On Friday, August 26 we drove to the Drombeg Stone Circle. There are 17 freestanding stones from the later Bronze Age. Stone Circles were places of ritual and ceremony and were usually associated with human burial. Excavations in 1957 revealed a compact gravel surface within the circle and a central pit which contained an inverted pottery vessel covering the cremated remains of a youth. Carbon dating has placed the burial in the period c. 1100-800 B.C.

We drove back to Kinsale to check out the forts. First up was James Fort. We were told it was a ruin and we were surprised that it was more intact than we thought. The forts were built for defense and are located across the harbor from each other.

We stopped for a refreshment on our walk back to the car. This tiny coffee truck had black iced tea, a miracle!

We drove to Charles Fort, where there was a building with explanations of the history of the fort.

We finished the day with the most delicious dinner at Fishy Fishy. I’m so happy we came to Kinsale and I’m sorry we don’t have more time here. Tomorrow we are off to Dingle, one of my favorite places

First full day in the charming town of Kinsale and we had a good time. I slept until 7:00 in the most comfortable bed and pillow, which may be a record for me. I’m generally an early riser. I know many people think that 7:00 is early but my family knows that if I’m not up well before then they should see if I’m still breathing. We had breakfast and Marie was doing laundry. Finally at about 10:00 Jim and I left to walk around town until it was time for the 11:15 walking tour to start. Marie & JD caught up with us before the Don & Barry’s Historic Stroll. Our tour guide was Dave and he related the very important history of Kinsale in an interesting and humorous way. The history here was pivotal to the history of Ireland. Afterwards we checked out some other places in town before starting the long walk to Charles Fort. We walked, and walked, and stopped to take a lot of pictures. We could see the fort from certain vantage points but it still seemed so far away. We had stopped somewhere for more pictures and a man was sitting in a parked car. He asked where we were from and mentioned his daughter lives in Sacramento. He also informed us that there was a road along the water that we could have taken. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Tour guide Dave explained that Kinsale looked like most other towns until they decided to compete for the title of Tidy Town. According to him, and I don’t know how true this is because he was pretty funny, the woman who owns the paint shop suggested painting the buildings in bright colors. If so it was a genius business move. Either way, they won the title.

After the tour we checked out more of Kinsale, including going higher for a better vantage point.

We wanted to go to Charles Fort and had to decide whether to walk or drive. Why not walk, it should only take about 45 minutes. We looked at the map and all we had to do was follow the water. Easy enough. So we walked, and walked, uphill of course. We stopped a lot to take pictures and got some good ones.

We got back down to town and rewarded our long walk to nowhere with a stop to rest our feet at Sam’s Bar.

We eventually went to the grocery store and bought food to cook dinner tonight. I had leftover fish & chips from the night before and the others had pasta, salad and garlic bread. It started raining just after we returned to the apa

Here are some additional photos from today…

On Wednesday, August 24 we checked out of our hotel and took a taxi to the airport to pick up our rental car. Everything went smoothly and off we went. I haven’t had too much experience driving on the “other” side and the most recent time was in 2014. I watched some YouTube videos to refresh my memory and I wasn’t too nervous. Well, maybe just a little. JD sat in front and was my navigator and Jim and Marie sat quietly in the back. We were on the highway, which gave me the opportunity to drive on something other than small country roads and I was able to avoid city driving. So far so good. As we approached the beginning of a toll road I had to figure out which lane to choose. It was a bit confusing and I went to the right hand side because there was a sign that indicated that you could use cash. Great! Oh, not so great. You had to use coins, and I didn’t have enough. I had to back up and thankfully traffic was light. I had to cross about 5 lanes to the left to find the proper one. If I had come up to the lane as I should have it would have been fine, but I had to actually turn into it. Uh oh, was that my tire that hit the curb? Why yes, yes it was. After I paid the toll we pulled into a no parking area and confirmed that not only was the tire flat, but there was no spare tire. There was a fix-a-flat canister but that wouldn’t work because there was a hole in the sidewall of the tire. I called the rental car company and spoke to someone in roadside assistance. Eventually a tow truck came for the car and a taxi came for the 4 of us. We were taken to the repair shop and waited awhile until the new tire was put on. Then we were back on the road and had to go back through the toll booth. Practice and just driving forward, plus knowing where to go made it easy.

We were off to the Rock of Cashel, also known as St. Patrick’s Rock. It was the traditional seat of the kings of Munster for several hundred years prior to the Norman invasion. In 1101 the king of Munster donated his fortress on the Rock to the Church.

The drive to Kinsale from Cashel took us on both the highway and small and very windy roads. We survived the drive and made it to our apartment in one piece.

After settling into the apartment we went in search of a grocery store for a few provisions. We returned to the apartment to put things away and then found a place for dinner that was very good. It was a long day and we knew we would have plenty of time tomorrow to see more of the town. It was time to call it a night.

Tuesday, August 23 Day 3 in Dublin. We used the Hop On Hop Off Big Bus to take us to areas that were too far to walk. We took the entire loop to start the day, then started back around to get off at Merrion Square. The live commentary was interesting and humorous.Across the street was the National Gallery of Ireland and after a visit there we worked our way to Grafton St. and the surrounding area.

We didn’t want to go to the distilleries or the Guinness Storehouse, but we did go to Nancy Hands Pub for free glasses of Guinness, courtesy of the HOHO bus tickets. I’m not a beer drinker, but when in Ireland…

While we were walking back from dinner and walking up O’Connell street I noticed a sign on a store and I couldn’t believe it! Tower Records? Could it be true? JD and I went in and verified it was an honest to goodness Tower records.

We had our nightcap at the hotel bar and called it a night. We say goodbye to Dublin in the morning.

On Monday, August 22 we took our time getting going in the morning. We had breakfast at the hotel and then walked in different areas north of River Liffey.

At 2:00 p.m. we met our walking tour in front of the historic Post Office on O’Connell St. The tour was on the south side of the river and we learned about Irish history and how things are currently.

After the 3 hour tour we went back to the Temple Bar area for an early dinner. We were beat and still suffering from jet lag. I certainly was anyway. I walked over 20,000 steps. When we got back to the hotel we had what was quickly becoming a part of the routine, a drink at the hotel bar.

Tomorrow we plan to see more and walk less.

Saturday, August 20, 2022 was a day we’ve long been waiting for, a return to Ireland. We had one week here in 2009 and it wasn’t enough. Our day began early, with a 5:00 a.m. ride to the Sacramento International Airport. Too bad the International aspect doesn’t go to the places we want to go. We quickly checked in and checked our carryon sized bags. We didn’t want to have to drag them around during our 9 hour layover in San Francisco. When we arrived at security we noticed that our boarding passes didn’t show that we have TSA precheck. It didn’t take long to get through the regular line, but we had to remove our shoes and other inconveniences that we usually avoid. Our short flight to SFO was uneventful and we were picked up by my cousins who live nearby. Why hang out at the airport when we can have a fun day with them? We went out for a delicious breakfast and then discussed what we should do next.

The decision was to go get a close up look at our great Grandmother’s house. Who knows how many times I’ve passed it without knowing, but on a visit with Peri & James a few months ago we were looking through our great aunt’s journal from a trip she made through the Panama Canal in the 1930’s. In the journal she had letters she had mailed to her mother, who we called Gaga. Gaga died when I was about 4 years old. Jim checked out the address on Google Earth. A little later we left their house in Sunnyvale and headed north to see a friend in Marin County, requiring a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. Hwy 101 becomes a city street as you drive through SF, and as we we stopped at a red light Jim happened to glance to the right and saw Gaga’s house. Wow! It’s at the corner of California & Funston. In the short time since then we’ve happened to drive by several more times.

The building manager came out and after Peri and I explained our connection to the building he invited us in. The lobby was beautiful and there was a nice little garden in the back.

Next up, Baker Beach! The view from there of the Golden Gate Bridge is usually stunning, but this is San Francisco in August. That means fog is common. Even so, a couple of hours on the beach is always nice.

It was time to return to the airport. Security wasn’t bad and we had plenty of time to kill while we waited for our Aer Lingus flight. The trip wasn’t bad and for the first time I actually got some sleep on the plane.

We arrived in Dublin around noon on August 21, quickly got through passport control, picked up our luggage which interestingly came out from the conveyor belt together, got a taxi and arrived at our hotel in just over an hour. Our wonderful friends, Marie & Jim (aka JD), had already arrived because we weren’t traveling together. We were allowed to check in early so we settled into the room and then set off to see some of Dublin. We ended up walking to the Temple Bar area, where we found a restaurant with outside seating. After an early dinner we walked back to the hotel, had a nightcap at the hotel bar and called it a night. We were all exhausted. I fell to sleep quickly. Sadly it didn’t last more than 4 hours and now I’m awake. Oh well.

I’m not sure why my photos aren’t posting. I’ll try to figure that out.

Sunday, May 1, it’s time to go. United Airlines recommended getting to the airport 3 hours early, but after hearing first hand reports about what a mess the Amsterdam airport is we decided to arrive earlier. We took the bus and got there over 4 hours early, which is a good thing. First we had to stand in line for at least an hour to check in and check our bags. Then we had to go to the line to get through security, which took a couple of hours. In both lines people were jammed together, and although masks were required in the airport not many people were wearing them. At least they were handing out bottles of water when we were in the security line and we were able to take them through the screening area. Apparently they are redoing part of the airport, forcing everyone through the one security area. Also there have been strikes and staffing shortages, which made things worse all the way around. When we finally got to our gate, about 3.5 hours after we arrived we discovered our flight was delayed while they tried to find ground crew. We took off 50 minutes late. I was very worried because they had changed the departure time for our San Francisco-Sacramento leg and we were now in danger of missing the flight. The flight was fine and I was pleased to see that most of the people around us were wearing masks. We arrived in SF and got through passport control quickly because we have global entry. If not for that, we wouldn’t have made it home. We then had to retrieve our checked bags, get to the domestic terminal and recheck the bags, then get to the gate. We were moving fast. We got to the gate as the flight was boarding. Phew, I didn’t think we would make it.

We had a fantastic trip, but it’s always good to get home.

On Saturday, April 30 we saw more things in Haarlem, took our Covid tests so we can fly home (yay for negative tests) and finished up with a canal boat trip. The canal boat was a little disappointing after the one we took in Amsterdam. We loved staying in Haarlem and found it made the perfect base to explore this part of the Netherlands. A week seems like a long time in one place, but we didn’t come close to seeing everything. I could travel longer, but knowing that we have to go home tomorrow I’m ready to get there and sleep in my own bed.

Friday, April 29 we left early to go to Alkmaar. It’s cheese market day! We arrived by train and found our way to the market, where things were still being set up. Once things began it was very ceremonial, with a woman who spoke Dutch, English, French and German explaining everything. This cheese is being sold to commercial buyers, but there were plenty of stands set up in the area selling cheese and other goods to visitors.

We then went to Zaanse Schans to see the open air museum, highlighting windmills. Old buildings were open to visitors and the windmill museum was good. We ran out of time to see the bigger museum that was a short walk away.

In the evening we met a lovely couple for drinks, James Rhoe and his partner, Nancy. No, this was not a random meeting. Jim discovered a couple of months ago that a James Rhoe lives in Haarlem. He reached out to him and they arranged to meet. His Rhoe is pronounced different, more like Rue with a rolled R. Jim has always wondered about the origins of the name, since it’s so unusual. James’ father is from Indonesia, and since Jim doesn’t have any Indonesian background the mystery continues. They are very nice people and we enjoyed getting to know them a bit.

It’s a good thing we are going home very soon. After walking over 10 miles yesterday my foot is telling me it’s time to stop walking so much.

Wednesday, April 27 was a tale of two activities. It’s King’s Day, or the party to end all parties. More on that later.

We began the day by seeing how Haarlem celebrates King’s Day. We saw people setting up stages for later, heard and saw bands playing, and block after block became a big yard sale. It looked like most people were selling personal possessions, but I saw a few people selling things like jewelry they had made. We saw even more big activities and sales at parks as we were taking the bus out of town.

Where did we go? Somewhere I have been wanting to see for many years, but they are only open for two months, during bulb season. Keukenhof! They plant the bulbs like a lasagna, in layers, so something is always blooming. I thought it would be less crowded on King’s Day, but there were plenty of people there and I don’t have another day to compare it to. The flowers are spectacular. Who would think there are so many varieties of tulips in every size, color and shape imaginable. There were other flowers as well, including other bulbs, azaleas, rhododendrons, flowering trees and more. Then there were water features and plenty of greenery to set off the colorful flowers. The setting is everything I could wish for. It definitely did not disappoint. I took so many pictures and I couldn’t possibly take pictures of everything. Even Jim enjoyed it and he’s not really a flower guy.

I can’t put all my pictures on here, so this is enough. I was hoping to rent bikes to ride through the flower fields, but by the time we got out of there it was too late. We took the bus back to Haarlem. We had to wait about 45 minutes at the bus stop. I think they were operating on a holiday schedule.

Speaking of holidays, let talk about King’s Day. I don’t have anything to compare it to that I’ve ever experienced. The entire country is in party mode. I already mentioned what we observed in the morning. By the time we returned to Haarlem at around 7:00 p.m. everything was in full swing. Parties everywhere. Music, drinking, eating, dancing…you name it, it was happening. There was a huge party just a half block from our house. We should have anticipated how big it would be when we noticed a day or two before that a 4 person pissoir was now at the corner. The party started there on Tuesday night, so it gave us a small hint of what was coming on Wednesday. So many people, loud music (primarily American music from the 80’s – 2010’s), dancing, and a lot of fun. We walked around our area and stood on the sidelines of about 4-5 parties, and the one on our street was the best.

Surprisingly the music stopped just after 10:00, but the people gathered there partied on for a couple of more hours.