Dublin to Home 24 April 2024

 We wake up early and have quick coffees in the room and leftover scones from the sumptuous feast at Powerscourt. We are out early for the bus, and as we are the only ones waiting, the shuttle drivers takes us right over to the airport, exactly as we had hoped. Larry and am checked in on Aer Lingus with no problem, but Claudia had to wait a half an hour to check in on American, as they had limited luggage storage and her flight was not for three hours. We did finally connect for about 30 minutes in the business class lounge, where there was another full Irish breakfast plus fruit and yogurt and cereals and pastries etc.

We agreed that this had been a wonderful trip, with so many wonderful moments, time to talk, interesting mishaps to overcome, and lots of great memories. Larry and I headed onto the Aer Lingus flight, which was again very nice in business class, good food, super comfortable, and I even slept for about three hours (as I will arrive in SFO at about 7am Dublin time).  Claudia again had a direct flight on American to Dallas, and she landed early and was able to connect with JJ. 

 Arriving at Chicago, we took the airport train back over to terminal 1 for United. Larry checked in fine but I had problems. It turned out that the very delayed flight on the first day did finally get off the ground and flew to Chicago, so I was listed as a no-show thus they could not check me in.30 minutes and three supervisors later, they figured out how to rebook me and Larry and I headed to the United lounge to use my almost expired day passes. Finally arrived, we got some water and snacks and settled in for our five-hour layover for our flights home. I am looking forward to seeing Barney and Madeleine and Marley, I is them so much!

Enniskerry to Dublin 23 April 2024

 We enjoyed a good night’s sleep after a busy day, as today we have nothing scheduled until high tea (lunch for us) at 1:30. The Powerscourt Hotel was truly magnificent, huge, luxurious, and with beautiful extensive gardens.

The breakfast buffet was similarly luxurious. In addition to the full Irish, there were about eight kinds of fruit with yogurt and granola parfaits, many types of hot and cold cereal, scones and brown bread and pastries galore, waffles, bagels, smoked salmon and meats and cheeses, plus you could also order special things from the menu. We took our time and did a little people-watching too. There were quite a few families with very young children, so it was lively … I imagined they might go outside to the play structures or to the lovely indoor pool. We were headed to the Powerscourt Gardens, voted the third most beautiful gardens in the world in a National Geographic survey. Indeed they were wonderful, with thousands of tulips of every color and style in full bloom in one garden, a lake and a separate pool both with sculptures, a gorgeous multi-level Japanese garden, a small round tower, a collection of trees from all over the world, a rose garden pruned and ready to grow in spring, and more. We had a lovely two-hour walk around the gardens, and Claudia wanted to visit the Avoca store afterwards, which we did. I found a cute little book of common Irish says and what they mean in American English which I got for Larry. I thought he would enjoy it.

Back to the hotel, we did a final pack up and stashed our bags, and went back for our high tea, it was luxurious as well, and we had a prime table overlooking the gardens. Four types of tea sandwiches, scones with butter, jam, clotted cream, and lemon curd, and four pastries, a chocolate mousse ball, a lemon financier, a strawberry rhubarb tart, a yuzu macaron, plus the choice of about 20 teas. We took our time and enjoyed every bite, knowing that our trip was coming to an end.

Finally we headed back to Dublin, and I drove again, navigating carefully to the hotel. We dropped our bags and checked in, leaving Claudia there. Larry and I went to return the car, holding our breath as the staffer checked the car … “no damage” he said, a huge relief that the scratches on the left side were in fact there before. Whew! Over to the shuttle to get back to the hotel. Accenture was having some sort of big meeting and the hotel was packed with bright twenty and thirty-somethings talking about their clients and travel. We sat in the large lobby, I called Barney and we all had a drink and a snack, as the high tea was in fact a large lunch for us in place of dinner. Upstairs we chatted a bit, did some repacking again, and figured out our timing for the morning. Our last night in Ireland was low-key, and it was a bit nice not to be looking to pack up and drive somewhere new the next day.

Thurles to Enniskerry

 After a long day, we had a nice dinner at the hotel … at last, fish and chips that Larry liked … and relaxed and chatted. The next morning was our big genealogy day, to visit our great-great-grandparents’ home.

First we headed to Emly, the largest church near Ballyvistea where me might see Maher or Murphy gravestones … might because they were probably too poor to afford them. En route, we saw a Catholic church by the road in the village of Lattin with an open door, so we quickly pulled over. Out front was the pastor and he welcomed us warmly. We went inside the empty church and at last had a chance to light some candles … for Cathy, for Jim, for Mom and Dad, and for all our ancestors but for whom we would not be here at all. The priest was very friendly and we chatted a while, he was there on a Monday to prepare for a funeral. He left to go outside for a few moments and I took the opportunity to sing Ave Generosa (Hildegard von Bingen) as I had at Timoleague … the church had very nice acoustics.

We continued on our drive to Emly, and explored a graveyard a bit, and spent some time in a lovely 2000 millennial garden filled with arches of ivy, special trees, and sculptures.

On to Ballyvistea! As expected this took us to the tiniest of roads, gravel with some vegetation in the middle. We stopped to get some grass from the “old sod” and continued on until I saw the houses I recognized from GoogleMaps. The one I had written to seemed uninhabited, with a chain around the entrance gate and broken windows in the barns near the road. One house nearby had a car out front but that was it as far as sounds of habitation … nothing else, it was extremely quiet except for the birds. To think that in the 1830s and 1840s our ancestors were tenant farmers in tiny crowded houses on some small part of this beautiful green area was humbling. They must have lived as best they could, probably in a sod or stone house, until they had to leave, the house now returned to nature.

y try

We returned to the car and drove to Enniskerry, our next to last stop. I drove, mostly on the M roads which got busier as we approached Dublin. As we turned south things immediately became more rural, and we finally reached the huge and imposing Powerscourt Hotel. Truly 5 star and luxurious we could hardly believe it … so many staff to help and gorgeously appointed. We found our room which was indeed about twice the size of my little apartment long ago in Chicago, with an enormous bathroom and view onto the gardens. We unpacked a bit -  three huge beds! - and headed out for a walk, ending up at the distillery near the historic gardens we would see the next day. After our walk we explored the enormous grounds further - there were climbing structures for kids and picnic tables and a huge outdoor chess set - and then enjoyed a lovely dinner downstairs. Very relaxed, Larry and Claudia swanned around in the plush hotel robes while I had a GoogleMeet Executive Committee for Fairyland for a couple hours upstairs. Done at last, we all fell into the luxurious beds for a good night’s sleep.

Bantry to Thurles 21 April 2024

 

After a very hearty breakfast, we headed out for the first stop on this busy day, Timoleague. Some years ago, Larry placed a small amount of Cathy’s ashes there on a trip with Jim, after Cathy passed away. We hug the coast for a while with beautiful views of the bay. Finally we see the signs for Timoleague and quickly the abbey ruins emerge. After we park, we spend a bit of time in the ruins, walking through the cathedral, the dining room and kitchen the chapter room, and dormitory, almost all of which have now become graveyards. Larry places the lovely yellow silk rose he brought at the special spot, and it is a moving moment.

Our next stop is a bit of fun, the Blarney Mills store near the Blarney Castle (which we are not going to). Larry said we should wait until this place to buy any sweaters etc., and he was right. The store is a former knitting mill, which was closed in the 1970s  and a few years later was opened as a store, restaurant, and hotel, by a man who first started working there when he was 14 years old. Claudia and I got matching green zipped cardigans, and items for our families. Larry bought each of us a scarf as well, a lovely memento of our trip together. Luckily they shipped it all home for us.

We then have a log drive north, as we need to make our 4:00pm tickets for the Rock of Cashel, the last trip of the day. Given our timing, we decide to skip the tour of Cahir Castle, which had an open timing, as we have gotten to see other castles en route. The Rock of Cashel is truly imposing, and in several locations the light refracts through the openings that used to be stained glass windows, and the rooks and other birds were flitting in and out of holes in the enormous walls. We walked through the graveyard, appreciating the ancient tombs, and at one point three black rooks were perched on three Celtic crosses next to each other, a cool and spooky view. At the end of the tour, we headed up to Thurles, where we stayed the night at the Anner Hotel, a lovely place where we got an upgrade to have separate rooms. After a nice dinner ( Larry was happy with the fish and chips at last) we all had some journaling to do and off to a good night’s sleep after a busy day.

Tralee to Bantry 20 April 2024

 We had a lovely breakfast and somehow managed to all get ready despite the nonfunctional toilet. Since I also discovered that the shower was not working, it was a quick wash, breakfast, and then off we went.

First we drove about half the Dingle Peninsula, and stopped at the tiny town of Anascaul, where Tom Crean was from, the famous Antarctica explorer. We got some beautiful Antarctica stamps for our postcards, and saw his statue there. We saw lots of sheep and baby lambs which were adorable, along with some lovely beaches on the water.

Then on to Kilkenny and the entrance to the national park, which was quite crowded initially. Then we stopped at a small parking area and took about a 10-minute walk to the beautiful ruins of Mucross Abbey. Surrounded by gravestones, I could almost feel the presence of the hundreds of monks who lived there, especially when we walked through the small, nearly complete cloister. We continued on to drive the far eastern part of the Ring of Kerry, and had a nice stop at the Ladies View, a beautiful overlook sighting down the valley to the lakes below. We had a light lunch of a goat cheese tomato tart that we shared, and took lots of photos. We brought a few half-liters of Bulmers, a hard cider, and before I knew it the woman at the counter had opened them while we meant to bring them with us. She quickly resealed them and we had them that evening. 

En route to Bantry, we stop at the Maggie Gallivan store Andrea room, which was the home of a widow with 7 children, who of necessity made moonshine to supplement her tiny farm, and eventually opened a nice rest stop. The remains of her farm still exist, and a cow,donkey, pig, chickens, and ducks were still on the farm. I found a lovely brown sheepskin for a Marley, which I hope he will like to sleep on … we’ll see.

The rest of the afternoon was a fairly leisurely drive to Bantry, a small town which had many colorfully-painted houses. The place we stayed at had various sports facilities and was quite modern, and most importantly, had a working toilet and a very nice shower. We had a decent dinner, though they seemed to fry almost everything, and chips do seem to come with virtually every main dish even if it also has pasta or potatoes. Claudia and I stayed up late talking about so many things, which was really wonderful, so much nicer to talk in person than just on the phone or on zoom.

Up early tomorrow for a very busy day we have planned.

Cliffs of Moher to Tralee 19 April 2024

 We woke early for our 7:30am breakfast, and Orla made a gorgeous spread with yogurt and fruit in a  coupe, strawberry smoothie shooters, brown oat bread, fresh fruit, crepes with fruit, orange juice, tea and coffee, truly a feast. Then we packed up, said farewell, and headed out to the Cliff of Moher, about a 90-minute drive. We arrived 15 minutes early, as we paid for tickets for the off-peak period and had to arrive by 11:00am. We parked easily, and when we left we could see how crowded it had gotten with cars, plus many busses. 

The cliffs were heavily fogged in, and Larry was feeling disappointed. We went into the visitor center and watched the welcome video (complete with water spray when the video dived with a cormorant-type bird into the water), and saw the educational visits. By the time we came out it had warmed up and the fog had started to lift a bit, and we headed up to the tower area for our photo re-enactment. Luckily it was a long ramp up alongside the steps, with many beautiful vista point as the cliffs emerged from the fog. We took lots of photos of course, and then finally got to the top where the ancient tower was. First we did the re-enactment photo, with Larry positioned exactly as Jim was in a phot form their previous trip about 15 years ago, and success! This meant a lot to Larry, so I was very glad that the fog had lifted enough to really show the tower and the cliffs. There was a golf-cart-type vehicle to bring folks up and down the hill, so I decided to take that down (as up is still easier than down) and Larry and Claudia waked. We visited the lovely gift shop and got some postcards to go with the stamps I had gotten a few days before. An important mission accomplished!

We headed for Lahinch, but managed to follow the Garmin onto a tiny one-lane road that ended up scraping the side of the car, so we had to divert to get back to a larger road. Driving on the narrow roads is indeed taxing. We stopped in Lahinch for lunch (mussels for me, soup for Larry and Claudia and always great brown bread) and on to the famous Lahinch golf club, which Larry had visited before. He wanted to get a new logo hat, and Claudia got one for JJ also … another mission accomplished!

We then drive to Killimer for the ferry to Tarbert. We missed the hourly ferry by about 2 minutes, so ended up second in line and had some time to walk around and see the water, which was nice. The ferry went quickly, about 25 minutes, and then we were off to Tralee where we were staying for the evening. We found the Castlemorriss B&B, which was a minor noble’s home built in 1790. It was a very gracious old house, and had a large room on the top floor (two flights up, no elevator) with a kind bed and a twin bed. It also had a barely working toilet requiring hand manipulation of the flapper after each flush to refill, no small thing with three of us use the same bathroom. We went to dinner at Cassidy’s, recommended by our host, which was of course busy and loud on a Friday night. The fish I had and Claudia’s chicken and Larry’s scallops were all tasty, but it was hard to even find someone to take our payment. The bed was comfortable and we slept well. 

We adapted our plan for the next day, instead of doing the Ring of Kerry which takes many hours and can be exhausting to drive, we decided to drive the Dingle Peninsula for a bit, then to Kilkenny for the eastern part of the Ring, and then down to Bantry.

Dublin to Athenry 18 April 2024

 Even more folks out late last night, and the street sweeping machines start at 6:30am … I was amazed to see not one but several street sweepers going yesterday during the pouring rain. The gutters are certainly clean, and as Claudia said, probably they do this a lot because there is no smoking indoors most places so everyone smokes outside, and the cigarette butts go in the gutter … yuck.

Up early and repacked our taxi driver arrives early, and off we headed to the airport. We got our rental car from Sixt … Claudia decided she does not want to drive so it will be mostly Larry and sometimes me. I hope I can do this OK … it has been 7 years since I’ve driven on the other side of the road. We headed out from the airport - always a fraught moment as there are many ramps and merges to navigate, once we were out on the main freeway (motorway here) it is much smoother, and one is not constantly confronted by the odd feeling of going the wrong way on a one-way street. Larry drove and I navigated, which worked well.

We arrived in Athenry about an hour early, and luckily our hosts Chris and Orlando were fine with that. The former church looked really lovely and historic, and Orla (our female host) was incredibly friendly. We unpacked and went to our rooms on the second floor, a room with a queen bed for Larry and another room with a twin for me and a queen for Claudia, and a shared bath. There was also a bell tower which I did not climb but Claudia and Larry both went up the narrow winding staircase. The lower floor was the living room and dining area, plus their kitchen and office space - they run a company that produces marathons and half-marathons and other races in Ireland, and the hosts are both runners. We got to meet their dogs, and older female Lurcher named Bird who was very sweet, and a new male rescue greyhound mix named Petey who was very energetic, and about whom Bird did not seem very excited to see hanging around. It was nice to have a dog lean on me again, I miss Marley.

We decided to go to Athenry Castle, which we had read about on the way. First we had a nice late lunch at The Old Barracks, sandwiches and soup and very hot fries. A few blocks away was the castle, a 13th Anglo-Norman square Irish tower was standing strong, surround by the former wall inside which was a getting hall and with several guardhouses. The castle was four floors, and had been properly excavated by archaeologists after being abandoned for decades and overgrown. The four floors had new local wood floors put in, but the stonework remained same, and we could look out the slit windows where archers would defend the castle. The castle was the center of a 70-acre walled town that was very prosperous at the confluence of two rivers. We were almost the only ones there and the woman running the site gave us a very informative private tour, and answered our many questions. She like others we’ve met seemed so pleased that we had come a long way to visit the land of our ancestors.

Back to the church/airbnb and we had a nice time relaxing, and met Chris, the male host. He told us some of the history of the, buying this place 20 years ago and doing three years of renovations.Larry took a nap, Claudia and I chatted, then I had a long call with Barney while she called JJ, and we all chatted together and ate some dessert. We had a last visit downstairs, enjoyed the peat fire and petted Peter and Bird again and chatted with Zoila and got into the lovely comfy warm beds. What a lovely place. It would be nice to come back someday.

A Musem Record in Dublin - 17 April 2024

 Today I think I broke a record … four museums: in one day! I managed to sleep through until 6:30 (waking up a few times of course), and we all got breakfast and react to go by 9:00am, instant coffee, yogurt and granola and all.

First was the National Galley of Art of z Ireland, where we had reserved tickets for the exhibit “Turning Heads” of “tronies” by Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer, and more. It was a wonderful opportunity to see these artists’ work when it was done mostly for preparation, not as a finished product, all of heads that were interesting, odd, mysterious, even ugly. We shared a small piece of quiche in the cafe to fortify ourselves for the next stop.

Next we went to Trinity College for the Book of Kells. I had seen it before, as had Larry, but it was new for Claudia. The enlarged reality in the exhibit of the phenomenal detail is almost overwhelming, and we saw two pages from the book in a very dark room. We also went up the Long Room, where all but four sets of shelves have been emptied so they can do some massive conservation work (removing dust with specialtiny vacuums) and other needed renovation of the building itself, one of the oldest libraries in the world. There was also the “Books of Kells Experience,” rather like the Van Gogh show we saw, where digitized elements were projects and moved around in two large rooms, quite effectively.

Hungry, we found a place called KC Peaches, which we learned is a chain offering nice sandwiches and a salad bar. It was good to get out of the rain and have a light lunch. We walked a few blocks farther to the Museum of Natural History, especially to see the skeletons of the extinct Giant Irish Deer, which Larry had painted at one time. It turns out the museum is rather small, was built in Victorian times and kept as exactly as it was then, filled with beautiful wood and glass cases filled with expertly taxidermied animals, birds, fish and sea creatures, bugs and butterflies. The skeletons of the a giant Irish Deer were truly enormous, probably 9-10’ tall with antlers that were 10’ wide. I thought about how Madeleine would have loved the taxidermied creatures.

Back out in the rain, we decided to stop by the Irish National Museum of Archaeology, to see the Celtic gold and the Viking silver. We had less than an hour, and spent our time seeing the breathtaking Irish gold from 600-1200 AD/CE, when Celtic gold work was at its height. The bracelets with French-horn-shaped ends, the enormous collars, the twisted necklaces were works of art. And after Christianity, the metal smiths turned their hand to making stunning crosses and chalices of gold and silver, which we saw in the Treasury. Soon it was 5:00 and time for them to close, so out in the rain we went again, back to the Airbnb.

On the way we stopped at the Stag’s Head bar, a beautiful bar of mahogany walls and stuffed deer heads, extremely crowded with lots of locals. Miraculously we scored a table and enjoyed our Guinness (Bulmer  cider for Claudia) and reviewing our busy day. 

After drying out, Claudia and I did some research to find a nice place for dinner, something with slightly authentic Irish food but but not too heavy as we were all tired and still a bit jet-lagged. We settled on a place nearby called the Quay Restaurant, and once we climbed the flight of stairs into the packed restaurant, I realized I had been there 7 years ago with Barney! We waited about 15 minutes for a table, and I had smoked salmon with salad, while Larry and Claudia had various soups and chowders and salad. The downstairs bar was very loud and busy and filled with live music, as were most of the bars in this busy and touristy area that also seems well-attended by locals. People were packed into the bars as we walked back, really busy for a Wednesday evening. I can only imagine how crowded this area would be on the weekend, perhaps rather like the noisy street we stayed on in Montreal where, like here, our windows faced a busy area.

Time to pack up, as tomorrow we head to the airport to pick up the car and drive (slightly nervous about this) to Athenry in the middle of Ireland. Today I had 20,490 steps, the most ever. Not bar for still using a cane.

In Dublin - 16 April 2024

 Amazingly, all went well on the flight … I was in Business class so they give you rather nice food and the lay flat seat helped me to sleep about 5 hours on this overnight flight. I met Larry and Claudia after baggage, what a reunion! It was such a relief to see them after all the drama of my cancelled flight. We got a taxi to the Airbnb, and housekeeper was still there so he let us in, gave us keys etc. Turns out the locks are really funky and require a lot of jiggling, so the nice man who runs the tiny store on the first floor (www.crestandarms.com, which offers all sort of magnets with names on them) helped us and even lent us his keys so Larry could make a copy of the outer door key that worked.

Once we got in (thank good news for the elevator to the fourth floor) we unloaded a bit, and then went out to SPAR to get some breakfast items, and walked on Dame Street a bit. Getting hungry by mid-afternoon, we stopped for a nice bowl of soups and soda bread at a place called Porterhouse. We then walked over to the old Post Office, where the bullet holes are still visible in the columns where the Irish nationalists were executed by police during the Easter Rising. We got some postcard stamps in the actual huge old-fashioned post office and the clerk gave me loads of change for the bus. We took the #140 to St. Patrick’s Catherdral, intending to get there for Evensong, but we were Tom late and they has closed the doors. We walked around the lovely gardens outside. Three times this afternoon it started to pour rain for a few minutes and then stopped. Good thing we all brought our small umbrellas. So far my knee is holding up well.

Back to the Airbnb to relax a bit and chat, unpack, and further familiarize ourselves with the plan for tomorrow. We the. Went to the small Italian restaurant downstairs, called Toscana, and split a pizza and nice salad, had our first Guinness of the trip. Back upstairs, we had made it awake to 8:00pm, the big objectives, and got ready for bed and a hoped-for good night’s sleep. 13,000 steps today which is a lot!

Off to Ireland … except for delays … 15 April 2024

 Today is the start of the big Nelson (Maher) genealogy trip, with Larry and Claudia, to the land of our great-great-grandparents.

It started out Ok, up at 5:30, poor Marley looked half-asleep when Barney walked him at 5:45am and we got off on time. And then things happened. Protesters were blocking both Interstate 880 and the Golden Gate Bridge, so I was half expecting the same on the Bay Bridge, but we got to the airport right on time. I said goodbye to Barney, and got a wheelchair assist to the gate, boarded early (first time ever doing that, but I am a bit slow with the cane post-surgery) on our flight departing at 10:40am.We loaded up the full flight, taxied for a while and then … a weird sound started under the floor, like a loose strap slapping against a metal panel. One woman cried out “does anyone else hear that sound?” and several folks agreed. It happened again, and she called for the flight attendant to alert them. Three flight attendants arrived to calm her down, then it happened again. The lead flight attendant then alerted the co-pilot and the plane stopped. After a while, they announced that we’d be going back to the gate for a mechanical inspection, but would likely be on our way soon. As soon as we arrived at the gate folks started lining up in the aisle to deplane, which they finally allowed people to do. I was debating whether to call to see if I could get another flight but felt maybe they’d get it fixed and we’d be on our way soon. Plus I had been a nice person and gate-checked my bag since the flight was really full … never again! Time passed and the four-hour transfer window I had in Chicago was shrinking. Finally they told us all to deplane, and the gate agent was flooded with people and many of us went to the customer service gate nearby, but no flights were available, everything was booked solid. I had been keeping Larry and Claudia and Barney posted and began to feel I would have to take a red-eye to Chicago and arrive in Ireland a day late. I then I wondered if there might be a flight to Dublin direct from SFO available … dare I hope? After half an hour on hold for Aer Lingus, a nice young woman helped me rebook on a 5:45pm direct flight which gets me to Dublin only an hour later than my original flight … amazing! I let Larry and Claudia know so they will wait at the post-customs area for me, and I alerted the Airbnb host we’d be an hour or so late. I am amazed that this worked out. I was able to retrieve my gate-checked carryon and walked slowly over two terminals … good to stretch my legs a bit. I had planned to surprise Larry in Chicago with seats in Business Class I had arranged, so I had to tell him on the phone. He was very surprised and I am so glad he could make the trip in comfort. Claudia is now on her flight and Larry will board shortly so this is going to work! Glad to say farewell to SFO after being here 9 hours. Hope the flight goes smoothly.