Glasgow to Edinburgh

*Of note, the proper pronunciation for Edinburgh is that the "burgh" part is like the "bru" in "brush".

Okay, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

We left Glasgow this morning around 8 and headed west ... coast to coast in Scotland (it's pretty narrow there). 

An hour's drive found us at Rosslyn Chapel, home to Dan Brown's book (read the Da Vinci Code ... fun read).  It was a beautiful chapel (not cathedral) set out a little south of Edinburgh.  From there we drove north a bit (toward Edinburgh) and Craigmillar Castle.  That was very cool.  It's a centuries old castle, no longer in use, but still in good condition.  It was a lot of fun to climb around and explore.  There were some fun views from the top as well. 

After that we drove up into Edinburgh and did a single stop for a walk/hike up Carlton Hill and a visit to the Palace of Holyroodhouse and Holyrood Abbey.  Carlton Hill (steep walk!) was high above the city and had fun views of the sea, Edinburgh Castle, St. Giles Cathedral, and basically all of the city.  There were also some fun climbing spots and Cyndie and Emma did some senior photo stuff up there.  The Palace of Holyroodhouse was a smaller manor style home, and is the Scottish residence of the Queen.  We did a fun audio guided tour and learned a lot about its history (Mary Queen of Scots was there a lot) and also the history of the Holyrood Abbey (now ruins) which are immediately adjacent (holyrood, if I understand it, was a medieval reference to the cross of Jesus, and the abbey there was said to have a shard of that cross; hence the name). 

It rained a bit in the afternoon, and more in the evening.  Especially as we got into our house.  The house is nice.  It's overlooking a fun/busy square and right next to the Royal Mile where we'll be spending lots of time tomorrow.  We had a fun dinner at a contemporary Scottish restaurant.  Then Dad and Cyndie went to get a few groceries and I took the kids to visit the grave of Tom Riddle (inspiration for a character in the Harry Potter movies).  Now it's LATE, and I'm ready for bed.  More tomorrow.  It will be nice to just hit things on foot and not fight the city traffic which is not great.

Lessons learned:

• Edinburgh traffic and parking are horrible!!
• It rains a lot in Scotland, and the folks here just deal with it.
• Edinburgh is a much more historic feeling city than Glasgow.

Scotland, We Made It!

Yes, we did it.  We:

• Left Lake Geneva at 11:15 am
• Drove to O' Hare arriving around 1p
• With a minor delay left around 4p
• Flew for 7 or so hours to Dublin
• Laid over for an hour and a half ("losing" myself, Tim, and Emma in the process*)
• Flew the hour to Scotland on a small regional jet**
• Picked up our "wrong side" car
• Toured about some of Glasgow including lots of city/traffic driving
• Only took one wrong turn and one or two "almost drove the wrong direction.

*Only lost because we were on the other end of the tram driving us out to the puddle jumper and Cyndie and Dad couldn't see us through the crush of people.  Yes, they did rush off the tram to go find us in the lobby before the plane left, but fortunately Emma is a quick young woman and caught them before they got too far.

**First time on a turbo prop plane for the kids!

Things we saw:

• Glasgow City Chambers - a beautiful 130 year old building which holds the official offices for the city of Glasgow ... kind of a small White House.
• Sir Walter Scott monument - nothing too exciting, just a monument in a square.
• Glasgow Cathedral - Nice cathedral.  Wooden beam internal ceiling which you don't see to often.  Grave of St. Mungo in the crypt ... sounds like a character from Harry Potter (appropriate for Harry Potter heavy Scotland).
• Glasgow Necropolis - cemetery on a steep hill behind the cathedral.  It was very cool in part because of how unusual the steep terrain is for a cemetery, and partly because of the cool views from the top.
• Grabbed some lunch at a fun little Indian restaurant across from the art museum.
• Kelvingrove Art Museum - didn't see a ton in there; a Salvador Dali original, a few Monets, a Linda McCartney exhibit that Tim and I paid extra for (fun because of the Beatles element of her work).
• We went to what we thought would be a cool little shopping/tourist district in Ashton Lane.  Little was the operative word ... it was tiny, and not worth the trip.  We did get recommended to some really good ice cream as a result (and got caught in a shower in the process).  Turns out Scotland and Wisconsin weather are similar ... they can go from sunshine to rain to sun shine within minutes!
• We got to the AirBnB (perfect for us ... 4 BR, and close to lots of stuff).  Hitting the sack early now!!!

Things we learned:

• None of us, and especially the kids, sleep well on the plane.
• It's important to stay hydrated to fight jetlag, especially after landing.
• It's the legs that go first when walking/touring about on the first day post flight/pre-sleep.
• Food does wonders to perk you up when jet lagged.

We're off to Edinburgh tomorrow for a couple of days , then up to the highlands!

Finishing Off Ireland

Well, the Ireland portion of the trip is over, and I am sad to have left.  I really enjoyed it, especially the country side of south western Ireland.

So, how to recap the second portion of our trip in Ireland ... Well, we started the day off at the Garnish House with a nice, traditional Irish breakfast.  We also walked to the English Market, a big indoor marketplace, and got some goodies for lunch.

At the Market!

What our drive looks like

Heading out we resolved to explore the ring of Kerry and let the journey be the adventure.  We didn't have a whole lot of specific places we wanted to see.  Our goal was simply to enjoy the trip and the beauty of County Kerry.  Along the way we stopped in several beautiful little towns.  However, the highlight of the trip was the country side.  While Dublin had its own beauty, mostly of the architectural nature, the coastline along the ring of Kerry far surpassed that.  Several highlights:

• We stumbled onto a wonderful little road that lead to a fishing berth (empty for the day we presume since some of the gear stored there was pretty fresh).  It was at the head of a really neat little inlet.  It was the first place we stopped and a great way to start the day.

• Staiggue Fort - I'm sure I'm spelling that wrong, but I'm not going to take the time to look it up!  It was a stone fort, dry fit, that has lasted for close to a thousand years.  It was fun to explore (no entrance fee, no docents telling you where to go or preventing you from walking off the edge of a 15 foot wall)!  We even purchased some pastries from two enterprising teenagers with a table in the parking area.  It was adventurous to get in as the last two miles of roads were single lane (but two way) with tall hedges on both sides which nearly brushed the mirrors on both sides.

• Several beaches on the Atlantic end of the peninsula.  They were picturesque and largely free of people.  At one, we walked out, crossing a small river letting out into the ocean, and then explored the ruin of a castle.  So fun.

We've been drinking lots of coffee and tea here in Ireland!

The last 10 or 15 miles of the journey (we stayed 2/3 of the way through the ring of kerry in Portmagee), was visually stunning.  We were on another tiny road which wound back and forth through what, to my mind, is typical Irish countryside.  Only to our left was a spectacular ocean vista, often from several hundred feet.  It was a blast, though hard to keep my eyes on the road.

On top of the fort ruin!

Yes, two lane!

• Just before we got to Portmagee, we saw signs advertising the Cliffs of Kerry.  We were all tired, but figured we could muster through.  We parked and walked ten minutes out to some totally awesome views.  Words cannot describe the impressive cliffs we saw.  It was crazy because back of the cliffs was just farming, sheep, cattle, whatever.  But then there was just a rip in the lush, green farmland and 800 feet down was the ocean.  It was well worth the stop.

In Portmagee we stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast (Cairrag Liath House, Francis was the proprietor ... highly recommended).  Dinner was in a pub in the village and we hit the sack exhausted.

View from our place!

The next day we were up early, had a breakfast with Francis, and headed over to the Portmagee pier to meet up with Mikey Joe O' Connell (I cannot make up a name like that!), our boatman to take us out to Skellig Michael.  We were blessed to be able to go as 3 out of the last 5 days they had been unable to make the trip.  

It was around an hour trip through seas that were (to my un-trained eye) on the order of 10 foot waves.  We were on a small fishing type boat, probably a 30 footer.  It was for sure the biggest waves I've ever been in.  But it was also a ton of fun to go up and down the waves and just experience the power of the ocean.  Crazy.  Just before landing we paused near Skellig Michael's sister island which is hugely populated by sea birds.  Their name escapes me, but they nest here in the summer and travel to South Africa for the winter.  I've never seen that many birds in one place!

All that white is birds!

When we landed, we began our "hike" to the top of the island to visit the abandoned monastery.  Hike is a light term because it was really as much as anything, a climb.  We took stairs that the monks had put in place over 1400 years ago.  It was intense.  When we got to the top we enjoyed an interesting talk by a guide.  Side note, the location is remote enough that the guides (there were three of them) stay on the island for two weeks at a time).  It was interesting to hear about how this small community of men at lived in this rugged location, mostly self-sufficient.  But more impressive was the rugged beauty of the island.  We also found the "Star Wars" location (the last scene from the latest Star Wars movie was filmed on Skellig Michael), which was fun.

See how tiny the boats are!  We were a LONG way up.

The journey back was uneventful.  We grabbed our car and headed through the remainder of the ring of Kerry to Killarney.  There we stayed at a bed and breakfast which was also a riding stable.  Tim and Emma enjoyed getting to know the horses, and Tim pretended to be a sheep herding dog!  We had dinner in a pub which had entertainment ... a band and live Irish dancers.  Very fun!  After dinner, we went to see the Torc Waterfall which was neat.  We also drove through the grounds (now a national park) of the Muckross House.  A cool manor house that the Irish government is restoring.

The next day was breakfast, and then we headed to the Ross Castle.  We explored a bit there, and then met our guide, Laura, who started us on our journey through the Gap of Dunloe.  We were taxied to the head of the valley, where we got in a Jaunting Car (horse and carriage).  Our guide was Mary.  Bob (the horse) took us through the Gap of Dunloe and past its five lakes.  Again, words cannot describe this lovely location.  It's highly recommended!  Mary and Bob dropped us off at the edge of a lake were we purchased lunch (stay tuned for more on this) and relaxed for an hour.  Then we boarded a small boat and journeyed through three interconnected lakes back to Ross Castle.  It was remote beauty, no population, no signs of development.  Very cool (and a little cold).

We landed, and jumped into the car and headed up to stay at Ballyseede Castle, yes castle (and that's Bally-seedy for those of you pronouncing at home).  Ballyseede is a manor style castle that's been refurbished into a boutique hotel.  Much of the castle is thus rooms, however many of the "public" rooms have been retained as well.  While there, we decided to splurge for a 5 course meal.  That was a really fun experience that I think Emma enjoyed most of all.  However, Cyndie began to feel a little bit of stomach problems, so retired for bed before dessert.  We hit the sack, but Cyndie did not sleep well because of the stomach distress.

We left around 10 the next day for Limerick, where we stopped briefly to see King John's Castle (Cyndie napped in the car).  It was supposed to be a living history type place where they have in character actors playing the roles of many of the different people (e.g. mason, baker, soldier, etc) of the time.  However, the weather wasn't great (don't know if that was why there weren't many actors of not), and lots of the displays weren't in great shape, so we cut our visit short.  

We drove on to Dublin, returned our car, and flew to Liverpool.  During this time, both Cyndie and I were not feeling well.   We both slept a bit on the plane (only 30 minutes for the flight) which was very helpful for both of us.  It was hilarious because the plane was kind of like a party bus in that there was a large group of people, who had been drinking in the airport, who continued the party on the plane.  I think they were going to Liverpool for the weekend (kind of like a Vegas trip in the States).  Funny.  We got our rental car and headed in to Liverpool for the night.  We checked into the hotel (our home for two nights in a row, which we're very excited about) and hit the sack (stay tuned for more on this as well).

Our time in Ireland ended; so very sad!

Must sees in Ireland:

• Ring of Kerry (including Skellig Michael if you can get out there)
• Blarney Castle and Grounds
• Gap of Dunloe.

Lessons Learned today:

• Even though they drive on the left side over here, they still seem to walk on the right side of the sidewalk.
• Rain is a daily experience (though typically not all day).
• There are not a lot of public trash cans (rubish bins) in Ireland.
• We're far enough north that it stays light very late.  Which means we're probably not getting enough sleep!
• You have to dress for the weather ... Francis, the B&B owner in Portmagee, was kind enough to lend Emma and I waterproof jackets for our journey to Skellig Michael.  Without those, we would probably have been in trouble.
• Sinks in Ireland have separate hot and cold spigots and you have to turn the handle 4 or 5 times around to get anything!
• Jaunting cars (horse and two wheeled carriage) are a lot of fun, but not totally comfortable.  It's similar to riding a horse in that the gait of the horse dictates a lot about how smooth the ride is.
• Wear warmer clothes than you think you need!

Looking forward to tomorrow:

• England!

On to Cork!

We ended our day in Dublin with an interesting night.  We chilled and watched the Euro 2016 final, and then hit the sack.  Or at least the kids did.  As Cyndie was brushing her teeth looking out the window, she saw a bit of a commotion.  Turns out a cab and a mini-van had had a minor fender bender ... that neither driver thought was minor.  We proceeded to see a 40 something man and a 20 something man get into a short fist fight!?  After a passer by broke them up, the 40s something in the mini-van went to his trunk and grabbed a ... wait for it ... license plate?!?! with which to go after the other guy.  Who responded by going to his trunk for his jumper cables.  Finally 40s guy's ... wait for it ... pregnant wife gets out of the car and yells at her husband and gets him to get in the car and leave.  Crazy!

So after that show, we went to bed to be woken up multiple times through the night by troubles for both kids sleeping.  I think it was a combination of a fairly noisy street, sharing a room (which they're not used to), and jet lag (still not totally adjusted to Irish time).  But we made it through, and not too tired.

In the morning, we had showers and a quick breakfast and headed to the next adventure ... left sided driving.  It turns out it's not quite as hard as some may make it sound, but it's also not 100% easy either (especially when driving a manual).  Thank goodness the pedals are in the same place!  Loaded up, we then proceeded to Cork, a 2 1/2 hour drive.  Once we got out of the city of Dublin, we got to what I more typically thought of as Ireland ... rolling green hills, small little hamlets, etc.  It was a pretty uneventful drive.  We had only one missed exit, and then we made it (through some pretty small and windy roads) to Blarney Castle.







I can't say enough about this place.  It was phenomenal.  The castle itself (dating from the 1440s) was MUCH taller than I expected.  I think its technically 4 full stories, but each is far more than the 10-12 feet of an American story.  Plus, it sits at the top of a (I think) 40 foot rock wall.  It was very impressive as we approached.  It is probably technically a ruin; mostly just the shell remains.  Many of the wooden floors are gone.  But it was very cool to be able to explore and see the different parts of the castle, all without a guide or any restriction on exploration.  Very fun.  We wound through the castle to the top where the Blarney stone is (all the while chatting with a New Zealander who was a dairy farmer who knew all about Wisconsin).  We all kissed the stone, thereby all being blessed with the gift of eloquence.  We explored the castle a bit more, but then exited the structure to the real gem of the visit, the grounds.  Here again, the real fun was something we stumbled upon!













It turns out that the current owner of Blarney castle (an English descendant of a long ago lord) has recently begun to significantly develop the grounds around the castle (this started with his inheritance of the estate around six years ago).  There was a gorgeous fern garden, a water garden, and many trails which lead around and through the grounds (including an old huge kiln).   Centerpiece to this was the Blarney House (which we unfortunately missed touring), a more Downton Abbey-esque structure.  There were also many exotic trees which provided a great source of entertainment and exercise for the kids.  We could have spent at least a couple of more hours there if we had the time.  I think I speak for the whole family when I highly, highly recommend visiting Blarney Castle, especially if you have not done so in the last six years.















Leaving Blarney, we headed to our first bed and breakfast, the Garnish House in Cork.  We were warmly greeted by a Garnish House staff member and then served traditional tea with "biscuits".  We chose a fun third floor walk up room (family room with a double bed and two singles).  Now we're chilling a little in the room before we wander out for a late dinner in Cork!



Lessons Learned today:

• Trees make great jungle gyms for energetic kids (even teenagers can be energetic kids), especially if the trees are the right kind of trees.
• 11 year olds can NOT keep track of their own things when distracted by cool history and nature.  Tim lost his wallet once and a gift he bought for his cousin Henry twice today.  Fortunately he found the both each time (though with a total of probably 15 - 20 minutes of looking).  Tomorrow, he's carrying his cinch sack and not taking it off!
• Cork has more than can be seen in a long afternoon.  We would have loved to see the Cork City Gaol (jail), but ran out of time.  St. Fin Barre's Cathedral was also something we missed.
• Cyndie picks up accents quickly!

Looking forward to tomorrow:

• A traditional Irish breakfast at the Garnish House.
• Driving the Ring of Kerry ... the fun is in the journey!