St. Martin of the Fields from Trafalgar Square, December 8, 2005. Barb and I arrived in London this morning and attended the church's annual Christmas concert in the evening.

London's Parliament and Big Ben on the River Thames - panoramic of 8 photos.

Foggy Christmas Eve, Tom's Tower, Christ Church, Oxford University.

Dingle in southwestern Ireland.

Morning at Dingle Harbor, December 19, 2005.

Tim's photo on the road around Dingle Peninsula.

Tim's photo along the road on the Dingle Peninsula.

Tim's photo. After two nights in Dingle, we drove around the Ring of Kerry on the Iveragh Peninsula. The lighthouse is on Valentia Harbor, a very beautiful area.

Panoramic of Valentia Harbor - lighthouse at left.

Further along on the Ring of Kerry, we look back at the pretty town of Portmagee, lit with the setting sun light.

As we drove higher on Coomanaspig Pass and into a cloud, the sun illuminated a roadside statue of Mary. We all got out of the car and took several photos of the phenomena in front of us. It was eery to say the least. Were we in the midst of something supernatural? The sun seemed to be highlighting the little town of Portmagee behind us and now this. We moved closer and took more photos.

As Tim and I took more photos, Barb approached the statue to see if she could learn more about the purpose of the shrine.

As the road turned and made its way down from the top of the pass, we could look out over St. Finan's Bay and the Skellig Islands. I didn't notice the steam/smoke rising from Skellig Michael until Tim and Barb told me after taking our pictures. The guidebooks never mentioned that the islands were volcanic in origin or active. Frommer's said that Irish Christian monks lived on Skellig Michael in the 6th or 7th century and the Vikings kidnapped a monk from here in the year, 823. Currently, ferries transport tourists to Michael from Portmagee during the summer months.

Skellig Islands, Ring of Kerry. Tim's photo.

After driving most of the way around the Ring of Kerry - we drove in an "anti-clockwise" direction as the guide books recommended for the best view - we stopped for the night at Kenmare. Next day (my b-day), we continued our drive on the Ring of Kerry to Killarney and later, to Cork where we spent the night at the Isaacs Hotel. The photo above was taken in the Isaacs restaurant, next door to the hotel.

Marina in the morning at Kinsale, Ireland - December 23, 2005.

Another view of the Kinsale Marina.

May or may not be a best photo but it does show that we were both in Kinsale, overlooking the marina. Tim's photo.

One of many castle ruins in Ireland. This appears to be a tower and is near the Old Head golf course and club on the Old Head of Kinsale peninsula. The sun is setting on our last night in Kinsale and in Ireland. Tim's photo.

Looking out over Holeopen West Bay with new memories of our first visit to Ireland. Tim's photo.