Day Ten - Cliffs of Moher

Today was an active one, as we headed out from Galway to the small town of Doolin, where we connected with our local guide, Pat Sweeney, for our walk along the Cliffs of Moher. He was quite the character; a local beef farmer who is also somewhat of an entrepreneur. He also runs a bed and breakfast with his wife, and rents out part of his property on the cliffside for weddings. As well, he is the head of a consortium of 27 local farmers who he convinced to donate a part of their land that runs along the cliffs to put in a path so that tourists could have access to the cliffs apart from the section that goes from the visitor centre. There was a large group of us, as we were combined with another tour group, which made for a very strung out trail of walkers. The trail itself is not that arduous, apart from a couple of challenging uphill sections, but what made it a little tricky were the many stiles you had to climb over, as well as the mucky condition on parts. We were feeling very blessed to have had a bright, sunny, relatively windless day, which afforded us fantastic views, not only of the cliffs, but also of the Aran Islands offshore. I can't imagine what it would be like to do this hike in wet, rainy conditions.

To say that the views are spectacular would be somewhat of an understatement. We hiked for a little over three hours and were amazed at the variety of vistas we saw. There was even a point where there is a waterfall tumbling down the cliff down to the ocean. At another, Pat explained that this was a place where surfers came, due to the high waves. All in all, an experience I am very glad to have been party to!

On our return trip to Galway, we stopped at a chocolate factory for a short explanation of the chocolate-making process, as well as a chance to buy some samples of their wares.

Our driver, Paul, had good intentions to take us back along the coastal road. However, partway on, a tour bus and a motor home had met up and were stuck, backing up traffic for a considerable distance. So back onto the motorway instead of the more scenic route!

One thing we did see lots of today were fences constructed of rock, which is in plentiful supply in these parts. One particular type is called a "penny fence", which are rock fences which do not appear to have any particular purpose, but wind their way up the hillsides. In days gone by, after the time of Plantation in the 1600s, the Irish, who had farmed the lands for generations before, were supplanted by British settlers, and forced to become tenants on their own land. During times of famine, when crops failed and these Irish tenants had no means of support, their British landlords, if they had any compassion in their souls, would pay them a penny a day to build these fences, for which there really was no need or purpose, save to give the poor tenants an opportunity to stave off starvation. Hence the name "penny fences".

Once back, we headed over to Mike's recommended restaurant, McDonough's, not to be confused with the Golden Arches! They are known for their fish and chips, and from the generous portions and great taste, the reputation is well deserved! A bonus was that we could go next door to the pub and order our pints to bring back to the restaurant. But only with the proviso that we return the glasses when we were done! After dinner, Mary and I headed out to explore the town a bit more while the boys headed back to the hotel. On our trek about town we saw a hooker boat coming into the harbour, as well as the remnants of a performance in Eyre Square, the aftermath of which was piles and piles of colours streamers on the ground and in the trees.

A quick cleanup back at the hotel and then downstairs to take in the music session right in the hotel. It was great fun, with a lively group consisting of an older lady who played the button accordion and penny whistle, her son who played the fiddle and another young man who played the guitar and sang with a very robust voice. They handed out song sheets, so we ended up singing along with them, some songs we knew, others we did not. In between the singing, her husband came and gave us an impromptu history lesson on Galway and the surrounding area. It was a great way to end our time in this lovely, lovely city!!

Day Nine Dublin to Galway

En route to Galway, we stopped at a very picturesque place called Athlone, where Mike's grandfather hails from. Athlone boasts not only a castle, but according to the Guinness Book of World Records, and our host, Timmy, Ireland's oldest pub. Sean's Bar dates back to 908 AD and inside the bar in a framed display is a section of the original wall of the building. Timmy regaled us with the true history of whiskey, starting with the Irish monks who learned the distillation process from The Spaniards and Moors in Spain who were using it to make perfumes. These monks brought it back to Ireland, and particularly to their monastery on the lake just outside the town of Athlone (Loch Ree) From there it travelled to Scotland and England, and when the Vikings invaded, they took it back to Scandinavia, and through their travels, subsequently to Greenland, Iceland and eventually Canada (think Erik the Red and Leif Ericsson). It was a fascinating story, made all the more believable when you are standing in a building that is 1100+ years old!

On then to Galway which turns out to be a delightful small city of around 80 000. Our hotel is right in the city centre, a hop, step and a jump from Eyre Square, where one finds both the Hooker Sculpture and the Browne Door. The former is a stylized rendering of the sails of a Galway Hooker, which is a boat, not a lady of the evening! Browne Door is the remains of a merchant's house dating back from 1627, and removed from its original location to Eyre Square.

After a quick lunch at a local sandwich shop, we headed off on our tour of this fair city. Again, a history lesson on the invasions, takeovers and hands-changing of the area throughout the years. However, as our guide explained, west Ireland was not as attractive a place for those from elsewhere, so did not undergo the same amount of disruption as places in the eastern part of the country. Galway is a very beautiful city, with the River Corrib running though it. There are several lovely churches, the grandest being the Cathedral, with an even grander name - Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St. Nicholas. It was built on the site of an old prison. Our tour took us in a meandering route throughout the city, including a foray into a modern shopping mall, which was built to incorporate a portion of the old city walls. Our walk took us along the river where once stood many mills and fisheries, and on out to Galway Bay.

Of course all that walking built up a thirst, so we had to stop for a pint at Garavan's before heading off to the hotel. Once there I decided it was too nice a day (apparently a rarity in these parts) to be inside, so I took off to do a little more exploring on my own. I just roamed the streets and ended up at the cathedral, which we hadn't gone into on our tour. It is a beautiful building with two huge stained glass window formations at either end.

Back to the Imperial to get reset and off to dinner at the Quayside Kitchen or a delectable meal, which we were able to eat outside, whilst enjoying the street music.

Day Eight - A Whirlwind Tour of Dublin

Together with our new friends, Bill and Mary, we started out the day at Trinity College, to check out the Book of Kells, which is a 9th Century illustrated manuscript of the Four Gospels chronicling the life of Jesus. There is a display of other medieval manuscripts and books as well, along with explanations about the history of the BOK. There is also an explanation of how the book would have been made by the monks, with both scribes and artists working on it. They believe that there were only four main scribes and possibly three illustrators that worked on the Book, which is most impressive, given the intricacy of the calligraphy and the illustrations. The Book has been separated into the four gospels for display purposes, and only two are on display at any one time, the displays being changed once every three months. It gave me goosebumps to think of being in the presence of an artifact that old.

On to the Long Room, which is the library of Trinity College, housing some 200 000 volumes, any of which can be borrowed by the students and faculty of the college, to be read in the adjoining Reading Room. There are volumes which are hundreds of years old, some of which are bound by cloth strips to hold them together. Every one of the books has been catalogued, using an interesting system of letters and numbers. Each small section has either one or two capital letters, and each shelf in the section has either a single or double lowercase letters and then the books themselves are numbered according to their position on the shelf. So a volume might be designated MM dd 1. The shelves reach at least three stories high and are accessible by the iconic movable ladders. In between the stacks are positioned busts of famous people from history - authors, politicians, nobility. It is truly an awe-inspiring sight to stand in that room and stare up at the thousands of volumes and think of all the knowledge that is contain within.

From there, we hoofed it over to O'Connell Square to connect with a Yellow Umbrella historical tour. Our guide, David, was amazing. He gave us an in-depth insight into Ireland's history from the very earliest invasions up to the present. While we did stop at a number of different sights in the centre of Dublin, it was more the information that he was imparting that was the focus of the tour, as opposed to the typical tourist sights. Not only was he a very well-versed historian, but also managed to inject a fair bit of very wry humour into the presentation. We came away with very full heads!!

Intrepid tourists that we are, we decided to forego lunch (other than a quick snack stop during the tour) and head right on over to the Jameson Distillery. This is a venture that has had a presence in Dublin since the late 1700’s and is still in production today, though their main distillery operation has moved out of Dublin. The tour was excellent, taking us through a very slick audio/visual/tactile presentation, but accompanied by a most personable young lady as our guide. We got to sample not only Jameson whiskey, but also some scotch whisky and some American bourbon, to compare the differences in taste among the three. Personally I preferred the Jameson. After the tour, we stopped for our free sample of Jameson, with a choice of neat, on the rocks, or in a mixed drink. I chose the latter, a concoction of Jameson, gingerale and lime and I tell you it was a mighty fine libation!

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped in Temple Bar, which is actually where we were staying, and which is THE happening place in town. The pub at Gogarty's was calling our name, so we plunked ourselves down for a pint. It didn't take long for it to get rowdy, with the addition of two lively musicians and a group of young men who I think were still celebrating Sunday's win of Dublin over Kerry. What struck me as funny was that when the musicians started playing a John Denver tune (Country Roads) everyone in the pub sang along. Same went for a Johnny Cash tune! We almost hated to leave, but our stomachs were telling us we'd skipped lunch so we'd best feed them!

A quick stop at the hotel then off to O'Neills, which our guide David had recommended. It was a great place to eat, with a carvery type of set up where you could have any one of a large selection of mains and a choice of six veggies. We waddled out of there quite satiated! Turns out we should have stayed on, as the two young women on the tour, Christy and Sara, did, and enjoyed an evening of Irish music and dancing! But after all that walking today, we were pretty bushed, so headed off "home".

Day Seven - Welcome to Dublin

An uneventful drive down to Dublin and the Republic of Ireland. Dropped off our three tour leavers and headed into town to our home away from home, The Fleet Street Hotel. Had a quick bite at Chopped (where we played wrap roulette- only one of us ended up with the wrap we ‘d ordered!).

Then off in search of St. Patricks Cathedral, where we thought we would be able to hear a boys’ choir performing. Turns out we would have had to sit through the Evensong service, which would have been lovely, but we had tickets for the 4:00 tour of the Guinness Storehouse, so that wasn’t to be. We did enjoy listening to the carillon play for several minutes!

Off in the drizzle to Guinness! What an impressive place! The storehouse, with all of its various components takes up some 50 acres of land in downtown Dublin, and Arthur Guinness was smart enough to negotiate a 9000 year lease on the land, so I figure they’re set for making beer for a VERY long time! It was an interesting tour taking you through the whole process of how they make their famous brew. It is a massive display, taking up some five floors of a very large building, culminating in the top floor where you can enjoy the panoramic view of the city while sipping on a pint of their finest. But it was crowded! Hard to even get close to the windows to see the view, which unfortunately was not great due to the rain. But an experience well worth the price of admission!

With the rain and time constraints, we decided to hop a cab back to the hotel, and ended up with a very talkative and humourous cabbie who regaled us with suggestions of what we should do and see in Dublin.

Back to the hotel for a quick turnaround before heading out for dinner with most of the gang at a place called The Old Storehouse. I finally had my first Irish stew with Guinness. It was delish, except that the vegetables that were supposed to be in it were non-existent.

Back to the hotel to do some planning for tomorrow with our new friends, Bill and Mary. We seem to have hit it off, so have joined up for several ventures with them.

Day Six -A Free Day in Belfast

Because we had a free day to ourselves in Belfast, and because we had covered a fair bit of ground the first two days we were here, we allowed ourselves the luxury of a bit of a sleep-in! After brek we headed down to St. George's Market, a farmers market, much like the ones we have at home, with all manner of fresh produce, meat, fish, food vendors as well as a plethora of artists, artisans and crafts people. We wandered around for a while taking in the sights and sounds and smells - not unlike our own Strathcona market!

After that, we headed over to Victoria Square, a huge shopping complex in the middle of the city centre. Its claim to fame is a huge glass domed structure which you ride up to in an elevator, and which affords you a panoramic view of the city below. It was quite spectacular!

Deciding to forego any shopping, we then set out to find "The Entries". These are a series of historical narrow alleyways that join two major streets and which have various establishments along them, often pubs. We located three of them: Pottinger's Entry, Joy's Entry and Wineseller Entry. It is in the latter that you find the city's oldest pub, White's Tavern, which dates back to 1630!

Back to the market to grab a bite of lunch. Irv had a great chowder, while I opted for a cherry scone and a delectable treat from one of the sweet sellers. Oh, and I managed to find my traditional Christmas ornament and my souvenir earrings here as well!

We walked back to the hotel and then headed back out aiming for the Autumn Fair that we had seen advertised when we first arrived, and which they had been setting up in the Botanic Garden when we strolled through.

But first we decided to try and find Friars Bush Graveyard, said to be the oldest graveyard in Belfast. We did find it, but the gate appeared to be locked. Fortunately the kindly caretaker happened along and let us in. There are graves dating back to the early 1800’s, and apparently the friar's grave which is dated 485. We did not find it and unfortunately the caretaker had taken off, so we couldn't ask him. It was a very interesting adventure!

Back over to the Botanical Gardens for the Autumn Fair, which is an annual event and there was a lot going on. They had rides and activities for the kids, a tent set up to promote more earth conscious practises, such as recycling, repurposing and composting. We talked to a young woman who was making and handing out reusable produce bags and found out her sister had just returned from a year and a half working in Edmonton! And her father, in his younger days, had taught up on Baffin Island. When she was older, they took a family trip across Canada.

The other part of the fair was the typical "show" part where people submitted their entries in various categories, such as flowers, baking, handicrafts, flower arranging, produce, much like our KDays Makers Exhibition. The flowers were absolutely beautiful and some of the produce was amazing!

But my favourite part of the fair was when we were sitting waiting for the pumpkin carving demo to begin. I started talking to a young man about 10 or 11, asking him if they celebrated Halloween the way we do in Canada. He explained that they did, and shared some of the customs that were slightly different. I asked him if he had a costume picked out yet and he said no, but he wanted to be something scary. Then he said he might go as Donald Trump or maybe even Justin Trudeau. I was gobsmacked that a kid from Ireland would even know who JT was!!We talked about the things I had seen so far and where we had been. He asked if I had seen some of the churches and then proceeded to show me photos on his phone of the church. They were actually quite good! He then told me that he was on Instagram, and that he goes by "hismajestykingliami". I was totally impressed with this young man, and he made my day!

Back to the hotel for a bit of shuteye for Irv before we headed out to Lavery's, a local pub with Bill and Mary and Christy. We were supposed to be meeting with the rest of the group at 8 to have a farewell drink with the three who were leaving the tour, but only Mike and two other couples ended up coming, not the three who were leaving!! We were then i formed by one of the bounders that we would probably be best to leave, as the area in which we were sitting would be turned into a nightclub very shortly. We took the hint and left! First time any of us had ever been asked to leave an establishment by a bouncer!!

Day Five - Doing Derry

Our day started with a walking tour of the walls of Derry with our outstanding guide, Ruairi. He was not only informative, extremely interesting and well-versed in Derry and Northern Ireland’s tumultuous past, but because he had grown up during the time of The Troubles, he could offer a first-hand account of how this conflict affected the people of this country. He himself suffered from PTSD, which he didn’t discover until he went to the US to study and ended up in a psych ward. He was very unbiased, giving both sides of the story, and explaining some of the nuances of the conflict that you don’t get from elsewhere. He was very optimistic that, through education and good parenting, the next generation will be less inclined to fall into the trap of sectarian conflict.

It was very interesting to walk along the walls of the city, as Derry lays claim to having the only remaining completely walled city in Ireland. They were built in 1613-1618 by The Irish Society as a defence for early settlers from England and Scotland. Originally there were four gates, but three more were added later.

Throughout the tour we saw much evidence of the conflict, in terms of flags flown, posters, monuments and murals on walls. One of the most moving monuments was that in remembrance of those who died on Bloody Sunday, which occurred in January of 1972, in the Bogside area of Derry, when British soldiers shot 28 unarmed civilians, mostly young men, during a protest march against internment.

Our tour over, we decided to explore a little more before we had to leave, so headed back to a little craft village area we had passed on the tour. Next we decided to revisit Guild Hall to explore the second floor, which we had missed on our first visit. Not too much exciting, except for the beautif organ and our chance to become Lord Mayor of Derry, if only for a few brief moments.

Back to the hotel to meet our guide, Mike, and a few of the others to head over to Pyke and Pommes, a converted bus, for lunch. Unfortunately it was further away than Mike thought, so we ended up gobbling down our fish tacos, (which were great, I think!) and grabbing a cab back to the hotel, where the rest of our group were patiently waiting on the bus. Good thing we had the tour leader with us!!

On the way back to Belfast, we had another surprise stop, this time at Carrickfergus Castle. This is a well-preserved castle along the coast, which was built in 1177 by John de Courcy, and is one of the best preserved castles in Northern Ireland. It has been taken over by the Scots, English, French and Irish at various points in its existence, and played an important military role until 1928. We took the tour with a very lively and humourous guide, Jackie, who filled us in on all the whys and wherefores of the castle’s history.

Back on the road Belfast bound and to our hotel. We connected with Bill and Mary Hill, who hail from Upper Saanich, BC. We just popped round the corner and grabbed a bite at Molly’s Yard. Irv had goat, while I went with the more edible (IMHO) cod dish.

Day Four Off to Derry

Off on the first day of our tour bound for Derry (Londonderry). First stop was a surprise one, at the Dark Hedges, better known to Game of Thrones fans as the King’s Road. It is an avenue of beech trees which forms a canopy of leaves over the road, and ehich were planted by the Stuart family to impress visitors to their Georgian Mansion, Gracehill.

From there, on to Bushmills Distillery, where we were give an tour of the facility and an informative introduction to the production of whiskey (with an ‘e’ as opposed to the Scottish ‘whisky’) At the end we got to have a ‘wee dram’ just to wet our whistle! Unfortunately, photography was not allowed, so not much for a photographic record of this visit.

Next stop was Dunluce Castle, another place that GOT fans would recognize as Castle Greyjoy. These are the ruins of a castle first built in 1500 by the MacQuillan clan, then taken over by the MacDonnell clan in the 1550s, led by their warrior chieftain, Sorely Boy MacDonnell.

Our final stop of the day was at the famous Giant’s Causeway, a unique area of rock formations along the coast, and which, as legend has it, was formed by the giant, Finn McCool. It is essentially some 40 000 interlocking hexagonal basalt columns which are the result of volcanic fissure eruption. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. You can walk down to the causeway and walk all over the rocks, provided you have decent footwear. There is a path that leads up to the top of the cliff, however, time constraints did not allow for us to venture up there. It is a most impressive sight, but someowhat less so, due to the hordes of tourists climbing all over it, which is probably true of most travel sites in the world.

On to Derry, where we checked in to our hotel, then decided to walk over to the Peace Bridge and head to the other side of the River Foyle for dinner. The Peace Bridge was opened in 2011 and was built to improve relations between the Unionist side and the Nationalists. During the Troubles, neither side ventured into the other’s side of the river, but with a spirit of reconciliation, this situation is improving.

On the way we stopped at the Guild Hall, which looks like a very ornate church, but which is in fact Derry’s city hall. On the bottom was an exhibit about the Plantation, the early attempt by the English to settle this part of Ireland, and which gave good insight into the roots of the unrest between the English and the Irish. It is a beautiful building with lots of stained glass.

Dinner at the Walled City Brewery was great! We each had a flight of three beer of which I surprisingly enjoyed all three! Only drawback was that Irv ordered the duck and it took almost 40 minutes to get our meals. But well worth the wait!

A walk back over the Peace Bridge and back to the hotel for a well-deserved rest after a long day.

Day Three - Belfast and Meeting the Tour Group

A combination of crappy internet and little spare time means I am way behind in my blog! So a condensed version. Today saw us visiting the Ulster museum, which was only a ten minute walk from our Air B&B. It is free and has an amazing display of artifacts. We spent the most time in the history section, where they had a most informative exhibit about the Troubles. As well an interesting exhibit about the Spanish Armada’s presence in this part of the world. They also have a number of feature items, such as a Stegosaurus skeleton, an Edmontosaurus, a wolfhound, a meteorite from Russia, to name but a few. The art floor has paintings from prominent Irish artists, along with a display of woodcuts, which were all done by women which is unusual, because women were not typically evident in the art world several hundred years ago. There was also a photographic display by Frank Quinn, who has had an ongoing project of capturing the Peace Walls in Belfast. The plan is to have these walls torn down by 2023, and he wanted to capture them for posterity. As it happened, he was in the gallery making some minor adjustments, so I got to talk with him.

On to the HOHO with a stop in central Belfast where we wandered around a bit and saw some of the sights there, including St. Anne’s church, the largest Celtic cross in Northern Ireland, the Albert Memorial clock, a sculpture called ‘The Calling’, and the Salmon of Knowledge.

We lucked into the free tour of City Hall, which is a most impressive building, reminiscent of our Legislative building. Much more opulent than our city hall in YEG. Mayor Iveson would be green with envy!

After that we headed back to the Air B&B to collect our luggage, which our host, Ruairi, kindly let us leave for the day. We were able to walk over to the hotel where the tour starts and got settled in just in time for our meeting with our fellow travellers. We are 7 Canadian couples, along with two young women one from St. Louis, the other from Dallas. They seem like a good bunch, very well-travelled! After our meet and greet, we headed out to the Barking Dog for dinner.

Day Two: A HOHO Intro to Belfast

We decided to take our cabbie’s advice and try the Hop On Hop Off tour of Belfast, just to get a sense of the overall city. If you have a good guide, it can be a very informative tour. Fortunately both of ours were, so we learned a lot, particularly about the city (and country’s) tumultuous history. One thing we discovered is that this is a city of murals. . You can’t drive too far without encountering at least one, often more, and many of which commemmorate the events and people that have shaped the past. Of course there are also glimpses of the iconic buildings and structures that Belfast has in abundance. The architecture here is very diverse and interesting. The only drawback to the HOHO tours is that there are so many places you’d like to stop and explore further, but time constraints don’t really allow for that.

We had decided that we would get off at the Titanic Belfast Experience and take that in. It is firstly a most impressive building in itself, with its metal panel cladding and unique shape - replicating the prow of a ship. Inside there are not just displays about the Titanic, but also about the history of the city of Belfast. The Titanic displays are extensive, from a huge model of the shipyard where the ship was built, to replicas of the staterooms, to a ride through the construction of the ship, to first-hand accounts from survivors. One aspect I found very interesting was the interactive space where you could see the artifacts that have been discovered on the ocean floor through the use of submersibles. It also includes stories of some of the people who were on the Titanic and who did not survive the incident. We were amazed that we had spent a full three hours there!

Back on the HOHO and the rest of the tour, ending up back at Queens University where we had started. We had intended to stop in to go through the Ulster Museum, but because it was closing in an hour, opted to walk through the Botanic Gardens instead. This is a beautifully lush green space in the middle of the city, with the Palm House, a collection of tropical plants, as well as an extensive rose garden.

Since we had foregone lunch to complete the Titanic experience, our tummies were a little rumbly, so we headed over to an area not far from our digs and found a cosy pub called “Ryan’s Bar” and stopped for a beer and a cider. Once we sat down, it was so comfy that we opted to just eat dinner there. Fish and chips and pork belly filled our empty stomachs quite nicely. A walk back to our flat followed by an evening of organizing our stuff and an episode of Designated Survivor. Our host, Ruairi, has kindly allowed us leave our suitcases here tomorrow so we can do some more exploring before we have to make our way over to the Ibis Hotel to join up with our tour group.

Day One: The Eagles Have Landed

Okay, maybe more like buzzards, but we are here in the Emerald Isle. A rather uneventful flight - some turbulence, but overall quite smooth. Unlike our experience through the airport. Landed early at 10:30 am and waited FOR-ever in the customs lineup. Fortunately there was an amusing mural of tshirts with sayings from parents to keep us somewhat entertained. Once through customs, it was another adventure to find our bags. None of the carousels had Calgary on them so everyone from that flight was wandering around trying to figure out where our bags were. Finally turned up on a carousel marked ‘Inverness’!! We didn’t leave the airport till 1:00!!

Grabbed a cab because we were too tired to bother mucking about with buses. Had a very talkative cabbie who gave us the lowdown on what to see and do in Belfast, as well as his perceptions on the current political unrest in the country, but in Northern Ireland in particular. His own father was arrested and jaiked during the Troubles, and he lost friends in the conflicts. He also talked about what effect the whole Brexit schmozzle is having and will have on Northern Ireland.

Our Air B&B is a cute little flat near Queens University. We headed out to a local pub, the Botanic (it is also near the Botanic Gardens) for a bite to eat. I tried the bangers and mash (when in Rome…) and it was quite delish. Watched a bit of the soccer match between Northern Ireland and Germany, and when we left the pub and took a little walk in the neighbourhood, we could hear the chanting of the crowd, as the stadium was fairly close to our place.

Back “home” to plan out our next couple of days in Belfast before we join up with our G Adventures tour on Wednesday evening.

We're Off!

After months of poring over Rick Steves and the Lonely Planet travel bibles, the day has finally arrived! We are off to explore the land of my ancestors (well, some of them, anyway - my grandmother’s father’s family was from County Donegal) as well as the country of Outlander. (And yes, I am doing an Outlander tour, while Irv spends the day tasting whiskey!!) Hopefully I will be able to keep up with this blog, for those of you who like to travel vicariously with us. Unfortunately, due to formatting issues between my website and my iPad and my camera, I cannot post any photos here. I will be posting on FB and if I can, on Google photos. Enjoy!

Off to the U.K.

Hard to believe that in just 9 days we will be off to the U.K. - Ireland and Scotland, to be specific. Unfortunately, I cannot upload my photos from my iPad to my website due to formatting issues. I will have to wait till I am home to post them to my website. However, I will be posting some on Facebook.