THE EPISTLE: June 2023

June, 2023

21 years ago, when we bought our first house in Brittany, France, we had to spend some time fixing it up as we are wont to do as we only seem to buy fixer uppers. Unless that is, we build our own from scratch. (California) Soon though, we were able to get to the purpose of the purchase which was to allow us to not only live part of the year in Europe but that each year would give us the opportunity to take a trip somewhere on the continent. We were part of a home exchange program and over the next 12 years (season really as we are only here 4 months out of the year) we made no less than 25 week long home exchanges all over the continent.

We traveled from Morocco to Spain to Portugal to Italy, and England and Germany and Switzerland and Austria and the eastern bloc countries, and, and, and... We criss-crossed France so many times we have seen much more of the country than many of the French we know. Then, we bought the villa. There was a ton of work to do to get it up to Janice standards and it took many seasons to get that done too. We have no regrets but desperately wanted to reintroduce our yearly travels into the mix. Now, we have.

Before shooting back over the pond to return to the island this month, we took a trip to Ireland. I had not been there since I was a teenager a few years ago (!) but it was a first time for Janice. I wanted to take her to some of the old haunts I remembered but to see new stuff I had not seen either.

As we cleared Irish customs, the officer asked us the purpose of our trip. I told him we were on a 10 day pub crawl. "Welcome to Ireland ! " he said. We then promptly reported for duty at Munroe's pub.

Leaving Dublin the next day, we visited the Glendalough monastery (Year 900) and the Blarney Castle to kiss the stone. The Blarney stone, set into the castle wall in 1446, is said to give mystical powers of eloquence. It is reached at the top of the 100 foot castle (35m) where one leans over backwards over the embattlement wall to pucker up and give it a smooch. Not for the fait of heart- or the sane- it is still a powerful draw for a half million people a year to line up and do the honors.

I actually kissed that sucker when I was a teenager on my first trip to Ireland. Being a lifelong inhibited introvert, reserved, shy, withdrawn, reclusive, self effacing wallflower kind of guy, I needed all the help I could get. Clearly, it worked! This was my second shot at it, a top up of sorts.

This is how we do it!

We have pretty eclectic tastes in things that interest us to visit. One was the 3 masted schooner 'The Dunbrody', one of the famine ships that sailed to America from Ireland during the potato famine of 1840. We boarded the ship to see a replica of the absolutely squalid conditions travelers had to endure during the 50 day crossing.

Our next stop was the one I had planned the entire trip around being able to attend. I had reserved tickets for a medieval banquet feast at Knappogue castle. There, you are greeted by pages, squires and ladies in waiting, serving you fermented Meade, as they guide you to the candle lit castle interior with minstrels playing period pieces with harps and fiddles.

They led us into the dining hall with its banner draped ceiling, where dinner and generous hydration was served while being entertained by the court jester among others. With a turkey leg in one hand, my wench in the other, it is utterly amazing how quickly I adapted to being addressed as "My Lord".

The next day, we visited Burren and the 700 foot tall (230M) cliffs of Moher. This is a World Heritage Site and is the 138th one we (or I ) have visited in 38 countries to date.

A quick visit followed to the 200 foot deep (70M) Doolin cave to see the 3rd longest stalactite in the world at 21 feet (7M). We have visited caves from the US to Switzerland to Ireland to Arizona to Kentucky and pretty much everywhere in between.

Up in the morning, we were off to Connemara national park to check out the bog fields, the Kylemore Abbey, drive by the Kyllary Fjord and the Cong Abbey. Whew! Big day, pooped and thirsty. We stayed above a local pub and reported for duty.

Kylemore Abbey

Moving on, we made our way to Londonderry in Northern Ireland. No sooner had we entered the city, it became obvious that the decades old sentiments from "The Troubles" were hardly over. No more bombs being tossed about but deep seated hard feelings that are still raw. Man, these folks are still really ticked off.

Next, we made our way to the 'Giants Causeway' with its crazy looking rock formations. It too is a World Heritage Site and at number 139 on our list, it is not surprising we included it.

No self respecting traveler would miss the opportunity to visit the Bushmill whiskey distillery (founded 1608), it being the oldest whiskey distillery in the world. Samples were included.

Wrapping up our day, we toured the Crumlin Road Gaol prison in Belfast. This was the prison made famous during "The Troubles" where many of the IRA prisoners were kept. Over the years, 17 men were executed here (hung). The place was truly despicable but was not that far below and eerily similar to the prison I worked at. We never executed anyone where I was at (unless you count the two we shot off the fence while trying to escape) but the death chamber reminded me of when I sat in one of the chairs in the gas chamber at San Quentin prison when I was on an official tour there for the department. Over the years, 422 prisoners have been executed at San Quentin by hanging, in the gas chamber or by lethal injection. Isn't the Epistle a fun read?

Not real comfy, but you don't have to stay long.

Finally, on our last day we visited Bru na Boinne and Newgrange. They are famous for the spectacular prehistoric passage tombs of Knowth, Newgrange and Dowth which were built circa 3200 BC. These ceremonial structures are among the most important Neolithic sites in the world and contain the largest collection of megalithic art in Western Europe. It also happens to be the premier of Irelands World Heritage Sites, coming in at number 140 for us.