March 28, 2014--South to Chicago

For a long time, John and I had agreed that our very first trip to Europe, which was to Ireland in 1982 with John's parents, was our most magical.  None of us had seen the Atlantic from the other side and none of us had traveled across that ocean.  We found an Are Lingus charter that included round trip air fare to and from Chicago, a rental car for a week and six nights of B&B vouchers--all for $650.  And we were off to Shannon, driving the Ring of Kerry and the southern coastal road to Dublin, where we took a flight back to the states.  

In 1990, John and I took the boys to Europe for Christopher's High School graduation.  One of our multi-country stops was in the south of Ireland to visit castles and kiss the Blarney Stone.

It was with these past adventures in mind that we set off mid-morning and began our drive to Chicago, where we were to board a British Airways plane to Dublin, via Heathrow. Since we live in northern Michigan where there is abundant natural beauty but little shopping, we decided to stop on-route in Grand Rapids.  We had decided to begin the search for a replacement to our trusty Subaru, which had taken us to/from California three times.  We had decided that it had a bit more mileage than we were comfortable with and that we needed a bit more space to carry John's growing instrument list.  So, we stopped to test drive two SUVs that were on our interest list but not available in Traverse City. 

After a couple of hours, and two test drives, we decided the day was waning and we needed to get to Chicago.  We were soon on our way south where we were to spend the night at the O'Hare Westin. 

We were surprised, as we drove south , that there was no apparent snow--not even in Chicago...quite a difference from the two feet which surrounded house in Frankfort. 

March 29--Chicago to Dublin

After a good night's sleep and a leisurely morning at the Westin, we took their shuttle to O'Hare, leaving our car in their parking lot for our return. We arrived at British Airways to check in for our flight. We had booked Business Class but a persuasive agent offered us a First Class upgrade at a reasonable charge. We had not flown first class to Europe for almost two decades. We were curious to see what changes had occurred. 

We were met at the door of the plane and taken to our seats which would become a flatbed complete with duvet, two pillows and pi's once we had eaten dinner. After take-off, we accepted a glass of champagne and selected a movie to watch during dinner. John choose the second Hobbit movie and I chose Austenland, the story of a young woman obsessed with Jane Austen. 

After the movie, we decided to get some sleep. We had about six hours of flying time to London, where we would connect on a second flight to Dublin. About an hour before touchdown, we awoke to breakfast. 

First class was a lovely experience, as long as you did not have to pay full fare to enjoy it. 

March 30--Dublin

Upon landing at Heathrow, and after a decent amount of sleep, we began the one hour and 40 minute journey that would get us to our connecting gate. Apart from Heathrow's massive size and the need to take a bus from our arrival terminal to our departure terminal, we also had to go through several security checks, including photographs of our retinas and official admission into the UK through immigration. Thank goodness we had a two hour connect window. 

The flight to Dublin was uneventful and Justin of Dublin Chauffeurs awaited in the arrivals to drive us to Number 31, the inn that would be our home for the next four days. We learned that is was actually two separate buildings on either side of a very sweet garden.  The charming and knowledgeable Adam greeted us with Irish tea and gave us a quick orientation to the city center with a local map. He then took us to our room in their Georgian guesthouse.  Arriving at our second floor room, we took a short nap. 

We later learned that the owner, Neil Comer, had been with the British military for 25 years.  He had served in Lebanon and other middle eastern posts.  In commenting on his service in that region, he said:  "Nothing is as it seems."  Very mysterious and probably true!!!

After waking from our nap, we walked to Farm restaurant, known for its excellent gluten free options and had what was to be our first of three dinners there. At dinner that evening, we instituted what was to be a nightly toast to the best thing we each experienced each day. 

My first toast was to "the arriving on the Emerald Isle."  John's was to "the excellent food and service at Farm." 

Upon returning to Number 31, we watched Endeavor on Masterpiece Mysteries. We managed to stay up until 10:00pm local time before a full night's sleep. 

March 31--Dublin

After a full Irish breakfast, served by the delightful Elena, we set out on foot for Dublin city center. We passed through St. Stephen's Green, a significant and lovely city park with sports fields, ponds, ducks and a riot of blooming bushes and trees. Daffodils were popped out everywhere. As two visitors, who had seen only snow on the ground for months, we were thrilled. We carried on to Trinity College where we saw the Book of Kells, a famous 9th century manuscript rendering of the four gospels by Irish monks. The pages featured their uniform script as well as colorful and intricate drawings with stunning symbols including Celtic knots, figures of real and 
inspired beasts and various Christian symbols.


Upon departing Trinity, we visited St. Patrick's Cathedral, built in 1220, where we lit candles for our mothers. While grand, we found the interior generally stark, with little color, even in the stained glass windows.  The exception was the exquisite tile floor with a stunning geometric pattern and a riot of color.

We decided on a picnic lunch in our room so that John would not be late for  the first of three classes in Irish fiddling at the Walton School of Music. While John was in class, I had a massage, which certainly eased the rigors of travel. John was very pleased with his teacher and with new techniques that he learned.  Spending several days in Dublin, so he could attend the lessons, was proving to be a good choice. 

Since we thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Farm on Sunday, we decided to return and had a marvelous meal of lamb with a spectacular bottle of Chateauneuf de Pape. We both said "Wow!" after our first sip. 

My nightly toast was to" the daffodils in St. Stephen's Green." John's was to his "first music lesson." 

After dinner and our walk back to Number 31, we retired to watch BBC, this evening less successfully. We both fell asleep watching Silk. Jet lag was catching up with us. 

April 1-Dublin

After a lovely breakfast of porridge, oatmeal by any other name, but never so good as this, we set out by taxi to Christchurch Cathedral, a second 9th century cathedral, where we did see spectacular tiled floors and ornate stained glass windows. Apart from its elaborate sanctuary, Christchurch had a vast crypt which was utterly fascinating. John was taken with the mummified cat and rat found in an organ pipe. I found the superstructure of the building, so clear underground, to be amazing. 

Before leaving the cathedral, we lighted candles for our Mothers.  We next visited Dublinia, which presented the history of the Viking's involvement with Dublin beginning with their settlement in 841. We learned a lot about the Vikings and enjoyed the exhibit and the humorous docents, dressed in period apparel, who enlivened our visit.  

Since it was by now close to lunch, we walked to Avoca Cafe where we each had the delicious crab salad. John's was made gluten free.  Thoroughly pleased with ourselves, we returned to the room in time for John to grab his violin and head to Walton's. I walked to a laundry where I dropped off our first few days of clothing and went to have my hair done. 

When John returned to the room, we decided not to knock a good thing and headed, once again, to Farm for dinner. We were greeted by the now familiar staff and enjoyed another excellent meal. 

My toast that evening was to "the Christchurch Crypt." John toasted "the first four bars of the Musical Priest" that he had learned that day. 

Once back at Number 31, we read until bedtime. 

April 2--Dublin

After a hearty breakfast in the sun room at Number 31, we made our way to a near-by location of Hertz to secure our rental car for the journey north and west that was to commence the following day. John had chosen a Nissan Qashqai SUV. He drove it back to Number 31 where one of the staff drove it to their car park for the night. 

John's fiddling lesson, on this third and final day, was scheduled for noon, so we ate a light snack before he set off for class and I headed to Dublin Castle, known as the seat of official state functions in Ireland since 1204. Its resplendent rooms ranged from the Throne Room to the State Dining Room, made for a circular table. Each were hung with portraits of kings, noblemen and women. One room featured the life of Lord Pomfrey, who, as a member of Britain's Parliament, served as the head of government in Ireland for many years. He worked well across the aisle and was beloved by the Irish people. When he lost his seat in parliament, a scroll of thanks was signed by over 100,000 Irish people. 

Within the gardens of the Castle, sits the Chester Beatty Library, which houses the largest private collection of books in Europe. Beatty traveled the world, with his parents, as a youth, and later as an adult. His collection includes many ancient texts from China, India, Turkey, Iran and Japan. It also contains many ancient books of Buddhism, Islam and Christianity including the oldest copies of several of Paul's letters. I was so excited by the letter that I snapped an iPhone photo and sent it to our Disciples class.  I was sorry John had missed it.
By returning to the room, just after his class, we were able to nap before going to the theatre that evening.

On the way to the Abbey Theatre, we stopped at the Canal Bank Cafe for appetizers.  John toasted "his nap" and I toasted "St. Paul's letters." 

The play, Sive, is a tragic tale of a young girl, whose choices are limited by fate and her family, when the village matchmaker offers a substantial sum should she marry a man old enough to be her grandfather. The writing was thoughtful.  The acting was excellent.  The direction was on point.  We both enjoyed the drama.

We got to bed quite late for two visitors planning to drive to Belfast the following day.  

April 3--Dublin to Belfast

We drove north out of Dublin, after paying our 888 euro balance at Number 31, through several round-abouts, to get to the M-1, a four to six lane highway that leaves Dublin and connects to the N-1, a coastal route north. It was to be a three and a half hour drive, with a side trip to Newgrange, a Neolithic passage tomb, dating from 3200 BC, that was the oldest site of its type in Ireland. We we're enthralled by our guide's remarks as we stood in front of the entrance overlooking two other similar tombs, a few miles away, in the distant sweeping meadows.

Our group entered the narrow, and sometimes short, passage to arrive at the central circular section where cremated remains were originally found. The Newgrange tomb is famous for its winter solstice alignment.  An opening, in the ceiling, over the entrance, allows for sunlight to enter the tomb and glow all the way down the passage to the central section. This can happen for a day or two at dawn on each side of the actual solstice date. So many people want to see this example of ancient engineering and mystery that Ireland has to hold a lottery for attendance.

We enjoyed Newgrange so much that we decided to drive about 45 minutes south to see Trim Castle, a siege fortress from the 12th century, that is still somewhat intact.  There, we were guided through the ruins, by a very competent and well informed guide. We learned about siege warfare:  burning the stairs as you raced into the castle...diverting rain off the steeply pitched roof to obtain drinking water...building a flared out skirt around the base of the keep to avoid tunneling by the enemy.

From Trim Castle, we drove to Comber, a rural suburb of Belfast, to the home of Ken and Anna Johnson. A two story atrium with picture windows all around had been added to their home, about ten years ago, making for a very dramatic setting to greet one's guests. There Anna served us tea while Ken answered the phone to take another booking. There were two upstairs bedrooms set aside for guests such as ourselves. Ours had a wee bathroom with shower and a side sitting room...for early risers like John.

Over tea, we learned that the Johnson's had lived there for 38 years, much of that time Ken, now 85, had worked as a structural engineer at the Belfast Shipyard. Anna, who had studied philosophy in college, raised two sons:  one now lives and works in Singapore for a bank, the other, a microbiologist researcher, is an Oxford professor.

We settled into our room and later drove to a nearby pub for a simple dinner. At a neighboring table, a young local couple struck up a conversation with us, asking if we were Canadians. We later agreed it was the nicest compliment we had received all day.  They recommended a number of stops for our journey.

As dinner was served, with our pints in hand, John toasted  "surviving the drive" and I toasted "the passage tomb at Newgrange."