August 30 and August 31, 2008

2008-August-31

I’d had a restless night, as I am prone to when there are early morning demands, and when the alarm went off at 6:00 a.m. I wasn’t too terribly impressed. We’d set the clock for an early start as mom wanted to get to Dublin as early as possible on this our last full day in Ireland so that she could go into Dublin City and explore some of the sights. We had given her the option of making a loop down to Avoca, stopping at Glendalough on the return, and then carrying on to the Airport; however, Dublin was her first pick. We went first to the Radisson Hotel at the Airport (arriving just after 10:30 a.m.) so that she could (possibly) organize her room and we were lucky in that they had rooms available for early check in (which meant we could get rid of our luggage). Mom wanted to go into Dublin right away. We don’t drive into Dublin and even on our previous visit had taken the bus in every day. The hotel is well situated in that it is in the Airport complex and has 24 hour shuttle to the airport proper where you then catch a bus into the city centre - which she was planning to do when we saw her in the lobby at 12:00 noon. As we no longer required the car, we made arrangements to fuel it up and get it back to the company offices (within 10 minutes of the hotel) and they drove us back. Due to the issues and time we’d had to spend related to the first vehicle (because of it having no road tax certificate), the manager of the local office (where we’d picked it up originally) gave us a two-day credit for our troubles – which basically paid for the fill up prior to its return. Just as a note – we think we have it bad with the price of fuel …….. the cost to fill was 139.9 Euro per litre (the equivalent of 2.19 Canadian per litre) and it’s less expensive in the south of Ireland than in the North. We settled in and then went down to the hotel pub/restaurant for the carvery lunch (George had again a huge plate of roast beef WITH baked ham and all the trimmings and I had salmon with dill sauce and sides). After lunch, I had a luxurious soak in the 6 foot tub and then, believe it or not, despite it being mid-day, we had a nap. Our hotel room is on the 5th floor, with full-width wall windows, and is an excellent vantage point – close enough to see the flights arriving and departing and yet far enough away that we don’t hear the jet engines (at least that's what I thought - I heard the first one tonight around 8 - George said they'd been taking off all day - but I guess that means that the traffic must have lessened, as the traffic however is another matter). With such a great network of shuttle buses and city buses, as well as vehicle traffic, I’m finding that the traffic noise is a bit annoying (didn’t interfere with my nap however). While it had rained for a great part of the journey down to Dublin, the weather has cleared - there is actually blue sky and a foreign substance (we believe it to be sunshine as best we remember) now on view. Mom hasn’t yet returned from the city centre and perhaps she’s found a wee snug somewhere with a party going on and won’t be back until late, but, we’re staying put and relaxing with the plan being to go down for dinner in a few hours and get a good nights sleep. We took the shuttle over to the Airport and then walked back arriving just before 8:00 p.m. and mom was already back in from downtown. We invited her to come downstairs to the pub/restaurant with us, but she declined as she'd already been down for dinner. We went ahead and had appetizers and a last glass of Bulmer's cider and returned to the room to watch a scary movie and get to bed.

2008-August-30

The morning was spent tidying the house and doing the final organization for our trip. Mom went into town for a final view of the shops and also top up her cash supply. At 12:30 p.m. we loaded into the car and drove mom out to Andy Billy’s Pub, etc., in the country. The establishment has a pub, tea room, and restaurant and also apparently on Saturday afternoons, live music. Rather than chance missing it, she had decided to stay there from 1:00 p.m. for the music, have dinner and then pub it until about 11 p.m. and had made her arrangements to taxi it back to the house when she was ready to come home. We, on the other hand, didn’t want to spend 10 hours through a Saturday afternoon and evening in a pub, and took her out there and made our own plans for the evening. We decided to spend a calm, quiet and relaxing afternoon and evening together, and have dinner at the Curran Court Hotel near the harbour. The servings were enormous and while George (somehow) managed to make it through half a plate of stuffed pork tenderloin, champ, and vegetables in addition to his appetizer of baked brie, there was no way I could make it through my appetizer (garlic, cheese-stuffed, breaded and deep fried mushroom caps) dinner (lamb cutlets, champ, and vegetables) AND have dessert. I so rarely want, or are able to eat an entire dessert, I thought it would be nice to actually have enough appetite to have a nice dessert – and so, for a change, I had, and finished, a Peach Melba. And, for the first time I think EVER, George was unable to finish his dessert. After dinner we went for a drive along the harbour and went to see Olderfleet Castle (or what’s left of it) on a small point of land that is now mostly an industrial area. There had been a time when the castle looked down on three tiny cottages, one of which was lived in by George’s cousin Robert’s grandmother, and on the other side, a row of terraced homes, where an uncle had lived. The cottages were levelled in order to allow for industrial expansion; however, the terraced homes still stand and are still lived in. At the end of the terrace homes is a long stone wall that was originally part of the castle wall. We’d been invited to drop by Robert and Sandra’s around 8:00 p.m. so after our visit to Olderfleet we drove over and spent a pleasant hour visiting with them. We went back to the house did our final mundane chores and we close to going to bed when mom returned, happy with her evening. For one of the few times on our holiday, we set the clock for an early start and went to bed.

August 26 to August 29, 2008

2008-August-29

It appeared that the weather would hold and so the three of us went to Bushmills today – to tour the factory, have a taste of Bushmills whiskey and to (naturally) shop. We arrived about half an hour prior to the start of the tour so had a preliminary viewing of what would be available in the gift shop. Mom and I went on the tour, and George had a bit of a rest while we were gone and met up with us back at the bar (the end of the tour with your taste of Bushmills – your choice). I had a hot whiskey and mom had the 12 year old reserve straight. From there we went into the gift shop and I actually shopped and bought a few things that caught my eye while we waited for mom to decide which type of whiskey she wanted. As it turned out, she’d settled on duty-free Jamieson (not available at Bushmills for some funny reason) and so her purchases there were minor. We then drove into Bushmills village and as mom had zero interest in seeing nearby Dunluce Castle (she’d said seen enough castles) and as we had zero interest in wandering the small village shopping (we’d certainly done enough shopping), we agreed to go our separate ways and meet up under the clock tower in two hours time. George and I went to a small restaurant had a nice lunch (well George had an Ulster fry which to me counts as breakfast, and I had plaice and chips), and then drove on to Dunluce Castle (some three minutes away from Bushmills) – one of the finest castle ruins along the Antrim Coast. Dunluce Castle is steeped in history, and every time I see it I can’t help but want to explore the rooms, passageways, and grounds. The positioning of the castle on the jut of rock overlooking the sea takes your breath away, and, one evening a long time ago (during the heyday of the castle) while there was a large party of guests being entertained, it did just that to the cook and a number of kitchen staff, when the kitchen and the side of the rock it had been built on gave way and crashed into the sea below. We returned from our little jaunt, picked mom up and headed back to Larne, driving first to and then through Benvardin Gardens, and stopping at the Ulster SPCA. The USPCA is a huge facility that puts our SPCA and its tiny kennels and runs to shame. Once we'd finished patting dogs we returned to Larne to organize our packing and weights.

2008-August-28

We once again had a day that we could spend viewing some of Ireland’s beautiful scenery or attractions, and with our time in Ireland coming to a close it wasn’t an easy choice, but after discussing with mom (who decided she just wanted to stay home), George and I picked heading to Glenarm Castle to see the walled garden as our choice. The Castle itself wasn’t open for viewing as it is actually the private residence of Viscount and Viscountess Dunluce and their children. The Castle is now only available for viewing twice a year - one day in May and one day in September. The gardens however were lovely and we spent a fair amount of time just wandering about and admiring the different sections of the gardens, The Kitchen Garden, The Hothouse area, The Lower Garden, The Central Vista with its groomed hedges, fountain and stepped water features, and The Upper Garden with its heavily-laden fruit trees supported along the high wall. Pheasants complained noisily at our presence and we were able to photograph one particularly upset by our intrusion as he walked along the top of the wall. There was colour, form, and substance every where you looked and you could easily imagine yourself a Lord or Lady strolling through your garden in times past. I wondered how much time the present Lord and Lady might have to enjoy their garden with it open daily to the public, May to September, from 10 in the morning to 6 at night. We stopped and spoke with one of the friendly gardeners and she chatted plants with us, giving us tips on taking cuttings from the local hardy fuchsia plants which I was hoping to bring home. We ended our visit to the gardens by a stop in the tea room – a stone cottage at the entrance with whitewashed walls and tall mullioned windows overlooking the kitchen garden. Back in Larne, we stopped by Robert’s home and we were off to the cemetery to look at headstones of relatives of George and Robert and surprising, came across a “Tweed” headstone. After that, we drove down to the harbour to see the memorial for the Princess Victoria disaster of January 31, 1953. 135 lives were lost – including a distant cousin of George’s – William Dummigan who according to one of the survivors, pushed him into a lifeboat rather than jump in himself. While not recorded in the book “Death in the North Channel” Robert said that William was last seen on the hull of the upturned vessel. Only 44 people survived – all men, not one woman or child survived. Many bodies washed up on the Isle of Man days later. There was also a memorial to the gun running that occurred in order to deliver illegal guns to the Ulster Defense Regiment, who were arming themselves in response to the IRA having armed themselves. Larne is noted for this little bit of history and in fact, when we were staying down in Limerick the boyfriend of the young lady who was taking care of the animals (on hearing that we would also be going to Larne) responded to the effect of, oh yes, where the gun running was done. We enjoyed the small tour and history provided by Robert and then returned him to his home so he could begin his shift at work. Back at the house, mom was laying down, getting up on our arrival and heading into town for dinner. Both George and I stayed home and had a relaxing evening until we decided to head for bed.

2008-August-27

Mom was up early preparing the vegetables for dinner that I was to have prepared. We were up and out at a fairly good time this morning as we needed to go to the shops and get items for dinner - mom had taken the pressure off me (as, as of the evening before, I still hadn’t decided what to serve our guests for dinner). We went downtown and, at an amazing fast pace, managed to get all the ingredients and wine and head back.

We needed to get the goulash simmering as we’d been invited to have lunch at Robert and Sandra Ferguson’s (Robert is George’s third cousin). Robert is well into the family research and he brought out lots of information on family lines as well as some old photographs of long dead family members. One of the photographs included Robert’s grandfather standing in front of a Banner for the Loyal Orange Order 1239 Sandy Row chapter, which had on one side a depiction of King William of Orange and on the other, George’s great-grandfather, Worshipful Master James Dummigan. Apparently, the banner is no longer used for the parade marches, but at this point, it is unknown where the banner is. We had a lovely lunch and then had to head back at 3:00 p.m. to finish getting organized for dinner. Robert and Sandra promised to drop by later for dessert as they would then have a chance to meet Bill Humphries, who is related by marriage to Robert (even though they’d never met) and share some common interests and information with Bill and with David Evans. Rita and David also would share some common interests as she has family down in Australia and had just recently returned from a trip there.

Bill Humphries lives only minutes from Rita and picked her up to bring her to dinner. David was researching at PRONI and arrived not too long afterward. Dinner went well the conversations continued quite happily, into the evening.

2008-August-26

We presented mom with a number of options as to how to spend today; however, rather than travel to Ballycastle to the Lammas Fair and then on to either Bushmills, Dunluce Castle or both, or going into Belfast, or going to meet and visit with George’s ex-sister-in law, she said she preferred to just stay in Larne, and possibly walk down into town and browse the shops. George and I had promised Rita that we would get in touch with her when we visited Ireland, so we decided to call her up and go to her home in Dundonald (just on the outskirts, and almost absorbed by, Belfast) and then, if time permitted, to go out to Magheralin so that George could hopefully make contact with the Minister of the Church of Ireland there in an effort to see their early church records as they might relate to his family). We headed off and worked our way through what I think of as the maze through Belfast – attempting to avoid getting sucked into the vortex of the town centre – and arriving safely at Rita’s tidy, two-level, terrace home. We were treated to lunch out at a garden centre/shop/tea room and after lunch, continued in our search of the elusive article we’d been seeking and looking at some things that we haven’t seen in Canada. We spent quite a long while visiting Rita and decided that, rather than head to Magheralin, we’d continue on back to Larne. As it turned out, it was a good thing we did, as the Craigavon area had had some troubles the night before and there were still issues with road blockages. Apparently, some youths in a group of about 50-60 had been throwing bottle rockets at passing vehicles, and high-jacking other vehicles then setting them on fire. The vehicles had not yet been removed and there was a heavy police presence in the area. Driving a vehicle bearing southern Ireland plates into the area would not have been a good thing to do, so while we were oblivious to it until we heard it on the radio as we were arriving back in Larne, it was just as well that that is how the day went. When we returned home, mom had decided that she would cook goulash for dinner the next night as we were having the three of us, Rita, Bill Humphries (George's cousin), and David Evans (a fellow family researcher from Australia who is in the same area as us for just two days). I would take on the role of sous chef and anything else that needed doing.

August 13 to August 25, 2008

2008-August-25
Today started with a surprise bit of rain - obviously, I’m jesting - and we had sort of thought it would remain so, but then, the weather turned - as it is apt to do in Ireland - and we ended up with a lovely, sunny, even WARM and sunny, day on our hands, without set plans. We discussed driving into and around Larne to see the layout; however, Mom preferred to walk into town, and I decided I could also use the exercise. We headed out and had a pleasant, leisurely walk down to Larne and I was amazed at how much less time it took to walk rather than drive. We spent a few hours wandering about shopping fairly aimlessly and just as I found myself flagging (waiting for mom outside a rather vile shop that fairly reeked of scents to numerous to even catalogue) and thinking about him, my Prince appeared. Across the street and heading in my direction was my George. We walked with mom for a bit, but, she’s a master at just taking off and disappearing (this skill already having required a fair amount of time during the trip in just finding her in order to re-group and/or move on - I shudder to think of what it will be like when she is older, and remembrances of my time working in Sandringham Hospital - a medical care facility for the aged - come to mind - as I recall, they had all the doors alarmed and yet there were still some residents able to “spring“ themselves - later to be found wandering down busy streets, with the dead giveaway being the fact that they were in bedroom slippers and sometime still their pyjamas), and so once we again caught up, decided to each do as we liked - mom declined the ride back, preferring instead to carry on and shop and George and I (being in search of a certain, seemingly elusive object - to make another attempt to locate same) to drive just out of Larne and then return “home”. We decided to go to Billy Andy’s for dinner and mom went to her room to (I thought) nap and I just puttered about with the business or getting sorted for travel and purchases and weighing everything. Eventually, she emerged and apparently hadn’t been sleeping, but reading, and we finally got underway - unfortunately too late, as although we arrived at Billy Andy’s for dinner at 7:30, they’d shut down the kitchen at 7:00 as there were no clientele - we three were the only ones there besides the bar tender and one other person who may (or may not) have been a client. They suggested that we try a place near the Harbour in Larne that might be open and serving food. We just missed being stopped on the road by cattle crossing (the highlight of the evening) and drove back into Larne, stopping at “Carriages” for dinner. The restaurant is featured in the “Taste of Ulster” book and the restaurant sources everything locally - even growing salad on site. The restaurant has a train theme - complete with original train seats, upholstered in a well-cushioned, red velvet and train windows with pull-type, heavy fabric, curtains. The walls on the other sides of the windows are painted with an array of views. The waitress suggested that Olderfleet Pub might be a safe place to go for an after dinner drink, but said that there wouldn’t be any music probably as it was not only a Monday night, but a Bank Holiday. Mom said not to go on her account and so George & I (not exactly being the pub type), decided we’d rather head back to the house and relax - which we did. So, here we are - I’m writing, George is trying to make Kathy’s DVD thingy do what he wants, and, it seems, Mom has gone to bed. Ah, well, it is Monday after all - not EVERYONE in Larne is on holiday ……………

2008-August-24
While the weather report was not great, we were surprised by the nice weather that appeared to be in the offing and decided to take a chance and head for the Antrim Coast. We had a pleasant drive along the Coast road, opting NOT to drive Toor Head due to the heavy rains that Ireland has been experiencing, and made it to our first official stop at Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge, where once again it is apparent that Ireland is changing. The car park was packed full, there were people EVERYWHERE, there was a considerable queue for tickets and the coaches and vehicles just kept coming. This is a far cry from our first visit, and even our second a couple of years ago. George, mom, and I endured the wait for tickets and made the long trek to the Bridge, stopping multiple times along the way to take in the absolutely gorgeous scenery and take photos and video. While waiting for our chance to cross the Bridge, we entertained ourselves by watching dolphins in the sea below. They seemed to be taking particular interest in some type of diving duck or cormorant that was floating about and would fly to another spot when the dolphins got too close. We were lucky in the weather in that we one had one short shower during this time and as both mom and I had hoods on our jackets, it wasn’t an issue. George, he who rarely will carry his umbrella and removed the hood from his jacket, got a bit wet, but didn’t take too long to dry out once the sun returned. George went across the bridge first so that he could video tape mom coming over. Mom didn’t seem to mind the height or the swaying of the bridge and was in fine form when she reached the other side. Due to the rain, there was only a small section of the Island we crossed to available for walking and exploration with the majority of it roped off. It was too bad as both George and I recalled how nice it had been on our last visit (with Maeve and Robyn) to wander about looking around and out to sea. Given the small confines of the area that we were able to walk to, our visit to the Island was considerably shorter than our last one and we queued up to return across the Bridge. It seemed to take longer to get back than it had taken to walk down and Mom had a bit of a rest part way along the pathway. Once back in our car, we were off to Ballintoy Harbour - another on our list of our favourite places to visit along the coast - for a cup of tea and a bit of lunch. “Chaos” best describes the scene that greeted us on our approach to the Harbour, as drivers jockeyed their vehicles for parking spots and avoided crushing humans seemingly oblivious to their presence. Roark’s Kitchen was overflowing and there was a queue to get inside. All tables were taken; however, mom approached a fellow who appeared to be possibly sitting by himself (which it turned out, he was) and the three of us joined him for lunch and a bit of chat. We didn’t stay long though as it was obvious that tables were needed. On the way to Giant's Causeway we made a quick stop at Portbradden, a tiny village perched on the edge of the sea and accessible by way of very narrow, VERY winding, road down to a turn around area and private road to the few residences at the sea wall. The objective was to show mom St. Gobben's (advertised as Ireland's smallest church). We once again found numerous tourists (has absolutely everything been discovered?) - where on all previous visits, we've been the only ones there. A treat though this trip - St. Gobben's was actually open, and mom enjoyed taking in all the small nuances of the chapel that still has wedding ceremonies performed in it. We signed the guest book and then headed back up to the car and onwards to Giant’s Causeway, where they (thankfully) have a shuttle from the visitor centre to and from the Causeway. The road down is narrow though and at one point in the ride down the bus must pull aside to let the bus that is on its way back to the visitor centre pass. We scrambled about on the rocks a bit, climbing up and down and wandering about. I had some concerns about mom going up and down, but she gamely managed and despite some of the negotiating required, declined assistance, making me wonder if we have some goat in our genes and whether, when I am her age, I’ll be able to manage as well. The long walk along to the cliffs was gated off - which was probably just as well - but, even so, despite the closed gate and signage, some people still were bypassing or climbing over the gate to get to the out of bounds area. After spending some time reading the information signs and walking about, we returned to the visitors centre and contributed once again to Ireland’s economy. We spent a good amount of time in the Visitor Centre shop and as the day was wearing on (it was now after 7:00 p.m.) and the weather was once again turning, we decided to forego travelling on to Dunluce Castle. By this time Bushmills was closed so a tour would have to wait for another day - and then we could see both Dunluce and Bushmills. Both mom and George had eaten a full meal at Roark’s and neither were hungry for dinner, and while I’d only had soup for lunch, it made no difference to me whether we stopped to again eat or just headed home. We headed home and did a re-heat of some meat and vegetables that were left over. Mom still wasn’t hungry and preferred instead to just have a bowl of cereal in front of the television.

2008-August-23
We were invited to a party in Bangor in the evening with some old friends and worked out a loose plan for the day on our travel down from Larne. Unfortunately, mom didn’t feel up to the drive and the party and opted to stay in Larne for the day instead. We travelled ahead without her, taking the coast road down to Carrickfergus Castle - a huge structure, that was built directly onto rock. We arrived in time for a tour and then spent some time on our own just wandering about the grounds and the Keep which is three stories high. The Keep has been restored and each of the floors accessible. Leaving the car in the car park, we then walked into Carrickfergus and wandered through a street market (buying some curry sauce for a dinner sometime during the week). We goofed around with the stocks and then returned to our car to carry on with a lunch stop and our original intention being to next stop at Jordanstown’s Loughshore Park for a “No Beating Day of 1,000 Drums”. By this time however the rain was again lashing and the wind was helping it along, making the weather fairly unpleasant so we decided against the outdoor a park, opted for the lunch stop and then a visit with George‘s “Uncle“ Billy (actually his cousin, but in the same age group as George‘s father, so therefore, an honorary “Uncle“). We had a pleasant visit and chat at Billy’s home in Newtonards for a couple of hours and then headed for Bangor. We needed to find the Coop store to pick up a particular type of wine and also some cider for the evening. After that we enjoyed driving around looking at the town and its architecture - particularly of the seaside residences - before heading to the party. The party was great fun, with lots and lots of food, and talk. Despite the number of people there and the table full of alcoholic choices, no one got into their cups and became difficult or otherwise. It was wonderful to be able to chat with everyone again after not seeing them for two years and also to finally see Austen and Tessa face to face (other than via web cam!) For George, it greatly pleased him to get together with the original members of “The Mutiny” (Austen, Jim, Doug, and him) - a band from his teenage years - as this was the first time in about 40 years that the group had been in the same room, at the same place, at the same time. It was a late evening and we arrived home at about 1:00 a.m. to find that mom had not just locked the spring lock on the door, but had also turned the skeleton key - effectively locking us out and necessitating repeated knocking at her bedroom window until she got up and let us in. As it turned out, she had gone to bed not long before, so we were happy to not have disturbed her half way through an eight hour sleep.

2008-August-22
It was a “free” day and we decided we’d like to go into Ballymena. We were hoping to see the trophy for the first Mid-Antrim 100 (later 150) held on Wednesday 24th July 1946 on the Ballygarvey circuit, outside Ballymena - George’s father, also George Dummigan, (249) riding a Rudge motorcycle, was the handicap winner. Mom opted to stay home and instead struck out on a walk into Larne, declining a ride down on our departure. We found a convenient parking spot and then went looking for the city offices. Our inquiries resulted in an impromptu tour of the Mayor’s chambers, but unfortunately, with the recent refurbishment of the city offices, the trophy had been placed in storage. City staff advised that they would attempt to locate it and would contact us if they were successful. We then did a bit of a walking tour of Ballymena, shared an Irish Breakfast for lunch, went in search of a particular object we are trying to find, picked up some vegetables for our dinner, and then returned to Larne, where mom had a nice dinner for everyone underway, with only our vegetables needed as an accompaniment.

2008-August-21
It was a free morning, which we spent with Kathy and Tom prior to their departure to our home as the exchange. It was great, as we hadn’t expected to be able to meet them, so was the silver lining in the cloud of Belfast. We got to know each other and went over all the various fundamental things with regard to their home. We saw them off and then headed out ourselves as I had pre-booked us on a Traditional Irish Music cruise on the “Maid of Antrim" on Lough Neagh. We originally had plenty of time between our departure and the casting off of the Maid of Antrim; however, a few stops, a few wrong turns, and before you know it, what we had thought would be a super-leisurely dinner, ended up just being a leisurely one (mostly due to the length of time it took for our food selections to arrive). We had dinner at the Galgorm Manor Hotel Resort & Spa at the Grill overlooking the stables (which had a couple of horses to entertain us). I wasn’t feeling terribly hungry, so just ordered two appetizers (the soup with bread and then a seafood kebab) with a glass of Magners, while mom had the seafood kebab, and then Tandori chicken with a Hennessy and soda, and George skipped the appetizer and just had his main-a steak. Then we were off to Ballyronan Marina for our cruise, but on the way attempted to find a bank machine for cash (the only one we found didn’t recognize either of my Canadian cards) and stopped for gas, as we were on the verge of sitting by the roadside holding our heads in our hands lamenting our fate. We finally made it to the Marina and actually ended up being about 20 minutes early - the crew hadn’t even arrived - which gave us time to make a quick stop at the main building. Mom was feeling car sick and wanted to ride shotgun on the way back - which was no problem for me, as it would give me a chance to have a nap. I scraped together all the pounds and euros we had, and explained to the operator that we had been unable to withdraw money from the only bank machine we’d found on our way to the Marina. He suggested that, as there were drinks available on board once underway, we hold onto it until after the cruise was finished and then we’d work it out. We had a great time out on the Lough. There were three musicians who played the entire time (except for VERY short breaks to have a sip of their drinks) and we were lucky in that the weather didn’t turn bad on us. Sandwiches and tea were served as a compliment to the cruise and we were back in the harbour as planned, two and one-half hours later at 10:00 p.m. We paid the operator in a combination of euros and pounds and made a note to send him a thank you card as well as an extra 5£ for his understanding. Mom rode in the front on the return trip (and basically every trip since with one short trip exception) and I rode in the back, alternating between ignoring the fact that George was driving mostly on instinct rather than listening to our rather annoying GPS lady, and trying to nap. We were late home and our beds were particularly inviting.

2008-August-20
We gingerly made a cup of tea - first needing to wash the combination of grime and dust off of the pot and then each of the cups in turn prior to be able to use them, as they had been put away into the cup board dirty with grease, grime and remnants of previous drinks coating the insides (including the bottoms). We then were on our way into Belfast. We couldn’t even imagine cooking in the Belfast kitchen and had decided to have a late breakfast downtown. We weren’t so lucky at immediately finding a place for breakfast and mom decided she wanted to wait for The Crown to open and have her breakfast (or semblance thereof) in there. George and I struck out in search of a restaurant where we could have an Ulster fry - we found one and settled into it and cups of tea and coffee. Once we were done, we headed back to The Crown to locate mom and also meet with a potential home exchanger from Magheralin that we’ve met on a previous trip. We found mom in one of the “snugs” making her way through her breakfast of a Guinness and a bowl of Irish Stew and awaited the arrival of our acquaintance. We had a nice chat with him and then left The Crown. Our mobile rang and it was our next home exchange in Larne, rescuing us from the Belfast disaster as they generously agreed to have us come ahead early, after our reservations for dinner at Belfast Castle (which we moved up from 8:00 to 6:30 in order to not arrive too late in Larne). We then headed into town where we went our separate ways for an hour, agreeing to meet up for a tour of Belfast. When we got back together, we decided on a double-decker bus tour and were lucky enough to get seats up top in the open car area. The tour guide, a young woman, was very good and I was amazed that she was able to remember and relate the hour and one-half tour information while the bus lurched and rolled about the streets of Belfast. The tour lasted until 4:00 p.m. and then we retrieved our car from the parkade behind the Europa Hotel - totally astonished at the almost 22$ Cdn fee for the 5 hours of parking. We headed back to the Belfast place, packed our bags for transfer into the car so that after dinner we could go straight to Larne, and sent a note to the owner of the house advising that we only stayed the one night, were leaving the key where we found it, and that we would provide further detail later. We arrived at Belfast Castle (after making the mistake of putting in “Belfast Castle Parking” into the GPS and finding ourselves on the wrong side of the gate and having to drive out and around again), just in time for our now 6:30 p.m. reservation. George and I had the dinner for two (which included three courses, and a bottle of wine, which we shared with mom) for 39£ - each having steaks - but my dessert (a passion fruit cheesecake) being the best, and mom ordered off the early bird menu. After dinner we wandered about the small antique store for a very short time (as we had called Larne to say we were coming, and didn’t want to keep them waiting) and then reset the GPS to take us to our next home - which we found fairly easily. We settled in and chatted and no doubt kept our hosts up far too late with our prattle. We were so happy to be in comfortable, clean surroundings after our Belfast experience and it was a pleasure to slip into our beds without worrying if we’d be assaulted by bed bugs during the night.

2008-August-19
Our last morning at the Livingstone household - the flooding seemed to have subsided and we felt it was probably safe to head to Belfast to our next home exchange. As usual, there was a happy buzz of bodies getting ready and going off in different directions with the girls and their friends heading out early, Dawn off to work and Robert at home to see us off. We were the slow ones getting organized and on our way and I realized how much we’ve come to care for this family that has welcomed us into their lives on every visit. We first headed for Lisnaskea for mom to have a chance to walk through the streets and wander about the shops - which she did with her usual shopping vigour. Then, it was on to Magheralin and a stop in the Church of Ireland Cemetery to record the information from George’s great-grandfather’s (and family) headstone. I also made a couple of calls we had promised prior to our departure from Canada on this trip and we received an invitation in Hillsborough (near Lisburn)to stop by for a visit, once we had finished our travels and our last stop of shopping in Lisburn. At this point of the day, we were now hoping for lunch in the pub on the corner across from the cemetery; however, food was not in the offing there, so we moved on to Main Street, Moira, where we had a late lunch at Pretty Mary’s Pub (just a couple of doors down from “Robert Wilson, Property Agent” - Bob, this reference is for you). Both mom and George had the specials and I just went straight for the venison - which although delicious, was not as good as what I‘d had at MacNean‘s in Blacklion. After lunch it was off to Lisburn to take mom to the Linen Hall and give her a chance to see the town and (naturally) all the shops. We visited the Linen Hall Museum and shopping area, numerous shops in town, and stopped at a couple of bakeries to pick up some pasties, and treats. From there it was on to Hillsborough for a visit with some folks we know and have stayed with in the past as well as exchanged homes with. It was a nice treat to be asked to stay for evening tea (dinner to us) and a great deal of chat and (while I declined) fair and frequent offerings of wine. We had a lovely evening, and given the hour took our leave to head to our next home exchange in Belfast, arriving after ten and fairly tired. We located the key, and moved all our luggage and shopping into the house rather than leave them in the car on the street overnight. It was not until we were well and truly “in” that we did an inspection of the place, which if only one word could be used to describe it, it would be “dirty”. But for more detail, what could have been a lovely home for exchange in a great location, instead it was a tip, as - at the most - the tub was clean. Out of 13 home exchanges we have participated in, this is the only one that we have ever found in this state. The two bedrooms on the first floor, while they had made beds did not have clean linens on them, and in fact, it was readily apparent that one had been recently slept in, and when the duvet was turned back there was a cell phone back (or something like that) on the sheet. The bed upstairs (which appeared to be the cleanest of the three) had dirty socks and miscellaneous items under it, the room had not been vacuumed or dusted, and the carpet was stained. No space had been made available in any of the rooms for us to hang up or put away anything. No clean linens were provided. It was unclear if there even were clean towels available (thank God I was carrying the three I had purchased in the south). The entire house had a coating of dust, debris and dog hair - most particularly notable all along the edges of floors and on the carpets - it had not been vacuumed. There was grease and grime on pretty much every surface and appliance in the kitchen. The fridge presented with the odour of food that probably should have been in the garbage, and more of the same - debris, etc., from old foodstuffs and dairy products. The oven had not been cleaned, and again, had dirty cooking pans, containing the remains of some type of breaded and broiled selection, shoved into it. The washing machine - which I did start to clean and then decided we would end up spending our entire time there cleaning, and stopped - was dirty and stained with mildew. The garbage had not been emptied and the container was dirty. All light switches in the house were dirt and grime covered. The bathroom windows were coated in soap scum as was the shower glass, the toilet was dirty, the floor was dirty, the toilet paper dispenser was not property fixed to the wall and went to the floor with the first attempted use of the paper (we left it there), the towel rack had a broken bracket on the floor at the base (we left it there). The were half used tubes of toothpaste in the bathroom cup. The surfaces had not been cleaned of dust. There were stains along the door frame (both sides) which had not been wiped. There was a type of “press” in the bathroom that contained an assortment of towels - unclear as the were clean or dirty as they were thrown in with the remains of toilet paper rolls, and empty shampoo, etc., containers, and who knows what else - and I wasn’t about to pull anything out and see - I just shut the door and washed my hands. All these “deficiencies” were those immediately obvious - I’m sure closer inspection would have revealed more. It was far too late at this point in the day, to deal with accommodation - particularly in the height of tourist season - but, anyone who knows me would know that this situation would have my skin crawling and that it would be an uncomfortable night ahead. Even mom woke us up with some type of what we thought was a nightmare, but, apparently was a funny dream (although I can’t imagine this place giving anyone, anything to find funny!) even in sleep. George fired up the computer and I sent out an “SOS” to our next home exchange in the hopes that they would be able to accommodate us early - but, regardless, I was not prepared to spend more than just the one night in this pit. We used the shower with some trepidation, and used our own towels, and went to bed.

2008-August-18
Due to flooding in Belfast because of the heavy rains, while this was to have been our last day in Lisnaskea, our hosts felt we should stay with them another day until some of the flooding on the motorways subsided. The new underpass in Belfast was under 20 feet of water at one point, and while not anywhere quite that high, the roadway was still closed and the water had receded to about 15 feet. We made a day of travel to the Sheelin Lace Museum, driving to Bellanaleck from Lisnaskea via Derrylin where we browsed and shopped, then, on to Enniskillen for more of the same and some sustenance, and then headed to Belleek so that mom could pick up something she’d seen on our previous visit on the 15th and so that George and I could visit with Mickey McGrath in his little tackle shop tucked away in the back of The Thatch - a small cottage restaurant on the main street. We stopped to visit with Mickey first and then were set to walk down to the Belleek store when mom changed her mind and instead, we headed back to Lisnaskea for dinner and our last night with the Livingstone’s.

2008-August-17
Awakening lazily on a Sunday morning by Lough Erne is a pleasure I will always look forward to and enjoy. It was great to once again be in County Fermanagh (a place that feels like “home” to me) with our friends and the day held a special treat. Robert was taking the Inishcruiser out onto Lough Erne and we were invited to come along as guests for the afternoon. We got ourselves organized and then learned through some holiday renters and then the news on television, that there had been a bit of trouble in Lisnaskea the evening before when some dissident Republicans had tried to blow up three policemen and their vehicle with a rocket – the warhead containing some old semtex – a product used by the IRA back in the days of “the troubles”. We’re not sure what time of evening it was and it’s interesting that, on a google search, very little comes up on it. On with the day …….. Robert and the three of us mom, George and I, drove down to the Inishcruiser and once on board, the three of us sat out in the bow area and, while George and I have experienced this before, for the first time, mom got to see some of Ireland’s beautiful small islands and the shores of the lake while cruising around the Lough. It was a lovely afternoon and the weather held for the cruise until the very end when we were heading in for the dock – when it started to rain a bit. Robert needed to stay behind as he was taking the cruiser out for another trip, but the three of us headed back to the house on foot as it was a fairly short walk there. One of the other passengers and her disabled husband also headed in that direction and they offered to show us their cottage in the Share Holiday Village (that Robert works at and that is home to the Inishcruiser). I took over the pushing of the wheelchair from the woman as she was having difficulty with it and we all went up to look at the cottage. The two-bedroom cottage is designed for handicapped persons and was very well laid out and functional. Share Holiday Village was established in 1981 and is now the largest activity centre in Ireland. It is located on 60 acres on Lough Erne, and was originally as a place where families with handicapped/disabled family members could have a place to holiday that would be able to accommodate disabilities. It is also in close proximity to Robert & Dawn’s home and a walk back would provide a bit of fresh air and exercise as well, as it turned out, some rain. As we were muddling our way back through the centre, George and I looking for the gate that used to be the short cut through to Robert & Dawn’s, Dawn drove up and saved us from what would only have proved to be a long, futile search as the short cut no longer existed. Back to the house to get ready for dinner. The seven of us were off to dinner at MacNean House and Bistro in Blacklion and as we’ve never managed to get a reservation in the past (MacNean is a gold medallion restaurant and in high demand) we were looking forward to the experience. We all piled into Robert’s Land Rover and moving at a fairly good pace, despite the twisty-turny roads of Northern Ireland, we arrived on time. We made our way into MacNean’s and were seated in a large, round table on beautifully upholstered chairs. Apparently, this had once been the front sitting room and for a period of time, it was still used as such in the early days of MacNean House. There was a lovely selection on the menu (which you can see at http://www.macneanrestaurant.com/pp/useruploads/pdf/Dinnermenufeb08.pdf) meaning that making a choice might prove difficult, but both George and I zeroed in on the venison. We ordered a bottle of Chateau de Hureau to accompany dinner. With a complimentary appetizer in addition to the menu, dinner ended up being quite a number of courses which everyone enjoyed and Dawn, George, Robert and Robyn increased theirs by sharing the “Dessert for Two” (which was a three-course dessert). As mom had treated George and me for the Ashford Castle dinner, this was our treat to her in return and our friends as a thank you for their hospitality. After dinner, the Chef and owner, Neven Maguire, came out to meet us and also gave George and I a copy of his cookbook “Neven’s Real Food for families”, which he inscribed.

2008-August-16
The house was alive fairly early in the morning as it was “change-over” day at the holiday cottages. I planned on going over with Dawn and giving her a hand as I suspected that she was short cleaners and then George and mom would follow later so that mom could see them. Mom decided she wanted to come with Dawn and me and off we went. The “cottages” are our equivalent (or better) or some three-bedroom houses. They are fully furnished and equipped, two-storey, multi bedroom (4) with at least three bathrooms, master with ensuite, two decks (one ground level, one off of the master), and are in a small, gated community by the lake. They are available for holiday rentals and are very popular. Dawn’s expectation (and rightly so) is that they should be presented in spotless, pristine state to each set of renters and puts 100% effort into ensuring that this happens. That it happens within a short time period and that all deficiencies are either repaired replaced or scheduled (despite the state that some holiday renters may leave the cottage in) is a feat in itself. We set to work and, after two weeks of time off, it felt good to be doing something productive again. We helped get Dawn’s own cottages ready and also helped Maeve get a cottage she had taken on for the owners ready. Once it appeared that everything was underway, Dawn and mom headed back to the house to put lunch out, and George and I drove into Lisnaskea to drop a couple of the cleaners off and also pick up a bottle of wine for dinner that evening. We put dinner off for later as we were hoping to hear Maeve play in her marching band (the Maguiresbridge Silver Band) that evening. Dawn, mom, George and I drove to Fivemiletown and made our way to the hall across from the church to find that the band was playing on the occasion of the unfurling and dedication of a new banner for the Royal Black Preceptory (242). Dawn introduced us as having come from Canada and the next thing we knew, we were being escorted up the rows of seats to a prime viewing (and no escape) position at the front of the seating, just behind the band, and in front of the members of the Preceptory. We were invited to also stay afterward for tea. The ceremonies started at 7:30 and concluded about an hour later with the next event being that the Preceptory and band would march around Fivemiletown (which is about a 10 minute march) and return to the hall for tea. As we filed from the hall and I took some pictures of the banner, we were again invited to stay for tea. The band fired up the music, the Preceptory formed their rows and columns and they were underway. Not too long later, they returned down the street, and on passing me, the member of the Preceptory (presumably an important one as he took up the rear of the parade and carried a large staff with a decoration of some sort on top) who had earlier issued the tea invitation, stepped out of formation and away from the rest and again said to stay for tea. So, with that, we did. The tea area (across the hall from the ceremony area, was (according to Dawn) laid out in the same way that a funeral setting would be. Long tables laden with food down the centre, a “head table” at the end with set seating, and two long rows of chairs facing towards the centre long tables on each side the length of the room. We had tea, sandwiches, and sweets (George had a couple J ). It was much later driving back to the house than we had intended so we decided that ordering in Chinese food seemed a reasonable option. Dawn called Robert on the Mobile and he attempted to order it. Apparently, it was “every other day” that the restaurant was open – or, every other day that they decided to open or not as they weren’t and hadn’t been the day before either. We settled on going through the ‘fridge and laying out a variety of foods and wine and all was well in our world.

2008-August-15
Today was a travel day and we woke up, tidied up Coral Reef, and prepared to move on to our friends in Lisnaskea via Belleek. George and I were fairly tired after being up so late the evening before and being disturbed by mechanical sounds in the wee hours of the morning – which we had discovered were coming from the laundry that mom had put into to the machine at about 2:00 a.m. on our return from Staunton’s Pub. The laundry room wall was the adjoining wall to our bedroom and when we discovered it, it was about 3:00 a.m. and the machine had gone into spin. Rather than shut it down, we had decided to let it run on as the machine SAID it would be finished in 20 minutes (by the way, Irish equipment lies) and in order to get to the laundry, you first needed to go outside and then to the laundry (and it was raining) and we didn’t want to leave her clothes soggy, or, have to go back out into the rain at 3:30 a.m. which is when we discovered that Irish machines lie. We left Coral Reef and first stopped in Westport in order that mom could get a book that she had spied in an antique store. Mom was surprised at the army and police that were stationed at least a block in each direction from the bank (a money transfer was occurring, and there had been a couple of high profile robberies with the funds never recovered and chances were no longer being taken). We then went on to Castlebar, where we stopped so that mom could by a bathroom fixture she’d admired at Coral Reef, and have lunch at a small sandwich shop, “O’Brien’s”, and then went on to Newport, where we stopped to see Grace O’Malley’s strong hold – a small castle built on the rocks by an inlet. We walked up to the door and back down, and then I took a step that would result in more laundry when I slipped on the rocks and fell sideways and down on my right side, with my camera doing an aerial display and sailing off to the left. George said it looked like I was doing aerobatics, and also, that I had been lucky, as while my shoulder and arm struck rock, my head had somehow managed to miss them and while a bit shocked with slightly traumatized musculature, I had managed to fall without inflicting any brain damage. As the day was wearing on, we passed the cemetery where William Butler Yeats lies and carried on to Belleek so that mom could have a chance to see the Belleek museum and store (we knew there was little chance of making it in time for a tour), and then carry on to Caldragh Cemetery (where she could see an example of the pre-Christian period in the form of a Janus figure carved in stone estimated to be about 2,000 years old). From there, we carried on through Enniskillen, with the GPS lady getting confused with the new roads and round-abouts and finally made it to Lisnaskea and to the home of our friends that we would be stopping to visit with for the next few days. It was fantastic to see the family again and happy hugs were given and received all round. Dawn made a lovely dinner and we enjoyed each others company until late in the evening and we couldn’t stay up any more.

2008-August-14

Mom and I got organized and went for a walk – always keeping in mind the fact that drivers on these narrow country roads don’t see pedestrians so much as an impediment to their travel, but more as a nuisance that may or may not require negotiation over or through. The drivers most definitely have the right of way (whether that’s correct or not) and in an instant you could easily be road kill. On more than one occasion I grabbed mom by the jacket and either pushed or pulled her up onto the bank at the side of the road. Expecting the vehicles to stop – especially the large lorries hurtling down the road – is a fallacy. We’ve even hear Irish natives on the radio complaining as to how unsafe it is to walk on the roadways. Broad daylight doesn’t improve your chances of survival and walking the roads at night is akin to a suicide wish. As we wandered along, mom struck up a conversation with a fellow driving a tractor and we heard a few stories of his failed romance and the situation of the bachelor that owns all the oceanfront land we were walking along. He advised us that he’d been looking for a woman for him (the bachelor is 45), and how he kept to himself. After a while, we took our leave, continuing on our walk, passing the bachelors tidy house with two, friendly-looking, border collies in a kennel. We imagined that they were kept for the large flock of sheep that dotted the bachelors pastures along Clew Bay. There was a sign for an artist studio just up a small road, so we began walking up and mom picked posies along the way. We came across the artists van which had just stopped on the way down the hill and enquired as to whether the studio was open. Yes, he’d be back in a few minutes and sure enough, he was shortly driving back up the hill, stopped and offered mom a ride the rest of the way and slowed or me, but I waved him on, preferring the fresh air and exercise to a ride up the hill. Mom and the artist, Chris Harper, were busy walking about the studio looking at his work. I admired some place mats that his work had been heat transferred onto. They were different than any I’d seen in the shops; however, I didn’t have my wallet with me and decided that I’d come back later with George. Mom and I left the studio and enjoyed the walk down, picking flowers and pulling up the bulbs for an orange flower that grows wild along the roadways in both the southern and northern parts of Ireland. We returned to the house and went for a bit of a drive out and around the areas of Clew Bay and slightly beyond, stopping at a couple of the beaches, including at Old Head, and also, driving down to Roonagh Quay and chatting briefly with a young woman whose mother runs a hotel on nearby Clare Island. We were too late in the day to go over and explore the Island, and, as well, the next ferry over wouldn’t be until 9:00 a.m. But we considered whether we should change our plans, fit it in and bypass Westport and Belleek the next morning driving straight to Lisnaskea instead (just over 3 hours straight run) later in the day. The consensus was no, as other than a couple of small sights of interest, there wasn’t enough on Clare Island to change our plans for a trip along the coast, and a stop at Belleek, not to mention the possibility of bad weather coming in and grounding the ferry on either side – which would have necessitated staying on the small Island.
We headed back to Coral Reef and then George and I went up to the studio and picked up the placemats I wanted. Back at the house, we had a nice dinner and then mom got ready to head down to Staunton’s Pub. It was far too early for George and I to go and sit in a pub and as well, I wanted to get some shots of what seemed to promise would be a lovely sunset. Mom went ahead with us joining her later. Staunton’s Pub is small but cozy and run as a family business – with the children and family dog wandering in and out from the residence side into the pub side. When we arrived mom was engaged in conversation with a young, female artist and a couple of other locals. There was a good atmosphere in Staunton’s without the questionable types that we’d seen in Durty Nelly’s in Bunratty. We had an enjoyable evening, and stayed later than we otherwise might have - initially, because mom seemed to think that she could negotiate the walk home in the dark along the roadway back to Coral Reef, and then, because as it turned out, it was a good crowd, and as it is referred to in Ireland, it was good craic. First, there was the anniversary of someone’s funeral (including the serving of sandwiches all round) and then the celebration of the 83rd birthday of a local man, complete with traditional as well as contemporary singing and music, and a small bit of traditional dancing. At 12:30 a.m., the lights were shut down to just a couple and the curtains were closed (when the pub was to officially close) and the party continued with someone at the door keeping an eye out for the Garda. At 1:30 a.m. the final songs were sung (including the Irish National Anthem, in Irish, with all parties present standing) and everyone made their way home.

2008-August-13

We went exploring today and along the way stopped at the famine memorial – a metal sculpture of a sailing ship including numerous skeletons as part of the ships structure and sails – and also at the remains of a Friary, with a cemetery at the beach just down from the famine memorial. We bypassed the hike of Croagh Patrick – but we could see some intrepid souls making their way up the mountain (unknown from a distance if they were barefoot – how the truly devout are supposed to make the trek). We stopped at The Tavern in Murrisk and had lunch, learning that there would be traditional music in the evening and made plans to return for that and dinner there later. Onward to Westport, where we were lucky to find a spot in a reasonably-priced parking lot, and then we split off for shopping – agreeing to meet back at a set time later. George and I wandered about a bit looking in shops but not going crazy with buying anything and picked up some items for dinner the following evening. We met up as planned at the Tourist Information Centre, and while I had wanted to go and see a local estate home that had been completely restored, I wasn’t feeling well and preferred instead to just return to Coral Reef and lie down for an hour or so. After a bit of a rest, I felt better and we headed down to The Tavern for dinner and music. We started with some appetizers just before 7:00 p.m. and then had the special menu (which seemed to be somewhat of a secret) at 8:00 p.m. The music started and we enjoyed the food and the evening, heading back to Coral Reef and arriving about 11:00 p.m.

Slide Shows

UPDATE: They are all working - more to be added today (2008-Aug-25). Robin
For some reason the slide shows do not appear to be loading so if you would like to look at some of them go to.
http://picasaweb.google.ca/gadummig

Saying goodbye to The Old Rectory and on to Cong

DAY 10 – August 12th

Our departure day from The Old Rectory saw mixed weather ahead of us. It was kind o sad to depart the grand old house and I ran up through the stairways and landing to the very top level, where, at one time the servants’ quarters would have been. A final look around for my memory banks as I don’t know if we’ll ever stay here again, or indeed, whether the house will remain over the next few years. Our host had advised that there are plans to put the motorway right through the front of the property – a move that would destroy the natural beauty of the front gardens and the gracious drive in from the gated entrance. The price of progress in this case would be the loss of yet another heritage home. It’s hard to imagine a motorway in what is currently an acre or more of gardens. We had one last play with the retriever and checked and double-checked to make sure we hadn’t left anything behind as our next stop was some three and one-half hours northwest to the coast and Clew Bay. At about 12:30 p.m. we waited while the gates of The Old Rectory closed behind us for perhaps the last time.

We drove on to Limerick and (when I finally had the sense to put in the right county – Limerick of course) we managed to get the GPS to show us the way to 2 Pary Square the location of the Georgian House – a townhouse residence of 1838 – somewhat newer than The Old Rectory – which had been restored to its original splendour by a heritage society. The house had been purchased in 1996 for the equivalent of approximately $800,000 Cdn. It had then taken 3 years to remove all the partition walls that had been erected to turn it into small apartment lets, and complete the renovations. As a result, it now had an estimated value of 7 million Euro (approximately 10.5 million Cdn). Gives you pause to wonder what the value of The Old Rectory and it 13 acres is – even in its current condition (although very little has been changed in the house itself, in fact, some of the original, intact, crown moulding was far more elaborate than in the Georgian House).

After viewing the Georgian House, we went on to JJ Bowles a public house run by a man and his wife that we had met at the Bunratty dinner the night before. Unfortunately, we were too early and so carried on to a nearby café for tea and then toured a small museum (set near King John’s Castle) of local history. A nearby antique store also saw some of our time, but mom refrained from spending the rather ridiculous amount of Euros they were asking for a set Staffordshire dogs. I was sorely tempted by the plethora of old oil lamps they had and knew that even if one was purchased, the chances of the glass making it home were slim.

Onward to Cong and dinner at Ashford Castle. The driveway in was 1.3 km – which was the first clue that this was a huge estate – as it turns out, 350 acres. The castle came into view with its turrets and stone bridge leading the way over a river to the entrance. It was massive and impressive with presidents and celebrities alike having previously graced its presence. A French concierge greeted me and advised as to where we should park and then, while mom wandered about inside admiring the architecture, fixtures, furnishings and art work, George and I walked back over the stone bridge and took a few photos. We were a wee bit early for dinner, so were led to the bar (George received comments of approval for being suitably attired in suit and tie) where we sat in front of the fireplace and whiled away some time before then moving to the dining room for our dinner. The dinner was a set menu with a few choices, plus complimentary offerings from the Chef. George had a lamb appetizer, roast pork that was brought to and carved at the table, and chicken consommé. Mom had scallops on cous cous, rack of lamb and sorbet. I had a crabmeat and cream cheese appetizer, Irish beef medallions, and a fennel and orange soup. While both mom and George had the chocolate lover’s selection for dessert, I had a blackberry and sour cream tart. Everything was delicious. The waitresses came by frequently with a selection tray of about 7 different type of sliced breads and the Sommelier hovered – perhaps waiting to see if we wanted to order (as suggested on the menu, a different type of alcohol for each course). We ordered a bottle of Anakena Ona Cabernet Merlot Carmenera to accompany our dinner and found that that was sufficient. The dining room was magnificent with it huge windows overlooking the grounds and the highest ceilings I’ve seen yet. After dinner we went for a small walk around and found a type of rogue’s alley – except in this case there were photos of presidents, actors, actresses, famous business icons and the like. There was a gallery walk (unfortunately closed) on the second floor that overlooked a large lounge area on the main and more expansive windows that gave a view to the gardens, large circular fountain and pond, and the Lough beyond. The light was leaving us as we departed and headed into Cong proper to get oriented towards our next stop – Coral Reef - another home exchange set between Lecanvey and Kisallagh on Clew Bay near Westport, County Mayo. Typical signage had us viewing the sights of the center of Cong twice as we made the wrong choice first, and ignored the signage on the second lap to head out to the main roadway towards Westport.

More shopping, more rain, and the ghost ......

DAY 9 – August 11th

Another day of Irish mist; however, we needed to head out for a couple of groceries, so finally made our way to a small town nearby “Charleville”, went to the post office for stamps (George remarked “how quaint”, and I suppose these days it IS quaint when you can send and receive mail around the world in a matter of minutes), and then to the Dunnes store for what we thought, supplies. Mom had other ideas and spent an incredible amount of time doing, guess what? Yes, indeed, more shopping – I don’t know if I’ve ever known anyone who can take full advantage of whatever offering there might be and actually turn it into a shopping trip … I’m thinking food (salmon for dinner) and some basics, George is thinking food (potato farls, soda farls, and sausages for a proper Irish breakfast for tomorrow), and mom, well, mom is just shopping. I do confess that we bought a few towels to make our transitions between home exchanges a bit easier, but shopping, well, no. After a bit, quite a bit, I found my long-suffering husband a place he could sit down while we waited. We eventually left the store to be greeted by more rain.

Once home, George decided he’d set and light a fire – as it turned out, a great idea, but not all the same – the fireplace we’d used 4 years ago appeared to either have a stuck flue or a blocked chimney as the smoke would not go up, but instead just drifted into the room. I raced to the other fireplace and grabbed the scuttle into which we piled the burning, smoking wood and took it outside. Then, rather than settling down into a nice warm room, we threw open windows and doors and allowed the remaining smoke to clear out. What then happened to the wood in the scuttle we have no idea – George came and asked me if I’d dumped it (which I hadn’t), but regardless, it was gone. You’d think, well you daft twit, OF COURSE, it burned ……….. except it was absolutely pouring rain. Perhaps the ghost didn’t care for the smoke …………

We leave tomorrow for the Westport area (via Cong – where we will be stopping for dinner at Ashford castle), and don’t know if there will be internet available, so, if you don’t hear from us for a few days, you needn’t worry……. just no connection.

BUNRATTY CASTLE

DAY 8 – August 10th

My first order of business was to send a "Happy Birthday" e-mail to my son - which I did.

We spent the morning at The Old Rectory and were ready to get on the road for Bunratty just before 2:00 p.m. Our drive in saw mixed sun and rain, rain and rain, and then rain, mist and rain ………

On arrival to Bunratty, mom opted for the gift shop rather than touring the folk park or castle – feeling that the two and one-half hours was better spent in shopping than out in the rain poking through old, thatched cottages and wandering about a castle. It is certain that the rain was plentiful. George and I bought some mead for our duty free and then the three of us headed up the street to Blarney Woollen Mills for more shopping. We passed “Dirty Nelly’s” on the way to the Avoca shop, which unfortunately had burned down. Then it was off to dinner at the castle. We were greeted by a very funny, and if in my worldliness I was to guess, a very gay, middle-aged man, who supplied many a laugh throughout the evening with his chatter to us and his admonitions for quiet in the house while young ladies sang and music was played. We were handed a mug of mead once through the door and entertained by a violinist, harpist, and singers until it was time to be lead into the dining hall. We were lucky in our seating in that it was approximately centre and while not right at the end of the table closest to the entertainment, it afforded us a better view from the other end. Dinner was accompanied by more mead, both red and white wine, and consisted of a cream of parsnip soup, bread, ribs, chicken, potatoes, vegetables, and dessert, and, with the exception of the dessert, our only utensil was a knife (one of which found it’s way into mom’s bag as a souvenir for our trip home – can’t take your eyes off of her for a minute - let’s hope she checks it at the airport, rather than try to put it in her carry on). We finished our dinner, or rather, we had our dinner, but the portions were too large to finish, and then headed back up the street to “Dirty Nelly’s” where a young (very) man bought mom a Guinness and spent the next hour or so flirting with her (George kept his eye on him and on mom’s purse for the duration, and eventually "Andy" announced he was “off home” and left, only to return a very short time later having removed his sand-coloured jacket and instead wearing a red shirt - which perhaps may have made him look different to someone who’d been plied with Guinness, but not George and I). For our part, George and I met a couple from Shannon and had a very good chat. We were finally able to pry mom away from the pub and headed back to Croom. The retriever at the house greeted me with a wagging tail that made her entire body vibrate; however, I can’t say the same for George and mom. She lowered herself and advanced on them, growling and barking until George convinced her that she’d met them before. I think it had surprised her that I had walked a bit in past the house to her and that she, only after greeting me, noticed that in the darkness there were a couple of other humans moving about. Whatever the reason, she apparently, despite the wiggling and wagging, makes a good protector of her people. Once inside, it was a quick shower and to bed.

The Cliffs of Moher

DAY 7 – August 9th

A lot of discussion took place as to how we would spend this day – originally on the schedule was a trip to the Aran Islands – something that would have meant an early rising, and hours of travelling, resulting in dedicating a full day. It was mom’s choice as to what to do, and although the Aran Islands had been on her wish list, I think the Irish roads and the speeds that are travelled on them are somewhat daunting to her. I’m amazed that I seem to have adjusted to it myself. Weather is also a factor for a trip to the Aran Islands – poor weather can mean a cancellation of the sailings to OR FROM the Islands and the forecast was not great. We decided to make a change of plans and while we still drove to the coast, our destination was now the Cliffs of Moher. The layout has changed since our last visit and in addition to the Cliffs, there is now an interpretative centre built into the hillside. The centre is a definite plus to a visit to the Cliffs as it provides a lot of information that is the perfect adjunct to the Cliffs themselves. The downside to this development is that the Cliffs are now being more of a commercial place than what we have seen in the past – a wild place, subject to the wills of the elements. The original walkway walls have been replaced with higher ones, the pathway, with wide steps and landings – apparently, part of the reason for this “improvement” was as a result of a woman and her child going over the wall (even though it is, and was, clearly posted to stay away from the edges and inside the safety of the walkway walls) to the cliffs edge and then falling to their deaths when part of the Cliffs edge sloughed away (which they are prone to do without advertisement). Even so, there are still tourists today that went over the wall to areas clearly marked as unsafe …………. it seems that it doesn’t matter how many languages (in this case at least 4) the warning signs are posted in, there are always those people who will ignore them – sometimes at their peril. I wonder if this is modern genetic selection. Nature did her best to discourage visitors as the wind came up and the rain lashed at us from a couple of different directions. We were well and truly soaked by the time we finished our visit (and shopping) and returned to retrieve our car from across the road at the managed car park. We then headed to Doolin and settled in for Irish stew and a hot whiskey (me), fish and chips and tea (George), and Irish stew and more of what is apparently the Irish nectar of the Gods – Guinness (mom) before heading back to The Old Rectory.

The Old Rectory and surrounds

DAY 6 – August 8th

It was a great morning for a sleep in. The travelling and activity is taking its toll and, after all, we’re on holiday. We awoke a bit later than usual and found that our host had departed somewhat earlier (as he had a drive to Dublin ahead of him), leaving us a note hoping that the “ghost” hadn’t disturbed our sleep. A wander about the house convinced us that, while it hadn’t lost it’s charm, it had aged in the past four years and while such a place would be lovely to have, we didn’t envy our hosts the monumental sum of money that must and would be required to maintain the huge three-storey house, numerous outbuildings and thirteen acres of property. It was a beautiful day and once we got ourselves oriented, we headed for Croom, the closest village and then Adare – a location famous for their little row of thatched cottages which appear to be used equally for shops, residences, and restaurants, as well as old structures that date back hundreds of years. Mom's main focus was watching the photographing of a wedding that was just finishing (with an open carriage and two grey horses standing nearby waiting to transport the newly married couple) and ………. more shopping (apparently determined to ensure she reached both her weight and duty free limits for her return to Canada and in the process, providing a single-handed boost to Southern Ireland’s economy). We found the butcher shop and treated ourselves to three nice cuts of Irish beef and headed home to The Old Rectory. George grilled the beef, while I made mashed potatoes, carrots, and grilled half tomatoes with goat cheese as the sides. Dessert was fresh strawberries we’d purchased at the roadside and ice cream. It’s hard to feel hard done by when we’d had such a nice day and dinner. :-)

Rosslare to Kinsale to Croom

DAY 5 – August 7th

Our morning was filled with preparations for departure and the swapping out of our vehicle for a brand new Opel that was available at the Enterprise location in Rosslare. Mom went to Kelly’s hotel to pick up a couple of items she had seen the evening before and Ann came to see us off and get the keys to the house from us. Our objective today was Kinsale where we were to have dinner at Man Friday. We managed to find a parking spot in the center or this busy little town (right in front of the Garda station) and then wandered about through a few of the small shops that, for the most part, offered a variety of tourist-driven items. We were a bit early for dinner, so ended stopping at The Spaniard – a small, dark pub just up the street. Dinner at Man Friday saw more steak for George, one-half of a roasted duck for me, and a seafood platter for mom. Again, far more than we could comfortably consume. Our dinner reservation had been made for as early as possible in the evening in order that our arrival at The Old Rectory near Croom wouldn’t be too late. As it was, we made fairly good time and arrived just after 10:00 p.m. Our host was there to greet us and have a chat and a glass of wine before getting us all settled in our rooms. Our bedrooms were on the second floor – for George and I the same room that we had stayed in 4 years earlier – what I referred to as the “haunted room” - much to our hosts surprise – and then I relayed the events that had occurred when we’d stayed there before (the throwing of my camera to the floor in the middle of the night – while George’s right beside mine stayed in it’s place, of my pager – which I was using as an alarm clock- to the floor, every time I left the room, the “blowing” of the bedside lights when we were awoken in the night by sounds of something running across the floor near the end of the bed, etc.), in the house in general, lights coming on and off in the different floors, the dishwasher starting up by itself, pictures never staying straight, birds throwing themselves at the windows until they’d left them coated with feathers, and in some cases blood – I suppose, in effect, what you’d imagine in a house that had a couple hundred years of history in and around it’s walls. We went to bed wondering what would occur on this trip.

A Day Around Rosslare

DAY 4 – August 6th

Well, more Irish Mist – we had a couple of choices and as they were pretty much all outdoors, it didn’t really matter where we went. On our way out, we made arrangements from the bakery, Petit Plaisirs, for a half a dozen fresh scones and rye bread to pick up the next day. The bakery is very popular and we had been warned that if you weren’t there before 9:00 a.m. (like THAT’S going to happen!) you stood no chance of getting fresh breads, scones or the like. This turned out to be true as we did stop in and the shelves were empty – and it was fairly early, by our “on holiday” standards at any rate. So, ordering for the day of our departure was our option. Mom wanted to see Yola Farmstead a place where the inhabitants and their own distinct language had survived based on farming, community and, um, well, delicately put, close inter-marriage. The public portion was a collection of small stone buildings, paddocks with farm animals, the usual, plus an ostrich, a couple of pretty little deer, a tea house where we stopped or a cup of tea in front of the fire (which, although indoors, was big enough to burn a pallet, and in fact, was – perhaps the only public example of the inter-marriage that we would see), and the obligatory gift shop. It rained off and on and we headed back into Rosslare proper and found a table in the Kelly’s hotel bar and managed a reservation for dinner in the formal restaurant for a couple of hours later. It was a set menu with a number of selections for starters, mains, and desserts. George settled on a steak, mom on lobster, and I had lamb. The portions were huge and none of us was able to finish our mains. My lamb was served as a full plate – with no less than five thick pieces and vegetables and yes, a couple of versions of potatoes as well. Mind, that didn’t stop us from enjoying our desserts …….. coffee and tea were served upstairs in the lounge area where live music (not to our taste unfortunately) was being offered. We didn’t stay upstairs too long and even so, it was a late evening in and finally laying down in our beds a welcome event.

Bunratty Castle Dinner

We are off to Bunratty Castle near Limerick for a Medieval dinner.
http://www.shannonheritage.com/Entertainment/BunrattyCastleBanquet/

Heading for the Cliffs of Moher

Due to weather we are heading for the Cliffs of Moher today. Pictrues to follow. Check out the website. http://www.cliffsofmoher.ie/default.aspx

The first few days .......

DAY 3-August 5th

We awoke to rain pounding down on the slate patio and with fog encroaching into the area. A large, ring-necked bird was perched on the fence and didn’t seem at all bothered by being wet. We decided that a stroll on the beach was out and that an “inside” day was in, so it was off to Waterford, with our objective being the Waterford Crystal Factory – but first, a stop and pull-over by the Garda for a road tax violation …… the very pleasant officer advised that the rental company hadn’t renewed the road tax decal (approximately 500 Euro/year) and had let it lapse since May, which, if he was inclined to go by the letter of the law, meant that he could immediately, without any consideration, seize the vehicle. He was very cognizant of the fact that it was a rental vehicle, that we were tourists, and that while it would punish the company, it would probably result in greater inconvenience to us and advised that we should ensure that we discuss the matter with the agency and that he (for his part – on a limited basis) would be sending the company a ticket (approximately 80 Euro). We entered Waterford and rather than our very first stop being Waterford Crystal, it was the Enterprise Agent to attempt to deal with the matter making arrangements to EITHER have a decal OR a replacement vehicle delivered to us the next day. After that, it was off to the Waterford Crystal Factory tour and, following that, the unreasonable desire to impulse purchase ………. something ……….. anything ……….. it all sparkled and I like sparkly things ………… I mulled over ornaments, baubles, ridiculously large chandeliers, tumblers, champagne and wine glasses ……… and finally, Irish Coffee glasses – not that I’ve ever even made Irish Coffee, much less drank it from crystal stemware ………… and not that I will at any time in the near future. George, the “Voice of Reason” pointed out the pluses (pretty, sparkly things) and minuses (he doesn’t even drink coffee ….) and I soon enough was able to walk away without plunking down a day’s salary for Irish Coffee glasses I would (almost certainly) lock straight up into the china cabinet to be admired through the glass. While George and I made it through the three level gift shop unburdened by crystal purchases, we can’t say the same for mother. We found an interesting restaurant was we wanted to have dinner in, but we needed to kill a couple of hours before they opened, so we went in search of "T&H Doolan" a pub that had part of the original stone wall of the city as part of their building. Directions and construction again became the bane of our existence while we searched for the place ....... eventually finding it and having a pint of Bulmer's (me) and pint of Guinness (mom). George stopped at an internet cafe along the way to get his fix, and then joined us some time later. Mom asked the bartender for a Guinness glass and while he felt that, due to his small supply of same, he couldn't give her one of those, he did give her a Smithfields. We left and made our way to FitzGerald’s, Waterford, where we had a very nice dinner and mom got a tip from the waiter, who advised her that rather than ask if she could have a Guinness or Smithfield’s (or whatever) glass, that she should just take them ………. apparently his father has a lovely collection ............ one might consider that petty larceny, but, perhaps Ireland no longer sends people to Australia for such things …… particularly given the price of fuel ..........


DAY 2 – August 4th

Our arrival in Dublin introduced us to a crush of travellers that appeared to have all converged on the airport at the same time, reminiscent of one of our earlier trips and our experience of London Heathrow (an airport I will avoid if at all possible). We were herded into lines and started the seemingly endless movement forward a couple of feet at a time, wanting not much more than the opportunity to find a spot to just sleep for a few hours. We finally managed to make it through the lines, find mother, call for our shuttle and arrive at the Enterprise location to pick up our vehicle (which wasn’t exactly what we thought it would be). The drive from Dublin to Rosslare was at times rainy, at times lovely, and, at times, frustrating with our GPS not recognizing new roadway construction (of which there is plenty throughout, so far, Southern Ireland at any rate) and with signage not being exactly …. well ….. exact. We wound our way through the Wicklow Mountains and were glad of taking a slower route as it allowed us to take in the beauty of the mountains and small farms along the way. Our goal at the end of this rather circuitous route was “Glendalough”. Unfortunately, the prize at the end was a very congested, heavily tourist-laden area, with buses and passenger vehicles jockeying for space – not only on the roadway surrounding, but also the entrance and exits and the parking lots. I’m not a good tourist I’m afraid - as the idea of driving around and around a parking lot hoping for a space in order to see an attraction whilst jostling with other humans would surely only serve to further aggravate, was not at all palatable. Thank God neither my husband nor my mother were THAT desperate to walk and see Glendalough with a few hundred other travellers. Onward to Avoca – another horrendously busy place and then, after pulling over to allow George to close his eyes and nap for 20 minutes or so (as the alternative wasn’t a good one), our final destination of Rosslare. We met friends of our home exchange partners at Kelly’s Hotel, had a cup of tea and then went on to our home away from home for the next few days, choosing our bedrooms, having showers, and getting to familiarize ourselves with our well-needed beds in short order. Well, except that is, except mother, who decided she needed a walk and ended up strolling along until the first restaurant she came across, and then having a full dinner before returning to the house ……………. I vaguely remember the sound of someone coming into the house, but not actually caring who or why, just grateful that they didn’t make too much noise ………..

DAY 1 - DEPARTURE DAY - August 3rd

We had a leisurely start to the day ….. at least that’s what the possibilities held …. The fact that I woke up at 4:30 a.m. didn’t destroy that …. only altered it, ever so slightly. I considered the various options open to me and flip flopped a few times until I settled back down to try and get some sleep before our trip began, as I doubted I would manage any sleep for at least the next 24-30 hours. At 6:30 a.m. I gave it up, but was aware that at some point in the two hours previous I had napped. While George slumbered on, I got up and went to the barn saying a goodbye to the various creatures who greeted me with little more than their breakfast on their minds. On my return to the house at 9:00 a.m. after chores and pats, brushes, cuddles, and playing fetch, the aroma of frying back bacon signalled the true start to the day and the cessation of any lingering connection to my home and animals that I was about to leave for the month. Breakfast and last minute preparations filled the remainder of the morning until our erstwhile friend, Venus, picked us up – right on time – for the short drive to the airport. A quick hug goodbye and we began what was to consume our time for the next day – travelling – the least favourite part of any trip and the loss of sleep, inconvenience and discomfort that goes with travelling through international time zones. While the flight from Nanaimo to Vancouver was uneventful, the departure of our flight from Vancouver to Dublin was delayed – only adding onto what was already going to be a long flight. Once in the air, the crew was friendly, but professional, dealing swiftly and quietly with the various requirements of the flight. As I had thought, neither of us were able to sleep and as we passed from daylight, through night, back into daylight all within eight and one-half hours, pure and utter exhaustion began to seep into our bodies, numbing our minds and burning our eyes.