I don’t know what happened to me last week. Andy went out of town, and apparently I decided that meant I could do none of the things I usually do. I didn’t blog (though I did post an article here about a festival in my neighborhood), I didn’t exercise, and I hardly cooked. Then on Thursday night Andy and I met in Newark, NJ to continue our trip together into the weekend. So anyway, all that to say, here I am, and here are some pictures.

 Outside the iconic New York Public Library at 5th Ave. and 42nd Street.

My friend Kaleigh, whose wedding is what brought us to the northeast. It was a fun, brightly colored affair that fit her personality to a T.

Congratulations to the bride and groom!!!

Back in NYC on Sunday. We met my step-grandmother for brunch at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and checked out this rooftop art called Cloud City.

The rooftop affords beautiful views of the city!

We walked through Central Park and passed by the boat pond where Stuart Little valiantly raced.

And then we flew home, and I almost ran over this guy on the sidewalk with my rolling suitcase. 

The End.

While our recent trip to Ireland was obviously not a pleasure trip and it had its somber times, our hotel was in a great location so as to be conducive to some sightseeing. We were within walking distance of most of the major attractions of Dublin, so amongst the planned family events we were able to slip out for some “touristy” action. I unfortunately didn’t start taking pictures until our second to last day, and these are all just with my iPhone, but they’ll get the point across!

Our hotel, across from Christ Church Cathedral.

The view from our hotel room…can’t complain about that!

 The view up Dame Street (a pretty major drag that changes names about 5 times) from outside Trinity College.

The church where the funeral was, which is also where my in-laws got married.

Trinity College, where I went to see The Book of Kells and the amazing “long room” of the old library. (I wasn’t allowed to take pictures inside, but I bought a postcard!)

Outside the Guinness Storehouse, which used to be the active brewery. Arthur Guinness had such faith in his product that he signed a 9000 year lease on the building! It’s now a museum and has a circular bar at the top allowing for these spectacular views of the city.

We were incredibly blessed with unseasonably warm and sunny weather while we were there, allowing us to be really mobile in our sightseeing. We did a lot of just wandering around even the first day we landed! The trip was long enough that it didn’t feel like a whirlwind, but there is definitely more to see and do on a future trip to Dublin.