Ireland and the United Kingdom
Aug. 4- 25
Ireland - Eire
The Land of the Leprechaun and the Emerald Isle still exists, but Ireland today is a fast paced international country that is moving forward into the 21st century. So although we were looking for a bit of nostalgia and of course some good pints, we found a country that has embraced the growth of the EU and is ready for anything. We arrived in Ireland from the south of Wales and docked in Cork harbour at 5:30 in the morning. The soft Irish light filled the sky as we drove to see relatives. Ther morning started, as all Irish mornings have from time immortal with lots of bread, rashers (bacon), eggs, sausage, tomoato, mushrooms and who could forget blood pudding. With that in our stomach we headed out to see the sites. We all bent backwards over the wall of Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney Stone and to be blessed with the gift of the gab.
The south west of Ireland is a land that has remained fairly untouched by progress and the winds of change.The houses there are old and Turf (peat) is still burnt in the fires. It is a rugged coast line dotted with sheep and heather, and a perfect place for some hill rambling, or just a coastal walk, as most of the coves have very nice beaches (although beware the Atlantic ocean is cold).
As we started north, our first stop was the Cliffs of Moher. It is a section of the coastline that boasts cliffs almost 600-1000 ft high. The great attraction is that you can walk along the cliffs and stop at various places and take a look over. Warning here: grab hold of little ones near the edge and don't take anyone afraid of heights. This is nervous breakdown material here! The walk was stunning and you can actullly pear over the edge and watch the seagulls swoop and dive as they ride the air currents and up drafts.
From there we headed over to Dublin to meet other relatives and take in the sights of the biggest city in Ireland. Our first stop was of course the Guiness Brewery, where we sampled and tasted our way into buying shares in the company. Guiness puts on a great tour and it is definately worth the cost. From here we walked around Dublin, down famous O'Connell street and into the many old and new shops that line the street. Dublin has become a very expensive city in the past few years, however they have managed to keep the charm of the downtown as well as bring some of the modern styles and changes.
We travelled north of Dublin to catch a last site before heading back to England and what a wonder it was. The site is called Newgrange and is composed of three individual areas of settlement. Newgrange is a prehistorical settlement dating back to 30,000 years ago. The early peoples were very much aware of the Lunar and Solar cycles and built important structures to reflect that. The largest earthen mounds have been identified as burial mounds and all are built with a long narrow passage way that reached into the centre of the mound. Once this was excavated and researched it was found that on the morning of the summer solstace the sun would rise and the suns rays would shine directly into the tomb. The site is set up very well and is worth seeing, it takes you on a trip back in time to see the origins of modern life.
England
After leaving Scotland, Ireland and Wales, England had a lot to live up to. The sites that we had already seen were stunning and breathtaking, but little did we know what the English had up their sleave. Our first stop was the famous site of Stonehenge, one of the most awe-inspiring sites in the world. In order to fully see the site and understand its significance you must rent a headset and then information and stories are told to you without the annoyances of a guided tour. Unfortunatley you are not allowed to entre the stones of the henge anymore, due to graffiti and the destruction of the monuments. However this also provides the oppurtunity to take pictures without anyone in them, which at a national monument is very hard to do otherwise. As we walked around, the life of the people who built it is explained, and again their understanding and belief in the Lunar and Solar cycles obviously played a large part in the building of Stonehenge. As you move around the henge the four portal stones mark the change in Solar season and the importance of the natural seasons is again visible. Stonehenge is a must see for everyone, for those interested in history, the mystics, crop-circle enthusiasts and those who are just curious, because although most of the scientific theories have explained things there are some aspects that just don't quite make sense....
From there we drove to see another prehistoric site called Avebury, although this site is actually bigger than Stonehenge, it is not as well preserved due to the fact that about a thousand years ago a town moved into the location and used the stones to build their homes and farms. Today the town still stands, as do most of the stones but if you look carefully at the houses you can make out the stones they used from the Ancient Circles.
We drove down to Portsmouth and spent the night with friends and they showed us the good times and hospitality of the south coast, but then it was off to London and to the challenge of finding a place to sleep in one of the biggest cities in the world. London was very big and as you can imagine very expensive, we toured the ground of Kensington Palace, King Henery VIII's lived here for a long time, unfortunately most of his wives did not. There is a famous maze in Kensington Palace in which Tim and I got well and truly lost, however the thrity school girls who were running around in there with us did the maze about 5 times in the time it took us to get out... we wandered around downtown London and found our selves at Buckingham Palace, there were thousnads of people but nothing seemed to be going on. We tried to make the guards laugh, but it was to no avail so we left, said goodbye to London and packed our bags to head to Norway.