Sorry for the late post. We were having problems with our WordPress that our daughter Kate fixed. Thanks Kate😘

We left Edinburgh not bright and early, as we had a little party after the wonderful Tattoo✔️

Off to Nun Monkton and jolly old England to finish our five weeks in England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England again!

On the drive down Scotland, we stopped by Jedburgh, where Mary, Queen of Scots spent a month before her unfortunate demise. Mary should have stayed longer😳

On

On to Hadrian’s Wall, which is a wall built across England in 600 AD to keep out those pesky Scots and Vikings. It was quite impressive in the day. Fourteen feet high, 20 feet wide and made from stone and turf. No walls had been constructed of stone at that time in England and the tribes were duly impressed.

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/photo/hadrians-sunrise-royalty-free-image/173339450

It was raining dogs and cats, so I borrowed a Getty image.

On to Nun Monkton, a tiny village outside York. Absolutely stunning, the village built in the 1600’s as farms, with a village green where cows still graze. As picturesque as it gets. Our lovey garden cottage, stunning!

Town library 👍

And our new friend, Bonnie!

Ok, great nights sleep then off to York we go! Ten miles to the Park and Ride, then 20 minutes into the historic city center.

York is a UNESCO sight, it’s a walled city , founded by you know who, the Romans!

Lovely city, founded by the Romans. Then the Vikings took over, then years of trades with Scotland and England. It’s home to a huge Shakespeare festival and Vikings shows. It’s main commerce was wool and textiles until tourism took over😳

Ok, lovely cocktail hour in the garden, than the drive to WoodChurch, where we will visit Rye and catch the ferry for France 👍

Great time in England, Ireland and the UK, now we have to remember how to drive on the right😳

God save the Queen, God save the King, there will always be an England 👍

Ok, leaving the Isle of Skye under clouds and rain showers we drove across the Scottish Highlands to Inverness. That’s where the Caledonia Canal, across Scotland, starts or ends. Inverness is a lovely city home to the Lochness monster, no sightings confirmed.

Off to Edinburgh, roughly 6 hours total driving. Lovely city, it’s both the Military Tattoo and two other festivals. So a happening place, Edinburgh is really happening this week

A day trip to golf’s holy grail, St Andrews.

Lovely picnic in Tayport,

Then a visit to Carnoustie, our third Open venue🧐

But, the real reason we are in Edinburgh is the Military Tattoo. Tour guide Cindy’s birthday present ( I’ll let her tell ya how old she is😜) The whole trip was planned around this date. The Tattoo is Military bands (from around the world) performances in the entry way to Edinburgh Castle set at sunset 😎👍 It features many performances including our favorite, The Royal Scottish Dragoon’s. The stadium is built for Tattoo , then taken down. It holds 9,000 people. Not a dry eye in the house, Lads and Lassi’s, everyone’s Scottish tonight.

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Unbelievable, unbelievably beautiful show! Over 20 countries and performers represented! One hundred minutes of nonstop action, beautifully choreographed and timed. One of the highlights of our trip.

Highly, highly recommend. 👍😎👍

We were amazed at the crowds in Edinburgh. Very little drinking in public or drunks, and great experience for how large the crowds are.

Back to England, with a visit to York.

God bless the Queen, God bless the King, there will always be a Scotland!

Leaving lovely Fintown

We headed for the Isle of Skye in northern Scotland. We were hoping to take a ferry but we didn’t have a reservation so we had to drive around to the island, about 4 hours

We passed Eilean Donan Castle. It is still family owned and available for rentals

Then on to the Isle of Skye and our home in Broadford

Took a walk around the village,

It’s high season here with lots of tourists so we decide to start our tour at 6:00 AM

Beautiful scenery, lots of one track roads🙏

Old Man of Storr

Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls

Portree

Unbelievable views , wild and scenic

Traditional Scottish Village reproduced

Nest point

Unbelievable views everywhere

A little whisky tasting

Fun day with one track roads make it challenging 😜

Off to Edinburgh today and the Military Tattoo 🇬🇧

Ok, after a quick two night stay in beautiful Belfast, we had a 7:30 AM ferry from Belfast to Cairnryan, Scotland. Being that we are Trafton’s, that means getting up at 4:30 AM to make sure we aren’t late from our 15 minute drive to the ferry. Ok, safe boarding onto the ferry. Same story, ultra fancy ferry, restaurants, bars, cinema and rooms with Jacuzzis which you can rent for the passage 😎😳😜

Safe passage and 2 1/2 hours later we are in Scotland. Drove towards Glasgow which was 2 1/2 hours and skirted the city. Then we set the trusty GPS to Achaphubuil for our final destination. We drove past Loch Lomond, a huge lake that starts the Scottish Highlands. Talk about tight roads! It even made tour guide Cindy say some bad words😳

The Scottish highlands are beautiful, soaring and majestic and full of tourists. August is vacation time in Europe and man they are out in force. Still unbelievable scenery.

Ok, drove to Corran where we took a ferry to cross the Loch Linnhe to get to our Airbnb in Achaphubuil, so fun😎

Ok, one lane road to our place, unbelievably beautiful.

What a cute Airbnb. It was just what we were hoping for. It’s a remodeled school house.

The scenery is so beautiful and remote.

We met some new buddies.

Today, a little driving tour to Fort William, a 30 mile drive around the Fjords. Neptune’s Staircase, a series of seven locks to get from Fort William to the upper canal of the Caledonia Canal which leads to Inverness. Great engineering for the 1800s

A little whiskey tasting ( it’s my birthday 😎)

Old Inverlochy Castle, was Mel Gibson here?😳

Ok, off tomorrow to the Isle of Skye, which is even more remote. Thanks for all the birthday wishes.😎👍

Hey ya. One last subject in Fintown, before we move on, Peat bogs. These are everywhere and very controversial. I’m not informed enough to say anything except here’s a picture and they are everywhere.

Ok, we left Fintown and drove to Portrush. This is where The open was played this year. Lovely seaside vacation town, with a great golf course.

Next we passed Dunluce castle, home of the Vikings and pirates for years, until it fell in to the sea.

Next up, the Giants Causeway, a rock formation that looks like steps. Unfortunately, the tour buses beat us to the spot and it was overrun by people😳. So we drove down the coast stopped and enjoyed the views.

Beautiful day, mid 70s, lovely. Into Belfast, easy drive. Our Airbnb lovely and right on the bus line.

Quick trip to the Belfast castle, lovely views.

Back in the UK, gotta have some fish and chips😎👍

Delicious and nutritious 😜 Ok, up bright and early to hit the bus for a quick trip downtown and sightseeing Belfast. It’s pouring rain sideways, windy and cold, 56. We see a 5 hour window with no rain starting at 8:00 to 1:00 ok, off we go👍😎

City hall.

Lovely, clean and safe, hardly any tourists except the Titanic Quarter. Belfast has a long history of ship building and freight coming in and out. Winston Churchill credits Belfast for saving the world from Nazi Germany as it was the only shipping channel open from the USA.

A trip to Belfast can’t be complete without a mention of The Troubles. I’m not going into the 30 years and hundreds of lives lost in The Troubles except to say Belfast is now a very clean, safe, and reasonably happy place. We enjoyed our time here very much.

Peace wall in one of the neighborhoods.

Ok, tomorrow a 7:30 Am ferry for Scotland. We are staying way up in the Scottish highlands, 45 minutes from anything and it’s my 61st birthday. Glad they sell whiskey in Ireland 😎😜

Slainte , good health in Gaelic one last time😎

Hey Ya, that’s how ya say hello in Gaelic, Hey Ya, we’ve been without internet for basically 6 days as we’ve been in the wilderness as they call this area in Ireland. We moved from Belclare to Glenveagh National Park, but we decided to take a side trip to Achill island and watch a Sheep dog trial. But first a little sightseeing. Golf?

The sheepdog trials were as Irish as it gets.

Are the sheep in play? Irish views.

Our place in Fintown, beautiful!

Did you know there’s four million sheep in Ireland? They are everywhere!

Irish trawlers repairing nets.

We drove the Wild Atlantic Way, visiting unbelievable scenic sights. This is called Slieve League

This is as Irish as it gets. Road signs are in Gaelic and most locals speak Gaelic primarily. Rugged and beautiful, but man does it rain 🌈

Drove to Belfast yesterday. We loved our time in Ireland. Off the beaten path it’s so beautiful, and the people very friendly.

Ok, off to explore Belfast in the wind and rain

We left Killarney with a forecast of partly sunny skies and a drive of 7 hours with stops, to our new home in Belclare and the Galway area of Ireland. The drive was spectacular with stunning views of the countryside. So green it’s unbelievable.

We stoped by Inch Beach. Quite the surfing spot.

Then, the lovely town of Dingle on the sea.

A wonderful drive over the hill to Belclare our new home.

Our Airbnb is a lovely chateau from the 1700’s, remodeled and updated many times.

Son of a gun, they have an Irish bar. It’s the only spot in town.

Today, we took a hike up to the top of the hill in our neighborhood (Knockma Woods), great views.

Today, Galway where we ran into a huge rainstorm. It’s August in Ireland.

On to Cong, where John Wayne filmed the The quiet Man in 1951. The town still loves him.

Stopped by ClaregalWay. This is a friars monastery, huge

Fun day, on to Fintown, in Donegal, which is called the frontier😳 Hoping to see a sheepdog trial on the way😎👍🧐 Might stop by the pub for a Guinness 😎

Cheers, 🍺😎

We left lovely Dublin on a bright sunny morning and headed for our next stop Killarney, where we will drive the Ring of Kerry. On the way we had several stops.

Kilkenny, which is home to Kilkenny castle, and a lovely small town.k

Next stop, Blarney, home of the world famous Blarney castle and the Blarney Stone. We didn’t stop as we were running out of time.

A little trivia for ya, mini markets with gas also have washers and dryers by the road to help ya😜

On to our new base, Killarney, the home of the Ring of Kerry.

We decided to start our tour at 6:00 AM as the tour buses are notorious for blocking parking and making the ring a nightmare. Good choice. Very little traffic and no tour buses. The Ring of Kerry is a driving tour with stops along the Irish coast at strategic spots, lovely.

Unbelievable scenery, so many sights.

On the way we visited The Kerry Cliffs, beautiful.

Cindy met some news friends. Irish cows make great cheese 👍It’s summer here in Ireland, 62 and windy, time for a swim 😳

We enjoyed the drive immensely. Cindy had read that the roads were narrow and winding, after the roads we’ve seen, tour guide Cindy tore it up. No problems👍🍷😎

Off to Galway, where we will see the lovely Cliffs of Moher and all the sights in that area.

Slainte, to your health in Gaelic!

Tour guide Cindy, with the help of TripAdvisor and Google, took us on a tour of the scenic Boyne River Valley. Under partly sunny skies, we left Dublin and headed out on a projected 5 hour driving tour.

First stop, the historic city of Kells, where the rumors are the Book of Kells was written in 800 AD. The Tower of Kell and part of the monastery stands today.

Next up, Spire of Lloyd, a memorial from a son to his father. It serves no purpose, but to show his power in 1756. It’s now a lighthouse.

However, right next door is a paupers field with unknown dead buried in a mass grave from the potato famine, so sad.

Driving the road is so beautiful.

Next up, the famous Slane Castle, famous for huge rock shows held on the grounds. Rolling Stones, Queen, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen all played here.

They now have a distillery and make Irish whiskey, stop it.

Then, Cindy’s highlight, the Hill of Tara, The saying is, if your King of Tara, your King of Ireland. It’s one of Ireland’s most holy sights. Many, many kings have been anointed here.

Last stop, Trim, where Mel Gibson filmed Braveheart. I’m sure that went over big in Scotland. A movie about Scots shot in Ireland, what can go wrong😜

Fun day, lots of sightseeing, and beautiful scenery. it was actually a seven hour drive with lots of walking in between. Driving to Killarney tomorrow. Ten days of adventure left in Ireland😎

Slainte, to your health in Irish 👍

Dublin is an interesting city. It has a long history of man living in his area, but was made into a city in the 600-800 AD period by the Vikings. Its long and tenuous history with the English ended with Irish independence in 1921, with the forming of the Free Irish State, todays Ireland. Ireland is part of the EU and the euro is their currency. Ireland wasn’t unaffected by the troubles in Northern Ireland, but today its economic engine is running on high and employment is full!

With the threat of rain😳 in the forecast, we woke early and hit the road for a walking tour that Tour Guide Cindy has put together for us, 20,000 steps I’m warned 😳😓

Ok, off we go to the tram for a short ride downtown. Bad news the tram is down. “When will it be fixed”, we ask, “who knows”, we are told, “this is Ireland”🧐 So, off we go walking to downtown. Our 20,000 step day now looks to be 25,000 steps. Super✔️

The first thing I notice is the large amount of Catholic Church’s every 1/2 mile. Not small church’s, huge cathedrals . We must have seen 30 of them.

The next thing I noticed is there are donut/coffee shops on every corner. Donuts are fancy and €3 a pop. That’s great gross margin 🧐

Next, we walked through the city and explored the area.

Crossing the River Liffey, on the Rosie Hackett bridge, we enter old town.

On to Trinity College Dublin, where The Book of Kells and Trinity Library are located.

Up to Molly Malone’s bust😜

Then to the famous Temple Bar area, Irelands answer to Bourbon Street.

Somehow we make time for an Irish coffee at the world Famous Temple bar. Delicious 😎

Walking, again, across Ha Penny bridge on the way to Dublin castle.

Onto St Patrick’s Cathedral we march. Tour Guide Cindy taking no prisoners😜

Onto Christ Church cathedral , huge.

I don’t know about you but after all this walking, I could use a beer, a cold velvety Guinness. So off we march to the Guinness Storehouse, where the worlds most tasty Irish beer is waiting🍺

We took the tour, great time, 9 stores of Guinness information and tasting experiences, fun time👍

Next, let’s go to Jameson Distillery and do a little whiskey tasting, what the heck. So we walk up the hill to the distillery. Quite a nice place, but tastings are €40 a pop, little too much for people who really don’t like Irish whiskey, so we pass.

Ok, let’s finish up. Quick 1/2 hour walk and we are home. Wheee, 26,000 steps, what a day.

Today a driving tour to Trim Castle, Kells, and the Hill of Tara.

Slainte, Irish for here’s to your health ✔️🍺