Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Our Irish Adventure: June 2015

Samuel Beckett Bridge
On May 30, 2015 Don and I flew on Aer Lingus out of Boston on a non-stop transatlantic flight to Dublin to begin our 11 day trip around Ireland. Our flight was smooth and uneventful, and we arrived about 9 am on May 31st. Our taxi was waiting and took us immediately to the BallsBridge Hotel, a very convenient and modern hotel where we tried to recover a bit from jet lag. That evening we met our group in the lounge and we were pleased and surprised to find a small group of 22 people, mostly from America and a few from Hong Kong. We ate that evening in the hotel after taking a nice walk past the American Embassy. It was a beautiful evening.      The following morning found us in an overcast day and we got the grand tour of Dublin We visited Trinity College and viewed The Book of Kells and then stopped at St Patrick's Cathedral. The rest of the day was spent on our own, so we decided to visit The Guinness Museum which told the story of Ireland's most famous beer. I actually drank a small glass and found it not too bad as I am not a beer drinker. We went there with Glenn, one of our new friends from the tour, and caught a cab back to the hotel in the rain. 


That evening we went to a wonderful dinner and show with beautiful Irish music and dancing and comedy. All in all a wonderful day in Dublin.
     The next day we hopped on the bus and headed off to County Wicklow and the Glendalough Monastic Site. The weather was sunny with small quick rain showers between so umbrella was kept handy. That evening we ate together at the hotel after visiting Kilkenny Castle and walking around the town. Had to buy a new adaptor for my devices so we could charge everything having left one at the hotel the day before.
Kilkenny Castle
Glendalough
Glendalough Monastery


Youghal
On the road the next day and headed to the Waterford Crystal Factory. Don thought that this might be a bit boring, but we both found it fascinating watching the master craftsmen creating the crystal pieces by hand. We were both glad we stopped and it was well worth it. After leaving Waterford we stopped at the coastal town of Youghal, and visited an ancient wall, then on to the Jameson Whiskey Factory for a tour and some whiskey tasting. We then headed to Cork for two nights in an old hotel in the center of the city.

The Wall:Youghal
     The first evening in Cork we were exhausted and actually hit the local Subway for a bite to eat. I told Don we couldn't tell anyone. They probably would be appalled. The next day was a big day of visiting Blarney Castle and the Blarney Stone. Legend has it that if you kissed the Blarney Stone you would be given the gift of "eloquence". We arrived there in the morning before the crowds descended so just walked up the tower to the stone and watched as people lay on their backs held by a strong Irishman and kissed the stone. Not for me. Had heard enough stories about what people do on that stone to know better. I also toured the Blarney House and Don and I walked around the entire estate and the gardens. It was beautiful. The weather really has been great and we have been very lucky.
Blarney House
Kissing the Stone


That evening we met a group of friends from our tour and all went to a pub for dinner. I had traditional fish and chips and we listened to Irish music and danced and laughed. All in all a great night. An interesting part of the evening was watching a bride and groom from Nebraska come in with their wedding party and have their party right at the pub.  Below is the beautiful Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral  in Cork that we stopped at on our way the next day. 



The next day we were on our way to Ennis for two nights and we stopped at a wonderful small dairy farm for a tour and lunch. It was a beautiful family owned farm, and the lunch was excellent. We continued on to St John's Castle in Limerick for a short visit and spectacular views before arriving in Ennis at the elegant Old Ground Hotel.

 We visited the Cliffs of Moher on a rainy,windy morning. Umbrellas were useless the wind was so strong, but we managed to get a break in the rain and sprinted to the tops of the cliffs to take a couple of photos. We left there for the Doolin Caves and went underground. The power went out and we had to wait for a while, but not the most favorite stop, a lot of stooping all for one giant stalactite. The sun came out and off we went to the Burren to view an ancient burial site.






 Our two nights in Ennis went well, probably the most elegant dining so far, and the rooms were nice. Went to Mass at the Ennis Cathedral, a unique experience. Found a small yarn shop and bought some yarn. The next day we headed towards Galway and visited there, did a little shopping and walked the city taking in the sights.
Kennedy Memorial in Galway
Street Musician

On to Sligo for two nights. Our friend, Brian has traced his ancestry to Sligo, so we tried to bring him back mementos. Found a great magazine all about Sligo and the town's crest on a magnet. from Sligo we visited the burial spot of William Butler Yeats, the renowned poet. We also drove by Cassiebawn Castle, the home of Lord Mountbatten, killed by the IRA. We visited the Beleek Pottery Factory and are getting closer to Northern Ireland.
Don and Reuven deep in conversation
 So far everything has been great. The food has been wonderful, making great friends with our bus mates and looking forward to Northern Ireland. After our two nights in Sligo we headed for Northern Ireland and the Giant's Causeway, probably the most spectacular place we have visited. We also stopped for a tour of Londonderry Norther Ireland, a very interesting stop where much of "The Troubles" happened. We learned that Londonderry has a connection to Londonderry and Windham, NH where Holly lives. Many Irish people settled there many years ago. Londonderry is the home of an ancient wall that is still intact. We were treated to an impromptu serenade of Danny Boy by our city tour guide that gave everyone goosebumps. It was a wonderful moment.


Londonderry




We are now headed to Belfast Northern Ireland a much anticipated stop for me. I have looked forward to this part of the trip for many reasons, mostly historical. On our way to Belfast we stopped for a few hours at The Giant's Causeway,
 probably one of the most spectacular places to visit in all of Ireland.The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption






Bobby Sands:Hunger Striker
Our next to last night of the trip was spent in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Belfast saw some of the worst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, particularly in the 1970s, with rival paramilitary groups formed on both sides. Bombing, assassination and street violence formed a backdrop to life throughout the Troubles. Peace was made in 1998 thanks in great part to the efforts of Senator George Mitchell of Maine under the Clinton Administration. Belfast is now one of the most visited cities in the United Kingdom. After getting dropped off at the hotel, Don took a nap and I went for a walk around the city center. I never felt unsafe. I took my camera and just walked around taking in the sights. That evening we ate at a wonderful pub with a small circle of new friends. We had the whole upstairs to ourselves.


Titanic Museum
Queen Victoria in Belfast
The Guys
Titanic Memorial
 The next day we were treated to a wonderful tour of the city. We traveled around with a local guide and learned about The Troubles and the aftermath. The people of Northern Ireland are enjoying a wonderful new period of peace and prosperity and are enjoying it immensely. We visited the Titanic Museum and saw a studio next to it where Game of Thrones is filmed. In the afternoon we headed back to Dublin for our Farewell Dinner at an elegant restaurant. On June 11th the following day, Don and I had a late afternoon flight home, so we walked the streets of Dublin, went to a museum, and generally enjoyed a beautiful day. The entire trip was excellent. We made wonderful new friends, had great weather, and learned a lot. We would definitely use Gate 1 Travel again.
Zippi's Photo of us.





























































Friday, October 10, 2014

Our Transatlantic Crossing

Our Itinerary

On September 8, 2014 Don and I set sail from SouthHampton England to cross the Atlantic. We are traveling on the Ruby Princess from the same port that the Titanic sailed from in April of 1912. We will be crossing the Arctic Circle on the 13th of September. We first head north through the North Sea past many oil platforms that dot the sea heading towards Bergen, Norway. The ocean is fairly calm, and we have a couple of days to enjoy the ship and find our way around.
We arrived in Bergen, Norway on the 10th of September, a beautiful seaside city which is the gateway to the Norwegian Fjords. We took the Floibanen Funicular 320 metres above sea level and had a spectacular view of Bergen and the harbor. Natives told us we had a perfect day for the view as most often it is rainy and foggy. Just as an aside, Holly's journey this summer started in Svarlbard. As you can see on the map she was way farther north and that was her starting point. 

That evening we sailed away and are now headed north and west towards the Shetland Islands in northernmost Scotland. We arrived on September 11th, and that day there was a memorial on the ship  for the victims of the World Trade Center disaster. 
Bergen Waterfront
Our visit to the Shetland Islands was very interesting and brief. The islands are very isolated from the rest of the world, and we had to be tendered to the shore as the harbor at the dock was not deep enough to accommodate our huge ship. One of the neatest things of the day was before we left the ship, I noticed a group of schoolchildren and their teachers having a tour of the ship. I spoke with the teacher and she said they were from a school of 56 children. This group were in ages from 9 to 11, and they had seen the ships arrive daily and had always wanted to see what they were like. I applaud Princess as they tendered this group aboard and gave them a grand tour. Their eyes were as big as saucers. They even had lunch aboard. What a great public relations coup. 
Lerwick, Scotland
The town we visited in the Shetland Islands is called Lerwick. The Shetland Islands have very close ties to Norway and during WWII  a special operations group called the Shetland Bus  operated.  The main purpose of the group was to transfer agents in and out of Norway and supply them with weapons, radios and other supplies.The bus consisted of fishing boats going back and forth under cover of darkness on dangerous seas from 1941  until May of 1945. We spent the day visiting Scalloway Castle and a Shetland Pony Farm.Anything that has to do with horses is right up Don's alley. Just click and learn more. 
Scalloway Castle
Don and the Ponies
After our visit to the Shetland Islands it was time to leave for Iceland, the main purpose of our doing this trip. We have two days at sea ahead of us, and we will cross the Arctic Circle. We were given a special certificate at the end of the trip memorializing the crossing. We had a day with rough seas, but neither of us ever get seasick. Being on the ocean is a special experience. It makes you feel very small, and you get realization of how vast and powerful the oceans are.
Sunset over the Northern Atlantic
On our sea days we walk and swim. Very few people using the pool as most people on this cruise thought it too cold, even though heated to 85 degrees. Watched a movie on the deck all bundled against the chill. They serve popcorn, cookies, and milk and provide blankets....kind of fun. Don kept up with Fantasy Football, and always had satellite coverage of the games which was a good thing. Internet very expensive on a ship so I had purchased a data plan for my phone and that worked out well so we could keep in touch with everyone.
On September 13th we arrived in Akureryri, Iceland. Iceland has been under the threat of the Bárðarbunga Volcano erupting since August. There are daily earthquakes and the lava is flowing and people are frightened. We were worried about it disrupting our trip but so far so good. 
Ok Holly....I know you saw the real ones.
Godafoss Falls
In Akureryi we boarded a bus and headed out to the Godafoss Waterfall. The Goðafoss (Icelandicwaterfall of the gods or waterfall of the goði) is a spectacular natural phenomenon.
The Icelandic Landscape on our ride

On Sunday, September 14th we were supposed to stop in Isafjordur, Iceland, but there were high winds and our captain made a decision to skip this port  as it was unsafe to dock in the harbor. We were disappointed, but spent that day at sea, and  were glad to be safe.
On Monday the 15th we arrived in Reykjavik Iceland's capital city. We spent the day touring again and our main destination was the famous "Blue Lagoon." We opted not to dip but it looked so inviting. 

We have always wanted to visit Iceland, and have talked about going back for a road trip. Because of Iceland's ties to Norway and Denmark they use the Kroner for currency and things are very expensive there. My sister visited there for two weeks while in college and I had always envied that trip. There is basically one road that goes around the island. Children attend boarding schools and in the summer they use those schools for hotels. Ninety per cent of their homes are heated with geothermal heat from the volcanoes, and it costs very little to heat a home.

After touring the countryside we returned to the ship and prepared ourselves for three days at sea. It will be the longest time for sea days as we are headed for St John's Newfoundland. We kept busy, walking, going to informational lectures, reading, and of course eating. The food aboard ship is delicious. Lobster tails for dinner was Don's treat.
On Friday September 19th we arrived in St Joh's Newfoundland. Don and I had spent some time on Newfoundland a couple of years ago. We drove there with our RV, and that trip is also described in this blog. We had not seen St John's as it was on the far eastern side of the island, and we had spent our time on the west coast. We climbed Signal Hill and hiked down again and then walked all over downtown. We found Don's favorite spot a Tim Horton's and grabbed a coffee and the wifi so he could check on his fantasy team. All in all a great day.
Signal Hill
We were quite impressed with the people who maneuvered this gigantic ship out of the narrow inlet. Turned it 180 degrees then headed out to sea. We also had a bluebird day weather wise. people in the city said they only had two days of sunshine in August. We were so lucky.  That night at approximately 9 o'clock we passed over the wreck of the Titanic. Wow!!!!!!    
The narrow inlet out of St John's Harbor
Two days at sea, and then on September 22nd we arrived in the port of Brooklyn. All in all a wonderful two weeks. I got up before dawn to see this spectacular view of our Statue and then when the sun rose, we had this amazing view of Manhatten's skyline. 



Our shuttle back to Hartford was right on time, and we headed home that same day after a wonderful two week journey.