Ireland Vacation - Dublin & The Ferry Ride

It took us about 4 hours to get to the Holyhead ferry terminal in Wales from Croughton. We hid the weekend traffic coming out of Liverpool and Manchester. We had about 45 minutes to wait before boarding the ferry so we walked around. You could smell the salt in the air. It was a very nice day. We took the Jonathan Swift which is one of the Irish Ferries ships. It can make the cross to Dublin in 1 hour and 49 minutes. When we went up on the observation deck it was very windy. The only problem with a boat this fast was that you felt every wave. We felt a little sea sick but once we got doing things we didn't notice it as much.

We got to Dublin around 4:30 in the afternoon. Our B&B was about 5 miles from the port. Even though I took a few wrong turns we got their fairly quickly. A small shopping mall was across the street with a McDonalds and Pizza Hut (2 of the dinners while we were there). The B&B was right on a number of bus routes so we just got a family bus pass to get into town.

Our first stop was to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, a famous illustrated manuscript of the 4 gospels from the 800s. The book has a very interesing history. There were a number of other old Irish books including the Book of Armagh.

It was lunch time and it was starting to drizzle so we started walking down the main shopping street in Dublin, Grafton Street. The drizzle didn't last. Instead the skies opened up and everyone took cover under shop awnings. We then found the restaurant we were looking for. A noodle place called Wagamama's. Yummy. Next we walked to St Patrick's Cathedral. As with many English cathedrals there are a large number of tombs and memorials through the cathedral. There are also 2 carved stonces that were found around the lawns outside the cathedral that are purported to be stones that covered the well where St Patrick performed baptisms in the 400s.

The final stop of the first day was our visit to the Guiness Factory. The actual factory wasn't open for tours but we went and took a tour of the Guiness Storehouse. It was a very hands on tour of the entire brewing process and it also gave you a glimpse of the history of the brewery.

We were pretty worn out by this point and just took the bus back to the B&B.

Next morning after breakfast we went to the National Museum of Archaeology and History in Dublin. The museum has a large range of items dating from 7000BC to the late medieval period. Interesting items included a complete boat carved out of a tree. The boat is 2000+ years old and was found preserved in a peat bog. There was a preserved mummy that was also found in a peat bog. The religious items and gold & amber jewelry was amazing.

This took pretty much the entire morning. We then walked to St Stephen's Green. Once in the park you didn't hear much of the city traffic noise at all.

Sulgrave Manor

Two beautiful days in a row! We can't stay inside...

The whole family went to Sulgrave Manor today. Sulgrave Manor is the ancestral home of George Washington's family. George was the last of the Washington's to step foot in the house. The house itself has had its ups and downs over the years. Only one section of the house remains from the original structure that was built in the 1500s: the bed chamber and the great hall. Each of these rooms still has the original timber ceilings that were installed when the house was built. The land that the manor stands on is actually joit UK and US territory. Both the American flag and the Union Jack fly over Sulgrave.

North Leigh Roman Villa

I was a beautiful Saturday so the kids and I decided to get in the car and visit a couple of new places close by in Oxfordshire.

Our first stop was the North Liegh Roman Villa northwest of Oxford. The villa dates from approximately the 4th century. Just as we reached the ruins the skies opened up for a couple of minutes. We didn't get too wet and everything cleared up just as fast. Unfortunately the building that contains the remains of the mosaic floor was closed so we couldn't get close to it. Walking amongst the ruins was a good time to try and picture what it was like to live 1600 years ago in the manor that we were now walking around.

Our second stop of the day was in the village of Minster Lovell. We visited the old manor house that was built in the 1400s. It is completely in ruins now but the setting is simply amazing. Running adjacent to the house is a fast moving tributary of the Thames. On the other side of he ruins is the parish church, St Kelenm. The church is, most likely, like the vast majority of small parish churches. We went inside to take a look around. The insides are, for the most part, pretty sparse. 2 of the church windows had small sections of stained glass but that was about it. A crypt lies inside the church and is probably one of the Lovell family that moved to the town in the 1100s.