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August 15, 2015
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August 7, 2015
IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!
Well, here we are in jolly old England! Or, at least we were when I started writing this last week. We arrived on Thursday via train from Paris and were greeted by our driver at the St. Pancras train station in London. He delivered us to our hotel, The Montague on the Gardens which is another nice place located near the British Museum. Later that afternoon, we took a walk to a local pub for some traditional fish and chips with a pint of bitter ale and a lager and lime. After having French Cuisine for a week, the British food wasn't so tasty. I was still getting over a cold so maybe my taste buds just hadn't recovered yet.
The next morning we almost missed our breakfast at the hotel because we slept very late. I think we needed our rest. We decided after breakfast that since we had only one day to visit London that we would go for a Big Bus tour. We had a twenty minute walk to find our place to catch the bus and after boarding the bus we were immediately shuffled right back off again. The bus had broken down and was leaking hydraulic fluid all over the street! But they immediately brought in a replacement and we were off in no time seeing all the sites from atop the double-decker bus. We had seen most of the places on our previous visit but there were some new attractions: The Shard, The London Eye, The Walkie Talkie and the Gherkin were some of the names of the newer buildings which I thought were more of a distraction because they didn't fit in with Big Ben, Westminster Abby, the Tower of London or the Parliament and Buckingham Palace. The bus tour lasted three hours and by the time we got off at our stop, we welcomed the twenty minute walk back to the hotel. We decided to splurge for dinner and eat at the hotel. I had leg of lamb and a side dish called bubbles and squirt (mashed potatoes with finely chopped cabbage and carrots mixed together). It has been adventure trying new foods.
The next morning after checking out of our hotel, we took a taxi to pick up our rental car. Now the real adventure began! Not only were we facing the fact that we had to find our way out of London but we also had to do it while driving on the left-hand side of the road! When we finally got our car (we upgraded to get a built-in GPS) and a much larger car than we had ordered (from a VW Jetta to a Volvo hatchback), the rental agency pointed us in the right direction and we were on our way! Most of the cross country trip west was on the M-4 carriageway. That gave Dave a chance to get used to the changes by hugging the slow lane. It didn't take him long to graduate to the fast lane and before we knew it we were in Bristol (half way to our destination in Wales. Since we were making such good time, we decided to take a detour south to Exeter to see my sister and brother-in-law. We gave them a call and they met us at the service area outside of town a couple of hours later (traffic was stop-and-go as most Britons have started their three-week holidays so it took us a little longer than we had wanted). We weren't planning on spending the night with Bob and Jeanne as they already had guests, but as it turned out, all the hotels were booked! We took them all out to dinner in exchange for a bed (even though their guests had to give up their beds for us). Jeanne let me do a couple loads of laundry on our short stay and since she just had surgery four weeks ago, she is still very sore where her stitches were. I fixed breakfast, "hoovered" her floors and cleaned her bathrooms for her while we were there.
After a late lunch, we headed for Fishguard in Wales where we were to catch the ferry for Ireland on Monday. Speaking of Wales, you can’t begin to pronounce the words which all seem to be at least fifteen letters long, full of misplaced vowels and double letters (lots of dd's and ll's thrown in). The English translation was always right there on the signs, which made it easier. We arrived in Fishguard and spent another half-hour looking for our hotel. Even our fancy GPS couldn't get us there. If you don't have a street number, which nobody seems to use in this part of the world, places are hard to find. We had to stop and ask the locals a couple of times to get directions. I even had to ask one fellow who referred to passing the "chippie" what he was referring to - fish and chips place is what that is! Our hotel wasn't the best and Dave and I had trouble adjusting to the "double" bed after sleeping in "king-sized" beds on our trip. At least the room was clean and breakfast was included. The next morning after leaving the hotel, we decided to drive around to find the local self-laundry. It really isn’t "self-wash", you drop your laundry off and a couple of hours later you pick it up. I didn't mind that as I think a washing machine would be a real challenge. I have been doing laundry by hand and I thought it was time to get them really clean. We stopped at a post office and I bought a couple of Welsh stamps for my collection while we were in the neighborhood.
We got in line early at the ferry terminal for our sail to Ireland. It was a nice ship but the cruise was a little rocky for me and I had trouble finding my sea legs. Luckily my chair was close by for me to land in every time I lost my balance! After a 3-1/2 hour trip across the St.George's Channel, we landed in Rosslare where again it was another adventure to find our hotel. According to the directions, it was near the harbor but after driving around, we finally stopped by one hotel and asked the receptionist for help. She directed us to our stay, which was two villages and then some out of town. That was okay as it is on our way to Cork, which was to be our next destination.
On our way out of town the next morning, we went straight to Waterford to find the crystal factory and of course to do a little shopping. I bought a small crystal seahorse to hang in my window to remind me of this place. Waterford is well known for its crystal and it is quite pricy. After leaving Waterford we headed west to Cork but stopped on our way at Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney stone. Unfortunately, the line was two hours long plus you had to climb 100 stairs to the top and then hang over the edge of a hole to kiss the stone. We decided to blow kisses instead and we just didn't have the strength to climb all those stairs and also because it was getting late and we had to find a B&B for the night.
We found a B&B in Mallow which was located on the Blackwater River. A nice Irish couple ran it and we had a good night's sleep. We found that finding a B&B has been difficult, as all of Europe is on holiday and every place is full.
The next morning, after a full Irish breakfast (egg, hash browns, ham, sausages and tomatoes), we headed for Dublin. But instead of the fast way on the expressway, we mapped a more scenic route and meandered along narrow country roads and small villages to make our way to Dublin. We found our hotel this time with no problems and got checked in. The Gibson Hotel is very nice and is located close to the ferry terminal where we will sail for Holyhead, Wales early Saturday morning. Our hotel is away from the center of things but there is a tram that starts in front of our hotel. We plan on jumping on that today to see the sights of Dublin before we leave the Emerald Isle.
The car is working out pretty well, not only is it comfortable but it is easy to drive. We are glad we paid extra for the GPS, it has saved us a number of times. Early on, getting adjusted to driving on the left side was awkward - Dave was still trying to put the car in the ditch and the tires on the left side of the car are all dirty. But he is doing better than I could and he improved as the week went along. The first day out, we stopped at a service area (rest stop) for a quick bite to eat and it was funny because when we were done, we both climbed in the car on the wrong side! Old habits are hard to break!
I have decided that so far on this trip, I love Ireland the best! It reminds me of Oregon with the green and rain. Yes, while you are suffering in the heat of summer, I have had to wear a light coat and use my umbrella! I love the language as it is music to my ears and there is always a twinkle in their eyes when you mention Leprechauns and fairies.
I know this is an extra long post but next week we will be in Wales on a narrowboat canal for a week beginning Saturday and I don't know if there will be any internet available at any time along the way. So the next installment of the journal may have to wait. If that's the case, don't give up on me. I'll catch up on everything, I promise!. We miss home but we are having a wonderful time.
