Thursday, September
20 Waterford/Glendalough/Transfer to
Dublin
After breakfast we get back on the bus to travel from Waterford
to Dublin after a two hour bus ride to the woolen mills and hand weavers of
Avoca. Unknown to me, I had purchased an
Avoca scarf earlier in the trip, which I just love!! We toured the mill and had a demonstration of
how they make the scarfs, coats, etc. We
had lunch at their lovely café.
We then arrived in Glendalough, a glacial valley that would
come to be known for a monastery founded here in the sixth century by St.
Kevin. The settlement thrived for
centuries, but was destroyed by the English in 1398. Among the monks' great achievements was
manuscript writing and copying, including the creation of the spectacular Book of Glendalough around 1131. Now at the Bodleian Library at Oxford, the
book, containing historical chronicles, genealogies, and religious poems, is
one of the most important and beautiful Irish manuscripts from the pre-Norman
period. We walked around this cemetery and
graveyard and saw some very old gravestones.
It was a lovely place. I even saw
a real labyrinth, which we learned about in the Sacred Art of Living and Dying
in my recent hospice classes.
in the graveyard at Glendalough
The labyrinth
The Byrne headstone
We continue to Dublin, arriving in late afternoon. We enjoyed a walk around the neighborhood and Carolyn and Rose went to the walking/shopping street in Dublin. We are staying at the Hotel - Camden Court Hotel.
We meet at the Bleeding Horse pub for our last Irish dinner tonight.
Phil, Roy, Diane, Carolyn, Nancy, Rose, Bob, Jim
The Washington DC group on our tour
Richard, Katherine, Baroline
Friday, September
21 Dublin - city tour
After breakfast we toured Dublin (city tour). We stopped at
the Garden of Rememberance which is one of the most significant memorials in
Ireland. Last year, the Queen of England
visited and placed a wreath here. We
then went to the famine memorial. Bob saw a plaque for a Gabriel Byrne, a
famine emigrant. We stopped by Trinity
College (officially the University of Dublin) which was established by Queen
Elizabeth I in 1592. We viewed the
famous Book of Kells, an elaborate
illuminated manuscript of the four gospels.
Created by the monks of St. Columba on the Isle of Iona around AD800,
the book contains lavishly illustrated transcriptions. This is one of the oldest surviving books in
the world, and the quality of its artwork is the epitome of medieval craftsmanship
and devotion.
Irish Memorial
Steve at the Memorial
Steve at Famine Memorial
Jim at Famine Memorial
After that, the entire group went to the Mulligan’s bar,
which is a bar that is supposedly to have had the best pint in Dublin. They didn’t have any food, so most of the
group went to another bar and had lunch.
Four of the boys stayed and had a great time. We walked back to our hotel via the pedestrian street, and are preparing
for our farewell dinner at 6:00
Happy, Happy, Happy at Lunch Pub
Millie, Eleanor, Luci
Camden Court Hotel
This is probably the last blog posting we will do. We had our last farewell dinner and everyong had a great time. We have become a wonderful family, and all will never forget our great guide and bus driver. They were truly the best.
This is probably the last blog posting we will do. We had our last farewell dinner and everyong had a great time. We have become a wonderful family, and all will never forget our great guide and bus driver. They were truly the best.
Half of our group
Carolyn, Nancy, Jim, Gary
Diane, Phil, Roy
The other half of our group
Eleanor (out of picture) Mike, Luci, Mike, Millie
Vicki, Steve, Bob (Rose taking picture)
It has been a wonderful trip
Thanks Denis and John for the memories
And, of course, Grand Circle Travel
and Harriet and Alan!!
Our next trip will be our 20th with GCT-
-where will be go and who wants to join us!!