IRELAND, DAY 6: SLIGO'S YEATS TRAIL

July 9, 2024

After I spent a few minutes with the statue of Yeats in Sligo, we got on the "Yeats Trail," which takes visitors to several sites around Sligo that are somehow connected to the famous author.

Our first stop was Sligo Abbey, now in ruins but once a flourishing Dominican convent founded in 1253 and operating until 1760.

The Abbey is the setting for two short stories by Yeats: "The Curse of the Fire and of the Shadows" and "The Crucifixion of the Outcast."

Unfortunately, we arrived at 9:10 AM and it didn't open for tourists until 10:00--too long to wait.

IRELAND, DAY 4: DANIEL O'CONNELL MEMORIAL CHURCH

 July 7, 2024

On our way to the scenic Ring of Kerry Drive, we passed through Cahersiveen, population 1,300. When we saw the Daniel O'Connell Memorial Church looming over the village, we decided to take a look. We parked across the street and just happened to notice a ceramic Statue of Liberty through the window of a second-hand store. Crazy.

It looks like the church is 2/3 of the way to their fund-raising goal for renovating the building.

Built between 1888 and 1902, this is the only church in Ireland named for a layperson. Daniel O'Connell was an important Irish nationalist leader in the early 1800s who called for the repeal of the Act of Union of 1800 and for the restoration of the Kingdom of Ireland. He served as a member of Parliament and as the Lord Mayor of Dublin. He also played a role in the abolition of slavery in Ireland in 1833. He was born just outside of Cahersiveen, and the village is proud to claim him as their own, as they should be.

The marble block cornerstone of this granite church was a gift from Pope Leo XIII and was sourced from Rome's catacombs.

IRELAND, DAY 2: CORK

 July 5, 2024

Our next destination was Cork, located in (what else) County Cork, the largest and southernmost county of Ireland.

With a population of about 225,000, Cork is the second largest city in Ireland. That's a small population for the second largest city of a country! But then, the largest, Dublin, has fewer than 550,000 people.

My first impression of the city came from this fantastic mural, which I have since learned is entitled What Is Home? The artist, a guy named Asbestos, explains, "I painted this figure wearing a cardboard box on its head to start a conversation with the public about what home means to them. As a country we are currently in an existential crisis over housing and our need to put a roof over our heads. There's a fear and uncertainty about finding a safe space, and the system seems to be stacked in favour of the landlords." The mural, painted in 2021, is part of a street art project started during the 2020 lockdown.

It was mid-afternoon and we were hungry. We hadn't eaten much since breakfast. Bob had scoped out a restaurant weeks before the trip located in Cork's English Market--Farm Gate Café. 

We both ordered lamb stew and were a little disappointed. It was only average.

TUNISIA, DAY 3, CONT.: NORTH AFRICA AMERICAN CEMETERY, CARTHAGE, THE ANTONIN BATHS, AND OUR FINAL IFTAR DINNER

 March 22, 2024

We had two more destinations on our last day in Tunisia, three if you count dinner. The first was the North Africa American Cemetery, 27 acres dedicated in 1960 to hold 2,841 of our troops killed in the North Africa campaigns of World War II. 

There are 26 American military cemeteries outside of the US, and this is the only one on the African continent.

I was intrigued by the trimming of these trees, and that's a lot of manicured green lawn, don't you think?

We started in an office where I think we signed in. We caught our first glimpse of the cemetery through the windows.

They had a Purple Heart on display and a document signed by Lyndon Johnson. On the page on the right, a passage reads: "The Purple Heart has been conferred individually upon those buried or commemorated here who gave their lives in action."

It was nice to see the American and Tunisian flags standing together. The plaque over the fireplace is one from the American Battle Monuments Commission, who administers this cemetery.

MALTA: DAY 2, PART 2 - MDINA AND RABAT, ST. JOSEPH'S DAY, RABAT'S BASILICA OF ST. PAUL, AND MORE

 March 19, 2024

Our next stop was Mdina, a walled city that at one time was the island's capital. It is next to Rabat. There is a city named Medina in Saudi Arabia and Rabat is the capital of Morocco, so that should give you a hint that at one time settlers of this area were Arabs.

These days, no cars are allowed in Mdina, and it has the nickname "The Silent City." 

You would think there would be little open space in a country that is only 17 miles long and 9 miles wide, but we actually traversed some beautiful green spaces where we could see animals grazing in the fields. After some "cross-country" driving, we soon had a a good view of the walls of Mdina (population 250) and the adjacent city of Rabat (population 11,000).

We stopped to admire the view of the two cities and the flower-blanketed hillsides leading up to them.

As we approached Mdina and Rabat, we could tell right away that there was a party going on, and we felt right at home as soon as we saw the "Mr. America Meals" food truck in the parking lot.

MALTA: DAY 2, PART 1 - WALKING AROUND VALLETTA, ST. PAUL'S SHIPWRECK CHURCH AND CHAPEL, AND MORE

 March 19, 2024

We began our second day in Malta with breakfast in our hotel. I love Eggs Benedict, and I would give these a 6 or 7 out of 10--better than most, but not great. 

Julia joined us in the hotel lobby and led us on a walking tour of Valletta, the capital city. Valletta is set on a hill, and the streets are positioned to maximize cool breezes from the Mediterranean Sea. What are those round things in the street on the right?

They are restaurant tables. and how do you set up tables on a hill? You make wedges to go under the downhill legs. Do they do this for the chairs too? I don't know.

ITALY: NAPLES - DANTE PIAZZA, MARADONA, STREET ART, THE CHAPEL OF SANSEVERO, CHRISTMAS ALLEY, AND THE CHURCH OF SOULS IN PURGATORY

March 15, 2024

After a decent night of sleep, we met Chris and Stan for a mediocre breakfast in the hotel at 7:00 AM. We had 9:00 tickets for our first destination, and we had to figure out how to get there.

The streets are very narrow, and we were quite impressed by the parking job of the car below. We were also very glad we didn't have a car that we had to park. The ice cream visual on the right was tempting, but we couldn't be late for our first appointment.

This is the University Institute of Mediation. At first I thought that was "Meditation," and that those four guys holding up the balcony were deep in thought. 

It turns out they need someone to negotiate their release.

GERMANY 2000: NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE, FUSSEN, AND THE WEISKIRCHE

 December 18, 2000

Neuschwanstein Castle is one of those places that everyone has seen, at least on postcards and calendars and in travel guides. With 1.5 million visitors a year, it is one of the most popular tourist sites in Europe. We were excited to visit and see it with our own eyes.  It did not disappoint, at least on the outside. It is very photogenic. These are brochure clippings from my scrapbook:

And this is information about King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who built it. It makes a great story!

Located on the northern edge of the Alps about 60 miles southwest of Munich and not too far from the Austrian border, the castle is perched half-way up a mountain and can be seen from a distance on approach.

NEW YORK CITY: WORLD TRADE CENTER NEIGHBORHOOD

  May 11, 2023

We made a quick trip to New York City to visit our son Andrew and his girlfriend Michaela on Mother's Day weekend. We took the red-eye Jet Blue flight out of Ontario, and arrived in NYC early in the morning on Thursday. We had booked a room in the World Center Hotel, which is just a block or so from the 9-11 Memorial at One World Trade Center. There are a lot of different subway lines that connect in the neighborhood, and it is also a 15-20 minute walk from there to our Andrew and Michaela's apartment near Chinatown, so it was a good location for us.

I was hoping we would have a view of One World Trade Center from our hotel window since we were so close, but we were facing the wrong way. Still it was an interesting view of some other skyscrapers, and I loved the tile work on the apartment building next to us.

Judging by the fancy outdoor spaces, it costs a lot to live in the apartment building with the fancy tile work.

We were lucky to be there on a weekend with perfect weather and no pollution. The soaring obelisk of One World Trade Center almost seemed to blend into the sky. 

I recently heard someone from my area of the country say that they don't like New York City because the buildings are so tall that you can't even see the sky and its depressing. Honestly, I don't know what they are talking about. Yes, there are big buildings, but there are also a ton of open spaces. I love that about NYC!

COLOMBIA: CARTAGENA, PART I

 March 15, 2023

Bob had arranged in advance for a private city tour in Cartagena, and after we dropped off our luggage at our hotel, we were joined by what turned out to be our best guide of the trip, a young woman named Carolina. She was excellent in perceiving our likes and dislikes and adjusting the tour accordingly.

Cartagena, founded by Spain in 1533 and located on the Caribbean coast of northern Colombia, is a city of almost a million people. It is a major port (one of the largest in South America) and historically part of world exploration and trade. 

Our hotel was kitty-corner from the Castle San Felipe de Barajas, a fortress built in 1536 by African slave labor under Spanish rule. It is an imposing presence and defended the city from attacks many times in the past. Along with the historic city center, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. These days it is used for social and cultural events. 

Our first destination was the Convent of Santa Cruz de la Popa, a convent built by the Spaniards atop Mount la Popa, the highest hill in Cartagena (about 500 feet high). From that spot we pretty much had a 360° view of the city. 

We could see the downtown/business district skyscrapers, which are almost all white. The contrast to the poverty-stricken areas full of cardboard shacks on our way up the mountain was pretty stark. 

JAMAICA, DAY 3: GREENWOOD GREAT HOUSE AND FALMOUTH

February 17, 2023

Bob got up early for a morning of bird watching, and I slept in until 7:30. The hotel included a breakfast buffet with boiled bananas and sweet potatoes, fish hash, some bread-like items I don't know the names for, scrambled eggs, sausage, and French toast. It was all good, and the view of Montego Bay made it taste even better.  Chad was out there snorkeling, and he said the water was crystal clear and the fish were amazing.

I had a lazy morning, and when Bob got back we headed out to the Greenwood Great House. GPS led us down roads that could hardly be called roads--narrow, rutted dirt paths that wound around tin shacks. There were virtually no indicators, like signs, for example, indicating that we were going in the right direction. It was hard to believe most tourists wouldn't be deterred by the roads or would get lost on their way to the house. We persevered, however, and finally pulled up to the rear of a large, dilapidated erstwhile manor.

PORTUGAL: EVORA, PART I - ST. FRANCES CHURCH

 July 2, 2022

Évora, yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site, was the last city on our list before returning to Lisbon, and there were a lot of things we wanted to see there. However, most of them were closed between 12:00 and 2:00 PM,  so after parking our car we took a crazy, zig-zagging 12-minute walk through streets, alleys, and staircases, guided by the GPS on our phone.

We arrived at the Igreja São Francisco, or the St. Francis Church, not quite sure how we had gotten there.

Built between 1475 and 1550, it is a huge Gothic church--although it doesn't look very Gothic on the outside, and the inside has Renaissance and Baroque styles as well. The vaulted nave is the largest of its kind in Portugal.

The main altar includes an impressive "wedding cake Jesus" crucifix.