Category Archives: Travel

The Wendi Files – Part 2

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Drombeg Stone Circle

Drombeg Stone Circle

The Wacky Wendi Saga Continues.

Damn, I like that girl!

On The Edge

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Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Ireland

Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Ireland

“Like many before me, I’ve been called to the sea.” TW

Welcome to the Cliffs of Moher, Ireland’s premier disembarkation point for the netherworld. I don’t mean to demean the sheer awe-inspiring grandeur of the Cliffs. The place is indeed jaw droppingly beautiful. Sadly though, a few folks don’t just come to look, but view it as a more interactive activity. This is a hugely popular tourist attraction so it’s not really in anyone’s best interest to keep an accurate count. In 2008 there were four documented suicides, a relatively small numbers when compared to places like the London Underground which loses 150 – 200 people a year. Bear in mind, the actual number of deaths is not widely known and the vast majority are classified as accidents, but with 30 mph wind gusts and warning signs every few feet, I tend to think of it more as stupidity. We watched at least 50 people ignore the warnings in order to have their picture taken as close to the edge as possible. The last jumper was a young Estonian doctor who bought a one way ticket to Dublin, drove a rented car across the country, walked out of the parking lot directly to the cliff and, without hesitation, she leapt 750’ to the sea below. Oddly, neither the one way ticket nor the CCTV footage was enough to convince officials it was a suicide.

Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Ireland

Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Ireland

By all means don’t let my love of odd statistics scare you off.  Come to this amazingly beautiful place, but be extremely careful. I don’t know if there have been any definitive studies, but can anyone deny that a huge precipice, like a magnet, draws the mind to the edge?

Memorial - Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Ireland

Memorial – Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Ireland

Have A Little Trust

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On our way to Chester we passed Dunster Castle and were so intrigued by it’s amazing grandeur that we had to stop. When paying the entrance fee to was pointed out to us that if we intended to visit a few properties then the annual family membership to the National Trust was the more economical approach. That’s all Mr. Cheapskate needed to hear. We bought the membership, and began a race through Northern Ireland to get our money’s worth by visiting as many Trust properties as possible. Regardless of the motives, this scheme has allowed us to see some outstanding places and learn a lot about how the landed gentry and obscenely wealthy from as far back as the 17th century lived their lives in Northern Ireland.

Dunster Castle

Dunster Castle is a fascinating property with a long and exciting history. A stone shell keep was built on this site at the start of the 12th century. The castle survived sieges, battles, civil wars and bankruptsies.  The castle has been occupied until the late 20th century when it was turned over to the Trust.

Castle Ward

Castle Ward, built in the 1760s reflects the differing tastes of Lord Bangor and his wife. While the entrance side of the building is done in a classical Palladian style, the opposite side is Georgian Gothic. This differences in style continue throughout the interior of the house with the divide down the center.

Mount Stewart

Charles, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry’s second wife, Lady Frances Anne Vane-Tempest, was the greatest heiress of her time. This infusion of huge new wealth prompted the refurbishment and enlargement of Mount Stewart. While spending £150,000 on the refurbishment, £52 million in today’s money, they only gave £30 to famine relief in Ireland in the 1840s, illustrating the inhumanity that existed within Ireland at the time.

Hambletonian

The horse in this very large painting is Hambletonian, the 18th century’s most celebrated racehorse. He was owned by Sir Henry Vane-Tempest, Sir Stewart’s father in law. In a famous four mile match at Beacon Course in Newmarket on 25 March 1799, Hambletonian won by a neck and was said to have covered 21 feet in a single stride at the finish. Sir Henry had wagered the huge sum of 3,000 guineas ($300,000) on the outcome. Afterwards the horse was the subject of this painting, Hambletonian Rubbing Down, by the great equine artist, George Stubbs. The stable boy, handler and horse all appear agitated and tense. After seeing the painting some of Sir Henry’s detractors commented that it was because the horse had been whipped and treated badly in the race. When Sir Henry heard this he became so distraught that he refused the painting. The 75 year old Stubbs stood firm and refused to alter the image. Over time Sir Henry softened and eventually paid for and took possession of the painting, which today is priceless. Most recently, one of Stubbs paintings was sold by Christies for a record $36 million.

"Hambletonian Rubbing Down" by George Stubbs

“Hambletonian Rubbing Down” by George Stubbs

Downhill Demesne

After a visit in 1801, one visitor wrote of the location, “It is impossible not to regret the misapplication of so much treasure upon a spot where no suitable Desmesne can be created…where the salt spray begins to corrode this sumptuous pile of Grecian Architecture, and the imagination anticipating the distant period weeps over the splendid Ruin, a sad monument of human folly.”

Giant’s Causeway

The columns are the remains of a causeway built by the giant, Finn MacCool, who was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. Finn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two giants could meet.

Carrick-a-Rede

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge links the mainland to the tiny island of Carrickarede.

Castle Coole

Castle Coole was constructed at a cost of £57,000 in 1798, equivalent to approximately £20 million today.

Florence Court

Early on the morning of March 22, 1955, 72 year old Lady Enniskillen discovered a fire on the first floor landing. She ran to nearby Killymanamly House and telephoned the elderly 5th Earl of Enniskillen , at the Ulster Club in Belfast. He is said to have cried “What the hell do you think I can do about it?”.

The Argory

In 1852 the Royal Navy troopship HMS Birkenhead.  struck the rocks off Danger Point, South Africa. Prior to this, evacuation was a “every man for himself affair”. When Captain Shelton saw the sailors rushing to the lifeboats cried “women and children first”. This has come to be known as “the Birkenhead Protocol”.

The Argory

The Argory

You Should Have Been Here Friday

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County Down

County Down

If there are nicer people in this world then the Irish, we sure haven’t met them. Not only are they friendly, helpful and curious, but also seem to take it as a personal responsibility that we enjoy their country. Every person we’ve met has apologized for the weather as if the country’s climate has had the effrontery to disappoint us in some way. To a man, everyone has said “You should have been here last Friday”. We were here last Friday and it was indeed beautiful. Apparently it was the most beautiful day of the year so far and perhaps has the potential of being the most beautiful day of the year to come. We’re from a place with unsettled everchanging weather and have come to accept beautiful days as a special treat and not the norm. But then you don’t really come to a place like Ireland for the weather. You come for the charming people, the green hills, the music and, of course, the beer.

We’re situated in Rostrevor, County Down, Northern Ireland, on the banks of the Carlingford Lough, at the foot of the Mourne Mountains. A lovely place criscrossed with very narrow winding roads and longstanding stone walls.

The Ross Monument and Carlingford Lough -Rostrevor, NI

The Ross Monument and Carlingford Lough -Rostrevor, NI

The lovely home we’re in sits next to a monument for Major General Robert Ross. The Major General was born in Rostrevor and attended Trinity College in Dublin before being sent to American in the War of 1812 to avenge American  atrocities in the Battle of York (Toronto) where American troops were accused of many acts of vandalism, looting and burning of both private & public property.

Ross quickly captured Washington and burnt down the White House. Rumor has it that he intended to build a home for himself on the site but was shot at the Battle of Baltimore and fled to Halifax, Nova Scotia where he died and is buried. A villian to some but a hero to many.

The Ross Monument - Rostrevor, NI

The Ross Monument – Rostrevor, NI

Hogwarts and Beyond

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Ducklings

Ducklings

The Cotswolds

The Cotswolds are a range of hills in southwestern and west-central England, an area roughly 25 miles wide by 90 miles long, filled with lovely restored mill towns, some as old as the 17th century.

The Gloucester Cathedral

Over 1300 years old, the Gloucester Cathedral is an outstanding example of Gothic Architecture. In recent years it has become even more famous as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The Doc’s In

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Port Wynn is the mythical home of the cantankerous Doc Martin, lead role in the hugely successful BBC series of the same name. The town in the show is, apparently, the only location in Cornwall where the sun shines everyday and is populated exclusively with eccentric and good hearted folk. In actuality, Port Wynn is Port Issac, a small and very remote fishing village that was fading in obscurity until Bert, Louisa and the Doc arrived. Now an invading hoard of tourists fills the small B&Bs and roams the streets looking for any evidence of their idols. Well, we were lucky enough to be there while they were filming season 5. We were part of a group of about 50 adoring fans that was shuffled through the streets, like a well mannered and extremely quiet flock of sheep. I must admit, it was pretty exciting.

Bert & Louisa

Bert & Louisa

Port Issac’s real charm is it’s maze of narrow streets, some only 18″ wide, the madcap jumble of late 19th century fisherman’s cottages and the small but pristine harbor.

The View From Above

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View from the Tate MuseumView from the Tate Museum

London is a big crowded city. Driving and parking in it is a nightmare, walking it is exhausting, taking cabs costs a small fortune and the Underground is exactly that, underground, but the Double Decker Bus, now there’s a sightseeing vehicle.

St Pauls

St Pauls

The buses provides an affordable and fun conveyance that stops at almost every corner while providing a unique perspective of the city and everyone in it.

If You Can’t Beat’em, Join’em!

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Graffiti Tunnel - London

Graffiti Tunnel – London

In London, like all cities the world over, graffiti continues to spread like a rash on most every available surface. One approach the city governors have arrived at is to designate this nasty little underground passageway as a legal “Graffiti Zone”. The walls have turned into an everchanging tapestry of art, social commentary, vulgarity and all manner of craziness.

 

Has it worked? Well, no. Artful vandals still roam the city streets.

Spring Has Sprung – Almost

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I was getting a little fearful that spring would never arrive so I decided to do a little experiment. The pictures on the left are from April 3rd and the right side is April 29th. As you can see, slowly but surely, spring is creeping up on us.

More Ordinary Pictures

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Fun with Asians

For fear that we may not be back to Holland again, we have set about getting to all the “must see” tourist destinations and, apparently, so did a lot of other folks.

At Kinderdijk

At Kinderdijk

Now I know a lot of you think that Asian tourists may be, shall we say, moving a little too fast. As a group they’re more fun then they get credit for.

More Picture Taking At Kinderdijk

More Picture Taking At Kinderdijk

We pulled into the Cheese Market in Alkmaar as 7 buses were unloading a sea of umbrella wielding little people. It looked like Bingo Night in Okinawa.

And Man, do they stick together. Groups moved through the Rijksmuseum like schools of jellyfish. If you become an obstacle to it’s progress, the school just flows around you and quickly regroups. If the group fixates on a painting it will form an impenetrable wall and you just have to wait your turn. The only saving grace is that they seem to have a schedule to keep.

Don’t take me wrong everyone was friendly and respectful and, mostly, were just busily chatting nonstop amongst themselves.  One thing I did notice in Amsterdam was that there were very few Asian Tourists on the trams. That’s because they’re like JayZ or Willie Nelson. They bring their own Party Bus.

Whatever it is, they are happy to be here. Very happy.

Picture Taking At Kinderdijk

Picture Taking At Kinderdijk

With or without lots of tourist Kinderdijk is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and well worth the visit.

Down on the Farm

We were staying at a great little farm, De Appelgaard, in South Holland. I’m somewhat of a city boy and don’t do particularly well with farm animals. Cows and horses scare me a little and let’s face it, goats and sheep are pretty freaky looking.

Appelgaard

All that been said, if you want a B&B, this is your place. We had a big room, great shower and terrific breakfast, which is included in the price of the room, making it the most important meal of the day. An hour before eating, the eggs were still in the chicken and the milk was still in the cow.

Appelgaard

Appelgaard

Fun with the Dutch

It started innocently enough. We thought we’d just pop into Gouda for a little supper. After the standard half hour search for parking we walked through the Market Square and heard Wilson Picket coming from an opened door.

Stadhuis in Gouda

Stadhuis in Gouda

We ended up in this place called TOF. During the day it’s a café with chairs and tables on the Square, but at night it transforms into a Disco and is packed.

I know this photo may look a whisper shady, but the people couldn’t have been nicer to us. They made us a special sample plate and gave us some free drinks. After we admired the beer glasses they gave us each one.

TOF Gouda

TOF Gouda

You’re probably wondering exactly what these two lunatics are doing and all I can tell you is that the special on the menu is “Spicy Balls”. When Wendi asked to see them mayhem quickly followed. The guy on the right is manager #2 and the guy on the left is manager #3. We didn’t really see him do a whole lot of managing.

Manager 2 & 3 at TOF in Gouda

Manager 2 & 3 at TOF in Gouda

After a couple rounds and soothing effect of Motown they decided we were OK and dragged us up the street to their other club, Swing, for a very private “Cigar Party”.

Gouda7Off to Swing

It’s a little odd as none of us would ever smoke a cigar. As it turns out smoking tobacco is far more narfarious behavior then pot smoking. Let me explain. There are shops where you can go indoors to smoke the dreaded reefer and neither you nor the management have to fear a fine or arrest. On the other hand smoking tobacco in outlawed indoors everywhere. Young people love to smoke tobacco so club owners routinely turned a blind eye. Now clubs get two warnings. On the third time it’s a 10,000 euro fine and the fourth time costs you 50,000 euros and your business license for 6 months.

This all made the party feel a little outside the rules.

Swing in Gouda

Swing in Gouda

This is manager #4, we have absolutely no idea what he manages.

Manager #4

Manager #4

These are dear friends Harvey, left, and Fran, right. That’s Wendi in the foreground and two guys in the middle are the big dogs. The guy on the left is manager #1 and when he talks the walls rumble. The guy on the right is his Dad, owner of these two businesses, and apparently some other more secretive business concerns that we couldn’t really go into. He never seemed to stop giggling.

TOF owners in Gouda

TOF owners in Gouda

On a final note I should tell you that these folks told us in no uncertain terms that they love, adore , long to return to their spiritual home. Their Nivana on earth, their muse and constant inspiration, Las Vegas, Neveda.