Easy For You, You Live Near The Beach

It Seems Like Yesterday

I have returned to NYC but because I made no entries for the first few weeks of my trip I want to add Hawaii and China to the blog.  I took many pictures and tried to e-mail some dialogue to my e-mail list when my iPad rebelled and failed in terms of my e-mail access and ability to send photos.  It stopped working correctly while I was in China.  I spent my days in Hong Kong near the Apple store where they tried to fix it and finally succeeded.  I finally a new address at gmail.

Hawaii was a nice change even if I was in the uninteresting location of Waikiki.  A tourist Mecca for many Americans and Japanese.  I was surprised to see that all the good restaurants had the menu in Japanese as well as English.  My hotel was nice if a little modest.  The hotel was near the beach. 

The weather was sunny and beautiful.  I went on an excursion to the North Coast with a group for the afternoon and we saw some nice stuff.  The skies were blue, the water was blue, lots of flowers and some very large turtles who don't become sexually active until 25 when they swim great distances to find a mate . 

We saw a Japanese Temple transported from Japan.  We went to the Dole Plantation as well.  Otherwise, I walked around, had a massage, shopped for a bathing suit and sun tan lotion, found the post office to send my phone back to NY, went to nice restaurants and got ready for my international trip.

The Eagle Is Sorting Photos

The Eagle Has Landed

Delicious Finale

It finally rained today. The day started with dazzling blue skies, then changed around 3:30 when it started to rain. We could not walk the grounds around Malahide Castle because it was raining quite hard. As we left it began to clear. The sun came out and we proceeded in the bus to Howth where I was last Sunday. There was a beautiful rainbow as we reached the harbor. However it has been rain on and off since.

I'm staying at the Holiday Inn Express near the airport, which got rave reviews on booking.com. I am having dinner at the Crowne Plaza, its sister hotel next door. It's actually a very nice restaurant. I've certainly had the best meal here as far as presentation and creativity. It also tasted great.

Sesame shrimp on a bed of arugula with orange sections to start.  Then rump of lamb, rare, accompanied with a packet of green beans wrapped with leek on a bed of wonderful squares of roast potatoes, and a grilled wedge of romaine as the piece de resistance. There was also some sweet sort of pickled onions which I didn't eat much of. Being my last day abroad, I had dessert, a nice lemon tart with fresh berries.

I should have taken a picture of all of it but didn't. Ireland has proved for me to be the jewel in the crown. It is an exciting, humorous, colorful and beautiful country. I cannot believe this is the last night of my trip. I know this is the last meal I need to eat in a restaurant except for tomorrow night maybe. What an excuse to eat out every night. No other options.

I think I will need to become a tourist in NYC and continue the blog. [The Editor recommends incorporating food, art and gardening into an expanded website.] It has been fun walking around taking pictures especially since there was a venue for displaying them. What will I do next?

Good night from Abroad Abroad

Dublin Walkabout

Statues To The Left Of Me, Aliens To The Right

[Tara Commentary Continued] The top rectangle is aligned with the horizon. The light event lasts for a week. However sunrises in Ireland are often obscured by fog and rain. I have been incredibly lucky as far as weather goes. Even though the forecasts have been for rain, it has not rained for any prolonged time since I have been here. Maybe it rained for a few minutes but that's all.

Tomorrow my last day. I think I am going to go on one last tour of one more castle. I also hope to take a better picture of the statue of Molly Malone who is affectionately called "the tart with a cart". She sold cockles and mussels by day and herself at night.

Tomorrow Is Another Day

Tonight (Friday) is my last oyster hurrah. Tomorrow night I am in an airport hotel. I am sorry that I am not staying in the city but I have a no refund reservation which I made before I changed my plans around here.

We started the day by going to Tara which is now just a hill overlooking 2/3 of Ireland. There was once a castle, the Vikings took it over in, I think, the 11th or12th century. There are no structures left. The Vikings were not interested in the view. It was very windy and had a great view.

I went to a Stone Age Astrological Burial Passage. It is from 3500 BC and predates the Pyramids. These ceremonial chambers were found around Europe but New Grange is probably the best preserved. Once a year, at the winter solstice, the sun comes through into the inner chamber. It sends a bright beam of light that totally illuminates the interior. There are other burial passages nearby, where the light comes through on the spring and fall equinoxes.

The other ones nearby are not as large as the one at New Grange. There are also artistic designs made with stone on the outside and inside as well. I am sending the pictures of the outside. Pictures inside are not allowed. The top rectangle is where the sun comes in at sunrise on the solstice. From the outside the structure is not very exciting. Inside is quite incredible.

They. built the inner chamber with stone, stone that is standing in its original construction. There are three chambers inside with basin-like structures. They believe there were cremations and that the ash and bones were left in the basins. The outside has been rebuilt but the inside is the real thing. You can only see it on a tour and only about 12 people can enter at one time. When you walk in it actually goes up hill which you don't realize as you are walking.

Dublin Castle, Or Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home

St. Stephen's Green

Back In Dublin

Yesterday (Thursday) I spent the day circling the city in a hop-on hop-off bus. I hopped off to see a Vermeer in the National Gallery which is partially closed so all their good stuff was together in one gallery. It included a portrait of an actress by Goya which was also incredible.

I hopped off again at Ryan's, a famous pub which, according to the tour brochure, said President Clinton and Julia Roberts had both been there not together I assume. I did not see anyone famous but I had a Seafood Chowder with a glass of beer at a table by the window in the sun..

I then proceeded on to stop at Saint Stephen's Green a lovely park and walked around and enjoyed the early spring including tulips and flowering trees with a pond filled with ducks.

I did not go on the Guiness tour but we did go by the Guiness Brewery which is enormous and a big commercial enterprise that goes way back in history.

I finished the day at the Dublin Castle. It is owned by the state. State visits are conducted there. Originally I think it began as a Viking outpost. Later it was built into a castle as the home of the English Viscount who ruled Ireland. It was handed over to Ireland to Michael Collins in a twenty minute ceremony when Ireland became independent in, I think, 1921.