Ireland, Scotland, Paris & London

This trip to Europe with Di, our daughter(Julie) and son-in-law(Steve) was to show them the Ireland and Scotland that I grew up in. Julie and Steve were then going to visit Manchester and Wales, where Steve lived when he was a child, while we flew to Paris of a few days. We would then meet-up again in London for a few days sight-seeing before flying back to Australia.

Wednesday 8 August 2012 (Leaving for Europe)

Steve's father had very kindly offered to drive us down from the Central Coast to Sydney Airport and as we had checked in the night before we were able to bypass the long queue at the counter and simply check in our baggage. The next step was to go through Customs and Immigration. I had bought a rather expensive HD video camera for this trip. Buying it in Australia had three major benefits. First was that the sale went to a local company, and therefore, secondly, there would be no issues with warranties, and finally we could claim back the GST - which I did at the airport.

Sydney, Australia - our flight about to be called

The 14 hour flight to Abu Dhabi on an A340 was long with only short naps speeding up the process. There was a lot of turbulence for several hours as we crossed the ITCZ and beyond. Our track was across Australia leaving it near Derby (4.5 hours flying time), over Jakarta in Indonesia, then across the Indian Ocean to Sri Lanka and the South tip of India, and finally on to Oman and into Abu Dhabi. We arrived around 40 minutes ahead of schedule and spent some time walking to the transfer area (the length of the concourse), going back through security, and then walking back along the whole length of the concourse on a different level to nearly the same gate.

Ireland

We would fly into Dublin before driving south to Waterford (to visit the glass factory), then on to Cork (Cork Gaol and Blarney Castle) and then west through Killarney to Limerick. We would visit Ennis, the Cliffs of Mohar on our way to Galway and then into Northern Ireland to Enniskillen, Belleek and Londonderry. We would then travel the Antrim Coast Road down to Belfast and Lisburn, finally driving via the beautiful Mourne Mountains and Newcastle back to Dublin.

Thursday 9 August 2012

The hour and a half wait at the gate at Abu Dhabi, as always happens, provided a great view to a cross section of the world society. When our flight was called I left my almost new North Face jacket behind. Not happy Jan!

The seven and a half hour leg to Dublin aboard an A330 took off on time at 2.40am and took us over Kuwait, then over Bagdad and then across the Black Sea to Odessa before turning more to the West over Poland, Germany and the UK to land in Dublin 20 minutes ahead of schedule around 7.00am. The landing was interesting as we watched through the nose camera on the aircraft as it entered the fog and only a couple of seconds later the runway appeared and the aircraft touched down.

They didn’t have enough landing cards for everyone on board (a basic and careless mistake I would have thought) but said that there would be cards available before immigration. We walked along to the short queue, without finding any cards or Etihad staff, so went to the window where the officer took a look at the passport, stamped it and wished us a pleasant trip. Down at customs we got our bags and walked out into the main airport.

We got the Hertz shuttle bus round to pick up the car and took a drive down to Greystanes (30km to the South) to pass some time as we could not get an early check-in at the hotel. The town has grown a lot since our last visit 27 years ago. A coffee and muffin, followed by a walk along the beach - with the sea fog still there - freshened us up enough to head back into Dublin where we managed to book into the hotel around midday. The GPS seemed to take us in ever decreasing circles into the city!

After a most welcome shower and a short snooze, we walked down O’Connell Street to Trinity College to have a look at the Book of Kells. However, the exhibit had been closed for a few hours for some maintenance work and as the queue was too long, we decided to walk over to the Jeanie Johnstone Famine Museum and take the tour though the replica ship. The guide certainly had the “Gift of the Gab” and was very informative.

Dublin, Ireland - O'Connell Street

Dublin, Ireland - Liffy River

Dublin, Ireland - Immigrant boat

We went to a pub on O'Connell Street for dinner, just as Katie Taylor won a gold medal at the Olympics, in Womens Boxing, for Ireland. There was a great cheer from the Beer Garden and applause in the restaurant when she received her medal. Everyone was very upbeat – I think Ireland’s first (and maybe only) gold medal for the games.

After a walk down O’Connell Street to get a new suitcase for Steve – the handles had snapped on his old one, we lay down on the bed for a short rest – only to wake up 8 hours later. The joys of jetlag!

Friday 10 August 2012

Today we were heading for Waterford, so an early start was planned with an early breakfast at 7.30am. This was a cooked buffet breakfast and we all had lots of everything. Julie needed sunglasses so the three of them took another walk down O’Connell Street, but nothing was opened. We booked out around 10am and walked round to the car park.

As we drove South it was Julie and Steve’s first chance to see the Irish country side. Our first stop was Enniscorthy. We parked at the local shopping centre car park and walked up the hill along the narrow streets. Julie got her sunglasses and we wandered down to the castle and took the tour. Although the castle was very old it had been internally moderised and lived in until the middle of the 20^th century.

Enniscorthy Castle, Ireland

From Enniscorthy we drove down through Wexford, eventually arriving in Waterford at 2pm and booked into the hotel. We took a walk into the main town and arrived at the café connected to the Bishop’s Palace. Only a coffee was planned, but this turned into a semi major meal – included a large slice of apple tart for some! We took the tour of the Bishop’s Palace which was good and we saw all the rooms that were open – great paintings, large silver collections that had been “donated”, original furniture, chandeliers of crystal glass and even a lock of Napoleon’s hair.

The plan for dinner melted away as people went off to sleep.

Waterford, Ireland - back of the Bishop's Palace

Waterford, Ireland - Bishop's Palace silver collection

Waterford, Ireland - Waterford Glass at Bishop's Palace

Saturday 11 August 2012

We checked out of the Marina Hotel after breakfast and walked up to the Waterford Crystal factory to join a tour through the factory. It was a very interesting tour showing the complete process from blowing the basic shape, to grinding in the design, to producing the final product. You start to understand the cost associated with producing such quality!

Waterford, Ireland - collection of trophies at the glass factory

Waterford, Ireland - glass blowing

Waterford, Ireland - concentration while cutting glass

Waterford, Ireland - Irish Open Golf Trophy's wooden moulds

Waterford, Ireland - I would have loved to buy this globe

From here we drove directly down to Cork finding heavy traffic around the city centre at lunchtime on a Saturday. We had some lunch in the shopping centre and the girls went off to buy some clothes.

After booking into the guest house we headed up the hill to the old gaol and joined a tour, after having some difficulty finding a car park. The gaol reminded us somewhat the old Maitland Gaol.

The guest house was a large terrace house (where I think I stayed while working here in 1969), but the rooms were very small after the en-suite had been put in. Suitcases could only be opened on the bed as there was no space anywhere else!

Cork, Ireland - Entrance to the old gaol

Cork, Ireland - inside the old gaol

Cork, Ireland - whipping post at the old gaol

Sunday 12 August 2012

We left the guest house and drove across to Blarney Castle. Thankfully the rain stopped - just as we arrived.

The grounds are very nice and surprisingly the whole thing wasn't too commerical.

After the long climb up the spiral staircase to the ramparts, the others had to kiss the Blarney Stone.

Cork, Ireland - Blarney Castle

Cork, Ireland - walking around to Blarney Castle

Cork, Ireland - ancient plaster work at Blarney Castle

On the way to Limerick we decided to call in at Loch Gur Cultural Centre and set the GPS to take us there. The route was via many narrow local roads and it dropped us off on the other side of the loch. We eventually found a sign post that took us to the heritage centre and from there we drove into Limerick to the hotel.

The GPS had an Irish accent and insisted throughout our trip in taking us via the windiest, narrowest roads it could find. Loved it.

Lough Gur, Ireland - museum built in traditional houses

Lough Gur, Ireland - finds from the local area at the museum

Lough Gur, Ireland - bronze shield at the museum

Monday 13 August 2012

We left Limerick early in the morning (after we had a search for Di's handbag. It was eventually found under some sheets in a drawer).

We decided to join in the street tour of Ennis at 11.00am and arrived in time to have a coffee before it started. The guide was great and explained a lot of the history about the town before, at the last stop, the rain hammered down and we called it quits.

Limerick, Ireland - Shannon River and St. Johns Castle

Ennis, Ireland - start of the guided walk

Ennis, Ireland - narrow streets

Ennis, Ireland - old Gentleman's Club with many stories to tell

Ennis, Ireland - this street is supposed to be the oldest in Ireland

In order to get away from the rain, we decided to drive across to the Cliffs of Moher, one of the world-famous scenic spots.

We arrived to find a massive car park filled with cars and then we walked over towards the cliffs there were many tourist trap shops.

The cliffs were beautiful and spectacular and we enjoyed our walk, despite the cool temperature and wind.

We then had some lunch at the cafe there.

Cliffs of Mohar, Ireland - plenty of places to spend money

Cliffs of Mohar, Ireland - superb

Cliffs of Mohar, Ireland - looking to the Aran Islands

The drive North to Galway was very interesting with very narrow roads, tourist buses and tight bends. (Again - that could be just the GPS showing us around.) We went out to a nice restaurant (the Galleon) for dinner – good food and good service.

Tuesday 14 August 2012

Today was a long drive from Galway to Londonderry. We arrived at Belleek (just inside Northern Ireland and famous for its pottery) around lunchtime and had lunch at the pottery café (average). Back on the road we arrived in Derry in the middle of a thunderstorm and spent some time in the shopping centre before walking the walls of the city.

The guest house had a late check-in time (5pm - probably so they could get the milking done on the farm), so after another coffee, we drove out to the guest house. It was great, with large rooms.

Londonderry, Northern Ireland - starting our walk of the walls

Londonderry, Northern Ireland - the Bogside from the walls

Londonderry, Northern Ireland - gable-end murals

Londonderry, Northern Ireland - walking along the walls

Londondery, Northern Ireland - Guildhall Square video making

Wednesday 15 August 2012

We drove to the Workhouse Museum to find that it was closed for renovation and Steve realised he hadn’t handed in the key to their room, so he drove back to the guest house while we walked around the Spitfire display at the museum. We headed up to Limavady and then to Bellarena( the gliding club) where I dropped off a copy of my newly finished Ulster condor scenery CDs.

We arrived at the Giants Causeway and walked down and back up (instead of getting the bus).

Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland - north coast cliffs

Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland - Dunluce Castle

Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland - Gaints Causeway

Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland - Gaints Causeway basalt rocks

We wanted to walk the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge across to the island, but it was closed because of the strong winds. Soon the rain started and unfortunately most of the beautiful scenery could not be seen. From Larne we shot up to Kilwaughter to look at the house my parents had built there in the 1960's and then drove to the Dunhill Guest House, outside Lisburn, via a couple of laps of Belfast. We went out to dinner at The Ploughman Inn in Hillsborough and also called in at my cousins to organise dinner for the next evening.

Thursday 16 August 2012

Drove out to Ballymullan, where my grandparents has a farm, to look at the area and then up the Belsize Road where we lived when I was a kid. Back in those days the whole area was fields, but today its all built up. We walked into the Belsize House, where my other grandparents had a farm and asked the owner if we could take some photos. The owners were great and invited us to look around the inside. This was something I had never done, and kinda on my bucket list.

From there it was up to Carrickfergus Castle and then to the newly opened Titanic display, where we booked our tickets for 4pm and then visited Cultra Folk Museum before returning to The Titanic Quarter. The exhibition was good with an interesting ride in three dimensions taking you through the ship building process. Sadly no photography was allowed.

We went to dinner at the Hillside in Hillsborough with my cousins and then back for drinks at their place. From memory it ended up being a late night!

Belfast, Northern Ireland - Carrickfergus Castle

Belfast, Northern Ireland - Carrickfergus Castle gate and portcullis

Belfast, Northern Ireland - Carrickfergus Castle (inside the walls)

Belfast, Northern Ireland - Cultra Folk Museum (old houses)

Belfast, Northern Ireland - Cultra Folk Museum (old Irish cottages)

Belfast, Northern Ireland - Cultra Folk Museum (Courthouse)

Belfast, Northern Ireland - Cultra Folk Museum (old beams)

Belfast, Northern Ireland - Titanic Museum

Belfast, Northern Ireland - Titanic was built right here!

Belfast, Northern Ireland - Titanic Museum (in the lobby)

Belfast, Northern Ireland - Titanic Museum (looking down on her)

Friday 17 August 2012

Went to visit both my Dad & Mum’s grave and then across to visit my stepfather's grave.

From there we drove down to Newcastle but there as usual there was some cloud over Slieve Donard and the Mourne Mountains.

Newcastle, Northern Ireland - Slieve Donald and the Mournes

We then followed the coast round to Newry and down the M1 towards Dublin. We called in to visit Newgrange (Stone Age monument in the Boyne Valley) , but there was a 2 hour wait, so we continued on.

On arrival in Dublin we booked into the Cassidy’s Hotel again and as everyone was tired (maybe something to do with the previous evening!), we had a free afternoon.

Saturday 18 August 2012

Up early to get the car returned and to fly to Glasgow. I left my passport in my suitcase so we had some problems getting on aircraft. Good flight to Glasgow, but my backpack zip broke.

Scotland

Our route around Scotland took us to Edinburgh to see the Tattoo, then north to St. Andrews to play golf before travelling to Aberdeen. Then we drove through the Cairngorms to Inverness and on to visit the Munro castle. We then took the road across the country to the west, following the Caledonian Canal to Fort William and Oban. Then back down to Glasgow and a trip down to Peebles in the southern highlands.

We picked up another car at the airport and drove to my brother's place in Lenzie, but it took a while to find it (not good enough maps). We had a great few hours catching up with family and having our niece and nephew meet up with Julie and Steve.

We had all booked into the Edinburgh Tattoo, so mid afternoon we got the train to Edinburgh and walked through Princess Gardens before having a good meal at an Italian restaurant. The Tattoo was great, but it ran overtime and we missed the last train. We ended up having to wait for taxis and got home around 3.30am.

Edinburgh, Scotland - the Castle from Princess Gardens

Edinburgh, Scotland - the Tattoo commences

Edinburgh, Scotland - Swiss "Secret" at the Tattoo

Sunday 19 August 2012

It was a very lazy morning with everyone getting over the night before. In the afternoon we went for a drive to Aberfoyle and the Trossachs and then started to take a walk at Loch Katrine just as it started to rain. We decided that afternoon tea and scones at the local cafe was a much better idea.

Monday 20 August 2012

Early morning start to get to St Andrews for a round of golf. The staff were friendly and the course in great order. We had really good rounds! From there we drove north to Aberdeen for a quiet evening with dinner in the hotel. Julie and Steve had the excitement of opening their hotel room door to find a couple having a few pleasant, almost private moments. I'm sure they had something to say to reception.

Tuesday 21 August 2012

We took a walk around Aberdeen in the morning, looking at the beautiful granite buildings, with very typical Scottish architecture.

Aberdeen, Scotalnd - Art Galley

Aberdeen, Scotland - the granite city

After that it was a transport section around to Inverness, via the Cairngorms. Looking for somewhere to have lunch we called into the Glenfiddich Distillery. This place had a great presentation and the food was good. We bought some bottles to give as presents. A little way down the road we stopped to look at the Glenlivet Bridge.

Glenfiddich, Scotland

Glenfiddich, Scotland - entrance to the distillery

Glenlivet, Scotland - the old bridge

Glenlivet, Scotland

In the evening we walked along the Canal before the rain started, while Steve had a quick 9 holes at the adjoining golf course.

Inverness, Scotland - Caledonian Canal

Inverness, Scotland - main road crossing the Caledonian Canal

Inverness, Scotland - Caledonian Canal tow path

Wednesday 22 August 2012

Our first stop this morning was the Culloden battlefield. The area is classed as a war cemetery and there is a real "feel" about the place. The museum was very interesting and I learned a lot more than I ever did at school.

Judging by the flowers at the Prince Charlie supporting clan stones, there are still feelings about it. There were a few showers around, but we managed to walk around the site in between them.

Culloden Battlefield, Scotland - bleak

Culloden Battlefield, Scotland - clan stone with flower laid

Culloden Battlefield, Scotland - 426 of the Munro clan stood here

On the way to Foulis Castle we stopped at the Munro Storehouse café for lunch.

Dingwall, Scotland - the Munro Storehouse

Munro Crest

Foulis Castle is the home of the Munro clan and it is a private residence. We had been invited to take a tour around it by Mrs. Munro. The family had been doing a lot of work over the years to make it habitable again. Long may they keep doing it.

We were made most welcome and after the tour we were invited to sit down and talk with Mrs. Munro. Julie and she had a great chat about farming, and we ended up leaving a wee bit later than planned, but it was a great visit. Thank you Mrs Munro.

Foulis Castle, Scotland - the Georgian front

Foulis Castle, Scotland - the still working clock from the 1650's

Foulis Castle, Scotland - Mrs. Munro discusses clan tartans

Foulis Castle, Scotland - the old kitchen

Foulis Castle, Scotland - the courtyard

Eventually we left around 5.30pm and drove to Oban via Loch Ness, through rain and storms, arriving there around 9pm.

Loch Ness, Scotland - looking across the loch

Loch Ness, Scotland - rain to the west, where we were going

Fort William, Scotland - the rain cleared for a few minutes

Thursday 23 August 2012

Julie and Steve went for a ride in the morning while Di & I walked around Oban (we found an hiking shop that had a sale on, so I managed to get another jacket to make up for the one I left at Abu Dhabi) and then sat and watched the world go by at a cafe. Once we all had lunch we drove down Loch Lomond stopping at Luss and then arrived at Lenzie during the afternoon.

Oban, Scotland - windy, showery morning

Oban, Scotland - harbour

Oban, Scotland - Mull ferry arriving

Oban, Scotland - this sea gull wanted some of our morning tea

Falloch Falls, Scotland - lots of water

Luss, Scotland - a beautiful village on Loch Lomond

Luss, Scotland - Loch Lomond

Friday 24 August 2012

In the morning we drove into Glasgow to visit the Transport Museum and then we visited the Kelvin Grove Museum and Galley. These brought back many memories from my days living there.

Glasgow, Scotland - Transport Museum

Glasgow, Scotland - Transport Museum street scene

Glasgow, Scotland - Transport Museum

Glasgow, Scotland - Kelvin Grove Art Gallery and Museum

Glasgow, Scotland - Museum had a wide variety of items

Saturday 25 August 2012

Julie and Steve left for England early in the morning, after which the rest of us drove to Peebles in the Southern Highlands, for lunch and a walk around town.

Peebles, Scotland - main street

Peebles, Scotland - Tweed River

Peebles, Scotland - old town, old street names

Sunday 26 August 2012

We walked up to Kirkintilloch to visit the fair at the Marina. The marina is new and shows how the canals (in this case the Forth & Clyde Canal) are coming back into favour with boaties and good to see people being able to take trips. Visited the church museum and had tea and scones on the pavement (before it started to rain). Family came around and we had Fish Suppers for dinner. Great way to finish our time in Scotland.

Lirkintilloch, Scotland - narrow boat marina on the canal

Kirkintilloch, Scotland - how about a trip on the canal

Kirkintilloch, Scotland - kids still love to have a trip on a boat

Monday 27 August 2012

Early start for us today, with Harry driving us to the airport for our flight to France. The only problem with the CDG Airport is that the walk from our terminal to the railway station is very, very long. Managed to use the Metro OK to get to the hotel (needed two changes on the way).

Paris

When we arrived at the hotel we found the carpet soaking wet from some spill - like a bucket of water. The hotel did not have any free rooms we could move to and the chances of getting another hotel room nearby was remote in August. The room stank for the rest of our time there.

Walked down to the Eiffel Tower and took the lift to the second level. Di wasn't too keen on getting close to the edge.

Paris, France - Eiffel Tower from the Champs de Mars

Tuesday 28 August 2012

Used to the hop-on hop-off bus for a tour around Paris. It's a great way to see the city and decide what you want to look at in detail.

Walked to Notre Dame and then to the Le Louvre (closed on Tuesdays). Bought rolls and coke and set by the Seine to eat – very pleasant.

Got bus back to hotel. Got some pastries from a patisserie for dinner.

Paris, France - hop-on hop-off buses are the way to go

Paris, France - great views from the bus

Paris, France - Place de la Concorde

Paris, France - Champs Elysees

Paris, France - Arc de Triomphe

Paris, France - traditional street stalls and Notre Dame

Paris, France - L'Louvre

Wednesday 29 August 2012

We took the RER (train) to Versailles and spent a few hours walking around the palace and the grounds.

We returned back to Paris to take a cruise on the Seine. Before the cruise we had lunch at the bistro connected to the cruise company. Normally we would not have bothered, but this is Paris and food and service were top shelf.

All in all another nice day.

Paris, France - joining the hords going to Chateau de Versailles

Paris, France - Versailles ceilings

Paris, France - Chateau de Versailles is simply huge. This is only a quarter of the building

Paris, France - Versailles gardens are massive

Paris, France - cruising gives a different view

Paris, France - Paris is a beautiful city, especially from the Seine

Thursday 30 August 2012

After booking out of the hotel we took the Metro to Gare du Nord to take the fast train from Paris to London. The first thing we needed to do was find our way from the Metro to the actual railway station as the Gare du Nord is rather large.

Before boarding the train we had to go through immigration out of France and then go through immigration into the UK. Going from Paris to London this way was great and very enjoyable.

Paris, France - Gare du Nord (North Railway Station)

Paris, France - Gare du Nord, our Eurostar train awaits us

Northern France - country side is productive, and pretty

London

We had lunch at the railway station after we arrived. After that we got taxi to hotel. Julie and Steve had already booked in but had gone out on a tour.

It was a very cold, windy day, but we decided to walk around Kensington Gardens. Did I tell you it was cold and windy?

London, UK - Squirrel in Kensington Gardens

London, UK - Kensington Palace across the lake

London, UK - memorial fountains in Kensington Gardens

Friday 31 August 2012

Julie and Steve took off early on a tour to Windsor Castle, so after a late-ish start we took the tube into Westminster and walked around the Houses of Parliament and then across to the excellent Nightingdale Museum (she was a bit of a weird person mythinks). We had some lunch and then walked to Buckingham Palace.

London, UK - Houses of Parliament

London, UK - House of Parlianment from across the Thames

London, UK - the London Eye

Saturday 1 September 2012

Today we toured the Tower of London. The tour guide was great. The history here is incredible and not all of it good!

In the evening we joined Steve's brother for dinner at a club.

London, UK - heading to the Tower

London, UK - the tour guide was brilliant

London, UK - Tower building

London, UK - the entrance to the "Bloody Tower"

London, UK - Tower Bridge from the Tower

Sunday 2 September 2012

The weather wasn't looking good, but we took the hop-on hop-off bus around London anyhow, stopping at Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard.

Our final trip was a boat cruise from Tower to Westminster.

London, UK - changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace

London, UK - can't get near 10 Downing Street these days

London, UK - horse guards

London, UK - Trafalgar Square closed up because of the Olympics

London, UK - the rebuilt Globe Theatre

We had left our bags at the hotel, so we headed back there and then waited for our taxi to the airport. Soon we were off to Abu Dhabi, the end of a great holiday.

London, UK - waiting for our departure home

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