Mmm.. Lindt Glitter Candy :) 

So in between the very busy wedding season this year I managed to have a couple of vacations. One of them being Ireland, I also made it down south the 14 hour drive  to see my Dad and his wife in Tennessee. On top of that managed to go for a geeky historic trip with my friends to Gettysburg, PA.

I wanted to show some photos to Ireland, since I have been asked quite a lot lately about my trip  : We visited Carlingford, Dublin, Sligo, Donegal, Co. Meath, Trim, a little of Northern Ireland. We had a complete blast!! This trip was all planned out through Authentic Ireland, who I highly recommend for any trip if you are thinking of heading over to Emerald Isle.

Keith and I drove all throughout Ireland  and believe me its not as bad as you think driving in a foreign country. Our trip had a little hiccup ok maybe two hiccups, our flights were cancelled the night we were supposed to leave from JFK. ( damn you delta) After 18 hours of sitting around airport, we managed after staying over night in a hotel near LaGuardia, yes thats where Delta drove all its passengers to stay. I fought to get a flight out out Newark the next night. After 18 hours of no sleep and driving through many locations. We mangaged to hang out with some peeps from Ireland in JFK while we were waiting. We stuck together like glue and made it to  Newark and even had dinner together before our flights left. Even though we had this hiccup we met some cool people from Sligo and Belfast. Eight hours later  we landed  into Dublin we found out our luggage was rerouted and it would take 4 days, so lucky I had bought travelers insurance and we went shopping. Got some clothes, jackets.

ON that note we had a fanatastic time, we drove manual on the opposite of the road almost 2000 miles in 10 days we covered. (I love driving so I don’t mind) Again driving in Ireland is easy!

Keith and I hit up the best pubs, ate well, visited every geeky historical museum or Neolithic site we could possibly go to. We stopped at ruins in the middle of farmlands and even saw a rainbow. ( how cliche is that?)

We relaxed in the grass, and drove up huge cliffs and sat in the car until the rain stopped. ( yes it does rain in Ireland alot, but the rain goes away usually in 10 min)

I don’t mind the rain. The air feels cleaner in Ireland if that makes anysense. The sights are unbelievable at times you feel as if you have to pinch yourself to realize you are there.

I would probably say this is one of the best summers I have had in a long time. The combination of road trips, going to places you would never think of going and just going on a trip with an open mind that anything can happen is what makes it work..

Entrance to Knocknarea mountain -  Sligo

a Queen is supposed to be buried on top of the Mountain– her tomb is under the rocks

The top of the mountain has amazing views of Sligo and surrounding areas

Neolithic Satellite Tombs

I am pretty tired here.. we had just hiked for a good hour up a pretty steep mountain..

This was one of the B&Bs we stayed in, the owner had tea and scones ready for us.. Of course we took up the offer.

Keith passed out from exhaustion  a couple of mins after taking this shot.. we left the next morning to our next desitnation. Often driving through towns in Ireland you come across very vibrant painted buildings with lovely decorations.Here is one I thought the painting below the sign was lovely.

The west coast of Ireland near Donegal and Ceide Fields is amazing I still can’t get over the scenery In Carlingford

Hill of Tara

Trim Castle

Bog

One of the castles we stayed in

city hall - Dublin

I have been a really, really busy bee this summer… Which I will go more into when the fall hits.

Earlier in the summer I was contacted by  Flashes of Hope,  a volunteer a nonprofit organization that strives to use photography as a tool to change the way children with serious illnesses see themselves.
Through the gift of photography - and raises money for pediatric cancer research. Professional photographers provide free portraits of the children to help them feel better about their changing appearance.

When I arrived at Camp Sunrise as a volunteer on behalf of Flashes of Hope I did not know what to expect. What I did see right away was the happy faces of so many children, adults and teenagers. These children were playing tennis, singing, running around and just plain having a great time.  Camp Sunrise is one of the only national full day free summer camps that caters to children with cancer.  I met some amazing children and captured some beautiful moments with them and I am happy to share them with you on my blog.

Thank you again Flashes of Hope for asking me to photograph these awesome kids!!

-L

Just posting a recent blog post that I did for Storied Locations at the Alger House in NYC -

You can see it here