Monthly Archives: August 2017

For the second time this summer we were in Reykjavik.  Reykjavik means Smoking Bay.  It was settled by Vikings from Denmark in 874.  The country of Iceland sits on the mid Atlantic ridge.  The main industry used to be fishing, but currently it is finance, banking and tourism.  Reykjavik is the most Northern capital city in the world at 64 degrees N.  The Arctic Circle is at 66 degrees N.  The country of Iceland attained it’s full independence from Denmark in 1944.

After 2 sea days we were ready for our “Volcano Exploration” tour.  We were in one of the super jeeps, with 42″ tires.  Our first stop was a lava tube.  We drove out of the city for about 40 minutes.  We were on the Reykjanes Peninsula.  The landscape was amazing.  There were lava fields covered in grey moss, which actually had a yellow color to them.  We headed toward a mountainous area that our guide, Bernie (his Icelandic name was too hard for us to use) said was part of the island that was the oldest.  They were not very tall mountains but were beautiful to view.

After donning helmets we walked down a path and then climbed down into an area that was the entrance to the lava tube.  Bob went with the group into the tube, but Bette saw the jumble of rocks she would have to climb down and stopped at this point.  According to Bob, it was a neat experience.  It was dark and cool, with some water dripping from the ceiling.  The way in was narrow with a low roof at some points, but then it would open up.  They went in about 100 yards.  Bob said when they turned off their headlamps it was really, really dark.

We then went “off road”.  We were actually on old unpaved roads but the ride was fun.  Up and over small hills and splashing through wet areas.  Our guide explained that you are not allowed to just go anywhere you want, because the government is protecting the land, the vegetation and natural beauty of Iceland.  There are big fines if you destroy any land and even plants.

The next stop was at a black sand beach on the shore of Lake Kleifarvatn.  The lake was huge.  Our guide told us that about 10 years ago an earthquake in the area opened fissures in the land under the lake and it was almost drained dry.  It took about 5 years for it to come back to it’s current size.

We next went to an area with bubbling mud pots and running hot water.  The colors of the rocks and ground were interesting to see.

Then we went to Storaeldborg, a dormant volcano.  There was an opportunity to climb to the top to see the cauldron.  The wind was blowing at 25 MPH or more.  Bob did the climb.  At the top he had a hard time not being blown off!

Then to lunch in Grindavik, a small fishing village.  We had lobster soup and really good brown bread with Icelandic butter.

We then went to an area that was steaming.  Everywhere we looked steam was coming from the ground.  There was also an abandoned bore hole.  This was one that had been used originally to bring the hot water/steam to Reykjavik for heating.  Bernie explained how they use their thermal energy to generate electricity and heat their homes.

And then we were back on the road to the city, passing the Blue Lagoon, now one of the top tourist destinations in the world.

It was a fun and very active day!

On August 26, we were in Belfast, Northern Ireland.  Janice and Michael went shopping with the chef again and Bette and Bob had organized an excursion to the Giants Causeway and various sites where the Game of Thrones TV show is filmed.

Our first photo stop was at Dark Hedges, a road scene from GOT.  It was here that Arya leaves for King’s Landing.

Our next stop was at Baluntoy Harbour, which was the setting for Iron Harbour in GOT season 6.

Then it was on to the Giants Causeway.  Our driver and guide, Norman, had a CD with the story of how the Causeway was formed.  It is made of volcanic basalt pillars.  They run from this point just north of Belfast to Scotland which is approximately 20 miles away at this point.  The last time we were here, it was pouring rain, but this day we only had cloudy skies, followed by rain.  Bob actually got to hike to one of the points above the Causeway.

We stopped at a cafe to see a door from one of the episodes and a replica of the Iron Throne.

After lunch at a cafe, not as good or nice as the one from the prior day, we went to see White Park Bay.  Beautiful shore line and beach.

A quick stop at Dunluce Castle, which is used for Greyjoy Castle.

Then back to Belfast.  We did not go to see the wall that separates the city, the Catholic area called the Falls and the Prodestant area called Shank Hill.  The time of the “troubles” pitted the two religious groups.  Since 1996 there has been peace.  Our guide indicated that the people realize that this is how it should be and even though there are disagreements they are settled without violence.

Belfast is a working class city.  It is the capital of Northern Ireland and is still part of the U.K.  It was a big ship building area, specifically the Titanic.  Now it is a big port for both cruises and shipping.

Bette ended the day going to the Titanic Museum, which is in a beautiful building with interactive exhibits.

Dinner was on the pool deck at the Grille.  We cooked our own meats on hot rocks.  We thought it would be a good night to do this since we did not sail until late, and did not have to worry about cold windy weather.  The bibs are so we didn’t get splattered while cooking.

Another great day.  Next up, 2 sea days to give us some time to relax.  It is a vacation, you know.

Today, August 24, we were in Dublin, however we did not stay in Dublin.  We had a guide, Derek, who had a whole day planned for us in County Meath.  Dublin itself was founded in the 9th century with both Gaelic and Viking heritage.  The Normans arrive around 1168, walled in the city.  In 1922 Ireland became independent from Great Britain.  Today Dublin is a financial hub, bustling port, capital of Ireland and a tourist destination.

We left the city and headed to the Boyne Valley.  A famous battle was fought here, but we were here to see tombs built by Neolithic peoples.  There are over 40 tombs in this area, we went to Bru na Boinne, a UNESCO world heritage site.  At this site there are 3 major tombs/mounds.  The major one that we actually visited is called Newgrange.  It is over 5500 years old, older than the Pyramids and Stonehenge, built of gigantic stones and smaller rocks.  It lines up on the winter solstice with a beam of light entering the small box over the door and lighting up the interior chamber.  It was rediscovered in 1699 and the exterior has been reconstructed.  The interior is exactly the way it was when originally built.  To enter you had to duck down under low rock ceiling beams and go side ways through narrow passages.  It was quite something to see. The archeologists believe it took at least 3 generations to build.  The second mound is called Knowth and it lines up with the 2 equinoxes.  It too can be visited but we did not do that.  The last one is called Dowth and was destroyed by an explosion.  It lined up with the summer solstice.

Our next stop was at Monasterboice, an old abbey.  There was a tall tower that dates to 1070.  It was attacked by the Vikings many times.  The monks moved the scriptures to the top of the tower to protect them.  There were two large carved, stone crosses, Murideach’s Cross and West Cross, which is the tallest in Ireland.  The cemetery was very peaceful with family grave plots that dated back hundreds of years.

Our next stop was the Hill of Slane, where St. Patrick lit the first paschal fire in 433 which brought Christianity into Ireland.  Today, the people of the area still light the fire every year.  The Slane Abbey was built in 1512 and had hidden faces in various places.

We next stopped for lunch at a delightful cafe right at the foot of the Hill of Tara.  It was at the Hill of Tara that the kings of Ireland were crowned.  Our guide explained some of the rituals – pagan rites that happened when a new king was being crowned.  One of the most famous kings was Loegaire and they have traced his DNA to a good portion of the people in Europe today.  They only had one queen, named Maeve.

We made a quick photo stop at Bective Abbey, the second oldest monastery in Ireland dating to 1147.  The trees surrounding it are about 410 years old.  At different times it was a monastery, mansion and castle.  We could see the different renovations that had been made over time.

The last stop of the day was at Trim Castle.  It was built in 1173, is the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland and 3rd largest in Europe.  It is in the center of the town of Trim and had been idle from 1446 to 1991.  It is now part of the National Trust and being maintained.

We had a long day, but a very interesting one.

Our next port was Cobh, which is where our ship docked.  The city that we were there to visit was Cork.  We took the train with the executive chef into Cork to shop for goods for the ship.  We visited the English Market, which was clean and interesting to see.  We stopped at the cheese counter and tasted some cheeses.  Then to the fish counter and learned about some of the fish that would be prepared for us on the ship.  The final shopping stop was the smoked fish counter.  Quite an interesting experience.

We then did a little sightseeing on our own.  We saw the St. Fin Barre Cathedral.  It dated from the 7th century.  We did a little more walking and then took the train back to Cobh.  Cobh was established by Vikings and was one of the ports that the Irish left from during the potato famine.  It was also the last port of call for the Titanic.

It was a fairly nice day weather-wise.  We have been told that “partly cloudy” is the normal forecast.

The highlight of the day was dinner in Le Champagne.  The food was amazing.  Six fabulous courses! The photo is of Bob’s risotto appetizer that had gold leaf on top.  Janice and Bette had the caviar, of course.  Quite a meal.

Our first port of call on August 23, was Fowey (pronounced Foy).  The town is charming with buildings from medieval times, Victorian times and early 1900’s.  We had a wonderful guide, Helen Doe, who is a retired college professor, University of Exeter, author, cruise ship lecturer and a fifth generation from Fowey.  We started our walking tour on Albert Quay, which was dedicated in the late 1800’s by Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert.

We walked along twisty turney streets, into hidden gardens, learning the history of Fowey.  Fowey was a major port in medieval times.  It was very big in the export of tin, copper and china clay.  Many of the walls in town were built from the bricks used as ballast on the ships coming in to pick up the export items.

Two famous authors, wrote from Fowey.  Kenneth Graham, writing Wind in the Willows and Daphne du Maurier, writing Rebecca amongst other novels.

The town was one of the take off points in World War II for the Normandy invasion.  The troops who were here landed on Omaha Beach.  The harbor was filled by the landing vessels, you could walk across from one side to the other.

There were two main families who developed the town in the early times, the Rashleighs and the Treffrys.  The big mansion on the hill is called Place and is still owned by the Treffry family and is lived in today.

One of Harvard’s founders is from Fowey, Hugh Peters.  

Smuggling was a big “industry” in the early days.  

It was a great first port.

We next drove from Cardiff to Southampton.  The British roads were all very good and filled with roundabouts which both Bob and Michael mastered.  GPS guided us to our cruse ship and the greeters helped us find the rental car return.

Then we were checked in and ready to sail.

Our staterooms are very nice and the ship is lovely.  The Silversea Whisper only has about 400 passengers so walking distances on board are very short.  We have all been using the stairs so we feel like we are giving our bodies some exercise!

The weather was cloudy again, but it did not stop us from heading out to Swansea and The Mumbles.  These are 2 seaside towns about 45 minutes from Cardiff.  The ride through the country side was very nice, rolling green hills with cows and sheep grazing.

Finding your way around Swansea was not easy in a car with very few signs or street names.  We ended up parking at a Marriott hotel and walked to our places of interest.  The small yachting harbor was filled with sailboats, big sailboats.  There were also power boats.  We skipped the Maritime Museum and headed directly to the Dylan Thomas Center.  There were excellent exhibits telling about his life from the time he was born in Swansea to his death in New York City.  There were lots of photos, and recorded interviews, and books with his writings.  All in all very interesting.

We walked around the town which was not too big, had a bite of lunch and headed out to see The Mumbles.

This is another small seaside town with a long curving beach.  Unfortunately it had started raining and we did not get out to do the beach walk.  We drove around the town and then headed back to Cardiff.  No photos due to the rain.

Bette and Janice walked around the Cardiff Bay area.  By this time the sun was out, and we ended up having to shed jackets.  The Wales Parliament building had a wonderful art exhibit with clay poppies cascading from an open window.

Next up, we had to repack our bags, we cruise tomorrow!

Our first full day in Wales was spent seeing some of the famous castles in the area.  Our first stop was Caerphilly Castle.  This one was built around 1268 by Gilbert de Clare.  It is the largest castle in Wales.  It is surrounded by 2 sets of moats and 2 sets of walls. It is partially in ruins, with a “leaning tower”.  

Our second castle of the day was Castell Coch.  This was built by the 3rd Marquess of Bute.  It is built on the remains of a 13th century castle.  It was used by by the family until fairly recently.  The rooms and building were designed by William Burges.  The rooms are decorated with pieces from the family.  It is in good repair and has been used for the filming of various movies and tv shows.

We then went to the Penderyn Distillery for a tour.  We saw how the whiskey was made and got to taste it too.  There are no photos because we were not allowed to use our cameras.

The final stop of the day was back in Cardiff at Cardiff Castle.  Unfortunately it was pouring rain so we did not get photos of the castle itself (a ruin).  We did see the mansion on the grounds, which was built by the same people who did Castell Coch.  

It was a fun and busy day.

We started our latest adventure on August 18, 2017.  We left Fort Myers for Atlanta early afternoon.  While on the plane we got the wonderful phone call from Michael telling us that he and Dylan were engaged.  We are so happy for both of them.

We flew from Atlanta to London Heathrow and after a harrowing ordeal at the rental car pickup we were on our way to Wales. We are traveling with friends, Janice and Michael Danzig.

The trip to Cardiff was uneventful.  The St. David Hotel is located on Cardiff Bay and our rooms overlook the water.  Very lovely.  We took a walk around the area, we are staying near a restaurant and entertainment district.  We had a lovely dinner at the hotel restaurant, Tempus on Tides, and then we were off, for a good night’s sleep.