Coming Home

Written Friday, June 8, 2012

No, I’m not referring to returning to the United States (although we do that tomorrow) but to “coming home” to the MacLean family castle on the Isle of Mull, Duarte Castle!

For the past 4 days we have been travelling with our tour company, Highland Experience, traveling about the Highlands of Scotland and the beautiful Isle of Skye.  Thursday night landed us in the charming seaport town of Oban, capital of the West Highlands.  Had we known what Oban was like before booking the tour, we would’ve just come here!!  The harbor is dotted with sailboats, and several islands lie to the west with the Caledonian McBryane ferries running out to them daily.

We decided to depart our tour and not return with them to Glasgow on Friday, but rather spend the day in Oban, taking the ferry over to the Isle of Mull where the Duart Castle, ancestral home of the Clan MacLean guards the sound of Mull.

The diversion was well worth it!  The castle has been restored and welcomes members of the MacLean family by having them sign in a special guest book.  It is a beautiful and strategic setting.  I was surprised to find myself tearing up as we walked onto the grounds; something about “coming home” to the place where my ancestors once lived, fought and died.

Dad had researched the MacLean ancestry back to “Neil of Ross”.  According to the records at Duart Castle, Neil was the son of Lachlan Bronneach MacLean, son of Red Hector, son of Lachlan Lubenach who came into possession of Duart Castle and the Isle of Mull when he married Mary MacDonald whose father was the Lord of the Isles; Duart was her dowry, a wedding gift.

Photos:  https://picasaweb.google.com/115996157298123378187/DuartCastleIsleOfMull?authkey=Gv1sRgCOrp1L_VyOilDg

Show Me the Way to Another Whisky Bar...

In Drumnadroichet ("drum-nah-dra-kit"), we stayed at the Fiddlers Inn B&B.  Our room was over the restaurant and bar.  This is the first Whisky Bar I've ever been to.  The owner is a scotch whisky afficionado.  There must be over 300 types of Scotch here.  It was very impressive.  After dinner we treated ourselves to a sampling of 3 "front shelf" scotches - a Glenfiddich 18, Maccallan 15, and Old Puteney 17.  The Fiddich and Maccallan were from the Speyside region, the Puteney from the Highlands.  My fav was the Puteney - quite a nostril flarer!

Highlands and Islands

We started our tour of the Scottish Highlands and Islands yesterday (Monday).  We are on a small coach (16 passenger) along with a couple from Australia, a couple from Vancouver B.C., a girl from China, and a family from Delhi, India and our driver Allen.  We left Glasgow yesterday and drove up through the lands of the Duke of Athol (very beautiful), visited the town of Dunkeld (Scotland's capital when MacBeth was King), the Hermitage (a national park), Pittlochry (charming town), the Highland Folk Museum in Newtonmore, through the capital of the Highlands - Inverness - before settling for the night in the "wee" town of Drumndroichet (pronounced "drum-dra-kit") for the night.  Population 800 not far from Loch Ness (Lake Ness) and its economy dependent upon tourists tramping the area hoping to catch of view of "Nessie", the Lochness Monster.

First, a little about the food here in Scotland.  There have been a lot of "pies" in Ireland and Scotland, but we were very excited to find that Scotland offers fish pies since we don't eat meat.  We had a delicious Haddock and Leek pie for lunch yesterday - fresh chunks of haddock in a buttery cream sauce with a bit of leek for seasoning, topped with mashed potatoes - very yummy.  Last night we dined on a fresh Salmon fillet served over a bowl of "cuillen" - also a creamy fish stew, this one made with haddock, but usually made with "skink", another local fish.

Beer is getting better here in the Highlands - we had Nessie Monster Mash, a heavy sweet stout, Punk IPA (actually tastes similar to New Belgium Ranger), a red ale, and Fraoch Heather Ale.

The scenery has been gorgeous.....

Impressions of Glasgow

Glasgow is a BIG city with many impressive and imposing stone buildings (gothic architecture?).  It is a modern city with  a European feel to it.  There are so many restaurants and shops in the city centre from high end to common.   We had to laugh about “Poundland” – the UK equivalent to the Dollar Tree!!  There are many familiar food chains here including McDonalds, Pizza Hut, KFC,  and Starbucks.

We are staying at yet another Jurys Inn (this is the 4^th one including Dublin, Galway, and Belfast).  The hotel chain is consistent, the rooms are clean, beds comfortable.  They get a 3-star rating and are placed in city centres throughout Europe.  I would agree with the rating.  Our travel agent booked us with full breakfast at each place we stay; I wouldn’t recommend it to another.  The Jury’s buffet breakfasts are boringly consistent – scrambled eggs, beans in tomato sauce, bacon/sausage, fruit (usually stewed, sometimes fresh), and toast.  In Ireland they had porridge and croissants but not in Scotland.  Each city centre has many pastry and breakfast shops that probably offer a better meal for less money.

We found our “pub” in Glasgow last night just next to the hotel, just ½ block from the River Clyde (which our room overlooks).  MacSorleys is a beautiful old establishment, has a laid back feel, serves food, and has music usually most nights (but not on Sunday).  We will be here next Friday night again so we will probably go and listen to that night’s band.

Beer here is Scotland is not any better than Ireland.  Rick is thinking of giving up drinking beer altogether.  Drinking beer here is the equivalent of wearing a nicotine patch to stop smoking!

But there’s a fine selection of Scotches….

A Word About Beer

Now that we are on our way out of Ireland I feel I can safely comment on the beer in Ireland.  We've heard that Guinness tastes better in Ireland than anywhere else.  This is true and I will tell you why - it's because in Ireland it is probably the best tasting compared to what others you can get.  Your other choices will be Smythwick's, Stella Artois, Budweiser, Carlsberg, Heinekin, and Tuborg.  All pathetically light and flavorless piss water beers.  Occasionally you will come across Murphy's Irish Stout (which is better than Guiness in our opinion) or Kilkenny (a creamy topped slightly red ale, also better than Guinness) but it is an exception.  We've come to the conclusion that if we stayed in Ireland, we'd probably give up drinking beer.  The whiskey is pretty good though.....

Take the Last Train to Belfast

Actually, it wasn't the last train... it was the first train I've ever been on (aside from the Napa Valley Wine Train).  It was a real train on real train tracks, not like BART that floats magnetically.  I always thought I would like a train ride and find it relaxing and good to sleep on.  So it was not surprising to find myself nodding off to the rhythmic clunking of the wheels along the track in the mid afternoon.  The countryside up from Dublin to Belfast was beautiful, some of the route was along the coast before the tracks cut inland to Portadowns then up to Belfast.

https://picasaweb.google.com/115996157298123378187/TheTrainToBelfast?authkey=Gv1sRgCKeqlpicrquMaA

Anchors Away!

Greetings from the Stena Line Super Ferry, Port of Belfast.  We are just about to embark on our journey across the Irish Sea to Scotland, destination Glasgow.  They have just finished announcing what we are supposed to do should the emergency signal be sounded!  Visions of Titanic….

This is the largest ferry Rick or I have ever been on.  It’s like a small cruise ship.  There is free WiFi, free computer access, free movie, a spa, shopping, restaurants, bars, and even child rec rooms.  The  crossing will take about 2 hours 22 minutes.

The bow thrusters are starting up and the dock is moving away…..

Photos:

https://picasaweb.google.com/115996157298123378187/FerryFromBelfastToCairnryanScotland?authkey=Gv1sRgCJr-laXt_aW8QQ#5749760833716298146

Southwest Coast Beauty

May 31, 2012

Our next overnight was Killarney. 3 hours to the east/north of Kilkenny, but we took our time getting them driving south from Kilkenny, skirting around Cork, then down to the southern seaside areas.  We had lunch in the small harbor town of Balitmore which is a yachting/sailing holiday destination for the Irish, then made our way up the southwestern coast and the Caha Mountains.  This part of Ireland has a rugged wild beauty to it, the best scenary so far.  Killarney was a fun city; if you ever get there, have dinner at The Smoke House.  It specializes in fresh local seafood.  We had the monkfish (Fish to Share) and it was SO good!

Photos of the journey:

https://picasaweb.google.com/115996157298123378187/ToKillarneyThroughBaltimoreAndKenmare?authkey=Gv1sRgCP20ueW8093e-wE

Kicking about Kilkenny and Irish Politics

We spent a kick-back day on the 30^th in Kilkenny with Joe and Lisa; Lisa and I wandering about the charming little town doing some shopping, Joe and Rick comfortably planted in one of the many local pubs, engaging in lively political conversation with some of the locals.  On Thursday the 31^st, the citizens of the Republic of Ireland were voting on whether to agree with the European Union’s ideas about fiscal control of its member countries.  Joel, one of the locals whom we had discussion with, explained to us that in other EU countries their Parliaments make that decision for them, but in Ireland the people still have the vote.  We say many signs about the country about this campaign – “NO to Austerity”, “YES to Stability”.  The folks we talked with in Billy Boynes’ Pub in Kilkenny were “NO”; but traveling on farther south and then to the west, we found more “YES” people.  As it turned out, the YES’s won so Ireland will continue to submit itself to the EU’s plans for controlling the amount of debt its members can accrue (trying to avoid what has happened with Greece).

Motoring Madness

For the last 3 days we’ve been driving Ireland in a bright red manual transmission Mini Cooper.  Fun little car; however, something to consider if you/we ever “hire” a car again in Europe – GET THE NARROWEST CAR POSSIBLE!!!  The roads are incredibly narrow and  sharing them with trucks and tour buses can get pretty dicey at times.  Advice for the person in the passenger side (which over here is the right side) – keep your elbows inside, otherwise you risk injury from the hedges encroaching your space as you veer into them to avoid the oversized “caravan” (RV) which takes up their lane and a third of yours!!  Another thing about driving in Irreland – directions are very vague.  So far, every hotel or guest house that we’ve stayed at aside from the one the airport transport deposited us at, has been a challenge to find.  There doesn’t seem to be any street signs here (except in Dublin).  Addresses are vague  - just the town name if a small town, or “city centre”.  We have come to expect a “CF” (cluster fuck) everytime we roll into a new town looking for our hotel or guest house.

Surprise Lisa!!

Yes, Lisa was very surprised when we showed up at the Bungalow Farmhouse B&B yesterday afternoon.  I'll write more about it later, but for now, here are photos from the day:

https://picasaweb.google.com/115996157298123378187/Kilkenny?authkey=Gv1sRgCMazwaTxwqiE7QE

Goodbye Dublin, Hello Kilkenny

This morning we said good-bye to Dublin.  What a great city, so much to do and see - it would take weeks to take it all in.  But alas, we have to move on.  But first, I must tell you about our Pub Crawl last night....

All in all I think we hit about 7 pubs total yesterday -- two midday, and then 5 more last night.  In the evening we started out at the Long Haul - nice pub, probably  typical fairly quiet Dublin locals place.  Next was the No Name Bar -- you don't get to this place unless someone takes you there or tells you about it because it has really no name sign outside, just a large seashell looking wooden sign hanging over a dark stairwell.  We weren't quite sure if it was what we were looking for but braved our way up the stairs to find a very modern, cosmopolitan pub/bar frequented by Dublin's collegiate and professional 20-30s crowd.  Next was the Castle Bar/Grogan's, named for its proximity to Dublin Castle.  There we met Neil, whom we had seen earlier at the Long Haul and he asked if we were following him!!  Very nice man and helpful especially around 9:30 pm when I became quite hungry after not eating for 7+ hours and nothing but brew in my belly.  He steered us to Sheehans, just  few doors down where we had a "lovely" meal of Smoked Salmon & Caper Salad and Chips, served up by Stephano from Milan, Italy.  (This was the first pub we had encountered that had non-Irish bartenders.)  We thought we were about done after this, but wandered by Duxelles where we were enticed by the live music emanating from this fairly traditional appearing pub.  We had to go in, especially when we heard them playing Beatles music.  This pub was packed with mostly all local Irish, hardly any tourists, and the music that they were going crazy for included songs by Billy Joel, Huey Lewis and the News, Eagles, Don Henley, and Stevie Wonder.  We would've stayed longer than two beers, but ran out of cash and they were cash only, so reluctantly made our way back to the hotel well after midnight.  Good thing too, because we had to be up early the next day to get packed and on our way to Kilkenny.

BUT, before we left Dublin, we toured the Guiness Storehouse - great tour and you get a pint of Guiness for your troubles.

Then we took a taxi to Hertz and picked up our car, a bright red Mini Cooper.  Rick is having too much fun driving that manual transmission car on the opposite side of the road, and the roads out to the Irish countryside are quite narrow.

Arrived at the Bungalow Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast just about 15 minutes after my friends from Susanville, Joe and Lisa, had gotten there.  This was a major surprise for Lisa -- she didn't know we were coming.  Joe had kept his secret well.

Dinner out tonight in the small town of Urlingsford, just a few clicks away from the Farmhouse.

Tomorrow -- Kilkenny and who knows?

Doing Dublin

Dia duit!  (That's Gaelic for "hello")

We arrived in Dublin yesterday morning after an unrestful night on a 757 over the Atlantic.  Managed to walk around for a few hours before collapsing for a 2 hour nap in our hotel, Jury's Inn ChristChurch.  Then went out to explore more of the town and do some "pub crawling".   First took in the Temple Bar area, wow!!  What a jumping place, jumping with lots and lots of tourists of every kind, many bars, restaurants, and shops.  Totally overwhelmed due to lack of sleep, we opted to check out Dublin's oldest pub, The Brazen Head.  A lovely old pub.  However, the beer here leaves something to be desired.  We are wishing we had brought a supply of New Belgium beer coasters and passed them out to give them an idea of what really good beer should taste like...but I am getting a taste for Guiness....

After the BH we strolled into an area known as "The Liberties".  This is a section of Dublin that was outside the British occupied city wall section and definitely a less touristy part of the city.  We were accosted (nicely) by an enthusiastic Irishman outside a local pub, The Hill Top, who informed us there was Karaoke going on that night, so of course, we had to check it out!!  We were the only Americans in the place, surrounded by jovial drunken Irish people.  They were a very enthusiastic audience for Rick's rendition of "People Are Strange" and my "Dream A Little Dream".  I decided to do one more song for them, "Oh Danny Boy" (oh, yes, I really did this but only after reassurance from our bar mates Maurice O'Shea and Patrick that it would be totally appreciated.)  The audience sang along with me, some even with a tear in their eye!!  When we left that night we were hugged and kissed and well wished on our travels.

What lovely people the Irish are!!

Today we hit the town early, visiting St. Patrick's Cathedral, St. Stephen's Green, Trinity College, the National Gallery, and the Chester Beatty Library.  We saw Ireland's favorite painting (Helleigh and Hilldebrandt)  at the National Gallery, a watercolor painting that they only open for an hour a day in order to preserve its colour.  It was really beautiful, hard to belief a watercolor could look that good after 150+ years.  The Chester Beatty Library isn't like any library I've ever imagined.  It actually is a very comprehensive world reknown collection of books, scrolls, and written artifacts dating back to 150-200 A.D. from Asia, China, Japan, and Europe.  The section of the Library called "The Traditions" is a quite amazing study of comparative world religions from the aspect of each's sacred writings.

Food eaten today:  Irish breakfast at the Jury's Inn (porridge, toast, pastries, and cheese for us vegetarians)
Leo Burdock's  Famous Fish and Chips, right around the corner from the hotel;  traditional fish and chips wrapped in unprinted newspaper - very tasty and huge portions.

Photos to see:  https://picasaweb.google.com/115996157298123378187/IrelandScotland2012?authkey=Gv1sRgCLf8tquv4ZO-3gE

Off to pub crawl some more tonight....stay tuned....