21 April 2025

I hope you enjoyed a blessed Easter, Passover, or just a beautiful weekend. 

My last week has been filled with more travels.  I’ll continue the travel adventures here. This is as long post. I apologize. It was a very full week!

When I wrote last week, I had just enjoyed my first day in Cork, Ireland. 

On Monday, Vicente and I left our modest hostel and moved our luggage to the Dean, a modern new hotel. It was a definite upgrade. 

We booked a half day trip to see Blarney Castle and kiss the Blarney Stone. But the tour company canceled our trip and put us into a full day trip, at no extra charge. I wouldn’t have booked the full day trip, but when traveling, you learn to go with the flow. 

We began with Blarney Castle on a beautiful Spring morning. 

I have always remembered learning the definition of “blarney,” from a teacher who told about the rock in Ireland. If you kiss the stone, you’ll receive seven years of “the gift of gab.”  We had to go! 

Atop the tower of Blarney Castle, a line forms nearly everyday, for the chance to lay on your back, bend backwards over the edge, and kiss the stone. 

The castle grounds are beautifully maintained gardens and stretch for acres. Walking through these lavish paths on a bright Spring morning was magic. 

The next planned stop was Kinsale on the southern tip of Ireland. But before the town, we stopped at Charles Fort, a 17th Century fort built to protect British interests. 

Kinsale is a quant little town on the water.

We had lunch there and then left for Cobh. We passed green fields and a few castles. 

Cobh features a beautiful cathedral on the top of the hill. 

There’s also a museum there that tells the story of the Titanic. We didn’t go in. But if you’re ever interested, the museum is popular with Titanic enthusiasts. On April 11th 1912, 123 passengers boarded the Titanic here.

Tuesday morning, we stopped by the English Market in Cork and had a proper Irish breakfast, complete with eggs, toast, tea, and blood sausage.  

Then, we boarded a train to Limerick. 

We changed trains at Limerick Junction, which is just outside of the town of Tipperary. “It’s a long way to Tipperary,” so the song goes. Two silly guys (Vicente and I) kept breaking out in song with each leg of our trip! 

Neither of us were sure why we put Limerick on our itinerary. But, we ended up there for one night, enough to get a taste of a non-tourist area of Ireland. We saw King John’s Castle, built by the English king, who actually never even visited there!

Other stops included St Mary’s Cathedral and the Hunt Art Museum…and of course a few pubs. 

 The highlight of Limerick was finding an ole fashioned fish-n-chips place, with the food served in a paper bag.  The only thing missing was newspaper, in which they used to serve it twenty years ago.  But where do you find newspaper these days?!

We both agreed, it was the best fish-n-chips of the trip!

On Wednesday we took the train to Dublin, again through Tipperary … “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary!”  

We had been looking forward to Dublin because we bought tickets to see Primal Scream in concert. So after checking into our Air BnB, we found a spot for lunch. 

We stopped for a pint of Guinness, saw some cool pubs and then made our way to the concert. 

And it was one of the highlights of the trip! 

In Cork, Vicente bought an LP of Primal Scream and he brought it with us to see if we might get a signature. After the concert, we went to the stage door and waited…. And waited…and waited. It was just the two of us waiting be the door.  After almost an hour and a half, we saw that the big truck of sound and light equipment was loaded and closed. We saw the bus for the band still idling, and we finally gave up and went to find something to eat. 

When we came back 20 minutes later, the truck and bus were gone. It was like they were waiting for us to leave!  We didn’t take it personally. 

Thursday morning we got up, ate breakfast, and went to Trinity College to see the famed Book of Kells and the amazing Old Library. 

The Book of Kells is a volume of the four Gospels that was hand copied by monks (most likely) on the Isle of Iona around 800 AD.

There are moments in life that catch your breath. Walking into the Trinity College Library Long Room was one of those. 

This collection of ancient books is being carefully preserved. And the value of education was artfully shared. 

I was particularly moved in one room where a Disney-esque display had two walls of sculpted busts of great thinkers, authors and scientists. The busts came to life and started talking to each other…first Socrates, then mathematician Ada Lovelace. They are joined by Shakespeare, scientist Rosalind Franklin, the folklorist, dramatist and theatre-founder Augusta Gregory, Dean Jonathan Swift, Sir Rowan Hamilton and women’s rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft. 

Each discussed how their work was built on the work of their predecessors, each contributing to our growth and learning as a modern society. Particularly inspiring was how they included women in the discussion, including both their contributions and a realization that we could be further developed as a society if women hadn’t so often been suppressed in education. 

That afternoon, we explored the Irish National Art Gallery. 

We walked through parks and found this famous statue where Oscar Wilde is remembered.

Dublin is a city on the River Liffey. It includes some great bridges. 

That night, we went to another drag show. It was truly one of the best I’ve seen.  Every Thursday night at George’s Pub, they present a very professional show, hosted by Davina Devine.

On Friday, we explored more record shops, then toured the EPIC Museum of Irish Emigration around the globe. Then, we headed to the airport, Vicente going back to Valencia, and I to Paris. 

I arrived late at night, after 11:00. My Air BnB host, Alexander had a quant small place along the Canal Saint Martin. 

On Saturday, he took me walking around his neighborhood and the Marais. I forgot how much I love Paris!  It’s simply magic!! And there’s a reason they sing about “Paris in the Spring!”

We stopped for lunch and enjoyed real fondue. We chose a cheese combination of Beaufort, Reblochon and white wine, with a charcuterie board of hams and sausage. Tres magnifiqué! 

That night, I met my friends for karaoke and dancing. 

I left the group early because I had plans for Sunday morning.

I arrived at 8:00 for the 8:30 Easter mass at Notre Dame. I didn’t plan on getting a good seat. But I thought the experience would be meaningful.

The crowds were even bigger than I expected!

By the time I got in, every seat was taken. I walked to the left side and kept walking. I was able to stand right next to the alter. It was like a front row seat!

After church, I stopped for breakfast along the Seine.

Later, I met the group for a yoga class and later for dinner.

I walked a lot. There’s always so much to see.

I mentioned that I was staying next to the Canal St Martin. It was a delight to cross the bridge whenever I left the apartment or arrived back. And especially fun to watch the locks lifting the boats as they came up the waterway.

Today, I caught my plane from Orly Airport and arrived home to a warm and sunny Valencia. It was a spectacular trip and it’s great to be home!