European Adventure 2009 - europeanadventure2009

Part Five - Scotland

The Royal Mile
Looking down from Edinburgh Castle.

St. Gilles Cathedral
On the Royal Mile.

The Royal Mile
.

Scottish Cross
I took a lot of pictures of crosses on my trip...

Stirling Castle
.

Stirling Castle
View looking out from the Castle.

Stirling Castle
.

Stirling Castle
Inside the Great Hall.

Stirling Castle
.

Stirling Castle
The monument in the distance is one built in commemoration of William Wallace.

Stirling Castle
.

Robert The Bruce Statue
Outside of Stirling Castle.

Robert The Bruce Statue
.

Stirling
Looking down at the town of Stirling.

Stirlin
.

Stirling Castle
With the Robert The Bruce Statue in the forefront.

Stirling
Again.

Stirling
.

The Trossachs
On the way to Loch Lomond.

The Trossachs
With a Highland Cow grazing.

The Trossachs
More Cows.

The Trossachs
.

Loch Lomond
.

Loch Lomond
A waterfall leading into the Loch.

Loch Lomond
.

Loch Lomond
Another picture of the waterfall.

Loch Lomond
.

Loch Lomond
These next pictures of the Loch were taken while on our boat cruise.

Loch Lomond
.

Loch Lomond
If you've noticed, the sky changed many times in our short 45 minute boat cruise. It rained, then the sun shined, then it poured again. The entire time we were in Scotland that was how the weather acted, it was crazy.

Loch Lomond
.

Deacon Brodie's Tavern
.

The Jolly Judge
A pretty neat tavern, which was one of the stops on our pretty sweet Literary Pub Tour.

Edinburgh Castle
.

Edinburgh From Above
I took many pictures of Edinburgh from elevated vantage points, these are the first view, taken from Edinburgh Castle.

Edinburgh From Above
The New Town.

Edinburgh From Above
.

Edinburgh Castle
.

Edinburgh From Above
.

Edinburgh Castle
.

Edinburgh From Above
.

Edinburgh Castle
.

The Royal Mile
A look up at the buildings that line one side of the Royal Mile.

Walter Scott Monument
.

Palace of Holyrood
The Palace where the Queen stays when she's in Scotland.

Palace of Holyrood
.

Palace of Holyrood
The next pictures are of the abbey ruins that are located right next to the palace.

Palace of Holyrood
.

Palace of Holyrood
Taken from the Palace's gardens.

Palace of Holyrood
.

Palace of Holyrood
With Arthur's Seat in the background.

Palace of Holyrood
.

Scottish Parliament
.

Scottish Tattoo
Outside of Edinburgh Castle. It took place as part of the induction ceremony for the new governor of the Castle.

Scottish Tattoo
.

Edinburgh From Above
These next panorama pictures were taken from a walk to Arthur's Seat (However, I didn't get to the top of Arthur's Seat...).

Edinburgh From Above
.

Arthur's Seat
.

Edinburgh From Above
.

Edinburgh From Above
A nice view of the majestic castle.

Edinburgh From Above
.

Edinburgh From Above
A look out at the Palace and the coast.

Edinburgh From Above
The Royal Mile from above.

Edinburgh From Above
.

Edinburgh From Above
Parliament and Holyrood.

Scottish Parliament
.

Palace of Holyrood
.

Scottish Seagull
.

Walter Scott Monument
Taken right before I began my 250 step journey to the top of the monument.

Edinburgh From Above
These next pics from above came from the Walter Scott Monument.

Edinburgh From Above
.

Walter Scott Monument
.

Edinburgh From Above
.

Walter Scott Monument
.

Edinburgh From Above
.

Walter Scott Monument
.

Edinburgh From Above
.

Edinburgh From Above
Another look at the Castle.

Edinburgh Castle
.

Arthur's Seat
.

Edinburgh From Above
.

Walter Scott Monument
.

Edinburgh From Above
.

St. Gilles Cathedral
.

Heart of Midlothian
Whenever a local passes this spot on the sidewalk, they spit on it. This happens because the Heart marks the spot where criminals were executed in past times.

Edinburgh
Taken from Greyfriar's Cemetery.

Edinburgh
.

Greyfriar's Cemetery
.

Greyfriar's Bobby
A legendary dog that lived, and is buried at, the Greyfriar's Cemetery. Disney made a movie about the dog actually.

Part Four - York

Monk Bar
A gate which is part of York's Roman Walls.

York Minster
One of the biggest cathedrals in Europe, alongside Cologne Cathedral in Germany.

York Minster
.

York Minster
Much to our surprise, you could actually take pictures inside the Minster!

York Minster
The Minster had some amazing stain glass windows.

York Minster
.

York Minster
Taken on my 250 step journey to the top of the Minster's tower.

York Minster
From the top of the tower, the highest point in York.

York Minster
.

York Minster
Back on ground level...

York Minster
.

York Minster
Again with the stained glass...

York Minster
.

York Minster
A nice view of floating Jesus.

York Minster
.

York Minster
Back outside.

York Minster
.

River Ouse
The river that cut right through York. Later in the day, we took a boat cruise along the Ouse on one of the boats on the left side of the picture.

River Ouse
.

Streets of York
Right by a bridge over the Ouse.

York Abbey Ruins
.

York Minster
Again...You just had to take a picture every time you saw it.

Streets of York
With Monk Bar in the back.

Streets of York
With the Minster in the background.

York Railway
.

York Minster
Again.

York Minster
.

Smoking Kills
Messages like this appear on cigarette packages throughout Europe, yet, a huge number of Europeans still smoke.

River Ouse
.

River Ouse
All of these pictures were taken while we waited for our boat tour to start.

River Ouse
.

River Ouse
On the boat tour.

York Minster
This time at night...

Walk On The Roman Walls
York Minster, once again, in the distance.

Walk On The Roman Walls
AGAIN.

Walk On The Roman Walls
York Minster was so damn picturesque.

Walk On The Roman Walls
The Minster has never looked better...

Walk On The Roman Walls
.

Walk On The Roman Walls
Hey Look, a picture without York Minster!

Walk On The Roman Walls
.

River Ouse
.

Clifford's Tower
Originally built in 1068 by William The Conqueror.

Part Three - London

Tower of London
.

Yeomen Warder (Beefeater)
Our tour guide.

Tower of London
The Crown Jewels sit inside this building.

Tower of London
.

Tower Bridge
Contrary to popular opinion (mostly that of Americans), this is NOT London Bridge. If you wanted to take a picture of that, you'd have to take a vacation in Arizona.

Tower Bridge
As seen from the Tower.

Tower of London
The monument marking the spot where prisoners, including Ann Boleyn, were executed at the Tower.

Tower of London
.

Tower of London
The White Tower, built by William the Conqueror in 1078.

Stamford Bridge Tour
So begins the pictures of our tour at Stamford Bridge, the home to Chelsea Football Club. This is a picture of me sitting at the press room table.

Stamford Bridge Tour
Chelsea's home locker room.

Stamford Bridge Tour
The pitch.

Stamford Bridge Tour
.

Stamford Bridge Tour
As you can see, Adidas is big sponsor of Chelsea...

Stamford Bridge Tour
.

Stamford Bridge Tour
Yes, that is Petr Cech's head gear.

Stamford Bridge Tour
The main entrance to the stadium, which was originally built on the site in 1877. However, the stadium as it looks today originates from expansion taking place much more recently.

Tyler and Didier Drogba
He seemed like a nice guy.

Tyler and Petr Cech
Again, he was pretty friendly.

The Eye and Big Ben
I took many, many shots of both the London Eye and Big Ben. Much more to come...

The London Eye
A close up shot.

Tyler and Parliament
.

Parliament
Or more accurately, the Palace of Westminster.

Parliament and The Thames
.

Fountain on Trafalgar Square
Behind it is the National Gallery, which we did not visit.

Fountain on Trafalgar Square
Again.

The Eye, Big Ben and The Thames
.

West Brompton Tube Stop
This was the Tube station that was closest to our hotel. It was home to many exciting happenings...

West Brompton Tube Stop
.

The Apple Building at 3 Savile Row
The famous building where on January 30th, 1969, the Beatles took to the rooftop to play what would be their final live performance.

The Apple Building at 3 Savile Row
A closeup of the rooftop.

Abbey Road
A closeup of the world famous crosswalk.

Abbey Road Studios
We visited these Beatles sights, and others not pictured, as part of the Beatles' London Walk.

Tyler on Abbey Road
.

Buckingham Palace
.

Fountain at Buckingham Palace
I guess its a Buckingham Fountain.

Fountain at Buckingham Palace
.

Buckingham Palace
A statue near the Palace gates.

Eye In The Distance
Taken from near Buckingham Palace.

Union Jack
.

Downing Street
Home to Gordon Brown...what a lucky street.

Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms
This was pretty awesome. It had an amazing museum, but even sweeter were the war rooms that look exactly as they did in 1945. When Churchill and his cabinet left, they basically just turned off the lights and left everything as it was.

London Eye and The Thames
I did promise a lot of pictures of the Eye...

The London Eye
Taken during our ride on the Eye.

The London Eye
.

London From The Eye
Parliament in the distance.

Tyler and Parliament
.

Mom and Parliament
.

Parliament and The Thames From The Eye
.

The London Eye
.

Tyler and Parliament
Again...

Mom and Parliament
Again...

Westminster Bridge
.

The Thames
.

Parliament and The Thames
Once Again.

Light Fixture and Big Ben
.

Big Ben
From way up close.

Big Ben and The Underground
.

Parliament From Westminster Abbey
.

Westminster Abbey
.

Westminster Abbey
I don't have any pictures of its interior because they did not allow pictures.

Westminster Abbey
.

Big Ben and The Eye
I don't break promises.

St. Paul's Cathedral
Again, I do not have any pictures of the cathedral's interior.

St. Paul's Cathedral
The Cathedral's famous dome.

The British Museum
.

The Rosetta Stone
.

The British Museum
In the Egyptian section.

The British Museum
Assyrian Winged Lion.

The British Museum
In the Greek section. Like most everything else in the Museum, these were stolen items.

The British Museum
In the African section. Again, stolen, this time from Benin.

The British Museum
In the Asia section. I felt kind of dirty looking at all the stolen items. But still, the Museum is pretty damn awesome.

The British Museum
In the Asia section. This is the last picture I took before we got kicked out because it was closing time.

The British Museum
.

Westminster Abbey
.

London Streets
Near Westminster Abbey and Parliament.

Bomb Shelters
From WWII. Located in the streets of the Westminster area.

Parliament
Taken from a cool little park on the Thames right next to Parliament.

The Thames
Taken from the same park.

The Eye
Once again...

Parliament
A closeup of the tower opposite of Big Ben.

Parliament
Once last shot of the stunning structure.

Part Two - Barcelona

View From Our Apartment
Looking out from our apartment's terrace onto Sots Tinent Navarro.

Streets Of Barcelona
Taken from the top level of a Barcelona Hop On/Hop Off bus.

Christopher Columbus Statue
The guy was an ass, but his statue is nice.

Giant Lobster
A friendly looking crustacean.

Sots Tinent Navarro
A look down the street outside our apartment.

Santa Caterina Market
A sweet market where we got olives, cheese and ham.

Church of Barcelona
A very old church located near our apartment. Part of it was built on top of the old Roman wall.

Casa Batllo
An amazing house built by Antoni Gaudi. It's nickname is the house of bones, and you can tell where that came from by looking here.

Casa Batllo
The outside of the house is amazing.

Casa Batllo
A look at the same window from the inside of the house.

Casa Batllo
A sweet light fixture in the house's front room.

Casa Batllo
A look at the tiles in the Casa's back terrace.

Casa Batllo
The back of the house.

Casa Batllo
.

Casa Batllo
On to the roof. This is one of the amazing chimneys.

Casa Batllo
The view from the roof.

Casa Batllo
.

Barcelona Street Light
.

Casa Mila
Another Gaudi house, located down the block from Casa Batllo. It's also known as La Pedrera, which is Catalan for The Quarry.

Casa Mila
We went by the Casa on the Barcelona Hop On/Hop Off, but we didn't take a tour of the house.

Casa Mila
.

Barcelona Palm Tree
Living in the Midwest, Palm Trees always get me excited.

Barcelona From Montjuic
A view of Barcelona from the stairs of the Palau Nacional. You can see the Sagrada Familia in the distance.

Placa d'Espana
A view of the Placa from the the Palau Nacional.

Barcelona From Montjuic
Interestingly enough, Montjuic means Hill of the Jews.

Barcelona From Montjuic
.

The Palau Nacional
.

Barcelona From Montjuic
.

Flag of Spain
Located on top of the Palau Nacional.

Mediterranean Harbor
Located in the Port Vell area.

Mediterranean Harbor
.

Mediterranean Harbor
In the distance, you can see Montjuic.

Barcelona Architecture
Everywhere you looked in the city you saw another example of stunning architecture.

Barcelona Architecture
.

Casa Batllo
The exterior of the Casa. It is said that the design of the house is represents the slaying of the dragon by St. George.

Casa Batllo
Awesome.

Barcelona Street Light
Again.

Barcelona Architecture
.

Barcelona Street Light
Again.

Camp Nou
The home of FC Barcelona, the 2009 winners of the UEFA Champions League.

Camp Nou
The stadium is the biggest in Europe, fitting over 98,000 fans.

Camp Nou
The odd thing in the background is actually the set for U2's upcoming world tour. Their putting it all together in Barcelona because it's the first stop in the tour.

Camp Nou
The stadium's press room.

Camp Nou
The interview area.

Camp Nou
Proof that the stadium is in fact a UEFA 5-Star stadium.

Camp Nou
The flags of FC Barcelona.

Camp Nou
Another view of the field and U2's stage.

Camp Nou
Obviously, Nike is a big sponsor of the club.

Camp Nou
.

Camp Nou
Thanks to Bono, this is the best view I could get of the club's slogan, "Mes Que Un Club," or "More Than A Club."

UEFA Champions
The trophy won by the club only 2 weeks earlier by defeating Man Utd 2-0 in Rome.

Tri Campions
Barca not only won the UEFA Champions League, they also won La Liga (the Spanish Premier League) and the Copa del Rey.

Sagrada Familia
The cathedral known to be Antoni Gaudi's master work. Construction began on the cathedral in 1882, and is still ongoing today. It is said that construction could be finished by 2026.

Sagrada Familia
The Passion Facade.

Sagrada Familia
.

Sagrada Família
.

Sagrada Família
The Nativity Facade.

Sagrada Família
.

Sagrada Família
Inside the cathedral.

Sagrada Família
.

Sagrada Família
Nativity Facade once again.

Sagrada Família
.

Sagrada Família
Back to the Passion Facade.

Sagrada Família
.

Sagrada Família
Serpents on the North Facade.

Sagrada Família
.

Park Güell
A park designed by Antoni Gaudi...so you know it has to be good.

Park Güell
.

Park Güell
A look out at the city and the sea from the Park.

Park Güell
A cross sitting high above Barcelona.

Park Güell
Another look out at Barcelona.

Park Güell
A look out at Montjuic in the horizon.

Barcelona
A look out at the beautiful city from the top of Park Güell.

Barcelona Panorama
.

Barcelona Panorama
Looking out at Sagrada Familia, Las Rambla and the Mediterranean.

Barcelona Panorama
.

Barcelona Panorama
These shots are taken from the cross on top of a hill seen in a previous picture. It offered amazing viewpoints.

Barcelona Panorama
.

Cross On A Hill
.

Barcelona Panorama
.

Barcelona Panorama
A nice view of the Sagrada Familia.

Barcelona Panorama
Las Rambla can be seen in the distance.

Barcelona Panorama
.

Cross On A Hill
.

Barcelona Panorama
.

Barcelona Panorama
More pics from on top of the hill.

Park Güell
A close up of the classic Gaudi tiles.

Park Güell
Like most things Gaudi, Park Güell is a feast for the eyes.

Part One - Ireland

Burke Backyard
The backyard of the Burke's house. Later in the week, the wedding reception marquee was put up in that spot.

Cows on the River Boyne
Taken on a bridge over the River Boyne near Newgrange.

Cows on the Boyne
More Cows on the Boyne.

The River Boyne
The view of the river from the other side of the bridge.

Newgrange
A passage tomb built over 5000 years ago, making it older than the Pyramids of Giza or Stonehenge. On the winter solstice, light enters a passage of the tomb and lights up a room in its center.

Entrance of Newgrange
Here is the entrance to the passage that leads to the central room which lights up on the winter solstice. Notice the interesting geometrical symbols.

Symbols of Newgrange
More examples of the ancient symbols that appear numerous times on the passage tomb.

Guinness Storehouse
The world famous Guinness Storehouse at St.J ames' Gate in Dublin. We actually ended up not going in to do the tour, but we did drive by on the Dublin Hop On/Hop Off bus.

Wellington Monument in Phoenix Park
A 210 foot tall obelisk commemorating the victories of the Duke of Wellington. The Duke was a native Dubliner, but not a very proud one. When once asked about his denial of his Irish heritage, he responded by saying, "being born in a stable does not make you a horse."

Daniel O'Connell Statue
A statue of the political leader Daniel O'Connell which looks over a square bearing his name.

Trinity College Dublin
The center of the prestigious college's campus.

St. Stephen's Green
A pond located in the center of St. Stephen's Green in Dublin.

Temple Bar
One of the streets that makes up Temple Bar, a popular Dublin area full of many pubs and shops.

Dublin Castle
The Castle was the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland until 1922.

A Dublin Alley
An alley located near Dublin Castle.

Christ Church Cathedral
A view of the cathedral's main steeple.

More Christ Church Catherdral.
Another view of the Cathedral.

The Hill of Slane
On top sits Slane Abbey and a cemetery.

Slane Abbey
Sits on a location where it is believed that St. Patrick lit a large celebration fire.

A View From the Hill of Slane
A look at the horizon from Slane Hill past the Abbey wall.

Slane Abbey Window
A window of one of the remaining Abbey towers.

Inside the Abbey
A look inside the abbey ruins.

A Look Out From The Abbey
A look out at the horizon from inside the abbey ruins.

St. Patrick
A statue of Ireland's patron saint, who is said to have set a large celebration fire on the site of the abbey on the Hill of Slane.

Slane Abbey
If you can, read the description on the marker.

A View From A Tower Ruin
A look out at the horizon and a herd of cattle from one of the abbey's towers.

Another view.
Another look out from the tower.

More Cows on the Hill of Slane
Many cows in Ireland...

More Cows
As you can tell, I find cows to be very picturesque...

Cemetery on the Hill of Slane
A view of the cemetery that sits of the Hill next to the abbey ruins.

Slane Abbey and Cemetery
A view of both the Abbey and Cemetery which sits on the Hill of Slane.

Even More Cows
Again with the cows...

Walking Back Down the Hill
My dad and grandma walking back from the Abbey.

Brother and Sister on Wedding Day
Kerianne and I after her wedding ceremony. Taken by my sister's maid-of-honor.

Kerianne and Noel
Kerianne and Noel on their wedding day.

Wedding Cake
It was delicious.

Crow at Trim
A very intimidating crow sitting on a picnic table near Trim Castle.

Water Surrounding Trim.
A view of water surrounding the castle walls.

Bridge Over the Boyne
A look at a bridge going over the River Boyne near Trim Castle.

River Boyne Again
We crossed over the Boyne in many spots throughout our trip...

Trim Castle and the Boyne
Some scenes of Braveheart were filmed at the very picturesque Trim Castle.

Monastery Ruin and Church Near Trim
A view of a church and monastery ruin that sits uphill from the Boyne and Trim Castle.

Boyne Again
The Boyne cutting by Trim Castle.

Carlingford
We took a trip up to Carlingford, a beautiful little town situated on the coast of the Irish Sea.

Street of Carlingford
It was a neat little town.

A Look At The Sea
Taken near King John's Castle.

Castle and Mountains
A look at the castle as well as the mountains that look over the town.

Carlingford Coast
Looking out to the sea.

Picturesque Carlingford
.

Picturesque Carlingford
King John's Castle, Sea, and Mountains.

King John's Castle
A side view of the castle and the town beyond.

Picturesque Carlingford
The Coast.

Picturesque Carlingford
You can see Northern Ireland on the other side of the bay.

Picturesque Carlingford
A rusty boat and King John's Castle.

Picturesque Carlingford
The town was pretty awesome. Amazing views.

Picturesque Carlingford
.

Kerianne, Noel and Friends
Kerianne, Noel and Friends looking out at Carlingford.

Picturesque Carlingford
.

Monica In The Bay
Monica wanted to get a closer look at the Irish Sea.

Kerianne in Carlingford
Kerianne looking pretty in a beautiful place.

Picturesque Carlingford
Again.

King John's Castle
A full look at the castle with the mountains in the background.

Picturesque Carlingford
And Again. It was a pretty awesome site. The Castle is on the left.

Into the Wicklow Mountains
Embarking on our journey into the Wicklow Mountains.

Wicklow Mountains
Looking out onto the horizon.

Wicklow Mountains
.

Wicklow Mountains
With some beautiful yellow flowers in the forefront.

Wicklow Mountains
.

A Wicklow Creek
.

A Wicklow Valley.
An amazing site, a picture really couldn't capture it.

On Our Way...
To Glendalough.

Wicklow Mountains
.

Another Wicklow Valley
Another amazing site.

The Valley Again.
If you noticed, there is a house and farm at the basin. What an amazing place to live.

A Wicklow Stream and Valley
The Wicklow Mountains were just full of breath-taking sights.

Wicklow Mountains
.

Wicklow Waterfall
This waterfall fed into the stream that ran trough the previous valley.

Wicklow Waterfall
.

Wicklow Mountains
.

A Wicklow Sheep
He was staring me down.

Monastery Ruins at Glendalough.
A view of the tower that rose above the Glendalough monastery ruins.

Glendalough Stream
A stream that fed into the large Glendalough.

Glendalough Stream
The tower can be seen in the distance.

Stream and Tower.
.

Tower Over The Brush.
As you can see, the ruins were extremely picturesque.

Fence at Glendalough
.

Monastery Ruins at Glendalough
.

Bridge Over Stream
A bridge over the stream leading to the gorgeous Glendalough.

Monastery Ruins at Glendalough
A close up view.

Cemetery at Glendalough Ruins.
Pure awesomeness, if I may say so myself.

Cemetery at Glendalough Ruins
.

Monastery Ruins at Glendalough
Inside one of the ruins.

Glendalough Ruins and Cemetery
.

Cemetery at Glendalough Ruins
.

Cemetery at Glendalough Ruins
An extremely moving place.

Close Up Of The Tower
Another look at the picturesque tower.

Glendalough
A look at the Lough itself.

Glendalough
.

Glendalough
Again. Awesome.

Glendalough Through The Trees
.

Glendalough
.

Glendalough Through The Trees
.

Glendalough
Just an amazing place. I wish we could have spent more time there.

Glendalough
No words needed.

Glendalough
An excellent final journey in Ireland. The Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough were nothing short of spectacular.

European Adventure 2009 - europeanadventure2009

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Part Five - Scotland

Part Four - York

Part Three - London

Part Two - Barcelona

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