Cardiff to Killarney

April 24-25

We had a bus tour of Cardiff. We saw the water front area which used to be the largest coal shipping port in the world. Now they are revitalizing it as a tourist and business area.

Then it was off to Fishguard, Wales to get the ferry to Ireland.

A three plus hour ride later and we arrived in Rosslare, Ireland. The bus then continued on through Wexford to Waterford where we spent the night at Faithllegg Golf and Country Club, an old manor house which is now a fine hotel. We had a nice group dinner and retired for the night.

The next morning we were up early as the bus departed at 8:00. We drove into Waterford and had a tour of the Waterford Crystal factory. We got to see the whole process except for the final acid wash which takes place in a separate facility outside of town. This factory was started in 1947 but the making of crystal in the area dates back to ancient times. They had a very special piece commemorating 911. We also bought Coleen a pair of earrings for our anniversary.

 

After the tour we boarded the bus and continued to Cork. The Blarney Castle is located on the outskirts of town and that was our next stop. We walked up to the ruins and climbed to the top via a narrow circular stairway. The view from the top was breath taking. We declined the option of kissing the Blarney Stone as we were not sure we could manage getting down on our backs and then up again. 

When we came down it was starting to rain so we made our way to the nearby Old Woolen Mill Factory Shop which is now a store and eatery. We had a sandwich and looked around. Once again we boarded the bus and continued our trip tp Killarney. We checked into our hotel and went for dinner in town. We all decided to eat at Treyvard's. On the way back we had an unplanned stop at Ross Castle which sits on the shore of the lake. It was very pretty in the setting sunlight.

London to Cardiff

Monday April 23

We left the London Radisson Hotel after breakfast at 8:00 and drove to Stonehenge on Salisbury plain. We took a short shuttle bus to the site. We were able to walk around and view the stones while listening to an audio guide.

We left this World Heritage Site and continued on to the ancient city of Bath. It was founded by the Romans. We had time to grab a bite to eat and look around the area. We saw Bath Abbey and some statues that graced the square.

We ended up with another audio guided tour of the baths. There was a lot to see and we were overwhelmed with the beauty and the fact that these have been here for over two thousand years. The statues were created in the 1800's to depict what would have been here in roman times.

We  then continued on into Wales to the capital city of Cardiff. We will spend the night here before continuing our trip.

Windsor Castle and London

Sunday April 22, 2018

We met the bus after breakfast at 8:00 to start our day.

It was about an hour drive out to Windsor to take a tour of Windsor Castle. After a short walk we joined a long line waiting to enter as the gate did not open until 10.

We finally reached the main entrance but still had more lines for security check. Once inside we got a listening device with head phones and began to walk towards the main buildings.

We were faced with another wait as today was the changing of the guard. We later learned it takes place only on Sunday at Windsor Castle.

We got to spend about 2 hours walking around and through the buildings. Photos were only allowed outside but there were many things to see inside as well. 

The fact that this flag is flying over the castle means that the Queen is in residence. Unfortunately we didn't get to see her.

We ate a snack while waiting for the rest of the group and then returned to London where a local guide joined us for a 2 hour city tour. The normal schedule was reversed today because today was the running of the London marathon. This meant that many roads were closed to traffic so the route had several modifications. We did however get to see the city from a roof top vantage point.

The bus continued around town but we chose not to take photos as the movement and tinted windows would have made them hard to view. We did however enjoy the trip even though it was a bit less than we had expected.