London

 

Photo 1: original 11th century core of Windsor Castle.

Photo 2: Woo hoo! Us at Lord's!

Photo 3: we were part of this 'queue' to see the Crown Jewels.

Photo 4: Tower Bridge. Note the lovely weather :-(

Photo 5: Westminster Abbey.

Photo 6: Our $93 Harrods lunch. We are smiling because we haven't seen the bill yet! Maybe it was the gluten free hamburger bun that cost so much ...

 

On Thursday 20 June we visited Windsor Castle using our London Pass. What a great idea that is – no queuing for tickets for the Underground or the Castle, just go straight through. The earliest part of the Castle has been there since the 11^th century but it has been massively expanded since then and covers a lot of ground. Touring the State Apartments we were confronted once again with rooms filled with beautiful antique furniture, paintings, tapestries and ceilings elaborately decorated with art works and gold leaf. You could get the impression that all the wealth of art and architecture that we have seen throughout Europe is becoming almost tedious, but that is not the case. All this human-created beauty is to us rather like natural beauty in that you never really tire of it. But it can be overwhelming when you find so much of it in one place. (The views expressed by the writer are not necessarily the same as mine!!!! – Sue)

After returning to the apartment we were exhausted and slept for 10 hours that night. We awoke to find that the Globus tour bug had decided to attack on the day of Dessi’s wedding! We took things easy and hoped that we would be well enough to go. However, as Sue’s health deteriorated and coughing and sneezing became the norm we realised that it would be irresponsible to go to the wedding and risk infecting others, especially Dessi. We don’t have words to describe our disappointment at missing this most special event in the lives of our lovely neighbours.

On Saturday morning we listened to the ABC broadcast of the Wallabies v Lions rugby match – a frustrating narrow loss L - then, as we were feeling somewhat better, we took the train to St John’s Wood and visited Lord’s Cricket Ground, the home of cricket. This was a special treat for Sue as she is so involved in cricket at home, and fortunately it was not strenuous – not too many stairs! The tour was run by an elderly cricket enthusiast (such an upper class gentleman and a member at Lords!!) who was also a retired clergyman. He was a charming and very informative guide, as you might have guessed about one who has those particular qualifications. As we can’t be there for the Ashes test later in the summer it was still great to be able to go through the cricket museum and see The Ashes in their little urn. We were surprised to learn that the urn was not originally some special trophy devised by the cricket authorities. In the 1880s when England played its first match against Australia on our soil the Aussie girl who courted and eventually married the England captain presented him with the urn as a gift. It is a perfume bottle containing the ashes of one of the bails used in the match. After he died the urn was presented to the Marylebone Cricket Club (based at Lord’s) and became the symbol it is today.

On Sunday we visited the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. We joined a tour led by a guide who was Welsh and an ex-soldier and who had a very dry sense of humour. He kept emphasising that the Tower of London is a royal palace not a jail. Even so the tour actually followed the path that prisoners took from the Traitors’ Gate (which enters from the Thames) to the Tower Green where executions took place. We visited the beautiful Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula where 33 victims of execution (the only ones out of 1500 who could be identified) were buried. Anne Boleyn is buried under one end of the altar.

Of course the highlight was the Crown Jewels. The jewel encrusted crowns and pure gold orbs and other objects of state have to be seen to be appreciated.  The crowns are adorned with some of the world’s most famous diamonds and sapphires.

We enjoyed a cruise on the Thames and a view of the rebuilt Globe Theatre before touring Tower Bridge. The views from the walkways across the near top of the Bridge are awesome.

Monday we had set aside to visit the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately we couldn’t get into Parliament as it was not sitting and security is so tight these days that there is absolutely no public access outside sitting times. So we crossed the road and did the ‘tourist shuffle’ through the Abbey. No photography is permitted inside the Abbey which is a shame as the interior is so magnificent. That’s the thing about the UK – you think you’ve seen it all, you go to yet another big church, then you find yourself dazzled once again by the dimensions of the place and the magnificent art and sculptures.

That night we saw the West End production of Wicked at the Victoria Apollo Theatre. We had seen it in New York so we had high expectations, and were not disappointed. If anything the London production was a bit more intense and dramatic. What a great night!

Tuesday was devoted to Sue’s favourite activity – shopping. But not just any shopping – at HARRODS!! (And didn’t Phil get paid back for my hours of tramping the historic castles etc!!! What do they say??? Payback’s a bitch!!!) We had lunch in The Diner…56 pound for a burger and fries, an avocado, cheese and bacon melt and 2 grand milkshakes. That converts to $93 Australian!!!  Still getting over the shock, but hey that is all part of the Harrods “experience”!!

Tomorrow we are off to Bangkok for sun, pool, massages and a little more retail therapy before flying home. It will be great to get some warm and sunny weather.  We have had 1 day in London out of 9 where we have not needed jeans, and been under an overcast sky.

Edinburgh – York – Stratford – London

Photo 1: Floors Castle, Scotland.

Photo 2: part of Hadrian's Wall. Note how thick it was.

Photo 3: The Shambles, York.

Photo 4: the shell of Coventry Cathedral, bombed in World War Two.

Photo 5: Anne Hathaway's Cottage in Stratford-upon-Avon. Note the thatched roof.

Photo 6: Blenheim Palace.

Photo 7: a view of the grounds of Blenheim Palace.

 

On Monday 17 June we left Edinburgh and visited Floors Castle in Southern Scotland, home of the Duke and Duchess of Roxburghe. The huge castle was built in the early 18^th century and extended during the Victorian era. It had a real ‘stately home’ feeling. We then proceeded south towards York and on the way visited some of the few remains of Hadrian’s Wall, built by that Roman Emperor in the second century to keep the Scots out of Roman England. The Romans built things to last, but nothing could stop local people from seizing the fine dressed stone to build their own houses. Some people have no respect for heritage…

In York we visited the Cathedral, York Minster, and the old Elizabethan butchers’ market known as the Shambles (from the Old English ‘shamel’ meaning benches on which meat is displayed). The law prevented meat from being displayed in sunlight, so the meat was hung on hooks on the ground floor of houses which were built with two or more additional floors overlapping inwards towards the street – a very typical style for that period. It was fascinating to see what for the most part was a street of buildings 400 plus years old and still in use.

On Tuesday we drove to Coventry and visited the Cathedral that was bombed during World War Two and its modern replacement completed in 1956. The bell tower and most of the shell of the old Cathedral have been preserved and stand as a monument to the tragic stupidity of war. The words above the altar say “Father Forgive”. What more can be said.

The new Cathedral is very impressive for a modern style of building made of beautiful reddish brown stone. Even though it was built in the 1950s they managed to avoid the architectural sterility of that period. It soars aloft the way a Cathedral should and provokes much the same feeling of awe that a great building should.  This was the morning (for us) that the Brumbies played the British Lions.  With a Welsh driver and an English tour guide who thinks Rugby is a religion, it was a sweet win by “Our Boys”!!!  He thought we should shout the bus drinks to celebrate.  In your dreams was our reply!!!

Later that day we arrived in Stratford-upon-Avon and visited Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and the birthplace of William Shakespeare. The latter is well presented as an historical site with the rooms furnished and fitted out as they were in Shakespeare’s time.

On Wednesday we headed for London and the end of the tour having travelled over 6000 kms around the British Isles. However there was one final stop – Blenheim Palace, home of Sir Winston Churchill. This stately home dates from the early 1700s when it was built for the first Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, with funds gifted by Queen Ann as a reward for the Duke’s victory against the French at Blenheim. The Palace is simply beautiful. Many rooms contain huge tapestries depicting the Duke’s battles that are centuries old but still in great condition. The walls are covered in portraits by famous artists of the period and many ceilings are decorated in 24 carat gold leaf. The gorgeous gardens were created by the most famous landscaper of the period Lancelot Brown, known as Capability Brown. He created a maze with fountains and beautiful flowers gardens beyond which lies a large artificial lake surrounded by trees. The effect is stunning, by now Sue is over ABC’s – all bloody castles and all bloody cathedrals!!!

We came to the end of the tour with some sadness at parting from new friends but also much relief at the prospect of taking back control of our daily lives and even sleeping in a little.  The whole bus has been coping with a very nasty cold and flu bug, but as yet we have not succumbed.  Fingers crossed we stay healthy as we have lots to see and do in London, and a special wedding to attend.

Liverpool to Glasgow

 

Photo 1: see, we were there ...
Photo 2: fairly typical Highland house made from local stone.
Photo 3: A hanging valley, i.e. formed by glacial action.
Photo 4: ruins of Armadale Castle of the Clan MacDonald - Isle of Skye.
Photo 5: Nessie posing for us.
Photo 6: on Loch Ness.
Photo 7: view from Edinburgh Castle over city showing part of seating being set up for Military Tattoo next month.
Photo 8: military band at Castle returning from a memorial service.

We started Wednesday morning with a visit to The Beatles Story exhibition. It traces in much detail the history of The Beatles from the earliest days to their gradual formation out of a band called The Quarrymen. It features copies of posters, newspaper clippings, video displays – all the sort of things you’d expect and is very well put together. The Cavern Club in Mathew Street where The Beatles first performed was demolished in the 1980s but has been faithfully recreated in part in the exhibition. A great experience for baby boomers like us J.

We left Liverpool and drove through the Lake District towards Scotland. The District is particularly beautiful, especially around Lake Windermere, the largest body of water in northern England. For us the hilly, forested country with its houses surrounded by trees had echoes of the Dandenongs and Bowral. This is the area in which William Wordsworth lived in the early 19^th century and wrote poems such as the famous ‘Daffodils’. Sadly the sixfold increase in sheep grazing in the area since then means that fields of flowers don’t stand a chance now.

We crossed the border in the afternoon and soon came to Glasgow for the night. Glasgow has maintained its Victorian feel, with most of the city buildings being of that era and made from local limestone and pink sandstone. The huge Victorian hospital, 13^th century Cathedral and Museum of Religion are located close together and are most impressive.

Phil is really happy to be able to visit Glasgow. When he toured Britain in 1974 tours did not stop there. If they did the coaches had to be locked in the Police compound overnight and people could not leave their hotels for fear of crime and violence. They have come a long way since then!

The Scottish Highlands

On Thursday we drove up into the Highlands. The weather is still cold up here with some snow on the higher peaks. Fortunately we had clear weather with mist in only a few places and were able to appreciate the rugged mountains covered on the lower slopes with grass and heather and the many little rocky streams. There are lots of sheep up here, all scruffy looking and not at all what we are used to.  Where it was misty the bleakness of the landscape was eerily beautiful, so even then the weather was on our side up here.

In the afternoon we took a ferry across to the Isle of Skye. The Isle is very pretty and, like the mainland here, it has many pine plantations and a big timber industry. After crossing the Isle we drove to Inverness to stay for the next two nights.

On Friday we travelled to the battlefield of Culloden where Bonnie Prince Charlie was defeated by King George’s army in 1746. We also visited historic Cawdor Castle and took a boat ride on Loch Ness, the largest body of fresh water in the UK. To our surprise we learned that Loch Ness is north of the latitude of Moscow, so swimming is not recommended without a wetsuit!. Unfortunately Nessie was not feeling sociable, so despite our best efforts to raise her, we left empty handed – but did get a photo of “Nessie” in the little lake next to the Exhibition Centre.  The little ones will be pleased to see the “monster” in our photos – at least we can still string them on a bit!!!

 

 

Edinburgh

On Saturday we drove through the Highlands to Braemar and Dundee to St Andrews where we visited the famous golf course. As we stood at the 18^th green in freezing, windy, overcast weather it occurred to us that whenever we see St Andrews on TV the weather is no different. How appropriate for our visit …

We arrived in Edinburgh in the afternoon and did a short tour of the New Town (i.e. ‘new’ since 1603). The Old Town occupies the hill on which Edinburgh Castle stands and is very cramped for space as it was originally a defensive position more than a town. The Old Town and much of the New  Town is beautiful and includes many buildings in the Georgian style, though unfortunately they have been unable to clean up many buildings stained over the years by wood fires as the dust has seeped into the soft stone.

That night we had dinner and a Scottish show at the hotel. It was a great night of bagpipe music and Scottish dancing performed by a handsome wee lad and two pretty wee lassies. Part of the proceedings involved piping in the Haggis. Then we had to try some. Even knowing what Haggis is made of Phil felt he had to taste it – and had his second worst food experience after the chitterlings in France! Sue was not impressed either. No wonder the Highlanders were so fearless in battle – if you had to eat that you wouldn’t care if you lived or not J.

On Sunday we visited Holyrood Palace (officially named The Palace of Holyroodhouse), the Queen’s official residence in Edinburgh. We were able to go into many rooms that have been preserved in their original condition including furnishings and works of art. Very impressive. We then visited Edinburgh Castle, which is being prepared for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo in July. The 9000 (!) temporary seats outside the Castle are being erected at the moment and task is obviously enormous. The Castle itself includes many impressive buildings dating from centuries past, including St Margaret’s Chapel which has been in continuous use as a chapel since it was built in the 12^th century. We don’t know what ‘old’ is at home. 

After another day of strenuous walking up and down hills and stairs, we are quite happy to forgo the trip tonight to see the Royal Yacht Britannia.  An early night for us….tomorrow we are back in England with only 2 nights of our trip left.  Where has the time gone???

Belfast to Dublin

 

Photo 1: Stormont - Northern Island Parliament building
Photo 2: Belfast  - Freedom Corner showing old mural from the Troubles.
Photo 3: Trinity College, Dublin showing queue to see the Book of Kells. We saw it in Canberra.
Photo 4; Murphys make more than bubs :-). Ps: Phil has not changed his name.
Photo 5: Snowdonia in the mist.
Photo 6: High alter in Liverpool Cathedral. Note golf leaf covering everything.

On Sunday 9 June we toured the highlights of Belfast. The city has a population of about 300,000 but was larger early last century when its shipbuilding industry employed 35,000 people and was one of the biggest in the world. At the docks we saw two huge shipbuilding cranes called Samson and Goliath which were once among the biggest in the world and testify to the power of the industry that built the Titanic.

Speaking of that, we toured the Titanic Visitors Centre which was opened in March last year to celebrate 100 years since the launching of that ship. The slipway on which it was built is still there next to the Centre – it is massive. The best thing about the Centre is the innovative way in which the story of the Titanic is presented. One exhibit is a 3D virtual tour of the ship’s decks that makes you feel as though you are rising through the decks in a lift. In other exhibits still photos of the ship and shipboard life are displayed with silhouette figures walking through them to give the impression of living images.

We saw the impressive Parliament building – Stormont – and some equally impressive Victorian buildings, including the City Hall and University. But the most striking images that will remain with us were those of the murals painted in the Protestant and Catholic areas during the troubles. We were told that Belfast has made huge progress since the local Parliament was restored in 1998 with power shared between the former terrorists on both sides. The city certainly has a feeling of peace and normality about it. But in some areas the flags of the UK or Ireland fly and there are still walls and security fences separating communities in some places and, as they are rather like security blankets for many people they are being phased out very slowly – the last not expected to be taken down till about 2022. There are still old murals depicting the Ulster Defence Association and other Protestant organisations and fighters, but there are also new murals emerging celebrating peace and promoting tolerance and respect. The signs look good for the future of this place.

We travelled on to Dublin and did a city highlights tour on Monday. Dublin is an interesting mixture of old and new. Many lovely 18^th century Georgian buildings – originally homes – are still there but most are now used as offices. Older buildings, nicely renovated, are more prevalent than modern ones. This gives an impression of affluence combined with a wish to preserve the historical feel of the city.

Dublin has a number of high profile and impressive historical buildings including Christchurch Cathedral (Protestant), St Patrick’s Cathedral (Catholic – what else with that name) and Trinity College, home of the Book of Kells. On the street outside Trinity College is a statue supposedly of Molly Malone. Well, after our debut performance of the song the other night we just had to get a photo of that!

Dublin to Liverpool

On Tuesday we took an uneventful ferry ride from Dublin to Hollyhead in Wales and travelled through the Isle of Anglesey and the Snowdonia National Park in Wales to Liverpool. The weather  was wet in Dublin but merely overcast in Wales at first with mist drifting over the hills. This proved to be great weather in which to view Snowdonia as the mist added to the atmosphere created by the landscape. We drove through the Pass of Beris which was created by glacial action and were awed by the rugged slopes covered in crushed rocks and landslides left by the ancient rivers of ice.

We stopped for a break in the town of Llanfairwllgwyngllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, famous as having the longest name of any town in the world. It means “the church of Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the fierce whirlpool and the church of Tysilio near the red cave”. The name of the town was changed many years ago as a tourism promotion initiative and it worked a treat. We have never seen a bigger tourist trap in our lives.

Liverpool has many impressive public buildings, however the most impressive by far is Liverpool Cathedral – the fifth largest cathedral in the world! It is the city’s High Church of England and we had the pleasure of listening to the choir practising. The choir includes many boys who also attend a boys’ school which is attached to the Cathedral, somewhat like the arrangement we talked about at Montserrat in Spain. The singing was beautiful so the system seems to be working. The Cathedral is Gothic in style even though it was built between 1904 and 1978. Its stained glass windows and high altar covered in gold leaf are beautiful.

We also visited the dock area which has been redeveloped on a scale and in a similar way to Melbourne’s Docklands. Old warehouses are gone and new residences and public spaces created in their place. The overall impression is one of modern affluence. However we also learned that Liverpool has one of top five British cities in terms of the number of heritage listed sites, which is evident from the many impressive Victorian buildings still in place.

Sue has been very restrained in the buying department, and we may not have to send a further 5kgs of presents home from London.  I have continued to buy, but am more discerning – light and flat are good, bulky and heavy are now banned!!!  We are also over single beds!!  All the marrieds are getting single beds, and the single people are getting huge queen and king size beds.  We think their thoughts are 1 person 1 bed, 2 people 2 beds irrespective of the size of them.  Our tour director changed rooms with a couple tonight, and we all came down to dinner and whinged loudly.  He got on to the Globus head office, and we are supposed to be getting double beds for the next few nights.  Our report at the end of the tour will mention this fact, as we are all sick of sleeping alone!!  We will wait and see…..

Killarney – Limerick – Sligo – Belfast

 

 

 

 

 

Photo 1: the Lakes of Killarney
Photo 2: View of the River Shannon from our hotel room in Limerick
Photo 3: the Cliffs of Moher. They rise 204 metres from the sea.
Photo 4: us at the visitors centre at the Cliffs of Moher. Murphy is Sue's maiden name.
Photo 5: the Giant's Causeway. Check out nature's amazing sculpture!

On Wednesday 5 June we took and excursion to the museum celebrating the former communities of the Blasket Islands off the south west coast of Ireland. We took photos of the islands which can be seen clearly from land and which were abandoned in 1953 after many generations of settlement. The tour included a video made in the 1980s in which many former residents now deceased were interviewed. It was a fascinating insight into the culture of this part of Ireland.

The weather continues to be good – extremely good according to the locals – and we are seeing south west Ireland at is sunny best. As we drive past fields and farmhouses we can see the old fields higher up the rugged slopes of this very hilly region which, despite being poor and rocky, were potato fields until the blight and famine struck in the 1840s. They have not been farmed since.

We noticed that the countryside features many pine plantations like those found Canberra and its approaches. Apparently timber is a major Irish export worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the economy. It is a funny feeling to see this and other  things occasionally that remind us of home.

The best views today were of Dingle Bay. The bay is wide and surrounded by hills and low mountains which in most cases plunge down sheer cliffs to the rocky shores below.

That night we attended a performance of The National Folk Theatre of Ireland which is based in Tralee. It is called Siamsa Tire (pronounced she-amsa-tier-a). The show was an Irish folk story set to music and dance with songs in Gaelic linking each scene. The story was about an ancient queen who used magic to turn her stepchildren into swans. The depiction of the swans through fluid dance movements was so beautiful it gave us a whole new perspective on Irish dancing. It was one of the best nights of musical theatre we have ever enjoyed.

On Thursday we drove the Ring of Kerry, which is a scenic drive around Dingle Bay and Ballyskellig Bay in County Kerry beginning and ending in Killarney. The views of the bays and the mountains rising out of the sea through steep rugged cliffs were awesome. We were very lucky, according to our tour guide, to be seeing this part of Ireland at its best – mostly sunny and only some mist in the far distance.  We ended the day with a drive to Limerick through more lovely green countryside.

That night we had dinner and a show at Knappogue Castle, built in 1467. We had dinner in the banqueting hall – furnished and decorated in 15^th century style – with the show of Irish singing and dancing taking place during and after dinner. Many of the songs were mediaeval in origin and the dancing was brilliant. We learned the origin of ‘honeymoon’, which comes from an old tradition that newlyweds would drink mead (a honey wine) every night for the first month after marriage. All in all it was another great experience of Irish culture.

On Friday we travelled to Sligo in northwest Ireland via the Cliffs of Moher. The cliffs plunge hundreds of meters sheer down to the Atlantic and made for great photos. Further along we came to beautiful Galway Bay. The countryside remains lush and green for the most part, however in the region known as The Burren we saw hills eroded and naturally sculptured by glacial ice and melt flows during the last ice age. The natural beauty of this land is something of which one can never tire.

On Saturday we travelled to Belfast. We crossed the border into Northern Irreland briefly to visit Belleek Pottery and see how this world famous product is made. The intricacy of the work is amazing, a real tribute to the craftsmen and women they employ. We then drove back to the Republic and through Donegal before re-entering the north and visiting the Giant’s Causway. This series of cliffs and bays was carved by nature millennia ago and is spectacular.

The tour group have gelled really well, and we sit at meals with anyone.  There is a great pair of ladies from the USA, and they ask sooo many questions about Australia and its culture.  They are thinking of making their next trip to Aus and New Zealand.  There is also a fun group of 5 from Launceston – 3 of them are coming to Canberra in October, so there has been the usual email and phone number sharing.  The tour is really well paced – we usually leave between 8 and 9, then a 30 min loo stop during the morning, and a 2 hour lunch stop in a major city.  It certainly gives us time to walk off (some!!) of the food we have been eating.  Of our 21 nights on tour, a 3 course meal with a glass of wine is on 11 of those nights.  By the time we add in the optional tours, there will only be 2 nights that we need to find dinner.  It makes it so much easier to get to a hotel, rest for an hour or so then downstairs for dinner and back up to our rooms to catch up on emails etc.  We find it strange to go to a show and come out at 10pm into sunlight!!  The sun is setting about 10.15pm, and rises again just before 5am.  Thank goodness for heavy curtains!!!  Not sure how they get their little ones to bed in the summer!!!

Cornwall – Wales – Killarney

 

Photo 1: at the Roman Baths, Bath.
Photo 2: brass band in a park at Bath. A lovely tradition lives on here.
Photo 3: view of Millenium Stadium (scene of Australia's Rugby World Cup victory) from Cardiff Castle.
Photo 4: Blarney Castle. Note the very narrow windows. The winding staircase is so narrow and dark that anyone suffering claustraphobia could not use it.
Photo 5: as Sue is a Murphy we had to get this shot.

On Saturday we travelled through Cornwall to Glastonbury to see the ancient ruined Abbey which is one of the possible sites of King Arthur’s grave. From there we drove to Bath to see the Abbey and ancient Roman baths. The baths have undergone some restoration and are pretty impressive. As you travel through Europe you are frequently reminded of the extent of Roman power and influence on the history, government, language and culture of this continent.

Ian, our guide, told us the origin of the nursery rhyme ‘Little Jack Horner’. Like most nursery rhymes it was satirical. Thomas John Horner was steward to the Abbott of Glastonbury who owned 20 estates.  King Henry VIII was busy burning Catholic churches and seizing its property, so the Abbott thought he could save something by sending Horner to the King with the title deeds to 10 of his estates. But Horner took only nine to the King and kept the deeds to be best one – the ‘plum’ in the terminology of the time. The Abbott did not get away with his trick but somehow Horner managed to keep the estate he stole and it still belongs to his descendants.

We arrived in Wales that afternoon and had dinner at Cardiff Castle together with a show of Welsh singing in which we were encouraged to participate. The singers were amazed when they saw us singing Calon Lan with them word for word – no-one not Welsh had ever done that before, so we told them about The Gospel Folk when the show was over.  One of the girls sang a song about a girl’s many lovers and Phil, being front row, had the pleasure of having her sit on his knee and kiss him. He was smiling for days after.

On Sunday we travelled through the Welsh countryside to Fishguard and took the ferry to Rosslare in Ireland. From there we drove to Waterford. The countryside was very similar to that in Cornwall and Wales, being a patchwork of fields, woods, farmhouses, old churches and graveyards, and tree lined roads. However we noticed that the houses we passed seemed to be bigger and more modern than those in the UK, and the roads seemed to be in better shape – though mostly only two lane except for the motorway. But we also noticed that many houses in estates we passed were empty. Apparently huge amounts of EU money were poured into development in Ireland before the GFC, including grants to home owners of up to 70 per cent of the cost to rebuild their houses. So what looks like prosperity on the surface barely conceals Ireland’s plight of the past few years.

At Waterford we had hoped to be able to buy some crystal. However with the closure of the factory some years ago there is now only a shop that sells crystal made in the Czech Republic. Very sad.

On Monday we travelled to Killarney and visited Blarney Castle on the way. Phil walked the 100 plus steps up the tower to kiss the famous Blarney Stone – which requires a degree of flexibility he wasn’t sure he had. But he managed without putting his back out J.

That night we went to a pub called Murphy’s Bar and had the BEST time! It was a night of Irish singing – just the ticket for us. The singers noticed that we knew every word of the songs they were singing without reading the song sheets so they invited us to come up and help them sing Molly Malone. Trust the Knights to be ‘out there’. One of the songs they sang was Fields of Athenry, which made us think of Brian and Credo singing it so beautifully.

We have posted ANOTHER parcel home today – 5kgs again.  Not sure who all the stuff is for, but I think Lewis, Miss Sophie and Mr “Gizmo” had better have empty wardrobes!!!  It is such a joy to browse so many different shops – most of them are the size of a large shoebox, but have really interesting knick knacks.  The woollen shops over here are the “in” thing - but we are not carrying aran knit jumpers back despite their cheaper price.  And who wants to hand wash wool??

Stonehenge – Devon – Cornwall

 

Photo 1: Us at Stonehenge. No rain but Sue's hair shows what the wind was like. Brr!
Photo 2: Land's End
Photo 3: St Ives, Cornwall. Note there is no-one in the water. The only people we saw swimming were in wet suits.

On Thursday we headed out of Brighton for Dartmoor and points west to Plymouth. The weather was still overcast but the rain cleared for our visit to Stonehenge.  How people of two to three thousand years ago ever managed to erect that structure is a mystery and a reminder that perhaps we underestimate our distant ancestors.

We travelled on to Dartmoor, home to a famous prison and numerous myths and legends about the moor itself. This is ‘Hound of the Baskervilles’ country, and we had dinner at a pub whose owner regaled us with tales of witches and hauntings – all BS of course but hugely entertaining.

The next day the sun rose in clear spring skies and we suddenly understood why the song Jerusalem refers to ‘England’s green and pleasant land’. The woods, fields and farms of Devon and Cornwall are lush, green and lovely. We drove along the coast to St Michael’s Mount, a small mountain rising out of the sea just off the Devon coast and topped by an old monastery.  It is adjacent to Penzance, so Sue and I being avid Gilbert and Sullivan sang songs from the ‘Pirates of Penzance’ as we took photos. Yes, as our children know we can be embarrassing to be around some times J.

On the way our tour guide pointed out an old mine site and told us that mines in this region were the first to use steam engines to pump water out of mines. The pumps used would remove 12 gallons of water with every 19 pump actions, which gave rise to the saying ’going 19 to the dozen’. Ian tells us lots of these little stories – and some of them might even be true!

Late in the morning we arrived at Land’s End and stared across the sea towards America. Yes Jim, Cheryl, Jamie and Gary, we thought of you guys. We then drove through the hills of central Cornwall to the north shore and the town of St Ives. We were given Cornish pasties for lunch – not much good for Phil but a taste of Cornwall nonetheless. So we decided that we had to try the local clotted cream vanilla ice cream (delicious!!) and a Cornish cream tea, which is the same as a Devonshire tea, i.e. scones with jam and clotted cream. Fortunately the tea shop had gluten free scones so Phil was able to put on an extra kilo or two.

London – Canterbury – Brighton

 

Photo 1: Houses of Parliament
Photo 2: Tower Bridge
Photo 3: Buckingham Palace
Photo 4: Royal Pavilion at Brighton

London has given us a wet, cool welcome weather-wise, but the people we have met have been very friendly and helpful. We have used these first couple of days before our British Isles tour starts to orientate ourselves by taking a quick tour of London’s highlights. On our first night we had dinner at a pub. The fish and chips were great as was the atmosphere – a real London experience. After that we took a cruise on the Thames and took in views of sites like the Houses of Parliament by night. We have also been through St Paul’s Cathedral and made an abortive attempt to see the changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace (which was cancelled due to the rain – the band can’t have their instruments get wet).

At St Paul’s we learned the origin or the saying ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’. At one stage the money to finish decorating the dome of St Paul’s ran out so the church raided the funds of Westminster Abbey (also known as St Peter’s of Westminster) to pay for it.

Our tour guide had lots of little bits of interesting information like that. For example, we didn’t know that Gringott’s Bank in the Harry Potter movies was Australia House. We wondered if Foreign Affairs provided the gnomes too J. She also told us about the congestion tax of 10 pounds per day (i.e. about $15) for bringing a private car into the City of London. As the traffic is still very heavy we don’t know what it would be like without the tax. Nice revenue raiser eh!

On Wednesday we started our Globus tour. Our guide is a local who is a lot of fun and very knowledgeable. He regales us with lots of entertaining stories and many interesting bits of trivia. As we were leaving London and passing Marble Arch he told us the origin of the saying “one for the road”. In times past prisoners were executed near Marble Arch after being taken for a walk from the nearby prison. On the way they were taken into a pub for a final drink to make the final walk on the road to execution a bit easier, i.e. they had one for the road. The saying “gone west” also comes from this final walk – the prisoners walked west from the prison to the execution.

The first stop was Canterbury Cathedral, famous as the site of the murder of Thomas A’Beckett.  We were expecting it to be just another cathedral, but like all the others its vast interior was awe inspiring in its dimensions and beautifully decorated in paintings and sculptures with some stained glass – not as much of the latter as in continental cathedrals due to the vandalism of Henry VIII and the puritans.

We arrived in Brighton and visited the Royal Pavilion, built for King George IV when he was Prince of Wales about 200 years ago. As we approached we wondered if we had come across a mosque. We soon learned that the pavilion was built in the Moghul style (i.e. Indian Islamic) and is a remarkable building. The interior was decorated to represent Chinese culture and is filled with paintings of Chinese scenes, red and gold decorations, massive chandeliers and dragon images many of which are made of gold. Very over the top and apparently very unpopular with the taxpayers of his time. But stunning anyway.

We will get on well with the tour guide as he is a sports “nut”, and his first words were” Who holds the Ashes for cricket???”  He is a hoot, and has a very dry sense of humour especially as this tour is about 75% Australians.  His only failing was referring to AFL as “football” – he is now sorted out on that score!! We are anxious for the Wallabies to give the visiting British Lions rugby team a hiding so we will have “bragging rights”!!  Go Wallabies and Brumbies!!

Paris - photos

Photos 1 and 6: at the Moulin Rouge. You wanted to to the action at the Moulin Rouge and you scored pictures of the Knights. Lucky you!

Photo 2: dinner at the Eiffel Tower. Magic!

Photo 3: traffic on the Champs-Elysee. This photo gives you some idea of how they treat the concept of giving way.

Photo 4: inside the Galeries Lafayette shopping centre. Very opulent ... with prices to match.

Photo 5: Seine River with Paris' mini version of Sydney Harbour Bridge.