| LIFE Our 50th Anniversary

[Bamabww]

Day 10:

There are tractors in Ireland and Scotland but not many John Deere in the route we took. Massey Ferguson and New Holland are the most numerous brands in the area we traveled over the 12 days.

Also in Ireland, the signs are in both Gaelic (Irish) and English. They still teach the Irish language in schools.

We toured the Glenveagh Castle and it has a very sad story to it. Some rich guy decided to buy the land and build a hunting lodge. He had 244 people evicted from their homes.

The castle, through the years, has been redesigned and remodeled and is beautiful on the inside. One of the owners and would weigh his guest when they arrived and then again before they left to see how much they enjoyed his hospitality.

From the gift shop.

The hot chocolate was delicious. Patsy has a pot of tea and some kind of chocolate. The small is milk. They had milk to their tea over here. I got apple pie and another scone with butter and jelly.

The table cleaners in the cafe.

to be continued:

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Wow. Just now getting caught up on this thread... Enjoying the each post and photo, definitely makes me want to get overseas and see some of this stuff. Maybe one day... But, I appreciate you doing this thread with the all info, sorta feels like we were along for the ride and I'm looking forward to the rest of it...

 

[TerryP]

Kniwaki Cloud pruning ... prolly misspelled that. I don't think that's a Bonsai; the climate isn't right.

 

[Bamabww]

Day 10 continued:
A strange thing we noticed in Ireland was diesel was a little cheaper than gas. But both higher than the UK. They sell it by the liter same as the UK. The price of a gallon of diesel from this station would be $7.23.

A shop in Donegal, Ireland has the right idea.

At a wool weaving demonstration, they offered everyone an Irish Coffee. I had heard of it but not being a coffee drinker, I had never tried one. Of course, the addition of whiskey made the black coffee taste good! (I got their recipe.)

One spool of wool thread is equal to the wool of 3 or 4 sheep and is between 300 to 400 yards.

Where we attended the wool demo. That's the Irish flag in the middle. At the bottom you'll notice how the Irish people use an umbrella as a shield.

My pictures don't show it very well but instead of a town square, Donegal has a town triangle. The stores are on the 3 sides of the triangle. There was some construction in the triangle and it is partitioned off in the picture.

After the demonstartion and Irish Coffee our group exited through the gift shop of course.

I sent this picture in a text to our granddaughters and told them Granna (Patsy) had been guilty of this. They didn't believe me.

Ireland, like America, spells Whiskey with an E and will Yield rather than Give Way as they do in the UK.

Kilronan Castle, our home for the next two nights.

More later:

 

[Bamabww]

Kilronan Castle was built in the late 1700 and has a Michelin Star restaurant. The interior was beautiful and the staff exceptionally professional and at the same time very friendly. The food was a step or two above anything we had anywhere else on the trip.

A sign in the bar.

We told a few of the group this was a trip to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. Someone told the chef and he presented us with these chocolates and decorated plate.

Our tour made a stop at a shrine in the village of Knock, Ireland. Several people saw the Virgin Mary here is 1876 and it became a Holy Place for the community and Ireland in general. This cross was built to commemorate a visit by Pope John Paul II.

We toured the Arigna coal mine which ceased operation in 1992. Very few of my pictures from inside the mine are good enough to share. After taking the tour, led by a man who actually worked in that mine, all I can say is "God Bless Coal Miners." He said they would dig out a vein of coal and measure the gap left where they had dug. The next morning the mountain sometimes would settle 10 inches overnight! They would move to the next vein if it settled 10 inches or more. This picture was actually at the mine entrance. He said the men, religious or not, would stop here and pray before entering the mine.

The inside of the mine was like walking through a sprinkle of rain. Our guide said it was worse than that while they were working. He said, "We could always tell when a new man came to work in the mine if he groaned about the water. One of the old timers would tell the guy, you'll only get wet once today."

Here's one from the gift shop.

Some of the last coal brought to the surface from the Arigna mine.

They were proud of the Irish character John Wayne played in this movie.

 

[Bamabww]

In Alabama we'd say, "Line up on this side."

We're on a final day of touring now and our first stop after a short drive is the city of Galway. We have walking tour here for about 45 minutes with a resident of the city. The picture shows the famous Spanish Arch. At one time the fortification extended across the river to the left.

These next two items are sacred Irish artifacts were fashioned by silversmiths in Galway in 1654. The Crown gave the mayors of Galway permission to use them in coronations held in the city, primarily new mayors. Somehow, someway they were stolen. The Holy Mace shown here and

The Holy Sword. These two items are now located in the Galway Museum thanks to President John Kennedy. William Randolph Hearst bought these on a Black Market auction and had them stored in a warehouse. The guy who sold them got caught and confessed. Hearst, at first,would not agree to give them back. President Kennedy, being an Irish Catholic, persuaded Hearst to make them a gift to the people of Ireland. Hearst finally agreed and when President Kennedy visited Galway in June 1963, he presented the items back to the people of Ireland. As you can imagine, they love President Kennedy.

Our guide is explaining the Lynch Castle in the background. Built for a rich business man named Lynch in the 14th century. As an Irish man, he had made his wealth dealing with the Spaniards. The King of Spain sent a prince to live with the Lynch family just to make sure all the business dealings were fair. Unfortunately, the Spanish Prince fell in love with Lynch's son's girlfriend. The son killed the prince and the father, fearing loss of his business wealth, hanged his own son off the top of this building to appease the spanish King. Thus a hanging became known as a Lynching.

This is the River Corrib, only a mile and a half long, is one of the shortest rivers in all of Europe. It is filled with sea water as the tide comes in and then drops as the tide goes out, each day.

One of if not the oldest continuing churches in Ireland. Named for the patron saint of children, (we know him as Santa Claus) St. Nicholas had a book in his library that Christopher Columbus read while in Galway in 1477. It was called the Voyage of St. Brendan and told of Brendan's voyages to Iceland and Newfoundland from Ireland in the 8th century.

As we were making our way back to the bus, we ordered another Irish Coffee here. It was very good. I'm starting to like that kind of coffee.

Our Galway walking tour guide. If you're interested his website and blogs are good reading.

One or two more stops before we leave for home.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

This photo immediately made me think of Saban's quote (which I think is originally attributed to Steve Jobs)...

“If you want to make everyone happy, don't be a leader, sell ice cream.”

 

[TerryP]

Three types of gas.

 

[Bamabww]

All across Scotland and Ireland the fields are crisscrossed with stone fences. Our guide said some of them were 1200 to 1400 years old. Can you imagine the labor involved?

This is along what is called the Burren on the Wild Atlantic Way, a coastal route on the western coast of Ireland.

Our guide called this rock an 'Erratic' or a rock from somewhere else left behind by a retreating glacier. They were several along this route.

We're walking to the Cliffs of Moher visitor center and these are gift and craft shops built into the side of the hill.

The Cliffs of Moher. It was a bright, sunny day and combine that with a poor photographer what you see is not what I saw. It was spectacular. The wind was fierce and made it hard to walk around. So many people have been blown over the edge they had to erect a 4 feet high barrier 30 feet back of the edge.

An observation tower, built in 1835, at the peak. It offers a higher view but as you'll see a limited view because the walls are so thick.

143 steps to the top floor and only wide enough for one person so they limit the number going in at anyone time.

Just a few more, thank you for your patience.

 

[Bamabww]

A memorial for those who went over the edge, intentionally or otherwise.

With a wind chill in the low 30's, a hot beverage was in high demand. Prices are in Euros and our dollar was worth almost 93 cents to one Euro the day we were there. My hot chocolate cost $4.28 plus 20% value added tax. My fingers were so cold I enjoyed holding it as much as drinking it.

Leaving the cliffs you can see several stone fences.

A medieval banquet for our evening meal in Bunratty castle. Served by people dressed in period costumes it was an enjoyable meal and time.

Honey Mead was very good.

No utensils except for a knife. We drank our soup.

Of course we eat the ribs the correct way as well.

Got to finish dinner, so just a few more;

 

[Bamabww]

We only had a knife so eating a potato was difficult for the girls but not the boys.

Baked chicken and veggies.

Yes, this got a little messy but we each did have a bowl of water to wash our fingers off.

We drank water or white wine
And just to make sure we left the grounds when the banquet was over, a man playing bagpipes was at the castle exit.

There were flights from Shannon to the US but we flew to Heathrow where it took 2 hours to get through customs and security. Our friends flew from Shannon to Charlotte and it took them only 30 minutes.

Whew! it's a long flight.

O'Hare customs and security took about an hour. Then an hour layover and we reached Huntsville about 8:45 p.m. Sweet Home Alabama!

Quoting John Denver (loosely): "Hey, it's good to be back home again. Sometimes this ole farm feels like a long lost friend. Hey, it's good to be back home again."

Hope you enjoyed our trip with us. In June our celebration will be much simpler.

 

[rick4bama]

Thanks again! For taking us on your journey.

 

[RollllTide!]

Wow, what an epic adventure.

 

[Hardkore]

That looks like an awesome trip! I have often thought about visiting Scotland. Especially as my dads side of the family is from there.

I was planning a trip at one time but then covid happened. Someday I’ll make it over there.

 

[It Takes Eleven]

Day 7 continued:

After two pints, as they call them, a mandatory stop for me at the used beer depository.

Departing the Crown Bar. It's been in business since 1826, in this location since 1849.

After we had freshened up and Patsy had rinsed her mouth after the Guinness, we headed on the bus for our evening entertainment. We saw several interesting structures enroute.

We finally made it to the CrossKey Inn, the oldest thatch roof pub in Ireland. The gentleman in the middle facing this way is the owner. He's explaining this pub was built in 1654, has low doors and someone will knock themselves out walking through if we're not careful.

There was a three person band inside that played Irish Folk Music for an hour while we enjoyed our complimentary drinks. Of course they push the Guinness but I chose Jack and Coke for Patsy and me. She said it was so much better than Guinness! I'm sure many will agree.

I forgot to add the coke to mine.

The music, food, drink and atmosphere was just great. This was a highlight of our trip.

I'm absolutely loving this...yes, you just rent beer, but adding the "Wayne" to the name tag is classic.

You know there's no sugar in that Jack, right?

 

[Bamabww]

but adding the "Wayne" to the name tag is classic.

Patsy said doing that made me the only one who proved I was a red neck.

 

[TerryP]

I'm absolutely loving this...yes, you just rent beer, but adding the "Wayne" to the name tag is classic.

Oh man, that's funny. I had it in mind to mention that this morning.

(Subject for another thread? I HATE name tags.)

You know there's no sugar in that Jack, right?

@Bamabww Curious. What kind of sugar do they use on Coca-Cola? I ask because there's only one place I buy it from: a Mexican restaurant a few miles from here that has the 'original,' "Original" Coca-Cola: real cane sugar.

What was the writing/etching on the table?

 

[TerryP]

All across Scotland and Ireland the fields are crisscrossed with stone fences. Our guide said some of them were 1200 to 1400 years old. Can you imagine the labor involved?

Give me a coffee table book that's 100 pages of pictures and a copy of War and Peace. I'll get through the book five times over in the time it takes me to get through the pictures.

I just get lost.

How many feet did they build per day on that wall? Was it just a family, and his kids, or was it a community like we see with barn raising in Pennsylvania's Dutch country with the Amish?

How many bullets are in those walls?

 

[Bamabww]

Oh man, that's funny. I had it in mind to mention that this morning.

(Subject for another thread? I HATE name tags.)

@Bamabww Curious. What kind of sugar do they use on Coca-Cola? I ask because there's only one place I buy it from: a Mexican restaurant a few miles from here that has the 'original,' "Original" Coca-Cola: real cane sugar.

What was the writing/etching on the table?

As I said in the book, I never use Billy except when a legal signature is required. The touring company used the name off my passport.

In hindsight, I think Patsy was probably correct about the Wayne addition.

Real cane sugar, yes, the real thing like it should be.

Various visitors, over time, have scratched names and phrases in the tables.

 

[Bamabww]

How many feet did they build per day on that wall? Was it just a family, and his kids, or was it a community like we see with barn raising in Pennsylvania's Dutch country with the Amish?

How many bullets are in those walls?

Our guide said the British army construction corp built the walls in 7 different places all starting at ten feet high. That didn’t prevent anyone from tossing a bomb or object over so they would add another 10’ section and some, but not all, of them actually reached 40’ high.

The bottom 10’ is of more substantial material than most of the higher sections.