Waterville Beach
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Waterville, usually your lunch stop on the Ring tours. Charlie Chaplin used to live a good few years in this place, and there's a statue in his honour.
The Ring of Kerry is a tourist trail in County Kerry, south-western Ireland. The route covers the 17...
Slightly off the beaten track, these cliffs are meant to be the largest cliffs in County Kerry. A nic...
The bridge over the River Sneem, a good place to stop for a coffee when you are doing the "Ring of Ke...
Kilkeehagh Lookout, usually the first stop after Killarney on the famed Ring of Kerry.
The Ring of Kerry (Irish: An Mhór Chuaird) is a tourist trail in County Kerry, south-western Ireland....
Bull’s Head Extract from The Dingle Peninsula by Steve MacDonagh. About three-quarters of a mile from...
An Searrach (the foal) is a sea stack formed by the wild Atlantic ocean waves. Located on the souther...
Europe is generally agreed to be the birthplace of western culture, including such legendary innovations as the democratic nation-state, football and tomato sauce.
The word Europe comes from the Greek goddess Europa, who was kidnapped by Zeus and plunked down on the island of Crete. Europa gradually changed from referring to mainland Greece until it extended finally to include Norway and Russia.
Don't be confused that Europe is called a continent without looking like an island, the way the other continents do. It's okay. The Ural mountains have steadily been there to divide Europe from Asia for the last 250 million years. Russia technically inhabits "Eurasia".
Europe is presently uniting into one political and economic zone with a common currency called the Euro. The European Union originated in 1993 and is now composed of 27 member states. Its headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium.
Do not confuse the EU with the Council of Europe, which has 47 member states and dates to 1949. These two bodies share the same flag, national anthem, and mission of integrating Europe. The headquarters of the Council are located in Strasbourg, France, and it is most famous for its European Court of Human Rights.
In spite of these two bodies, there is still no single Constitution or set of laws applying to all the countries of Europe. Debate rages over the role of the EU in regards to national sovereignty. As of January 2009, the Lisbon Treaty is the closest thing to a European Constitution, yet it has not been approved by all the EU states.
Text by Steve Smith.
