Sorry for the delay..trouble with access or C)ST...and still no pictures..to come..
Day 15 Monday July 6th Dublin and Guinness Brewery
Finally a day with almost no fixed agenda and nothing planned before 9:30 am. We start with a quick orientation bus tour of the centre of Dublin, the capital city on a bright and sunny day. We are dropped off at Trinity College Library, home of the famous Book of Kells, “turning darkness into light”, a lavishly decorated copy, in latin, of the four gospels, produced early in the 9th century by the monks of Iona. It survived the attacks of the Vikings, the real settlers of Ireland (it is suggested that all of British, Scot and Irish ancestry carry Viking blood in their genes) buried in the bog and given to Trinity College in 1661. Unlike other such treasure in museums around the world it is quite accessible for viewing and very well preserved. The library, unfortunately no picture allowed) is located in a large 3 tiered building housing hundreds of thousands of old books and well worth the visit.
We then tour Dublin on foot seeing many statues of note including that of Daniel O’Connell himself at the foot of O’Connell street. Other sites include St. Patrick’s Cathedral (Church of Ireland..the catholic cathedral of the same name is in New York City). Jonathan Swift was once Dean of the cathedral but was ousted by the elite who worshipped there due to his affiliation with the less fortunate and tendency to berate the rich and famous during his sermons. He went on to pen “Gulliver’s Travels” which is actually a parody of his experience with his detractors and their way of life.
Other interesting sites include the splendour of the the doors of the Georgian homes that once housed the wealthy and were designed as to differentiate the home from the many identical houses. The major post office in Ireland is located here and proved quite historic with bullet pock marks on the stone columns and housing welfare offices and other government services. We buy one stamp.
Captain Bligh of the Bounty relocated to Bounty as a civil engineer where he transformed the wide river Liffey running through the centre of Dublin into a navigable canal and rebuilt the harbour.
There is a remarkable statue of Molly Malone and her cart..lovingly referred to in Dublin as the “tart with the cart”. This is the site where the thousands of starving families were sent off during the “hunger” to other lands..including the United States and Canada. There are remarkable bronze statues depicting the victims with plaques that include one laid by Jean Chretien, former prime minister of Canada. There is also a working ship that is a copy of one of the aptly named “coffin” ships that transported the emigrants.
We finished the day with a tour of the immense Guinness Brewery, one of the tallest structures in Dublin with a bar at the top in a glass enclosed area with a panoramic view of the city. We are given a private tour and dinner (a rare event and almost exclusive to Globus) in a separate dining area, many tasting their first Guinness. It is well worth the visit but I did not find it as interesting or as entertaining as the tour of the Keith’s Brewery in Halifax. Good time was held by all and I make my first purchases..a rugby shirt and fancy boxers with the Guinness name of course.
Back to the hotel and a nightcap with Cheryl and Graham, Jessica, and Kevin and Julie before heading off to our rooms in anticipation of our earliest departure yet in order to make the ferry.
Day 16 Tuesday July 7th - Back to Wales
Early morning start to make the ferry and an easy crossing of about 3 hours from Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead on the Welsh Isle of Anglesey. This Isle was used as a training base for the US army air force during the 2nd world war and still in use for RAF training. The Romans called it Mona and it was the last bastion of the Druids. Holyhead is apparently named after a Druid God
A quick stop for a chance to get out passports stamped at the longest welsh name for a place …Llanfairwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch…
translated into English as….“The church of Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the fierce whirlpool and the church of Tysilio by the red cave.”
translated into English as….“The church of Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the fierce whirlpool and the church of Tysilio by the red cave.”
Humour insert…forgot this earlier..while we were touring Trinity College and looking at the Book of Kells there was quite a bit about the scribes who copied the various books of the bible. Marty (a fellow traveller) told us about the most serious error ever made in copying history. The scribe was copying a section dealing with the required practices of monks and priests and left the “r” out of “celebrate”. He apparently always had the longest and most difficult penances after each confession.
We pass through Cotswold, a scenic village (but can’t stop) with old stone lanes, shops along the road and it is the home of the anscestors of Thomas Jefferson. There are 3 million in Wales and 17 million sheep…so plenty of sheep seen. The south of wales is industrial but the north is wooded, rural and mountainous..very scenic. There are also over 2000 castles and 671 are still lived in today.
Numbers of stand alone columns are seen across Britain and about 60% of them honour the Duke of Wellington and those who died at the Battle of Waterloo (1815). The Duke owns a great deal of Britain including most of London and is one of the richest men in Britain. The US embassy in London is the only one in the world not owned by the US, but is rented from the Duke who refused to sell it.
Britain is named after the Roman name Britannia which meant “blue painte man”. Apparently in the diaries of Julius Caesar (worth reading I am told) he was apprehensive about getting off the ship to attack the hordes of blue painted, screaming warriors. The story says that only when the standard bearer led the way would the others follow.
In Britain all cars have logs which must be kept up and each year require a road worthiness test at garages set up for this purpose. The price is $200 pounds and heavy fines for those without the annual sticker on the windshield.
If a British male marries a foreigner then she is automatically British. However, the reverse is not true. Also, if you can get into Britain (apparently easy) and evade the authorities for 5 years you become automatically eligible for citizenship.
Trainspotters are quite common in Britain and they often can be seen at stations with their log books noting the various engines as they pass by..somewhat like bird watchers. They also raise funds and buy old tracks and engines and restore them.
While it is a dull, grey day the scenery is among the most spectacular yet. Early on there is pink fireweed (Rosebay willow herb sp?) along both sides of the highway. The land is mountainous with fast moving streams and rapids, valleys and trees along winding roads and abandoned slate quarries. The trip through Snowdonia National Park over Llanberis Pass is spectacular. There are many hikers and campsites and it is a popular place for hiking and rock climbing.
We pass through Betws-y-Coed and stop at Llangollen, home of an annual international contest for poets and musicians. Paverotti spent a year here when he was 16 and came back often over the years. We are here the day of the annual parade and leave just before it is to begin, a good thing since the small, scenic town is very crowded.
We head into Chester, “the walled city” wher the roman wall still exist. It is on the river Dee and home of the wealthy Duke himself. Chester is an international heritage city. The city is the focus of tourism and visiting for the local, larger cities nearby, and noted fo the roman ruins, cable streets, cathedral, black and white half-timbered buildings and the two-tiered shopping arcades called “the rows.” We are here for about an hour and a half before heading to the hotel.
The hotel is bout 20 minutes outside of Chester and a smaller two story motel type structure in a commercial area called the St. Davids Park Hotel . It is busy with a conference. The rooms are ok but the food is the worse so far and the conference delegates have a late BBQ with a band playing in the courtyard. One good aspect of the place, however, is that the internet works! Not a recommended place to stay.
Trainspotters are quite common in Britain and they often can be seen at stations with their log books noting the various engines as they pass by..somewhat like bird watchers. They also raise funds and buy old tracks and engines and restore them.
While it is a dull, grey day the scenery is among the most spectacular yet. Early on there is pink fireweed (Rosebay willow herb sp?) along both sides of the highway. The land is mountainous with fast moving streams and rapids, valleys and trees along winding roads and abandoned slate quarries. The trip through Snowdonia National Park over Llanberis Pass is spectacular. There are many hikers and campsites and it is a popular place for hiking and rock climbing.
We pass through Betws-y-Coed and stop at Llangollen, home of an annual international contest for poets and musicians. Paverotti spent a year here when he was 16 and came back often over the years. We are here the day of the annual parade and leave just before it is to begin, a good thing since the small, scenic town is very crowded.
We head into Chester, “the walled city” wher the roman wall still exist. It is on the river Dee and home of the wealthy Duke himself. Chester is an international heritage city. The city is the focus of tourism and visiting for the local, larger cities nearby, and noted fo the roman ruins, cable streets, cathedral, black and white half-timbered buildings and the two-tiered shopping arcades called “the rows.” We are here for about an hour and a half before heading to the hotel.
The hotel is bout 20 minutes outside of Chester and a smaller two story motel type structure in a commercial area called the St. Davids Park Hotel . It is busy with a conference. The rooms are ok but the food is the worse so far and the conference delegates have a late BBQ with a band playing in the courtyard. One good aspect of the place, however, is that the internet works! Not a recommended place to stay.
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