🍂 Pictiúirí Póca 🍂

The OH and I went for a short visit to Maastricht to visit a friend of mine. While we were there, we made the 1 hour bus journey to Aachen. What a wonderful city! It's dominated by the huge cathedral (like a lot of cities) and  there was a Christmas Market in full swing. My new boyfriend. He's sweet, he's silent and if he gives me any attitude I can bite his head off This meant - Glühwein, yay! Also, it seems that very other shop is a bakery selling the Aachen speciality - Aachener Printen. These are a type of lebkuchen (a kind of ginger bread) that is particular to Aachen. The window displays were amazing: Gingerbread reindeer - how cute is that? It seems that I am as distracted by nicely-presented baked goods as I am by shiny baubles - I had to stop at each and every window and ogle the goodies.  I want live in Aachen! However, maybe it's just as well I don't. I'd be as big as a house with all that gingerbread. Here are some more sights from the ...

...Some rabbits are created more equal than others

Milky, vanilla-y chewy sweets from China. I think Alice would approve.

Glendalough ( Gleann Dá Loch - Valley between 2 lakes ) is a Valley in County Wicklow.  It's the site of a medieval monastic settlement. Glenndalough was also a sacred place in pre-history, with farmers driving their cattle through the waters of the lakes at Bealtaine to keep them healthy for the rest of the year.   When it was in use, Glendalough was like a mini-village, with the community comprising of both ecclesiastical and lay people. There was a hospital and a farm. Manuscripts were written and copied here. Although the settlement was destroyed by english troops in 1398, it continued to be an important place of worship and pilgrimage. St. Kevin's Church Round Tower

Newgrange is located in  the Boyne Valley in County Meath. It's one of the most famous ancient monuments in Ireland, and is the largest and one of the most important in Europe. The very beautiful Boyne River Newgrange is a large passage tomb located in the Boyne Valley in County Meath. It dates from the Neolithic period, pre-dates the Pyramids in Egypt. It's just one of the monuments in the Brú na Bóinne complex. Brú na Bóinne (or the Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne) has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. Newgrange was restored to its current state in the 1970s. It should be noted that this is an interpretation of how it may have appeared in the Neolithic period, and not necessarily how it actually looked.  The purpose of Newgrange is still a mystery, but it's believed to have had some religious significance. The opening of the tomb is aligned with the rising sun of the winter solstice. The light of the rising sun enters the tomb via...

The Piraeus Lion can be found at the Venetian Arsenal in Venice. It's a large marble lion that was once located in Piraeus in Greece. There is some evidence that it had been a fountain at one time. It was plundered by the Italians during the Turkish War and relocated to Venice sometime in the 17th century. If you look closely at the following photos, you'll see something interesting. Carved into the flanks and shoulders of the lion, there are Scandinavian runes. It's very difficult to make them out because the marble is heavily eroded (the inscriptions date from around the 11th century), but they are in the Lindworm (i.e dragon-headed scroll) form. Close up of the runic inscriptions. "Sven woz 'ere and I pillaged your village, ha ha" (or something like that) This isn't the only incident of ancient vandalism I have ever seen. Inside the chamber at Newgrange, some bright sparks have carved their names into the stones lining the chamber. Many of the ...

This place is so easy to walk past if you're not paying attention - it's like a secret garden tucked away at the end of a little alley. The guy who owns the place, Randy, is totally cool and wouldn't look out of place as the lead singer of a rock band. He is also very knowledgeable and even blends his own incenses (which are amazing). There is a large selection of incenses, candles, crystals, cards, jewelry - you can get all your metaphysical needs taken care of in the Sword and Rose. Oh, and the courtyard is pretty cool too

I've been quite lucky - every time I've visited the Golden Gate Bridge the weather has been great! On this particular day in September, the sky was clear and blue as we were walking around Macondry Lane. Then all of a sudden, a huge bank of fog came out of nowhere (not an unusual occurrence, apparently) and completely enveloped the bridge and the bay.  We rushed off to the Marin Headlands to get a view of the bridge in the fog. Unfortunately, the traffic was a little heavy so most of the fog has disappeared by the time we got to our vantage point. Oh well, we still managed to get some very nice pics. San Francisco, from the Marin Headlands.

The Hill of Tara is the former seat of the High King of Ireland, located in the Boyne Valley in Country Meath. It's an archaeological complex comprising of several ancient monuments. There is an Iron Age hilltop enclosure on the summit of the hill, and a small neolithic passage tomb can be found to the north of the ring forts. Not only has it served as the seat of the Irish high kings, but it appears to have place of prayer and worship as well. The Hill is home to numerous Fairy Trees as well. These can be found all over Ireland, and are usually gnarled old Hawthorn trees. Otherworld being were once believed in live in them, and it seems that some vestiges of this belief persists to this day. It's still considered back luck to destroy or cut down a fairy tree in some places.         Several of the trees at Tara have pieces of paper, plastic, string, strands of christmas decorations decorations and cloth (clooties) hanging from the branches. Other trees...