Vacation started with a very swift trip under the English Channel in the very speedy Eurostar train. We had a little scare as we showed our passports to leave because I did not renew my visa after three months. That is because the birth certificate that had been acceptable to get the first
visa was no longer acceptable. I was surprised to find out that my birth certificate does not name my parents. Oh, well! They let us go and our only worry was our return (would France let me back in?) But we had time before we needed to worry about that! We stayed in a friend's apartment in the center of London for the first few days. Very nice, very convenient! Kevin gave a talk at the Museum of Natural History to earn our keep! Kathleen and I toured, briefly, the museum as well as the Science Museum. We walked in the windy cold to Kensington Garden and saw the palace and the lovely gardens. Then to warm up we we
nt back to the Science Museum to view an IMAX movie on Mummies! Later we all had beer at the Queen's Arms and dinner at the King's Arms. We got a quiet night peak at Buckingham Palace to end the day. The next day we went to the Tower of London, managed not to get our heads chopped off! and then dashed over to Victoria Station to see Wicked! The next day our only mission was to get up t
o Manchester. This was not as easy as we thought. We had already purchased Britrail passes, validated them at Eustus station, boarded the very nice train, located three seats together at a table, unloaded and stowed bags, when the announcements began. First there would be a delay and the 10:00 to Manchester would now be the 10:36 to Manchester. No worries, we have our passes. Next we were told that no trains were leaving Eustus station at the present time but just remain in our seats and be patient. Next, there is an announcement that those who are going to Manchester may want to go to Kings Cross station and take a train to Leeds and then to Manchester. We wait......then another similar message with no hope of this train taking off so we decide to bail! Along with many others we make our way to Kings Cross (Harry Potter fame) and watch the boards for the 2:10 to Leeds! The platform gets posted and we make a mad dash with everyone else to board what will be a very crowded train. We manage to grab three seats together and relax! When this train actually starts moving we breath a sigh of relief! But our adventure is not over! When we arrive into Leeds there is another mad dash to the platform for the train to Manchester! The train arrives and it is crystal clear that not everyone will get on BUT there is another train in 10 minutes. So finally the conductors get as many bodies squished into the first train and out it goes. We patiently wait for the next train. As soon as it arrives it is obvious that it will be a challenge to get the remaining passengers on. We shove Kathleen on and push our way on with our three large suitcases! Success! Well, we are on although we are standing shoulder to shoulder with total strangers. Fortunately, everyone is in a good mood. Unfortunately it was not a short trip! The first stop was entertaining as some people from their seats needed to get through all of the standing people to get off! Anyway, we finally arrived at Manchester and actually did manage to see some nice scenery on the way. In Manchester we were put up by the University since Kevin was going to give another talk! Some of us have to work for a living! Actually, I believe he very much enjoyed spending time in the different labs and talking with different colleagues. One colleague even pulled out Kevin's Thesis to show Kathleen who was sufficiently impressed with the massive written work. The science didn't make a lot of sense but the bibliography was immense! While Kevin worked, Kathleen and I walked around Manchester, a very university town, and did some of the homework that Kathleen brought with her. We also tagged along when the scientists went to the nearby pub for some beer!The next day we left England behind and traveled to Ireland on the very cheap Ryanair. All went well and Megan was at the airport to meet us. We scared the rental car lady with all of our bags and she talked us into a very big, very expensive, upgrade. We could have squeezed in but the upgrade included automatic shift which made driving on the wrong side a little easier to do. Kevin handled the transition very well and successfully drove us all around the Emerald Isle. The first accommodation was a self catering apartment which was attached to a B&B Farm house. It was beautifully decorated and fully equipped with dish washer and washer/ dryer! We used it as the base for the next three days and visited close by. Kathleen's favorite part was the 4 adorable kittens and the very demanding cute Yellow Lab named Jake! Everyday she would greet them and then have to come in and wash her hands and her clothes! The first night we all went to Bunratty Castle for a medieval dinner with all of the trimmings including singing and playing music. The next day Megan needed to attend classes so Kevin, Kathleen and I visited the coast, Cliffs of Moher, and the Burrens. Very wild and picturesque landscape. We met up with Megan that night for a concert. All of the study abroad students who had taken Irish Music classes performed a dance or a song to demonstrate what they had learned. We were the token parents in the audience and dutifully recorded the moment! Megan had learned the Bohran(sp?) drum and played with about 19 other students. You could tell that they really enjoyed the experience. They tried to impress upon the audience the uniqueness of the experience because usually only one Bohran will accompany the other musicians. The other group Megan played with was the flute group which consisted of just her. So she and her instructor played three very rapid complicated numbers together. It was beautiful! Megan was very impressive! Now she wants a wooden flute only they cost thousands of dollars so she will settle for her metal flute! The next day while Megan again attended classes we visited Galway and scoped out the boat ride we would take the next day. Megan spent that night with us so we could get up very early and make our way north of Galway to take a ferry to the island of Inish Mohr. As soon as we arrived we settled into the B&B and then headed out to rent bikes. Seven miles of incredible landscapes later we found ourselves on a trail to this massive, extremely old, fortress build on the edge of a cliff. It was extremely cold and windy and there was a small sign that warned that people have been blown off the cliffs! Lovely! Grabbing onto the wall I ventured as close as I dared to this incredible cliff at the edge of the stone circular fortress. We took lots of pictures of the island but the landscape was very hard to capture on film (or digitally!) The road back from the fort want all along the north coast and was lovely. We saw cows and horses and seals. That night we were too tired to stay up and catch live Irish music in the small town. The next day we took the ferry back to our car and headed north and then east through more incredible landscapes until we reached the next B&B in Enniskillen. We tried again to find some music but the town was a bit of a let down. The next day we headed north to the Giant's Causeway, Dunlace Castle, and
finally Cushendall. We stayed with distant cousins in their lovely B&B which we had also stayed at when we visited 10 years ago. This time we spent a lot of time walking through graveyards and looking for McKeegans, McAuleys, and Quinns. We also walked through the glens and along the coast. There are lovely small towns where a lot of history could be felt. We ended our travels in Dublin where Megan and Kathleen took a Ghost Bus tour and Kevin and I went in search of real Irish music. We were not overly successful but enjoyed walking around. The next day we got Kevin to the airport via the Irish National Stud farm!!!! We saw foals that were only two days old! Did I mention that we saw LOTS of baby animals on all of our travels. It was the perfect part of spring for that! The trees were not quite in bloom but the cows had babies, the sheep had adorable little babies, the horses had babies!!! We had fun watching them! The next day Kathleen and I joined Kevin in Bristol where he had given yet another talk! Megan hopped on Ryanair with four of her roommates to fly to Paris. In Bristol we stayed with old friends. Their two children were very little when they left LA so we had a great time getting to know them. While the kids went to school, Kathleen did more homework, I read my book, Kevin went to work with Chris and his wife tried to get some work done as well. The next day we took to the trails! We took a ferry ride and then the back roads to get to this big estate. Chris and Rachel were not impressed with the house but it is situated on many acres of fields and woodlands which we meander through. Ben kept wanting to go to the playground and Chris and Rachel couldn't remember a playground on the property. Then the light went on when we discovered that the "playgound" was an old log!!! The bluebells were gorgeous in the woods. We discovered a makeshift stick teepee that was a lot of fun. We saw deer, dogs and lots of wild garlic! Very nice! That night Kathleen had her first paying babysitting job while the adults went out to a party to hear Chris play the saxophone with the band. We were sort of crashing someones 50th birthday party but the entertainment was good. Then next day we made our way back to Paddington station then to St. Pancras station and then back to Paris! Yes, they let me back in! We rested one day and then had two sets of visitors! I will end this long missive and fill you in on the next adventures later!
