The second part of our Irish adventure began with picking up a rental car in Dublin and making our way out of the city. As we made our way into the countryside, we turned off the highway and immediately saw what we had heard from others – the roads are VERY narrow. Like “come to a stop when someone wants to pass you and hope your side mirrors don’t meet” narrow. We made our way over to Killarney, mostly on backroads with gorgeous scenery. The pictures don’t lie – it’s extremely green and lush with all the rain they get!

The next day we drove the Ring of Kerry. This famous route takes you along a narrow road on cliffs high above the Atlantic Ocean, with beautiful views and cute little fishing towns. It’s very nearly the westernmost point of Europe. We chose to take the route counterclockwise – same as the tour buses cause we didn’t want to meet them face to face on those narrow roads! We took a car ferry over to Valentia Island to see the Cliffs of Kerry. One of the islands just off the cliffs is called Michael Skellig, and that’s where they filmed some of the scenes in the latest Star Wars movie (it’s where Luke has been living all these years). I dropped my phone on the rocks on the steep climb and gouged my screen … a not-so-great souvenir of the trip.

The next day we drove to Blarney and walked around the grounds of the Blarney Castle. Yep, we kissed the stone. Andy had bought a lotto ticket the night before and he kissed the lotto ticket against the stone, hoping for good luck. Alas, he did not win. In case you are unaware, the Blarney Stone is actually at the very top of about a 5-story building. When you get up there, you lay down on your back and grab a couple of handrails and scoot yourself backwards and down into a small cutout in the roofline – then kiss the stone from there. You can see the ground 5 stories below you. Kinda scary! In the middle pic below, you can see the tower, and if you zoom in to the very top, you’ll see a small slice of the sky showing through – that’s where you bend backward over the 5-story drop!!

The hotel we stayed in that night – the Blarney Castle Hotel – was awesome and had a great pub where all of the locals hung out after work. We joined them for dinner and had a wonderful time. Some lady told Andy he looked like Tom Hanks (needs her eyes checked?!?).

We drove into Cork and returned our rental car, then took a taxi to St Finbarr’s Church. The taxi driver took us instead to St. Finbarr’s Cathedral, which was lovely … but once inside we realized it was not the church we were looking for. We walked to our intended destination, hopeful that we could speak with someone about seeing their books. My 5th great grandfather, James Sullivan, was baptized at this church in 1775. And while the church was wide open for visitors, there was nobody around. Their office posted a note that they have one hour of office hours a week – on Tuesdays – so we were out of luck. I had emailed them about a month ago inquiring about meeting with them, but no reply. I’m guessing they just don’t have the bandwidth to deal with such requests, given that this is the oldest church in the southern part of Ireland, so many ancestry fans may ask to visit.

This was the trip mom always wanted to take, and Andy and I were so happy to step into the church where her ancestors walked. Truly a wonderful experience.

We spent the rest of the day wandering around Cork, and at one point while we were sitting outside at a pub, a group of naked bicyclists pedaled past. Totally naked – some with body paint and some just in all their glory. The pub owner told us this happens every Saturday!

We woke the next morning to texts from American that our flight to DFW had been cancelled and that we were rebooked for Monday. So, after a few minutes of frustration, we decided to make lemonade from our lemons and look at it as a surprise extra day in London! Neither of us had been there in many years – and never for fun – always a quick business trip. We had a great time, wandering some of the sights and hanging out in a couple of pubs. A wonderful extra ending to a wonderful trip!

Our first impression of Dublin was that it was not as appealing as Edinburgh – it’s dirtier and not laid out as well, feels a little more crowded, and generally we didn’t feel as safe walking some of the streets. However …. we still had a ton of fun!

Our favorite things:

• Kilmainham Gaol: This former prison (gaol is the Irish word for jail) housed many political prisoners and lots of children. The youngest was three years old and spent two days there for begging. This jail closed in the 1920s and was really nicely refurbished by a bunch of volunteers in the 1960s as a tourist spot to tell the story of the 1916 Easter Uprising. (also a photo of us in front of Ha’Penny Bridge below).
• Jameson Distillery: We had already done the distillery tour in Edinburgh, so we opted for a cocktail making class. A ton of fun! We made a whiskey sour, an old fashioned and a whiskey punch. All very good!
• Trinity College Long Room Library & Book of Kells: Book of Kells is interesting, but not what I really wanted to see. The Long Room Library is the star – holding over 200,000 books on two stories. It’s very Harry Potter-esque. Super cool to see it, although I thought the floating earth – an “art installation” in there right now – cheapened the view.
• Phoenix Park: There was an unusually sunny afternoon in Dublin (rains here literally every day), so we decided to take a walk in this park that is twice as big as Central Park. We happened upon the zoo and decided to wander through it for a while. There were animals … and small children .. it was a zoo (a nice one).
• Guinness Storehouse: This 7-story celebration of all things Guinness is wonderful. Sure, there’s a tasting. And yes, you wander through a lot of exhibits that explain how they make Guinness taste so great (check out the water video below – super cool – sound on!). But the real beauty of this place is the sheer size of it and your ability to wander at your own leisure. And the 7th floor circular bar with your free pint of Guinness – “free” being a relative concept here since you pay for it with your entry fee – but the wonderful 360-degree view of Dublin is quite nice while you’re sipping your pint. A couple of fun facts about Guinness:
  • They claim each pint has more than 300 million bubbles. I was like, how do they know, did they count them???!
  • When they pour a pint, you can see the bubbles at the bottom of the glass flowing downward. They say those bubbles are then going up the middle and forming the head on the top of the glass, which is supposed to be 12-18 mm thick.
  • There is a group of professional tasters who meet each morning at 10 a.m. to make sure all is well in Guinness land.
• Temple Bar: This neighborhood is famous for a ton of pubs with live music. We visited a few, including the namesake Temple Bar.

Overall a good time, and we kept up our nightly gelato habit. Got to have priorities! 😉

On to the two day trips out of Edinburgh – first to St. Andrews, the “home of golf,” and then on to Stirling, the home of the Scottish Highland Games. Both were amazing!

St. Andrews was as billed – cold, blustery, and off and on rainy. But we still had a great time! We did a tour of the Old Course, Andy saw the 17th hole – billed as the most famous hole in golf – and he was excited that we got our picture taken by the Swilcan bridge. In case you didn’t know (I certainly didn’t), there are 7 golf courses at St. Andrews. The Old Course is the most famous – the one the British Open is played on when at St. Andrews. While taking the tour, we were told that 125 people were currently waiting for an open spot that day to play on any of the seven courses, so playing was not likely at all. However, we could get a tee time for what they call the Blue Course … also known as the ladies putting course, also known as the Himalayas. So we did! We trolled a few people via text and said we got a tee time at St. Andrews. I mean, we did, but not any of the courses that really count. But, we played all 18 holes on the Himalayas and had a blast. Also ate at the famous Old Tom’s Bar & Grill and bought a few souvenirs at the pro shop. A really great day!

Stirling is a very nice little city with all the usual Scottish fare – a castle, pubs, great transportation, very walkable, and nice people. It’s a more upscale residential area, with beautiful stone work on the houses. We stayed in a bed and breakfast and had great meals with the lovely people who worked there. We did the hop on hop off bus, per usual, and got a private tour cause we were the only people on the final round of the day. We saw the William Wallace monument – he’s the Mel Gibson character in Braveheart (which we have not seen but now plan to watch), and he played a huge role in Scottish history.

The next day we made our way to the Scottish Highland Games. Think county fair meets local track meet, with a few strongman competitions thrown in. There were bagpipes, Scottish dancing competitions, a track and bicycle meet that lasted the whole day, and big burly men in kilts throwing shot putts, hammers, long sticks with bowling balls on the end, and logs (called cabers). All with a little arts and crafts fair and food trucks with usual county fair food – burgers, hot dogs, pizza, etc. Oh, and plenty of beer and whisky. Of course. It was a fascinating day of people watching and cheering on the competitors. Super fun – if you ever have the chance, definitely worth a day of your time!

We’re at the airport, headed to Dublin!

Edinburgh is a beautiful old city – the oldest continuously inhabited city in the British Isles. Like most of Europe, it’s very walkable. We had a wonderful time exploring the history, food and whisky.

As we do in most cities, we started off on the ‘hop on hop off’ bus, which we find to be a great way to get the lay of the land and take a moment to collect ourselves after an overnight flight, usually with very little sleep. This bus was particularly wonderful because it had a live narrator.

We were pleasantly surprised to learn that we happened to be in town during the Fringe Festival, a time for local artists to show off their skills, so we saw countless street performers playing music, doing comedy or dramatic sketches, juggling, and just any kind of performance.

We also did a few tours – the best was of Edinburgh Castle, which has been on “castle rock” since 1103 AD. We learned the dramatic story of Mary Queen of Scots – who became queen at 6 days old, was promised for marriage at 6 years old and sent to France where her future husband lived, married at 16 and widowed at 18. She returned to Scotland during tense times and married again a few years later; that husband is believed to have stabbed her private secretary 57 times in Holyrood Palace, and Mary could never stand to live there again (although to this day it is where King Charles stays when he goes to Edinburgh). Following an uprising, she was imprisoned at age 25 and then fled to England to live with her cousin, Queen Elizabeth, but Elizabeth was jealous of her and had her beheaded at the age of 44. A short and rough life, for sure.

We greatly enjoyed the food and drinks in Edinburgh. Andy had a great time trying local foods like a BAP, haggis, a pasty, haddock, and brown sauce (tastes like vinegar-based BBQ sauce). We also tried the local drinks – beer and whisky. The whisky is plentiful and quite good. We learned about how whisky is made and did a tasting at the Scotch Whisky Experience, and also had some good whisky at the Johnny Walker rooftop bar (which had a great view of the castle).

There were three basic areas where we spent time while in Edinburgh, all worth a visit! First is the Royal Mile – a milelong street that runs from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace (the one where Queen Mary’s husband stabbed her secretary); this street is full of shops and pubs and is where most of the street performers could be found. The second place we enjoyed was Haymarket – a small area that reminded us of an Italian piazza – again, more pubs and lots of great people watching. Third, we wandered along the street that is said to have inspired Diagon Alley in Harry Potter and saw the bar where J.K. Rowling is said to have penned most of the first book.

On to St. Andrews and Stirling!

On to our final destination – Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. This time of year, the falls is relatively tame, which we initially thought might make it less than fabulous. But not true – apparently, when you come here during maximum waterflow, you can’t actually see the falls as it’s shrouded in the mist created by the incredible volume of water. The falls originates with the Zambezi River (what Andy calls the Mighty Zambezi!) and makes its way south through several countries out to the Indian Ocean. The best viewing is from the Zimbabwe side, so we had quite an interesting journey traveling from Zambia – where we were staying – to Zimbabwe. It was just a few miles, but took about an hour to go through multiple stops and get our paperwork checked out on both sides. Once there, we had a lovely guide named Sam who walked us along a path on the edge of the gorge, where we could view the falls from multiple locations. It’s loud, it’s wet, it’s majestic.

Our hotel was kind of unique, with zebras and giraffes wandering the grounds freely. We got quite close to them a couple of times!

Now heading home and ready to get back to normal life. Africa is a dream.

We left Cape Town and flew to Hoedspruit Airport, the launchpad for Kruger National Park. A short drive later, we were in “the bush” and starting to see animals! First up – my favorite – giraffes, which we spotted from the highway, along with elephants. We got to Simbavati Hilltop Lodge, dropped our stuff in our room, and jumped in a jeep for our first safari. Almost immediately after pulling out of camp, we saw elephants and, not too long after, we saw a lioness which led us to see three lion cubs – they were super cute, tumbling and playing with each other. We viewed them – and their carefully watchful mother – for 15 minutes, at least.

Our first camp was small — just 16 guests. The schedule every day was wake-up call at 5 a.m., coffee in the main lodge at 5:15, and in the jeep by 5:30. That drive lasted for 3 hours, then back to the lodge for a huge breakfast, then free time – most people napped – until 1 p.m. lunch, then pool time until around 3:00, quick change, tea (small snacks and beverages, like the classic British tea), then back on the jeep at 4:00 for our evening safari. Back at the lodge around 7, then a huge dinner.

The bush plane between camps was interesting – a 9-seater that transports people around Kruger National Park. When we were picked up on a lonely airstrip with absolutely no buildings, there were already two people in our plane. We flew 15 minutes, landed and picked up two more people, then flew less than 5 minutes to our stop. We’re pretty sure our pilots were younger than our kids – maybe mid-20s at the most. But they did a great job getting us safely to our second camp.

Both of our camps were beautiful with top-notch service. The people go out of their way to make sure you have an amazing trip – both on the game drives, where they would track footprints and go cross country so we could see an elusive animal, and at the lodge, where your every wish was met.

One interesting fact we learned is there are three groups of animals to “find.” The one everyone knows is “The Big Five,” which consists of majestic creatures like lions, elephants, rhinos, Cape buffalos, and leopards. These animals were specifically chosen for this group because of their reputation as challenging targets for hunters. Additionally, there is a category known as “The Small Five,” consisting of tortoises, birds, mammals, and insects. Lastly, there is “The Ugly Five,” which is comprised of the warthog, hyena, vulture, Maribou stork, and wildebeest. We saw all of the Big Five, all but one of the Ugly Five (didn’t see the stork), and a few of the Small Five. We also saw hippos, crocodiles, lots of Kudu and eland and other antelope-type animals, giraffes, zebra, ostrich, and more. We even saw a cheetah as we were leaving the last camp for the airport – a very rare sighting! Each of these animals has unique characteristics that make them noteworthy in their own right. It was truly a remarkable experience to witness the diversity and beauty of these magnificent creatures during our journey.

Truly an amazing experience!

After an extremely maddening travel experience to get to Africa (just typing that made my BP spike!), we finally made it to Cape Town and proceeded to truly enjoy our trip. Our first stop was Franschhoek, a small winery town that reminded us A LOT of Napa. Cute little town that we really didn’t get to enjoy cause it was 11:30 p.m when we arrived. We checked into the stunning Leeu House Estates (garden pic below) and went straight to bed.

Day 2 dawned with a pickup from a lovely man named Ian, who was to be our guide for the next two days. Just a word here about Ian – he turned around the bad experience we’d had getting to the country and made our first two days a fantastic experience. He was knowledgeable, funny, patient, kind, and proud of his country – a winning combination. Our first day was a wine tour, and we enjoyed the wines, food, and views at two wineries in the Stellenbosch area. It was a beautiful day, and we loved every minute of it. Ian dropped us at our Cape Town hotel and we wandered to a local restaurant he recommended for game meat – and then didn’t eat any!

Day 3 was all about Cape Town – Table Mountain, Signal Hill, a beautiful row of really old houses that signify the tribal culture that is still a part of Cape Town, down to the Cape of Good Hope, and then to Boulders Beach to see the penguins. After a late lunch, Ian dropped us back at the hotel, and we once again wandered around for dinner.

Cape Town is a beautiful city and not what you expect when you think of Africa. It’s lush and green, with manicured common areas and an abundance of trees. And it’s surrounded by mountains, which we did not expect (our assumption being that Africa is flat.

Now on to our first safari!!

While Egypt was all about motion and tours, Madrid was the laid back portion of our vacation. And it was magnificent. First off, we had perfect weather – sunny and high 70s during the day. Second, it’s just a beautiful, clean, orderly European city. It felt very familiar to us. And third, it offered our favorite of all European pastimes – sitting at a cafe, drinking wine, and people watching.

From the hop on, hop off bus, to the Prado art museum, to the e-bike tour, to our “self-guided wine tour” and loooooooong hike to the zoo, to our walk through Retiro Park, and to the never ending supply of wine, gelato and churros … we had a blast.

One thing deserves a longer mention. Some may not like this, but we attended a bullfight in the most famous bullring in the world – Las Ventas. I wasn’t sure what to expect or how I would feel about it. We know it wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Setting aside the sensitivities some may have about this, the cultural aspects are really fascinating. The training, the bravery, the customs, and the pageantry – it was all very interesting and educational. We happened to see a young matador get gored twice, which was really shocking. News reports suggest that he will recover with no lasting issues.

The other item that deserves special mention is churros – specifically, churros with hot dipping chocolate. OMG, why have I never had this before? We discovered this culinary masterpiece on day 1 at breakfast and proceeded to have it every single morning after that. 😉

We kicked off our fall odyssey by touching down in Cairo for 5 days. This has been a bucket list item for us for about 25 years, so very excited to be here.

Our hotel was situated right on The Nile River, and the rooftop restaurant had an amazing view of the rivers and lights.

First stop had to be the pyramids! They’re big, they’re old, they’re in the desert. It was hot. Like really hot. We learned that the Great Pyramid (the one behind us in the first pic below), which was built roughly in 2650 BC, was for King Kufou (sometimes referred to in English as Keops), who was the father, and there are two slightly smaller pyramids next to it that are his son and grandson – who were Pharaohs after him. Next to each large pyramid are much smaller pyramids that are the tombs of each of their wives and other children. A total of nine tombs in all – they can all be seen in the pic with us on the camels. Our gentle camels – Mickey and Alibaba – carried us across the desert to the Sphinx. We learned that the monument was made using the leftover rock from the quarry, after the pyramids, and it kind of seems like an afterthought. It’s majestic, but a bit worn down. Next we traveled to Sakkara – home of the very first pyramid built, roughly 3,000 BC. It’s a rudimentary thing, called The Steppes. Big takeaway from this site was the large open area next to the pyramid that was used for games, kind of like the Olympics. There, the Pharaoh at the time would fight a bull every few years and cut off its tail to prove his worth and power to the people. I’m writing this in Madrid (more on that in the next blog post), and after seeing a real bullfight, this act was really brave! This is also the day we bought my Kartoush – which has my name in hieroglyphics on one side and a series of ‘blessings’ for love, devotion, patience, and strength on the other side. We had dinner at a nice Italian restaurant and signed our name on the wall at the owner’s request.

Day two took us to the Egyptian museum, where all of the artifacts from the pyramid tombs and other ruins are housed (the pyramids are empty). Overall, there are some really cool things in here. But overcrowded and no AC, so kind of an uncomfortable experience. Cool things – Andy found out that he resembles Ramses II, The Great, and even shares his birthday. Also, we saw the King Tut golden mask (pic below shows golden masks of Tut’s grandparents). No pics allowed in the King Tut part of the museum, but sadly everywhere else you were allowed to touch, sit on, whatever, the antiquities. We were shocked and saddened that these precious treasures are not better protected. Our guide, Mahmoud, was a delight. That night, we took a dinner cruise on The Nile, which included a traditional belly dancing show. Rode home in a horse and carriage.

The following day we had a wonderful tour of the older part of Cairo – the Islamic quarter. The Cairo of today is a mix of mostly Muslim, but also Jewish and Christian, living, they say, harmoniously side by side. But it’s history is largely Muslim so there are dozens of mosques, with beautiful onion tops and towering minarets dotting the city’s skyline. Our guide took us to three mosques – one that is part of an old fort and is beautifully restored as mostly a tourist location, and a second and third that are still very much used by locals as prayer places. In fact, we happened to be there during the noon prayer and observed locals praying. One interesting thing about Cairo is that they play the prayers over loudspeakers all over town five times a day, as a call to pray. Our guide finished off our tour by taking us to the oldest market in Egypt and one of the oldest in Africa – Khalil el Khan. We wandered through a bit but weren’t interested in shopping, but we did have coffee at the oldest coffee shop in Egypt, which was really cool; pic below. That night, we took a ride on a felucca – the original wooden sailboats that were used to travel The Nile.

Last day was mostly about sleeping in, eating, and packing.

Overall, our impression of Egypt is that we are so glad we experienced this culture. The good – the Egyptian people are warm, friendly, and proud. They bend over backward to help you and they speak English really well. The food was great and easy to find something yummy. The bad – the city is very dirty and ill-kept, there’s trash everywhere, and the traffic is horrendous. Horns honking constantly. I think it’s the biggest city we’ve ever visited – 23 million – and is largely very poor. It’s a shame the amazing antiquities are not cared for in a way that promotes conserving them for many generations to enjoy. In the end, however, we had a great time and would recommend Cairo to anyone who wants to see and experience this amazing culture.

OK, so we skipped writing about the two-week back-to-back cruise that was part of our nomadic 2 months after moving out of the Dallas townhouse. It was a cruise – well, two actually – followed by a week in Dallas, a month in Hot Springs, and a month in a Dallas apartment. Then we moved into our new house. Not a vacation, actually, but sort of.

Cruise – two back to back week-long cruises. Typical – had fun, saw the shows, gambled, people watched, and generally just had a lot of laughs. Can’t recall anything that really sticks out.

Hot Springs – we did a lot of fun things during our time in Hot Springs. First, the house was really cool – large home with wraparound porch set on 5 acres with a pond and a little woodsy area. Andy had fun walking the perimeter most days, doing a bit of fishing and shooting squirrels and rabbits. In his element!! We took a few motorcycle day trips, Dave came to visit, and we did some of the local touristy stuff like a boat ride on the lake and a visit to the local hot springs. All in all, a reminder of why we love Arkansas!

Dallas apartment – a good reminder of how blessed we are. The apartment grounds and exterior were super sketchy – while Andy was gone, I did not stray out after dark. But once you got inside the rental apartment itself, it was fine. I was not sad to leave.

Enough about that “vacation” time. We were excited to move into our new house!