Remember, you'll probably have to scroll down to see more photos. Bru na Boinne is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that preserves one of the most archaeologically significant prehistoric landscapes in the world. In addition to megalithic art, Bru na Boinne includes a number of Neolithic burial chambers. There was a Visitor Center then a good bit of a walk then a shuttle bus to one of the tombs. It's over 5,000 years old, perfectly catches the sunrise on the winter solstice, and is constructed from rock (some very large) and quartz from the surrounding hundreds of miles, an organized project for Stone Age people. This was the last full day with our Road Scholar tour. From Bru na Boinne, we drove towards Dublin for our last dinner at a hotel near the airport. After dinner, ... read more

Today, we left Northern Ireland and returned to the Republic of Ireland to Donegal. Why, if this is a tour of Northern Ireland? You might remember that when the country was partitioned and Northern Ireland was created, the counties that were to make up Northern Ireland were chosen specifically to provide a protestant majority. Donegal, which is part of Ulster, is mainly Catholic so was left in Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement specified that there would be no hard borders on the island. Again, we could tell we went from one to the other when the km became miles and the line down the side of the road changed color. We headed to Glenveagh National Park, formerly Glenveagh Castle. Situated on a lake, it is a beautiful locale. From Wikipedia (and the movie in the Visitor ... read more

Since yesterday wasn't uplifting enough, we spent this morning at the Titanic Museum. Very well done museum, tracing the Titanic from inception, planning, building, furnishing, launching, sailing, sinking, and investigations. --There were no laundry facilities on board so all the linens that would be need for the trip were on board; --I guess you haven't used the bathroom till you've used a Royal Doulton urinal; --Rivets (3,000,000 of them) were driven by hand. Put the red-hot rivet through the hole, two men on one side hammering while another on the other side blocking so the metal would curl back on itself. This worked better if you have a left- and a right-handed man working together hammering; it was faster and they didn't get in each other's way. Returned to the city itself and went on a ... read more

We got to the airport a few hours early so our chauffeur (Hillary) could get back for an evening meeting so we had time to buy and read a Post, eat our sandwiches, fiddle with our phones, and wander around before we even checked our luggage! Security went fine and we got to the B gate concourse in time for a glass of wine and some people watching. Flight was good, our luggage made it too, and we found our group. The first part of this trip is with Road Scholars, to Northern Ireland. Got on a bus and headed north. Cloudy day but could see lots of green and plenty of gorse bushes in bloom. Got all checked in, showered (is there much better than a shower after a plane ride?), found the nice hotel ... read more

Well, of course, everything was very well organized for our departure from the hotel (6 a.m.) and delivery to the airport. The line to check our luggage was a good half-hour (but nothing compared to the Passport line at Dulles). Passport check was quick and easy as was Security until they caught Susan's arsenal on the x-ray. This bag of knitting equipment has been on any number of domestic and international flight (it had to get to Panama somehow) but these agents were extra careful. I think the woman was trying to tell me that I could go and talk to someone at the customer service desk (and maybe they would have found a way to get the items home) but I didn't want to risk another 30+ minute wait. So, they kept it all. Nothing ... read more