tbaroundtheworld

The final stop of the day was the venerable Cliffs of Moher, one of the classical stops on any driving tour of Ireland. The view is truly remarkable, bolstered by the wonderful job they have done with the interpretive center that is built into the side of the hill, looking like a giant hobbit hole. Once concessionaire with a sense of humor named his shop The Gifts of Moher. Perhaps you recall a previous visit when I got so mad at some guy driving a tour bus who could not manage to pay the parking fee without getting out of his boat that I in turn drove off in a snit. Well this time we had the problem with the parking fee as the auto-pay kiosk didn't seem to work judging from the hand printed sign taped on the front announcing as much. But we got through and headed across the road with a gale force wind at our backs. Thankfully it had stopped raining, a nice touch given the sub zero temperatures accompanying the stiff breeze. We walked up and around, peering over the cliffs. The wal...

Hore Abbey is located just below The Rock, across the road and in the middle of a large green field. It is an 11th century Cistercian monastery, originally founded by the Benedictines but handed over by the Bishop when he alienated the local brewers by demanding a tax of two flagons from each batch of brew. Two of his monks were murdered in town and so the message was clear - beer tax does not make for an open-armed welcome. Finding our way here was far easier because it was right out there in the open. Parking was another story, because there was none so we bailed out of the car while Scott parked it in a tiny scrape in front of a stone wall. The abbey was great - nice carvings and details and a grand main transept. I wandered around the associated graveyard a bit and found one touching internment. Pvt. M. Dwyer, killed during the early part of World War I and laid here to rest among the ancient stones. The abbey is unique in that the cloister is on the north side, odd that normally t...

We wandered down the hill and into a little cafe that we'd noticed on our way up. I ordered a chicken sandwich and chips which turned out to be the neatest little sandwich cut into fourths on the bias and served on white bread with fresh Irish butter. The chips were hot, fresh steak fries. I had a nice chat with the owner about Ireland and China and she told me to "be careful" on my journeys. She was very sweet and genuinely interested in my tales of adventure. From there it was on to Hore Abbey, the ruin across the street from Cashel. More on that in a subsequent blog, but for now I wanted to talk about Thatched Roofs. I've tried numerous times in the past to get a good shot of these uniquely Irish homes, but given that it's so hard to get a photo from a country road with no shoulder and cars whizzing past at 100 KPH, I've never managed to squeeze one off. On this trip though, I got lucky and have added a few examples below. The construction is quite remarkab...

Our primary objective for the day was The Rock of Cashel, a medieval fortress located outside Tipperary. It is said to be one of the best sites in all of Europe due to the condition and the various styles of buildings. It was originally the fortress of the Kings of Munster and it is rumored that the last pagan king was converted to Christianity on the site in the 5th century, by St. Patrick himself. The buildings range in age from the 11th through the 18th centuries when it was abandoned because the current Bishop felt the site was too cold for his liking. He moved down the hill and into town, building another church and a palace that is now the Cashel Hotel. Driving into town, you round a corner and there it is up on this formidable hill, overlooking a broad valley. It's immediately plain why it was built there - it is protected in all directions. So protected that as always, while we could see it, we couldn't necessarily get to it. We went in on the main road and tried to fin...

Today's entry breaks new ground, cell phone blogging from the N62 in the farmlands of Ireland. The trip over was quick and simple. I was expecting it to be Dantean, given the hundreds of screaming, sugar charged children in the waiting area, a clamor that brought Chinese airports to mind. But they ended up in the middle of the plane and I was in the back. So it was a peaceful ride. We arrived on time and my bag, as always, was the last off the plane. I exited the airport into a wind driven rain and the temperature drove me to think I had brought the wrong jacket. Found my tiny car, an automatic for a change, pulled out and ran into the curb at the exit booth, a tradition at this point. Off to the hotel and following a brief clean up, back into Dublin. The weather cleared up spectacularly and we had a nice afternoon strolling around looking at the sights. We stopped at Dublin Castle, Christ Church and St. Audoen's Parish before hunting down my favorite Thai restaurant for a spi...

So here I am blogging from the Tom Bradley International Terminal in lovely LA. It's spring here - eucalyptus is fragrant, the azaleas are in bloom and the airport workers are spending their lunch time sprawled out under the palms. But more on LA later. Taking a local carrier over to an international connection raises the stakes a bit - no one cares if your connection is blown or if your bag is lost. For a less than intrepid traveler, this makes it a tiny but more stressful and the delay to my first flight of the day raised the stakes even further. But it worked out and the delay was only 15 minutes or so. I've spoken about Southwest's not so new boarding process a few times in the past. 7 foot steel poles with the boarding groups painted in bold black letters. To make it doubly simple, the numbers are painted on both of the poles that bracket you group. Like 31-35 with arrows pointing to the left and the right. No matter though, because this complex math continues to stymi...

Friday I will be heading out again this time time going around the world in the other direction. My goal - to regain that day I lost last time by crossing the International Date Line heading west. All joking aside, this one should be interesting. 100% in the "wrong" direction - east - except for the short hop from Albuquerque to LA at the start. Traveling this direction means a never ending pharmaceutical feast of No-Jet-Lag (TM) and Melatonin in hopes that I will be able to stay awake while tending to business. After Dublin and Dalian, I'll be back home for two days and then off to Phoenix and Denver for the following week. April, well April will seem like a dream. Here's the route -