8/12 – 3rd Irish Shore Excursion

Cork - the Blarney Stone

The next day, we were again in Ireland, in Cork, where we would take a bus to the Blarney Castle, presumably to see the Blarney Stone. First, the bus took us to a little shopping center about a 2 mile hike from the Blarney Castle. This was where the bus would be parked.

Each of us was given a coupon to take to the pub and get a free Irish coffee. So I got into line, and somehow lost Hubby. Probably, he went to find a bathroom, or to take some pictures. So I got an Irish coffee for each of us and sat down at a table in the courtyard for him to find me. I didn't like the Irish coffee. All I tasted was very hot coffee. Whenever I drink coffee (hardly ever), I like it with lots of cream and sugar, to tone that coffee taste down. Eventually, Hubby found me, and tried his own cup. I don't know if he liked it or not; he usually drinks his coffee black and strong, so maybe he did.

We were supposed to meet the tour guide in the middle of the shopping mall in about half an hour, so she could get us all through the castle gate as a group. I was worried about missing her, but found some other members of our group, so my nerves settled down. But where was my hubby? He finally reappeared out of a store, having bought a bottle of coffee beans and 1 bottle of mead to thank the neighbor for watching our house while we were gone. Somehow, I wound up with that sack to carry during the hike to and from the castle, so that he could take pictures.

So we were forced marched guided to the castle gateway, where the staff counted us in order to let us in. Once we were inside the grounds, the tour guide said we had 1 hour to walk the rest of the way to the castle and get back to the bus. We were turned loose. Hubby—and most everybody else in the group—soon left me in the dust as they hurried towards the castle. I traveled at my own speed and enjoyed the walk.

When I finally got up the hill to the castle, there was a line snaking out the castle door and around the courtyard. The people were there to climb a steep set of stairs up to the top of the castle, where the Blarney Stone was located. We could see it from the outside, but of course, you had to be on the top of the castle to have any hope of touching it. And the markers indicated that the line was an hour long. We only had about 45 minutes left to get back to bus.

We had our picture taken in front of the castle, but didn't get in line. Instead, we wandered off to view the 'Poison Garden'. John was snapping pictures like crazy. It wasn't long before I told him, "Well, I have to start back, because I move slower than you do." So I left, and hoped he kept an eye on his watch.

When I got back to the parking lot, all the several tour buses had rearranged themselves. I checked in with the tour guide, and then started down the line of buses, looking for #17, for that was my group. It was the next-to-the-last bus, of course. I found our seats, and then started worrying about John getting back in time. He wasn't the last member of the group to get back, and then we had an uneventful bus trip back to the ship.

I wouldn't mind going back again, perhaps not on a shore excursion, to spend a night or two at the local tavern and do a long walk around the castle, perhaps even check out the stores in that little shopping center.

Thursday, 8/11 – 2nd Irish Shore Excursion

Dublin – Dublin Highlights

Hubby seemed to be feeling better in the morning. He climbed out of bed about 6 and got dressed. We needed to gather in the Stardust Theater by 7:50, so I got up shortly after he did. We went to the buffet once again, and then he wanted to go out on the deck to get some pictures. And probably do some walking. He tries to walk 10,000 steps a day. I went back to our cabin to get our tickets for the day’s excursion.

7:40, I went out into the hall to catch sight of him as soon as possible, keeping an eye on both the corridor and the nearest bank of elevators. About 7:45, I finally saw him walking towards me down the corridor, so I started walking that way, because it was the opposite end of the ship that we needed to get to! We barely made it there on time, and then had to go down to the very front of the theater to find any seats to sit on. But we had just gotten situated when they called the first tour of the day. It was us! So we had to climb back up the stairs halfway, to the deck 6 exit, where we were given stickers to tell us which bus to get on. Then we had to walk down 2 decks, halfway to the rear of the ship, cross to the port side, and finally climb out to board the tender.

It was a 20- or 25-minute ride to get to the pontoon pier. Then a rather long walk to where the buses were waiting. But once we got aboard, it wasn’t long before we were on our way. This was to be a 4-hour tour, with most of it being on the bus. It sounded delightful. No struggling to keep up with a speedy tour guide, no stopping to taste or shop; just sitting on a bus and looking out the windows. Mostly.

Our tour guide was full of information; history, architecture, current events, more history, even a quick lesson in speaking Gaelic.

Our one stop was at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. After the bus parked in the back of the cathedral, we walked about 2 blocks to get to the front, where we were organized to go in as a group. We were given 45 minutes to look around at the many, many displays, and if we had any questions, we could find the tour guide and ask her. I should have asked her about the circular staircase that seemed to go up through the ceiling. Its outside was decorated with ornately carved columns, but the stairs seemed scarcely wide enough for a child to use, and the entire staircase’s diameter seemed to be about a yard.

I didn’t want to hurry back to the bus, so I left the cathedral after 35 minutes. It took me 6 minutes to saunter back to the bus. Before I left, I had warned Hubby that it was nearly time to go, and to not forget to leave time to walk to the bus. He wasn’t the last to get to the bus, but he was among the last 5 to arrive there. Happily, they weren’t late.

We zig-zagged through down-town Dublin for some time, looking at bridges, statues, Georgian squares and other examples of architecture. Eventually, we left Dublin to head to the pier a few kilometers away. We boarded a tender and rode back to the ship, where we went to the buffet for a quick lunch.

As we left the buffet, Hubby started to complain that he had a stomachache again. When we got to our cabin, he sat down to watch some tv. I plugged in my computer, and then his camera battery, which had run out of juice in the middle of Dublin. Then I laid down and listened to the tv for the better part of an hour.

When I did get up to take my computer to the internet café, I asked what he was thinking of doing, and he said possibly go walking. I wondered if he might have developed an ulcer, and he asked, “Starting yesterday?” Well, those things have to start some time. He came back with the suggestion that maybe he’s been without coffee for too long. He hasn’t been drinking it because the coffee served in the buffet is amazingly bitter. Now, I’ve ‘broken’ my caffeine addiction 2 or 3 times, and I don’t remember a stomachache as one of my symptoms. I hoped he felt better by evening; we had a reservation at the Japanese restaurant.

Wednesday, 8/10 - 1st English Shore Excursion

Liverpool – Charming Chester

Hubby woke up still tired. He has days like that. We had to meet to leave for our shore excursion by 7:15, so we went to the buffet for our usual made-to-order omelet and cream of wheat. When we were sent out to find our bus, it seemed like we walked a couple miles to get there. We hoped there would not be a lot walking today but couldn’t remember anything about this excursion.

It turned out we were leaving Liverpool to visit the charming town of Chester, some 45 minutes away.

Chester started out as a walled garrison for some 6,000 Roman soldiers. It wasn’t called Chester then, but I don’t remember what it was called, due to an adventure Hubby had. More on that later.

After the Romans were chased away, the walls around the town were made higher. You can walk around the inner city atop the walls, a distance of about 2 miles.

Peter, our tour guide, pointed out some sights of the town as we drove through and around it for a few minutes. Then the bus stopped outside The StoryHouse, which has 2 theaters, a cinema, the library and a café. We were supposed to meet back at the StoryHouse to get on our bus 2 hours later, at 11:15. Then Peter took the group south on Northgate Street to the center of town. By then, my knees had started to ache, which is never a good sign, so when Peter said he would take us to the East gate, and then to the Cathedral, I handed Hubby the map of Chester and told him I was headed back to the StoryHouse. He wasn’t happy, but my aching knees aren’t something that can be argued with. So Hubby continued with Peter, and I turned back to climb the hill back to the StoryHouse.

About half way up the hill, I found a bench in the shade and sat down to rest for a while. While I was resting, I realized I was directly across the street from the Information Center, so I crossed over to see if they had any interesting books. They had some history books that looked interesting, but they were £18 or more. I settled on a children’s book for £7, and went back to the bench to sit for a little longer.

At 10:45, I walked back to the StoryHouse and found a bench outside to sit on as I waited for my bus. There were plenty of buses to choose from, but I couldn’t tell which one was mine. At 11:08, I decided I’d better walk across the street and see if one of the 2 buses was mine. One of them was, and as I got ready to board, I told Peter, “I haven’t seen my husband return. I hope he’s already on the bus.”

But Hubby was not on the bus, so I selected our seats and sat down to wait for him. About 11:20, Peter counted the people on the bus, and then asked if my husband was on the bus. I said no, and he said, “He’s the one that’s missing, then.” A few minutes later, he asked if I knew where Hubby would have gone. The last I’d seen him, he was following Peter toward the East Gate, which had a clock tower. At about 11:27, John finally showed up, out of breath and looking exhausted.

We got underway to head back for Liverpool. Once Hubby caught his breath, he told me he had decided to walk around the town on the city walls, a distance of about 2 miles. He started at the clock tower, and walked leisurely, taking pictures. Once he saw the race track outside the city, which was approximately half way around, he decided he’d better pick up his pace in order to get back to the bus. But he didn’t know how much further he had to go. Apparently, he didn’t realize when he got to the North Gate, nor that that was the closest point to the StoryHouse. So he continued to hoof it back to the East Gate, then down East Gate Road and up North Gate Street, where he was vastly relieved to find the bus was still there.

When we got back to the ship, Hubby started to complain that his stomach was upset and he was desperate for a cold drink. We went to O’Sheehan’s for lunch, where he got a particle of food caught in his throat and kept coughing, trying to get it unstuck. He finally drank enough pop to get it washed down, so we went to our cabin and lay down for about an hour, to give us time to recuperate. I took a pain reliever because my knees were still aching.

After that hour, he got up to watch some tv and said he was feeling a bit better. I took my computer and went off to the internet cafe, where I could sit at a table and type. I returned to our cabin about 6:30, and he told me to go have supper without him, that he wasn’t feeling any better, and he was going to bed early. He asked me to bring him back a Diet Pepsi when I came back.

So I went back to O’Sheehan’s, where I had loaded nachos and their Blue Plate Special, which was meatloaf, mashed potatoes and corn. I enjoyed the food very much, but I skipped dessert. When I was done eating and ready to leave, I asked for a diet Pepsi, which I carefully carried back to the room. Hubby was climbing into bed, having forgotten he had asked for a diet Pepsi. He had me put it in the refrigerator, and then I sat and read until 10, when I tried to set a wake-up call for 6 AM before going to bed.