Vacation

We took time to visit Scotland and Ireland. It is always terrific to travel.

We took advantage of the planning through CIE Tours – specifically, we chose the Scottish & Irish Sampler. We added a day at the beginning, and at the end, of the trip. This allowed us to get a chance to get our bearings. The trip includes a five hour time shift. We left at around 10:00 a.m. (our time) and arrived at 8:00 a.m. Edinburgh time.

The trip involved a bus, two airplanes, and a taxi. However, we arrived safely and ready to go. It’s also interesting as to how much time one needs to adjust.

I booked The World Famous Underground Ghost Tour for a first night activity. Sorry to say that this didn’t live up to the billing. There was a good bit of history, and a little bit of mention of ghosts, but much more history than ghosts.

The trip was quite nice and enjoyable. We visited several castles, and a few pubs.

Our bus driver, David Martin, is an accomplished tenor. It was quite a treat to hear him sing in a small room of the CrossKeys Pub. This was an experience that will last a lifetime. (He was also a good bus driver and human.) He took time to show us additional spots. For example, he took us to additional parts of Belfast to show us the dividing point between the Protestant and Catholic portions.

Highlights

As mentioned above, the experience at the CrossKeys Pub was definitely a highlight.

The Inn is a stone built cottage which was once a coaching stop on the route between Belfast and Derry. The building until recently was thought to have dated back to the 1740’s. In 2010 Queens University Belfast completed the dating process of dendrochronology and confirmed that the building was actually much older and in fact dated back to pre-1654.

Edinburgh

The Royal Mile was interesting. Definitely a tourist area, but still fun. We found a good bakery. Some of the buildings were really cool. The Royal Mile also has lots of “Close”‘s, which are kind of like alleys leading off the Royal Mile. The World’s End was a great spot to visit as well.

The World’s End is a pub bursting with history, with its exterior walls forming part of the Flodden Wall, a 16th-century fort that protected Edinburgh’s historic old town. Once upon a time, the people of Edinburgh thought the world outside this wall was no longer theirs, which gave us our name.

Bowes

David suggested Bowes Pub. This was another great experience. A pub with no TV’s. Just a smaller, wood paneled bar with lots of conversation going on around us. They also had a good selection of beers and whiskeys.

Just off Fleet Street, Bowes is the real deal. No gimmicks, no blaring TVs — just a proper Dublin pub that’s been pouring pints and serving up serious whiskey since the 1800s.
Known as one of the city’s top whiskey bars, we stock shelves with everything from local legends to rare bottles you won’t find elsewhere. Whether you’re here to talk shop over a single malt or just escape the chaos for a quiet pint, Bowes delivers — straight up.

Leith Distillery

A nice little excursion to Leith Distillery. Naturally, a whisky tasting was part of the program.

Belfast

Seeing the remnants of the division of Belfast, and hearing the stories of what it was like, was another highlight.

Giant’s Causeway

This was an interesting natural phenomena to see. It was a nice walk with great views (plus Rm found some cows).

Dublin

There were several highlights in Dublin. Just walking around and seeing the city is always good for me. George’s Street Arcade was neat.

Castles

The castles are naturally a neat highlight. Just seeing the buildings and hearing the stories of what used to be is interesting. Some of the architecture is just incredible.

Observation

Apple Maps dies a better job of getting us around than the local app. The local bus application was a bit confusing, but Apple Maps was explicit.