Dublin
We have been without internet access for several days, so I will try to catch up in abridged form.
We drove across Ireland, to stay in Dublin for a few days. The first 50% of the drive took nearly 80% of the time, because the roads were so narrow and twisty. Once we got about 30 kilometers east of Athlone, there was a big, multi-lane carriageway, and we flew.
Athlone was great. More complicated history, in the sense that the biggest event in city history was the sieges of 1690 and 1691. If I understood correctly: William of Orange, and his forces (supprtoed by the Dutch) were trying to win the English throne by attacking the Irish and French in a castle in the center of Ireland, which market the dividing line between Munster and Connacht. Eventually the Williamites won, and a Dutch general named Ginkel was named Earl of Athlone for his efforts. Irish history is complicated. Athlone has the oldest pub in Ireland,Sean’s Bar, which dates back at least to 900 AD. I had a Guinness. The bartender (who looked as though he dated back to about 1100 AD) gave me a priceless look of disdain when I asked whether they served lunch.
Arriving in Dublin was a little bit of a crowded shock, after a week in the rural west. Our hotel, on St. Stephen’s Green, was nice. Overall, Dublin is a nice, small city. There are still a lot of areas to be renovated, refurbished, and upgraded, but the influx of money in the last 20 years is apparent.
The highlights were ChristChurch Cathedral, where we heard a competition on the huge pipe organ, and our walk along the old canal on our last day. Food was marginally better, and the city itself was pleasant. Weather continued to be awful, which many people assured us was anomalous (not sure we believe them). Lots of literary history, and lots of confusing, bloody Irish history.
On Wednesday, we took the fast ferry from Dublin to Holyhead, Wales. Apparently, Jonathan Swift took this route frequently, and he even wrote a poem about it. The ferry and train was great after so many days of driving. We got to London in about 9 hours door to door, and saw a lot of beautiful NW Wales scenery. Unfortunately, we promptly left Zola’s bag on a sidewalk in London, and lost a load of little boy’s clothes. Not the worst thing that could have happened.
Overall, Ireland: many beautiful places, and a lot of compelling history. Very expensive with the strong Euro, and the people drink a lot. The weather is dodgy at best. We learned a lot about travelling as a family, and on balance had a good time.