Ireland day 8-12
Day 8
Today was a bit different in that we has several small stops and instead of the usual 2 big ones. We traveled north to Castlebar to the Museum of Country Life. Very interesting look at life during the 19th and early 20th centuries. They used the materials at hand, which did not include wood. Mostly various types of straw. They had an interesting video on how they basically braided straw to make everything from chairs to horse plow collars to baby cribs.
Our next stop was at County Slingo and the Drumcliffe Curchyard to see the grave of the writer W. B. Yates. You've seen one grave you've seen them all, but this stop did provide me the opportunity to photograph one of the black faced sheep up close. Everywhere we go we see flocks of sheep. They are almost always white with black faces. They have a big splash of pink or blue dye thrown in them, which is like a brand. Each farmer has a specific location on the animal where they place their dye. One farmer may send his dogs out to round up all the sheep from a specific location and more often than not, the flock contains sheep from all neighboring farms. They are sorted out and sent back home, only to stray again the next chance they get. We decided we wanted a close up picture of the sheep, but it's hard to get doing 60 miles an hour down the freeway. Or 20 miles an hour around hairpin turns on narrow back roads as it were... Anyway, this stop afforded an excellent photo op, but I only got a second before the shy little things ran in a blind panic. One second was all I needed though, she looked right at me before sounding the alarm. Perfect shot!
Out next stop was the Belleek Pottery Factory where craftspeople make the world famous fine-china (which I never heard of, but I'm not a china person). Like the Waterford Crystal, each piece is made by hand by people who apprentice for 2 - 3 years. They weave baskets by hand rolling strands of clay and weaving each strand into place. They make tiny delicate flowers or other designs. Each piece is than hand painted by painters who mix their own colors from power. Each piece is initialed on the bottom by the person who shaped the piece and the one who pained it. Any mistakes or imperfections and the piece is smashed.
Our final stop was Derry, just in time for the huge Halloween festival which included a parade and fireworks. Our hotel was on the parade route and we were treated to quite the show over dinner. We spent as much time at the window as we did eating. This time, dinner was a buffet. One thing about the Irish, they love the starchy vegetables. Each meal consists of a meat and a hearty portion of potatoes, carrots, cauliflower and parsnips. There are very few green items at all. This buffet had salad and I think everyone filled up a plate at least twice. The dinner choices were beef, pork, lamb and salmon. Or a little of all of them. Topped off with a lemon tart with chili sorbet and some mango sauce (all one dish), raspberry cheesecake, apple rhubarb crisp or 4 flavors of ice cream. Or a little of each if you're with this group. I will say, the lemon tart was excellent! It It's s such a weird combination of flavors, but it was to die for. We even got a separate bowl of the chili sorbet, it tasted so interesting. We went to bed with visions of an extraordinary breakfast dancing through our heads.
Day 9
Well, breakfast was a bit of a letdown, but last night’s feast was hard to follow. Just the same ole eggs, ham, baked beans, fruit, assorted bread and pastries, cereal, yogurt and cheese. Everyone grabs a hand full of the cheese packets for the bus, in case we feel starvation coming on.
We began our day by freezing to death on a walking tour of Derry. The tour guide, Martin, was born and bred here and is very passionate about his city. He pointed out several significant places having to do with the 'troubles'. Derry is the sight of Bloody Sunday, sometimes called the Bogside Massacre. In January 1972 in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, 26 unarmed civil-rights protesters and bystanders were shot by soldiers of the British Army. Thirteen males, seven of whom were teenagers, died immediately or soon after. Another died a short time later. Two protesters were also injured when they were run down by army vehicles. Five of those wounded were shot in the back. Two formal investigations by the British government found the shootings justified. In 1998 the matter was reopened. After a 12 year investigation, the report was made public on 15 June 2010. The report found that all of those shot were unarmed, and that the killings were both "unjustified and unjustifiable." The British prime minister, David Cameron, made a formal apology on behalf of the United Kingdom.
We learned quite a bit of history from Martin, it was very interesting. We walked along walls built in the 16th century to keep out invading Vikings. These walls form a mile long ring around part of the city. The Vikings were only able to breach Derry when the city grew too big to be contained by the wall.
We drove along the north coast for a visit to Giant's Causeway. The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruptions. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven or eight sides. The tallest are about 39 ft high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 28 meters thick in places. The area was very cold and windy, but it was really interesting to see the formations. There are about 9 places in the world like it, only one in North America.
We drove back to Derry for lunch and a free afternoon. The sisters, April and I went shopping. We met the sweetest lady, maybe in her 40's, in one of the shops. Her aunt had taken her daughter to a dance competition and left her in charge of the shop. The poor woman had no idea what she was doing. We all have Euros, but are now in Northern Ireland, where they use Pounds. We tried to buy something but she said she couldn't take the Euros because she didn't know how to convert them. We said, no problem, we'll use a credit card. She buried her face in her hands and said I don't know how to do that either. We said we had full confidence in her, to give it a try. She did, but she just couldn’t get the card reader to work. She said she didn't drink, but after she closed the store she was going to have her first pint! She said she loved talking to the people and had met some very nice tourists. One group came in and swiped their own card for her. She said she watched them, but just couldn't figure out how to work it. We probably talked to her for 20 minutes. April had a few pounds on her, and bought Marge and Janet a post card.
We then went to Austins, a department store that had been operating for 180 years. I found a goose down duvet, on sale for a fraction of what they cost at home. Now the problem is how to get it back on the plane. If I leave all my clothes behind, I can probably fit it in my suitcase. It's too big for a carry on. I could shrink it down if I had a space bag. The only viable opt on is to check a second bag. Now I have to figure out how to make the little plastic case it comes in, airline safe. Tomorrow's mission, find a roll of duct tape...
Day 10
We started the day with a cold drizzle, but luckily, we were to be inside most of the time. We headed to Belfast to the brand new Titanic museum. It was incredible, the outside was shaped like 4 ship bows, so no matter which corner you were looking at, you were facing the bow. They were enormous, matching the size of the actual ship. The museum was packed with information, too much to read everything in the time we had.
After lunch, we took a quick driving tour of Belfast.
We headed on to Kingscourt to our castle hotel, built in 1760. It's a beautiful property called Cabra Castle. Our rooms are in the old servant quarters and are charming. My room has stone walls and a stained glass window. The furniture is beautiful, it looks like furniture you would have seen in the 1700 and 1800's. As you wander through the castle and its refurbished rooms, you wind your way down narrow hallways and up and down staircases. There are beautiful sitting rooms with real fireplaces. The hotel even has a mascot. Oscar is a 4 year old Irish Wolfhound. We found him sleeping by the entrance door. He's the size of a small pony, my dog would literally fit on his paw. Oscar was very busy sleeping and no amount of nudging or coaxing would rouse him. The only reaction I got was for him to open his eyes.
After yet another incredible dinner of sea bass, we were treated to some young Irish dancers. These 3 young ladies had been dancing for years and the oldest was maybe 14 or 15. The youngest was about 10. After the first dance, they asked for a volunteer. Without waiting for an answer, they pulled Rich up. They showed him the basic steps for a River Dance type jig, then sped up the music. He was a good sport and actually did pretty well. After another dance from the girls, they pulled up more audience members. Wouldn't you know it, April and I got picked again! I'm not sure if we were doing the same dance or not, but it seemed similar. Mike and Rose were also picked, but they were behind us, so I couldn't see how they did. I've gotten to know them a little better over the past week, and really like them.
It was a really fun evening. On the way back to our room, we passed through the bar. Apparently there was a bachelor party in progress. There was a young man in a Superman outfit. Instead of a cape, he was in tight shorts. of course we had to stop. Marge had her picture taken with him, just before he downed a shot. In the morning we saw him again, this time in a Spiderman outfit. Not sure what the point of the costumes were, but he was a very good sport and let us take pictures with him again.
Last day
I can't believe my trip is over! I'm sad to be leaving Ireland and my new friends. We got to sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast. When we arrived at the castle the night before, it was a bit overcast. This morning was clear and bright and we got some great pictures. We made our way back to Dublin by noon and had the rest of the day to tour the city. I spent the day with the sisters and had a great time with them. We did the hop on, hop off city tour, stopping at 2 beautiful cathedrals for pictures. We visited the Guinness brewery for a very interesting tour. We made new friends by giving our free beer to a group of young men. I believe their exact words were "I love you!"
We ended our trip with some last minute shopping and a dinner of fish and chips. It was off to bed early since our bags had to be out by 5am and we had to be on the bus to the airport at 6. I was able to find a flimsy box that my duvet fit into, but it only had ½ a top. I bought several rolls of tape and managed to reinforce it enough to be considered secure. When I got to the airport, I used a kiosk to check in. My airline credit card said ‘platinum frequent flyer’, which should have gotten my 2nd bag checked for free, but it said $100 extra charge. I found an agent who made some calls for an override code and my duvet was checked for free. She said I should call the airline and make sure the platinum credit card and my frequent flyer card were linked up properly. Upon my return home, I found out that for the 2nd bag to fly free, I would have to be a ‘platinum frequent flyer’, which has nothing to do with the platinum on my credit card. Lucky for me the agent in Dublin didn’t know that!
So, I’m back home, my RV
is repaired, my clothes are washed, and I did my civic duty and voted. Now I’m
off to Crystal River for 2 weeks to see what the area has to offer.
Pictures
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