Trading emails with Flygirl made me remember one of my favorite trips to England.
I love to ride trains and could quite happily spend an entire vacation riding around, reading a James Herriot book and eating Cadbury chocolate (the REAL stuff, not the kind we have here).
About 20 years ago, I rode the train and then a bus to James Herriot’s (All Creatures Great and Small) home town, Thrinsk, in Yorkshire. He had described it perfectly – the people the animals the shops—all of it!
The first night I stayed in a B&B whose other guest was an Aussie. At tea we, the guests and the family, reviewed the news from the Colonies.
The second night, I stayed at a B&B on the edge of town and could see Mrs. Pumphrey’s house from my room.
I had Sheppard’s pie at the pub the vets frequented, had dinner at the hotel where Helen and Jim danced and bought some candies from the shop keeper who picked out candies like a pharmacist might select medicine. I even visited the Vets surgery, where Herriot’s son works. Very little had changed in that office since it opened before WWII
Later, I was standing a shop that was smaller than single car garage and was stocked just like the one on the comedy Open All Hours. There were 5-6 people browsing and waiting in line. Suddenly, everyone left! No one said a word, they just walked out!
Was it something I said? The owner smiled and said “No Lass. The sun came out. Didn’t want to miss it.”
Five minutes later the sun was gone and everyone came back, talking about how lovely it had been. Cracked me up!
Do you have a favorite vacation? Perhaps a trip you like to relive? Or maybe someplace you want to see in the future?
15 comments:
The Herriot books are a guilty pleasure, aren't they?
I envy you your visit to his stomping grounds.
I'd love to go to a small town pub and soak up the ambience.
But one of my favorite movies has instilled one fear:
"Beware the moors!"
I envy your Herriot Adventure! Ah, to see the sun come out in England!! That's way too funny, but so typical of the Pub Folk over there.
Your story reminded me of a trip to Ireland with a fly pal. We drove the Ring Of Kerry and all over the southern coastal area. We stumbled into a very isolated area with one Pub and a lot of farms. We visited the local Pub that night for a little local color. It was a sight to behold. This was in the mid 70's...
This was a very modest Pub with plain wooden benches along the walls. Seated on the benches were the women folk of the area, and the men were all milling around a small wooden bar with fists of dark pints. Children were everywhere, playing & runing around the place. Several men & boys had musical instruments: tin penny whistles, a fiddle, some sort of small guitar, and an odd sort of drum-tamboreen thing. They were playing this incredible Irish Folk music that was some of the most beautiful sounds that I'd ever heard.
Lots of people were drinking, singing and sweating a lot, then a young lad, maybe 10 yrs old, with bright red hair and a face covered with freckles stepped into the center of the Pub and began to sing. Everyone else stopped singing, and he continued to sing the most beautiful song that I've ever heard! I had chills - I wish that I could better express the experience!
It was a combination of their simple lives, simple instruments, and the lad's clear, angelic voice that left me with a memory that I will never forget! I knew then that there was a heck of a lot more to life than: make up, fast food, and shopping!
They were such warm and friendly people, I shall never forget them. I will also never forget the one item of decoration in the Pub...A framed photograph on the wall of John Kennedy!
You gotta love the Irish!
Trip from Hell - Not a favorite, but unforgettable. One of the first real flying family vacations that we took (30 yrs. ago) was to a place in Mexico that was just starting to make its mark as a resort area. a cousin had visited the year before and told us how great it was and cheap! You could eat lobster at a nice place right on the beach for $5.00. That did it for me. We booked a trip thru 'XXXX XXXXXXX' and they said send us the money and we will take care of the rest. Local Company - couldn't go wrong. Right? So very not right, in fact.
Flew thru Chicago to Cancun, Mexico. Were very excited and looking forward to the next 8 days. Got dropped off at the hotel that we had pick out earlier and it looked as perfect as it did in the pictures. New,great pools,great beach. Went in to register and guess what? The front desk did not have our reservations - had received no money and they were booked solid. After doing my thing - we decided to call our Travel Agent - Couldn't get thru to even leave a message. Talked to the manager of the Hotel and he agreed to try to help us find a room, but that we would have to pay for it right then. What choices did I have? Not many - he said. Well, they found a room off of the penisular and very much out of the Cancun scene. Very old local Hotel across a road from the sea. No beach - if there was - you couldn't see it. There was a boardwalk, though. We looked around - didn't like what we seen, but by then, it was late in the evening. Decided to stay - Ha! - had in fact already paid my money again. The room was small and dingy. Opened to an outside connecting hallway. The bath's wall had a basketball size hole in it which was covered by chicken wire. I quess - so no one could easily reach thru and grab you while you sit on the pot - they could easily see you while you took a bath though. Of course, we tried to call the front desk to no avail. So, I went down there and asked to be moved. I was told that the room was the best that they had.... What a nightmare. They said to 'just put a towel up to the hole in the wall if you had to use the bathroom'. The next morning at first light, we decided to look around some more. The boardwalk was a real safety hazard. Ever walk across a swinging bridge? We did take a stroll on it, though. Seemed like there were several people walking back and forth. As it turns out, it was where the locals caught a boat to take them to work in the resort town. The one that we were supposed to be staying in. One of the local men grabbed my wife's bottom on this stroll and said something - of course, she wasn't sure what he said (or maybe didn't want to tell me what he said) I had walked ahead by then and missed that - probably a good thing. Stayed there one night at that hotel - tried to fly out the next day - couldn't,no seats - ended up going hotel hunting in a cab. That's a whole different story, though. Almost a disaster in itself. Eventually, found a hotel that allowed us to stay for one night. They would try to keep us for the whole week, but we may have to change room several night. Again, not much choice. We packed our bags and set them by the door each morning before we set out to 'enjoy' rest of our Family Vacation. Changed rooms three times in that hotel. Got back home and of course, complained to the travel company. They said they were not at fault. They were just the agent for a bigger company and that the rooms were simply overbooked. They offered a 'free trip' back to Cancun - during the hurricane season, at that. I said no thanks - you would be hearing from my lawyer - they said bring him on. Obviously - been there, done that before. Took them to court, got my money back, paid my lawyer (almost the exact dollar amount)- so it was a complete wash for the three of us. Have never been back to Cancun.
All this talk of Machu Pichu, Spain, Ireland.......I'd actually have to go get my passport to go to those places, right?
There are places I'd like to go overseas, but I'm a little fearful of the justice systems in many countries....particularly those with "Napoleonic" court systems.
Add to that the fact that there are so many spots here in the U.S. that I love, and so many places I'd love to see for whatever reason, and you can see why I have decided to go "USA first".
I absolutely love San Antonio. If you've not walked the riverwalk on a warm evening, I recommend you put it up high on your list. Open air cafes along the river, with the river taxis passing by......a great memory.
Then there is Savannah. I'd live there in a heartbeat if I could. It had changed pretty dramatically the last time I was there, as have all towns near the ocean, but it is still small enough to drive around comfortably. Great restaurants, lots of history, and the ocean within a half hour of downtown.
Yellowstone. The Grand Canyon. The Painted Desert. The Black Hills. The Grand Tetons. Then, of course, there is Golden Horse territory and all the beauty there.....Maui, active volcanoes, and of course, Pearl Harbor.
Many of those sights I've already seen. I'll be checking the rest off my list before I'll need a passport.
GB: "beware of the moors" has to be from American Werewolf in London. I love that movie.
Fly: Your trip reminds me of the movie Local Hero. They have a party toward the end and the music is heavenly.
I remember having lunch at a lovely hotel near the Tweed River in northern England. Beautiful green countryside, gorgeous weather, peaceful little valley. Our waitress was a striking red-haired girl, about 15 or so, with porcelain skin and sky blue eyes. I asked her if she had grown up in this area. She said she had but hoped to leave soon.
“Why, it so beautiful here!”. She was a typical teen. “It’s boring here!” LOL]
TD: Your vacation was a nightmare! Aren’t you planning a trip to China soon? I’m sure there are ways to prevent another “mexico fiasco” but I’m not sure how. Did you arrange it though a group? Or are you going solo?
Ferdy: You guys sort of flipped a coin? Good idea!!
All of you have reminded me of so many vacations and trips, more than I can write about here. We will have to trade more stories at the reunion!
I love this "Travel Section"! Everybody has such great stories, and I love reading them. I'm just a Travel Pig and admit it.
TD: What a disaster of a trip to Cancun! Why didn't some body suggest that you take a taxi to Palencar, then the ferry across the channel to Cozumel? You could have had a lot of fun over there. I remember the Cancun you described: it was a nightmare when it was first built... a total nightmare. Your story reminds me of the movie "Ground Hog Day". Every morning you'd wake up to the same old circumstances. Great Story!
I doubt if you'll have much trouble in China. The government won't let you do anything to get into trouble...ha! Are you sticking to the larger cities, or will you be heading into the provinces too? Gotta love that Great Wall. What a Dream Trip!
Have a wonderful time!
GB: I agree with you about San Antonio! Especially the River Walk; it is such a special place and so much fun.Everybody should go there. It is a beautiful city with such friendly, laid-back folks. You don't need a pass-a-porte to make a great memory!
There's a lot to see here in the US, and I'd love to take off in an RV and keep going until I'd see it all!
GH really does live in a beautiful spot! She's got my vote for living in a paradise.
Ferdy: What fun to just head out with the family and end up where ever...whenever! You were very brave to take the helecopter ride! But what a view you had of those beautiful Smokey Mountains. My sister and I take Mom there every May. It's a truly wonderful area to see. And the drive over the Smokey's into NC is beautiful. It sounds like you made lasting memories with your kids on your trips. Lucky Kids! Lucky You!
PT: Isn't it always that way in those little, out-of-the-way spots? The kids always want to leave! It's nothing special to them...just home. Life's funny that way; we always want what we don't have.
Great Travel Bytes...But Beware of the Moors...is that from the original Frankenstein Movie???
Gosh What a travel section, good hints though. Thanks.
We have been very fortunate to have lived in 6 states and we have treated each one like a vacation location. On weekends we took off for parts unknown to learn about that state. Over here, we are still discovering places. One of my favorites places is Pearl Harbor on the weekend, We go on base and with my husband's pass, we visit parts not easily accessible to the public and low and behold, there are buildings and locations straight of the movie
"Pearl Harbor", buildings and all. The buildings are considered a national treasure and not to be torn down. On July 4, we did our own tribute to the forces and drove quietly around the base. It is nice, because my dad was here during the war on a sub and there is the sub school here. You should see the difference in sizes of subs nowadays.
As for Cancun:
We went in 1997 for my 50th and when we got to Cancun, they had oversold our hotel also, but put us up in a very nice place and actaully a better location. We spent 7 days there and Cozumel snorkeling.
We had the best lobster dinner on Coz... we asked the locals where to find a good meal and they sent us down alleys and through the woods and it turned out to be the best we had ever eaten. I would go back in a minute. The lobster had to be 16 inches long, it wouldn't fit on a huge oval platter and oh so tender.
I still want to vist the mainland's far Northeastern States.
"Beware the Moors!".....
PT was right, fly....
"An American Werewolf in London".
Seen it?
Laugh out loud one second,
Pee your pants the next!
The trip to Cancun has been the only bad trip that we've ever had and that was more than 30 years ago. We did take the ferry to Cozumel and spent the day snokeling and beaching. Food was excellent in Cancun, even back then. Been to alot of places and have enjoyed most of them. A few favorites, been back to several times. No group trips - never done those. But, our Oct. trip to China has been booked thru a friend of Cindy's that uses Collette Tours and we will for the most part - be part of a group tour, I'm sure.. Some places of interst include Shanghai, Yichang, Sahshi, 4 nights on the Yangtze River passing thru the Dragon Boat, Parrot, Wu and Quatang gorges. Visiting the 3 Gorges Dam project and the villages that will be no more because of it. Also visiting Wanxian, Chongquing, Guilin, Xian, the capital Beijing, the Great Wall and also a trip to the valley of the Ming Tombs. Four interior fights and a 4 day river cruise and possibly a 2 night stay in Hong Kong. Probably will wear us out completely, but for us a once in a lifetime thing... FG - have no idea where all of these places are, but, expect to have a better idea afterwards. Probably not, though. Really looking forward to it, and hope that the Bird Flu doesn't impact it. After China, we have Fiji, Austrailia and New Zealand in our sights.. Like GB, though, there is still alot of America that I want to see.
WOW! TD! Does the package include any language lessons? What a Trip!! I can't wait to hear all the details. Have you found any books about China that you would recommend?
It's a shame all those villages will be lost when they put the damn in but I suppose there is no other way to control flooding.
The Ming Tombs must be quite a sight; hard to imagine what prompted creating such huge art project ? (I'm not sure what to call it).
I’d love to see New Zealand too. They made Babe (the movie) there, ya know. Hey! Alex Trebec could pop up and ask that when you least expect it! But I gotcha covered, Mate!
I don't think the package comes w/ lanuage lessons. I do know a little Korean - think that would work? What I know - probably not! The main reason that I have decided to work a couple of more years is so we can travel. Hope we both stay healthy long enough to see a few more places.
GB
American Werewold in London! Thanks! And, yes, saw it...And, yes,laughed and peed!!!
GH
Northeast US!!! Gotta do it!! Loved the Maine coast, since you love lobster so much, that's a place for you.
Cozumel: Glad you all enjoyed it. I've spent a lot of time there over the years. I met my 2nd husband there! Most of the locals are wonderful and the food is the best, when you find the "out of the way" places.
TD
Your trip is a real dream come true vacation! I'm with you, keep working to travel! You should really enjoy NZ and Australia. Fiji is nice...just like FL (for me). But the people are really great and the Island is beautiful. How long will you be traveling? Oh, what a great trip. Have the time of your lives and watch out for the "BIRDS".
PT
Most of the auto commercials we see here are made in NZ. Another Alex Trebec possibility...ha!
Hope you're on the mend!
Maybe we should all meet and go to NZ together, just a hop and a skip.
They have some great rates from here.
TD
Confession time here. You talked about speaking some Korean.
I am totally hooked on Korean dramas now. Learning a few words. They are so much better than American Soaps and so much about the culture to learn from them.
They are much shorter running, some for only 16 episodes, and they are shown all over the world now. The following has become so huge, they now have big tours to take you all over Korea to see where they are filmed. Well, so much for confession, Thanks, I feel better now. Stay tuned, you can probably watch them there on Satelite.
Two great vacation spots I just have to talk about–
#1 New England in the Fall – a while back we spent a couple of weeks driving around looking at the foliage. We visited a small town in a valley, had lunch by the park across from a little church, watched a wedding party as the bride threw her bouquet.
If you plan to go in the Fall, make your reservations by January 1st -- no kidding.
We had reservations for every night except the first. I thought it would be easy to find a room around Boston or Portland. Wrong! We had to drive to Falmouth (of recent fame because a moose fell in love with a cow). There was one vacant room in town and it would have been condemned by the Calcutta Public Health.
We took it. I felt if we survived that night, we would be bullet proof the rest of the trip.
#2 Fort Robinson, in far west Nebraska, is a restored Army Post, now a State Park that is mostly run by college students from Chadron --really a nice bunch of kids. They get practical experience in managing hotels, kitchens, landscaping, and programming for adults and children. They also put on melodramas, encouraging folks to throw popcorn at the villain. A rodeo is a nightly event and once a week they have buffalo cook out.
Guests can ride the train, which Black Bart robs ( but ends up giving candy to the kids.)
You can play tennis, golf, go hiking, and take tours to see local wild life.
Or just enjoy being in a place where you can be FREE. It’s truly relaxing. It's a quiet place,, no rushing around
The museum has a dinosaur skeleton, and lots of military artifacts.
Rooms are spotless but Spartan. The Officers houses can be used for family reunions. Make reservations early in the
Ireland, June 11 - 19, 1998
Daily Travel Log
Barb & Bob Davidson, Mike and Sandy Beville - 6-11-98, Thursday, 6:40 PM - All aboard Flight 6990 for Shannon, Ireland. We have 369 people on board with destinations of Ireland, England or Wales. We are on an L1011 airplane in seats 21 A & B. Kyle is home. He is watching our dog, Alex, and working. Kely is in Arizona on vacation. We are with Mike and Sandy Beville. Our good friends, who are also celebrating their 30th Anniversary with us.
We had champagne before boarding the airplane and the Ambassadair staff was dressed as Irish people.
The pilot just said, "seat belts buckled for take off". He also said we would be flying for six hours and fifteen minutes until touchdown in Shannon. We will get there around 7:00 AM Ireland time and 1:00 AM our time. We are going very fast on runway 23 R! The pilot also said that we would go north toward Detroit, Canada and Greenland.
6-11-98, 8:28 PM - Now flying over Montreal, Canada. It is dusk and we are enjoying a lovely sunset. The city lights are just beautiful!
6-12-98, 1:11 AM Indiana time, 7:11 AM Ireland - Now descending for landing in Shannon. It is morning, seeing sun come up was beautiful. Now, sun shining and seeing Atlantic Ocean for the first time. Slept very little. Sitting up not so comfortable to sleep. It is 52 degrees in Shannon - not bad for early morning.
Seeing cliffs, land ho at 7:13 AM! The land is a beautiful emerald green. The roads seem to be brown, not gray like ours. We are flying low over farms, lots of coastline. Seeing boats making trails in the gray green water. There are a few white clouds, but mostly clear blue sky. Wow! I am really in Ireland! Now seeing white clusters of buildings, small towns in the beautiful green land. Touchdown, it is 7:22 AM.
Our day 6-12-98, Friday, was very full. We got our car, a champagne colored Opal, at the airport. Bob was the first driver, and did quite well staying on the left of those skinny roads. Our only scare was the BIG busses; they seem to take up the whole road.
Our first stop, after driving 8 miles from the airport, was Bunratty Castle & Folk Park. Bunratty is a 15th Century castle and fully restored. It is the best-restored oldest castle in Ireland. It is massive, a bit musty, with many antiques and giant halls. It is probably 10 stories tall. The entrance is probably 8 stories tall. My favorite room was the Great Hall. There were 4 huge deer heads (skulls) with the biggest and widest antlers I have ever seen. Wood sculptures of angels were around the top of the room and old tapestries hung on the walls. There were many winding, steep, narrow stone stairways all over the castle. You could get to the very top, the battlements, or the very bottom, the dungeon. It is hard to believe something built so long ago still stands so well preserved. Vikings originally built the castle in 960 AD. It was attacked and burned many times by the powerful O'Brien and MacNamara clans. They launched regular attacks on the castle and town until 1280 AD when the O’Brien’s successfully besieged the Castle. The castle was completely rebuilt in the middle of the 15th century. It remained in O'Brien hands and still stands today.
In the year 1646 AD The Earl of Thomond was in residence at Bunratty Castle. The Earl was a man of considerable power and substance. The household of even a petty chief or nobleman in those days had scores of attendants, stewards, retainers and followers, but in the castle of a great prince like this one, they would have numbered hundreds. There were marshals, stewards, cooks, scullions, pages, footboys, grooms, herdsmen, and scores of people at Bunratty on various businesses all the time. Food and drink would flow free. Lavish hospitality was the custom of the time and the mark of a powerful Irish chieftain. For O'Brien was not only the Earl, but also The O'Brien, or chief of his clan. No one sat in his presence, except at dinner.
The Folk Park surrounds the Castle. It is a working city, with all kinds of houses, shops, farms, stables, a manor house and many other buildings, twenty in all. The people in the town were dressed and acted as in medieval times. Peet was burning in all of the buildings. It is a compressed "bog" or dried leaves type of material. It has a musty weed type smell. The people were very friendly and loved to talk to us.
We left the Folk Park about 2:30 PM to eat lunch at Durty Nelly’s Pub and check in to our first bed and breakfast. Castleview, (all of the bed and breakfasts have names) hosted by Mrs. Peg Donahue was spacious and clean. Mrs. Donahue talked a lot, explaining everything. She even asked our orders for breakfast the next morning. We chose the Irish breakfast of eggs, ham, sausage, toast, juice and coffee.
The guys stayed at Castleview and napped about 2 1/2 hours. Sandy and I walked back to the Folk Park to visit more of the buildings. It was a relaxing, interesting time to explore the Folk Park. We came back about 5:30 PM and took a 30-minute rest before getting ready for the Medieval Dinner at Bunratty Castle that night.
As we neared the Castle for the Medieval Dinner, we could see torches on both sides of the door. A man in a kilt played the bagpipe. This is the ultimate Irish experience, so beautiful! We were ushered to the main hall and served mead. Mead is a honey tasting wine. We were called My Lord and My Lady as we were served the Mead.....neat! Ladies played the harp and violin as others sang and danced for us. We were in a relaxed happy mood as we were directed to the dining hall. We met our servers and they put cloth bibs on us. The Earl of Thomond was our host and we would be having a four-course dinner using only our fingers and our dagger. The Earl's butler was sort of the "master of ceremonies" and would introduce the ladies who sang and danced. He would also tell us about the different foods and drinks before they were served. We had ribs, chicken on a wooden stick, potatoes, carrots, green peas, bread and our choice of fruit juice, wines, water or mead. I liked the mead. In the beginning, on an empty stomach, I could really feel the effects of the mead. We would pound on the table to show our approval of the singing, food or whatever. The crowd was loud and there was lots of laughter.
At our table we had people from Australia, Ireland, Florida and Germany. The food, ladies singing, harp, violin and dancing, was so perfect. The evening ended almost reverently with the holding of hands and singing "Danny Boy". Sandy and I had been up 41 hours, we were fading fast. Home to bed.
Our day 6-13-98, Saturday, began with a drive to Tralee. We visited an antique shop and then on to Dingle. At Dingle we got a boat to take a tour of the Dingle Bay area. The cliffs were magnificent. The sun reflecting off of the greens and browns of the cliffs, the ocean with the white foam, all so pretty. A dolphin, "Fungie", stays in the Dingle Bay and swims alongside of the boats. Everyone else on the boat would run from side to side, so excited to see Fungie. There were many pictures taken and squeals of excitement over this dolphin. There were many small boats in the harbor....Very picturesque. We shopped in Dingle and then on to Killarney.
We reach the Irish Cottage and Mrs. Kathleen Guerin, our hostess, at 6:00 PM. In Killarney, as was all over Ireland, there are no street signs. The main roads, such as the N6 are marked, but no street signs. We were looking for Muckross Road, no Muckross signs anywhere, but somehow we had accidentally gotten on it. We asked directions and were told we were on it.
Mrs. Guerin had beautiful Irish lace at all of her windows. She said she had the first bed and breakfast in the area and her son had designed the house. The bathroom we shared (no en-suite) was big. It had a bidet, shower and the longest bathtub I have ever seen. We had the same breakfast at Irish Cottage as Castleview.
Killarney was very pretty with the many colored houses and businesses. The guys are handling the round-abouts and driving on the wrong side of the road great. The round-abouts are similar to the downtown Indpls. Circle. It is a circle road you drive around until you get to the road you want, then exit.
We ate at McSorleys in Kellarney. We all had Irish stew. The lamb and potatoes and carrots were ok, but not something I would order again.
6-14-98, Sunday - Today we began the day with a tour of the Ross Castle. It was built in the 15th century and is fully restored to a pristine condition. It is on a lake, surrounded by mountains. It is a sunny day, the areas in any direction are picture perfect, like postcard pictures. The Donahue Ross family, who owned the castle, burned the roof off in the 1920's when they moved from the castle. In their area you had to pay taxes on any building with a roof. To avoid taxes on the castle, they burned the roof off. Restoration began in the 1970's by American Businessmen. The castle was turned over to the country of Ireland in 1979.
The rooms were large, the furnishings sparse. The bed, the only one in the castle, was very short. The men of the time averaged 5' 2" and the women 5'. The walls were very white. They were painted authentically with white lie, water and animal blood. My favorite room was the bathroom. A narrow hallway, about 15' long, barely wide enough for a 20th century man's shoulders led to the bathroom. A small area to the right was the "sitting" area that seated four at a time. The ammonia generated by waste permeated the hallway area. This area was where clothes were hung and the "aroma" of the ammonia would kill the lice and other vermin in the clothes. Hence, the first dry cleaning!
Next on our agenda was the "Ring of Kerry". The panoramic views of lakes, the ocean, mountains, streams, rock formations and the always-present rock walls that lined the roads were breathtaking. The narrow winding roads were exciting to navigate, especially when we had a BIG tour bus coming the other way on the road. The tour busses went counter clockwise, we went clockwise.
I do believe the Ring of Kerry is the most beautiful area I have ever seen. Every curve to come upon yet another breathtaking sight. The sheep were everywhere. They were on the road, walking on top of the narrow rock walls that lined the roads, balancing on the side of a mountain or just lying down. Bob honked the horn twice at a sheep that had his back to us and was at the side of the road. He quickly looked over his shoulder and called, "BAH, BAH!", really loud. Bob said he couldn't get his hoof up fast enough to flip him off. We all about died laughing.
At the tip of the Ring of Kerry on the South Side was Staigue Fort. This was a large circle of piled stones, maybe 100 feet across, and 14 feet deep that was built in 500 B.C. The fort is 2,498 years old and still standing. It was nestled down between mountains and near a crystal clear creek. You could climb up the rock stairways on the inside of the fort to look out.
In the town of Sneem we saw a church procession for the Corpus Christie, religious holiday celebrated once a year. This was made up of adults and children and a priest. The priest was at the end of the procession and four people held a 4' x 4' cloth above his head as he walked. It was interesting to see the children in their Sunday finest. Some of the little girls wore hiking boots with their dresses.
We get to our next bed and breakfast to spend the night in Blarney, just North of Cork. We stay with Mrs. Margaret Cronin in "Rosemont". She has a beautifully decorated home within walking distance of the town of Blarney and the Blarney Castle.
6-15-98, Monday
Blarney was my favorite town. It had a large grassy and tree area, probably one block by one block square, right in the center of town. The shops and pubs of many colors lined the outer edges of the grassy square. This town did not have as many people or tourists like some of the other towns. It was nice and quiet, peaceful. The school children came to the square for recess. They were all dressed in the same uniform.
The Blarney Castle was very beautiful. The grounds were spectacular. Many streams, lakes and trees dot the massive grounds around the castle. The 5-story castle is not fully restored, but you could get a feeling of what the castle was like in medieval times. All four of us lay on our backs at the very top of the battlements, leaned over backwards and kissed the Blarney Stone.
After the Blarney Castle, we headed for Ardmore. Here we saw the first Christian Church in Ireland. Fifteen years before St. Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland, St Declan did. The zeal that he showed while telling the tale of Christ converted many pagans to Christianity. St. Declan founded a Seminary in 416 AD in Ardmore. "The light of Christianity radiated into all the contiguous districts".
The Ardmore Round Tower, built in 1176 AD, is one of the best to be seen in Ireland. Most of the "towers" were built to defend against the Viking attacks. This one wasn't finished until they were well and truly gone. Still it did its fare share of work in defending the monastery against various attacks. One such attack was in 1642, when Cromwell sent men to lay siege to the monastery. When at last the people surrendered, Cromwells men hung 117 of them. The Round Tower still bears the marks of the cannon fire. The Tower and walls of the Seminary are intact today.
We found the non-restored Ardmore Castle near the Round Tower. It was on a private farm. We asked the farm hand if we could open the gate and look at the castle. He said for us to go ahead and look all we wanted. We opened the gate and moved toward the castle, maybe 60 feet ahead of us. We noticed hoof prints in the mud as we walked, cows maybe? I was closest to the castle when someone saw the BIG BLACK BULL stand up and begin to watch us. I snapped a few pictures and ran back to the gate. This was the day I wore a bright red shirt! The bull never took a step toward us, but he sure kept an eye on us. Was this the guard bull?
The Ardmore Castle was in serious disrepair, but the towers and a lot of the walls were still standing. No roof again, due to the 1920's tax law. The castle was within view of the sea. It would be a great area to restore. It was far enough away from other buildings and that great view of the sea.
We drive on to Waterford to spend the night at Ashbourn House with the Forrests. This bed and breakfast was great on the outside. It had beautiful gardens all around it. The inside was dusty and a bit junky. There were lots of spider webs and stuffed birds. We also had no heat in our room. After settling in our room, we were asked back to the parlor for scones and tea. The Forrests like to talk, and everything was "my good man", and "lovely". Lovely is a word used continuously by all Irish. EVERYTHING IS JUST LOVELY HERE!!!
We eat dinner at the Strand Inn. It is just next door to O'Brien's Pub in the town of Dunmore East. This seaside restaurant has a fantastic view and the food is wonderful. We have steak, potatoes, some kind of tomato, zucchini, onion and basil dish, and pea pods. A bright red freighter was on one side of the bay, small boats, a sailboat, and two lighthouses visible in the distance, the beautiful rust colored rock formations and the ever-present emerald foliage. The sun was bright and sparkling off the water, rocks, grass and especially the red freighter. Mike took several pictures. Sandy might paint this scene.
After dinner we go to the Forrest's recommended, "Power Pub". It is a very small, maybe as big as a two car garage, pub. It is owned by a lady, maybe 4' tall and thin with gray hair piled on her head, Margaret Power. There were about six neighborhood men in the bar and one lady when we came in. Everyone stopped talking and looked at us as we came in. I think they could tell we were not locals. We talked a little bit to one local man, but all in all they were pretty quiet. Mrs. Power gave Bob bottle caps upon his request. She gave Sandy bar mops (coasters) for Smithisons Beer (Mikes favorite Irish beer). We all had a drink, Bob and I had Guinness, Mike a Smithison and Sandy a 7up. The beer was served warm. I like Guinness, but not so well warm.
We asked Miss Power if we could come back and take her picture. She said, "OK", and we did. I took three pictures in fact. Miss Power's head barely could be seen over the top of the bar, but she sure worked the bar as a bartender.
6-16-98, Tuesday - We met Angie, 33 years old, from Columbus, Ohio at the Forrests. She has just arrived in Ireland 6-15-98. She will tour Europe a bit and then on to Bath, England to study for a summer term. She is in college to be a physical therapist. She will study Shakespeare in Bath. Angie K. Cordell, USA Group c/o RSO, University of Bath, Bath BA 2 7 A Y, England.
Angie goes with us to the Waterford Crystal Factory. It is fascinating to see how the crystal is made. We saw the process - red hot glass from the ovens (continually lit for 27 years now) to glass blowing. shaping, cooling and cutting. In the blowing area there is a 48% "throw away" ratio. The craftsmen only get paid for what they make.
After Waterford we leave for Kilkenny. We heard from the Australians, Pete and his wife, that Kilkenny Castle is so grand, "just lovely".
The Kilkenny Castle is fully restored. It is amazing someone could have lived in so much grander. The Butler family was the last to own the castle. The last heir sold the castle to the city of Kilkenny for 50 pounds. It is now very ordinate. Gold leaf decorates much of the ceilings of the drawing room and the library. Many old paintings and tapestries and even silk wall coverings. The grounds were the most beautiful that I have seen so far. The castle was also on a river, very pretty.
We eat lunch, buy postcards and Mike buys a book. We leave for Dun Loughair at 4:00 PM. We get a bit lost on our way and end up in Dublin. We finally find our next bed and breakfast, Innisfree, in 3 1/2 hours from leaving Kilkenny. We asked four different people how to get to Northumberland Street. No one ever gave us the same directions, and of course, there are no road signs in Ireland.
Innisfree, and Mr. Bryndan Smyth, are just lovely. Everything is clean and well decorated. Our room has a bathroom and a hairdryer.... JUST LOVELY!
6-17-98, Wednesday, We leave Dun Loughair at 9:00 AM for the train, "Dart", to Dublin. It was only a 5-minute walk to the train. The cost for the 15-minute ride to Dublin, round trip, is 2 pound and 10 pence ($3.15 US). The Dart always stays up above the ground, sometimes on land, sometimes on bridges. We have time on the train to notice the people of Dublin. They are very quiet on the trip in. You could hear a "pin drop". Everyone seems to be in his or her own personal world. Everyone is dressed in the same dark colors, black, navy and browns. The women are all in like a uniform of white blouse, dark skirt, just above the knee, dark jacket and plain pumps with square 2 inch heals. The men are all in ties and suits. Most of the men we see, even our hosts at the B & Bs have on ties.
Children seem to be taken care of very well here. Parents are very attentive. You don't see a child without a parent. Boys, about 12, move threw traffic in Dublin to sell newspapers at turn arounds and stop signs. A lot of the children go to schools that require uniforms. We saw many children in uniforms. Mike thinks the school dress code has moved over to the way the men and women all seem to dress alike in the same dark colors and skirts for women and ties for men.
We get off of the Dart at Connally Street and walk to O'Connor Street to catch the Dublin Tour Bus. The guide and driver of our bus spoke with a very distinct Irish brogue. We could not understand everything he said. We rode the bus till the next to last stop and got off at the Guinness Brewery. The tour was interesting, mostly about the past history of Guinness. We had lunch at the brewery, good strawberry cake.
Next, we visited two churches, St Augustines and Christ Church. St Augustine was the most ordinate. In had beautiful ceilings, about 4 or 5 stories inside and beautiful sculptures. Christ Church was more brown inside, no gold leaf or anything fancy. At Christ Church we saw the ruins of the original Christ Church. They were putting together the pieces. The pieces were stacked in piles according to color, ready to place.
We go to Dublin Castle next. This is a very large treasure chest of wonderful paintings and furnishings. The wall colors were bright yellows and blues and plum, muted just a little and tasteful accessories with beautiful curtains and ceiling trims made of plaster. The White House in Washington, D. C. is what this building reminded me of. The Northern Irish had met with the US and Irish Republic and England is this castle earlier in the week. The flower arrangements were still in the rooms and were large and pretty.
The ceilings in the International room were painted with three beautiful murals of Irelands history. The whole castle was just beautiful. In the basement, we are shown the stone walls built by the Vikings that this castle was built on.
It was raining most of the time we were in Dublin. We were tired of the many people and rain. We decide to take the Dart back to Dun Loughair. We decide to cancel our second night at Innisfree and head East toward Galway. As we were leaving Dublin we missed our road and went north instead of East. We were near Mullilngar. Four ladies we met from our Ambassadair group (the only ones we met from our group) in Waterford had recommended the Meares Court Mansion in Mullingar. We call and get reservations and directions.
Staying at Meares Court was fantastic!! Built in 1760 by Louie Meares, originally 22,000 acres. Louie Meares was an officer under Cromwell (the most hated man in history in all of Ireland) who had defeated Ireland for England. As a gift for his service to Cromwell, Meares was given this land and funds to build the mansion. The 22,000 acres had many people already living and owning property there. These people were told to go to Corrinth Providence or go to Hell - leaving or dieing the only choice.
Every room of the mansion was furnished with antiques, lovely carpets and furniture. The walls were papered and ceilings trimmed with beautiful designs. Light fixtures were also unique and perfect for the house. Our room was done in beige's and golds and dark green...so perfect and beautiful. The grounds of the mansion, pond, stables and garden were perfect and serene. A flock of sheep grazed peacefully in a rock walled area by the winding driveway. Trees on either side tunneled the driveway. So quiet, so perfect, what a finish to a memorable beautiful trip. Mr. Penred, our host, was most gracious. He told us the history of the mansion and gave us a tour upon our request.
6-18-98, Thursday, Leaving Meares Court Mansion was hard. We all roamed the grounds and took many pictures. So wonderful!
Our next stop is Gallway. Here I buy more of the glassware I bought in Waterford. Sandy finds the wool Foxford blankets made by nuns that she wants. What a beautiful city with colorful businesses by the waterfront and lots of people and cars. It was fun to mill up and down the street with the locals. A man was playing an accordion on a street corner. It was all so pretty and no rain.
After Gallway, we headed for our last planned sight to see, the Cliffs of Mohr. The closer we got, the more dense fog we came upon. By the time we reached the parking lot for the Cliffs of Mohr the fog was so thick you could see nothing at all. We left for our last, as well as our first, bed and breakfast, Peg Donahue at Castleview.
We check in to Castleview and go to Kathryn's Pub. It is located on a hill about a block from the Bunratty Castle. We have drinks at the bar and then get a table for dinner. We have Chicken Kiev and the Bevilles have steaks. Bob and I drink mead, Sandy wine and Mike have Guinness. We had a nice quiet dinner and then walked to the Shannon River to watch the sun start to go down. It is 10:30 PM. It is so peaceful by the river. The crowd from Durty Nellys singing, a warm slight breeze, again, so perfect!
6-19-98, Friday. We are up at 4:00 AM to get to the airport by 4:55 AM. Hertz didn't open until 5:30 AM. I can't understand why we were to be there so early! We turn in our VAT shopping coupons (taxes we paid in Ireland, refundable as you leave). We check in and clear customs. We buy coffee and shopped with our remaining 10 pounds. We waited to board our airplane.
We board our airplane, flight 6990, at 7:35 AM, but didn't take off until 9:00 AM due to a unloading that had not been done. We landed at Gatwick England about 10:00 AM. A quick down and up turned out to be 40 minutes due to the hold up at Shannon and our missing our original takeoff time.
We fly against the trade winds at 31 to 33 thousand feet. We travel over the Isle of Mann and Belfast and then on to Glander, New Foundland for refueling. We get off of the airplane at Glander and buy ice cream and stretch our legs. We had been on the airplane for 10 hours. We have 3 1/2 more hours of flying to get to Indy. It is taking longer to get home than to Ireland due to the trade winds. I feel tired but excited about our wonderful vacation. We have all agreed it was a perfect beautiful vacation.
We land in Indy at 2:45 PM. We clear customs and call my parents to pick us up. We are home by 4:00 PM on Friday, 6-19-98. We have the weekend to rest up. We have our days and nights a little messed up, but no real jet lag. We went to bed at 6:00 PM and got up at 4:00 AM.
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