Ah, the Salisbury News...

Well, we made it back to the good ol' US of A. Back to a normal Sunday night in Ocean City, MD. Just about all of the tourists are gone now so it is very quiet. When we left, it was shorts and tank top weather and now it is definitely hat and sweater weather. Our animals and family were very happy to see us and we were very happy to see them, too (and to have a loooong hot shower). We wish we could spend the holidays here and then turn back around and keep traveling!

Almost Home

So, we are very happy with our new hostel. We couldn't check out soon enough from our former hostel this morning and after a quick breakfast, headed over to Globetrotters. Well, it might as well have been the Hilton. The hostel is clean and quiet and in a great historic building - plus they serve a full Irish breakfast in the morning!! Wish we'd been here all along.



Other than that, we took it easy today. We walked around O'Connell Street and saw the General Post Office, did a little shopping, and listened to some Irish music at the Auld Dubliner. Fortunately, there was no rain today so we're not quite as soggy.

Tomorrow, our flight leaves at 11:10am and we get into Philly at 2:00pm. It is absolutely amazing that our trip is almost over - probably the quickest five weeks of our lives. Thanks for checking in with us during our travels. We've had a great experience and are looking forward to planning to the next big adventure! ;)

City Living

It is nice to be back in the city! We returned the rental car yesterday. The Avis rep was nice; she did not charge us for the missing hubcap. The city is fairly small and walkable which was good because we walked back to our hostel. The hostel was not quite what we were hoping for; it was really the only hostel misstep of the trip. Maybe we are just getting a little too old for the party atmosphere! :) .

Despite the accommodations, we are enjoying Dublin. The city does have a long history and we have a short amount of time here, so we are cramming a lot into our days. The day started with more wind and rain, so we headed to the Kilmainham Gaol (Jail for all you English speakers). While the jail was built in the late 1700s, it is famous for housing the 1916 Easter Rising leaders. Fourteen of those were executed in the yard where we stood today - see below.



Next, we were off to the more historic districts where we saw Christ's Church, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Castle, and City Hall. Steve's brain was tired from all of the culture, so we headed to his garden - St. Stephen's Green. It probably was not the nicest day for a stroll in the park, but Steve felt obligated to meet his people. He was sad when no one was there, so the ducks pretended to listen to him. After that, we walked along Grafton Street, over to Trinity College, and back through Temple Bar where we visited the National Photographic Archives.



A pretty good day all in all. Then we arrived back at our hostel. Our roommate was still sleeping from the night before and the rest of the people have a full day of alcohol in them. On the positive side, we did just see a wrestling match!

We will post tomorrow and let you know about our new hostel.

The End Is Near...

We are wrapping up our second night in Galway - only four nights left on our trip! :( Galway is a cute town with medieval, cobblestone streets, brightly painted houses, and lots and lots of traditional Irish pubs. There are also lots and lots of wool sweater stores. As you can see from the photo, we FINALLY got some hats and gloves so at least we will be warmer for our last few days. Galway is also interesting because it is in a section of Ireland that still speaks Gaelic.



Tomorrow morning, we head off to Dublin and return our little Nissan Micra. Hopefully, Avis does not charge us too many Euros for our missing hubcap - a casualty of the flat tire incident. We will be giving up the luxury of driving - which would not be bad at all except that Dublin is in the middle of a bus driver strike last we heard! We are excited for Dublin and hope the stores stay open a little later than 6pm which is what time they close here.



We'll post back soon.

Free Derry

Well, Steve is ready to move to Derry. After the fiasco with the tire, we arrived in Derry happy to park the car and get back to walking. That was a good thing because shortly after we arrived at our hostel - Derry Independent Hostel (which was excellent) - the owner sat down with us to go over a map of the area and point out some highlights. She showed us where the murals are in Derry and said that there are political walking tours that leave ever day at 2pm from the Free Derry Museum. Of course, we hurried of to get something eat - two big breakfast "frys" - and make it down in time.

Before the tour, we decided to visit the museum. The Free Derry museum tells the history of the troubles in Northern Ireland and the huge role that Derry has played as a centerpiece in the struggle for civil rights. It is a fantastic and deeply moving museum. After about an hour and a half inside, we departed on our walking tour.



In contrast from the neutral "Black Taxi" tour in Belfast, this tour is from a more Nationalist/Republican viewpoint which makes it very interesting. Our guide led us through the Bogside neighborhood - which is predominantly Catholic - and highlighted the many murals and monuments (such as the Bloody Sunday memorial - which occured in Derry) while recounting the area's tumultuous history.



Afterwards, we revisted the museum and spoke with the tour and museum guide while getting some more insight. Then we stopped by the infamous Bogside Inn for a cup of tea. The next day, we crossed the river into the Protestant area and visited some of the Loyalist murals as well.

After much debate (we loved Derry and were tempted to stay longer), we decided to leave Northern Ireland and head west, visiting Donegal and spending the night in Sligo. This morning we got up early and headed to Galway, where we are spending the next two nights.

On an interesting note, Steve seems to have discovered a new hobby on our trip as he is taking more and more of our photos! We'll post back shortly.



For More Info: www.museumoffreederry.org