OCTOBER
My roommate, Karen and I flew to Maryland to visit with respective families for a few days. This is my Maryland birthday celebration with my son, Sean and grandson, Jacob.
From there we took Amtrak to NYC.
We stayed one night with my Peace Corps "daughter", Fran. She was nice enough to meet us (AZ mountain gals) at the train station and getting us safely to her place.
NYC can be overwhelming and we did appreciate her efforts! We had dinner at Harlem Public and made a early night as we had plans early in the morning. Those plans (to visit Ellis Island) were a back up to plan A. That plan (seeing Escape to Margaritaville) fell through when the play closed early! As it worked out, Ellis Island ferry service was suspended for the day just before we were to board at 11AM. The dock would be flooded as a Noreaster arrived! Again, Mother Nature showing me who's in charge this year!
Arriving NYC
NYC can be overwhelming and we did appreciate her efforts! We had dinner at Harlem Public and made a early night as we had plans early in the morning. Those plans (to visit Ellis Island) were a back up to plan A. That plan (seeing Escape to Margaritaville) fell through when the play closed early! As it worked out, Ellis Island ferry service was suspended for the day just before we were to board at 11AM. The dock would be flooded as a Noreaster arrived! Again, Mother Nature showing me who's in charge this year!
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| Fran and I at Battery Wall..as close as we would get to Ellis Island! |
Drumming in this venue was hair raising!
After arriving on the red eye into Dublin at 8AM, we took a gamble. Officially, we could not check in to the Green Isle Best Western until 3PM. We took our time picking up the prearranged rental of an automatic car at the airport and made our way to the hotel. When we walked in we were greeted with a sign saying a shuttle could be arranged for a Van Morrison/Robert Plant concert THAT NIGHT! Well, the staff at the hotel got us into a room around 10 AM and we took naps in order to catch that show. We lucked out being able to get both tickets to the show and the shuttle pick up. AMAZING! Each of the performers played 90 minutes straight. It was as though we had attended two separate concerts. It was a grand start to a stay in Dublin!
Our room in the Best Western had a Murphy bed! Oh, and even though we had an adaptor for electricity, we still needed to engage Housekeeping staff to get it set up.
Van, the man!
Robert Plant played a lot of Led Zeppelin stuff which pleased me.
The next morning, Karen and I decided to brave the Dublin Public Bus System to avoid traffic in our rental. We only had time for ONE day in Dublin...what to do??? As luck would have it, our bus drove right by Trinity College. I saw the Visitor Centre office and we made a mad dash to it to enquire about the college and the gal almost laughed as she said, "It's right across the street!" Although the day was brisk and windy, after the tour of the college, we enjoyed not only one of the world's most famous libraries, but the Book of Kells. Now, this was something I knew nothing about, but it was fascinating and I am so happy we made the decision to visit Trinity! Go to Wikipedia to read more about the Book of Kells. Karen and I both are studying a free online course about the Book of Kells.
No pictures can be taken of the actual book over 1200 years old. The extravagant artwork alone is amazing. If you enlarge the picture above, you can see a description.
We stopped at the Palace Bar, a pub on a Dublin "must see" list. Food was nice. Cider was nicer! This pub is billed as Dublin's most original Victorian pub. It was built in 1823 and the interior is a little museum!
River Liffey from the top of a city bus.
River Liffey at night.
The next morning we would drive the rental out of busy Dublin and head toward the southeast part of Ireland. Along the way we would stop at Kilkenny Castle, originally built by William Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke (c.1146-1219). The property later became primary residence of the Butler family for about 600 years. The family sold nearly all furnishings of the castle in a ten-day auction in 1935. A member of the family turned it to the people of Kilkenny in return for a token payment of 50
pounds in 1967.
The castle is now restored and offers a magnificent self guided tour.
The Painted Roof is fascinating!
We lost track of time at Kilkenny and by the time we reached our next destination, it was nearly 5PM! I recalled the days of finding a farmhouse to stay in from a trip 40 years ago. My traveling partner and I back then sought out a Visitor's Centre and they referred us to a lovely place in rural Ireland. Well, with that fond memory, I approached a young lady in the centre and asked about a place. I know the reader is going to know what she said. "Do you have a Smart Phone?" Why, yes. Yes I do. She then asked, "Do you know about Hotels.com or Airbnb?" Uh, huh. She continues, "That's your best bet." OK The charm is gone...….
A department store beginning to display Christmas decorations and it is not yet November! Yes, it appears that consumerism is alive and well outside of the U.S.
It began to pour just as we secured a spot in an Airbnb. The place was not a far distance from the city centre, but had no parking. We would need to find street parking and be prepared to move the car by 8AM in the morning. As much as we both wanted to seek out a lively pub, with the rain and much travel in store the next day, we opted to stay in after dinner and read.
We did get an early start the next day. We stopped by Blarney Castle just as it opened.
We made our way amongst the extensive grounds and, of course, climbed the stairs for Karen to KISS THE BLARNEY STONE! Isn't that a "MUST DO" when in Ireland?
The picture below can be seen from the castle window above.
I had done so 40 years ago and did not need the gift of gab reinforced! The gardens are lovely and certainly were not there years and years ago.
We tried to take it all in, but the clock was ticking. We popped in a local restaurant for late lunch and made our way to Glengarriff, a small village where Karen's people came from. We stopped in a pub where a sign showed rooms for rent. We ended up staying in a room with 2 beds and paid 50 pounds each.
That would include a full dinner of our choice and full breakfast. Best bargain of the trip! Karen would start asking about her cousin and, of course folks in the pub knew her. This place is shown in Wikipedia as having 800 occupants!
We sought out Shirley, Karen's cousin and, even though it was Halloween and her daughter had somewhere to go, Shirley, her mother and daughter were most informative about the family and the family homestead. What Karen learned from Shirley was that the ancestors had lived on nearby Whiddy Island. This is a place that would suffer a great tragedy on January 8, 1979 that reduced the census to a handful of people. For more, look up the Betelgeuse Incident.
Although the sun was setting over Bantry Bay, we made our way to what we thought to be the homestead. It was about 6:30 PM as we poked around by flashlight!
We would return to the village with intent to get up early the next day and research the homestead area more. Yes, it was Halloween and we did enjoy hanging in the pub for a while watching the little ghosts and witches come in for sweets!
Here are some views from the next morning.
An old-timer on the road knew of the family and walked us to property he recalled.
Here are some views from along the road to Limerick, where we stopped for another pub meal.
That white BLOB on the left of the photo is a man working in a trench next to the alarmingly narrow road!
CHERIO IRELAND
OFF TO ENGLAND!
Flight from Dublin to Manchester. The flight itself is about 1/2 hour. You know how it is in the airport. Arrive 2 hours early....enough said!
Karen and I on the train from Manchester to Blackpool.
We stayed at the home of Patty's friends, Carolyn and Geoff Sergeant. It is always such a treat to visit with friends as I travel. I would certainly host anyone who came to visit me as well. I am not sure I could match the hospitality shown by these two though! They treated us to a nice dinner at a local favorite.
Angus is the family dog and is so happy to have a new person to play with!
We visited the home of Andrea and Sam Jarvis. The children are Esme and Ollie, Carolyn and Geoff's grandchildren. They were so happy to have company and not one bit shy! Ollie said he wanted to sit on the couch with "His Lady" and Esme was not to be left behind!
Little hands say it all.
On the way from Blackpool to London! Prepare for Guy Fawkes Celebration!
Until we meet again, Caroline and Geoff!
Arriving London!
Bagpiper outside of The Tower grounds.
Double decker bus with Parliament in the background.
Karen phoning home!
Friends live on this street!
Tower of London grounds.
Karen in front of the Tower Bridge
Karen and Patty in front of Parliament.
Roman wall; 200AD behind modern play area.
WWI memorial being set up outside Westminster Abbey. Hundreds of organizations would decorate the grounds by hammering in small crosses or stars of David in memory of Armistice Day.
Just who is Guy Fawkes and what's the big deal?
Night time celebration of Guy's failure to overturn the government.
I have been waiting a long time to see this! Happy 70th birthday to me on Guy Fawkes Day!
Preparing to sightsee. Getting tips from Chris and Sue.
Accompanying me:
Chris, Sue, Esme and Kitty.
Birthday lunch at Greencoat Boy Pub
Marble Arche
Gate at Buckingham Palace
Trafalgar Square stunt.
Sue and Chris Fisher....another set of fabulous hosts! Friends for 40 years!
Until we meet again!
All in all , the trip was a huge success full of laughs. I set my intention a year in advance to celebrate my 70th birthday in London. It turned out the way it was supposed to leaving me with volumes of memories. I couldn't ask for a better travel buddy. Thank you Karen for having my back along the way and for challenging yourself to be my designated driver!
Off we went to the airport. Our flight into Florida would arrive about 8PM and we would be tucked away in a condo near St. Augustine, FL for the next 4 days. We looked forward to the much needed beach and rest time!
If you have made it all the way through this blog, I thank you for reading it! May the balance of your 2018 be filled with peace and grace!
