The day after Ludlow, we went to see the Roman Baths in Bath, England. Bath is a delightful city on its own, but the #1 thing to see in Bath is the Roman Baths. So we thought that would be a good place to start. After we got our tickets, we went through the entrance …
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Ludlow Castle in Shropshire, England
Our second day in Wales wasn’t really in Wales very much. The highlight of the day, Ludlow Castle, was in England. Our tour traveled along the border between England and Wales, so we went back and forth. This is an area called the Welsh Marches. The term was originally used to designate the place where …
Conwy, Wales, and Chester, England
After a week in Ireland, it was time to head to Conwy Castle in Wales. Tom and I had been looking forward to Wales for a long time. We only have two days here, but we are supposed to hit the highlights. First we had to get there. In order to get to Wales we …
Dublin, Capital of Ireland
We had two nights in Dublin. Two nights is really nice on a tour like this because you don’t have to get your suitcase packed and into the hall one of those mornings. The next morning our suitcases had to be out at 6, which is even earlier than usual. We started our day in …
Kilkenny Castle, the Jewel in Kilkenny
The day after Blarney Castle, we headed to Kilkenny Castle for a different kind of experience. Kilkenny Castle is in the middle of the city of Kilkenny. It was a Norman castle built by King John in 1260 to control a ford in the River Nore. It was a symbol of Norman occupation with its …
Blarney Castle in County Cork
The big thing on our tour for this day was Blarney Castle. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Blarney Stone. It is located at the castle. Supposedly if you kiss it, you will get the gift of the gab. Either great eloquence or the ability to flatter, depending on how you look at it. Blarney …
Ring of Kerry and Killarney National Park
The next morning we climbed back on the bus for the Ring of Kerry. I thought the Ring of Kerry would be like the Ring of Brodgar or Stonehenge. Instead, it was a loop tour of the peninsula that surrounds Killarney National Park. Every tour bus seems to do it and the scenery was beautiful. …
Killarney in County Cork, Ireland
Today was a Killarney day. It has been hard to find time to work on my blog during this whirlwind trip of the UK. We are often occupied from 6 in the morning until 9:30 at night, at which point I am too tired to do any writing. It is one of the reasons I …
Birthday, Galway and a Medieval Banquet
The next day of our tour was Tom’s birthday. I didn’t get him anything, but he had a special day anyway. It started when we got on the bus. Everyone had signed a card provided by Insight Vacations. When Nigel gave him the card, the whole bus sang “Happy birthday.” At the end of it, …
Londonderry in Northern Ireland
The next morning we started our day with a tour of Londonderry, one of the most contentious places in Northern Ireland. I’m sure most of you have heard of “The Troubles” and the IRA, but do you know where all those bad Protestant versus Catholic feelings began? I’ll try to give you the simple version …