Leaving Asheville

Arriving in Newark

After resting awhile, we walked to Jameson and did a tour and tasting.

Chandelier made of Jameson bottles

Whiskey tasting

Dinner

Trinity College

Old Parliament Building

Molly Malone

Walking down Dame Lane in Temple Bar district

Temple Bar

Christ Church in distance

Dublin Castle

Dubh Linn gardens. Where Dublin got its name.

Christ Church

After our walking tour we went to the Guinness Storehouse to see how and where Guinness beer is made.

In 1759, Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease on St. Jame’s gate brewery in Dublin.

We learned how the beer is made, did a tasting and then got a pint of Guinness included at the end of the self guided tour.

After we finished the tour, we took a horse and carriage to where we were \240going next. It was much more fun than a taxi!

We went to a pub to hear a storyteller. He told stories about fairies and other Irish folklore. Very good!

We had a great dinner at The Winding Stair. After we had finished eating, our server came and told us there was a small fire in the kitchen and we all needed to go downstairs to their sister restaurant and they would take care of us. We told them we had finished. They apologized and said we could go. We didn’t have to pay for dinner! \240

We then went to west Belfast to an area known as Clonard. This is where the trouble began in 1969 when the Protestants burned the Catholics homes while they were all in church.

The peace wall \240built between the East and West sides of Belfast

Driving down the West side of Belfast. This is where the Protestants live. It is very Brittish.

A memorial where 9 innocent people were killed in a fish shop by the IRA

The Protestants had their memorials for innocent people killed

We then went to the Titanic quarter where the Titanic was built.

Titanic museum

The poles show how long the Titanic was

We ate lunch in the Titanic Hotel

Titanic model

Ate dinner in an old bank turned into a pub

Happy 4th of July

We left early this morning to head south to Kilkenny and Waterford.

First Stop Kilkenny Castle. We got there just in time for a guided tour. The 800 years of Kilkenny Castle’s history are associated with the fortune and decline of the Marshal & Butler families. It began in the 12th century with the Norman invasion of Ireland. The castle underwent many changes and additions during the years. In 1935 the contents were auctioned off and the castle sat in disrepair. In 1967 it was sold to the Kilkenny restoration committee for 50 Euros and the restoration began. It now has many of the original belongings and has been restored to what it might have looked like in \240Victorian times.

Formal dining room

Giant red deer. About 14,000 years old

The art gallery

More rain

Street in Kilkenny

We drove to the town of Waterford. It was founded by the Vikings in the 9th century and is the oldest town in Ireland.

We went on a guided tour of where Waterford crystal is made.

Photo bomb

-

Quality control

September 11 memorial

Christ Church Cathedral

Viking boat

Waterford

Irish Whisky tasting

Dinner at Brazen Head pub

Rainbow to end our day

Our ship Star Legend

Our room

The pool. Probably won’t be used much

Dublin from the ship

Raising the Windstar flag as we set sail

Pilot boat leaving

Leaving Dublin

The vintage steam train dating from 1874 that we took from Douglas to Castletown

In Castletown we visited the Castle Rushen,, a medieval castle

Views from the very top of the castle

Dining room

Kitchen

Douglas

Our ship in port

Bee Gees were born on Isle of Man

Leaving Isle of Man

The captain and heads of departments

There are 243 guests on board the ship. It holds about 311. 193 are from the US. The 190 crew members are from 29 different countries.

Rainbows

It started raining, but quickly cleared.

Driving along the coastal road

A rope bridge for the brave!

The beach

View from our room

Susan’s birthday

Sunset at 10:06pm

Tobermory

Narrow 1 lane road

Duart Castle on the hill

The original tower was built in 1350s to control waterways. It became ruins in 1751

It was renovated in 1911. In 1960s the Maclean clan began living there and it is still occupied by the 28th chief of the clan Maclean, Sir Lachlan Maclean,who is 90. \240

Dining room

Bedroom

Views from the top

Views of Tobermory

Views sailing away

We had a Galley BBQ. We went through the ship’s galley to get our food

Pig

Susan getting a lobster

Sunset was at 10:20pm

The Skye bridge built 1995

Whe stopped at a beautiful area which is part of the John Muir Trust.

There is a race to the top ever year.

I was surprised when they sang to me the night before my birthday!

Today we are in Kirkwall,Orkney Islands. \240There are about 18,000 on the “mainland” capital of \240Kirkwall. \240 70 islands make up Orkney, with a total population of about 22,500.

Orkney was founded by the Vikings 1468 and tourism and farming are the main industries.

First we visited Scapa Flow, the 2nd largest natural harbor in the world after Sydney. It was the base for the Royal Navy’s fleet in both WW1 and WWII. In 1918, 74 ships in the British fleet were \240sunk by the Germans. Seven still remain at the bottom of the sea. In 1939, a Uboat sunk HMS Royal Oak, killing 834 men. \240This led to \240the massive Churchill Barriers that were built and these are the roads used today to access the many small islands.

Pictures taken from bus window in the rain

We visited the Italian chapel built and hand painted by Italian POWs from scavenged construction materials between January 1942 and August 1944. The chapel is a memorial to peace, but also to the resilience, ingenuity and skill of the prisoners.

The Italian Chapel

Next we drove to the Island of Burray, a small fishing village. We got to taste some local foods of Orkney which included Orkney Bere Bannocks(oat cakes made of barley flour), farmhouse cheese, and Orkney ice cream.

Our Taste of Orkney

The place we ate

Our last stop was the Heritage center where we learned more about Scapa Flow and Orkney’s geological history. It was pretty rainy, but at least most of the tour was indoors.

When we returned to Kirkwall, we walked a nice pedestrian street with some shops.

We went in St Magnus Cathedral. Which was built in 1137. It belonged to Norway until 1468 when Orkney became part of Scotland

St Magnus Cathedral

We had to take a tender back to the ship and the water was pretty rough. It took us 4 tries to get close enough to the ship to be able to get off.

When we returned to the ship, our cabin steward had decorated the room for my birthday.

We enjoyed local Kirkwall entertainment by a group of family musicians playing Scottish music.

For my birthday, we went to one of the specialty restaurants that were included for dinner. It was excellent Spanish Tapas.

Another cake on my real birthday.

Dornoch Cathedral

Organ

Our next stop was Donroven castle which is the home of the Earls and Dukes of the clan Sutherland. The earliest part of the building dates from around 1275, with many additions during the centuries. In 1845 it was remodeled and changed from a fort to a house in the \240Scottish Baronial style made popular by Queen Victoria. She stayed here for several months after Prince Albert’s death.

The gardens are based on Versailles

The main staircase

Formal dining room

Breakfast room

Nursery

Sewing room

The next stop was Glenmorangie Distillery where Tom and Mark did a tasting.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to go to Inverness and look for the Loch Ness monster.

Leaving the Port of Invergordon.

The captain

The captain and crew of Star Legend

The bridge is open for tours when we are in open waters. It was very interesting.

Our final sunset at 10:15

Sunrise at 4:15am. Tom didn’t see it!