Rebecca Part 3 (one more to go after this)

Tonight I am going to try something new - picking pictures first, uploading them and then writing about them... and giving myself a 30 minute time limit. I don't know why 1 extra hour yesterday has made me so tired - but it has. I got a lot done for work and to prepare for the Halloween party on Wednesday (and I even scheduled car maintenance for Thursday) - a very productive day - but I need sleep. .


Also, let me know if you liked the slide show post - should I do more of those?


So on Tuesday we drove to Bath. Nothing opened until 11, so we had a leisurely morning. How nice. The tricky part of Bath is parking - so much of it has time limits. We started at the Podium shopping center - which had a max of 4 hours. Then were forced to look to street parking, once for a 2 hour max, and then finally a 1 hour spot. We saw what we planned on, so I guess it worked out. It was a lovely day. Have a look:


#1 on the schedule was the Roman Baths. Situated just next to the big Bath Cathedral. We picked up our audio guides and were off. I listened to all of the audio lectures and learned a lot. I probably forgot it all too. :)



There was so much to see. Temple Ruins, room after room of the bathhouse, statues, altars, tombstones, models of what the baths must have looked like. A lot to take in. I know that Rebecca loved it. I'll probably go back - but I'd really love to go down the road to the Thermae Spa that has open springs and a lot of therapies offered. What a treat - but expensive. You'll notice that the water in the pictures is green. Supposedly that is because the baths are now open to the sunlight, and so algae flourishes. During the times of the Romans, there was a roof on the bath houses, so the water would have been clear. Upstairs from the main part of the baths is a fancy restaurant called the Pump Room. They have a water fountain of treated bath water. (sounds appetizing, doesn't it?). A glass of water cost 50p, or was free with your ticket into the baths. Since we paid for it, Rebecca and I tried a glass.
The fish on the fountain are more appropriate than you'd think. The water has a faintly fishy smell as you raise the glass toward your nose. But more memorable is the temperature - it was very warm - not hot, but more than tepid.
We both finished our glasses, but agree that we wouldn't need to have another. I have drunk of the restorative waters of Bath - and I'm not sick. So maybe they work. :)

After the baths we went up to the Fashion Museum. We had bought combo tickets at the Roman Baths that gave us 10% off the Fashion Museum. The museum is situated in the basement of the Assembly Rooms. A beautiful building with big ballrooms and chandeliers. The museum was smaller than I thought, but had some lovely clothes displayed (old and new) and of course had the fabulous audio guide. But, I'd say the best part of the museum was a hands-on room full of crinoline and corsets to try on. We both had a good time lacing each other in. Rebecca held onto the wall as I tightened the laces. If I go again, I'll take more care that what I am wearing will look better in the pictures. A lime-green fuzzy sweater was not the way to go. While we were doing each other up, a tiny asian woman and her boyfriend walked in. I should have taken her picture, she was probably about 1/3 my size. Aren't the pictures fun:

A very amused British couple came through as we were taking each other's picture and snapped some of us together. The wife was hilarious and asked if it was uncomfortable. We both said it wasn't as bad as we'd expected, but we couldn't breathe deeply. Then she clarified and asked about our boobs. In those terms. I laughed outloud - as much as I could with no breath, and said I probably would opt out of underwire on the next trip - it was gouging a bit.

I just have to say how brilliantly frizzy my hair was. It takes a few days for the curl to recover after being straightened with my super hot flat irons. I fear it may never fully recover. Oh well. I figure women of corset times had similarly distressed hair. The sweater wasn't an authentic look, but the hair was.

This isn't the Royal Crescent, but 1/4 of a circle called The Circus, which has a big roundabout in the middle. The Royal Crescent is much larger but similarly shaped. We ate our WaitRose lunch in the middle of The Circus in a small park. It was grand.

After the Fashion Museum we had to repark. I forgot earlier to mention that parking meant making change - what a mess. But I did have my parking fairy with us that day. We got very lucky and didn't have to walk too far. Our last destination was the Jane Austen Center. Our visit started by being right on time for the hourly lecture given by one of the docents. It was great hearing about Jane Austen's life and what parts of it (and her books) took place in Bath. Rebecca and I spent a lot of time quoting Miss Austen throughout the day, so it was a good finale. After the talk, there were a few exhibits - but not as much as I had expected. Then a small book/gift shop - where we shockingly bought nothing. Although there were versions of JA books with very nice covers and typesetting. But I refrained. I don't need anymore books. My house is jammed.

We left Bath around 4. I was excited because that meant we'd miss most of the traffic on the M4. However, Bath (the town itself) seems to be in a constant traffic jam, so it took some time to get back up to the M4. Since we were done a bit early, we decided to drive to Barbury Castle (very near my house) - where there is no castle anymore. It is up a windy, 1-lane, steep hill of a road that made me very nervous the first time I tried to go there. This time I was much less nervous, so we actually made it to the top and to the castle site. It is atop a ridge way and it was FREEZING. The sun was starting to set - and the wind was picking up. We were walking ice cubes. There is a recent reproduction of an Iron Age house and some mounds where the castle is thought to have been. Really it is used as a picnic/kite flying site by locals. We hurried back to the car to get warm again.

We had Indian Takeaway for dinner...gobs of it. I actually just ordered 1 main dish - Chicken Tikka Masala (not Marsala), but with the Naan and Raita (so good) we were both very full. We enjoyed several episodes of Firefly as we ate. Good times.

Well, I spent 45 minutes. Just 1 more day of site seeing to blog about - Bowood House and Stonehenge on Wednesday. We also had a game night (Rebecca got to meet some locals), and then Thursday was for me to work and a biking adventure for Rebecca. We also went shopping for Rebecca's take home goodies, and then went to see Stardust. Great movie. I'll probably just blog about Bowood House, and probably post a slideshow - there were some great photos that day. Then the blogs about Rebecca's trip will be done. :)

Rebecca Parts 1 & 2 Slideshow

82 of my and Rebecca's pictures from Friday - Sunday.

Rebecca's Visit - Part 2

On Sunday morning we didn't leave until about 7 or 7:30. The Tower of London doesn't open until 10, so there wasn't really any need to hurry. We went to Hounslow West again (this time directly there - no detours, even slight). Getting to Tower Hill means sitting on the Circle Line through 12 stops from where we transferred from the Picadilly line - a long, and often crowded trip. We got to Tower Hill by 9:40 and Rebecca got her first glimpses of the old fortress. It is very very old, and jam packed with history. If you are interested I am sure there are lots of sites devoted to it...I'd start at Tower of London in Wikipedia. It is a must see if you come to London. After queuing to buy tickets, we stopped by the Paul (mom's favorite) to get a breakfast treat. (All the walking around really makes all the sweets free, right?)

The Tower houses the crown jewels - which is almost Disneyland like in their presentation. You walk through many turn styles that have video of Elizabeth II's coronation over and over again. Then when you get to the jewels, you get onto a human conveyor belt. You can walk around and get on again, but they want to keep people moving. It cracks me up.
Better than the jewels are the Yeoman Warders (aka Beefeaters). They are the Tower tour guides (and still a type of Royal Guard). They also live at the tower. They are a fun time. Our Beefeater was Dave. His spiel was very similar to what I heard last summer (with mom and Kathy) but was not in the chapel (last summer we visited on a rainy day - and this time I went on a Sunday morning - so the chapel was out). They are pretty interactive, entertaining tour guides - telling us about how many times an axe must be wielded to sever a head. Lovely stuff. Unfortunately, we had a very obnoxious American woman in our group - Rebecca and I wanted to claim Canada as our motherland for the entire hour. Here are some tower pics:
We had a picture with a different Beefeater (there are 35) - I stood by him and he said "You're just my size" - you'll see - I am bigger than he. Nearly taller than his hat.
We finished at the tower by 12:30. It was a weird and hazy day. The Tower Bridge is right next to the Tower of London, but it seemed encased in a fog in all the pictures. So we didn't daudle we just made our way to Knightsbridge to walk by Harrod's and get some lunch before church at 2:30. (If you haven't noticed, you have to build in a lot of travel time in London - there is a lot of standing on tube platforms waiting...and LOTS of walking). Since it was Sunday, Rebecca and I were both dressed for church. The biggest challenge was not warmth (although it was very cold) it was foot comfort. I almost went for the European tortured woman look in my 3 1/2" heeled boots - they really would have been a better look. But I opted for comfort instead of fashion and went with brown dansko maryjanes. Rebecca had less options. She ended up in my skirt and her black wedges...with a pair of my superflat black maryjanes in her purse - no support at all, but completely flat. She changed into the flats at church.

Harrod's is not just a department store - it is a big city block - several stories high. We didn't even step foot in, but Rebecca has walked past Harrods. The best part of Harrod's (of what I've seen) is the graphic design of the gift goods. I wish it wasn't Harrods. I really want some of the tins. But they are Harrods - so not cheap. :( For lunch we ate at a chain that Kathy and I found this summer - Leon. Kath and I loved it this summer. I got the same thing this time - a Sweet Potato Falafel Wrap. Unfortunately, they ran out of flat bread as I ordered, so I got the last wrap. I am sure that Trebbie was disappointed. If you are wondering about all of this falafel business - don't knock it till you try it. I love falafel. My first experience was last summer in the Marais (the Jewish quarter in Paris). I was really into tasting the foods each place was known for (how I ate Fish and Chips in England - the one and only time). Falafel is a good thing. I introduced (or maybe reminded) Rebecca - and she is hooked too.

The church building is in South Kensington - situated next to the Victoria & Albert Museum, and across from the National Science Museum and the Museum of Natural History. We just saw them from the outside. I have been in the V&A - it has a LOT to see. I like the gift shop. We made it past the museums and to church on time. It was my 2nd time in the Britannia Ward - and it is a pretty standard singles ward, just with a lot of accents. I think that 1/3 of the attendees are Australian, 1/3 American and the remaining 1/3 everything else (including British). It was good church.

After church we went back to Taza for dinner. Yummy again. It was our last thing in London. I hope Rebecca liked her time there.

On Monday Rebecca and I were sapped with fatigue. We slept in. Then I worked from home until after lunch. Then we went to Swindon Town Center. Town Center is a big pedestrianized outdoor mall. We went to H&M first. We were in heaven when we found the £5, £3 and £1 racks. I ended up spending £22.49 and got 2 pairs of slacks, 3 skirts, 2 shirts and hair accessories - that is $50, so cheap. Rebecca got a fabulous jacket (I am jealous) and more. After H&M we went to Poundland (where everything is £1) and a party store for stuff for the ward Trunk or Treat. Then we went to a chippery for Rebecca to try fish and chips. She liked it.

After our shopping excursion, we came home and watched Journeyman - this new show on NBC. Kind of like Quantum Leap - except without Ziggy and Al. You kind of figure it out with the character as the episodes progress. I really like it. Rebecca has recorded it for me - we watched 3 episodes. She is going to send me all the shows I watch on weekly DVD installments. :) What a good friend. You should all watch Journeyman. (and Men in Trees and Private Practice).

On a completely side note - this morning the clocks fell back an hour here in England. I totally missed it. It was Stake Conference today. 10am in Cheltenham, 45 minutes away. I was to ride up with Greg and April, so I got to their house by 9am. We got to the Stake Center at 9:45am - or so we thought. We were over 1 hour early. :( I got no benefit from the fall back. I hope you remember yours in America and sleep in accordingly (I think it is next weekend). Also, while typing this I was watching the fabulous Star Wars IV: A New Hope. Brilliant movie. Also while typing this, Mom, Dad, Kathy and Rachel are on their way to the Oregon Coast to look at a house near Tillamook that mom has fallen in love with. She really wants to buy it. Dad thinks she is crazy and has delusions of grandeur. But how great would that be? A beach house to visit. Fantastic.

It is also mom's 55th birthday. Send her a note. Dad turns 56 in 4 days. Then Rachel turns 26 a week from Tuesday. It is the busiest birthday time of year for the Foulger's. :) Happy Happy!!

The next blog will have pictures from Bath and Bowood. And maybe a slide show in the right bar with a lot more pictures from the week.

Rebecca's Visit - Part 1

In about an hour, Rebecca will arrive back in Portland. (probably before I finish typing this up) She had a crazy 30 hour trip home - including hanging out overnight with her luggage (so pre-security) in the Dulles airport. I hope it went okay. Here is Swindon it greyed up yesterday to usher Rebecca home, and the rain returned today. She must have brought the lovely weather with her. We were so lucky - blue skies nearly the entire time she was here. It was on the chilly side in the morning - but it was perfect weather for our adventures.

Rebecca came on Thursday morning. We came back to my house, ate lunch and then I had to head back to work. Rebecca tried to stay up while I was gone - and ended up succumbing to about 1 hour of a nap. She also walked around my little village and watched some TV. After I got home from work, we went out to dinner, to Tesco and then went up to April and Greg's house to say hello and borrow April's bicycle. We ended up leaving there about 10:30 - so Rebecca couldn't go to sleep until nearly 11. She slept through the night (except for a middle of the night trip down the stairs to the freezing bathroom - but she made it safely).

I had to work again on Friday - sad. Rebecca was brave and went out for a bike ride around Wroughton - making plans for a longer one on another day. I made it home early-ish and we drove up to Avebury. The sheep were out. :) Rebecca really was fascinated with the rocks. She even bought a book about the formation at Avebury - she is now an expert. Ask her lots of questions. Here are a few Avebury pics:

After the sheep and stones, we came home and watched some of the American TV that Rebecca brought with her - Men in Trees and Private Practice. Then we discussed plans for Saturday & Sunday in London and decided to call it a night by 9 - we had plans to leave my house by 6am. Friday night was a bit rougher for Trebs - she woke up in the middle of the night wide awake. Classic on night 2. Night 1 you are so exhausted from the journey that you sleep straight through - Night 2 is hard. She still made it up at 5 and we made our way to London.

Saturday morning was really really cold. We drove into Hounslow West tube station (just on the London side of Heathrow). The car park there is free on the weekends. We got day travelcards for the tube and hopped on the Picadilly line - transferred to the Hammersmith/City line and got off at Ladbroke Grove for our first stop - Portobello Road Market. It was still early (8:30) and really cold. We bought hats, and then got some yummy breakfast - almond croissant for me - sausage roll for Trebs. I was covered in icing sugar (what the Brits call powdered sugar) for the next little while.After Portobello Road we walked through Notting Hill and down Bayswater Road (this is the north boundary for Kensington Gardens and Hide Park). We stopped at Queensway - a perpendicular street. I am quite familiar with that area - it is where Kath, Mom, Jeanne & I got on the tube last summer. Our hotel was a couple streets away.

Queensway is known (at least to me) for 3 things: 1)ShiSha (also known as Hookah) offered in the restaurant - a weird shared pipe with some (apparently) legal inhaled subject. Always a shocking site to me. 2) cheap cheap cheap pasminas - less than £2 each. Also loads of other cheap tourist trade. and 3) Taza - a yummy yummy purveyor of doner kebab (lamb or chicken) or falafel. On Saturday morning, we just focused on the pashminas. I think we each got 6 (for £9). A vast assortment of colors are now part of my winter wardrobe. :) After stuffing the pashminas into our bags, we walked across the street and walked through Kensington Gardens to get some pictures of Kensington Palace - behind the statue of Queen Victoria

We tubed to Blackfriars and walked up to the steps of St Paul's. I did sing a bit of Feed the Birds from Mary Poppins. It was my first visit inside St Paul's - we read about the tour last summer and decided that the stairs would be too much for Aunt Jeanne. We were so right - Rebecca and I didn't even make the top. Look at the picture of St Paul's with Rebecca in front (more about her expression later). The dome of St Paul's is considered Christopher Wren's masterpiece. It has 4 galleries - 3 open to the public. First the Whispering Gallery just where the dome starts to pull away from the rest of the cathedral roof. That is a climb of 163 steps and 30 meters from the cathedral floor. In the whispering gallery you are supposed to be able to hear a whisper from across the dome. Rebecca and I tried - and once she heard me call her name.

After our brief rest, we headed up another 23 meters and 114 more steps. The Stone Gallery is where the dome columns stop with a ring in the picture. This level has an outer walkway and some great views of London.

This picture is looking across the river. See the Millennium Bridge that leads directly to the Tate Modern art museum which is right next to Shakespeare's Globe.

We had climbed 292 stairs (up winding spiral staircases about 5 or 6 feet in diameter). The next gallery is called the Golden Gallery - at the top of the dome. It was another 32 meters up and another 152 steps to climb and descend. Since we already had such great pictures, we decide to give our legs (and lungs) a reprieve. So we headed back down the 282 steps and 53 meters back to the cathedral floor - where our legs felt like jello for a few minutes. We both really liked St Paul's.

We headed down the south side of St Paul's to cross the Millennium Bridge over to the Tate and Globe. We stopped for a few more pictures. I include this one (above) for 2 reasons - the great view of St Paul's (which was covered in a big tarp with a line drawing last summer) and then for Rebecca's great facial expression. Click the picture to open a bigger view. All week Rebecca and I were having timing issues with pictures. I kept capturing just the most brilliant expressions. Nearly all of the posed shots have at least 2 pictures in order to get a normal smile. I'll include another classic in blog in a bit - just wait - it is hysterical. We laughed on the tube until I was crying.

It was still before lunch, so we had time to run across the bridge and briefly visit the Tate and the Globe. The Globe's season just ended on the 9th of October, so we couldn't stand in the yard for £5 tickets and 3 hours of standing (there is strictly no sitting allowed). Maybe I'll do it next season. In the gift shop I picked Kathy up 2 more pencils. I told the cashier that my sister in America was an English Teacher and requested the pencils - and that was why I made the trip there. He said "you made the trip solely for 2 pencils?" Implying the trip from America. I briefly hesitated and he said "just say yes". I smiled and said "Yes - the trip across the river." He was funny.

After a quick lunch we tubed to the British Museum. This is the museum that houses all of the spoils of the British Empire - including the Rosetta Stone and lots of statues and carvings from the Parthenon. I think I have written about it before. I love the museum, but I find it totally overwhelming and overstimulating. It totally drains me. I am sure that Rebecca was frustrated. We spent a few hours there. I think it would take days to see all of it. Also, right now there is a Terracotta Warrior exhibit -it costs £15ish. Since I have seem them in situ in Xi'an we didn't pay for the extra exhibit. But I almost bought my mom another statue. I should have for her birthday. (Good think I didn't, it wouldn't have fit in Rebecca's luggage on the way home).

My camera was out of battery (I hadn't charged it since before Ireland) - it just slipped my mind. But no worries, Rebecca's was fine. Walking back to the tube after the museum we stopped at a red telephone box for a pose. This is the classic of Rebecca's face. Fantastic. Possibly the best of the bunch. :) The telephone box smelled of pee and had some v. inappropriate pictures in them. I won't be going in one again.

Next we went to my favorite museum - the National Portrait Gallery. Unfortunately, the portrait contest (my favorite exhibit) is a summer thing, and half of the galleries were taken up in a special (not free) Pop Portrait exhibit. We spend 2 hours in the upper levels looking at Tudor and Elizabethan art - not my favorite, but Rebecca loved it. My eyes were shot. I just couldn't look at anything else, I found a comfy seat at watched for Rebecca.

We walked down past the National Gallery and St Martin in the Field (a big cathedral (with the Cafe in the Crypt that mom likes) - it is still covered in scaffolding) through Trafalgar Square (where a big Islamic festival was getting cleaned up) and then down to Waterloo Bridge to see Big Ben and The London Eye. The sun was setting. I was getting very tired. We decided to head back to Bayswater & Queensway for dinner at Taza - a huge hit for both of us. We ate in Hyde park while walking. Then we took the long tube journey back to Hounslow West to get the car. That is when (helped by being exhausted) we acted the Americans that we are - and obnoxiously laughed and laughed and laughed at the pictures from the day.

It was a good day. We got home by 10pm and had plans to return to London on Sunday to visit the Tower of London and then go to the Britannia Singles' Ward for church. We soaked our aching feet, laughed some more, and went to sleep. I had no doubt that Rebecca would sleep through the night.

Part 1 done. Stay tuned for more to come. Kathy just called and Rebecca has landed. :) I am so slow. Here's a quick break down of the more to come (so I remember):

Sunday - Tower of London, walk past Harrod's on the way to church, dinner at Taza

Monday - slept in. Worked from home. Shopped a fab H&M sale in Swindon Town Center. Watched Journeyman - great show! Got Indian takeaway and made ourselves uncomfortably full.

Tuesday - Bath - the Roman Baths & Pump Room, the Fashion Museum - including a hands on try-on of corsets and crinoline (over clothes - very attractive). Parking was the worst.

Wednesday - Bowood House - "a large home, richly furnished" with VAST grounds. Drove by Stonehenge on a roundabout way home. Game night at April's.

Thursday - Becky worked :( Trebbie did her bike ride. We went to ASDA to buy all the food stuff that Rebecca wanted to take home, ate local kebabs with April. Went to see Stardust (my second time, Rebecca's 5th) with April, Gresha and Jessica (Gresha's daughter). Stayed up to 2 packing and watching Vicar of Dibley's greatest moments.

Friday - back to Heathrow - back to work.

Saturday - sleep.

Sunday - early stake conference.

a musical moment

pause for a brief musical moment - I haven't started to write about my week with Rebecca yet - but I will. We got some great pictures.

So, this morning I took Rebecca to Heathrow. On the way home I heard the first Country Music on the radio since I arrived. It was Shania Twain (I think the song is called Still the One). Kind of a crossover, but still more country that I have heard. And I thought I had escaped. ;)

I changed the station (Shania is so not my favorite) and went to the Classical station. There was a big resounding arrangement of My Country Tis of Thee. I am sure that it actually has some other name - concerto, sonata, movement whatever... but it was a little heart-wrenching to hear. Mom tells me that it is God Save the Queen - so even more heart -wrenching.

But - it did remind me of Fireworks - which reminds me of Guy Fawkes Day coming up. "Remember, Remember the 5th of November." (I don't think that V for Vendetta actually came out in the UK, but it is a great (and disturbing) movie.) I am exicted for my first (and probably last) Bonfire Night. The fireworks are VERY pricey - so I'll probably just be a spectator. Fun fun.

Trebbie is here!!

Rebecca arrived this morning after a harrowing journey next to a crazy woman on Air Canada from Washington DC via Montreal (the crazy woman arrived in Montreal). Her flight landed at about 7:45am at Heathrow and by 9 we were heading to Swindon. I came into the office after lunch, and last I heard Rebecca was on a walk around my little village (actually it claims to be The Biggest Village in England) - Wroughton. I ave a meeting until 4 - but then I should be able to leave and go home to entertain her until about 9pm - the right time to go to sleep.

I am so excited to have another visitor. Our plans include a couple of days in London, a full day in Bath and then seeing as much as we can around Swindon and the surrounding towns. It is already so nice (besides the Extra Polar Ice that she brought - I opened a package as soon as we got home - it is SO good) just having someone to talk to who knows me.

Check back over the next week or so to see pictures of our adventures.

Something I found today and though is interesting Play Blogger you can see a slideshow (with or without supporting text) from what has recently been posted to Blogger in public blogs. A very interesting snapshot of what is being posted right now - from all over the world.

The Emerald Isle

On Saturday we were up at 6. Jo and I stayed at the Travelodge near Stansted on Friday night. Ginger had a party with co-workers in London, so she just met us (after negotiating the craziness of several closed tube lines) at the airport at 7ish. The Ryan Air flight was interesting. Definitely no frills. The best thing was that the safety card was just printed on the seatbacks – so you couldn’t help but stare at it. It reminded women not to wear their high heels in the event of an emergency landing. I thought that the flight attendants might have it easy – no drink service…then I realized it was just no complimentary drink services. I think they were up and down the aisles more times that on a flight double the length on a bigger airline. Trying to sell everything from tea for 2.05 to scratch-it tickets for 2. We landed in Shannon @ 9:40 – a very rocky cart-wheeling landing. We thought that it must be windy – but it was actually very calm – just a novice pilot. At the Hertz desk we were directed outside to wait for a shuttle. We could see a Hertz building at the end of the terminal, but thought it must just be for gold card members (which until Friday I hadn’t extended to international rentals)…so we took the very crammed shuttle. We drove out of the airport, then back in, right to the building at the end of the terminal. It cracked us up. Would have been much faster to walk. We were driving out of Hertz by 10:30 in our red Vauxhall Astra.

The drive down to Killarney took about 2 hours, all on pretty decent roads. We did see 2 cows being driven down the road either to be milked or just change pastures. Interesting. Killarney was a really cute town. We walked around for about 15 minutes to get a feel for what we might eat for lunch. There was a McDonald’s and Burger King – as there seem to be in every town in the world. We ended up in a little café called Revive. Ginger had Irish Stew, Jo a jacket potato, and I had a chicken panini. We were all happy with our choices. Killarney is the start of the Ring of Kerry. The roads got a little dodgier, but the scenery was really amazing. Ireland is really as green as they say (at least most of what I saw was - I’ll tell you about the Burren, which is totally different, in a bit). We got stuck behind a couple of giant busses (happily taking up 2/3rds of the road. Luckily we never had one coming at us in a narrow part of the road. There is a view point at the end of the peninsula that was great. It was gorgeous. We parked, and upon getting out of the car realized just how windy it was. Here are some pictures:

Just a little bit of wind.

The second half of driving the ring was fraught with road construction – oddly disorganized. There weren’t flaggers, and most of the time we just drove straight on through the mess in the road – no one or signs told us to do otherwise. Instead of going back up to Killarney, we took a southerly route to Kilgare to head down to Blarney and Cork. The roads were very very bumpy. We slowed down enough to think that we might not make it to Blarney in time to get to see the castle and the famed Blarney Stone (did you know it was at the top of the castle?). We almost decided to bypass Blarney and go straight to Cork. Luckily Jo and I decided that it was still worth the drive, and since it was on the way to Cork it wouldn’t really be a big deal if we got there and just kept going. It turned out that the castle was open 30 minutes later than the tour book said. So we had time to climb the castle and kiss the stone. Can’t you tell I have the Gift of Irish Gab? Here are some fun pictures about the process:

Donald, the nice Irish bloke from Blarney who helps you not strain your back.

Here you can see the stone above Ginger's shoulder as she is bending backwards to kiss it.

The shop was closed - but I wouldn't have forked over the euros for the certificate - I have a picture for proof - not to mention my new eloquence.

Below: The hole right above my head is where you lean out (on your back with your head below you)for the Blarney Stone

When we finished with the Blarney Stone, we drove into Cork – apparently during a Saturday night rush hour. It took us nearly an hour trying to park. Finally we found a car park we could get into. Instead of a pub, all three of us decided on a Chinese restaurant. I had Chicken with Ginger and Spring Onion – my favorite. The food was good – but I didn’t get to witness the proper building of a pint of Guinness… The drive back up to Limerick only took 90 minutes – it felt really quick. Reaching the hotel, the car park was completely full, and our reservation for a family room was messed up. They only had us down for a double. Luckily they were very apologetic and happy to bring in a roll-away (of sorts) and extra bedding. We were in bed by 11 and quickly asleep.

Sunday morning was easy. By 8 we were in the Johnny Rockets (yes – an American inspired diner playing We Didn’t Start the Fire upon our arrival) in the Travelodge lobby eating breakfast. I had yogurt and granola with the saddest fruit cocktail on top – but it actually hit the spot. We decided that we wanted to have as much time in Country Clare as possible, so we scratched Galway off our itinerary. The weather was holding – no rain, just some light fog. We drove up to Ennis – where a co-worker is from, and got a quick feel for the place so we could report back to Brian. Then our destination was the coast. We drove about an hour right along the coastline up to the Cliffs of Moher. On the way we took a little dead-end road to a cliff head – just to see it. The road was very reminiscent of the Irish roads shown in movies. Very narrow – lots of rock walls on either side, and very rolly. It was fun until we came across a woman walking 2 dogs. One was a Bichon Frise on a leash – no big deal. The other was a kamikaze Corgi (or mix of some kind). It ran straight at the car. We got past it very slowly. I was so worried we would hit it. Then we got to the end of the road, took in the view and turned around. We ran back into the dog – it shot away from its owner at right back at us. I did an emergency stop (which Jo had explained would be part of my UK driving test) – and I did it well. I almost had a heart attack, but the dog was unscathed. So my experience with Irish dogs is very different from the very apathetic British dog… I am not sure which is worse. Back enroute to the Cliffs of Moher we had to go around a car that had stopped in the middle of the road to take a picture of a cow – well a big bull. It did have a very cute look on it’s face. I was half tempted to stop as well. The Cliffs of Moher really were spectacular. Cliffs over 600 feet dropping straight to the ocean. The visitor’s center was built right into the hills - almost unnoticeable as you drive by. The signage was a hoot: a nice Texan man offered to take our picture

After the cliffs we drove up towards Doolin. Brian – our native Irish co-worker (who lives in Munich) told us to stop there. On the way we kept seeing signs for the Doolin Cave and the “great stalactite”. I had read a little about the cave in a tour book – I knew there was a tour that would take about an hour. Given our timing, we could fit it in. We kept seeing signs, and they kept sucking us in. We arrived in Doolin. Brian had told us that Doolin had 1 church and 3 pubs. That is really all there was. We signed up for the noon tour and waited with the other American’s (some from Maryland on an exchange at a Dublin Uni, and a couple from Alaska). We got to the cave on a mini-bus. Our tour guide Michael was from Meath – just south of Dublin, and just had the job for the summer. He was quite knowledgeable and told us the history of the caves discovery by 2 visiting English students in the 50’s. The site has only been open to the public for the last 20 years. The stalactite is over 20 feet long, estimated to weigh 10 tons, and very very very old. We went down about 125 stairs to get to the tunnel to the cave. We donned hard hats and ducked a lot. Michael had us enter the cavern in the dark and all facing one direction. Then he lit the stalactite – it was breathtaking. It is the bigest stalactite in the northern hemisphere. There are some close to 30 feet long in Brazil - but to get to those you have to crawl on your belly for 3 hours. They aren't open to the public. Very glad we stopped.

Here's a picture for a little perspective. The lighting is so hard. The stalactite hangs right in the center of the big cave - it is so bizarre what nature does.

Ate lunch at McGann’s pub in Doolin – sadly the traditional music was only played in the evenings. Doolin is supposed to be well known as a center for live traditional music. After reading up in Wikipedia, I realize we should have gone to another pub, McGann’s was just built in the 70’s. The other 2 go back to the 1850’s or something. The food was good, I had a yummy soup and Irish soda bread. I saw a lot of Guinness, especially after a busload of German tourists arrived. We were really lucky with our timing on the hole trip – arriving just before giant crowds.

After Doolin we kept driving up coast in Clare to a region called The Burren. It is covered in limestone and now protected. It is a very bizarre landscape. Very different from the extreme green of the rest of Ireland. I think it would get really depressing in the winter – the grey clouds and all the grey stone. What’s funny is the stone walls built to divide the stone covered land. The Irish really like their stone walls.

We headed back towards the airport at Shannon via Ennis and a ruined Friary – there was a gaelic football match going that meant there was no place to park. It took about 25 minutes to finally have a spot open up. It is interesting how the paperwork in the Friary only alluded to the religious unrest of Irish history. It was the same when we found an Abbey ruin on the way back (ish) to the airport. But the ruins were both lovely.
We got to the airport at 6, then had to turn around to top of the gas tank. Turned in the car, walking to the terminal instead of waiting for the shuttle to take us 10 feet. I had to turn around because I forgot my coat. Typical. We got checked in. I got patted down at the airport – again. Duty free shopping didn’t have the linen scarves that mom found in the Dublin airport. Sad as a white one could have been part of her birthday gift. Jo and I got a sandwich for dinner from the one food place after security. The flight back to Stansted was very quick – only 50 minutes. We landed 20 minutes early. Again the landing was a bit sideways. We paid the extravagant parking fees and headed through central London (thank you Kate) to take Ginger home. There was a tense 10 minutes of being tailed by a policeman – I have no idea why. I was very careful to obey all laws – at least all laws I know of. I was concerned that he was going to pull me over. He came around, level with me, looked at us and drove on. It was so weird. Happily I didn’t increase the cost of the trip with a ticket. The drive through London was interesting – and humorous to find myself driving down the road of the hotel that Kathy, mom and I stayed in last summer… driving down the very same roads that scared me so much. It was nice to see how everything fit together. All of my other driving experiences in London have been driving around to different tourist things – kind of in circles. So getting a coherent picture was difficult – until last night. Jo and I got trapped near Reading in crazing road construction. We got home about 12:30 this morning.

We were so lucky – no rain (except a little mist when driving through the Burren). We couldn't have hoped for a weekend so nice in October. We loved it.