Wales and Conway Castle

We docked in Liverpool, England but took a bus into Wales. We are not big Beatles fans, but we are part Welsh so we decided to go there. The countryside was beautiful, again many colors of green. Lots of sheep and lambs, some horses and cows dotted the landscape. The weather was cool but comfortable. Again we noticed hedgerows all over the fields.


Conway Castle was built in 1280 by King Edward I. He built the castle and then a wall around the city that still exists today. The castle was really cool! We had the chance to climb to the top of one of the towers using the


spiral staircase. It was very steep and dark and a rope hanging on the side to hold on to so you wouldn't fall. With people going up and down at the same time that left the people on the inside of the spiral with a 2 inch step to walk up on. By the time we made it to the top and with the height of the towers, my legs were shaking! It was really scary!


Then we drove to a cute little village called Betws-y-Coed and had lunch...more free beer!



The village was really cute and we shopped for souvenirs. Wales is known for men's choirs and we saw notices for concerts being held around the village.




Sunrise is about 5:00 and sunset around 10:00. Beautiful sunrises and sunsets! So nice to have a balcony!


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Dublin and Glendalough

Today we visited Dublin and drove around the city. It was kind of cool to see fairly tall buildings with colorful pubs on the ground level.



We stopped off at Christ Church Cathedral, which was very beautiful.


Next we visited Avoca Mills where they still use a loom to hand weave their textiles. They are known for brightly colored scarves, blankets and hats.



Below are the Wicklow hills outside of Dublin.


The countryside was beautiful as we drove through the hills. They say there are 40 shades of green in the hills and four seasons of weather in one day.

The farmers grow their fields or raise their livestock utilizing hedgerows instead of fences. They believe that without hedgerows disease would carry from crop to crop or animal to animal.


We visited Glendalough Monastery which dates back to the 10th century.

We had pretty good weather today, just some light sprinkles and not too cool. The countryside is really very beautiful and we enjoyed the trip...and the free beer with lunch.


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Kinsale and Cork Ireland

Magical! A deep sleep...a knock at the door, "room service". Ugh! I get up, run to the door in the dark, ah, coffee!

No, that is not the magical part. Judy and I get our coffee and head to our balcony.....oh, my, gorgeous! It was silent as we passed into Ireland, the sun raising, and a lighthouse on the land. We were so close to land, it seemed like we could touch it. The lush green against the blue ocean and sun beginning to shine....magical. I like Ireland!



We had a great day today in Ireland! The weather was sunny, warm and beautiful. Ireland is very green, has rolling hills and the ocean is gray blue. We visited Kinsale which had buildings from 600 AD, drove through Cork, and visited the Blarney Castle. We had planned to kiss the Blarney Stone, but so did everyone else, so we decided to skip it. Instead we walked around the castle and through the gorgeous gardens.











Kinsale


Guinness!!



Blarney Castle



Blarney gardens

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Guernsey Island

Today we spent the day on Guernsey Island. I thought it was a part of England but found that it isn't. It is its own country but still part of the UK. It was really interesting to learn that the Germans occupied the island for 5 years and took over the freedom of the people, yet some left notes for the citizens telling them good luck after they lost the war.

We were lucky to get a tour guide who grew up on Guernsey and whose father and extended family lived through the occupation. He was able to tell us a lot of stories about their lives.

Guernsey looks French everywhere in its architecture and names around town. It is just a few miles from France.










A bit cool today, but no rain.












Formal night




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Location:Channel Islands

UK...Here we come!

We were up, packed and ready to go. Off to pick up Dad and on to SFO. So...what could go wrong? Yes, a bit of traffic on the highway ( I didn't think about people leaving town for the 4th of July), but not too bad. Made it just at our 3 hour check in time. All pretty smooth. We got to our gate and almost no one there. Are we the only fools that follow the rules?

Texted with Judy throughout the morning. She said there were thunderstorms, but was also on her way to the airport in D.C. As the rain came down and the traffic was slow she worried that she may not make her 3 hour check in. Yep, she was late, but not too bad. Made it! Ok, all is good. Then she sent a quick short text........wrong airport.......cab!

OH MY GOSH! We were just about to start boarding, Judy was on her way in a cab to the other D.C. airport, with traffic and thunderstorms slowing her down. Would she make it? She didn't know, neither did we, and we boarded our plane....oh my!







And she made it!




A beautiful warm, sunny day in England, hopefully not the last! This is from our beautiful balcony.


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Location:3800 feet

Day 10 last day - at sea

This morning we finally ordered room service. It is a nice little perk, fun to do for no extra cost. We slept in until 7:00 and our food arrived with a knock on the door while we were still sound asleep. Embarrassing!

Monte and dad went to a program about navigation and I went to one about the food preparation and a tour of the galley. We have no idea what the girls are up to. Just had our last lunch and talked with an extended family from the bay area and Wyoming. It is interesting all the different people you meet. A cruise is a very social environment.

Our last dinner





The girls have been sleeping in each day, then waiting for the pizza restaurant to open, then they have pizza for brunch. Their idea is that then they'll be hungry for dinner. They love dinner, as we all do. I think it is something special for them to get ready for. Tonight they plan to see a comedy show, Dad, Monte and I will see a show with singing and dancing.

These are our waiters








I think we are all ready to go home. It seems like Alaska was so long ago with so many days on the ship. I noticed that I have taken a nap every afternoon, and slept! I can never do that at home no matter how tired I am. I realized that on the ship I have nothing I have to do, nothing drawing me away, so I've been able to relax. A very nice break from life! Don't we all wish life was so easy!


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Day 9 Victoria

We got up early to get on our tour in Victoria. Dad, monte and I went on a city highlight tour and castle. We drove around ritzy areas of the island. The average price home is $650 K. It was amazing to see all the flowers everywhere. I guess the climate is perfect for flowers because I doubt everyone would have such a green thumb. We then had a tour of a castle built by a man from Scotland. He came to work in coal and then made a huge coal discovery and became very wealthy in the late 1800's. It was interesting. We then had a quick tour of downtown. The downtown area was quite impressive right on the waterfront, and beautiful buildings. A good day! A bit warmer for us, maybe 60 degrees with misty rain that stopped by mid morning.


















Paige and Courtney had high tea at the Impress Hotel. They were underwhelmed by the food and company, but overall had a good time too.








Tonight was our 2nd and last formal dinner- good for all us old people, bad for the girls, they love dressing up. We had wonderful lobster and shrimp. So good in fact, the girls ordered two meals!





I took pictures of them out on the deck, then we spotted some whales. It looked like about 4 of them, then we came across two more that flipped their tails. So awesome! A nice end of the day.



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