the sagrada familia barcelona

ah barcelona,

you will always have a piece of my heart

here i re-fell in love - with life, with food, with taylor, with everything

i had the best birthday to date

with a trip to the sagrada familia

i went camera crazy in gaudi's masterpiece

everything was so picture-esque.

we stayed a long while the the sagrada

we were lucky to have gone during off peak season

so we weren't surrounded by other tourists

taylor did a sketch of the interior and exterior 

(you can see his sketches here & here on his tumblr)

and i took lots of pictures

because the sagrada is built of all stone, concrete, etc

it was about 10 degrees cooler in side than outside

 i was shivering in my boots

but it was well worth the stay

to see more photos from barcelona,

please visit my flickr page!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chelsea_lyn/ 

dublin

our trip to dublin was short

but sweet.

and cold...

we were all on our own at this point, just the boy and i

we wandered down alleys, visited trinity college,

saw the book of kells, went to joseph welsh's furniture gallery,

drank at a pub(s) and danced with the locals to irish rockabilly (elvis has it comin'!)

taylor got a lot of sketching done in this town

his favorite the grand canal theater (quite a beaut!)

all in all we looooved dublin

and can't wait to go back to visit

we fantasized over what it would be like to live there

and realized we were there during "good"weather

so decided its best to leave it as place we'll come back to visit

for more photos please check out my flickr!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chelsea_lyn/

carrickfergus

carrickfergus!

(i love the name)

one of ireland's best preserved medieval castles 

it was built in 1177 and is rumored to have ghosts wandering about

it is a beautiful structure, inside and out, but not one i'd like to walk alone

taylor got in a super quick sketch of it's courtyard

and i got a few super quick snapshots 

the antrim coast

the purpose of our trip to ireland was to get a bit of nature before our city adventures in barcelona 

northern ireland was the perfect choice 

one of my favorite days was spent visiting the infamous rope-bridge and giant's cause way

all in one day! 

the drive along the antrim coast was a site in and of itself.  

it used to be one of the 7 wonders of the world - that country drive... 

we did a mile long walk along the bluffs to the rope-bridge  

i was a brave one and made it across and back - with trembling knees 

it was was a wild, shakey experience, but worth the view. 

the giant's causeway was quite the marvel

the 40,000 unique hexagonal basalt columns form steps that disappear out to the sea

there are a few variations of the old irish legend including giants, and dressing like babies, and conflict between ireland and scotland.
whatever the story, i appreciate a good tale

to see more photos, please visit my flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/chelsea_lyn/

northern ireland: a little city, a little country

i finished up editing all my photos from my travels abroad 

i went from 700+ to about 400... still too much to share 

i've been thinking about how to share without an overload of stories and photos 

so everything will be broken up in parts over the week.. 

i hope you enjoy .... 

northern ireland was breathtakingly handsome - from the people, to the food, and the scenery... 

"40 shades of green" they say, but if you ask me i'd say more like 100 shades! i don't know that ive ever seen so much greenery in one sitting. 

we stayed with my stepfather's family in the countryside (carnlough) and they treated us like royalty! ulster fry breakfasts every morning, lots and lots of guinness, and a new home away from home.  they had their own chickens, so we had fresh eggs every morning. its hard to eat eggs now!

the sun would come up at 10am and set around 4pm - short days but what sensational beauty!

when its dark and cloudy, the deep, moody greens run for what seems like forever, 

and when that bit of sun hits the hillsides, those greens are effervescent. its like magic!

we were lucky to not have any rain during our stay, but wouldn't have minded if the clouds had decided to weep a bit. it was cold... oh so cold. but as an ol' wee irish man said to us, "there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes" and boy is he right! we packed and dressed the part, so the chill didn't bother all that much.

we spent time in belfast city, where remnants of the many years of war have left their mark on the old buildings, church walls and cobblestone roads. hotel europa is actually the most bombed hotel in the world. it has been bombed 36 times - i don't know that i'd ever want to stay there; not with that luck!

taylor and i did what we love best, wandered down alley's to find those little secret pockets of marvel, had tea and pastries, and had a nice private walking tour and history lesson from my stepfather. we also ran into a priest who was kind enough to share some stories of the good ole days back when he was a wee boy.

everyone in belfast was very kind with lots of stories to tell. those fighting irish sure are proud of who they are and where they came from. they love to talk (but eek! kind of hard to understand), share, and are some of the friendliest people i've encountered.

to see more photos of the countryside and belfast city, please visit my flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/chelsea_lyn/

stay tuned!

tomorrow i will share our visit to the giant's causeway and the carrick-a-rede rope bridge

hearty breakfast

a little scrambled egg breakfast over onion dill rye bread

mmm..

i miss my european breakfast - coffee and a pastry - but that can only last for so long

so, heres to a good, hearty american meal to start the day



world traveler

as i get settled back home, i'll have more pictures and stories to tell about taylor and my travels to europe

until then, here's a sneak peek from my iphone...