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In
September, 2003, we took a bus tour of Ireland and Scotland with our
friends Lani and Roger. Because of frequent flyer miles our only choice
was to fly to Shannon and then onto Dublin. There was a lay-over in
Shannon that gave us enough time to take a local bus to see our first Irish
castle, Bunratty. |
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Besides
the castle, Bunratty also has a village and some farm houses showing what
life was like a hundred years ago or so. After we strolled around, we
took the bus back to the airport for our flight to Dublin. We arrived
late in the afternoon, had a light supper and met some of our tour group
that evening over a "pint." The following morning we had a brief
tour of Dublin and spent the afternoon on our own exploring the city. |
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Our last
stop was the Guiness factory. The "tour" was more of an exhibit
about how the beer is made, but then on the seventh floor, with a nice view
of the city, we had our first pint of Guiness, that revered good old
Irish brew. Yes, we were told that the Irish love their Guiness better than milk. |
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That
brings us to another curiosity about Dublin: The Doors |
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In a
large section of the city are numerous old homes that were built about a
hundred years ago. They all had a very similar style but the front door
was the main attraction. Each had something unique about its design. |
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The
following morning our tour bus took us west of Dublin to a stud ranch for
race horses. Besides drinking ale and whiskey, the Irish also love their
ponies. Here mares and stallions come from all over the world to be bred
by the finest. "It is in the water," the guide told us. |
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Then we
headed south to the town of Waterford, world known for its crystal
factory. Going through the display and sales gallery was
interesting by itself, but we also elected to take the factory tour. And
that was superb. We were able to see close-up how they blow glass, cast
it, grind and etch it and give the beautiful pieces all the artistic
touches we so appreciate. |
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To me the factory tour was more interesting than shopping for some souvenirs. We watched close up as these men turned raw glass into something beautiful. I noticed, though, that most did not wear safety glasses. Something totally out of the question in the US.
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While some of us took the tour, others stayed with the bus as it continued to our hotel for the night. We had to take a cab to join them there. |
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When you
are on a bus tour, you don't get to sleep in. "Luggage has to be outside
your door at 6:30 am, you know?" After breakfast our bus didn't go
far when we had to stop at Murphy's for Irish Coffee. This pub was named
Moby Dick's because the original movie, starring Gregory Peck, was
filmed in this area. |
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It was not yet nine a.m. and the bar was full. We took a quick walk around town. The shops were still closed, but we loved the
sign "Sean Twomey, The Meatmaster". It was
low tide and the boats were just resting on the mud. It reminded me of
taking a boat through locks. "Just be sure to leave plenty of slack in those
cleated ropes! We don't want to hang ourselves." |
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Our next
stop was Blarney Castle, the place mostly known for "The Stone" that
everyone should kiss. We climbed the ruins to the ramparts where you
could lie on your back, hold on for dear life and kiss this piece of
ancient rock. Note the green grass far below the opening as Sharon is
helped into position and the black mark from all those healthy kisses. |
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Our next stop was Blarney Castle, the place mostly known for "The Stone" that everyone should kiss. We climbed the ruins to the ramparts where you could lie on your back, hold on for dear life and kiss this piece of ancient rock. Note the green grass far below the opening as Sharon is helped into position and the black mark from all those "healthy" kisses. |
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We
stopped for lunch at another pub and met some nice, typical Irishmen.
The two gents were talking at the bar when I sat down, but I couldn't
understand a word they were throwing at each other. Then I asked,
politely, if I could interrupt and ask about their language. That
resulted in big smiles and a quick switch to English that I could
follow. It also led to an interesting conversation, another pint and
a couple pictures. |
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Their
chatter in the Irish dialect reminded me of a road-sign we had seen
earlier. The only four words I could read were "Ball Hill" and "Post Office". |
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