Next port was Holyhead, Wales and a coach (they're not supposed to say bus) trip along the Anglesey coastline. As always, there's a castle. This one is Beaumaris:
Next stop are the bridges that span the Menai Straight (one of them was among the very earliest suspension bridges), and a village with the world's longest name.
There are 57 letters in that name and it translates as: The church of Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the fierce whirlpool and the church of Tysilio by the red cave. Should be able to place that on Google Earth with no problem.
Finally, the lighthouse:
Dublin was a turnover, and most of the people changed out...353 of them. The place was full of new faces. We went off on a quick tour of the city with a stop at the Guinness Storehouse:
Yes, this really was there.
But best of all, the tour included a free pint at the Gravity Bar atop the building. It boasted a 360 degree view of the city.
We sailed overnight for Cobh. It's pronounced "cove". Because there is no V in Gaelic. At Cobh, we went up towards the City of Cork, took a quick tour, and then visited Blarney Castle. No, we did not kiss the Blarney Stone. Two reasons: kissing the stone is supposed to give one the gift of gab, which Gordon preferred Pati not acquire. Pati was afraid that with her Scots blood, she'd probably explode. And speaking of Irish spelling, we've probably all run into the name Erin. Did anyone know that the traditional spelling is Eireann? Meaning "Irish"?
The beautiful grounds at Blarney:
And a perfect garden for herbology classes:
