

Newgrange Megolithic Tomb

Newgrange is one of the passage tombs of the Brú na Bóinne complex in County Meath, one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world and the most famous of all Irish prehistoric sites. Newgrange was built in such a way that at dawn on the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, a narrow beam of sunlight for a very short time illuminates the floor of the chamber at the end of the long passageway.

Lauren, Kim, Michelle and I visited the site after spending the night in Dublin.

Labels: Ireland

Posted by Matt Johnson at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments

Horse Cart Tour on Inishmore

On our full day on Inishmore in the Aran Islands, Lauren and I took a nice tour on a pony cart around the island. It was a lot of fun.

Labels: Ireland

Posted by Matt Johnson at 4:10 PM | Permalink | Comments

Sea Sick!

We just got back from Inishmore on the Aran Islands. On the way out there the weather was AWFUL! 60 MPH winds and very rough seas. It was so bad that we were the only ferry to be able to make the crossing because of our size and an Irish Coast Guard Sikorsky S61N Helicopter shadowed us the whole way. I don't get sea sick, but even I was feeling queezy. Lauren was a little more sick :)

Labels: Ireland

Posted by Matt Johnson at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

Milly!

Meet our new (we hope) puppy "Milly". She is about 8 weeks old and lives in Charlotte. She should be old enough for us to pick her up when we get back to America. This is her in the hands of her current caretaker.

We are really excited.