Summer came to Ireland today. Myself and my husband headed off to Dublin to the meet his relations. We visited Africa Day marking the 50th anniversary of Africa Day and African unity in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. There was hundreds of people there but as you may already know I don't like people in my photographs so I took lots of photographs when it was quieter before lunch. We wandered around Farmleigh House and Gardens in the Phoenix Park where the event was taking place. For those of you that are not aware of Farmleigh, Farmleigh is an estate of 78 acres situated to the north-west of Dublin's Phoenix Park. It was purchased from the Guinness family by the Irish Government in 1999. The house has been carefully refurbished by the Office of Public Works as the premier accommodation for visiting dignitaries and guests of the nation, for high level Government meetings, and for public enjoyment. The house is closed currently due to official Government and State business associated with the EU Presidency.

Here are a few interior photographs of the Lodge at Castle Leslie Estate, I love the blue and cream wallpaper in the entrance area. The boot room is lovely too, however it wouldn't suit a real country home as the wellies are generally either mucky or wet from being washed so placing them on a lovely shelving area wouldn't be great. Have a look at the other images too.

 

 

Here are some images of the rainbow I took this week. Hope you are all having a lovely weekend, I have lots of boring house work to do but might try and sneak in some shopping later today. There are plenty of rainbows in the sky this week with all the showery weather we are getting. Hope the sun is shining where ever you are!

Hope you are all having a nice weekend, the weather has been awful here, rain showers all weekend. I went for a nice walk today between the showers and picked these pretty wildflowers in the hedgerows and meadows. I have them on the kitchen table now. What did you get up to this weekend, anything nice?

 

Last Sunday we went for a drive as the weather was nice (i.e. It wasn't raining, but no proper sunshine though). We went to Glaslough Village in County Monaghan. It is a very picturesque village on the edge of the Castle Leslie Estate. We intended on having afternoon tea in the Castle however it was booked out so instead we explored the wee village and I took lots of photographs. The ones below are just a few of the pretty stone buildings in and around the centre. I also posted one of the antique shops on my previous post here. Next time I visit I will have some photographs of the Castle itself.

Hello everyone. We have a bank holiday here in Ireland which is great as we get a nice long weekend. Today myself and my husband went for a drive and came across a few antique stores in a small village and an auction room in the countryside, all very different but with some really unique items. Take a look at my photos below, my favourite is the sweet rocking horse. My husband much preferred the motorbike though...