Ireland: days 2 & 3

Still haven't made it to Galway :)
Yesterday I went to Slane and Kells. Slane has a wonderful ruined abbey on the Hill of Slane. It overlooks the countryside for miles around. It's where St Patrick lit the Paschal Fire, in 433 AD, in contravention of Pagan law forbidding any other fire but the King's at Beltane. The beginning of the end for Paganism in Ireland. The ruins that are on the Hill date from the early 1500s. There's not much left, just the shell of the college and the abbey tower. The graveyard is pretty full though and has some great Celtic crosses.
Slane Castle, in the town itself, is used for rock concerts these days - U2 are one mob I know have played there. It was closed when I was there though.
Next stop was Kells. They have a copy of the Book of Kells on display in the Information centre - the real thing is at Trinity College. Fascinating work of art. There's also an excellent 10th century round tower at the church up the hill. It's 90 feet tall and has 6 floors inside. No staircase though - access by ladder only!! But I guess if you were sheltering in there from a Viking attack you'd probably climb the walls unaided to get to safety. Plenty more Celtic crosses in the graveyard too. Impressive.

Today I wandered over to Westport, a pretty town near the west coast. From there I made my way to Louisburgh which is where I've parked myself for the night. This area has some fascinating history. Croagh Patrick (mountain) dominates the whole area. Appropriate as it's Ireland's Holy Mountain. St Patrick again - he's supposed to have spent 40 days and nights on the summit, fasting, praying, doing penance. It's a major pilgrimage site now and there was a steady stream of people heading upwards while I was there. I stayed at sea level. I know my limitations!
The national Famine Monument at Murrisk is also worth seeing. It's a bronze sculpture representing one of the coffin ships that transported Irish immigrants away from the Great Famine of 1845-52. The ship's sails and masts are made up of skeletal figures - representing both the Famine and the journey. Impressive piece of work.
Murrisk Friary is a few hundred metres away - not much left now but enough to give a sense of the place.

I was going to go out again this evening and take some sunset pics along the coast. But it's raining so I'm staying put - watching Liverpool on TV will have to do :)

Maybe tomorrow I'll get to Galway and beyond...

I'll leave you with this gem I overheard while having dinner in the bar of the hotel I'm staying at:
Re a recent trip to Tunisia: "The Safari tour was real disappointing. It was just a wildlife park. We didn't get to see the Safari Desert at all."

Later....

Ireland

Took off from Manchester at 8am yesterday - 35 minute flight into Dublin. Haha, how do Aer Lingus staff know that all passengers are on board? They do a head count. Anyway, by 9.45 I'd picked up my hire car and was on my way. I've got a Nissan Micra - the world's smallest car!! Only just fits my case, computer and camera in the boot. But it's easy to drive and cheap to run.
5 minutes down the road and I found myself in a town called Swords, complete with ruined castle. Photo op #1. It wasn't open yet though so I only saw the outside. I'm sure there are better ones to look at though.
I had intended to head for Galway and start touring from there. But, a few miles along I saw a sign to the Battle of the Boyne so headed there. Glad I did. I ended up on a tour (5 euros) of the passage tombs of Knowth. Fascinating place: one huge mound surrounded by 18 smaller ones. Megalithic art carvings on most of the kerbstones surrounding the main tomb. Apparently one-third of Europe's known megalithic art can be found at this one site.



From there I found myself in Drogheda, on the east coast. So much for heading west! The town itself looks a bit rundown but it was full of old churches, a fort and a ruined abbey. The tomtom GPS I've got a loan of kept sending me the wrong way up one-way streets. Spent about an hour trying to find one particular church I could see the spire of. Gave up in the end.
I ended up in a town called Navan where I found a room in the Ardboyne Hotel. Haha, the only room left was the bridal suite so I got it at standard room price (69 euros). Sweet. Lovely hotel and the staff are great too.

There are a couple of things nearby I want to look at today - there's an abbey up the road and Kells is about 20 miles west. The Book of Kells has always fascinated me so I have to go see.....
Then I'll head west to Galway I think. Or I might see another interesting sign and follow that....

Time for breakfast. Later.....

Another childhood home

Another childhood home
Originally uploaded by jsarcadia

We lived here until we moved to Australia.

One childhood home

One childhood home
Originally uploaded by jsarcadia

Cherry Lane. I think this was my second house. The first one isn't there any more.

Liverpool

I haven't updated for a while because I haven't really known what to write. It's been such an interesting experience even though I haven't done a whole lot.
I've spent most of the time with family, hearing all sorts of stories about my Mum, Dad, me, various others. A lot of gaps have been filled in and a lot of questions answered. I can't go into it all here 'cos it's kind of private but it's been a bit of an eye-opener. Funny at times, sad at others. Fascinating at all times.
The city itself is interesting - a lot smaller than I remember! Every now and then I see something - a street name, a building, etc - which triggers a childhood memory. That's kinda cool :) I've had a look at the houses I grew up in, the park I played in, the schools I went to. Most of them are still there. The old cinema my brother and I used to go to on Saturday mornings is now closed and pretty much derelict though. The docks have been tarted up a great deal. I remember we used to catch the bus into town and catch the "ferry 'cross the Mersey". I took the ferry ride the other day. I think it's the same boat :) The whole Pier Head and docks area is completely different though - all touristy now, instead of a working dock area. Liverpool is still a working port town though and there's a lot of commercial traffic up and down the river. Kind of comforting in a way.
The Liver building and its Liver Birds on top are still there and that's a good thing. The birds can be seen from all sorts of different places around the place and I find that reassuring somehow.
The other thing I've noticed is the overwhelming presence of The Beatles. They are everywhere! I'm sure that if I'd stayed here all my life I'd hate them by now. Locals say they don't even notice all The Beatles stuff. I certainly have. I went on the Magical Mystery Tour - basically a bus tour of notable Beatles sites: the houses they grew up in, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, the Cavern. I'd already been to the Cavern but not to the other places. I was annoyed that we couldn't get off the bus at John's house in Menlove Avenue. Wrong tour. For 15 quid it wasn't really value for money. I got a few decent pics but plan to go back and get better ones at some later stage.
Apart from that I've done the ferry, the cathedrals, the "Iron Men" at Crosby beach. All have been fascinating. I was especially impressed by the Iron Men and the Anglican cathedral - fabulous piece of architecture. Check flickr for pics if you're interested.
The weather, in general, has been lousy. Average temperature of 18C and rain most days. At first I didn't mind the cooler temps after the stifling heat of the US. Now I'm ready for something a bit warmer and drier.

I'm off to Manchester on Monday, just for the night. Fly off to Ireland on Tuesday.

Later....

The Three Graces

The Three Graces
Originally uploaded by jsarcadia

From left: The Liver building, the Cunard building, the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (aka Port of Liverpool) building.

And so...

Here I am in the town where I was born: Liverpool, England. It's 43 years since I was here.
The flight from Boston to London was smooth. I was able to upgrade to business class for $500. Considering that my whole round the world ticket, at business class rates, would have cost $16,000 instead of the $4500 I paid for Economy, 500 bucks is a drop in the ocean. No, I'm not joking about the 16 grand. Business class is definitely the way to go if you can get it: leg room, proper reclining seat, decent sized TV/DVD screen with real headphones, 4 course meal, bottomless wine glass, attentive crew, etc etc etc. Seductive.
Ha, then back to economy for the flight from Heathrow to Manchester - squishy seats, bacon roll and lukewarm tea. Hahaha, back to reality!
In keeping with this magically charmed trip I'm having, the 2 strangers sent to pick me up at Manchester recognised me and I recognised them. Thank you Keith and Richie :)
I'm staying with my aunty Sheila and uncle Les in West Derby - not that far from where I used to live. Haven't checked out the old house yet but I will.
Sheila and the extended family have welcomed me with open arms and gone out of their way to make me feel at home. Once again I'm spoiled rotten. Don't know who my guardian angel is but she/he is working overtime :)
I've only been into the city centre once so far - parts of it seemed very familiar: road names, buildings, etc. A lot of it has changed lots - been a lot of modernisation, touristy additions, etc. The first place I looked at was The Cavern. I was nowhere near old enough to see it when I lived here originally. It is a tiny tiny place. Surprisingly small. It closed in 1973 but has since reopened and operates as a music venue again, but also, now, has its eye well and truly on the tourist dollar/pound. The interior is all brick and every one of them is covered with people's names. Must add mine next time I'm there.
From there I walked down to the Pier Head and Albert Dock - on the Mersey. Recognised the Three Graces immediately. They're the 3 big buildings along the waterfont - the Liver building is the one I most remember. Seeing the Liver Birds on top of the building almost brought a tear to my eye. The ferry leaves from the Pier Head. I remember taking the ferry often when I was young. Haven't done the ride yet but will soon.
Instead of the ferry I decided to visit the Tate Gallery instead. Picasso exhibition. £10 entry to that, the general gallery is free. I've never been much of a fan of Picasso but, like any art, once you see it for real..... impressive. The exhibition is titled Peace and Freedom and includes works from the post-WW2 period. The most impressive piece was The Charnel House - referring to the murders of a Spanish Republican family in their home by Franco's forces. It reminded me strongly of Guernica in that it's black, grey, white and is done in that same style. It's unfinished though and sketch lines, etc, can still be seen on the canvas. Picasso's justification for this was apparently: "Only death finishes something." The rest of the exhibition featured a range of works - some landscapes, the dove of peace, the Algerian Women, lots of skulls (reflecting the carnage that had recently occurred), etc. Worth the money.
Apart from that I've been catching up with family, meeting most of them for the first time and hearing lots of stories about my mum'n'dad and others.
I haven't done much touristy stuff yet and I'm ready to start doing that again now. So much to see and do, I don't know where to start.

Later.....