Dublin

We woke to more sunshine this morning and we Texans are getting credit for it. No need to wear several layers of clothing for awhile anyway. This morning we had a local Dublin tour guide w/ an enchanting accent. We drove around, saw Georgian row houses with colored doors, stopped at a park where the Pope (John Paul) spoke when he was here. Then we spent time in St. Patrick's Cathedral finished in 1192. As we entered (quietly) children were singing Matins. We sat and waited until they finished and then the guide took us to all the noteworthy places and explained things. The stained glass is vibrant is very old. She told us that they spend the equivalent of 1 Million Euros per year restoring the cathedral. The stained glass is taken apart cleaned and re-leaded and replaced in the windows. The organ was out of sight but filled the huge space w/ its haunting sound.

Took several pictures of stained glass, but I think they will be too dark to show the actual beauty of the glass.
The pictures of the outside of the Cathedral should be great, the sun was shining.




We passed a "gas station" with the price posted per litre--- 1.8 Euros which w/ my math skills says 9 euros per gallon and that is about $15 depending on which day you're talking about.--------And we're griping about $3+ for a gallon.

We saw a park w/ a herd of resident deer and the guide told us that lime is placed all around the perimeter of the park and the deer "don't like" lime, so they stay in the park.

Near that park is the house of the president of Ireland. The president is a woman named Mary and she has held the office for 8 and a half years.

After the tour we walked down to the center of town to eat and shop and look around. We had HUGE bowls of Irish stew
( lamb, carrots and potatoes) in a pub and then shopped for some "request gifts". Found just what I was looking for. Found a shirt for me that has a word on it that I use frequently--didn't know it was Irish. EEJIT (idiot)





We visited the BOOK OF KELLS at Trinity University. Very interesting display of how it was done and upstairs was the largest and most unusual library room I've ever seen. Thousands of ancient volumes all in one room w/ an impressive barrel vaulted ceiling.

Later in the trip we'll visit the Isle of Iona where it is supposed to have originated. The Book of Kells is an illuminated set of books of the gospels --Hand decorated and painted by monks. Probably more about this later.

We're back in the room w/ our feet up --we'll head out a little later for fish and chips or shepherd's pie. Nick will download pictures soon and I'll insert them if time permits.

Glad to have you on the trip w/ us. More later---but probably nothing after we leave Dublin for a day or two--too rural.
draft
8:33:00 AM

Potatoes and more potatoes

The sunshine didn't last. When we went down to supper, it was beginning to rain hard. But that is what we expected here. We joined with some of the non-Texans (from Calif, Connecticut and another couple I can't place yet). The lady from Seattle missed a flight and will be here Monday.

We drove about 20 min to a pub named the MERRY PLOUGHBOYS PUB where we had a huge supper and ENTERTAINMENT. Supper choices were 4 legs, 2 legs and no legs (beef, chicken, salmon) with potatoes and potatoes and more potatoes (and carrots) The meat was placed on a bed of "mashers", yep mashed potatoes, then on the side were chunks of roasted white and sweet potatoes and roasted carrots. Tasty, but I see a pattern here. The brown bread is wonderful. The food was plentiful and filling, but as our guide mentioned not very exciting--her word was bland. I may be craving salsa and chilis before we get home. But we won't go hungry.

The entertainment was superior. Four guys playing instruments and singing. I suppose the best thing was the BODHRAN (which is a native drum) and could this guy make it "sing". Another of the quartet played fiddle and sang Irish tenor. His name is Dermitt and what a voice!! After they had sung for an hour or so, they brought the 5 Irish dancers on and they were amazing. This Pub is owned and operated by the musicians and they are even outside after the show to help folks to their vehicles. We sat by the couple (Pat and Shawn) who are from Connecticut and they are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. We'll meet some of the others later.

Our tour manager tells us that when we get into rural Ireland, internet will not be available except at the one computer in the lobby and that ususally doesn't work. So-- tomorrow we're headed to Bonduron, a small coastal town. We'll probably post tonite after our walk about in Dublin with time on our own, but after that perhaps not til we get to Belfast. I'll keep notes to be able to remember what I want to tell you.

Oh, yeah, tomorrow (Tuesday) we'll have lunch at the Famine museum--doesn't that sound omnious? Or maybe just a little wrong? We'll see. It is 7 am Monday morning and I need to go get ready for breakfast.

We're here!

The sun is shining in Dublin, which we are told is a rare event. The tour manager says we must have brought the sun from Texas (she lives in New Mexico, when not traveling) because the forecast was for rain.

I love to travel, but I DO NOT love spending 11 hours on various aircraft and 6 hrs waiting in airports. Connections were fine, customs went smoothly we couldn’t have asked for better “travel mercies”, but……
For the 7 and a half hour leg of the trip I got to sit next to a hummer. I don’t even think he was aware of it but about every 10-15 seconds he made humming noises. Yes, I finally became accustomed to the noise, but for the first 30 min or so I heard every HUM. N. sat right behind a man in a broken seat. And when the man squirmed, he was practically sitting in N’s lap. We didn’t sleep much, but when you close your eyes at 9 pm and open them again with the flight crew telling you it is 4 am- you figure out you slept one hour. I originally was told that the time difference was 8 hours from Texas time. It is 6 hours different and that only happened last night. They changed to “spring time”- our daylight savings time. So when it is 6 pm here it is 12 noon there, if my calculations are correct.
The airplane food was interesting. We were offered the usual pretzels and drink on the DFW to Chicago leg. When we got settled on the Chicago to Heathrow flight, we were served a choice of roast beef or pasta. There were veggies and a roll and cake. Not bad, not great, but not bad. A (very) few hours later, breakfast came around and we were handed a box. In the box were a napkin, a spork, a little bowl of fruit and a tiny banana bread loaf.

On arriving in London we had to transfer to another terminal and we walked and walked and walked and went up escalators and down escalators and up them again. We got on a tram and then were taken to the other terminal where we walked and went up and down and finally got to gate 82 to Dublin. The flights were all full and this was no exception. The exception was that there were no pretzels and juice—unless you wanted to buy them.

The group from Brownwood numbers 20 and the entire tour group is small at only 28. We haven’t met the others yet, but we must be sure not to overwhelm them with all things Texan.

Driving along the highway to get to the Dublin hotel, we saw beautiful yellow daffodils all along the roadway. Several trees are in bloom and I must get a picture of them to attach

Of course, N was keeping his eye out for any SmartCars he might see on the road and he saw one. I’m surprised; I really thought they’d be all over the place.

I’m writing this off line because of the internet charges here. I’ll download it tonight after supper. In some places where we’ve traveled, wireless internet is free, but not here. There is a keyboard that is connected to the TV that we tinkered with to see how it works, but we gave up, as they were getting ready to charge us in addition to our wireless card.
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From Nick,
The “row houses” are everywhere. I will get some pictures to attach in the morning. They all seem to be the same size and architecture. The price for everything is high. This is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. When you factor in that the American dollar is worth half of what the Euro is worth that really makes it bad. An example is a 12 ounce diet Coke in a “Quickie Mart” is 4 Euro so that’s $8 each. If you are planning on some exotic gift from Ireland you can forget it. Then as the poet once said “money is just paper with some paint on it.”
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That’s all for today—we saw a superior show tonite—more about that later. We’re pooped!

Here we go again

Our 2008 trip is fast approaching. In just less than a week, we'll leave DFW airport to eventually arrive in Dublin- with changes of planes in Chicago and at Heathrow, London. We still have to pack, stop the mail and newspapers, remind folks who said they'd check on the cat and house. I think I have substitutes for all my volunteer and committee projects and have told the ladies I tutor that class will not be held while I'm gone for 13 days.
I'm looking forward to investigating castles, eating unfamiliar food, learning all about the history of Ireland and Scotland and staying in what is supposed to be the most bombed hotel in the world. It will be COLD, so I'm planning on layering clothes. I have vowed to myself NOT TO OVERPACK, as I have done for the previous two long trips.

We're taking the lap top, so my next post will be from Dublin, Ireland, if all works out w/ hotel internet availability.
Enjoy the ride along with us.