September 2, 2008, we began our grand adventure to visit Holland and Ireland. To alleviate jet lag, we decided to stop in Ireland on the way to Holland. We arrived at the Charles Stewart Hotel in Dublin, Ireland about noon – checked in and went to sleep. The room was cold, because we were informed, they do not turn on the boiler for heat until October! They were kind enough to offer more blankets. Later we walked to a local restaurant for some Sheppard’s pie. We had been looking forward to this, but were somewhat disappointed.
Jessy and Rob were waiting for us the following day at the Amsterdam airport with an orange flag and flowers! What a greeting!! They live in a suburb, Heerhugowaard, north of Amsterdam, where they have an apartment. The first floor is called the ground floor in Europe. So, though they say their apartment is on the 9th floor, we would say the 10th floor. They have wonderful views from three sides because their apartment extends from one side of the building to the other. From their balcony, we could see directly below a park for kids to ride their bikes and skateboards on a series of ramps. There was also a theater that was built partly in the edge of a canal. Jessy is able to walk to both an outdoor market and a major shopping mall two blocks away.
Rental apartments and houses in Holland are not finished off with carpet and appliances as they are in the US. Usually, the renter/buyer is responsible for the kitchen, wall covering, or painting, and floor covering. Most bedrooms come without closets, so furniture is added to hold clothing. Rob and Jessy were lucky in that their apartment came with basic bathroom and kitchen appliances. The master bath is a little unusual in that the shower, which is one corner of the room, has no enclosure. The floor slopes toward a floor drain so that after your shower you can squeegee the water on the floor toward the drain.
Rob took us to the old cheese market in the village of Alkmaar, which dates back to the year 1582. This is a re-enactment of the way cheese was sold long ago by the farmers to the buyers. The cheese is in the form of large wheels encased in yellow wax. They haggle over price with hand motions. Then the wheels of cheese are carried to an antique scale, weighed, put on carts and taken to the buyer’s conveyance. The participants wear period dress and the cheese is carried by two men with a wooden cradle hung between them from their neck with ropes.
On our way back to the car, we were crossing the bridge over a canal when Pete’s hat blew off! A tour boat was coming toward us. Rob waved frantically to get the captain’s attention. They fished the hat out of the canal to much cheering from the passengers of the boat! Then we had to dash off the bridge quickly so it could raise to allow the boat through. Rob had to jog a block to get the hat back from the boat! Made their day and ours too!
We timed our arrival in Holland so we could be a part of Rob’s 65th birthday celebration.
This is a special one because he then starts to receive the Dutch version of social security from the government. (Every recipient in Holland gets the same amount, be he a doctor or laborer.) So, Jessy planned a big party for him. He knew something was up, but not what! At 10 AM sharp the family arrived along with one set of in-laws and another couple for cake and coffee.
About 11:30 Rob’s son, Erwin, who is a chef in a local hotel, asked his dad to help him go pick up the food he had prepared for lunch and dinner. They left and we got busy decorating the apartment! Jessy had made decorations for a Mexican party, and a friend brought umbrellas like those you would find at a Mexican palapa. We were a busy group, covered the walls with old photos of Rob, the ceilings with crape paper streamers, and even put up a piñata in the entry hall! Everyone dressed like Mexicans! Jessy made serapes for Rob, Pete and Jo. Everyone else made their costume, except Rob’s daughter and daughter in law rented Mexican dresses with lots of frills. Rob’s brother dressed up like a Mexican bandito, complete with guitar he bought on the internet. When Rob arrived with his son, he WAS surprised! He didn’t even recognize his brother until he walked over to introduce himself and shake hands!
After cake at 10 AM, THEN we had sandwiches for lunch, THEN guacamole and salsa for appetizer, THEN a huge dinner, including sorbet and fruit for dessert! And we THEN continued to party until people finally began to leave about 10 PM. This was our first 12-hour party!
Holland is mostly below sea level. Flooding is controlled by dikes, canals and pumps. The dikes hold back the sea and the many canals carry water out of the country to the sea. Rob took us to see the North Sea dike which closes off a section of the sea, and helps to create more land in that area. Jo walked to the water’s edge so she could say she had put her hand in the North Sea. Many other shorter dikes were built so the water could be pumped out to create more land. There are more planned for the future. We were below sea level in Holland, except when in Jessy and Rob’s 10th floor apartment!
We also drove across the 30 km dike that created the large Isselmeer Lake. The dike was planned in the 1800’s, but construction started in 1927 and it was complete in 1933. The dike carries two lanes of heavy traffic each way. The dike was completed to further close off the North Sea, create the lake, and control tidal action and flooding of existing land in the interior of the country.
Many of the larger canals are also used for navigation and recreational boating. Pete was fascinated by all the different kinds of small boats tied up along the canals. Many of them were very old by our standards, but still in use. Some of the flat bottom sail boats used for fishing 100 years ago have survived and are in use for charter and personal use. Because of the flat bottom, they cannot have a keel. Instead they have two “dagger boards” one on each side of the boat. These can be raised and lowered by cables individually. There are many houseboats along the canals and in the harbor in Amsterdam. These are really concrete barges with a mostly normal house built on them. They can only be moved by a tugboat. Land is scarce, and very expensive in Holland, so folks do what they can to have their own house.
Speaking of tugboats, Rob took Pete to see a restored 1920’s tugboat. One of his brother’s friends lives on board. The “stateroom” is aft and the living area is forward, with the wheelhouse in between. Yep, they have to go out on deck to go back and forth. It has all the original equipment and still will run although they don’t take it out much anymore
Originally, the traditional Dutch windmill was the power for the pumps that moved the water from one canal to the next and eventually to the North Sea. The purpose, of course, was to make more land. Many are still in existence. When the windmills were constructed in the 1600’s, a water wheel was used to lift the water into a canal. However, in about 1850 the water wheels were replaced with a “jack”, a giant screw that carried the water up to the next canal level. It was much more efficient. After three centuries, in 1928, the windmills were replaced with electric pumps. Since then some have become homes, but some still operate and are open to the public. The newer electric pumping stations were each named after a Dutch queen, Emma, Juliana, and Wilhelmina. They were replaced recently by two computer controlled pumping stations named after the reining queen and crown prince, Beatrix and Willem – Alexander.
We visited the Schermer Windmill, which was built in 1635, later restored and is open to the public. All the wheels and gears are made of wood. Not metal as it would be today. While we were touring inside the windmill, the wind picked up outside and the whoosh, whoosh of the vanes became faster and louder! The whole building shook for a few minutes. The speed of the vanes is controlled by the amount of sail attached to them. The less wind, the more sail it takes to keep them moving at the right speed. Each windmill was occupied by a “miller” who lived there with his family, and was responsible for changing the sail and manually positioning the windmill into the wind.
We went to Den Oever, a fishing village at the north end of the country. It is the home of a fishing fleet made up of large boats that are 40 to 60 feet long. One day a year, they celebrate the beginning of the fishing season. The boats form a line and have a parade out into the sea and back. The thrilling part is they take passengers on the trip. Anywhere from 50 to 100 people crowd on each boat and go along for the ride. (Can you see that happening in our country?) While we were “at sea”, the crew served us a sample of the shrimp they gather from the North Sea. They are very, very tiny and taste quite fishy, but it was a special experience for us.
We spent a day in Amsterdam with Rob’s brother Ed and wife Corrie. They are full time RVers and dry camp (park with no hookups) on the south side of the harbor, where they have a great view of the city and all the shipping. .When we arrived, Corrie had coffee and pastry for everyone and we watched ships go by. Across the harbor is a “Boatel” which is a 1000-foot ship set up as a hotel. Also nearby are apartments for college students constructed of shipping containers in all colors.
We took the free ferry across the harbor to downtown. Rob and Ed were raised in this area and know it all like the back of their hand. We learned Amsterdam is circled by three canals, each added as the city grew. We saw the Central Train Station and Rembrandt’s museum (outside). We went to a very expensive penthouse restaurant for coffee. The only rain we had the whole day was while we were drinking coffee. From up there we had a bird’s eye view of the very beautiful city.
We walked around the courtyard at Beginhof, which was a residence for single women who helped the poor, but did not take vows as nuns do. We saw a “coffee house” that has become a “church” so that members can smoke pot there without being arrested. Pot smoking in not legal but is tolerated in “coffee house churches”. The odor wafts through the streets as one walks by. One can get a buzz from the second hand smoke. The Chinese are allowed to smoke opium, but it is not allowed for other nationalities! Because cars and fuel is very expensive, the city is alive with bicycles! Women in skirts and heels ride to work. We saw one “3 story” bicycle “parking garage”! We estimated at least 1000 bicycles parked there. This was just one such facility. However, we also saw several chains on the ground where they had been cut and the bike stolen!
There are about 250 miles of canals in Amsterdam! We took a boat cruise on some of them for an hour and a half and went by five and six story homes that are several hundred years old, including the Anne Frank house where she was hidden from the Germans during WW II. Because land is scarce all the buildings in Amsterdam are tall, narrow and on wood pilings. One building we saw was only about one meter wide! Only just wider than the door. The wood pilings hold up well as long as they are not exposed to air. However, with underground construction and other activities, the water level has not always been controlled in the downtown area and a few buildings are now leaning toward the street. We walked by a TV crew who had cameras set up in case one of the multi-story buildings toppled over. We understand they will have to be torn down brick by brick and then rebuilt the same way on new pilings. (We wondered who pays for that.)
Everyone has asked and the answer is “Yes!” We did go to the Red Light District. After dark, Ed led us through the “red light” district where sex is for sale and sex shops are on every corner. Girls in very skimpy bikinis stand behind glass doors and windows and display their wares. (No cameras allowed) If an interested customer stops, she opens the door to negotiate! There are red lights burning and the frames around the windows are also painted red. There is no mistaking where you are! We saw several deals consummated but for some reason Jo would not let Pete talk to the girls! She kept a firm hold on his hand.
Not only are cars more expensive in Holland, the “sales tax” is approximately 50% of the cost. So, a $50,000 car costs more like $75,000. We saw models of cars by major automakers we had never heard of, and are not imported to our country. Almost all are smaller and more efficient than anything that we are familiar. They even have a 4 wheel mopeds that looks like a car, but has a 49 HP motor. They can be driven on the bike paths and do not require a driver’s license. Many seniors who can no longer qualify, or afford, to drive a regular car own one of these. We were told the cost of all that goes into acquiring a driver’s license is about $2,000. All of this helps explain the number of bicycles.
We took a drive to Volendam, another very old, quaint fishing village. From there we took a ferry to Markem, an island that is now connected by a dike. Much of this village is original (read 1600’s) and the houses are less than 3 feet apart in a haphazard layout. It is like walking a maze for someone who does not live there.
The Netherlands is a monarchy and the current ruler is, Queen Beatrice. Unlike in England, the Dutch monarchy maintains a low profile in order to stay out of the lime light. In Holland the reining monarch delivers the “State of the Union Address” to open the parliamentary session. The day involves much pomp and circumstance. Of course, it is all carried on Dutch T V. Their gold carriage with eight horses carried the queen, and her Crown Prince son, from her palace to parliament through the streets of The Hague. The entire route was lined with military, and hoards of people stood to watch her pass. It has become known as “hat day” All the women in parliament were wearing hats, some totally absurd. Another interesting fact is that, although Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands, The Hague is the seat of government.
We visited the town of Markkum where we toured a china factory that has existed in the same location for the last 400 years. They originally located there as it was very close to their source of the clay used in all their products. Their china is VERY expensive. A 3” saucer was over $100! They also manufacture decorative tile for art and home construction purposes. An advantage in dealing with them is one can always match a broken item no matter how old it may be. It only takes money!
And we said sad goodbyes to Holland and flew back to Ireland.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Our Visit to Ireland
We left Amsterdam on Sept 18 to fly back to Ireland. Now we are getting good at this, we breezed through immigration and customs, and took the bus back to the Charles Stewart Hotel. (They still have not turned on the heat) Despite its name it operates as a Bed and Breakfast facility (B&B).
B&B’s are very popular in Ireland, especially in smaller towns and out in the country. They were a completely separate adventure unto themselves and were one of the high points of our visit to Ireland. Although each was very different in location and building, all but one we went to provided a “hot Irish breakfast”. Actually, breakfast is a rather elaborate affair. It is usually served from 7 to 9 AM. When one first arrives in the dining room, juice and coffee is ready. On the sideboard are several kinds of cold cereal and a fruit bowl. One of their cold cereals is a compressed block that you have to break up in your bowl. If you are a big eater, after you finish your cereal, you then order a hot Irish breakfast. This is two eggs, usually fried, Irish bacon, 3 link sausages, a broiled tomato and toasted brown soda bread. Their bacon looks more like our sliced ham and is very, very good. We were able to save a bit of money on food in Ireland by having the Irish breakfast, skipping lunch, and then sharing an early dinner at an Irish pub. The Pub meals were easily enough for two.
Jo liked the Irish bacon so much she bought some to bring home. However, Customs officials decided they liked it more than we did. Therefore, we had to leave it in Philadelphia, as we came back in to the country. She almost cried!
We had one day to see some of Dublin and so we bought tickets to a local tour bus and rode around the city listening to the commentary. We walked to the famine memorial along the Liffey River. It is in remembrance of the potato famine in 1845. We saw Trinity College, which dates to the 1500’s, and is a bustling place with students today. We toured the Jameson Distillery, where Irish whiskey is made. It is the only spirit that is distilled three times to make it smoother. We saw Christ Church which dates from the 1100’s, with the current structure from the 1700’s. They have found relics underground there that date to Norman times.
The Dublin Castle was the seat of English rule for 700 years and is still used today as a government building. It was built on the spot of the first Viking fortress and is located where the Poddle and Liffey Rivers come together forming a black pool (dubb linn in Irish). So, we learned that Dublin means black pool. The castle has art that dates to the 1600’s, Louis XIV chairs and Waterford chandeliers in the “living” rooms.
Sept 20th, the kids arrived at our hotel shortly after 11:00 AM. We rode the bus to Castlenock, a suburb of Dublin, where we picked up the boat for our week on the Royal Canal. Dessie (who we thought was a woman in emails, but wasn’t) met us at the twelfth lock. He showed us how to operate the racks and gates that make up the locks that have been there since the late 1700’s! And they still work, after a fashion! The first morning on the canal, we saw no towns, but the farms and occasional homes were pastoral and unspoiled. It was a very peaceful part of the trip. Blaise and Pete traded off piloting the boat and Jo and Zee handled the lines.
We motored on up the canal to the town of Maynooth, moored, and walked into town for dinner at the “The Roost”. It is a quaint Irish Pub where entire families come. There is a castle there, but we decided to see it on the return trip.
The next morning Blaise got us up at 8:30 - we were all still asleep! We might have slept all day. We did two double locks that day! That means you travel directly from one lock into another - lots of racks and gates to open and close. Blaise and Zee worked hard that day on the locks while Pete and Jo handled the boat.
For the first two days, we had been passing volleyballs floating in the canal. We counted them and came up with fifteen, at least. When we arrived in the village of Kilcock, we discovered where they came from. A club there plays water polo in canoes. There were several nets hanging in the middle of the canal we had to dodge to get by. We stopped there for lunch at a local pub “O’Keefe’s, and had draft beer and “pub grub”. Blaise introduced Pete to Smithwick (pronounced Smitic) draft beer. We pounded stakes in the bank and tied up for the night.
Because of the wet summer, the weeds in the canal were bad! We had to reverse the engine every half hour or so to free the weeds from the prop. However, two miles short of Enfield, we could no longer make progress through the weeds! Since that was our goal, we decided to tie up at Cloncurry Bridge and walk the towpath (2 miles) to Enfield. We had a delightful lunch/dinner at “The Bridge Tavern and Bar”. After we bought some groceries, we took a cab back to the boat. That set us back 10 euro (about $14.00 for two miles). As we were pooped, it was worth it.
On the return, we stopped in Maynooth for a day and toured the local castle. The original structure dates to the 1200’s. It was the seat of government under the British rule at that time. St Patrick’s College was located here in 1795 to educate Catholic priests who had heretofore been sent to France. It is still a very large and active college, albeit not for priests anymore. We took many pictures of the impressive structures. It is interesting that the windows are smaller on each successive floor.
The next day we walked to Carton House from Maynooth. It was originally built by royalty as a “home away from home” from the Maynooth castle. It is now renovated into a luxury hotel and golf course. It is beautifully done with gorgeous gardens. We love how all the old buildings are saved, if possible, and continue in use.
Everyone told us the week we were on the boat was the best weather they had during the entire summer! Every other day during the summer it was either wet or cold, or both. We turned on the heat several mornings, but were in short sleeves by early afternoon and no rain to spoil our boat adventure.
On the 27th, Zee’s birthday, we turned in the boat, rented cars, and headed for New Grange. We toured both New Grange and Knowth. They, and smaller ones like them, date back about 5,000 years ago to the Neolithic age, even before the pyramids in Egypt. They are a series of huge earthon mounds that were built of alternating layers sand, gravel and rock to control erosion. This means of construction is the only reason they are still standing. Each one has tunnels and some have burial chambers. The stones that ring the mounds weigh about 2 tons and came from 60 miles away! (How did they do that?) We were allowed to go into one of the tunnels. It was constructed with a “window” over the doorway that allows the sunlight to enter on the shortest day of the year. It lights the tunnel and the room at the end. Both are bathed in light for a matter of minutes as the sun rises. (And, how did they do that?)
We had breakfast, said ‘good bye’ to the kids, and hit the road for our week of wandering the countryside, going our separate ways. We headed for the Hill of Tara to the west, and the kids were off to County Cork, to the south. We, and they, missed turns in the road, and arrived at the Trim Castle with in minutes of each other. They saw a sign for the Castle and knew it was on our list of places to go, so they decided to go there. We knew it was our second stop, so we went there rather than turn around. We toured the castle together, took pictures, and said “so long”, again.
Trim castle was first built in 1172 of wood, but burned in 1174. The current stone structure dates to 1176! It is surrounded by a “curtain wall” of stone, which enclosed about three acres. The artisans would live within the wall and the peons outside. The ‘gardrobe’ was interesting. It was the indoor toilet - a hole through the floor to the bottom of the castle. Clothes were hung over the shaft and the ammonia fumes killed the ticks and lice in the clothing! We climbed to the top of the castle and were rewarded with fantastic views of the surrounding town and distant hills.
We did get back to the Hill of Tara, which really is a hill, and dates to pre-Christian time in Ireland. There were many minor chieftains in Ireland, but the main one ruled from Tara. Also, it was there that St Patrick explained the trinity using a shamrock with the three leaves and stem. He was given permission to preach Christianity through out Ireland. It was also here, much later in the 1800’s, that Daniel O’Connell (the father of Ireland’s fight for independence) held a peaceful gathering of 500,000 Irish peasants to demand the repeal of the Act of Union with Great Britain.
After several wrong turns (the signage in Ireland is very poor, to say the least) we finally arrived on the west coast at Kinvara for the first night. We drove all the way across the country, and toured several sites, in one afternoon. That gives you some idea of the size of the country. The next day we drove north in to Galway. We walked around the historic old part of the town. We saw St Nicholas Church, a monument to Columbus, the Spanish arch and the Quay. We then drove to the “new” Catholic Church. It was built in 1985, but looks old. The stain glass is phenomenal! There are three rose windows and numerous other stain glass windows depicting Christ’s life. The church is in the shape of a cross with the alter at the center of the cross. The pews run in four directions from the altar, very unusual.
Our visit to the Cliffs of Mohr was in gale force winds and light rain! The parking lot is across from the Cliffs and visitor’s center. We “fought” our way against the wind to the visitor’s center, but did not walk the additional distance to the cliffs, as it appeared we might blow into the sea. Going back to the car, with the wind, Pete caught hold of Jo because she was literally about to blow away!
We circled the Dingle peninsula in “off and on rain” the next day. We stopped at Dunbeg Fort; a ring fort on the coast that dates to the iron age (500 B C to 500 A D). Today you can still see remaining parts of the fort in the rugged terrain. Farther down the road, Pete walked to see some beehive huts. They were constructed of stone (very plentiful) with each successive row closer to the center, creating what appears as a beehive. They were constructed with no mortar. The weight of the stones and the shape of the structure hold it up. These were inhabited until about 1200 A D, by farmers.
The Blasket islands just off the coast once had 200 residents. They fared well during the famine of 1845 because they were self-sufficient. They fished the waters as well as raising crops on the island. However, by 1953 there were only 20 remaining residents and the winters had become harsher. The government moved the last residents to the mainland and the islands are now home only to birds and rabbits.
We found a B & B right on the water at Kells. Our bedroom overlooked the bay with Dingle peninsula across the water. We watched a beautiful sunset from there and our hostess, Agnes, showed us her prayer room the next morning. It is in part of what used to be her in-laws home, which has been standing for about 250 years. We left her with hugs and thanks for a wonderful time.
Driving on south toward the Ring of Kerry, we took a ferry to Valencia Island. We wandered and finally found a road to a picturesque lighthouse on the Atlantic coastline. From the south end of Valencia Island, we crossed a bridge and drove the rest of the Ring of Kerry in rain and gloom. It would have been so beautiful in the sunlight! We stopped at Derrynane, the home of Daniel O’Connor (the one mentioned previously). He stirred up the nation in the 1800’s with a yearning for independence; however, it was not until 1923 that England finally let go and the lower two thirds of Ireland became a republic. The upper third is Northern Ireland and remains a province of England.
Muckross House (a castle) was constructed in 1843, in the Victorian style, during the boom time of the British Empire. Queen Victoria visited there in 1861; the owners spent 6 years preparing for her visit! She stayed only one night! Most of the furnishings are original including the Waterford chandeliers, inlaid furniture and items from India and the Orient. The house was gifted to the state in the 1930’s, but did not open to the public until the 1960’s.
We found a “Farm House” B & B for the night. Noreen, a widow, runs it very frugally.
We visited with her in her living room where she heats with peat. This year she said the summer had been so wet the peat would not burn well. She was supplementing the fire with coal and wood. She turned on the boiler so we would have heat in our bedroom upstairs, but, it must have been on a timer that went off at 10 PM. We awoke to a cold room and dressed quickly!
After a day of aggravation with the car, we made it to the Swiss Cottage, an interesting “cottage orne” (an 18th century summer country house with a thatched roof). This was a summer place for the owners of the Cahir Castle, who also had places in Dublin, London and Paris. It was fashionable at that time for royalty to “pretend” to be common folk and dress in muslin. This cottage was their place to pretend. The house was built in 1810 with only four rooms. Also of interest is no two windows or doors are the same size. However, it also has a basement where the servants prepared meals, uncorked wine and served the gentry who were playing at being peasants. Although the owners were playing at being commoners, the twenty-three farmers living within sight of the house had to move because they “spoiled the view”!
On our last day, we stopped at the Rock of Cashel. The name refers to a huge rock formation upon which an equally huge castle sits. It is in the process of restoration and dates to the 1100’s. There is a chapel that was added in the 1200’s. We noted that the cemetery that surrounds the building is still being used today.
Now, back to the car! We had another on-going adventure during our week in the car. That was our fight with the car itself. We have been driving a Jeep Cherokee for seven years and never had to change a flat tire beside the road. Our Ford Fiesta with the big wheels and skinny tires had not one, but two flat tires that had to be changed beside the road. It only seemed to happen when Pete was wearing a pure white long sleeve shirt. It seems part of the problem was a bent wheel, bent on the inside that is, where we could not see it. So, at one point we had to find a manufacturing business that had expensive equipment to heat and straighten an aluminum wheel. Of course, this had to happen on a Friday afternoon when the employees wanted to get caught up and go party. So, Pete had to beg and whine and finally they gave in and fixed it for us. And then there was the oil leak! Pete noticed a loss of oil pressure and checked the oil level. There was no oil! We sought out an auto shop where a severe oil leak was discovered. The cause of which was an oil filter that was rusted out and had evidently never been changed. We became well acquainted with folks in tire shops, wheel shops and auto shops. They were all very understanding and went the extra mile for us, even though they knew were tourists in a rental car. They are truly great people!
B&B’s are very popular in Ireland, especially in smaller towns and out in the country. They were a completely separate adventure unto themselves and were one of the high points of our visit to Ireland. Although each was very different in location and building, all but one we went to provided a “hot Irish breakfast”. Actually, breakfast is a rather elaborate affair. It is usually served from 7 to 9 AM. When one first arrives in the dining room, juice and coffee is ready. On the sideboard are several kinds of cold cereal and a fruit bowl. One of their cold cereals is a compressed block that you have to break up in your bowl. If you are a big eater, after you finish your cereal, you then order a hot Irish breakfast. This is two eggs, usually fried, Irish bacon, 3 link sausages, a broiled tomato and toasted brown soda bread. Their bacon looks more like our sliced ham and is very, very good. We were able to save a bit of money on food in Ireland by having the Irish breakfast, skipping lunch, and then sharing an early dinner at an Irish pub. The Pub meals were easily enough for two.
Jo liked the Irish bacon so much she bought some to bring home. However, Customs officials decided they liked it more than we did. Therefore, we had to leave it in Philadelphia, as we came back in to the country. She almost cried!
We had one day to see some of Dublin and so we bought tickets to a local tour bus and rode around the city listening to the commentary. We walked to the famine memorial along the Liffey River. It is in remembrance of the potato famine in 1845. We saw Trinity College, which dates to the 1500’s, and is a bustling place with students today. We toured the Jameson Distillery, where Irish whiskey is made. It is the only spirit that is distilled three times to make it smoother. We saw Christ Church which dates from the 1100’s, with the current structure from the 1700’s. They have found relics underground there that date to Norman times.
The Dublin Castle was the seat of English rule for 700 years and is still used today as a government building. It was built on the spot of the first Viking fortress and is located where the Poddle and Liffey Rivers come together forming a black pool (dubb linn in Irish). So, we learned that Dublin means black pool. The castle has art that dates to the 1600’s, Louis XIV chairs and Waterford chandeliers in the “living” rooms.
Sept 20th, the kids arrived at our hotel shortly after 11:00 AM. We rode the bus to Castlenock, a suburb of Dublin, where we picked up the boat for our week on the Royal Canal. Dessie (who we thought was a woman in emails, but wasn’t) met us at the twelfth lock. He showed us how to operate the racks and gates that make up the locks that have been there since the late 1700’s! And they still work, after a fashion! The first morning on the canal, we saw no towns, but the farms and occasional homes were pastoral and unspoiled. It was a very peaceful part of the trip. Blaise and Pete traded off piloting the boat and Jo and Zee handled the lines.
We motored on up the canal to the town of Maynooth, moored, and walked into town for dinner at the “The Roost”. It is a quaint Irish Pub where entire families come. There is a castle there, but we decided to see it on the return trip.
The next morning Blaise got us up at 8:30 - we were all still asleep! We might have slept all day. We did two double locks that day! That means you travel directly from one lock into another - lots of racks and gates to open and close. Blaise and Zee worked hard that day on the locks while Pete and Jo handled the boat.
For the first two days, we had been passing volleyballs floating in the canal. We counted them and came up with fifteen, at least. When we arrived in the village of Kilcock, we discovered where they came from. A club there plays water polo in canoes. There were several nets hanging in the middle of the canal we had to dodge to get by. We stopped there for lunch at a local pub “O’Keefe’s, and had draft beer and “pub grub”. Blaise introduced Pete to Smithwick (pronounced Smitic) draft beer. We pounded stakes in the bank and tied up for the night.
Because of the wet summer, the weeds in the canal were bad! We had to reverse the engine every half hour or so to free the weeds from the prop. However, two miles short of Enfield, we could no longer make progress through the weeds! Since that was our goal, we decided to tie up at Cloncurry Bridge and walk the towpath (2 miles) to Enfield. We had a delightful lunch/dinner at “The Bridge Tavern and Bar”. After we bought some groceries, we took a cab back to the boat. That set us back 10 euro (about $14.00 for two miles). As we were pooped, it was worth it.
On the return, we stopped in Maynooth for a day and toured the local castle. The original structure dates to the 1200’s. It was the seat of government under the British rule at that time. St Patrick’s College was located here in 1795 to educate Catholic priests who had heretofore been sent to France. It is still a very large and active college, albeit not for priests anymore. We took many pictures of the impressive structures. It is interesting that the windows are smaller on each successive floor.
The next day we walked to Carton House from Maynooth. It was originally built by royalty as a “home away from home” from the Maynooth castle. It is now renovated into a luxury hotel and golf course. It is beautifully done with gorgeous gardens. We love how all the old buildings are saved, if possible, and continue in use.
Everyone told us the week we were on the boat was the best weather they had during the entire summer! Every other day during the summer it was either wet or cold, or both. We turned on the heat several mornings, but were in short sleeves by early afternoon and no rain to spoil our boat adventure.
On the 27th, Zee’s birthday, we turned in the boat, rented cars, and headed for New Grange. We toured both New Grange and Knowth. They, and smaller ones like them, date back about 5,000 years ago to the Neolithic age, even before the pyramids in Egypt. They are a series of huge earthon mounds that were built of alternating layers sand, gravel and rock to control erosion. This means of construction is the only reason they are still standing. Each one has tunnels and some have burial chambers. The stones that ring the mounds weigh about 2 tons and came from 60 miles away! (How did they do that?) We were allowed to go into one of the tunnels. It was constructed with a “window” over the doorway that allows the sunlight to enter on the shortest day of the year. It lights the tunnel and the room at the end. Both are bathed in light for a matter of minutes as the sun rises. (And, how did they do that?)
We had breakfast, said ‘good bye’ to the kids, and hit the road for our week of wandering the countryside, going our separate ways. We headed for the Hill of Tara to the west, and the kids were off to County Cork, to the south. We, and they, missed turns in the road, and arrived at the Trim Castle with in minutes of each other. They saw a sign for the Castle and knew it was on our list of places to go, so they decided to go there. We knew it was our second stop, so we went there rather than turn around. We toured the castle together, took pictures, and said “so long”, again.
Trim castle was first built in 1172 of wood, but burned in 1174. The current stone structure dates to 1176! It is surrounded by a “curtain wall” of stone, which enclosed about three acres. The artisans would live within the wall and the peons outside. The ‘gardrobe’ was interesting. It was the indoor toilet - a hole through the floor to the bottom of the castle. Clothes were hung over the shaft and the ammonia fumes killed the ticks and lice in the clothing! We climbed to the top of the castle and were rewarded with fantastic views of the surrounding town and distant hills.
We did get back to the Hill of Tara, which really is a hill, and dates to pre-Christian time in Ireland. There were many minor chieftains in Ireland, but the main one ruled from Tara. Also, it was there that St Patrick explained the trinity using a shamrock with the three leaves and stem. He was given permission to preach Christianity through out Ireland. It was also here, much later in the 1800’s, that Daniel O’Connell (the father of Ireland’s fight for independence) held a peaceful gathering of 500,000 Irish peasants to demand the repeal of the Act of Union with Great Britain.
After several wrong turns (the signage in Ireland is very poor, to say the least) we finally arrived on the west coast at Kinvara for the first night. We drove all the way across the country, and toured several sites, in one afternoon. That gives you some idea of the size of the country. The next day we drove north in to Galway. We walked around the historic old part of the town. We saw St Nicholas Church, a monument to Columbus, the Spanish arch and the Quay. We then drove to the “new” Catholic Church. It was built in 1985, but looks old. The stain glass is phenomenal! There are three rose windows and numerous other stain glass windows depicting Christ’s life. The church is in the shape of a cross with the alter at the center of the cross. The pews run in four directions from the altar, very unusual.
Our visit to the Cliffs of Mohr was in gale force winds and light rain! The parking lot is across from the Cliffs and visitor’s center. We “fought” our way against the wind to the visitor’s center, but did not walk the additional distance to the cliffs, as it appeared we might blow into the sea. Going back to the car, with the wind, Pete caught hold of Jo because she was literally about to blow away!
We circled the Dingle peninsula in “off and on rain” the next day. We stopped at Dunbeg Fort; a ring fort on the coast that dates to the iron age (500 B C to 500 A D). Today you can still see remaining parts of the fort in the rugged terrain. Farther down the road, Pete walked to see some beehive huts. They were constructed of stone (very plentiful) with each successive row closer to the center, creating what appears as a beehive. They were constructed with no mortar. The weight of the stones and the shape of the structure hold it up. These were inhabited until about 1200 A D, by farmers.
The Blasket islands just off the coast once had 200 residents. They fared well during the famine of 1845 because they were self-sufficient. They fished the waters as well as raising crops on the island. However, by 1953 there were only 20 remaining residents and the winters had become harsher. The government moved the last residents to the mainland and the islands are now home only to birds and rabbits.
We found a B & B right on the water at Kells. Our bedroom overlooked the bay with Dingle peninsula across the water. We watched a beautiful sunset from there and our hostess, Agnes, showed us her prayer room the next morning. It is in part of what used to be her in-laws home, which has been standing for about 250 years. We left her with hugs and thanks for a wonderful time.
Driving on south toward the Ring of Kerry, we took a ferry to Valencia Island. We wandered and finally found a road to a picturesque lighthouse on the Atlantic coastline. From the south end of Valencia Island, we crossed a bridge and drove the rest of the Ring of Kerry in rain and gloom. It would have been so beautiful in the sunlight! We stopped at Derrynane, the home of Daniel O’Connor (the one mentioned previously). He stirred up the nation in the 1800’s with a yearning for independence; however, it was not until 1923 that England finally let go and the lower two thirds of Ireland became a republic. The upper third is Northern Ireland and remains a province of England.
Muckross House (a castle) was constructed in 1843, in the Victorian style, during the boom time of the British Empire. Queen Victoria visited there in 1861; the owners spent 6 years preparing for her visit! She stayed only one night! Most of the furnishings are original including the Waterford chandeliers, inlaid furniture and items from India and the Orient. The house was gifted to the state in the 1930’s, but did not open to the public until the 1960’s.
We found a “Farm House” B & B for the night. Noreen, a widow, runs it very frugally.
We visited with her in her living room where she heats with peat. This year she said the summer had been so wet the peat would not burn well. She was supplementing the fire with coal and wood. She turned on the boiler so we would have heat in our bedroom upstairs, but, it must have been on a timer that went off at 10 PM. We awoke to a cold room and dressed quickly!
After a day of aggravation with the car, we made it to the Swiss Cottage, an interesting “cottage orne” (an 18th century summer country house with a thatched roof). This was a summer place for the owners of the Cahir Castle, who also had places in Dublin, London and Paris. It was fashionable at that time for royalty to “pretend” to be common folk and dress in muslin. This cottage was their place to pretend. The house was built in 1810 with only four rooms. Also of interest is no two windows or doors are the same size. However, it also has a basement where the servants prepared meals, uncorked wine and served the gentry who were playing at being peasants. Although the owners were playing at being commoners, the twenty-three farmers living within sight of the house had to move because they “spoiled the view”!
On our last day, we stopped at the Rock of Cashel. The name refers to a huge rock formation upon which an equally huge castle sits. It is in the process of restoration and dates to the 1100’s. There is a chapel that was added in the 1200’s. We noted that the cemetery that surrounds the building is still being used today.
Now, back to the car! We had another on-going adventure during our week in the car. That was our fight with the car itself. We have been driving a Jeep Cherokee for seven years and never had to change a flat tire beside the road. Our Ford Fiesta with the big wheels and skinny tires had not one, but two flat tires that had to be changed beside the road. It only seemed to happen when Pete was wearing a pure white long sleeve shirt. It seems part of the problem was a bent wheel, bent on the inside that is, where we could not see it. So, at one point we had to find a manufacturing business that had expensive equipment to heat and straighten an aluminum wheel. Of course, this had to happen on a Friday afternoon when the employees wanted to get caught up and go party. So, Pete had to beg and whine and finally they gave in and fixed it for us. And then there was the oil leak! Pete noticed a loss of oil pressure and checked the oil level. There was no oil! We sought out an auto shop where a severe oil leak was discovered. The cause of which was an oil filter that was rusted out and had evidently never been changed. We became well acquainted with folks in tire shops, wheel shops and auto shops. They were all very understanding and went the extra mile for us, even though they knew were tourists in a rental car. They are truly great people!
How we acquired our two cats, Boo and Cinnamon
Ah, the unexpected delights of work-camping. As gate attendants at a Corps of Engineers campground, the job came with a campsite, and with the campsite came a wild campground cat, a female calico. We named her Lil’ Bit. We were asked by the winter caretakers to feed the cat, as they had during their stay. Soon after we assumed this duty, she blessed us with kittens.
Being grandparents to kittens was fun but stressful. We seemed to go from one crisis to another. At one point, the mother cat became too sick to continue eating and drinking. Since she was taking on no water, the milk slacked off and the kittens were hungry and hollering. With the mother cat passed out, we finally got enough water into her that she recovered enough to nurse the kittens.
We tended to forget the mother cat is “wild” because she let us pet her and the kittens. But she would allow us to show the kittens to just one person at a time. When we showed them to two park rangers at the same time, she did not like that and let us all know it by escaping into the woods with one of the kittens while we were at work. After recovering the missing kitten from a trash pile, we got it back into the box with the others and moved box and kittens inside the coach.
About this time, mom showed up. Although she was hissing and spitting, she kept her distance. We had a stalemate. We returned to work, leaving mom outside to stew.
When we got home at 10:00 p.m., mom was waiting for us. We invited her to come in, and about that time the kittens realized we were home and started a hungry chorus. When mom heard this, her mother instincts kicked in and she could not help herself. She came inside, growling all the way.
She made another attempt to escape with one of the kittens, but with the door
closed, she was stuck inside. She carried the kitten around in circles, but finally
Work-camping Continued on next page she lay down and let the one kitten nurse.
Wow, we’ve made progress. We took the rest of the kittens out of the box and put them with her on the floor. After a while of nursing, we put the kittens back in the box and then lifted mom into the box. She lay down, and we breathed a big sigh of relief.
Good as this is, it posed a significant problem. We now have a “wild” cat in the house, and we need to go to sleep. Was she going to tear the place down? Before we fall asleep, we hear thunder. A storm is coming our way. How are the kittens going to react? Would you believe, the little darlings slept all night long, right through a terrible thunderstorm.
The next morning, mother cat came in and climbed in the box with the kittens,
who immediately started eating. All, including mom, seemed happy and con-
tent. Great! But we had to go to work and couldn’t leave mom and kids in the house for eight hours alone. After a while, we decided to risk another fight and moved the kittens and box back to the front cubby, then moved mom back also. Everyone settled down and looked normal. Life is good!
Our life was relatively calm for a few days. The kittens lived in their playground in the front cubby of the coach. Mom was up and down when the kids needed a meal. We sat in a chair or on a box in front of the door to the cubby and happily watched the activity. We named the kittens Cinnamon, Patches, Sandy, Boo and Boo Boo. Cinnamon and Sandy are yellow and white, Patches is the calico and Boo and Boo Boo are all white (as in ghost) with blue eyes.
Now, you may have figured out time is passing and the family is growing older. We don’t want to have more feral cats in the local woods. So, we need to make some plans. We got prices to “fix” mom.The problem is what to do with five kittens. Because of our lifestyle, we have avoided pets for the last seven years. A call to local shelters did not take care of the problem. They have a glut of kittens up for adoption. So, back to the drawing board. We put up signs on the gatehouse with the hope that good families would swarm all over us to adopt. In the meantime (and this was not part of the plan), Pete falls in love with Cinnamon, one of the yellow and white kittens. We start taking her in the coach to get her used to it. Then Jo decides Cinnamon is lonesome and brings one of the white kittens inside. Now, this is getting out of hand! But we can’t help it and resign ourselves to a lifestyle change incorporating two cats. And so another chapter in our life begins. The signs on the gatehouse eventually had their effect, and we found good homes for the remaining three. We are a little sad to lose them, but five cats in an RV?
We had Lil’ Bit “fixed,” and she still lives in the campground.
Being grandparents to kittens was fun but stressful. We seemed to go from one crisis to another. At one point, the mother cat became too sick to continue eating and drinking. Since she was taking on no water, the milk slacked off and the kittens were hungry and hollering. With the mother cat passed out, we finally got enough water into her that she recovered enough to nurse the kittens.
We tended to forget the mother cat is “wild” because she let us pet her and the kittens. But she would allow us to show the kittens to just one person at a time. When we showed them to two park rangers at the same time, she did not like that and let us all know it by escaping into the woods with one of the kittens while we were at work. After recovering the missing kitten from a trash pile, we got it back into the box with the others and moved box and kittens inside the coach.
About this time, mom showed up. Although she was hissing and spitting, she kept her distance. We had a stalemate. We returned to work, leaving mom outside to stew.
When we got home at 10:00 p.m., mom was waiting for us. We invited her to come in, and about that time the kittens realized we were home and started a hungry chorus. When mom heard this, her mother instincts kicked in and she could not help herself. She came inside, growling all the way.
She made another attempt to escape with one of the kittens, but with the door
closed, she was stuck inside. She carried the kitten around in circles, but finally
Work-camping Continued on next page she lay down and let the one kitten nurse.
Wow, we’ve made progress. We took the rest of the kittens out of the box and put them with her on the floor. After a while of nursing, we put the kittens back in the box and then lifted mom into the box. She lay down, and we breathed a big sigh of relief.
Good as this is, it posed a significant problem. We now have a “wild” cat in the house, and we need to go to sleep. Was she going to tear the place down? Before we fall asleep, we hear thunder. A storm is coming our way. How are the kittens going to react? Would you believe, the little darlings slept all night long, right through a terrible thunderstorm.
The next morning, mother cat came in and climbed in the box with the kittens,
who immediately started eating. All, including mom, seemed happy and con-
tent. Great! But we had to go to work and couldn’t leave mom and kids in the house for eight hours alone. After a while, we decided to risk another fight and moved the kittens and box back to the front cubby, then moved mom back also. Everyone settled down and looked normal. Life is good!
Our life was relatively calm for a few days. The kittens lived in their playground in the front cubby of the coach. Mom was up and down when the kids needed a meal. We sat in a chair or on a box in front of the door to the cubby and happily watched the activity. We named the kittens Cinnamon, Patches, Sandy, Boo and Boo Boo. Cinnamon and Sandy are yellow and white, Patches is the calico and Boo and Boo Boo are all white (as in ghost) with blue eyes.
Now, you may have figured out time is passing and the family is growing older. We don’t want to have more feral cats in the local woods. So, we need to make some plans. We got prices to “fix” mom.The problem is what to do with five kittens. Because of our lifestyle, we have avoided pets for the last seven years. A call to local shelters did not take care of the problem. They have a glut of kittens up for adoption. So, back to the drawing board. We put up signs on the gatehouse with the hope that good families would swarm all over us to adopt. In the meantime (and this was not part of the plan), Pete falls in love with Cinnamon, one of the yellow and white kittens. We start taking her in the coach to get her used to it. Then Jo decides Cinnamon is lonesome and brings one of the white kittens inside. Now, this is getting out of hand! But we can’t help it and resign ourselves to a lifestyle change incorporating two cats. And so another chapter in our life begins. The signs on the gatehouse eventually had their effect, and we found good homes for the remaining three. We are a little sad to lose them, but five cats in an RV?
We had Lil’ Bit “fixed,” and she still lives in the campground.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)