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Technology Update: My WEP wireless device worked great in Liverpool and Caernarfon. Here in Portstewart it works but is very slow uploading pictures. Updates may be every other day rather than daily. Check daily and see.

Saturday

The Abingdon Collection was amazing, more so than pictures can show. The owner, Philip Faithful, is a collector. (He is not related to British singer Marianne Faithful. We asked.) Philip gives private tours of his collection by appointment only. We had an 11:00 AM appointment that I made months ago by email. We were the only guests this morning. Philip has an amazing collection of two things: automobiles and WWII memorabilia. There is no admission charge; rather he requests a donation to the Cancer Society. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

Then we had a two hour drive on mostly back roads to the coastal town of Portstewart. Lynne and Barry, our landlords, met us at the appointed hour at Kinvara Cottage and showed us the ropes: heat, hot water, washer & dryer, electric shower heaters, etc. Before arriving we had stopped at Tesco in Coleraine, the largest town in the area, and stocked up with essentials (water, wine, bread, breakfast stuff, and things for tonight’s planned eat-in dinner). We unloaded the groceries and our bags and settled in.

I had purchased two bottles (small ones) of vodka on the ferry (duty free prices) and had previously bought a bottle Mrs.Fitzpatrick’s Lime & Lemongrass cordial to use as my mixer for my Irish gimlets. As dinner was cooking (fresh potatoes, green beans, and minced ground lamb with mint), I had my first gimlet(s) in since Las Vegas and Elaine enjoyed glasses of wine. Dinner was grand and we went to bed after watching an excellent BBC show on the horrors of the planes crashing into the World Trade Center.

Sunday

The weather continues to be good as we arose on Sunday. After tea, toast, and yoghurt, we headed out to re-explore the area. We stopped first on the main road (Strand Road) in the heart of Portstewart and had a brief walk around. We cited a few of the restaurants we had researched, and we’ll give one a try tonight.

Then we drove another few miles up the coast to the next town of Portrush where they are having an air show this weekend. We got there early enough to beat the traffic and find a good parking place for the show. That was fortunate as later in the day parking was at a premium and the traffic coming in was heavy as we were leaving. We had a quick walkabout through the military recruiting booths and the BBC tent show. Then we found an ideal spot to sit on a wall for the flying demonstrations that were soon to begin. We had carried in our home made sandwiches and some potato crisps (chips to you Americans) and ate them sitting on the wall. The flying show was to go on all day from 12:15, and we stayed for a couple of hours before heading back to the car. We saw some amazing planes including the Red Arrows Synchro Team, a helicopter that can fly upside down and do a back flip from a hover, the Tucano T1, the North American Mustang, a Calidus Autogyro that looks like a helicopter but isn’t, the Avro Lancasters, and more. It was fun!

Recruiting at the Air Show

Again we stopped in Portstewart at the Anchor Pub & Restaurant. Elaine had a pint of Harp Lager and I indulged in some delicious Smithwick’s Ale. We made reservations for dinner at 7:30 PM and headed home for a nap.

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Another filling breakfast at the Black Boy Inn. By the way, the politically incorrect name Black Boy Inn has an interesting story. From Wikipedia:

“Prior to 1828, the pub was known as the ‘Black Boy’ Though still referred to by its traditional name, it was officially altered to the ‘King’s Arms’ and, later, the ‘Fleur de Lys’, until a change of ownership led to the restoration of the old name and the creation of the “Black Boy Inn” as it is today. The Inn signs each show a ‘black buoy’ on one side and a ‘black boy’ on the other.

“The Inn’s name has caused controversy and there are least three theories to explain its name. One is believed to come from a ‘black buoy’ which existed in the harbour in the early days of the Inn. Another refers to the nickname given to Charles II by his mother because of the darkness of his skin and eyes, as well as the fact that Royalists met at the Inn secretly at that time. Later, the place became the local fishermen’s favourite drinking place and the name of ‘black boy’ may come from this period.”

Then it was off to Holyhead to catch the ferry to Ireland. We made a slight diversion to stop at the town in the title. Actually, its full name is:

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

Pronounce it at your peril. You can hear the pronunciation here.

From there it was a short hop to Holyhead, the terminus for Irish Ferries. We drove aboard the Jonathan Swift and proceeded to the Club Class lounge for the crossing. The appropriately named Swift is the fast ferry to Dublin, departing Holyheadt at 11:50 AM and arriving in Dublin at 1:45 PM. We weren’t staying in the Republic just yet though, so we drove off the ferry and immediately headed to Omagh in Northern Ireland for the night. There is a purpose for staying here. We’ll get to that in a minute. Omagh is probably most famous as the site of a deadly IRA bombing backing 1988 during the Troubles.

First crisis of the trip!!! We arrived at our B&B (Heron’s Burn) a little early, so we stopped in a nearby pub/restaurant for a pint. Then we drove to the B&B. No answer to the doorbell. There was a number to call posted in the window, so I called. Not only did the lady have no record of our reservation; she was traveling at the moment in Canada. She offered to give me a number for a nearby B&B, but I demurred. Instead we drove back to the pub which had an associated B&B attached. They had a room and we were in. We dined in their restaurant which tunred out to be excellent. It was filled with locals. I doubt if they get many Americans there as it’s really out in the country.  So the Millstone turned out to be our pub, restaurant and B&B.

After a nice breakfast (coming up imminently) we will head down the road to the Abingdon Collection, the reason we are staying in this area. It’s a private collection of automotive and military memorabilia, and it is viewable only by appointment. I had booked the appointment well in advance by email. No admission fee but a contribution to the Cancer Fund is suggested.  Naturally we will make one.  More on that in our next posting.

 

Trash collection in Caernarfon starts at 5 AM and today was trash collection day. Needless to say we were up early. No big deal. Breakfast at the Black Boy Inn was substantial and good. Elaine had a Free Range 2 egg Omelette with Ham, cheese, Tomato & mushroom. I had a One Eyed Sailor — Fried egg cooked in bread, topped with cheese, and served with bacon and fried bread.

Then we were off to Mount Snowdon, just a short 10 mile drive away from our B&B, for a steam engine railway trip to the top of the mountain. Mount Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales at 3,560 feet. In The UK only some peaks in the Scottish highlands are higher. The Mount Snowdon Railway has been running since 1896. We had pre-booked the steam train rather the more frequent diesel trains. There is just one car. Needless to say, the one-hour ride up was very picturesque. You have 30 minutes or so to wander around the summit (and the gift shop and snack bar).

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From the train station near the summit, we trekked to the actual summit. The ice field was treacherous and the final assault up the north face was exhilarating. (Well, actually it is about 50 steps from the station to the summit.) The ride back down takes the same route.

We took a scenic drive from Llanberis (where the train station at the base is located) to Castle Curig before driving back to Caernarfon. There we visited Caernarfon Castle, the most famous (I think) of the castles in Wales. It is the home base of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, a famous fighting force for many, many years.

Beer, nap, and get ready for dinner. We had made reservations in advance at Blas, a short walk from the Black Boy Inn. Blas was fabulous – the menu and the food itself was reminiscent of Binkley’s in Cave Creek but without the exorbitant pricing. The food was fantastic. Pictures speak louder than words. And the dessert fast is over!  No pictures of dessert but I had “chocolate, coconut, and lime” and Elaine had “clotted cream pannacotta with strawberries three ways and minted shortbread”.

NO BLOG POST TOMORROW AS WE WILL BE TRAVELING MOST OF THE DAY FROM WALES TO NORTHERN ISLAND.  SEE YOU BACK HERE ON SATURDAY.

Dinner Tuesday Night at Lunya was both fun and good. We split six orders of Tapas and enjoyed every bite.

Wednesday morning we retrieved our car from the garage and at 8:30 headed out of Liverpool towards North Wales. (Obama will be in South Wales for a NATO conference, so he most likely won’t get to see us.)  Our final destination was only about 100 miles away, so we had time for stops.

First stop: Llandudno (Wales) where we wandered out on the ½ mile pier. This was like a time warp back to 1960 – penny arcades, cotton candy, etc. And Llandudno must be the geriatric holiday capital of the UK. Mobility carts, walkers, and canes were everywhere. We also drove along the Marine Drive outside of Llundudo. There were great views and a lovely stop for scones with clotted cream. Yum.

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Then it was on to Conwy Castle. This was a stronghold of Charles I, and it was a pleasant walkabout followed by a light lunch of toasted ham and cheese sandwiches.

Onward to Bodnart Gardens, a National Trust site. (We are members of the National Trust through their US subsidiary, the Royal Oak Society.) We get our monies worth out of the annual dues with free admission and free parking at National Trust sites. The Brits love their gardens. The beautiful site provided another good walk about the plants, trees, and flowers. Oh, we also enjoyed a honey ice cream cone at the refreshment stand on the way out.

Then we drove on to Caernarfon (Ka-nar’-van) and checked in at the Black Boy (or Black Buoy) Inn. We had a few pints at the Black Boy Pub and had a nice chat with a couple from Australia who were originally from the UK. Dinner was at the Black Boy pub. Traditional pub style: order at the bar and they bring you your food. It was good but not memorable – duck breast for me and a chicken pie Welsh style for Elaine. We started with a hot Camembert cheese board. No desserts. (In fact, no desserts yet in the UK!) After dinner we walked about the small town and checked out restaurants for tomorrow night.

Jet lag must have caught up with us as we were both amazed to sleep until 8 AM this morning.

As you could tell from yesterday’s post, the song I think of when I think of Liverpool is “Ferry ‘Cross the Mersey” by Gerry and the Pacemakers (The song is 50 years old this year!) But, of course, when you think of Liverpool, the Beatles automatically come to mind. Under beautiful sunny skies, we walked back down to Albert Dock to commence our Magical Mystery Tour of the Beatles Liverpool.

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The guide on the bus was a native Liverpudlian and remembers the Beatle era well. He was wonderfully entertaining, and I think it the best bus tour of a city that I have ever taken. Elaine concurs. We stopped at all the Beatle high points and learned little known facts about the band back to their days as the Quarrymen and when the drummer was Pete Best.

Pete Best missed the glory years and the money and then gave up his musical career. When the Beatles anthology album came out many years later, it included 11 songs with Pete Best. He got a windfall cash payout for that and proceeded to restart his musical career. He still tours with the Pete Best Band.

Stops on the tour included:

Penny Lane (in the neighborhood where they grew up)

Strawberry Fields (where the boys spent happy memories as children playing in the garden by that name at a Salvation Army children’s home

George’s birth home at 12 Arnold Grove. (He often went by the name of Arnold Grove when trying to travel inconspicuously.)

Paul McCartney’s childhood home (where he and John composed dozens of the group’s biggest hits).

The Cavern Club (It was non-alcoholic when the Beatles were performing there. So they used to frequent other pubs when the need arouse, as it often did.)

The tour ended at the Cavern Club. Having done some prior research, we quickly checked out the Cavern Club and then walked down Matthew Street to the Grapes Pub. This is where the Beatles escaped the Cavern Club for their frequent alcohol fixes. We had a couple of pints and engaged the bartender about the inscription above the bar (“I. W. T. Y. I. Y. B. M. A. P.” – know what it means? Answer below somewhere.)

Then we had an uninspiring but much needed pub lunch (with more pints) at the Liverpool Pub before wandering back down to Albert Dock for a ride on the Liverpool Eye and a stop in a Beatles’ Memorabilia Shop.

By now it was almost 3:15 PM and we headed back to the Nadler for a rest before dinner. Dinner tonight will be at Lunya Restaurant. A report will be included at the start of tomorrow’s blog entry.

Cheers for now!

Miscellaneous Liverpool Shots:

PS: I. W. T. Y. I. Y. B. M. A. P. means “I will tell you if you buy me a pint”. The barman told me, and I bought him a pint.

50th Anniversary of the Song

Life goes on day after day
Hearts torn in every way

So ferry ‘cross the Mersey
’cause this land’s the place I love
and here I’ll stay

People they rush everywhere
Each with their own secret care

So ferry ‘cross the Mersey
and always take me there
The place I love

People around every corner
They seem to smile and say
We don’t care what your name is boy
We’ll never turn you away

So I’ll continue to say
Here I always will stay

So ferry ‘cross the Mersey
’cause this land’s the place I love
and here I’ll stay
and here I’ll stay
Here I’ll stay

– Gerry and the Pacemakers (1964)

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Another delightful breakfast at 76 Duke Street, and we bid adieu to Julia as we began the 3.5 hour drive to Liverpool. The drive is mostly motorway and relatively uninteresting. I set the SatNav (GPS to you Americans) to take us directly to Crosby Beach in North Liverpool. It’s a fairly mundane beach made interesting by one Antony Gormley who sculpted 100 life size cast iron statues of men (in his own image, it is said), all of them staring out to see along a two mile stretch of the beach, some of them well below the high tide mark so they often stand in the water.

From Crosby Beach it’s a straight 20-minute shot down the coast through Liverpool to our hotel, the Nadler Liverpool. Mr. Nadler has developed a few hotels (originally called base2stay) in the UK using a concept that we like: top quality rooms in a no frills hotel – no gym, no pool, no room service, no restaurant, no breakfast, and no parking (but with a discount at a garage just down the street). The rooms are beautiful. And the location is perfect for exploring Liverpool on foot.

After checking in we proceeded to do a little exploring. We walked through the pedestrian district and then down to Albert Dock on the waterfront. I’ll let pictures tell the story:

 

Dinner was at Alma de Cuba, just a stone’s throw from the hotel. It is situated in an old church and is a fantastic setting. Food and drinks were delightful as was Sophia, our server. Long day and quickly back to bed after dinner.

 

 

Saturday Night Dinner

We invited Julia, our delightful host at 76 Duke Street, to join us for dinner, and she accepted. Last year we were in Windsor and ate at Al Fassia, a Moroccan Restaurant that we very much enjoyed, so that’s where the three of us strolled to eat. The food was wonderful. The service, not so much. They has a big group in an upstairs room, and we waited too long for courses to be served. But, as stated, the food was delicious, and we had a good long chat with Julia who has a son in san Francisco and a married daughter in New Zealand. The daughter had her first grandson last year just after we left Windsor.

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Sunday in London – Poppies and Tower Bridge

After a lovely Sunday morning breakfast at 76 Duke Street, we decided to take the train into London for the day. Windsor has two rail stations on different lines. From Windsor Central Station, the most convenient from the B&B, you take a shuttle train to Slough and then board the main line train to London Paddington Station. From Windsor Riverside, the train is direct to London Waterloo Station. Oddly, however, it’s almost 20 minutes faster to take the train from Windsor Central, even with the change of trains. And from Paddington, it’s a straight shot on the Underground Circle Line to the Tower of London.   So we left from Windsor Central at about 10:00.

The Tower is our main reason for making the foray to the big city. Not to see the Tower itself or the Crown Jewels within, both of which have already done, but rather to see the major artistic installation entitled ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’. The Tower of London’s famous dry moat is being filled with over 800,000 ceramic poppies to create a powerful visual commemoration for the First World War Centenary. Read all about it here. There were zillions of tourists about, but it was quite a fabulous display. Volunteers are “planting” more ceramic poppies every day with completion scheduled for Remembrance Day, November 11^th. We will be back in London on that day and may venture back to see the last poppy installed.

While we were in the area, we decided to visit Tower Bridge, London’s iconic landmark. There is an exhibition promenade across the top of the Bridge, and the views are spectacular. A short walk away is the Monument to the Great London Fire, so we gave that a view too.

Amidst all this sight-seeing we visited the fancifully named Hung Drawn and Quartered Pub. Always time for a pint and a bite to eat. We share a chicken and chorizo pie and some Engliah lager.

Finally we took the tube back to Paddington and hopped a train back to Windsor. There was time for another pint in a pub by the river before heading back to the B&B for a short nap and a freshen up. Indian food in England is usually a good choice, so we chose Dhinchak for dinner based on its Tripadvisor reviews.. It was extraordinarily good, service was wonderful. We enjoyed a prime table in the window.

Come back tomorrow as we head to Liverpool.

Flight Day

Friday dawned sunny, hot, and bright. Our flight isn’t until 4:40 PM so we like to turn the car in at around 2:00 to check in early. That means we have the morning and early afternoon to kill. We checked out of the Marriott at 9:00 AM and drove to our go-to off strip casino and race book – the South Point Hotel and Casino. There we spend a pleasant (?) few hours in the race book betting horse races from back east – mainly Saratoga and Monmouth.

Two years we did very well at the races. Last year not so well at all. I’ve been a real slump lately at the track, so I had low expectations and planned to at least minimize my losses. The slump continues. I hit the first at Monmouth – a favorite – and then NADA.

At 12:30 we left the casino and drove to the McCarron Airport’s offsite car rental return facility. After the bus to the terminal, we checked in without incident and settled in for some reading and relaxing prior to boarding and take off. We also had a light lunch. Virgin Atlantic boards premium economy passengers first and then serves (cheap) champagne. A nice touch. We left about 30 minutes late. Dinner was pretty good for airline food – it usually is on Virgin Atlantic. Then we settled in for the long (9+ hour) overnight flight. (I slept a bit, unusual for me. Elaine watched some TV series on the entertainment system.) We arrived at Gatwick Airport right on time..

Our purchased Renault automobile unfortunately has to be picked up at Heathrow Terminal 1. Last year we took the National Express bus from Gatwick to Heathrow. While it’s only a 50 minute ride, the bus stops at Terminal 5, then Terminal 4, then Terminal 3 before arriving at Terminal 1&2. That adds another 25 minutes since Heathrow is so huge.

So this year we reserved a car and driver to take us from Gatwick to Heathrow, using Heathrow Gatwick Transfers. The cost is £55 (roughly $90). That sounds expensive, but the National Express fare is £25 per person, so it really isn’t and you eliminate waiting for the bus and touring all the terminals at Heathrow. The driver was waiting for us and the transfer was uneventful.

At Heathrow Terminal One I picked up our TEP wireless device that we hopefully will use for wireless connections wherever we are in the UK and Ireland. Then we got our car, adjusted the navigation system on the French car to speak English, and set the home position so we can easily find the drop off spot a month ahead. And then we were off on the short drive to Windsor, stopping to fill it up with diesel fuel.

In Windsor we are staying at 76 Duke Street where we stayed for one night last year. This year we are staying for two nights. Julia, the owner, met us and got us settled. She only takes one guest per night. There are two rooms (if you need both), and the marvelously modern bathroom is not en-suite. Basically you have the whole second floor to yourself. More tomorrow with hopefully some pictures.

We’re off to Las Vegas. As mentioned numerous times, we drive to Las Vegas so we can fly non-stop on Virgin Atlantic to London. Renting a car to drop off in another city can be expensive (because of drop off charges), so it is important to shop around. The rule is to looking for a reservation early and keep checking back for cheaper alternatives. If the rental firms have excess cars on site because of other drop offs, then you can realize a significant savings. So it is very important to keep checking back as the date approaches. I have never had much luck with travel sites like Priceline, Expedia, or Kayak, so I prefer to either deal directly with car rental firms or book through AAA or Costco. Prices vary significantly. Very significantly

For the drive to Vegas, we pick up the car on day one (late afternoon), drive to Vegas on day two, and drop the car off on day three (late afternoon) at McCarron Airport in Vegas. That means it is a two day rental (two 24 hour periods) from the rental company’s perspective. The usual cost for a two-day rental from Scottsdale to Las Vegas is around $175. Shopping around early, the cheapest rate I found was through Costco for a Budget Car Rental car from Northsight Blvd in Scottsdale — $113 all inclusive including a navigation system. Good deal. I booked it, and I have found nothing cheaper since then. The next best rate was $269 from Hertz. No brainer.

In booking the return trip from Las Vegas to Scottsdale, the experience was quite different. For this trip we pick up the car mid afternoon, stay overnight in Henderson, and return the car the next day mid afternoon. So it’s a one day rental. The best rate I found early on was $149 all inclusive without navigation system from Hertz through AAA. I booked that. The rates are more since I am picking the car up at an airport which adds all sorts of fees and taxes. Going off airport would save money but is a hassle when you have all your luggage. To show how continual checking helps, a couple of weeks ago I found an SUV with a navigation system from Avis through Costco Travel for $53 all inclusive with the drop off again on Northsight Blvd in Scottsdale. I immediately booked that and cancelled the AAA Hertz reservation. All is good.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but we don’t stay in Vegas. The strip is a traffic nightmare, and we have no desire to be in a big resort with a casino close to all the fabulous Las Vegas dining options. Plenty of fine dining to come across the pond.  So we stay in Henderson at a Marriott Springhill Suites for free (using Marriott points). We have dinner at my favorite Italian chain – Carrabba’s, a short drive from the hotel.

We fly out tomorrow afternoon.  Next post will be from Windsor, UK, probably on Saturday night (GMT)

It’s been awhile since a post because there has been no traveling.  But I’ve been busy over the past month planning 2014 (and even 2015 trips).  There will be three big trips between August 2014 and June 2105.  This post describes the the first one.

We’ll be doing our usual drive to Las Vegas for an overnight before flying Virgin Atlantic from there to London Gatwick.  At the airport we will again pick up a purchase/lease brand new Renault Megane Berline which will be our wheels for the trip.  On the return to Las Vegas, we’ll overnight again before driving home the next morning.  The letters mark the overnights (less Las Vegas):

A/L:  Gatwick Airport, England (Arrival and departure)
B:  Windsor, England (2 nights) – Visit the Queen?  See the baby?  London for a day?
C:  Liverpool, England (2 nights) – The Beatles.  Ferry Cross the Mersey?
D:  Caernarfon, Wales (2 nights) – Mt Snowdon Railway.  Caernarfon Castle
E:  Omagh, N. Ireland (1 night) – Dublin Swift Ferry Ride and The Abingdon Collection
F:  Portstewart, N. Ireland (7 nights) – Kinvara Cottage – base for N. Ireland touring
G:  Dingle, Rep. of Ireland (4 nights) – Our Irish “Home”, the Dingle Peninsula
H:  Kinsale, Rep. of Ireland (2 nights) – Gourmet Ireland
I:  Rosslare, Rep. of Ireland (1 night) – Ferry Port back to UK
J:  Pembroke, Wales (7 nights) – Exploring South Wales
K:  Newbury, England (1 night) – Sandham Memorial Chapel
L:  Back to Gatwick for Overnight (1 night) – Rest Up for Flight Home