Maddy's Travels

So much history! Our guides were knowledgeable, not that I could keep up with the intricacies. One King James was called James the 2nd (or 5th) in Scotland and James the 5th (or 2nd) in England, same guy depending if the Scots were independent of the Brits at that time.

The distillery tour was something I could understand. BTW, in Scotland whisky is not called Scotch, but whisky (spelled without the “E”). In a pub, you might ask for “a wee dram and a pipette”. That would be a shot of whiskey and a dropper to put one drop of water in it. The whisky ferments (10 year minimum) in barrels from the different woods of Spanish sherry, American bourbon and others which gives each whisky its own distinct character.

The Scots say “Never drink whisky without water, never drink water without whiskey”.

I recommend two of our (non tour) hotels: -Hotel Vaco at Grand Central in Glasgow -Barony House in Edinburgh

Google will fill you in on the details. Great breakfasts at both. Yes, I did eat “haggis” and liked it.

We flew off to Dublin, spent an entire day sightseeing, looking for tiny “fairy house” and drinking Guinness in pubs. Remember to order “half a pint” so there will be room in your stomach for the next pub.

The next day, Marlene flew back to the US and I hopped on a train for a two and a half hour journey to Kilarney, County Kerry, Ireland where friends Emma and Norman have a house.

I haven’t mentioned much about the weather on the trip so far. Weather in these countries is spotty. The raincoat did get worn, at least a little on most of the days. When I arrived in Kilarney, it was definitely raining. By the time we drove the hour and a half to Emma and Norman’s house in the village of Caherdaniel it was pouring buckets. I felt doomed. I had 5 days to spend in the most beautiful part of Ireland, would I never see it? That of course did not happen. Even when the phone app has little raindrops, it’s an on and off thing. Little did I know nor could have imagined that I’d be communing with sheep, tromping through their fields on the mountain side, seeing vistas of green fields in geometric patterns, water in the distance.

This area, the “Ring of Kerry” is an area in the southwest corner of Ireland with beaches, dunes, mountains and plenty of hiking trails. The Irish are kind enough to build ladders to climb easily over the fences, hence you are smack dab hanging out with the sheep.

Emma and Norman live on a small lane, one of those I mentioned before that are not wide enough for 2 cars to pass each other. Someone has to pull over, it’s a bit of a dance. A small beach is a 4 minute walk away. The water is no colder than Massachusetts in summer, but the air was a bit too cold for me to go in.

Another friend of Emma’s was visiting at the same time. We cooked, we talked, we walked. Every small drive to the town or an art gallery was a sightseeing bonanza.

Five days later as we headed for the tiny airport in Kilarney I was able to see the scenery I had missed on my arrival. There were mountains behind mountains, trees not all the way to the top but still very green - moss, heather, I don’t know what makes everything so green.

As we left the house, a giant rainbow covered the sky from mountains to sea. A good omen indeed.