Beautiful

It occurred to me that I haven't really gotten around to showing off too many of the photos we took during our summer trip, so for this week's Photo Hunt I thought I'd showcase some of the beautiful sights of England and Ireland...


We were surprised to find such a great example of Gothic architecture masquerading as a government building. The Royal Courts of Justice, right smack in the middle of central London, had no tourists swarming around it, no vendors hawking postcards of the facade, but I found it as impressive as any cathedral. Imagine going to work in a building like that!


Out of all the famous buildings scatterred throughout Stratford-Upon-Avon, the childhood home of Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway, was our runaway favorite. It was the postcard-perfect epitomy of a charming English cottage. And that was while the skies were gray with rain; all that prettiness would have been almost too much to bear had the sun been shining.



The Dublin pubs, especially the ones in the Temple Bar area, were such a joy to look at: bright, colorful, unique and well-kept. The inside was just as beautiful as the outside: the brews were tasty, the music was lively and the people were friendly.



Last but not least, "beautiful" is commonly used in England to describe great-tasting food (i.e. "that was a really lovely meal", or "oooh, your strawberry shortcake was absolutely beautiful"). Our first dinner in Dublin -- Irish lamb stew and a pint of Guinness -- certainly falls into that category. Mmmmm.... beautiful. Oh, and the gentleman enjoying the meal is quite beautiful as well, don't you think?


For more beautiful things, click here.

26 comments:

Snap Catch said...

I have found that simple things are made by those who strive to make something beautiful, and that all beautiful things are made by those who strive to make something useful... Nice choice for today's theme... hope you can drop by at my corner... asking for you vote too,,, thanks a lot! Happy weekend!

jams o donnell said...

Wonderful choices. Better to not te be inside the Courts of Justice as I have ben once... I was a witness but it was a ghastly experience! Happy weekend

Anonymous said...

Great photos - love the English cottage.

Happy Weekend.

Colin Campbell said...

The stew and beer would be good.

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed your beautiful photos this week. :)

Carver said...

Those are all beautiful shots. I enjoyed this tour. I appreciated your visit to my bridges.

Pretty Life Online said...

Perfect choice for Photohunt theme... hope you can drop by at my corner... asking for you vote too,,, thanks a lot! Happy weekend!

Sarge Charlie said...

very beautiful

Rach said...

great choices :-)

SASSY MOM said...

Lovely photos - great choice for this week's theme.

Gattina said...

All different but beautiful pictures. I found this word very difficult this week !

Anonymous said...

A beautiful array of pictures you've got here for us today. The picture of the church is gorgeous :)

eastcoastlife said...

How lovely to tour England and Ireland! I like the cottage very much.

jmb said...

What a great trip to give you such beautiful photos. Happy weekend to you.

PastormacsAnn said...

These are terrific! I gotta say though - that meal is definitely a thing of beauty. Wish I could have been there to taste it. Yum. Nice picks for the theme!

Anonymous said...

That place is beautiful. The cottage is tops in my list :)

Anonymous said...

These are great choices for the theme, and lovely shots as well. I love the UK. My husband and I were in London in December and found lots of beauty there, too.

Sandra said...

Beautiful, I absolutely LOVE cottages :)

A Slice of My Life said...

Wow! Those pictures make me think that you went to visit a beautiful fairy tale...complete with the Handsome Prince!


Our beautiful is here: http://twolives.aminus3.com/

Anonymous said...

LOVELY SHOTS!!!

Flo said...

Those buildings are absolutely fabulous (wait, wasn't that an English show :)) The food looks good too, could be cause I'm hungry.

Mine is up over at Flo's Place

Anonymous said...

Have been wanting to go to there...your photos just made that itch get stronger!

RJ Flamingo said...

The government buildings in Brussels are like that, too - inside and out! Kind of amazing to think that the modern daily business goes on in an awesome environment like that, eh?

Of course, anyplace in Ireland is beautiful to me!

Stop by if you get the chance -
http://flamingofotos.blogspot.com/

Amanda said...

Great post. And that is very lovely food :).

Have a great weekend!
Amanda

http://www.amandasweeklyzen.com/2008/08/photohunters-beauty.html

Anonymous said...

Beautiful, all of them. Now I better run home and make dinner. The last shot got me.

Heart of Rachel said...

Beautiful photos! I love the picture of that cottage. I agree, it is postcard material.