Wales

We arrived in Hollyhead on the ferry from Dublin and as an introduction to the language in Wales, our driver drove us through the town of:

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerchwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogogoch 

on our way to Conwy. The signs in the photo say it all. The town name and its pronunciation are on the top sign and the bottom sign has the translation: 

Llan-vire-pooll-guin-gill-go-ger-u-queern-drob-ooll-llandus-ilio-gogo-goch 

"The Church of Mary in the hollow of the White Hazel near the fierce whirlpool and the Church of Tysilio by the red cave".

It is easy to believe that the town has the longest name in Europe!!

We were dropped off at our accommodations, the Castle Hotel, in the center of Conwy (pronounced roughly "Con way"). The city is defined by the wall that surrounds it, the small picturesque Harbor, and Conwy Castle. The little red house below is the smallest house in town. The large white Knight Shop (bottom left), situated right opposite Conwy Castle, is the place to stock up on your medieval weaponry, armor, and related essentials.

The castle, a well preserved medieval fortress, has towered over town for 700 years. King Edward I and his architect Master James of St George built both the castle and the walls in four years between 1283 and 1287. Quite a feat!

We walked a complete circuit around the battlements using the spiral staircases in the towers to connect sections. Climbing any tower was an experience itself.  Navigating one (pretty much any one and only one) winding, sparsely lit stair case to the top was worth the effort just for the views. The panorama includes mountains in the distance as well as the harbor and narrow streets of Conwy nearby. You also get views of the unbroken 1,400-yard (1.3km) ring of town walls. We chose the tower closest to the bridge and water for its views over the harbor and countryside.

Plas Mawr or the Great Hall is an Elizabethan town house from an age when fabulously wealthy merchants invested in mansions, rich fittings and lavish entertaining. Having served as a courthouse, a school and even an art gallery since then, it took significant renovations to recreate the gardens and house we visited. It may not be as lavish as some of the palaces we have seen but it certainly shows the extravagances of the time.

Our introductory day trip of North Wales started with the nearby resort town of Llandudno, north of Conwy.. A popular feature of the area is the Great Orme headland and its open spaces. On our drive around we enjoyed the long stretch of rugged coastline and caught a shot of the tram that brings people up to enjoy the wildlife and landscape.

We also spotted a Kashmiri goat resting in the rocky hillside, The goats are descendants of goats that roamed the mountains of Northern India. Two were gifted to Queen Victoria.  They sired the herd that roams freely on Great Orme today.

A little further afield Bodnant Gardens is a serene combination of flowers and greenery. There are 80 acres of formal gardens, woodland walks and panoramic mountain views. It is a delightful garden. We really enjoyed wandering through it.

In the town of Llanrwst our driver pointed out a small house totally covered in Ivy.

We paused at Castell Deudraeth for lunch before heading down to Portmeirion.

Portmeirion is an enchanting Italianate style coastal "village" with a colorful collection of hotels, cottages, gift shops and restaurants and is one of Wales’ most popular tourist destinations. It is also widely known for its botanical pattern china dinner ware.

We took the long route to move from Conwy to St David's to see more of Wales.

Our guide took us first to Horseshoe Pass for the views and we passed by a circular falls in the river that feeds the canal. He later told us he lived nearby.

Along the way we stopped in the town of Corwn and visited the sculpture of Owain Glyn Dŵr. In the early 15C he proclaimed himself prince of Wales . His unsuccessful rebellion against England was the last major Welsh attempt to throw off English rule. Although 600 years have passed since Owain Glyndwr's time he remains one of Wales' prominent heroes. 

We walked a narrow pathway that shares the 18-arched stone Pontcysyllte Aqueduct passing or meeting canal boats and canoes that were naviagting the canal. The aqueduct supports a section of the Llangollen Canal which links Llangollen north Wales, with Hurleston in south Cheshire England. The agueduct is 12 feet wide and is the longest aqueduct in Great Britain as well as the highest canal aqueduct in the world.

Powis Castle is a 13C medieval fortress repurposed as a home. The castle is decorated with fabrics, paintings, furniture, tapestries, and South Asian objects as was typical of the Elizabethan period through to the Edwardian period. The  garden includes 17C Italianate terraces, formal gardens with apple trees and rose beds, and a peaceful woodland area. There are also panoramic views of the surrounding territory.

St Davids is a small town on the South Western Coast of Wales. We stayed at Twr y Felin. We ate in the bar the first night and really enjoyed the food. So we booked dinner for the second evening. We were not disappointed.

On our walk around town we shopped and visited St Davids Cathedral and the  ruins of the Bishops Palace. Since the 6th century there has been a church on this site. The 6C church / monastery was built by St David, the patron saint of Wales. St Davids Cathedral dates mainly from 12C to 14C and has been a site of pilgrimage and worship for more than 800 years. 

The food at the hotel restaurant was great and the cathedral and Bishop's Palace make an impressive site but frankly, we'd give St Davids a pass if we had a do-over. It's just too long of a drive. And by this time we had done a lot of driving. 

On our way to Brecon Beacons National Park (in central Wales) we visited the National Botanic Gardens. We enjoyed exploring the Great Glaahouse, a massive  domed area planted with with some of the most endangered plants from six areas of the world: California, Australia, the Canary Islands, Chile, South Africa, and the Mediterranean Basin. This dome itself is notable being the largest single-span great glasshouse in the world.

It was Sunday and again we didn't make dinner reservations. But we found a little pub called Wright's Food Emporium. After lunch we discovered that they have a fine shop with lots of tempting local products. Pat bought bag with a image of a black cat - the cat made her think of the black cats we have had over time (see one in top left below). We arrived at Brecon Beacons and our accommodations at Peterstone Court. We wandered around the B&B and a nearby Church.

We visited Penderyn, a nice small local distillery. Their Faraday whisky stills are unique, a single copper-pot. We tasted the product and found it to our liking. Similar to our wine tasting experiences we found the personal tough of the small distillery most appealing.

We had a light lunch in Abergavenny at a Turkish restaurant, Mezze Me.

Our two dinners at Peterscourt were quite satisfying, wine to dessert.The first night was Lamb Sweetbreads for Pat and Rabbit Ragu for Bill, topped off with Sticky Toffee Pudding. Night two we had Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta, Chicken Caesar Salad, Crispy Polenta Cake with wilted spinach & wild mushrooms and finished things off with Cream Puffs with Chocolate Sauce and Port.

We got a sunny day for our drive to Cardiff and finally decided to enjoy the views from the Brecon Beacons Park Visitors center, sheep included.

Near Cardiff we stopped at St Fagans Welch Living Museum, a collection of buildings from around Wales brought there and restored to preserve history and enable visitors to experience of a bit of 16C Welsh life.

The adjoining gardens of the manor house are lovely and colorful.

Cardiff is a small city and easily walkable to access attractions. shopping and dining.  The Castle feels like a royal home with all the elaborate decor thanks to the 3rd Marquess of Bute. Outside we walked the walls and underground tunnels (used as air raid shelters in WWII, pretty gloomy).

The National Museum has art, geology and natural history collections. We really got into the artwork by Sisley. Along the way we caught a nice view of the both the City Hall tower and the dragon on the City Hall dome.

The Parkgate Hotel, in the former Post Office building, provided more fine dining at The Sorting Room Bar (we shared a caesar salad and a mushroom, leek & cheddar pie). The second night we dined at The Sorting Room Restaurant (more refined dining) and we ordered Saag Aloo Crusted Roasted Sea Bass and Lobster Thermidor).

Dublin

Our introductory walking tour took us across the River Liffy and under the elevated tracks at the Dublin Pearse Station toward the home of Oscar Wilde and his statue in Merrion Square Park. Also in the Park was the Giants Garden and an impressive tall backed chair.  After passing through St Stevens Green, and Saint Patrick's Church, we stopped at The Authors Wall celebrating Ireland's noted authors (James Joyce, William Butler Yeats, Charles Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Jonathon Swift for a few) in Saint Patrick's Park. We enjoyed the creative posts at the Francis street school. 

We finally arrived at Trinity College and found the explanation of the The Book of Kells more interesting than the book itself, mainly because they only display two pages and there were too many folks there making it difficult to even get a view of those.

The Book of Kells is a medieval illuminated religious manuscript with the four Gospels of the New Testament. Written in Latin, it is considered to have been crafted by the Celtic monks circa 800. Researchers believe that it was originally produced in a monastery on the Scottish island of Iona. (Yes, we visited there a couple weeks earlier.) It is thought  to have been created by three artists and four scribes. When Iona was attacked by Vikings, the surviving monks moved to a sister monastery in Kells, County.

The Chi Rho page (below left) is the most celebrated image in the Book of Kells. "The words Christi autem generatio open the narrative of Matthew's gospel with the name of Christ in its abbreviated Greek form (Chi Rho) occupying the whole height of the page. The Chi forms a cross shape. Buried in the geometric designs are images of people and animals filling the page with visual reminders of the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ." For example, in the lower left of the page is a cat and mouse scene. (see larger view on bottom right.)

The Gaia, an illuminated globe created by Luke Jerram from NASA images of earth, located in the Old Library, was eye-catching.

On our strolls around town, as well as from our water front room, we got day and night views of the "leaning" facade of the Convention Center (aka the Beer Can) and the Samuel Becket Bridge (aka The Harp, the harp being the official symbol of Ireland.)

One evening we enjoyed a great conversation with Mackenzie (our friend Heather's daughter who is attending Trinity College) and her friend Matthew, while enjoying Indian food at Kinara Kitchen in Ranelagh, a trendy residential district.

Dublin Castle was the seat of English and British rule from 1204-1922. Today it’s used for important State events and Presidential Inaugurations. We found the interior design and architectural details interesting. The buildings of Dublin Castle were added to throughout the centuries, with styles ranging from Medieval to Georgian times, and made from bare stone to fine plasterwork.

Later we visited the Guinness Storehouse. A Disney-style attraction where you walk through exhibit after exhibit about what is so special with the Guiness process and formula. You finally reach the top floor where you learn how Guiness is properly "pulled". Pat enjoyed her Stout and Bill enjoyed his Hop House Lager while looking over the Guiness site and on to the city. 

We wrapped up our visit to Dublin with a day trip to Powerscourt Estate, a 45 minute drive from Dublin. The building is lovely but reserved for special events (other than the amazing gift shops on the first floor). The gardens are fabulous. We were late in the season but there were lots of blooms. Some plantings are quite formal and others casually laid out. National Geographic considers it #3 of the world's top ten gardens with Kew Gardens in London being #2 and Butchart Gardens in Victoria BC #1. Ratings are debatable but certainly these gardens rate in the top in the world.

The expansive gardens are a delight with its flowers, trees, ponds, paths, and views. The structures (the main building, tower, and gates/fences) add to the beauty.

The Powerscourt Gift Shop is also amazing. It's breadth and depth of high quality, products (from home furnishings to clothes and food) is impressive. Pat kept saying "This is what other Gift Shops want to be when they grow up."

For lunch we went to Johnnie Fox - the highest pub in Ireland (just read the sign). The walls are chock-a-block with antiques and it serves fine Pub food.

On the way to Johnny Fox we stopped at Powerscourt Falls (top right below). On the way back to Dublin we made several more stops for the black water in Lough Tay, a monastery, some colorful heath, and one more sheep.

Galway & KIlarney

We had reservations for dinner at Oscar's the first night in Galway.  We had wild prawns, scallops, monkfish, carrots. The muscadet and warm chocolate pudding, with candied orange on top and vanilla ice cream on the side for dessert made a nice finish to the evening repast.

Galway is known as a foodie haven and we had food tour the next morning where we sampled everything from chocolates to raspberry swirled croissants, and fish stew to mussels and oysters. A fitting  introduction to the Galway dining scene. And there was an opportunity to add some ice cream for dessert.

Wandering Galway on our way to Oscars, where we dined the first night, we noted several crafts along the waterfront and Galway's own Spanish Arch. 

Add some very colorful flower arrangements with buildings decorated like frosted cakes and tapas bars with flamenco dancer decor and you get a sense of the city's ambiance.

We followed the the Wild Atlantic Way in the rain through fields of stones, wiith waterfalls everywhere heading to the Cliffs of Moher. We stopped in the colorful town of Doolin for the cruise along the Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher are well worth the stop, two stops if you have the time for a cruise as well as the view from the top. Be prepared for photos on the outbound and inbound segments of the cruise. On the top left is the path to O'Brien's Tower (in the distance), bottom right is the view of the Cliffs of Moher from the path near the tower, and the other two were taken on the cruise. The amazing thing is there was a horde of visitors but this is such a massive site, it just swallowed them up. 

Killarney is a central location for exploring the Dingle Peninsula and the Ring of Kerry. In Killarney you can visit the Killarney House and Gardens, take touristy horse drawn jaunting carts around the city and to Ross Castle. 

Our Dingle Penninsula tour stopped near Killarney for a view of Lough Leane from near Parkavonear Castle. We had another break at Inch Beach.

We drove along a narrow road made all the narrower by the plants overtaking the road. In Anascaul we visited the Tom Crean Memorial. Tom was an Irish seaman and a member of three major expeditions to Antarctica. 

We stopped at the Gallarus Oratory, a well preserved 1000 year old Christian Stone Church. The best preserved ancient church in Ireland.

In Dingle we visited the Díseart Institute of Education and Celtic Culture to see the noted six stained glass windows by Harry Clarke.

In Castlemaine there's a statue of Jack Duggan who is said to have emigrated to Australia in the 1800's and became a beloved Robin Hood style outlaw aka a bush ranger. (Researching this we saw a few variants on the story but it is the story of the statue, anyway.)

In Fungie, we checked out the Dingle Dolphin statue commemorating a dolphin that lived in Dingle Harbor from 1983 until his disappearance in 2020.

On our way to the Ring of Kerry, Pat snapped a photo of Derrycunihy Church. 

There was a nice view of Killarney National Park and Moll's Gap including the "Ladies View" over the lakes.

In the picturesque town of Sneem Pat bought some lambs wool slipper's at Green Chair.

In Keel, where our guide grew up, we stopped at the Driftwood Surf Cafe for some Korean style chicken with a spicy kick, along with some fresh locally caught hake in a light beer batter accompanied with minted peas & tartare sauce & chips (fries). We also stopped at the Skellig Chocolate factory for some samples (we actually brought some home with us).

Starting in 1959 the Charlie Chapman family made Waterville their second home for many years and the town erected the statue as a remembrance.

We toured the house and gardens at Derrynane, the home of a beloved Irish politician and statesman, Daniel O'Connell.

With help of our driver these excursions were interesting despite the cold and rain. 

Lough Eske Castle

Lough Eske Castle has fine grounds with excellent sculptures, spacious rooms, fine dining and a very interesting gallery with photos taken by Francis Browne. 

Browne, a young Jesuit, was invited to sail on the Titanic. He took his camera along on the journey from Southampton, England. Due to his Superior's order to "GET OFF THAT SHIP" (did the Superior know something no one else did?)  Browne debarked in Ireland before the Titanic sailed to disaster in the North Atlantic. From his short time on the Titanic he took dozens of photographs of life aboard the Titanic. And the Lough Eske now owns the collection. An interesting an unexpected view into the fateful voyage.

Below: Lough Eske Castle, sculptures on the grounds (dragon, geese flying), Bill's hand with some giant nasturtium leaves, photo of Boy with Hoop on the Titanic.

We had a day trip around Sligo and Slieve League. We really didn't know what to expect. Touring around Sligo town we visited the neolithic Creevykell Court Tomb (between 4000-2500BC), some more recent ruins (it's just a fixer-upper), impressive terrain (mountains, cliffs, valleys and water falls), barbed wire fence mended with rope, and sheep to keep the grass trimmed.

Creevykeel Court Tomb is one of the finest examples of a court tomb remaining in Ireland. Dating from the Neolithic period (4000 – 2500 BC) it consists of a wedge-shaped cairn about 150' long, with an oval-shaped court at its eastern end.

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet, dramatist and writer, and one of the foremost figures of 20C. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. Yeats' family moved to  Sligo shortly after his birth. As a young poet he thought of the area as his childhood and spiritual home. He later chose the courtyard at St. Columba's church of Ireland in nearby Drumcliff as his final resting place. A favorite quote from Yeats: There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven't yet met.

Slieve League or Slieve Liag in SW Donegal, at almost 2000 ft high, is one of the highest sea cliffs in Europe. These impressive cliffs and nearby countryside make a nice day trip from Lough Eske. 

Along the way we stopped in Killybegs, on Donegal Bay. It is the largest fishing port in the country. It has the most pristine fishing ships you can imagine. They are big and they are colorful, and they sit at home much of the time as they have already taken their quota as allowed under European rules.

In Donegal we discovered a hat factory, a Frida, a phrase we can drink to, and how the local sheep tell you in which season the current rain is falling. 

We were next on to Galway with a stop at Kylmore Abbey and Gardens. 

The most striking feature of Kylemore Abbey is the beautiful structure of the Abbey especially since you typically see it twice (the real and the reflected Abbey). The interior has some furnished vignettes and exhibits about its history. There is a lovely stroll along the Pollacapall Lough (Lake) leading to a Gothic Church and the Mausoleum. There is an extensive garden (accessible by frequent bus service or a very lonnnng walk). The Victorian Walled Garden adds color to the green surrounding countryside. and is stunning when vieweed from the entry gate. We enjoyed the displays sharing the story of the year to year maintenance of the garden. The Head Gardener House was attractive and comfortable, designed to attract the best person for the job. The Connemara ponies add a nice touch.

The property was built in the 1860's by Mitchel Henry as a love token to his wife Margaret. It was later owned by he Duke & Duchess of Manchester and passed on to a group of Benedictine nuns fleeing Belgium in1920. They started a boarding school and day school for girls that is still operating today. 

The extensive walled gardens stretch along some rolling terrain providing some color to the rich green backdrop.There are restored accommodations showing the fairly comfortable life of the Head Gardener and family. 

Our tour through the Coonamara was picturesque even in the rain. Rivers of water cascading down the steep slopes and colorful and striking views along the Wild Atlantic Way. That said we couldn't help but think how much nicer it would be with some sun! (Note: The Wild Atlantic Way is a designated coastal route from the north of Ireland to the south of Ireland. Their logo is WW stretched out to look like waves. Pretty cute.)

The quaint towns of Westport and Cliffden added some color and charm to the drive to Galway.