Well, our time in Ireland is rapidly drawing to a close after five short weeks. Actually, it has been a good long trip and we're thankful to have the opportunity to take such an extended trip. We like to go beyond a rushed trip merely hitting the tourist spots. When we have this kind of time, we can relax a bit and get to meet common, everyday people. It's been a joy in that regard.
We had one day left on our hop on, hop off bus passes so we decided to see some more local sights. Grace had a sore wrist that required medical attention so Nancy stayed with her. The doctors are of the opinion that there is nothing broken. Most likely, it's a sprain. The rest of our party took the bus.
Our first spot was Dublin Castle. There doesn't seem to be much of the original castle remaining so we decided to just view it from the outside. Next, we went in the Chester Beatty Library which is famous for it's collection of New Testament papyri that date back to the second century. They are the oldest New Testament documents in any language. It was amazing to see copies that were made not long after they were originally written.
From there, we went to two cathedrals that, surprisingly, are only a couple blocks apart. The first one, Christ Church Cathedral, was founded in the 11th century. A Norman, Strongbow, was part of the first English involvement in Ireland toward the end of the twelth century as his reputed tomb is in the cathedral.
We next walked over to St. Patrick's Park before entering St. Patrick's Cathedral. The park is the site of an ancient well where St. Patrick baptized people in the third century. The ccathedral has the tomb of Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver's Travels and other notable literary works. He was the Dean of St. Patrick'ss for many years.
After viewing the cathedrals, we totally switched gears and toured the Guinness Storehouse. It's one of the most popular tours in Dublin. It was a self-guided tour on seven floors. It told the story of how Guinness stout is made and the history of the brewery.
We finished the tour, boarded th bus, and eventually made it back to the guesthouse by mid-afternoon to check on Nancy and Grace.
In the evening, we went to a restaurant that was recommended to us, F X Buckley's. It's a well-known steakhouse in Dublin and the food was quite good. Some of us finished off our meal with a desser known as "Eton Mess". It too was quite good.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
Day 35, August 2, 2012
I started writing this blog in June and now it's August. How time flies this summer. Today turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. We purchased two-day "hop-on, hop-off" bus passes in order to see the sights in Dublin. These are very popular. There are about 25 stops where people can get on and off. The buses come by about every 10 minutes so you're not stranded for long periods of time. We noticed that most people weren't getting off but just going for the whole loop. It takes 1 1/2 hours to ride all the way around and there is almost constant narration by the driver about the sights along the way.
We got on at stop number 7 and got off at stop number 19, the Dublin Zoo. It was the perfect day for the zoo. I've been to a lot of zoos and this ranked up there as one of the best I've seen. We spent quite a few hours wandering around viewing the animals as well as the beautiful, garden-like setting.
After the zoo, we continued the bus tour, eventually coming back to the stop where we started. We took a taxi back to our guesthouse. I looked at the name of our driver and surmissed that he might be from Nigeria, like my son-in-law, Kiki. I asked him if he was from Nigeria and he said he was. He has been in Ireland for the past twelve years. Since he is from western Nigeria, he speaks the same language as Kiki, the Yoruba language. I told him about our grandson, Modadeoluwa. He perked up instantly, since Mo's name means "I wear the crown of the Lord" in the Yoruba language. I think I made this man's day. he was all smiles and said "God bless you" when we exited the taxi. I think he made my day too.
We got on at stop number 7 and got off at stop number 19, the Dublin Zoo. It was the perfect day for the zoo. I've been to a lot of zoos and this ranked up there as one of the best I've seen. We spent quite a few hours wandering around viewing the animals as well as the beautiful, garden-like setting.
After the zoo, we continued the bus tour, eventually coming back to the stop where we started. We took a taxi back to our guesthouse. I looked at the name of our driver and surmissed that he might be from Nigeria, like my son-in-law, Kiki. I asked him if he was from Nigeria and he said he was. He has been in Ireland for the past twelve years. Since he is from western Nigeria, he speaks the same language as Kiki, the Yoruba language. I told him about our grandson, Modadeoluwa. He perked up instantly, since Mo's name means "I wear the crown of the Lord" in the Yoruba language. I think I made this man's day. he was all smiles and said "God bless you" when we exited the taxi. I think he made my day too.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Day 34, August 1, 2012
As more days pass, I'm beginning to realize what a long "holiday" this is. When we tell the locals that this is our fifth week in Ireland, they are amazed. We have been able to meet many people along the way, and to me, that's what traveling is all about. Yes, it's great to see new sights, but meeting people and learning about their experiences adds a wider, more rewarding dimension to our travels.
Today, we turned in our rental car that we've had for the past two days. It was another successful driving adventure on Irish roads and we were glad to return another vehicle that was no worse the wear. The Avis rental building was within walking distance of the Kilmainham Gaol, or Jail, the most famous prison in Irish history. Since this was a British prison, many of the leaders in the fight for Irish independence were housed here between the years 1798 and 1922. They also executed a number of political prisoners which eventually turned the tide of public opinion to press for independence from England. We had a very informative tour that lasted about an hour.
We then took a taxi to the Glasnevin Cemetery, where we also had an excellent tour. This one, however, lasted 1 1/2 hours. There were many notable people buried here including Daniel O'Connell and Michael Collins. The Memorial to Daniel O'Connell, who to the Irish would be like Abraham Lincoln is to Americans, is a 168 foot tower. A number of years ago, radicals placed a bomb in the tower which destroyed the spiral staircase which asccended to the top of the tower. The tombs were largely unaffected by the blast. They hope to have the stairway reconstructed by 2016.
We ate lunch at the Gravedigger's Pub near the cemetery, which is one of the ten top pubs in Ireland. In the evening, we went to a dinner show called "Food, Folklore, and Fairies" at the Brazen Head Pub, also one of the top ten in Ireland. The pub has been located at it's present site since 1198, although the present building only dates back to the 17th century. We had a nice 4 course dinner interspersed with storytelling and music. The storyteller talked about the Irish peoples' belief in fairies and how that affected their lives. It was a most interesting evening. Most of the people who attended were from American but their were also people from Canada and Wales in the room.
Today, we turned in our rental car that we've had for the past two days. It was another successful driving adventure on Irish roads and we were glad to return another vehicle that was no worse the wear. The Avis rental building was within walking distance of the Kilmainham Gaol, or Jail, the most famous prison in Irish history. Since this was a British prison, many of the leaders in the fight for Irish independence were housed here between the years 1798 and 1922. They also executed a number of political prisoners which eventually turned the tide of public opinion to press for independence from England. We had a very informative tour that lasted about an hour.
We then took a taxi to the Glasnevin Cemetery, where we also had an excellent tour. This one, however, lasted 1 1/2 hours. There were many notable people buried here including Daniel O'Connell and Michael Collins. The Memorial to Daniel O'Connell, who to the Irish would be like Abraham Lincoln is to Americans, is a 168 foot tower. A number of years ago, radicals placed a bomb in the tower which destroyed the spiral staircase which asccended to the top of the tower. The tombs were largely unaffected by the blast. They hope to have the stairway reconstructed by 2016.
We ate lunch at the Gravedigger's Pub near the cemetery, which is one of the ten top pubs in Ireland. In the evening, we went to a dinner show called "Food, Folklore, and Fairies" at the Brazen Head Pub, also one of the top ten in Ireland. The pub has been located at it's present site since 1198, although the present building only dates back to the 17th century. We had a nice 4 course dinner interspersed with storytelling and music. The storyteller talked about the Irish peoples' belief in fairies and how that affected their lives. It was a most interesting evening. Most of the people who attended were from American but their were also people from Canada and Wales in the room.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Day 33, July 31, 2012
I'm finally getting caught up with the blog. I'm actually writing about present day events. We left the guesthouse this morning for some historical sites north of Dublin, the first one being the Hill of Tara.
The Hill of Tara is one of the most sacred sites in Irish history. It's been in use for the past 5,000 years and has been visited by Irish kings for centuries for ceremonial purposes. There is a stone on one of the mounds that is said to have the power to acknowledge the person who is to be the next king of Ireland.
The only problem with our visit to the Hill of Tara was the weather. I commented to the receptionist in the visitor's center that our visit was great except for the howling wind and the pelting rain. We had fun anyway and had a good group picture with our umbrellas in various stages of disarray.
Next, we headed off to the town of Trim. Trim was founded by a Christian priest in the sixth century. Abour five hundred years later, the Normans built a castle known as Trim Castle. You might recognize it as it was the site for the fiming of the movie, Braveheart, starring Mel Gibson. The filmmakers were working on location for six months in 1994. They modified the castle for the movie then removed all the modifications once the filming was done.
We ended up spending about four hours in Trim. We had an excellent tour of the castle which took close to an hour. We did quite a bit of walking around, just taking in the history and beauty of the area.
When we left Trim, we decided to head to the monastic site, Monasterboice, which has three of the largest high crosses in Ireland. One of the crosses, the tallest in the country, is eighteen feet tall. It was carved from stone in the tenth century A.D. and had many Christian themes in the carvings on the cross.
We drove back to Dublin and picked up our laundry which we had done for us while we traveled. After dinner at a nearby restaurant, we headed back to our rooms where I know that some of us watched the Olympics. It was great to see the U.S. women's gymanistics team win the team gold medal and the men's 4 by 200 freestyle relay also win the gold. It was a good night for team USA.
The Hill of Tara is one of the most sacred sites in Irish history. It's been in use for the past 5,000 years and has been visited by Irish kings for centuries for ceremonial purposes. There is a stone on one of the mounds that is said to have the power to acknowledge the person who is to be the next king of Ireland.
The only problem with our visit to the Hill of Tara was the weather. I commented to the receptionist in the visitor's center that our visit was great except for the howling wind and the pelting rain. We had fun anyway and had a good group picture with our umbrellas in various stages of disarray.
Next, we headed off to the town of Trim. Trim was founded by a Christian priest in the sixth century. Abour five hundred years later, the Normans built a castle known as Trim Castle. You might recognize it as it was the site for the fiming of the movie, Braveheart, starring Mel Gibson. The filmmakers were working on location for six months in 1994. They modified the castle for the movie then removed all the modifications once the filming was done.
We ended up spending about four hours in Trim. We had an excellent tour of the castle which took close to an hour. We did quite a bit of walking around, just taking in the history and beauty of the area.
When we left Trim, we decided to head to the monastic site, Monasterboice, which has three of the largest high crosses in Ireland. One of the crosses, the tallest in the country, is eighteen feet tall. It was carved from stone in the tenth century A.D. and had many Christian themes in the carvings on the cross.
We drove back to Dublin and picked up our laundry which we had done for us while we traveled. After dinner at a nearby restaurant, we headed back to our rooms where I know that some of us watched the Olympics. It was great to see the U.S. women's gymanistics team win the team gold medal and the men's 4 by 200 freestyle relay also win the gold. It was a good night for team USA.
Day 32, July 30, 2012
Last night, we came up with the idea of a "road trip". The forecast was for nice weather on Monday so we made the decision to rent a small van or SUV for two days and see the countryside. That's just what we did.
Today, we headed for the Cliffs of Moher, south of Galway. It was a 3 1/2 hour drive to get there and even longer coming back since we took a "scenic" route. The weather was fair so we were in for a good day of sightseeing.
The Cliffs of Moher are spectacular. They rise over 700 feet over the sea. There is a fence warning people to not go past due to the danger of falling off the cliffs. Dozens of people ignored the warning and hiked up to the top of the cliffs. Fortunately, we didn't see anyone fall but we did see people getting perilously close to the edge. Each year, about 10 people fall to their deaths off the cliffs. We heeded the sign and played it safe.
We were able to see the cliffs from a number of vantage points. If we ever visit again, I would be tempted to take one of the boat rides to view the cliffs from the water. There is an interesting visitors' center built into a hill. They have excellent exhibits and photos of the cliffs. They also have an audiovisual presentation of the cliffs from the perspective of a bird that nests on the cliffs. It was well done.
After a good long stay at the cliffs, we continued our road trip by driving through the Burrens, an area with much historical and botanical significance.
We ate at an excellent restaurant in Athlone, the Olive Grove, which was named the most popular restaurant in West Meath (County). The food was delicious and we enjoyed the view of the River Shannon from our table in the restaurant.
I was the driver, and after a long day, I was pretty tired when we pulled in at about 11 p.m. I was ready for some much needed rest before we embarked on Road Trip, Day 2.
Day 31, July 29, 2012
It looks like I have some catching up to do on this blog. I haven't posted for the past three days. Much has happened and there's lots to tell. Let's start with this day, the 31st day of our visit to Ireland.
We are not going to be too ambitious today. We decided to visit Trinity College and the famous Book of Kells. It's only about a mile from our guesthouse so getting their with local transportation was not a problem. We signed up for a tour of the college. Our tourguide has been a philosophy professor at Trinity College in Dublin for the past 28 years. He has a very dry sense of humor and gave a very interesting presentation. We walked around the Trinity campus and learned that it has over 16,000 students in a variety of disciplines such as law and medicine. It's an old school, dating back to the seventeenth century.
After the tour, we waited in line to see the Book of Kells exhibit and the old library. It was very interesting. The Book of Kells is an elaborately decorated book dating back hundreds of years when the books were printed by hand on vellum, made from animal skins. The pigments used for the various colors came from many parts of the known world.
After seeing the Book of Kells and the old library, we visited the Science Gallery, also at Trinity College. The gallery was showing ideas that futurists came up with to deal with population growth in the world's cities. They have some interesting ideas, such as planting bare areas using balls of dirt and clay that have seeds inside. When it rains, the balls break apart and the seeds germinate.
We also stopped at the National Gallery. Bruce wanted to see an exhibit on the artists and artwork for the Punch Magazine throughout the years. It was a very entertaining exhibit.
At night, we had a delicious dinner at the Clyde Court Hotel Restaurant, not far from our guesthouse. Nancy and I spotted it and it turned out to be a great place to go.
We are not going to be too ambitious today. We decided to visit Trinity College and the famous Book of Kells. It's only about a mile from our guesthouse so getting their with local transportation was not a problem. We signed up for a tour of the college. Our tourguide has been a philosophy professor at Trinity College in Dublin for the past 28 years. He has a very dry sense of humor and gave a very interesting presentation. We walked around the Trinity campus and learned that it has over 16,000 students in a variety of disciplines such as law and medicine. It's an old school, dating back to the seventeenth century.
After the tour, we waited in line to see the Book of Kells exhibit and the old library. It was very interesting. The Book of Kells is an elaborately decorated book dating back hundreds of years when the books were printed by hand on vellum, made from animal skins. The pigments used for the various colors came from many parts of the known world.
After seeing the Book of Kells and the old library, we visited the Science Gallery, also at Trinity College. The gallery was showing ideas that futurists came up with to deal with population growth in the world's cities. They have some interesting ideas, such as planting bare areas using balls of dirt and clay that have seeds inside. When it rains, the balls break apart and the seeds germinate.
We also stopped at the National Gallery. Bruce wanted to see an exhibit on the artists and artwork for the Punch Magazine throughout the years. It was a very entertaining exhibit.
At night, we had a delicious dinner at the Clyde Court Hotel Restaurant, not far from our guesthouse. Nancy and I spotted it and it turned out to be a great place to go.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Day 30, July 28, 2012
This morning, we bid a fond farewell to our faithful rental car. It was a Skota Superb 5-speed diesel, made in the Czech Republic. I can't say enough good things about this car. It had a smooth ride and we made use of the large trunk (boot), which handled all our luggage. The check-in at the Avis rental car return at Dublin Airport couldn't have been easier. I think the car detailing paid off. We were soon on our way back to Dublin.
We're staying this week at the Pembroke Town House. We're within walking distance of many of the major attractions of Dublin, such as Trinity College, the museums, and st. Stephen's Green. Nancy's brother and sister-in-law, Bruce and Caroline, arrived this morning from New York City. We have 3 rooms in the hotel.
While Bruce and Caroline dealt with their jet lag by catching a few hours of sleep, I walked to the Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Archaeology. They were both interesting. I was able to catch part of a lecture by the resident geologist at the Museum of Natural Museum about meteorites. He had a number of specimens on display, including the Limerick Meteorite which came to earth in the year 1813. I took a heft of it and later learned it weighed 45 kg, which is over 100 pounds.
At about 3 p.m., the six of us met up at the hotel lobby and took our own walk. We had an afternoon snack and walked to the river Liffey. Nancy and I took the DART train back and the others took a taxi (the taxi was definitely faster). We went out to dinner at the Clyde Court Hotel Restaurant and it turned out to have some of the best food we've had on our trip.
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