Ireland and Scotland

September 20 – October 3, 2011

Ireland and Scotland have been on my list of countries to visit for a long time. I was interested in visiting both because of family history with those countries and because of the general and literary history of the countries. So last April when Frank announced a planned trip to Ireland and Scotland in September I was both interested and disappointed. Frank is a minister of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church and he teaches the Sunday School class I have attended for years. I have traveled to both Turkey and Greece on trips that he led and they were wonderful so I really wanted to go on this trip. But I was having back surgery in May so I wasn’t sure I would be able to go. But I talked to my surgeon and asked him if it was reasonable for me to think about going on this trip and he said it was reasonable but get insurance. So after some prayer which was followed by some positive answers, I signed up for this trip. It was great to have this goal to work towards during my recovery period – I worked very hard on physical therapy and kept a positive attitude and I was in good shape in time for this trip. God was certainly very much with me in this whole period of time (of course He always is but sometimes He is more obvious to me than other times.) So it was with joy in my heart and high expectations that I left for Ireland at 3:30 in the morning on Tuesday September 30. Following are my recollections of the high points of the trip. I took almost no notes so this journal is written mostly from memory and from looking at my photos. I wasn’t even going to write this but I have several people waiting to read this and when I’m 93 and no longer traveling I’ll read this again and be glad I wrote it.

So I arrived at the airport and checked in and met most of my fellow travelers. I got an aisle seat, which I usually don’t prefer (I like window seats) but I figured it might be best for me to be able to get up and move often – which it was. We hung around the airport for an hour or so and then went on board for our approximately 5-hour flight to New Jersey. It seemed an easy flight as I recall. In New Jersey we had a four-hour layover and Jodie and I went to eat at the restaurant I remembered from when I was there with family on the way to Wales. We had a good lunch along with ice cream for dessert. Then we boarded the plane for our 6-7 hour flight to Ireland. It was a long hard flight. Between meal service and one thing and another most of us didn’t get much sleep so we were pretty tired when we arrived in Ireland at 7 AM their time – some 19 hours since I first got up in Menlo Park – I was rather spacey for the whole day. Anyway Shannon airport immigration was the easiest I have ever been through and we soon met Frank and Judy who had arrived earlier. Shannon Airport is where the Irish Coffee was “discovered” and brought to San Francisco in the early 50s. I looked for a place in the airport that served Irish Coffee but didn’t see anyplace – I wanted to take a photo. So we loaded up on our bus, meeting our bus driver for the next two weeks, Aidan Ryan – a good driver that we all became very fond of once we learned how to understand him! Those accents are really fun.

Wednesday 9/21/11 Off we drove, somewhat south to the town of Adare and my first impression from the bus window was, oh my, but Ireland really is green, green, green. It was a rich infinite green and we were lucky as the sun was shining. You know it is green because of all the rain but it is so much more enjoyable when the sun is shining. Adare Village (in County Limerick) is listed as Ireland’s prettiest and most picturesque village. We first stopped at a hotel/restaurant for a lovely and traditional breakfast along with plenty of coffee. We then spent some time walking around the town. Although the town dates back to the 1300s the current buildings date back to the early 1800s. A lot of the village homes still have thatched roofs with lovely front flower gardens. We walked up the business section of town and I bought some post card stamps so that I would be able to send home some postcards. Jodie (my room mate) was looking for a particular souvenir – a ceramic bell and was pleased to find one here. My Irish family was named Callahan and here in Ireland it was usually spelled Callaghan but I was able to find something with the family crest and spelled Callahan so that was nice. Jodie and I decided early on that we would be good roommates for many reasons including our enjoyment of just walking without a lot of shopping. Fortunately, we were right and continued throughout the trip to enjoy being roommates and travel companions. After Adare we continued on to Killarney and checked into our hotel. We had time to roam around town which we did but it was so hard as we were so tired with no sleep. But we forced ourselves to walk a bit through Killarney National Park, which was in the middle of town and then walked through the shop area. We found a lovely teashop and went in and had a scone and a cup of tea – both were so good. We walked back to our hotel and took showers and went down to dinner – which as I remember was very good. I was pretty punchy by this point so it was good to go to bed early and get a good night’s sleep.

Thursday 9/22/11 Fortunately we had a rather late start – breakfast at 8 and left at 9, so we all had a good night’s sleep. We drove through Killarey on our way to Blarney Castle. Killarey (County Kerry) is a pleasant town with a mix of old and new, a town to spend more time walking around in. The day was overcast and gray but was offset by the green country as we drove to Blarney Castle.

Before I get to Blarney Castle I will mention something significant to me about the area we drove through. I have some family history in Ireland that has always interested me but even my Bavarian Family History had it origins in Ireland. My family name is Kilian (with one l) and my father’s paternal grandparents are from Bavaria. The name comes from Saint Kilian (spelled in Ireland with two l’s) who lived near Kenmare in County Kerry where we drove through today. Kilian was a native of Ireland in the 7^th century when with eleven companions he went to Wurzburg in Bavaria and succeeded in converting much of the population to Christianity. He eventually was beheaded along with two companions and the Cathedral in Wurzburg is dedicated to St. Kilian. This is why so many people are named Kilian in Wurzburg. But I find it interesting that St. Kilian was originally from Ireland and sent out as a missionary, it seems as though during the 6th and 7^th centuries many missionaries were sent out of Ireland to other parts of Europe.

Well back to Blarney Castle. This building was the third to be built on this site in 1446, much of which is still standing. It is always amazing to me to be in such long-standing buildings – I love it. While I chose not to kiss the Blarney Stone I did climb up the tower with those who did and I blew it a kiss as I walked by. There was a great view from the top of the tower. We walked around the gardens and enjoyed looking at the scenery. There was a beautiful poison garden – all the plants were poison, but so pretty. Then we walked into the small town where we had some time to shop, so I went into the woolen mill and found Irish made lambs wool scarves – on sale and bought six of them. I was delighted to have my shopping done as I do not like shopping, and I especially do not like shopping for souvenirs. Fortunately by this time both Jodie and I were hungry so we went into a pub for lunch and had a nice sandwich and a sit down. A group of our travel friends were at another table where three of them ordered Irish Coffees so I went over and took a photo of the drinks – all three because they were each in different kinds of glasses. So I am now going to digress and explain my interest in this drink and glasses for the non-family members reading this.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Stanton Delaplane wrote a travel column and in 1952 he took the formula for Gaelic coffee back to San Francisco, where he christened it Irish coffee. He had first tasted it in the Shannon Airport. He introduced it to the owners of the Buena Vista Bar in SF. They thought it was a good idea and called Harold Kilian (my Dad) of Royal Supply Co to ask for a glass to use for this drink. My Dad went into the warehouse and asked the guys there if they had any glasses that weren't selling well and they picked up one and this glass is still today used as the standard Irish Coffee glass – at least in San Francisco if not the whole U.S. In fact a current crisis is occurring because the glass is no longer being made and the Buena Vista is sure no other glass will do. So I was interested in what they used in Ireland and there does not seem to be a standard glass and different kinds of glasses are used. All of this is of interest to my family and to B.V. aficionados.

Soon we loaded up the bus and continued driving south to Cobh (County Cork). Cobh was at one time called Queenstown but was originally known as the Cove of Cork. Cobh is just a phonetic Irish word but it is pronounced Cove. Cobh was the major point of Irish emigrants and it was also the Titanic’s last port of call in 1912. So this port is very likely where my father’s maternal grandparents sailed from in the 1840s. All I know for sure is that the Callahans were from County Cork and were citizens of Sacramento by 1851. Historically the name Callahan (or Callaghan) was first found in Munster in the county of Cork and then moved to County Clare where they started the Callaghan Mills. So at Cobh I stood at the harbor and contemplated the experiences of my ancestors. This was after going through the local museum dedicated to the emigrants and the Titanic passengers. I couldn’t spend much time in the museum – it was so very graphic and my imagination is vivid enough as it is. I didn’t need to dwell on the photos and sounds in the museum. Cobh is a charming town – basically unchanged for the last 100 years and we had a very interesting walking tour of the town led by Michael Martin. He is a very enthusiastic guide with a lot of information to share – it was most enjoyable. The tour ended at a local pub where we were given a glass of Guinness and a copy of Michael’s book on the Titanic Trail – about the town of Cobh. I was later told that the Guinness we had was only something called Beamish, so I later had a real Guinness at another pub to make sure I had a Guinness in Ireland! After this we drove back to Killarney for a nice dinner and a good night’s sleep.

Friday 9/23/11 Breakfast at 8:00 on bus by 9:00 – these late and leisurely mornings were the pattern throughout the trip. Today we drove out to the Dingle Peninsula where I could touch the eastern edge of the Atlantic Ocean. This is the western most point in Ireland and maybe Europe. The scenery on this was absolutely amazing – such an interesting coast line. The Peninsula has been inhabited for some 6000 years so there are many places with archaeological sites. We didn’t see many of these but we did see a few of the so called Beehive huts built by some of the early Christian Monks built sometime around the 6^th century. It was from sites like these that the early Irish monks traveled throughout Europe converting Christians to the monastic life. Because they were not under the direct rule of Rome the early Celtic church in Ireland maintained some of the early Pre- Christian influences. The Celtic cross has always fascinated me – it has been in existence for many centuries and various interpretations have been given. I like to think that the circle represents the never-ending presence of God. I also like the fact that it is representation of my Welsh and Irish heritage as well as my Presbyterian background. Anyway, we drove through the small towns of the Dingle Peninsula enjoying the scenery driving out to the end where we visited The Blasket Centre – a museum that shows the story of the formerly inhabited Blasket Islands – the people were removed from the islands in the 50s as it was no longer possible to support them living there. Must have been a hard time. After having lunch here we headed back to Killarney stopping to visit Muckross House – the model for Filoli - the estate near Crystal Springs Lake. We didn’t have long here so we just walked around the outside of the house and took some photos. And then headed back to our hotel to get ready for our evening dinner performance. We went to a pub that was set up for tourists to have dinner and enjoy a show of an Irish band and step dancing. It was fun with good food and entertainment. The place was Kate Kearney’s Cottage and has been a family business for 150 years. Long but enjoyable day.

Saturday 9/24/11 We left this morning at 8:30 to drive to Cahir Castle. Once again I was struck with how green Ireland was and today we actually had some sunshine to highlight the green. There was lots of evidence of the tech bust in Killarney and in other towns we drove through with boarded up and empty buildings. One area had a huge distribution dock for trucks with a large warehouse that had never been used. Ireland has really been hit hard by the loss of many of the tech companies that had moved to Ireland during the good years. Cahir Castle – in County Tipperary – was first built in 1142 and rebuilt or restored since then. It is on an island in the river Suir and has been involved in several major battles and history in Ireland. We enjoyed walking around this and I always try to imagine living in such a castle – but it is hard since only the stones survive – no roof, wooded floors, and so forth. I took lots of photos, which is a good thing as these castles tend to blur together in my mind and the photos help me remember. Then we left here and traveled nearby to the Rock of Cashel – the traditional seat of the kings of Munster for several hundred years prior to the Norman invasion. Supposedly the King of Munster converted to Christianity in the 5^th century with the help of St. Patrick. The buildings date from the 12^th and 13^th centuries. They are doing a lot of restoration work on the Cathedral and other areas of Cashel. We had a guided tour which made it interesting and she pointed out details we might have missed. Again I took lots of photos. We continued on our drive to Dublin. We stopped in the middle of Dublin for some time to walk around (or shop – ugh). I wish we had more time in Dublin because it looked like an interesting city but it always takes me a while to get oriented. We walked the shopping street – an area closed to traffic but then someone mentioned walking through the park and seeing the interesting Georgian Homes – well if I can’t look at birds I like looking at unique architecture and how people live so I persuaded Jodie to go walking with me. They have a lovely city park and we walked through it and came out at the other end to view a lovely set of homes. The typical city plans in major cities in Ireland and Scotland centered on a square city park surrounded on all four sides with rows of houses. I’m sure that plan is in use in many places built in the Georgian period (1714-1837)– I’ve seen that in New York City. This particular row of Georgian homes was very well kept. All the doors were painted bright colors – each one different but each house was very standard. A door and two windows on the ground level and three floors above with two windows each floor, the windows being shorter in length as you go up. There would also be a basement. There were lots of other standards such a lampposts and arches over doors and so forth. Our guide in Scotland talked a lot about the plan and various requirements. I noticed all the doors were right on street level but when I saw some open there was a small square porch inside with another locked entry door into the main house. It was fun to take photos of these home and great to get away from the shopping and just walk. We walked quickly back because we were afraid we would be late. With their pedestrian only areas Dublin seems to be a rather responsible city. They even have a bike use program similar to the one San Francisco has just started. There are long racks of bikes – with bright blue fenders – and for a yearly fee anyone can take a bike, ride it around the city, and drop it off at any convenient station in the city. Very efficient. We arrived at our hotel and sat and waited while Frank and Pete went in to get our room assignments – and waited and waited. This was a most interesting night and I don’t think I have the whole story yet but here is what I know. Apparently the hotel had given away some of our rooms so they didn’t have enough for all of us. Now this place was an hour outside of Dublin on a gold course with no other facilities in the neighborhood. Eventually this problem was solved by using some type of clubhouse on the grounds for the leaders, bus driver, and one or two couples. Next they did not expect us for dinner! And again no nearby restaurants to choose from. But eventually they put together a very nice dinner – even with choices. They served our dinner at the small tables in the bar probably because they had a full dining room already. And possibly because of all the mix-up as we walked in for dinner, we were each served a glass of Jameson Irish Whiskey. Since they also served us complimentary wine with dinner I ended up skipping dessert and drinking the Whiskey for dessert. It was good – if you like whiskey. And I had already had a Guinness from the bar on draft – to make sure I had a “real” Guinness before I left Ireland – I certainly had more to drink than usual. But the problems for the evening were not even close to being over. As we were getting our luggage to our room Frank suddenly realized that his small carry on bag was missing – the bag that had all the money for the rest of the trip, his passport, the vouchers for places to stay and visit and eat and so forth. It was an awful experience for Frank and all to go through. The grounds were searched, our rooms were searched, the surveillance tapes were watched, the police were called, phone calls back to the States were made and many prayers were prayed. When we went to bed it still had not been found so there were many sleepless hours and bad dreams. But in the morning the good news was soon spread – even by the staff – the bag had been found. It was stuck up on a shelf under the bus in the luggage compartment. I think a search suggested by the police found it. What good news. I have to inject here that I was so impressed with how well – at least superficially – Frank handled this whole experience. I would have been in hysterics – he is such a good leader. Well, another adventure.

Sunday 9/25/11 After breakfast we drove to Trinity College in Dublin. Trinity college was established in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth “to civilize Ireland with both learning and the Protestant religion…” so it has a long history of many famous alumni. It is also home to the Book of Kells, which was our first visit. The History of the Book of Kells is not precise but it is from around 800 AD – made by Monks – probably in County Meath. They were probably influenced by the works of the monks of Iona – a monastery established off the west coast of Scotland about 563 AD. The book is a hand written copy of the four Gospels along with beautifully illustrated pages; both the writing and the pictures are amazing works of art in very deep and rich colors. They have survived amazingly well for the past 1200 years – both by good care and the fact that they were written on calfskin. They used natural products for colors and used egg white as a fixative. In 1953 it was rebound in four volumes of which two are always on displayed – under glass. One is open at an illuminated page, the other at a page of text – these are changed every few months. So we stood in line and slowly walked around the display case to marvel at this beautiful book. Afterwards we walked through the Old Library Long Room which I found equally impressive. It was a long room filled top to bottom with about 250,000 books. Many on display were as old as 200 years and it was possible to read the mathematics and biology being written about. It was an amazing room and I would have enjoyed more time there. We visited the gift store (naturally) and then walked out to find our bus which had parked a way down. Aidan took us on a short tour of Dublin which was interesting – seems like a lively active city and then we drove on North through Boyne Valley to visit the 5000 years old Megalithic tomb at Knowth. I find these ancient places to be fascinating and very thought provoking. They are large mounds – the highest is about 40 feet high with passages and space underneath that were used as burial chambers some 5000 years ago. The area has had many uses over the centuries and has been kept in very good condition. There are lots of examples of art carved on the stones – I love looking at those and imagining what they represent. There is some evidence that these early people understood the seasons and the changing shadows of the sun’s rays. Some of this work was going on at the same time as the Pyramids in Egypt and it interesting to think how universal some ideas and cultures are. They had good mathematics too. There are a lot of these sites in Ireland and when I come back for another visit I want to visit more of them. It had rained very heavily on our drive here and rained as we walked out to the site and then stopped. The sun came out and we had just a beautiful scene before our eyes. The guide said we were very lucky. From here we continued on to Belfast and seamlessly crossed the border to a new country (Northern Ireland). For counting the number of countries I have visited I count Northern Ireland and Scotland as distinct countries – not just the one UK. So after Scotland I can now say I have visited 33 countries – small percentage of the close to 200 countries in the world but I’ll keep working on it! The outskirts of Belfast look rather dreary with brick tenement style housing. By now it was raining pretty hard – barely could see outside the bus windows, even our hotel looked rather forbidding and dreary – like a warehouse. But fortunately it was actually a very pleasant hotel inside and the next day in the sunshine it looked much better!

Monday 9/26/11 The sun was shining this morning so the city looked much less dreary. We walked down to the shopping area but everything was closed until 10:00. So we continued walking to the Belfast Cathedral and visited it. This particular building was built in the early 1900s and is a very impressive cathedral. I believe it is an Anglican church. We would have bought a postcard or donated to the church but we didn’t have the correct money. We had Euros left from Ireland but the United Kingdom uses pounds, but each country makes its own pounds and although they are supposed to be interchangeable Northern Ireland will not accept the ones from England with Queen Elizabeth on them or the ones from Scotland with their political leaders on it. Very strange economics. Eventually we left our hotel for the Ferry to Scotland. The ferry was huge – carrying not only cars and buses but large trucks as well. The bus got in line and then we walked around until it was announced that it was time to load up. Once loaded we walked up the stairs to spend the time on the ship. The ship was like a small city – lots of restaurants, lots of seating groups, a place to exchange money – all inside. There was just a small porch in the back were one could stand outside during the trip. I did spend some time there but we were on the ship for over an hour so we ate lunch and visited and walked around – and yes, they had a gift shop – I took a photo of the Irish Coffee glasses they were selling – different again. We enjoyed sitting in the quiet lounge for a while – very pleasant. They were very efficient off loading – we were instructed to get on the bus and they started unloading and we sat and we sat. Apparently a motorcycle with a trailer either scraped our bus or we scraped their trailer – I’m not sure but eventually we got off the boat only to discover a worse problem. The hydraulics were damaged – I think because of the way the ship chained the bus during transport. We sat on the highway for a while and Aidan tried a few things but nothing worked. It was a rather dangerous place we were parked so he slowly moved the bus to a port – I think it was at Cairnryan where at least we could get in out of the rain, we were warm, and we had a rest room. Frank even walked across the road and found a small grocery and bought us all ice cream so we were happy. We spent some time walking outside – I had a chance to watch and identify some small birds finally – wagtails. We waited there for about 2-3 hours until a mechanic arrived and after spending 5 minutes the bus was fixed and we were on our way to Ayr where our hotel was located. The drive was pretty and similar to Ireland but not as green. I can’t remember anything about Ayr or our hotel.

Tuesday 9/27/11 Yesterday we met our guide for Scotland – Peter. He was extremely knowledgeable and gave us a lot of information. Fortunately we found out that we would get to see the Culzean Castle today – having missed it yesterday. First we drove through Alloway, known as Burn’s Country as he was born here. We drove past his family’s cottage. The area has been kept up very nicely since Burn’s time, as he was famous while he was still alive. Then we continued on to the castle at Culzean. The current building was started in the 1700s and has been restored and maintained well ever since then. Without inside photos it is hard to remember details but it was fun to see the insides because they are still livable and we could imagine what it would be like to live there. From here we traveled north to Oban driving through Glasgow where we stopped for a quick look at the 800 year old Glasgow Cathedral. Nearby was also the oldest building in Glasgow dating from the1400s. These old and still in use buildings are just amazing. I wonder how comfortable they are to live in – having had to teach in the 100 year old Sequoia High School I know historic buildings are not always comfortable. Also in the square was a statue to David Livingstone, which I found interesting because in March I had seen his statue in Zambia at Victoria Falls. Interesting man and life. Well our day wasn’t over yet! We continued on to Loch Lomond where we took a boat ride from one side to the other – about one and a half hours. It sure was a nice ride with very pleasant weather and beautiful scenes. The bus met us when we arrived and drove us to our next home for two nights in the port town of Oban.

Wednesday 9/28/11 Today we went first to the island of Mull and from there to the island of Iona. The bus drove us to the dock although it was only a short walk but we got to see a bit of the town of Oban, a rather pleasant looking place. We actually walked on to the ferry through the terminal although the bus also drove on board. I think the trip took about an hour and we had lovely weather so were able to stay outside most of the time. This ferry also had shops. Then we drove across the island of Mull – a busy little town – and we took the passenger ferry to the island of Iona. Iona is a small island – three miles by one mile. St. Columba arrived in 563 with 12 followers and built his first Celtic church and established a monastic community. Iona became famous throughout Europe as a missionary centre and outstanding place of learning. St. Columba was born in 521 in Ireland. Over the centuries the monks of Iona produced elaborate carvings, manuscripts and Celtic crosses. They were also involved with the work of the Book of Kells which dates from 800 AD. Eventually a Benedictine Abbey was built in the 1200s but it was a victim of the Reformation and lay in ruins until 1899 when its restoration started. We enjoyed some time here walking through the Abbey and around the grounds. I walked a way up the hill to enjoy the peace and the view. It was a lovely and picturesque spot. We took the ferries back to Oban and walked back to our hotel. On the way back someone pointed out the cave that inspired Mendelssohn to write the Hebrides Overture. I’ll remember that view when I hear the piece played. I did see a few birds today heron, eagle, gulls, swallow, and shag, but I decided not to bother keeping a trip list – too limited and too frustrating. We had a nice dinner and then off to bed

Thursday 9/29/11 It was raining this morning as we left but at least we were inside the bus during the heavy part of the rain. That was our pattern during most of the trip – we were very lucky with the weather. We drove through the Highland of Scotland – a place of incredible scenery – glens and hills. We drove past Glen Coe Village – infamous for the massacre of McDonalds and Hendersons by the Campbells in the 1690s. The valley was dreary looking through the rain and thick fog but it was magical too – I can see why some of the Harry Potter movies were filmed in this area. Of course as a native of San Francisco I have always enjoyed the fog and the change it makes in the landscape. We continued on to see Stirling Castle. Stirling Castle has a long and bloody history in Scotland. Most of the castle dates back to the period between 1496 and 1583. It was wonderful to walk around the castle and visit the many restored rooms – some with furniture. It was almost possible to imagine people living here. They are even making new tapestries to hang in some of the rooms. When done we left here and walked down to the town of Stirling – a nice walk through a mix of old and new. Many of the shops and pubs are in well maintained very old buildings. Then we loaded up on the bus and we headed towards Edinburgh. We stopped in the small charming town of Queensferry – the bus dropped us off and we walked through the town enjoying the variety of buildings and the waterfront scene. We saw the Hawes Inn dating from the 17^th century – it played a part in Robert Louis Stevenson’s book Kidnapped. (There is a lot of literary history in Scotland – Ireland too.) We also saw the Railroad Bridge that was built in the 1880s and still in use and the suspension bridge built in 1964. It looks very much like our Golden Gate Bridge and does rank as one of the longest. At the time of construction in 1964 it was the longest outside of the US and the fourth longest in the world. We continued on to Edinburgh to our comfortable hotel which is near the Royal Mile – just below Edinburgh castle. Had a nice dinner and then bed – it was a very warm night.

Friday 9/30/11 This morning we drove across the suspension bridge over the Firth of Forth headed for Dunfermline, a city in the Kingdom of Fife. Again, this is a place with a long list is historical events and visitors. I may have to go back and reread the historical novels of England that I used to read so many years ago – I kept most of them just for that purpose. We visited the Heritage Centre which included the Abbot House remains and the Monastery remains. The first monastery was built in the 11^th century and added to in the 12^th century but as with so many church buildings, following the reformation in 1560 the building fell into disrepair. Then as in so many areas and countries the stones were used to build the surrounding city. The new Abbey Church was built on the site in the early 1800s and they found the grave of Robert the Bruce from 1329. We enjoyed walking in and around this church and the garden and grounds where the foundations of the old buildings clearly marked out the size and shape. It was here that I had one of those occasional God lessons that I sometimes unexpectedly get. I was studying one of the glass windows inside the church and then I went outside and looked at it. Then I went back inside and was struck by an additional symbolism of stained glass windows. I realize they were used as a means of teaching illiterate Christians the stories from the Bible but I thought they also represent how we are seen – as rather plain and ordinary on the outside by the world and in glorious living color on the inside by God, something to remind myself of when I feel depressed. Then we drove to the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum where I read some of the fascinating life history of Andrew Carnegie. Of course I had heard of him – his name is on so many public works but it was amazing all he did. He truly believed “The man who dies rich dies disgraced” His goal was to give away all his money while he was alive and he made many gifts both in the U.K. and in the U.S. that are continuing to benefit us all. We walked through the part of the cottage where he lived when he was young. This was a lovely town and I would love to come back and spend several days here. We drove east stopping at the town of Falkland –which has nothing in common with the island except the name. We continued on to St. Andrews on the east coast –known for its golf course and its cathedral. Some people walked down to the golf course but I continued on to St. Andrews Cathedral – billed as the largest and most important church in medieval Scotland. It is mostly in ruins now but it was lovely to walk around and envision it in all its glory long long ago around the 12^th and 13^th century. The tower of St. Rule had been restored and was safe to walk up so some of us climbed the narrow circular stairs to the top for a glorious view of the cathedral grounds and the town of St. Andrews – including the golf course. It was good exercise and once again a reminder to me how grateful I am for good health and a healed back that isn’t limiting me on this trip. When we got back down and headed for the bus we noticed most of the group was missing and then we heard they were standing in line at an ice cream store, so, of course, we joined them and delighted in an ice cream cone. Lovely day. We got back in time to go to an Evensong service at a nearby church - St. Mary’s Cathedral. It was lovely. It was not well attended but it was nice to see it being used as a church – we saw so many churches in Ireland and Scotland that were closed or being used as a museum, bank, offices, shop. Church attendance is way down throughout much of Europe. It is sad.

Saturday 10/1/11 We had a late start today – I should mention that most of our breakfasts were similar – a buffet of breads, cereals, fruit, yogurt, and hot dishes of eggs, bacon, etc. We always had plenty of choices. I asked where there was an ATM and the person at the desk told me so we went looking but we never did find it. In fact I asked a second person and with different directions tried again and still didn’t find it. Fortunately I did find one later in the day. We waited a while for the bus and when it finally arrived out jumped Frank, Ron, and Aidan with kilts! What a laugh – they had so much fun wearing those for most of the day. Frank was a real natural and lots of tourists took his photo. Some young girls even took turns posing with him. We didn’t see many men wearing kilts. Even the workers at the castles didn’t. The most we saw were in a couple of wedding groups – the wedding party walking from the church to their next stop – the men and boys were all dressed up in formal attire with kilts. Often the plaid was all the same so maybe they were all the same family. We hardly heard any bagpipes either – once on the street a musician was playing for tips. I’ve heard more bagpipes playing in Colorado on World Tour Day at my grandchildren’s school. We drove around the Old Town and the New Town a bit – the New Town is Georgian in age and style and was built when the medieval Old Town got too crowded. Both towns are very walkable and very well planned. I would like to spend at least a week in Edinburgh just to walk all the areas and visit all there is to see. There is a lot of literary history here as well as reformation history especially Presbyterian history. We drove past Robert Louis Stevenson’s home – fun to look at the park that he probably looked at during his many hours confined indoors as a child. A lot of his history is in Scotland but in California too as well as Samoa where he died. Eventually we went to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. This is the official residence of the monarch in Scotland at the opposite end of the Royal Mile from Edinburgh Castle. The part of the palace that we were allowed to visit dates from the 1600s although it has been restored and refurbished several times. Aside from the size it is a very livable place and I can at least imagine Queen Elizabeth walking through the halls. After here we drove to the other end of the Royal Mile and stopped at Edinburgh Castle. This castle is built up high on an extinct volcano overlooking the city. It is very large with many different buildings dating from the 12^th-to the 20^th Century. We walked around the area and visited inside some of the buildings – I went in the area where Mary – queen of Scots stayed which was interesting and also saw the Stone of Destiny and Crown Jewels. The Stone of Destiny has a long history of legends from Ireland, Scotland, and England but has been important to them all for use in the coronation of Kings. We also ate lunch here – the usual bowl of soup and bread. Then drove back down the Royal Mile to John Knox’s home. This house dates from 1450 and was the home of John Knox during the 1560s. It contained some relics of his life plus much of his story. Basically he was a preacher during the start of the Reformation and the founder of what we currently call the Presbyterian Church. He was much more than this so it was wonderful to see where he lived for part of his life. From here we could either walk back or take the bus back. I wanted to walk back and so did several other women so we started walking back together. It was lovely walking along the Royal Mile, which had such a long history but was so alive and vibrant today with the street artists, the tourists, and the shoppers. Oh yes, The Shoppers. Finally after the third shop I knew I had to break away – I just don’t like shopping and it gets me too uptight. So I said I was going to walk back alone but Jodie decided to join me and we had a lovely walk back. I love following a map so we didn’t have any trouble and it was fun to people watch and see some of the other areas of the city.

Sunday 10/2/11 This morning we were going to go to the 10:00 Sunday service at St. Giles – I was looking forward to this, as I was sorry we didn’t get to go to a church service in Ireland. We left in the bus with plenty of time but had a hard time driving around the city because of the Great Edinburgh Run, which left a lot of streets closed. When we arrived at the church doors we were so surprised and disappointed to find the door locked! I looked at my watch and it said 10:01. I guess that is one way to force people to come on time and keep the tourists out during service but I would think a nicer way could be arranged. When Peter arrived he banged on the door (we had timidly knocked) and the door was opened! (Reminded me of Matthew 7:7) So we were able to attend the service. St. Giles is a high church – a more formal service of the Church of Scotland. There are several forms of this church, including Presbyterian – because of splits over the years. But they all use pretty much the same form of government with the elders, the presbytery and the general assembly. The beliefs are to be found within the Bible. There is an emphasis on individual study in order to understand the meanings of the Word. That said this service was very different from our service. The words were very formal and read from a book and all was very ritualistic and impersonal. The sermon was hard to follow as it was so very impersonal – I know he talked about inclusive vs. exclusive which I thought was interesting considering how I felt less than welcomed there. But the choir was absolutely beautiful and sounded so wonderful in this ancient church. St Giles dates from the 15^th century but has been renovated a lot over time – especially in the 1800s. But it is the church where John Knox preached and led the beginnings of the reformation in Scotland. We were invited to share in communion so several of us did. They stand in a circle and pass around a loaf of bread from which you break off a piece and they pass around a communal cup from which you drink. Since I couldn’t get past the thought of germs I did what I have seen elsewhere and dipped my bread into the cup. It was really special to take communion in a different country – I’ve done it before and never forget the feeling of sharing something so profound with different cultures. Unfortunately we left right after service and didn’t walk around the church much – guess I’ll have to do that next time I visit. We drove from here to Leith – on the docks – which is where the Royal Yacht the Britannia is docked. But it is behind a wall so we couldn’t see it. We walked around a bit and had a cup of coffee in a shop while waiting for lunchtime. Then we walked up to a restaurant where we had one of the best meals of the trip – we only paid five pounds each for dish after dish of tapas. There was an amazing variety and all were so good. It was fun. After this we drove to the Royal Mile were some of us got off. I decided to go to the museum and Jodie joined me. It is a huge museum with modern, current, science, etc displays in addition to the historical Scotland in a separate building. That is where we spent our time – a chance to tie together all the things we had seen and heard. It was a very interesting time and well spent. Then we walked back to our hotel once again and had our final dinner together. A bitter sweet time as we have had a very good trip together and have been almost like a family.

Monday October 3, 2011 Drove to the airport checked in and went through a pretty easy security. I can remember almost nothing of this airport or the flight. I think all went smoothly – I can’t even remember if we got fed, but the flight was about 7 hours, so hopefully we did. When we got to New Jersey we had a long slow line for immigration and then had to go through customs which was pretty efficient, but then had to go through security again which was awful. I usually don’t mind the TSA people and it is usually done pretty well but this place was just plain stupid. I asked if I had to take out my ipad and she said “no” – which is the usual reply, but at the other end the guy wanted it out as well as my kindle, which no one else ever asks for. So he proceeded to take everything out of my backpack and had such a mess I couldn’t even fit it back in the pack. I tried to be polite but he was just plain rude and I asked him to tell the woman at the other side that he wanted the ipads out – he said he would, but I doubt it. Just another example of some low level guy taking the opportunity to feel important by exerting his authority to feel powerful – at least that is my opinion. Then when we checked the board we found that our flight was delayed 2 hours so I said I was going to get a drink and several other people said they were too. We found a place and had a glass of wine plus some food and had a nice little party. Checked the board and still 7:15 so we got some ice cream – checked the board again and went to the rest room and in there we heard “last call for boarding for San Francisco”! I don’t know why we could not hear the announcement where we were eating as we weren’t very far from the gate but we hurried to the gate where we were close to the last to board. The plane was leaving 40 minutes earlier than we were told. Good thing we heard the announcement. Seems to me there should be more warning about that and a better announcement system. Anyway we got on board and had what seemed like a very long flight (6 hours) to San Francisco. No food served so it was a good thing we ate in the airport – they do serve plenty of water and juice so that is helpful. I didn’t have to wait long for Super Shuttle so I got home about 11:00 at night and was very glad to be home. Had something to eat, took a shower and went to bed. Spent the next week going through my photos and reliving the wonderful trip – I really enjoyed it and I am so grateful I was able to go!

Written from notes and memory by Penelope Bowen on 10/18/2011

Undated 10/23/11

Addendum: 10/21/11 One of the fun things about travel is coming home and reading news reports or hearing stories that relate to what I have just seen or heard. This morning I read in the National Geographic November magazine about the problems in Ireland with the cutting of turf bricks for the burning of peat. The European Union had issued a directive to protect these disappearing ancient habitats in 1997 but in general the Irish have ignored this and continued cutting. Now the EU is threatening heavy fines. Aidan had talked about this and his opinion was that there was plenty of peat, been used for years, and no need to stop the cutting and burning.

We had also heard about the unusual cold and snow last winter. Last night I read in the “North American Birds” report for the winter of 2010/2011 about the colder than normal temperature in the United Kingdom. Wales and Northern Ireland recorded their coldest November ever (.9 degrees F and 14.8 degrees F) on November 28. December was the coldest in the UK in more than 100 years. This weather affects the bird populations in many ways.