Welcome to England & Scotland
Note: There are a few pics here but most are at: Bajka UK/Ireland Pics.
7/9-10-Monday and Tuesday
After an early morning flight on Monday from San Francisco leaving on time to have an extended layover in Atlanta, and then landing in Manchester some 30 hours later, we then began our journey. With only a few hours of sleep each we had a full day ahead of us. We picked up our rental car and drove to the quaint little city of Chester. With its 2 miles of city walls still intact and its black and white timbered Tudor buildings, Chester is one of England’s most interesting medieval cities. We walked the 2 miles of wall surrounding the city on horrifically still jet-lagged bodies and stopped for a pastie dinner.
We proceeded to walk an estimated total of 5 miles and then slept for 14 hours! (That’s the most I’ve slept all summer)
7/11-Wednesday
The day started with a typical hearty English breakfast, a plate full of eggs, beans, sausage, “bacon”, toast, cereal, well enough to last you the journey north to Liverpool. We just couldn’t help ourselves, visiting the Beatles birthplace. One of the Beatles hot spots was ‘The Cavern’ where they played 292 gigs before getting their start.
It was much smaller and more intimate than one would think. And yes, it was below ground, thus the name “Cavern”. We also made a quick stop to the Liverpool Cathedral. We’ve seen a lot of cathedrals in our travels, but this one was quit impressive. It also has the world’s highest tower (175 feet) and one of the world’s largest naves (619 feet).
From the Cathedral we continued traveling north to Lake District National Park. It is England’s largest National Park. Once in the park, we drove along the longest lake in England, Windermere. We continued our Lake District experience by driving through Keswick and over Honister Pass (the highest road in the park) and looped through the beautiful town of Buttermere.
We had a rare day of sunshine in the Lake District and the area was absolutely breathtaking. There are lots of sheep, rolling hills, stone walls, mountainsides covered head to toe with ferns and pristine forests. We knew the English loved this place but didn’t know why until we went. We have had some great laughs over some of the silliest things, but in the U.K. there is lots of room for fun and adventure.
We closed the day with supper in a pub and a stay in a wonderful B&B in Windermere.
7/12-Thursday
We awoke this morning somewhat well rested, for our comfortably quaint room protected us from the sudden change in weather, we were incredibly lucky for our sunshiny day, but it was inevitable that it would rain. We had another hearty breakfast, (I think our dinner is equivalent to their breakfast)…silly Brit’s. We set off on our linguistic adventure toward Scotland traveling through the Lake District for our last time. It was quite a rough journey, lots of windy and NARROW roads with not too much to do in the car except look outside at the beautiful landscapes, play cards (as long as you don’t get sick), laugh at your parents trying to navigate, yeah well, you get the picture. We headed out toward the Scottish coast on our way to Glasgow and got a much more vivid picture of Scotland than you’d think with only just entering. We stopped briefly in Turnberry, a world-class golfing area. Ayr, the birthplace of Robert Burn’s, a poet (don’t know who he is). Ayr is also a beautiful coastal town with fantastic spreads of wide sandy beaches (a bit cold compared to what we’re used to plus castle ruins everywhere).
Overall the Scottish coast is quite spectacular, but we still needed to hurry along to Glasgow. We walked around the city until 8 PM and then called it a night and went to our room. It was our first hotel room with fluffy pillows, big beds, a tub/shower, oh, and you do not realize the luxury of having warm water come out of one faucet (until now we’ve lived with HOT on the left and COLD on the right). I was ecstatic! So I took advantage of our temporary home reminders, even though we are going to be there tomorrow as well.
Oh, and by the way, Scotts are extremely difficult to understand. I actually have to concentrate on vacation!
7/13-Friday
Our yet again early morning departure was followed with a day of bustling activities, except this one did not start off with a hardy breakfast. We began with a somewhat “leisurely” walk along the River Clyde, (you always have to be on your toes, the Scotts will run you over in a heartbeat…literally) followed by a visit to Paddy’s Market, which was quite an experience. First of all, we had to ask for directions from a Scotsman, who are as I’ve mentioned extremely difficult to understand, and the market itself was a very “locals only” shopping area to say the least. We also visited the Glasgow Green-the very first city park in Britain, and then up to the Cathedral of St. Kentigern (consecrated in 1136), as well as the Glasgow Necropolis-a graveyard containing replicas of every type of architecture around the world. Finally, we did a quick walk through of the St. Mungo’s Museum of Religious Life and Art. This controversial museum has a collection that spans centuries, and highlights various religious groups, living in Glasgow and the surrounding area, as well as their customs.
By now it’s lunchtime so we decided to pick up a quick bite at a café. It was very nice but we still had 2 of the 4 “Neighborhoods” (Merchant City, Medieval Glasgow, Glasgow Center, and The West End) to cover in Glasgow before our early morning departure tomorrow morning. We visited the Museum of Transport (loved the old ‘motorbikes’ and cars) as well as the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum.
Kaycie "givin it" to William Wallace
1962 Ford Anglia- same as used in Harry PotterWe rode home on the underground (called “Clockwork Orange”) to spare some of our vanishing time and save our legs. Finally, we stopped in a pub to pick up a quick bite and off to the last night of fluffy pillows! Tomorrow we are meeting up with the Martins, Amy-from sixth grade, her sister, and her mum!
7/14-Saturday
We departed quite early from Glasgow to head toward Edinburgh (pronounced Edinburra) with a slight detour through Airdrie along the way. We dropped our bags off at our Marriott Hotel and Golf Course in the hills right outside the city of Edinburgh. The place was so nice we almost didn’t go out into the city. It was one of the 9 nights we actually had a room reservation. We ended up heading out though, even though it was so hard with the nice room, and parked our car to catch a bus into the city. Edinburgh is known for their precarious driving situations, even the locals can get lost in the network of twisted streets.
After arriving at Prince Street, our stop, we walked from imposing Edinburgh Castle down the Royal Mile; full of shops and restaurants and pubs and at the end the Hollyrood Palace, which is still used by the Queen of England as her Scotland residence. The city was incredibly beautiful. Pink is scheduled to perform here tomorrow night right outside the castle, I think the venue would be Fabulous to see her in, but we’re not going to be here. We walked and walked and along the way we saw all kinds of old and stunningly beautiful architecture as well as magnificent gardens.
By late afternoon Amy and Holly Martin had arrived with their mum right in the streets of Edinburgh to meet us. It made for a very memorable reunion even (though we waited at nearby blocks for quite a while thinking the other group was coming to the other!) We all had dinner at a little café where JK Rowling first conceived the Harry Potter story (she lives nearby) and celebrated my mom’s birthday with a piece of chocolate cake shared between all of us.
We rode the bus back and all chatted along the way to catch up on all the big things in each other’s lives. We all played cards in our room for hours, until like midnight, and then had to shower etc… it was like all the other nights; very late. Tomorrow we head north to the Aberdeen area or “Castle District” in the Scottish Highlands (north).7/15-Sunday
We all met for another early breakfast, this one was fabulous for many reasons, and one being it was the biggest hotel buffet I think I’ve ever seen! (They must have known we were coming). They seated all 7 of us at a huge formal table in our own room, off the main dinning room with big fancy chairs and windows looking out over the “links”. We weren’t sure whether they were trying to separate us “kids” from the more proper guests (all really formal golfer types) or if they were treating us specially. I’m leaning towards special.
After breakfast, we finished packing up and headed out to re-situate our stuff in the van (it was pretty packed, 6 people, like 4 suitcases, and 4 backpacks) and waved good-bye to Helen (Amy & Holly’s mum), because she was heading back to York, England. We drove to the Kingdom of Fife and along the eastern Scottish coast, stopping at a little fishing village called Pittenween. We had an unbelievably sunny day and the coast and countryside were fabulous.
We continued up the coast to St. Andrews-the actual birthplace of golf. History says the first game was played in the 1400’s. We walked around the “Old Course” (which is closed for play on Sundays, even though we wouldn’t have been able to afford it anyway.) We were amazed at how beautiful the city is and entire area. The city is very old and has a beautiful castle, Cathedral, and unbelievable university campus. Not to mention some six very prestigious golf courses all nestled along a spectacular coastline. Golfers consider St. Andrews to be hallowed ground. Not being real golfers, we just thought the sight was beautiful. We walked barefoot along the links of the first hole located right in front of the “Royal and Ancient Golf Club” founded in 1754. No joke that’s the name of the men’s only clubhouse, how stuffy can you get? It was quite amusing looking at the Members Only benches, Benches! Ha! I think that’s what made leaping across the links barefoot even funnier because just imagining their faces seeing us made me laugh.
From stuffy St. Andrews we continued onward into Aberdeen and the Highlands. We actually have reservations for the next 6 nights, the last reservations of the trip. The remainder will be a little more “free spirited”. The place we are staying is in Ballater, very near to Balmoral Castle (still used by the Queen). We have a 3-bedroom/3-bathroom place with a kitchen, and Amy’s and my bathroom has a Sauna! We don’t know what we are doing tomorrow, it is somewhat weather dependent.
7/16-Monday
Finally, a leisurely morning. We woke up quite late in our fabulous new room (or should I say rooms), its like a condo! We slept not enough, but late enough to keep us satisfied while my mom did laundry (whew!), and had a light breakfast. For many hours, since the weather was bad, (our luck had turned a little and gone to the normal Scottish weather aka rain). We just hung around, playing cards etc. and around mid-late afternoon, we headed out toward Balmoral, “the dear paradise” as the Queen calls it. We briefly visited the beautiful castle, but it was a bit stuffy for out liking. The castle was located along the Dee River, aka the Royal Deeside. It had stopped raining a bit and was starting to clear so we headed to the heart of the Grampain Region. We drove to the Linn of Dee which is a narrow chasm on the River Dee and a beautiful area for locals and…US! The river Dee is very big and meanders through a valley with hillsides covered with thick forests, ferns, heather (a low brush that has purple blooms) and mossy rocks. All the natural growth was intermixed with sheep pastures, cows, herds of huge deer with massive racks, and old stone houses.
By now the sun is peaking through the puffy clouds and making the country side even more amazing. We headed back to our villa now, because it was getting late and we were all starving, so while my ‘mum’ was making dinner we “kids” went swimming. After a few hours of swimming we did some sauna-ing. We had our first home cooked meal in more than a week, and it tasted wonderful!
We also had a little more laundry to do (mostly because of me) because I fell on my butt while running down a muddy (didn’t seem that muddy) hill and got my jeans disgusting! I hate it when that happens-
7/17-Tuesday
Wow beautiful sunshine again. Did we happen to bring a little of Calif with us? I hope it’s cooled down there a little. We were off to Aberdeenshire and the Castle Trail. We decided to visit historic ruins today instead of refurbished castles. Since there are four kids we decided ruins would be more fun because we can climb around and be loud and no one will care (which is much better than the stuffy, no touch, be quiet castles ). Lucky for me today was Amy’s day to fall on her bum. We were all running across a grassy field to go visit with some sheep before one of the castles opened and she went down so fast into a swampy mess! It was quite hysterical really. (We decided tomorrow it would be Holly or Kaycie, whether they like it or not).
Next on our journey were some Pictish Stone Sites (Picts were one of the original Scot tribes dating back to 400 AD). We stopped at two, Maiden Stone and Brandsbutt. These sites mark the graves of important individuals within a Pictish tribe. They depict representations of animals or objects important to the tribal society. There were also stone circles. They were not related to the Pictish Stones even though they were located right next to or nearby. The stone circles date back to the 3rd millenium B.C. (now that sounds really OLD!).
Finally we headed to Aberdeen to see the pink and gray granite buildings and the miles of shoreline. It was pouring buckets of rain for about half an hour as we were entering the city, and then sunshine again. These Scots are not the least bit phased by an intermittent downpour now and again…and again, and again. It’s no wonder it’s so green here!
We did some major grocery shopping and by the time we were driving home we realized we were all acting like siblings (and caught my parents laughing at us several times). On the way home there was yet another torrential downpour. The roads are quiet interesting. They flood in some areas very quickly and are extremely narrow (sometimes only one car wide), making driving a constant adventure. Everywhere we go in the Highlands though, there is a lush green color with the random stone wall that attempts to keep the sheep in a particular area and off the road!
7/18 – Wednesday
We have all decided that it is very nice to be staying in the same place for a few nights. We have also agreed on flight arrangements to go to Ireland. We booked one-way tickets on 7/23. If we like it there we will stay for a week or more, if not, we will book our return flight sooner rather than later. Commuter flights from Manchester to Dublin seem easy enough to get. My parents are very interested in going to Northern Ireland so after landing in Dublin we will take a train up to Belfast. Should be fun.
As for today, we had planned on heading up to Inverness but got to late of a start so we decided to stick a bit closer to ‘home.’ We drove up to Moray through a vast area of moorland (wild Scottish countryside). We stopped at Scotland’s highest Ski Resort (Lecht) and quickly concluded we will probably pass on making an effort to ski here.
We continued on to the Malt Whiskey Trail to see how whiskey is made. Along the way we saw some of those lovely highland cows (very furry) and the usual hillsides dotted with herds of sheep. We took the tour at Glenlivet Distillery and stopped by Glenfiddich. My parents don’t drink whiskey but found the process interesting. The water from the River Spey is used in all the distilleries in the area. The minerals in the water add to the ‘flavor’ of the whiskey’s. The water flows through granite, ‘peat,’ over grasslands and through forests. All interesting but we (Amy, Holly, Kaycie and I) really wanted to relax back at the pool and sauna. We know tomorrow is a long day in the car to Inverness and we want to be rested for our visit with ‘Nessie.’
On the drive home we passed through some vast areas of moorlands. It is amazing to us that such beautiful wild countryside remains unpopulated. Again we drove on some narrow ‘main’ roadways with little one lane wide stone bridges over creeks and rivers. We felt like we were in the middle of no where with rolling hills covered in heather and forests as far as the eye could see with just a little ribbon of roadway cutting through it.
The weather held again today with only a few momentary light showers. We are getting lucky with the rain and no one fell in mud today…
My birthday is tomorrow but we will be home very late from Inverness so my parents made me a huge spaghetti dinner (my request) followed by four different desserts (all very YUMMY!). We went swimming and played some cards. Now I am off to bed in preparation for a long day tomorrow.
7/19/07 – Thursday
An amazing thing happened today (besides that I was born on this day 14 years ago... ), there was NO RAIN! We were successful in making an early start to the northern city of Inverness, which holds the honor of being the wettest city in Europe, ha ha (and much of where Braveheart was filmed). We never felt a drop in the wettest city in Europe, which is fine with me. Our California weather seems to be following us around, except for the extreme heat, and bright sun (by the way you guys are like 4x’s tanner than me now). We proceeded to drive down the west shore of Loch Ness with a stop at Urquhart Castle, one of Scotland’s largest ruins. The castle is located on the shore of Loch Ness and it is the place where sightings of “Nessie” were most often reported. We did not see “Nessie” during our visit (other than the little stuffed one Kaycie picked up). Loch Ness is about 24 miles long, 1 mile wide and some 760 ft deep. It holds more water than all of England’s lakes and reservoirs combined (interesting tid-bit).
The district we proceeded through is known as Glen Mor (the great Glen) which is a fissure dividing the NW of Scotland from the SE. The glen contains Loch Ness, Loch Oich, and Loch Lochy which are all linked by the Caledonian Canal. The canal and lakes provide an alternative (and safer) route for boats going from the Atlantic to the North Sea. On our drive south we stopped in Fort Augusta and watched several boats pack into a series of 5 locks in the canal and pass from one lake (loch) to another. Later, in Fort William at the most southern end of the canal, we walked up and down Neptune’s Staircase. This is a series of 9 locks in the Caledonian Canal and is considered one of Scotland’s great engineering triumphs (my mom couldn’t pass this by).
OK, by now it was getting pretty late in the day and we still had a long journey home. We traveled a completely different route home through Glencoe and then up to Pitlochry. Glencoe is considered to be Scotland’s most scenic glens and some of the West Highlands most unique and impressive landscapes. There were actual mountains here and it was VERY beautiful and much more rugged than we had seen in any other parts of Scotland.
We arrived back home in Ballater very late with only one small automobile mishap requiring a tire change along the way. Overall, a very fun and memorable birthday with my parents and Amy and Holly.
7/20 – Friday
A down day – We got to sleep in and relax. We hung out, played games and swam. My mom organized and did some laundry and my dad hunted for a replacement “tyre” for the rental car – a patch wasn’t an option since we had damaged the sidewall. We had been driving with the little temporary ‘spare’ for some 100 miles and really needed to put a standard size tire on before our long journey back to England. We had affectionately named our rental the ‘clown car’ since the spare wheel was BRIGHT yellow. We had lots of fun with this… Anyway, no replacement tires were available so my dad ended up driving all the way to Aberdeen to swap for another rental car.
We all had fun together hanging out on our last day in Scotland. Tomorrow we depart for England.
7/21 – Saturday
GREAT start to the day… My dad took me out early for a driving lesson. We went to a parking lot, hardly deserted (yikes!) and I got to start, drive, stop, maneuver around those annoying little moving things who got in my way (people). The steering wheel was on the ‘wrong’ side, as well as the gearshift. Since I had no ‘real’ experience with normal driving at home it wasn’t too big of a deal. My parents figured I wasn’t ‘pre programmed’ yet so it was a good time to learn. My dad and I had a lot of laughs. I’m hoping to try again before our trip is over. On our way back we popped into a small bookstore (8 am) an I got the last copy of the new Harry Potter book! It’s my first time getting something new the same day it came out!
After a quick breakfast and packing up the car, we were off on our long drive back to England in our new rental car. We drove from the highlands to the city of Stirling, which is the main thoroughfare between the highlands and the lowlands. It is also where the “The Battle of Stirling Bridge” took place-the basis for the movie “Braveheart”. There is a huge monument to William Wallace, high on a hill. Wallace is a Scottish national hero so the entire area was rich with history. While here, we stopped into Stirling Castle. It turned out to be our favorite castle visit.
Back into the car and off to England, about another 4 hours of driving. We stopped for dinner along the way and played all kinds of games and sang songs in the car. The drive time passed quickly. We arrived in York at the Martin’s house at about 9 p.m. and stayed up till 1:30 talking, and Amy and I each reading our copies of Harry Potter. They currently had 14 guests in their house, their family of 6, our family of 4, and 3 of their friends from America (2 Del Oro teachers and a spouse), plus a Spanish exchange student. It was FANTABULOUS!!!!
7/22 – Sunday
We slept in (YEA!) There were numerous activities going on today so occupants of the Martin home went many different directions. A group of us (Amy, Holly, Billy-Amy’s brother, Helen, Kaycie, my parents and I) all went to see the new Harry Potter movie. We walked through York to reach the cinema (beautiful city with a medieval wall surrounding it). The movie was fun and then we walked around the city some more. We went into the York Minster (cathedral). It was definitely one of the most beautiful we have ever seen. Finally we walked back to the Martin home were Helen had finished cooking dinner. All the guests were back plus Helen’s sister, her son Tom, and Helen’s father. There were seventeen of us for dinner! It was loads of Fun. Helen had also baked me a fantastic birthday cake with huge chunks of chocolate in it. It was the best meal we have had on our journey. Very memorable day.
A note about the weather…England (mostly the midlands well below York) has been experiencing it’s worst flooding in sixty years. Flooding information/updates are almost constant on the news. Many people have been evacuated and thousands are without running water & electricity and lack a reliable source of fresh water. Interestingly enough, we have been VERY FORTUNATE on weather. I am almost afraid to mention our luck for fear it will change, but I feel I should acknowledge the desperate situation many English citizens are in.
7/23/07 - Monday
Slept in again! Amy and I were up until 1:30A reading and talking so it was nice to relax this morning. The Del Oro folks departed this morning at about 5:30 so the Martin home is somewhat less chaotic.
We all had a nice lunch together and then my family walked to town to do a little shopping. Amy came with us as our guide. We had a nice afternoon walking the streets of York.
We left for the airport at about 6 p.m. Our flight to Ireland wasn’t until 10 p.m. but we had to drive to Manchester and return our rental car. Once we completed everything (airport security is thorough and TIGHT here), we only had to wait about 30 minutes for our flight. Then another 40 minutes in the air… easy! Arriving in Dublin was a bit more challenging. Here it was almost midnight and the airport was packed. The line for a taxi to town was a few hundred people long, all with luggage etc... It went very quickly but it was a very late night. Ahhh… the hotel. We are staying at the Shelbourne in downtown Dublin. It is a beautiful historic building. It is where Ireland’s constitution was signed (actually in room 112) in 1922. Steven’s Green (a large city park) is directly across the street from our hotel. I look forward to experiencing some of Dublin tomorrow (actually in a few hours!)
7/24/07 – Tuesday
Today was a long day after a long night. We woke up at about 9:00 and my dad was already gone for a meeting (yes, he is working remotely a few hours a day). We had our first ‘rough’ morning (everyone was grumpy), but we got going to explore the jewel city of Dublin, Ireland.
We walked down cute little walking/shopping streets trying to find a few gifts to take home and soon realized we were starving. It was passed noon by now so we stopped into a FABULOUS little pub called the ‘Stag’s Head’ for lunch. My mom and I had an Irish Stew (which was so much more eccentric and flavorful than it sounds) and my dad and Kaycie had Bangors and Mash (yummy sausages and mashed potatoes). Heaven, except now we all wanted a nap.
From here we hopped on a double-decker bus for a touristy tour of the city. We learned a lot about the city history, it’s people, fabulous buildings, and regions or neighborhoods. It took about 1½ hours. By now my parents needed an afternoon coffee so we stopped in a café and relaxed a bit.
OK, off we go again. We now headed out on our own foot tour of the city. We walked all over. We stopped into the General Post Office (still ‘the’ active post office in Dublin) which was the stronghold for the Irish Volunteers during the Easter Uprising of 1916. The siege lasted about 5 days and the building was all but destroyed. It was repaired and then destroyed again during the Civil War in 1922. It remained closed until 1929. Bullet holes still riddle its columns. The interior is beautiful. I am amazed at the feeling I get walking around this city. The Irish are a very strong and independent people. We walked well into the evening hours taking in the Dublin Castle, Temple Bar area, Trinity College (oldest university in Ireland – founded in 1592) with its very elegant campus right in the heart of Dublin, The Needle (newer and more controversial monument), and finally St Patrick’s Cathedral. We rested and enjoyed the cathedral gardens for awhile and finally headed back to our hotel.
I learned a lot today even though my body and mind (says attitude) were both TIRED. We all need a little rest.
7/25/07 – Wednesday
Early start so we could take in the Guinness Storeroom tour before departing Dublin! The tour was fun and smelled much better than whiskey brewing. The dark color and distinct flavor (or so I am told) of Guinness comes from careful roasting of some of the barley. Guinness is a porter not an ale or lager. The special yeast used in the fermenting process is kept in a safe and continually growing allowing for consistent a supply and a consistent tasting product. FUN tour. At the end, the adults get a pint of Guinness and the kids get a more appropriate beverage. This finale takes place in the gravity glass bar at the top of the Guinness building with commanding views of Dublin. Again we had nice weather and sunshine.
From here we were off to pick up our rental car and head up to Northern Ireland. The drive was uneventful (easy) and the boarder crossing unidentifiable. We arrived in Belfast and had a bit of trouble finding a place to stay. Belfast is a true up-and-coming cosmopolitan city and the accommodations have not caught up to the demand. Tid-Bit: 1/3 of the Republic of Ireland lives in Dublin and 1/3 of Northern Ireland’s population lives here in Belfast. Yet Belfast feels much smaller. We finally found a VERY nice room at the Merchant Hotel. It is a historic building built in 1860, originally as a bank. The grand room (now the dining area) was the area where transactions took place. It was very ornate with a huge dome and beautiful windows and sculptures. The rooms were previously apartments for the bank officers. Our room was the most beautiful room we have ever stayed in. The furnishings, fabrics, bathroom… were all unbelievably beautiful. I took a really long bath in this fantastically deep antique tub. AHHHH…
From here we went out for a nice dinner. Pubs in Northern Ireland stop serving food around 5 p.m. and kids are not allowed in after that time. The restaurant we ate at overlooked City Hall, which is a beautiful old building in the center of town. Really nice evening.
7/26/07 – Thursday
The day started with the best breakfast of our journey in the beautiful Merchant Hotel dining room. I think we all could have stayed here and enjoyed the comforts for several hours but we had a lot to see. We walked around the city for a while taking it in and met our tattooed ‘tour’ guide at noon. VERY INTERESTING: We had arranged for a private ‘Black Cab’ tour of the infamous sectarian neighborhoods (Protestants vs Catholics). These areas are very scarred by decades of conflict drawing us in for a visit – as any political hotbed does. Starting around 1970 protests occurred daily until the 1980s when violence became the norm in the neighborhoods surrounding Belfast. Cease-fire was finally agreed to in 1994. Violence occurred between the Protestant Ulster Freedom Fighters (U.F.F.) and the Catholic Irish Republican Army (I.R.A.) The ‘Black Cab’ tour takes you through these neighborhoods, the Catholic Falls Road and its nearby and parallel, Protestant Shankill Road. Our driver took us through these neighborhoods, past barbed wire, towering fences (30 feet high), gates that close off the areas EVERY night from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., and all the partisan murals and explains their significance. We could ask anything we wanted and he was very knowledgeable and informative. Our driver had grown up on Shankill road so he was intimately familiar with the troubled areas. He was born the same year as the most famous UFF – Steve “top gun” McKeag (Protestant), who has since died. The most famous mural in the Catholic area is on the Sinne Fein bldg of Bobby Sands, Irish Republican and Revolutionary Poet. He along with 29 others staged a hunger strike in protest of inhuman treatment while imprisoned for I.R.A. terrorist activities (bombings in London and Manchester) resulting in 10 deaths (including Bobby Sands). The hunger strike that killed them had lasted some 66 days. Overall, the Shankill Road area seemed much grimmer than the Falls road area and the murals were ‘darker.’ The British military was 40,000 strong patrolling this area in the 70’s and 80’s. Their numbers have dramatically reduced since the cease fire agreement (currently patrolling all of Northern Ireland with 5,000 troops). The British military still occupy the top two floors of the Divis Tower to ‘watch over’ the area. The 30 ft. high and 3 mile long wall separating the two neighborhoods has become the Berlin Wall of Ireland. Norman (our driver) expects it will be another generation or two before the wall will come down. Before leaving the area we went by the Sinn Fein headquarters – which is the current headquarters for a major political party (front for the I.R.A.). Gerry Adams (Head of the Sinn Fein Party) drove by us as we were taking a picture prior to leaving the area. Currently, involvement in either terror group (UFF or IRA) will result in a 5 year prison term if convicted. Gun Laws are EXTREMELY strict in all of the United Kingdom as well.
Finally, in the late afternoon, we departed up the northern coast and found a B&B in a small coastal community called Carrickfergus. It was beautiful, quaint, and its hostess was very friendly. Her grandson, Dillon, had just arrived from England and was more than happy to share his new swing set with Kaycie. They had a fantastic time together and we had a wonderful stay.
7/27/07 – Friday
After a great breakfast, more time on the swing with Dillon for Kaycie, and our good-byes to the family, we were off on our adventure up the NE coast. Note: My dad woke up with back spasms so my mom started driving full-time. The Causeway Coast (as it is called) includes some of Ireland’s most spectacular coastline and the Glens of Antrim. The Glens are nine green valleys stretching north from Belfast. Any postcard of Irish coastline must have been taken along this stretch – it was beautiful. There were several really cute little towns along the way, one complete with Cornish Style cottages – Cushendun. It is a National Trust village (protected status). For some even more spectacular views we decided to take the Torr Head Scenic Road. This road is extremely narrow and ‘not for the faint at heart or those with a fear of heights.’ We could see all the way to Mull of Kinytyre in Scotland. We drove into Murlough Bay where the road seemed to disappear in front of us but the resulting views were breathtaking. And again, we were very lucky on weather.
The two highlights for the day were the Carrik-A-Rede Rope Bridge and Giant’s Causeway. The bridge spans between the mainland and a small island. Local fisherman put it up to allow access to the island fishery. The bridge spans a chasm of ‘only’ 60 ft wide and 80 ft high. This may not seem like much until you’re standing in the middle of a rope bridge and look down at the rocky surf below! The Giant’s Causeway is a World Heritage site. It is a natural rock formation consisting of about 40,000 tightly packed basalt columns that extend for 3 miles along the coast. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear into the ocean. They are almost all perfectly hexagonal and about 12 inches in diameter. Some are as tall as 40 ft. Scientist’s estimate they were formed some 60 or 70 million years ago. The Old Bushmill Distillery is also up here but we opted not to tour.
With most of Europe on holiday now we are finding it more and more difficult to find a place to stay each night adding to our adventure. As usual, we found a place and it even has internet service!
7/28/07 – Saturday
The day started with a big breakfast and then back to the room for some computer time and some other paperwork. I actually did some push-ups and sit-ups because we are all feeling rather ‘squishy’ from the lack of work-out time and opportunities (not to mention all the food!).
Finally we were off to Derry/Londonderry. It is another Northern Ireland city steeped in Catholic/Protestant conflict. The Catholics call the city Derry and Protestants Londonderry. The official name is Londonderry, but it is highly controversial. This is the city were “Bloody Sunday” took place. It is yet another walled city that dates back to the 1500’s. Conflict between Catholics and Protestants has occurred here since around 1680. It is a very compact ‘old’ city, it’s wall only totaling about 1 mile in circumference, but is some 18 feet wide. We walked the wall, which remains unbroken and intact. The hillsides around Derry have beautiful ‘newer’ homes on them, all side by side in very neat rows. They have different colored facades so it is very picturesque. Again we had nice weather so the green rolling hills in the background were spectacular.
The Bogside neighborhood lies just outside the city wall on the NW side. As you enter the area there is a huge mural stating “You are Now Entering Free Derry.” This is obviously the Catholic section of town and there are numerous other murals along this section (less than ¼ mile long) that are very symbolic and moving. Each mural has a plaque in front of it with a short description of the scene (many depicting events from “Bloody Sunday”). The Bloody Sunday massacre occurred in 1972, when British troops opened fire on a peaceful civil rights march, killing 14 people. The event resulted in years of violent unrest. Everything is quite peaceful now and the whole area is so picturesque that it is difficult to believe there was/is so much hatred here.
From here we set out on the driving portion of our day. We drove past the Sperrin Mountains and finally into the Fermanagh Lakelands. We stayed at a cute little B&B with a beautiful view of Lower Lough Erne, a long lake (some 50 miles) and 5 miles wide in some areas. Yes, there is a lot of water here. And again, we had nice weather.
7/29/07 – Sunday
I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows! Great book but I have mixed emotions about being ‘done’ with the series. Another big breakfast and an early start because we wanted to see the Marble Arch Caves before we left the area. The caves had underground rivers, winding passages, amazing stalactites and stalagmites, and knowledgeable staff. The first part was a short boat ride in one of the rivers in the cave. It was wet and cold but lots of fun. Portions of the cave had been closed as late as yesterday because of high water from all the rain (yet we are still lucky on weather!)
From there we took what we thought was going to be an easy drive to the city of Galway. These Irish roads are hit and miss with respect to quality, level of congestion, and roadwork. It took much longer than we thought but our visit to Galway ended up being quick but nice enough. It is an interesting city because it looks much more like a city you would find in some other European country. It is very artsy and much more ethnically diverse than any other Irish city we have experienced. The streets were dotted with street performers and there were cafes and restaurants lining the shopping areas. Galway has lots of backpackers, overall a younger than average population (tourists and locals), and was dirtier than other big Irish cities but still ‘clean’ by big city standards. There was a huge park loaded with young people relaxing and socializing. They also congregated in park like areas along the waterways. The river Corrib empties into the Galway Bay, which leads to the Atlantic Ocean. Galway is a city with a lot of water and seems very laid back.
In the early evening, we continued on southwest out of Galway and down the coast of County Clare on our way to the Cliffs of Moher. We had beautiful blue skies throughout the late afternoon and evening. We couldn’t believe our luck. We managed to time our arrival at the cliffs to about an hour before sunset. We passed by some very interesting terrain called ‘the Burrens.’ It is actually a National Park. It was so interesting we may make a detour in our route tomorrow. Anyway, the cliffs were fabulous. We walked along the edge until after sunset. The views were stunning and the was weather perfect!
By now it is 10 p.m. and we had unknowingly missed our check-in time at our B&B so they gave our room to someone else. Luckly, they had a friend who also rents our rooms in her home and she had a ‘family’ room big enough for the four of us. Whew… we were all very tired.
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7/30/07 - Monday
Today was a blow-out. We did get an early start and drive through ‘the Burren.’ My dad is driving again so his back and neck are better. However, my mom’s neck has started hurting. I think it is our little car (very small by U.S. standards) which has very uncomfortable seats.
‘The Burren’ is a unique landscape and one of the most photographed areas in Ireland. It is bare limestone for as far as the eye can see and somehow, wild flowers, hardy plants and grasses find enough dirt and nutrients to thrive. The park is over 4,000 acres and is dotted with very old archaeological ruins. It was very beautiful.
From there it was a LONG drive to Waterford. It didn’t look that bad on a map… my mom’s notes may explain why –
MOM'S NOTES ON DRIVING IN IRELAND: OK, as if the whole steering on the right, driving on the left and shifting left handed isn’t challenging enough, driving in Ireland truly enhances and customized the overall experience to a level that is difficult to express in words. It is best experienced personally, not that I would recommend it for everyone. And I highly recommend starting slow, maybe in Scotland, then England before attempting Ireland. Here are some nifty facts – trying to rent a car in Ireland should give you an initial ‘warning’ rumble in your tummy. Usually, cars rented using a major credit card (Visa, MC, or AmEx) provide auto insurance if you are using the card to rent the vehicle. We quickly found out that none of the bankcards cover Ireland. Upon further investigation we find consistency in the approach/philosophy of the bank card companies. There are four countries in the world that none of the major bank cards cover. They are Israel, Jamaica, Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland. The rumble in the tummy is starting to feel a bit queasy now as we planned on driving in two of the four. At this point, we prudently decided to buy the prohibitively expensive insurance the car rental companies offer (alternatives being what they are – none). While driving from Dublin to Belfast proved docile enough we soon figure out why Ireland has the second highest accident rate in the world. Here are two of the reasons as we see it:
1) NARROW roads. This may take some minor explanation. Lets just say that while many of the roads have a white line down the center most of the time, it is clearly meant as a guide when there is oncoming traffic. We have concluded that this line means the potential exists for two small cars to pass each other if the rate at which they are traveling allows for quick, slight, and immediate deviations minimizing potential damage to the side mirrors. Many roads or sections of roads have no line at all, which clearly means there is not enough room for two small cars to pass without one finding some small patch to scoot into. Add to this the foliage and rock walls that line many roadways and one can quickly conclude while beautiful, the situation is not conducive to expeditious travel.
2) OBSTACLES. This may also require some explanation. In Ireland’s case, obstacles are a bit more diverse than what might be expected in the states. Here are a few examples: undulations (feels like your insides are left behind on the roadway), tractors and various other farm implements, sheep, cows, BIG tour buses, concealed entries, cyclists, locals parking ANYWHERE/ANYTIME on these narrow roadways to fish, visit, shop, etc., and the opening of vehicle doors with no regard for oncoming traffic (clearly this country is getting used to the increase in tourism). We also found that the farther south you get, the more congested the roads become.
Anyway, once in Waterford, we raced to the Waterford Crystal Factory to catch the last tour and see how the world famous crystal is made. We made it in time and 15 minutes into the tour I managed to expel the contents of my stomach all over the hallway floor in the Waterford Factory. It was a little embarrassing so we went outside to get some air and decided not to continue on the tour. We were escorted back to the reception area and left. We did a quick drive through town and headed north to Kilkenny.
Once in Kilkenny, we found our B&B and headed out for dinner. We picked up picnic food and had a wonderful family picnic on the banks of the River Nore overlooking the Kilkenny Castle. After dinner we walked around a little looking for an internet café as we still needed to make flight arrangements for our trip back to England (tomorrow). We were successful in getting a flight but it was a late night again.
7/31/07 – Tuesday
We had a wonderful morning in Kilkenny. We walked the Castle grounds and walked around the quaint streets and wonderful old structures. By early afternoon we were back on the road north, heading up to Dublin.
We made a few stops along the way including a picnic lunch on a bench in a small town, a stop at the beach in Greystone, and a quick stop in the town of Wicklow. It was a beautiful sunny day and it seemed to us that all of Ireland was lying on the beaches savoring the sunshine.
We actually made it to the Dublin airport with a little over an hour before our flight. This was a good thing since our one piece of checked baggage was now over the weight limit so we had to do some rearranging on the floor of the airport. We also remembered we still needed to arrange for a car upon our arrival back in Manchester. Nothing like planning ahead… luckily everything seems to be working out.
The flight was short and uneventful, just how we like them. From Manchester we drove back to York. We arrived at the Martin’s at midnight and had a quick cup of tea with Gary and Helen. All the Martin kids were already asleep. The Martin Family are FANTASTIC hosts!
8/01/07 – Wednesday
Early morning after a late night (there is clearly a pattern of this), but we have a lot of ground to cover. All of today’s adventures take place in the Yorkshire Moors National Park. We piled into two cars and off we went. Our first stop was Robin Hoods Bay, which included walking through a tiny little community of cottages and shops nestled in the hillside above the bay. The cobble streets were so narrow that you had to turn sideways to pass oncoming pedestrians. It was LOVELY!
The tide was out so we walked along the beach tide pooling along the way. We walked to Boggle Hole and then climbed up the trail and returned via the cliff above the beach. The views were wonderful.
We continued north to the harbor town of Whitby. By now it is 2 p.m. and we have waited patiently for the Whitby Fish N’ Chips experience. We were all very hungry so we sat on a wall dangling our feet and devouring our Fish N’ Chips. It was very Yummy!
Still continuing north, we headed up to Sands End for some sandy beach time. All these places are within 5-10 miles of each other so car time is minimal. Keep in mind that we are in Northern England and the body of water to the east is the North Sea. Kaycie and I are wearing long shorts and fleece tops while the Martin kids are in bathing suits and swimming in this cold ocean! Amy and Jim managed to get pummeled by BIG waves (with only minor injury) while Billy and Holly were lucky enough to have already exited the frigid water before the set of big waves approached. Kaycie and I have realized what true California girls we are… our feet were stinging from the cold water just from running along the shore in the surf. We all built an awesome castle with a moat and reinforcement wall but ultimately lost the battle with the incoming tide. GREAT afternoon but the day wasn’t over yet.
From here we were off to Goathland (a.k.a. ‘Adensfeld’ from a British television series, Heartbeat). Goathland is a very picturesque little town and was the starting point for our next hike. We walked on a wonderful English pathway through numerous gates and fields with herds of sheep finally arriving at Beck Hole. The added benefit of Beck Hole was the tiny pub. The adults were in heaven with a beer each and we all got a little sweet treat and sat in a beautiful garden with flowers all around.
Finally, we looped back via Mallyan Spout and had a fantastic picnic dinner before heading home. Another late night but LOADS of fun!
8/2/07 – Thursday
We slept in, got some arranging done, and then all ten of us walked into the city and had lunch. After lunch we split up. We Bajka’s went to the York Minster and the Martin’s ran some errands.
The York Minster is one of the great cathedrals of the world. One of the most outstanding characteristics is the stained glass, which dates back to the Middle Ages. We toured the crypt, Chapter House, foundations (some dating back to the Roman era), treasury, and also climbed the tower (275 steps in a narrow turret). The view of York from the tower was incredible since the Minster is the tallest building in York.
After our visit to the Minster, we met up with the Martin’s again for tea at “Little Betty’s Tea House.” The tea was very good but the sweet treats were really GREAT!
From here we walked back home to drop off some packages only to turn back around and head out for our ‘Ghost Tour’ around York. The tour starts at 8 p.m. so it wasn’t quite dark yet. We met at the King’s Arms Pub and began our walking tour through the streets of York listening to some historical information sprinkled with some really FUN ghost stories. In the end Holly and Kaycie were a bit frightened, but it was all in good fun.
Back home (now 10:30 p.m.) was another wonderful home cooked meal with all 10 of us at the dinner table. We can’t say enough about our hosts. The ‘Martin House B&B’ is by far the best B&B we have ever stayed at! Yet another spectacular day.
8/3/07 – Friday
The earliest start yet and we added Helen’s sister Jane and her son Tom. The party has increased again to a party of twelve. The more the merrier definitely applies. First stop was Brimham Rocks, which is a unique geological formation in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The Rocks are actually huge boulders stacked on top of each other and grouped together making some great climbing and scrambling opportunities. There are trails meandering through with rolling green hills and valleys as far as the eye can see. Along the trails is a thick floor of ferns intermixed with grasses, with the towering boulders on either side. Amazing place. We all had a fabulous time. Not to mention the little ‘hiccup’ in the plan when Jane locked her car keys in her trunk! Oopsies, but all went well.
From here we were off to Fountains Abbey. The Abbey is also located in Yorkshire Dales National Park. It was started by the Cisterian order of Benedictine Monks around 1200 A.D. Fountains Abbey is the best preserved Abbey in the U.K. partly because it was only partially dismantled during the reformation (Henry the XIII era). It is also unbelievably large with massive grounds, including fountains, gardens, forest area, a meandering creek, and a deer park. By the way, I really had no idea about the above stuff because the adults went on an historical tour led by Gary, while the kids had fun playing tag in the beautiful grounds!
We arrived back at the Martin home earlier than usual because Billy Martin’s Cricket team had made it to the finals and his final match was tonight. His team won and he played great! Gary and Helen were very pleased and of course Billy was very proud.
Another home cooked meal in the Martin home with a fabulous homemade dessert. We made it an early night (10:30 or so) because we were all so tired.
8/4/07 – Saturday
We started the day again with breakfast together (all 10 of us) which is a load of fun. Then my family & Holly went into town to the Viking Museum (Jorvik Museum). Since I am ½ “Viking” (Danish), we thought we should investigate the Viking history as it pertains to York. Wow, those Vikings knew how to invade and conquer. Interesting museum and I learned a lot about how they lived and the lands they inhabited.
From here we went back home and had lunch together and relaxed for a while. My mom and dad went shopping for a few gifts to bring back home and also to buy some food items to replenish the cupboards we have depleted at the Martin home. Kaycie and Holly played all afternoon and Amy and I played some tennis and watched Monty Python’s “Life of Brian.”
For dinner, we took the Martin Family, including Jane (Helen’s sister) and Tom (Jane’s son), out for the evening. All 12 of us walked into York, had dinner together at a nice restaurant, and strolled back home. It was a wonderful last night together. All of the kids went to bed at about 10:30 and the adults stayed up until 1 a.m. looking at photographs (digital on the computer screen) from India (Martins were there over spring break), the Scotland and Ireland portion of our trip, and our last summer’s adventure’s pictures from Alaska (Martins wanted to see the bears!).
I don’t really know where to put this so I will just put it here: The Martin house is truly a HOME, not just a house. It exudes hospitality and warmth. Our experience here in York is filled with laughter and conversations that will be forever imprinted in our memories. We could not have imagined how wonderful this experience would be. Kaycie and I have been completely embraced and absorbed into the everyday life and happenings of the Martin kids. It is as if our family has grown and now we have five siblings each (6 of us all-together). This has been absolute HEAVEN. Except that qualities in the kids remind me of you guys back home, it makes me even more homesick.
8/5/07 – Sunday
We had our usual breakfast together and got a late start because of the late night by the adults. None of the kids were complaining… We had to say our good-bye’s to the Martin family (yes there were tears, mostly by my mom). From York, we drove north to another nice medieval town called Durham in Northumberland. Durham has a massive cathedral and castle (no surprise there). After strolling around the town, cathedral and castle all afternoon, we picked up a picnic dinner and sat on a park bench along side the river and ate. It was sunny and particularly warm today.
From Durham, we drove farther north for about another hour in preparation for our last sightseeing excursion planned for tomorrow morning. We stayed at a working farmhouse B&B. The family was great and they had two male Golden Retriever’s. The dogs enhanced our personal levels of homesickness and almost brought tears to our eyes because we missed Bodie (our golden i.c.y.d.k) so much.
8/6/07 – Monday (OUR LAST DAY)
Today was planned as a distraction since we had just left the Martin’s (sad), we are all homesick by now (we been gone for a month), and the flip-side to the homesick part, our vacation is ending. We went to Alnwick Castle (pronounced Annick). Alnwick Castle is HOGWARTS in the Harry Potter Stories. The castle is actually owned by the Percy family and has been in their family since 1306. The current Mr. Ralph Percy is the Duke of Northumberland and he, the Duchess and their 4 children actually still winter here every year. The castle is a fantastic place. The grounds are beautiful and there is also a huge garden area. The surrounding landscape is rolling hills dotted with trees and a meandering river here and there. The hills are covered with beautiful green grass, wildflowers, and herds of sheep separated by stone walls criss-crossing the horizon. It was a very nice distraction and luckily we arrived just as the place was opening because apparently by about 1 p.m. the place is heaving with tourists (we left by 1 p.m. so we missed the rush).
From here we took a quick detour by Hedrians Wall. The wall (or what is left of the wall) runs along the boarder between England and Scotland. It is one of Europe’s finest Roman ruins and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The wall dates back to 122 A.D., when the Roman Emperor, Hedrian, traveled north to survey the Roman Empire (at the time the island of Britannia). He ordered the wall built to separate the Empire from the “Barbarians” in the north. Basically, it is a big, thick, stone wall that spans some 73 miles across the north of England.
OK, finally we hit the motorway and we are off to spend our last night in Manchester – close to the airport. My Mom is determined NOT to be late to the airport tomorrow morning. We are all too tired to run through the airport schlepping luggage and begging our way through the security line (yes, we have more experience in this area than we care to admit). We will see what happens. For now, I look forward to being back in California, and in particular Meadow Vista, by sometime EARLY in the morning of August 8th.
IN SUMMARY: It has been a grand trip and there have been many heart-warming experiences (especially with the Martin Family), some full blown episodes of belly laughter, and enough sights and foreign experiences to last the average person a lifetime. While we are all sad it is coming to an end, I can’t wait for my own bed, pillow, shower, personal space, home cooked meals, California fruits and vegetables, and SUNSHINE just to name a few. The 4 of us have been together 24 hours a day, everyday, for over 4 weeks. Thank goodness we have extensive experience in this area because if not, I could see how this could be a recipe for disaster. I must admit that I miss my home comforts (friends included here) more than in past years when we have traveled together for even as long as 5 weeks. Maybe it is because social stuff and personal space have started to be more important to me. I am not really sure, but I felt different this trip. As a family, we have been living out of a few suitcases now for 4 weeks. We are all very tired of the same 7 shirts (we were each allowed a weeks worth of shirts and under things), our single pair of jeans (obviously we were instrumental in accomplishing laundry), sweat shirt, CROCS and hiking boots.
THE END!!!!!!!!!
