Started out in the rain, passing by Clocmacnoise as we had already visited Glendalough. And it was still raining as we headed East towards Dublin. We didn't start early either, having a relaxed morning with our lovely hosts. We arrived at Trim Castle, the grandest and most impt of the Norman Castles in the Boyne Valley and had great guided tour. then we went over hill and dale to find Bru na Boinne, a burial/worship site older than the pyramids at Giza. Very interesting. Then it was time to find our hotel, not far from the airport in Dublin. Incredibly huge resort hotel. Great beds and room but we only got 4 hours sleep. Early morning, and very tough time finding the restaurant for dinner. Oh well... read more

What a great Full Irish Breakfast cook David is. We drove a tiny road up and over the hills behind us to Camp, on the n. side of the narrow peninsula. Lovely views and SHEEP all over. We meant to take the Conor pass but accidently took another and brought ourselves to the south side at Inch again. Oh well. Saw the pub where Antarctic explorer lived and worked. That was the best weather of the day - as you can see when we are "in the clouds" the rest of the day. NOT RAIN = let's be clear about that. stopped at stone aged "beehive huts" - went in 2. One had a "subterrain" passage to the outside. Very well fortified. PreChristian. We did see some referenced landmarks, but never saw the Great Blasket island, ... read more

Is anyone reading these? If not, it will still help us remember our amazing visit to Ireland. We had our first "Irish" breakfast at this nice B&B - little medallions of black pudding and white pudding, (Canadian) bacon, sunny side up egg, grilled tomato. Could have had porridge, cereals, fruits, etc etc etc. Then off to the Waterford Crystal factory tour. It was fascinating to see the craftsmen and hear about the process. No temptations to buy! Then off to New Ross to meet Mary Jo Mohlmasters second cousin (we think), Mike Quinn, and his 14 yr old son Josh. We sat for an hour to have tea/scones, wishing it could have been longer but the tour started after that hour. What a nice man -- we think niceness must be in the genes. We continue ... read more

Wow, what a long day - we got a great night sleep and awoke bright and early with the sun coming in. Up and out and walked into the city, maybe 20 mins, via St Stephens Green, which was an interesting historic site for the "Easter Rising" of 1922. We had see a documentary about the Rising so it made more sense to walk around the city sites. We found Trinity College and had a really wonderful tour from a PhD candidate in philosophy from Ely, UK. David and he had much to chat about (school sports teams, strange robes needing to be worn for special dinners and exams, etc). Then the library and Book of Kells. We saw a small Celtic Harp that was hundreds of years old. Evidently English suppression of Irish nationalism tried ... read more

We drove from Kent to Niagara Falls after lunch today and met up with John & Robin Legan here at the hotel at 6 pm. We will do some exploring tomorrow before arriving at the Airport in Toronto for a 6:30pm-ish flight. This is our practice post, showing some photos of the Falls at night with a FULL moon. The camera just can't do justice to the beauty.... read more