Angels Among Us

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A group of Angels on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Ireland. I spent a lot of time on this street, it was a great central location.

I didn't think I would miss Dublin that much, but I would love to be exploring on O'Connell street once more.

Wicklow and Glenadough

My last day is Ireland I took a tour with Over the Top Tours.  They are a small tour group, only 14 people so it was more intimate and we went places the big tour buses don't go.

Tom our knowledgeable tour guide had the gift of the gab as many Irish do.  I loved hearing his stories.

The tour took us about twenty miles from Dublin to the Wicklow Mountains.  That's a view of Dublin In the mist.

The scenery was beautiful.

Lovely streams and rocks wee everywhere. 

Everywhere we stopped was beautiful indeed.

Tom showed us where some turf was being cut.  You may know it as peat.  It's that accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter that is found in the bog areas of Ireland.

In this photo you can see where it has been piled up to dry. He explained that it is cut with a spade and then has to dry some before it can be stacked up like this to dry further.  The whole hillside had the scalar mark from turf being cut. The Irish govt is no longer letting it be cut on public lands but if you own property you can cut it there.  They tell me a peat fire has a pleasant and unique smell.

There have been several tv and movie productions filmed in the area. I got to see some of them.

I am standing in front of a field that was used for scenes in Braveheart.  This was where Wallace brings his wife after she has been killed.  I need to watch the movie to see if I recognize it.

Here I am on the bridge where Gerard Butler and Hilary Swank meet in the movie P.S.I love you.  I was waiting for Gerard to come and sweep me off my feet alas that didn't happen.  We also saw the village where Ballykissangel was filmed but we didn't stop there.

The countryside was rugged and beautiful.  I imagine that when the heather is in bloom it would be quite the sight to see.

Lots of rocks and streams to see.  Then I saw something I hadn't expected to see. It was down a ravine so we were a little ways away from it.

It was the cast and crew of the A&E series Vikings. There are long boats on the shore, people in costume mulling about and some of the village sets.  I could see people in the water and some on the shore so it looked like either two scenes were being filmed or they were rehearsing. I had my binoculars with me so looking through them I had a great view.  It was pretty cool to see this.

These longboats were a little closer.  I love how they look like dragons.

Who wouldn't love a face like this.

The poor little guy found himself on the other side of the fence from mom.

Then we headed to Glendalough which means two lakes. To get to the lakes you got through St Stephens church and Abbey ruins.

There was a tower and graveyard and several walls that remained from the original structures.

Lots of stone structures that never fail to amaze. Then we took a hike to the lakes which were very beautiful.

They were very serene and I could have spent time there just soaking up the ambiance.

It was a wonderful way to spend my last day in Ireland. I hope those who followed along with me enjoyed my trip to Ireland.  It was full of ups and downs and fantastic connections and wonderful experiences.  I was so delighted to meet my relatives, to see where my grandparents had lived, to meet some internet friends and enjoy some of the sights of Ireland and England. It was a thrill to meet you, Claire, Lisa and Donna.  What a fantastic summer it's been so far. 

On The Road Again Or Maybe On the Sea Again.

Yesterday was a very long day.  Donna took me to the train station, so I could pick up the 10:10 train to Holyhead.  I needed to make a change at Shrewesbury.   I met a lovely couple from York, who thought my accent was pretty neat.  That seemed strange, that someone wanted me to talk to hear my accent.  When I  got to Shrewesbury, I missed my connection by seconds, literally seconds.  So I had to wait another hour to get the next train and was it ever packed. I got to Holyhead with only 45 minutes to wait.  The ride was a little bit more choppy than the way out had been but I just drew in my notebook the whole time.

I'm back at the Maple Hotel in Dublin again, its nice to be in a familiar place.  Today I decided I want to find a gift for Dave plus I thought I would go here.

So I headed to the TI to find out how to get there.  Turned out it was just a 15 minute walk.  Of course I am always open to a diversion and I found a sign for this place and set about looking for it.

I thought now this is the kind of place to see in Ireland for sure. Another diversion pulled me from this task, a park bench to eat a fresh croissant for my breakfast.  After a little break I arrived at the museum just as a tour was about to begin.  Amazing that I had timed that perfectly.

After being told very charming tales from the Irish tradition we were miniaturized so we could travel in the world like leprechauns do.  Only the very young attempted to get on the very big furniture so I shot photos of them.

I learned later that this guy was from Logan Utah.  

I also, learned that leprechauns did not look the way you think they do until Walt Disney came and filmed Darbey o'Gill and the little people, in 1959.  Originally leprechauns wore little brown coats and a red hat.  Disney thought that was not colorful enough for his movie so he put the character all in green and gave him red hair.  

We even got to travel to the end of the rainbow and find a pot of gold.

 And I got to meet my very own leprechaun.  It was a fun museum and I loved the stories.  I discovered a few other things in my walking around town.  

This matey was obliging in letting me take his photo even though I didn't go into the restaurant being allergic to fish and all,he understood and took a pose for me.  What a nice guy.

When the bat signal appeared in the sky I wondered what kind of evil doing was going on in Dublin City.  I was safe though so the man in a black cape must have saved the day.

 I liked this golden sphere sculpture so you get to see it to.

I didn't know what would be I. This shop, but went in just for you Sarah, and it just had clothing.

Eventually I found my way here but it was sort of anti-climatic as it doesn't look much like a castle.

I guess I like the ruined ones the best.

I saw a couple of these guys and they are really short.

They didn't have much to say.  Here are a bunch of shots from the area.

Tomorrow I am taking a tour to Wicklow and Glenadough, which should have some spectacular scenery to share. Scenes from P.S. I love You, Braveheart and Ballykissangel were filmed in the area.

Ferry Day and Other Mishaps

I took the ferry to England today.  No great pictures to share though.  This is the view from the table I sat at. The last time I took a ferry was across Lake Michigan and it was long so long ago that I thought I needed to dress warm.  This was more like a cruise ship, with restaurants and shopping and more.  I took a Dramamine before I left and I was fine.  My stomach issue was more that I was starving than anything else.  I spent the time drawing.

There were all Thes little girls who were dancers running around.  Some were getting their hair done and makeup on.

I started drawing a woman I saw but she morphed into someone else.

Then I played with some of the oil pastel.

Before I knew it I was in Wales.  So I hopped on a train and made my way through England. I had to take 3 trains and the second one was having mechanical problems.  First there was a 24 minute delay and then they had everyone ge off the train.  So I missed my connection.  It took a little longer to get to Wigan than planned.  One thing I've learned on this trip is to ask annoying questions of all the officials. Traveling is hard enough without getting on the wrong train.  So I always make sure and double check what people tell me.

This is a town where my grandfather lived in from 1908-1910 and my grandparents were married here. The cab driver told me it was a dark and gloomy place back them.  Mining was the chief industry.

When the cabbie dropped me off at my hotel I had of several things happen.  The money I got in N. Ireland was not acceptable for some reason.  I was about to give him some euros when I found I had change from a 20 that was more nglish and acceptable. Whew I don't know what they do she you can't pay your fare. After relaxing in the room a little and realizing I wasn't near the center if town I made some inquiries. The hotel person told me where a restaurant and a ATM were a half a mile down the road. So I went for a walk.

I tried the ATM and it denied my card.  Ok don't panic, just try again. There was someone in line behind me so I let them go ahead. The. I tried again denied again. My card had worked in Ireland so I didn't know what to do so instead of a full breakdown I went to eat.  

Then I called Dave thinking he could call the credit union and help. The phone didn't work, I wasn't sure how to call home for. I thought the country code for America was 011. I had nowhere to check as my guidebook was in the room.  So I texted a friend and then another to call him. So after a few phone calls we figured out the problem.  Credit cards over here have a chip in them that machines read and mine does not so Thatmis why it was denied. I just need to go to a bank or another type of machine.  Meanwhile my hotel let me get an small advance on my card, so now at least I can grab a taxi and know I can pay for it.

I saw this lovely flower on my way back to,the room.

It was like they were telling me to take the time to smell the roses.

So there you have it another exciting day of travel.