We are starting to wind down and wear out.  So today we decided to let Vic the Volvo rest and spend our time in tiny Craster.  Weather forecast for today: Rain, heavy at time.  Really?  Nope, they got it wrong. . . . again.  As of 5 PM we have had nothing but bright sunny skies.  We can see the rain clouds way out to sea though.

A Craster Mystery for you to Solve

Below is a picture of the Anchor Inn, a pub in Craster.

But there is no Anchor Inn Pub in Craster!

Here’s a picture of Ryan’s Boat Tours stand at Craster Harbor, advertising several daily bird watching trips to nearby islands.

But there are no sightseeing boats at Craster and the islands are not nearby!

What’s going on?

Could this help explain?:

Give up?

The Solution

ITV, BBC’s privately owned competitor, is in town filming an episode from the popular British TV show, Vera.  Vera is a detective.  They are now filming the seventh series, and they air in the US on PBS.  The 7th season will air in the UK in 2017.  The first three series are also available to stream in the US on Amazon Prime or Hulu (but not on Netflix).  The star of the show is diminutive detective DCI Vera Stanhope played by Brenda Blythen, quite an accomplished actress.

The Anchor Inn is actually a holiday home.  The Anchor Inn sign went up earlier this week and will come down after filming.  The whole Ryan Boat Tour stand is only a prop and will be gone after filming.  The police vehicles are props and the police men are actors.  It was fun watching.

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For lunch, I walked down to Robson & Sons Smokehouse and bought a couple of shellfish pots and a couple of Craster kipper fishcakes.  A delicious lunch accompanied by a little wine.  Dessert was a couple of delicious Border dark chocolate ginger cookies.  I have to find these in the US.  (They are on Amazon but at a ridiculous price.)

Tomorrow we have our longest drive of the trip – 5 hours to get from Craster to Cambridge where we spend the next two nights.  The weather forecast predicts we will have rain.  We’ll see.

Some Evening Photos in Craster
“The Sea Was Angry Tonight, My Friends”

Dinner at the Jolly Fisherman.  Yum Yum.

Joe: Six Lindisfarne Oysters, Craster Bouillabaisse, and a Trio of Ice Creams
Elaine:  Squash Soup, Sea Bream, and Sticky Toffee Pudding

Wednesday was a notable day – it is the first day on this entire trip that we have not seen the sun at all.  Have we really been in the UK and Ireland all this time?.  Still, it did not rain, so it was not a miserable day by any means.

Getting a bit tired with all the touring, we decided to make today a fairly short but not a culture free day.  We drove to Lindisfarne, better known as the Holy Island.  It is a tidal island, accessible by the excellent Lindisfarne Causeway during periods of low tide, completely surrounded by the sea at high tide.  Basically there are two six-hour windows during the day when you can drive to and from Lindisfarne.  The time schedule is well published and, as do the tides, changes from day-to-day.  Today’s window was from 9:35 AM until 3:45 PM.  We were about the twelfth car to cross the causeway.  All parking is in a public lot just on the outskirts of town.  Only residents can drive in the town itself.  Damn residents!

So, what to see?  First we embarked on the long walk to Lindisfarne Castle which is administered by the National Trust.  I think we were the first ones to arrive and enter.  The castle was a fortification dating back to 1550 and saw battles between English and Scottish armies as well as incursions by the Vikings.  It was built with stones from the Priory (more on that later) which went out of use at about that time.  In 1901 the castle was acquired by Edward Hudson, the publisher of Country Life magazine.  He had it refurbished by Edward Lutyens, often referred to as the greatest British architect, into an Edwardian holiday home.  Lutyens also designed furniture, and much of the furniture in the house was designed by him.  Quirkily but beautifully furnished, the castle was sold several times, complete with furniture, until it was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1921.  The NT now displays it as it was a holiday home.

YOUR DAILY REMINDER – CLICK ON PICS TO ENLARGE THEM

Lindisfarne Priory, today just a ruin, was once the center of Christianity in Northumberland.  It was the headquarters of St Aidan – we visited his church in Bamburgh in a previous post.  “Aidan of Lindisfarne (died August 31, 651) was an Irish monk and missionary credited with restoring Christianity to Northumbria. He founded a monastic cathedral on the island of Lindisfarne, served as its first bishop, and traveled ceaselessly throughout the countryside, spreading the gospel to both the Anglo-Saxon nobility and to the socially disenfranchised (including children and slaves).  He is known as the Apostle of Northumbria and is recognized as a saint by the Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion and others.”  There is history galore at Lindisfarne Priory.  I will spare you.  Click the links above if you are interested.

We also paid a brief visit to St Mary’s Parish Church in Lindisfarne.  (Is there a church not named St Mary’s anywhere? – OK, we did see St Aidan’s in Bamburgh.)  “The church is reputed to stand on the site of the original monastery founded by Aidan in 635 AD. Parts of the structure date back to the 7th century, several hundred years before the appearance of the Priory.  While its main role is to serve the small Island community it is also a year-around focus for tens of thousands of visitors and pilgrims – Christian and others.”

It being noon, the Holy Island was now crowded with visitors.  We hustled our butts over to the Ship’s Inn and secured a table for lunch.  Elaine had her cider (Aspall’s this time) and I celebrated Christianity with a pint of Holy Island Blessed Bitter on draught, brewed in nearby Newcastle.  We both had delicious fish and chips.

Then it was back to Vic the Volvo for the thirty-minute ride back to Craster for much needed naps.  Dinner tonight was at home.  Tomorrow, our last full day in Craster, we plan to stay in town.  Maybe I’ll take some pictures of the Anchor Inn pub in town.  But there is no Anchor Inn pub in Craster.  How will I do it then?  Come back tomorrow.

Update:  I wrote this at 5 PM on Wednesday and reported on no sun today.  At 6 PM the sun came out briefly!

Travel Technology Tidbits (for those who care)

• Always carry a spare SD card so when your camera SD card fails, you have a spare.  And always transfer your photos every day to another device as backup
• The WiFi on this trip has been excellent, much better than previous trips – uploading photos for the blog, usually a hastle, has not been an issue
• My Bluetooth portable speaker (Pac2Go Speaker) works brilliantly for playing music during dinner at home
• It is nigh on impossible to connect to Cox Web Mail from a European WiFi server. (Shame on Cox) Fortunately I have a subscription to HMA (HideMyAss) VPN (virtual private network), aptly named, that allows me to change the connection to a US based server.  It also encrypts all internet traffic so I can safely access sites like banking and credit cards sites when and if necessary
• The WiFi here is often unsecured.  I use a travel router (D-Link DIR 510-L) to make it more secure, and I can connect multiple devices (like a Kindle or a mobile phone as well as my PC) through it
• The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 continues to be an excellent (albeit expensive) travel computer
• My Camera (Canon G16) and my camera bag (SnapR) rock!  The camera is excellent in low light, a blessing indoors, as flash is usually not allowed at historic sites
• My PAC2GO plug adapter lets me charge three devices at one time – one via plugging it in and two via USB.  That’s helpful as we have to charge the computer, my cell phone, camera batteries, our Kindles, the D-Link router, the portable speaker, and, last but not least, our toothbrushes
• Rather annoyingly, Braun toothbrushes come with a charger that works only on US 120 V power.  It would burn up on Europe’s 240 V.  All the other devices we carry will work on 120-240 V.  So I had to search out and buy a 240 V. charger for the Braun toothbrushes before we left home.  Amazon rocks!

Tuesday was a mostly nice weather day yet again.  We had a few drops of rain in late afternoon, but nothing to speak of.

Today’s plan was an all-day boating adventure from Seahouses, just a short ride up the road from Craster, to the Farne Islands which are administered by the National Trust (NT).  The NT charges a landing fee on each island, but our NT passes exempt us from that.   We had reservations with Billy Shiels Tours for the 9:30 all day trip which included trips to two of the Farne Islands as well as a cruise around the islands.  We got there to check in at 9:00 and were told landing on Staple Island would be impossible due to conditions, so our tour would begin at 11:30 instead with just one stop at Inner Farne.  We had packed a lunch to eat on the islands, so we adjusted plans, had a walkabout Seahouses, and ate an early lunch on a bench overlooking Seahouses Harbor.  I forgot my hat, so I decided to buy a cheap one, mainly as a defense against too much sun.  Little did I know how good a decision that was.

 

 

 

 

We boarded a very crowded boat at 11:30 and headed for the Farnes, just 15 minutes away.  We cruised around several of the Farnes and saw breeding birds on the cliffs.  The major sight was the grey seal colony that we passed through.  The red and white lighthouse replaced the lighthouse from which Grace Darling launched her famous rescue mission.

 

 

 

Then we landed on Inner Farne for a close-up look at the birds.  We would be on the small island for three hours.  That’s way too long,  but we made the best of it.  You can walk the entire island and see everything in 45 minutes, so we definitely saw everything.  There are tens of thousands of birds on Inner Farne, and it is breeding season.  The first birds you encounter are arctic terns, many of them sitting on eggs.  They are very protective and love to attack the incoming bird watchers by flying and hovering above them, pecking down on their heads.  Thus, the hat that I bought was an essential item, and trust me, the birds loved pecking the top of the tallest guy’s head.  The arctic tern, amazingly, winters in the Weddell Sea in Antarctica and summers here in the Farnes to breed.

I can’t possibly name all the birds we saw, but there were puffins, arctic terns, shags, eider ducks, black headed gulls, cormorants, oyster catchers, and many more.  There are birds everywhere!  The Brits love their birds, so they were all happy as clams.  As I said, three hours on the island is overkill, but it was very interesting to see the birds.  The puffins are the cutest.  They breed in furrows, and the black headed gulls love to attack the puffins and chase them down into their underground nests.

OK, here are the bird pictures.  Lots of them.  Enjoy or skip.  Some of these pictures almost look fake.  They are not.  I took them all of them, and all the birds are live.  The stones with numbers on them are markings from the National Trust volunteers who count and monitor all the eggs, a monumental task.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After getting back to the mainland, we rushed home as it was past cocktail hour.  Elaine cooked tonight.  Lamb steaks with veg.  Yum.  After dinner we had wine outside watching the ocean and chatting with amblers on their way to see the castle.  Then early to bed.

 

 

Monday morning.  The sun is shining bright at 4:30 AM.  Under sunny skies Elaine went for an early walk up to Dunstanburgh Castle again while I attended to the blog.  She met and walked along with a woman from Tyne and Wear (but not from Whitely Bay and she did not know any Borthwicks, Sue).  After finishing the blog and taking my shower, I started out on the same walk across the fields (moors?).  By the time I met Elaine heading back, the clouds had rolled in off the ocean.  (They would quickly burn off later in the morning.)

CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our drive for the day was to the Ford and Etal Estate villages.  We skipped Ford and concentrated on Etal, often described in guide books as “ridiculously picturesque”.  I would say it lived up to its billing.  Etal is a small village about 100 yards long and consisting of a single street.  The Black Bull Pub is the only thatched roof pub in Northumberland.  Unfortunately it seems permanently closed.

 

 

 

 

At the end of Etal’s street stand the remains of Etal Castle.  We visited the castle.  It is famous as one of the major defenses for the Battle of Flodden.  OK, in 1513 King Henry VIII of England had ventured off to France to conquer Europe.  King James IV of Scotland decided to take advantage of his absence and conquer England with a large army.  Bad move, Jimmy!  The Scots were routed at Flodden Field and estimates of causalities ranged between 1,500 and 12,000 Scottish dead.  James IV was among those killed.  It was a decisive defeat for Scotland.

(Aside to Sue Urbani:  one of those killed at Flodden Field was William Borthwick, the 3rd Lord Borthwick.)

 

 

We had cups of hot chocolate at the Lavender Tea Room at the Etal Post Office.  Then we walked across the road and visited the Church of St Mary the Virgin.  There is a little steam railway that chugs between Etal and Heatherslaw, a fifteen minute journey.  We watched the train but skipped the ride although we did also stop off at Heatherslaw for a quick look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we drove across the River Tweed into Scotland for a quick look at the Museum in Coldstream, dedicated to the Coldstream Guards.  It was lunch time, so we picked the Besom Pub for sandwiches, beer, and cider, sitting outside in the warm sunshine.  (Warm here is 65 or so, not 112 like Scottsdale is enjoying.)

 

We headed back to Craster, passing through Berwick Upon Tweed for a stop at Tesco.  We needed to pick up picnic supplies for tomorrow as there will be no lunch spots available to us.  Stay in suspense as to why until tomorrow’s post.  We also bought the makings for one more home-cooked dinner at Craster Rocks.  Not for tonight though.  We think we are eating at the Craster Seafood Restaurant, and adjunct of Robson Kipper Smokehouse.  We called for a reservation and left a message, but they cannot call us back because there is no mobile service available in Craster.  We’ll be walking down the road to see if we eat there soon.

Update: Yes, we ate at Craster Seafood Restaurant.  Great views.  Friendly people.  Wonderful food.  Awful service.  It was a long meal.  After dinner we went across the road to the Jolly Fisherman for after dinner drinks.

Starters
Joe:  Trio of homemade patés (salmon, kipper, & tuna) served with biscuits & chutney
Elaine:  Lentil and chorizo Soup

Mains
Joe:  Pan seared halibut served with gateau of aubergine
Elaine:  King prawns & scallops with a purée of butternut squash & coconut (best purée ever!) 

 

 

 

 

Sunday.  It’s the last day of school break week in the UK.  We started the day with low clouds but the weather evolved into a beautiful afternoon.  Elaine took her usual walk in the morning up to Dunstanburgh Castle, a National Trust property in Craster.  Our house is actually on National Trust land.  We have to open a gate to get onto NT land to park at the house.  The gate is also the pedestrian trail entrance to Dunstanburgh Castle which is about a 1.25 mile walk from the gate.  I’ll have to walk up later in the week.

Today’s activity was a short drive to Bamburgh to visit Bamburgh Castle.  Remember Lord Armstrong from Cragside which we visited yesterday?  He acquired Bamburgh Castle late in the 19th century and completed a restoration.  His family still owns it.  It is quite a magnificent structure.  We arrived when they opened at 10:00 AM and beat the hoards that arrived later.  The State Apartments didn’t open until 11:00, so after a walk around the grounds, we had hot chocolate and scones in the cafe.  When we left the castle after viewing the State Apartments, the parking lots were jammed.

CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE IN NEW TAB OR WINDOW

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had lunch at the Castle Hotel Pub in Bamburgh, and we enjoyed it outside in their beer garden.  I had two grilled kippers and some chips (fries).  Kippers are big in the area, and Craster, our home town, is also the home of Robson and Sons which is most famous of the few kipper smokers still operating.  Their store is open every day, and they have a restaurant that we will try later in the week.  The kippers were delicious.

 

Bamburgh is the home of one Grace Darling who is quite a darling in British history.  Grace was 22 years old when she risked her life in an open boat to help the survivors of the wrecked SS Forfarshire on 7 September 1838. With her father, she rowed for over a mile through raging seas to reach them. The courage that Grace and her family showed on that day is now legendary.  Grace was the media celebrity of her day. She was celebrated internationally and was showered with honors, including the RNLI‘s Silver Medal for Gallantry. A museum was established in 1938 to commemorate her life.

We visited the RNLI Grace Darling Museum in Bamburgh.  RNLI stands for Royal National Lifeboat Association, the charity that saves lives at sea in the UK and Ireland. It was founded in 1824 and it’s saved 139,000 lives since then.  Grace was the first woman to win an RNLI medal.  The museum is small but interesting.  While in town we also came across the cottage in which she was born and the one in which she died.  Sadly, she died at 27 of tuberculosis just four years after her daring rescue effort.

 

 

We also stopped in at Bamburgh’s St. Aidan’s Church (Church of England, Anglican).  In 635 AD St Aidan was called to Bamburgh from Iona (in the Scottish Hebrides) by King Oswald to establish Christianity in his newly united kingdom of Northumbria.  He established his headquarters here in Bamburgh.  Grace Darling is buried in the church graveyard.

 

 

 

 

Then we drove home for a quiet afternoon under glorious sunshine.  I went to the Jolly Fisherman, the town’s local pub as well as the fine restaurant that we frequented last night.  I had a pint (two, actually) with locals who retired here from Liverpool.  I also took a few shots of Craster in the sunshine.

 

 

 

Elaine cooked dinner at home, and we had a quiet night at Craster Rocks.  After dinner we had a walkabout town before bed.

 

 

 

 

Saturday.  Cloudy start.  Cloudy end.  Sun and clouds in between.  No rain.  After arising, I walked around town for a bit and took a few snaps of little Craster.  Elaine was on her power walk around the coast.

Click Pics to Enlarge

OUT AND ABOUT IN CRASTER

 

At 9:30 we hopped in the car for what I expected would be a boring day overall and early return to Craster Rocks for naps and cocktails.  It wasn’t to be.  Our first stop was Alnwick Castle and Garden.  Just another castle, yes?  No.  Alnwick is the home of the 12th Duke and Duchess of Northumberland.  It is closed from October to April as they are in residence.  From May through September it is open to the public.  The castle has some notoriety as a venue for film.  It was the location for the first two Harry Potter films.  It was the setting for parts of Cate Blanchett’s movie, Elizabeth.  It was the setting for Brancaster Castle, the location for the last two Downton Abbey Christmas episodes.  The beautiful formal dining room is still set as it was for the Downton Christmas dinner, and the have the actual outfits worn by the cast on display.

The castle exterior is stunning.  No photography allowed inside the castle unfortunately.  They have a Dragon Quest where you hunt dragons.  They have the Northumberland Fusiliers Museum.  The Alnwick Garden is brilliant.  Good thing it was entertaining because it cost £21 per person (after senior discount) to see it all.  What we expected to be a 30 minute glance at another castle took up the better part of three hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From there we moved on Cragside House, a National Trust property, so our membership saved the admission charges.  Cragside was home of Lord William Armstrong who was quite the water related inventor.  It is a country house and was the first house in the world to be lit using hydroelectric power. It is built into a rocky hillside above a forest garden of just under 1,000 acres.  Cragside was built in 1863 as a modest two-storey country lodge, but was subsequently extended into an elaborate mansion in the Free Tudor style. At one point, the building included an astronomical observatory and a scientific laboratory.  It is surrounded by one of Europe’s largest rock gardens, a large number of rhododendrons and a large collection of mostly coniferous trees. One variety of rhododendron is named after Lady Armstrong.

In 1868, a hydraulic engine was installed, with water being used to power labor-saving machines such as laundry equipment, a rotisserie and a hydraulic lift. In 1870, water from one of the estate’s lakes was used to drive a Siemens dynamo in what was the world’s first hydroelectric power station. The resultant electricity was used to power an arc lamp installed in the Gallery in 1878. The arc lamp was replaced in 1880 by Joseph Swan’s incandescent lamps in what Swan considered ‘the first proper installation’ of electric lighting.  (Thomas Alva Who?)  The use of electricity in many of the houses gadgets and systems has also led it to be described by some as a smart home as it was the first private residence to use incandescent lighting, a dish washer, a vacuum cleaner and a washing machine.  One of Armstrong’s stated aims of both using and funding these new automation technologies was to “emancipate the world from household drudgery”, as shown on a plaque at Bamburgh Castle, his other residence.  (We may visit there later in the week.)

CRAGSIDE HOUSE PHOTOS

 

We drove home after that, stopping only to fill Vic up with diesel.  It was cocktail hour by the time we got home, so we indulged.  Tonight we had reservations at the Jolly Fisherman in Craster, just a short walk from the house.  The restaurant is very popular and rightly so.  I had their famous Crab Soup (Craster is a crabbing mecca) for a starter and a wonderful Cold Fish Platter for my main.  Elaine started with Crab Thermidor and had a delicious Game Pie for her main.  We shared a trio of ice creams for dessert.  No pictures as we forgot the camera.  We go back there again on Thursday.

Friday broke clear and sunny in Liverpool.  We went back to Pret A Manger for breakfast.  I had a great ham, cheese, and tomato croissant, and we split a blueberry muffin, the best one I have had since the ones at Jordan Marsh in Boston.  We had a nice chat with a woman from Sky News who wanted our opinion about Britain leaving the EU.  I am against; she was in favor of leaving.  We also talked about Donald Trump.  She is quite amazed that he gets so many votes; so are we.  We walked around a bit and took some sunny Liverpool pictures to replace the ones lost to the faulty SD card.  After that, suitably sustained with food, we loaded up Vic the Volvo and set out for Craster in the Northumberland area of England.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The drive to Craster was divided into two distinctly different parts.  Part one was a boring drive north up the M6 Motorway from Liverpool to Penrith.  Busy motorway, boring ride.  Part two saw us swing east on minor roads to cross the Pennine Mountains to get to the eastern shore of England.  No traffic, one lane in each direction.  The ride included a section that has been deemed by the AA (Automobile Association of Britain) as one of the ten best drives in the world, one beloved by motorcyclists for its challenges and views.  Vic handled the switchbacks and the climbing and descending with aplomb.  The views from the top at Hartside Summit were wonderful.  We stopped later on in a pretty town called Morpeth for lunch in a pub.

 

 

 

Craster is a very small town with no supermarket or even fully stocked grocery store.  So we stopped in Alnwick at a Sainsbury supermarket and picked up supplies: wine, water, lunch meats for picnics, and the makings for a home cooked meal tonight.  We arrived at Craster Rocks, our home for the next seven days, under thick cloudy skies.  The site is stupendous, the views wonderful, and the house very nice.  We settled in with cocktails, and then Elaine prepared a delicious chicken dinner before we retired for the night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is now Saturday morning as I post this. Cloudy but the forecast is good.   I awoke this morning to take these pictures out our front window:

Woke early on Thursday for our 8:45 AM sailing on the Jonathan Swift, the faster Irish Ferry across the Irish Sea.  The Ulysses, the slower ferry, leaves at 8:05 and arrives at 11:30.  The Swift passes it en route and arrives at 10:45.  Faster.  Bouncier.  The Irish Sea was angry this day, my friends.  We love the high seas.  I am writing this about halfway across the Irish Sea.  Weather, you ask?  Brilliant sun, no clouds.

On landing we had a two hour drive through Wales into England to get to our hotel, the Nadler Liverpool.  The Liverpool docks area, once a wasteland of old docks and warehouses, is now a vibrant area, much of it pedestrianized, full of shops and restaurants, reminiscent of Quincy Market in Boston.  We enjoyed our stay here a couple of years back (it’s down there somewhere in the blog archives) enjoying Beatle Mania and watching the Ferry ‘Cross the Mersey.  We reacquainted ourselves with the Albert Dock area and had a nice lunch (it was only 1:00 PM) at Pret A Manger.  I love Pret.  The concept is simple: fresh sandwiches and salads, all pre-made the same day and all delicious.  They have expanded to parts of the USA and have an outlet in Copley Square.  Were I still working (God forbid!), I would there for lunch everyday.  Albert Dock is filled with museums (The Maritime Museum, the Tate Liverpool, the Liverpool City Museum, the Beatles Story, etc.).  We have done them all previously.  Instead we sat outside at a pub (The Pump House) and enjoyed cider and beer in the sun.

I had some nice daytime photos of Liverpool, but when I went to download them to my computer, the SD card failed.  Horrors!  Fortunately I download my pictures everyday, so the only ones lost were those I took today.  I walked down to the Super Tesco near our hotel and bought a new SD card (£11 – cheap crisis!)  So the pictures below were taken after dinner at 9:30 PM.  It is light here until 11:00 PM and light again at 4:00 AM.

Last time we were here, we dined at a Spanish-themed tapas place called Lunya and liked it.  So as we passed by on our walkabout, we made a reservation.  Dinner was very good.  We indulged in the gourmet tasting menu, and we had good chat with the waiter, a man from Greece, who was our waiter the last time we were here.  Elaine remembered him and he remembered Elaine.  I remember nothing.  Here is the menu from their web site.  We had substitutions for some dishes, but you get the idea.

Tapas Banquets Tasting Banquet

Habas picantes – Giant Gordal olives – Borettane balsamic onions
Ibérico Bellota meat platter – Torta de Cañarejal and breadsticks
Catalan tomato bread
Herby crumbed rabbit – Stuffed courgette flower
Mackeral and white asparagus – Presa Ibérica
Gambas Píl Píl – Patatas bravas

CLICK PICS TO ENLARGE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One last breakfast at Marless House in Galway.  Mary makes eggs perfectly.  I’ve acquired a penchant for poached eggs on toast with cheddar cheese.  Sounds awful, tastes grand.  We were gone by 9:15 AM and on the road to Dublin.  Pretty uneventful drive save for one close call at a Galway roundabout – my bad.

Left Galway in sunshine.  Arrived Dublin in sunshine.  Wicked weather.  The drive is almost all Motorway.  Vic likes motorways.  The most interesting highlight was the crossing of the River Suck, a tributary of the Shannon.  That was better than the boring stop for gas.  Well, diesel actually.  There have been no accidental purchases of unleaded gasoline for our diesel Volvo.

Bailey, our SatNav/GPS navigator, got us perfectly to Epic Ireland, our one and only destination in Dublin save for our hotel.  Epic Ireland just opened three weeks ago; I pre-bought tickets way back in March.  Epic Ireland is all about the migrations out of Ireland and of the accomplishments of Irish émigrés and their prodigy.  It is all high tech and very well done.  We had time for a quick walkabout across the Liffey and for a pint in a nearby bar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was off to our hotel, a place we have stayed several times on short Dublin stays, the Croke Park Hotel.  Croke Park is Ireland’s major sporting venue, the home to the All Ireland Irish Football and Irish Hurling championships as well as many other events and lots of concerts.  Last Friday and Sunday 150,000 fans watched Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band perform.  The hotel is very nice but not a place to be when there is a major event at Croke Park which is literally across the street.

Tomorrow: Ferry from Dublin to Holyhead (Wales) and a drive to Liverpool.  We should be in our hotel by 3:00 PM.  Stay tuned.

It’s Tuesday in Galway.  Bright sunny day.  Warm.  Couldn’t be nicer.  So, on our visit Sunday to Clifden, I managed to hit a rock on the narrow road.  No harm done?  Well, stay tuned.  On Monday we hung around Galway and never used the car.  So on Tuesday we headed out on a road trip for the day.  We got about thirty miles and the “low tyre pressure” indicator came on.  Luckily we were near a town, and I went to a gas station to get some air. The tyre (tire to you Americans who read this) was really low, almost flat.  So, while I filled it with air, Elaine inquired inside about a tyre store.  There was just two miles down the road.  We pulled in and the nice man inspected the tire.  Just as I expected, there was a crack in the sidewall.  No fixing that!  We had a new tyre (95 Euros) on the car and were off in 45 minutes.

 

First stop of the day (save for tyre emergencies) was Cong in County Mayo, an unbelievably picturesque little town where The Quiet Man with John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara was filmed backin the early 1950’s.  We took 100 or so pictures before moving on.  Cong Abbey, now a ruin, was the last home of the last King of Ireland, Rory O’Connor (Oh, OK, he was Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair back then).

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Despite the SatNav (GPS to you Americans) trying to get us to take one-lane sheep paths, we eventually found our way on real roads to Leenaun (Leenane), another picturesque spot at the end of the Killary Fjord, the only fjord in Ireland.  More pictures.  And an ice cream for lunch.  (With the huge breakfasts at the B&B, lunch is usually totally optional.

 

 

 

 

 

From Leenane we proceeded down the road a bit to Kylemore Abbey.  In the mid 1800’s, Mitchell Henry built Kylemore as the family home for him, his wife Maureen, and his nine children.  Tragically, in 1874 the family was vacationing in Egypt where Maureen came down with dysentery and died in Cairo nineteen days later.  (What a way to go!)  Mitchell and the children were broken-hearted.  Mitchell built a Gothic Church on the estate in her memory and buried her in a Mausoleum close by.  Both of them are buried there now.  In 1903 the Duke of Manchester purchased the estate from Henry, financed by his wife, an American oil heiress.  They sold it 1914 and it remain uninhabited until 1920 when it purchased by the Benedictine community to replace their abbey at Ypres in Flanders.  Kylemore has been the home of a Benedictine Order of nuns ever since.  They have restored the Abbey and made it a major tourist attraction.  It was packed, a gold mine for the Benedictines.  They also run a school on the site.  Oh, we had another ice cream for lunch as we left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was back to Galway for our last night.  Dinner was back at the Fisherman where we ate on Saturday night when we arrived.  We had fish.  Tomorrow morning it is off to Dublin, a 2.5 hour drive and we will report from there although it just an overnight stop..