Day 12. October 8, 2016

Today was the long trip home.  We were up at 0400hrs.  Sara had no problem getting up today.  She was very excited about getting home and seeing everyone - especially Typhoon.  Our first flight was 5 hours from Dublin to St. John's Newfoundland where we went through Canada Customs.  A two hour wait then the 3 ½ hour flight to Toronto.  Another 2 hour wait before the long the 4 hour flight to Edmonton.  We were out of the airport in record time, and Sherry was waiting for us for the 1 ½ hour drive home. Needless to say that we slept very well.

It seems like we visited two distinct worlds.  Though Ireland and France were very different, they were both beautiful and everyone treated us incredibly well during he entire trip.

I appreciate that the last week of our trip was pure holiday, but we never forgot that our purpose was to visit and pay our respects to Great Grandpa Tim Kelly.  I had known for many years that I had an appointment to keep, and am eternally grateful that I was able to keep that date.  Health issues with my stupid leg 5 days before we left almost sidetracked everything - but at the last minute, medical clearance to fly was given.  Whew!

We learned a lot along the way, and Remembrance Day will never be the same for us.  Like all of our Blog followers, I had a basic understanding of the history and always proudly wore my poppy in November.  The surreal honesty at the sites we visited was overpowering and touching.  My perspective has not changed, but it is now a lot clearer.  I would encourage everyone, if they ever have the time and means, to go on a pilgrimage like ours.  Not a large tour of the Memorials in France, but rather a personal and intimate visit.  The result was an overwhelming sadness and appreciation for all of those who made the ultimate scarce in both WWI and WWII (Not just Timothy Kelly).  Sara's unplanned connection with 16 year old John Charles Alexander who was killed February 6, 1917 will forever touch me.

September 30, 2016 was a day that I will never forget.  My job is not done yet as I have several resting places to revisit with a return package from France.  It is my hope that in some small way these visits will bring a little peace and closure to a centuries long tragedy.  Our visit actually answered a few questions that I had often wondered about, and I'm glad we went.

A big thanks to everyone that followed along.  It was an extremely personal journey and I'm glad that we had our closest friends and family along with us.

C.K.

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Day 11. October 6, 2016

Today was our full Dublin day.  Up, on the bus, power-shopping.  We did make a couple of stops.

The first stop was the Guinness Storehouse.  A very interesting building and tour.  I think it was 7 stories tall.  Each floor is interactive starting with an explanation on the process to make Guinness beer, up through tastings, to the big lounge on the top floor with a 360 degrees view of Dublin.  Overall, a great experience for both of us.  I have never been a big Guinness fan (it is so heavy), but drinking it at the brewery - it was delicious!  I enjoyed my complimentary pint very much.  That said - Sara had a complimentary coupon as well for a soft drink that she did not use - and I could have used it on a second pint - but was awful full after the first.  Terrible, I know.

Next we hit Dublin's St. Patrick's Cathedral.  This is located at the well where legend says that St. Patrick officiated his first Baptism in Ireland.  The Cathedral was built around the year 1200.  The building was very impressive.  Inside however, I think that we were both a little disappointed.  Although it was a little unusual to pay to enter a church, I appreciate that there are bills to pay and a building to preserve, so I was Ok with that.  Once inside, there was a large souvenir store in the Nave, selling the usual general Ireland trinkets.  It seemed terribly out of place.  Secondly, we had come from the Basilica in Albert last week where the statues and focus was on Jesus, Mary, the Apostles and Saints.  Though I do not doubt the purpose of this beautiful church, the length of both walls flanking the Nave were monuments to, and busts of, past important Dubliners and Deans of the Church.  There are apparently over 200 of these.  All of this is fine I suppose, but it is not what we were expecting.  One interesting artifact in the church was a stone marker found in 1901 that was 6 ft under the earth on the site of St. Patrick's well.  

We spent the rest of the day finishing our shopping for everyone at home, and then dinner at an Irish pub.  (I had to do that once!)

Things that we learned today.

1.  The statues here are not what I was expecting.  I was clearly a little shocked.

2.  As the day was ending, I asked Sara if there was anything else that she would like to see or do while we were still in Dublin.  We then noticed this sign in an alleyway.  Tempting sure, but we were tired and opted out.

 

3.  I should always, and I mean always, check our supply of hand sanitizer before doing something stupid like this.

4.  As many of you know, Sara has issues with birds.  As a small child she was chased by a peacock and is the poster child for dive bombing crows.  This set up a tense standoff today when she encountered a pigeon on the sidewalk that didn't want to move out of the way.  After what seemed like an eternity with both of them frozen in their tracks, Sara flinched and crossed the street.  I don't know if birds can blink, but this one sure didn't.

5.  I learned something very personal today.  After 12 days together, Sara informed me that I'm annoying.  I have no idea where this came from and found it very rude and hurtful.

C.K.

Day 10. October 5, 2016

Day 10 started in the Town of Trim Ireland.  It was a beautiful morning, so I was up early enjoying the trail system around Castle Trim.  Todays run felt much much much better than the one in France.  I've now run 5 k in three different countries.  What was noteworthy for me, other than the amazing scenery, was that I crossed the River Boyne 3 times.  This small little river (about the size of the Blindman River back home) was often navigated by raiding vikings.  We don't have that at home!  I also watched trout rising downstream of a heron looking for breakfast.  Really cool.  The Irish are so darned nice - the trails were busy and almost everyone had a pleasant greeting.   Maybe they were just worried about me :)

After getting Ms Sleepyhead out of bed, we did a tour around Castle Trim.  I talked about the castle last night.  Below are some more pictures.  I think that of all the towns that we have visited in Ireland this week - Trim is my favourite.  I really wish that I could spend more time here.  The funny part is that it was a last minute decision 24 hours ago to visit Trim.  Im glad that we did.

Leaving Trim, it was a short 40 minute drive to return our car to the Dublin airport.  I have no interest in trying to drive in Dublin - so for the remainder of the trip we will be using public transportation.  We caught a bus into the city center and set to getting some shopping done.  Up until now, we have really done zero shopping over the last two weeks.  Sara is not a shopper, and I'm pretty focused (I know what I want - buy it - get out), so today had some military precision to it.  

One thing that I thought would be neat to see was the Book of Kells at Trinity College.  Again, I can't do justice to the history of this book here - but my simple explanation is:  It was created about the year 800 by Columban monks on the Island of Iona between Ireland and Scotland.  It may also have been heavily influenced by the monastery on Lindisfarne (The best Mead comes from there :) ).  It is an illuminated (illustrated) version of the four gospels of the Bible with latin text.  The colours, Celtic art and originality of the script makes this a very special book.  The Book of Kells was moved around a lot over the last 1200 years to protect it from everything from raiding vikings to Oliver Cromwell's army in the 1600s.  It has been at Trinity College for safe keeping since 1661.  There is currently an educational interpretive display leading up to actually seeing the book.  Photos are not allowed - so disregard the one below.

Thats about it.  A slow day.  Shop shop shop.  Yawn.

Things that we learned.

1.  Downtown Dublin is crazy super busy.  There is a lot of road construction going on - but both the vehicle and pedestrian traffic is way busier than anything that I have seen before in London, Stockholm or Edinburgh.  The mass of people certainly takes its toll on both Sara and I who do not like crowds.

2.  The Irish ladies love me here.  I could get used to this!  Maybe this is why our Kellys left Ireland in the early 1800s.  We were driven out by the other jealous men?  Just saying'.

3.  Several times today we were identified as Americans by our accents.  Take off eh?  Hosers.

4.  Lots to see and do here in Dublin - but we both miss the Irish countryside already.  

5.  This morning for breakfast, I thought that it would be appropriate to have a coffee and a scone.  Sara on the other hand had chicken wings.  I LOVE that kid!  

C.K.

Day 9. October 4, 201

Today we left the southern part of Ireland and headed north of Dublin.

Our first stop, and the #1 thing that I had wanted to see in Ireland was the Hill of Tara.  It isn't flashy, but it is the history of the place that I find so interesting.  Irish tradition says that the Hill of Tara was that seat, or sacred place, of the High Kings of Ireland.  It is said that 142 Irish kings reigned during this time.  The Coronation Stone was, and still is, standing on this site.  It is believed that much of the structures located here are still under the ground.  St. Patrick himself intentionally came here to spread Christianity not only to the High King, but also to the heart of the ancient Celtic religion.  It is said that St. Patrick pulled a shamrock from this exact site and used its three leaves to explain the Holy Trinity to the High King - aiding in his conversion to Christianity.  Many of the pictures and statues of St. Patrick here in Ireland show him holding a shamrock leaf in his hand.  I have attached a photo of the St. Patrick statue from the Hill of Tara and of the Coronation Stone (The Lia Fail).  From atop of the Hill of Tara, legend says that on a clear day, you can see half of Ireland.  (Not sure about that - but a beautiful view in all directions for sure!)

After visiting the Hill of Tara, we were off to the nearby UNESCO World Heritage Site at Bru na Boinne.  We figured that if we were going to look at history, we may as well do it right.  These sites at Newgrange and Knowth are believed to be temples/tombs, and are over 5200 years old.  To put this into perspective, they are older than both Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids in Egypt.  There is too much history associated with these sites, and the many civilizations that utilized the area for me to mention here.  We entered both, and it is interesting to actually see how they were constructed to align with the sun.  Newgrange in December for the shortest day of the year, and Knowth for both the Spring and Fall Equinox.  To look at 5000 year stone carvings (neolithic art) was interesting and a little older than what we see back home.

We then headed west to the Town of Trim.  We knew that there were the remains of a castle here, but did not realize how impressive it was.  It is the largest Norman castle in Ireland, and was built around 1172.  It seems to be in relatively good shape and we hope to visit it tomorrow.  There are huge grounds/park around the castle with excellent paths.  Everyone here seems to run or walk their dog.  These trails were very busy.  A side note, this castle was used in the making of Mel Gibson's movie Braveheart.  (I remember from last year how impressed the Scots are about that fact!)

That was our day.  Things that we learned.

1.  The Irish take cleaning up after their dogs seriously.  Even the RAP line pales in comparison.  Thats like $5000!

2.  I think I heard a kitty cat meowing in a 5000 yr old tomb today.  And Sara blamed me?!?  It was a delightful distraction for the entire tour group.

3.  Driving through the country, the homes and yards are all absolutely gorgeous.

4.  We met the nicest, but exasperated, Irish Grandmother on our walk tonight.  She had two young grandchildren with her who had way too much energy.  She kindly asked if I'd like them.  Im not sure what the protocol is here - and I hope I didn't insult her - but I kindly declined.  Sherry would have been so surprised!

5.  Sara is a terrific navigator.  She has an intuitive sense of distance and direction.  Seriously.  I definitely know where that skill came from!  She may get the shotgun seat for life after this trip.

C.K.

Day 8. October 3, 2016

Sara and I had a great day today.  It all started with a simple breakfast - European style.  It was buffet style with cheeses, breads and meat.  We were the only ones there.  Just about perfect I'd say.

After breakfast, we walked up the hill from our hotel to the Rock of Cashel.  This is a big rocky hill with a fortress and chapels on top.  The Queen visited in 2011.  It is supposed to be where St. Patrick converted the local king to Christianity in the late 5th century.  Most of the buildings however, date from the 12th century.  There are some really cool old wall and fresco paintings that they are trying to restore, and a lot of really old tombs inside.  The Rock of Cashel looks directly down on Hore Abbey that we visited yesterday.  The yellow building below was our hotel.  In the third picture, Sara is standing with St. Patrick's Cross.

After walking back down to the hotel, we hit the road, pointed south with no real plan other than to see some Ireland today.  Our first stop was the Town of Dungarvan on the ocean.  Did a little shopping, saw an old Norman castle and ate a quick lunch.  

Next stop along the coast was the Town of Ardmore.  This was a small artisan/craft type town, but almost everything was closed.  That was good news - so we hit the beach.

Back in the car, we thought that we'd continue about an hour down the coast to the Town of Cobh.  This large town has quite a history, notably it was the final Port of Call for the Titanic.  There is a big Titanic Museum here.  It was also very close to where a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the passenger liner Lusitania in 1915.  Almost 1200 people died.  Those that were saved (and the bodies that were recovered), were all brought to Cobh.  Sara photographed the Memorial to the Lusitania passengers below.

  

As the day was getting short, Sara made the executive decision to hit one more castle on the way to our hotel.  We found the coolest looking complete castle I have ever seen (from the outside), but it closed just as we arrived.  It is called Cahir Castle.  Maybe one day we'll see the inside?

We got to have a little photo fun today too.  It was kind of hard to smile or be silly in France.  I was thinking of maybe moon-lighting as a happy-go-lucky leprechaun for children's parties?

Things that we learned today.

1.  Stay to the left.

2.  There are no straight roads in Ireland, but on every curve there is a pub.

3.  Other than pubs, it seems that most restaurants close here at 6:00pm.  We are becoming masters at scrounging for food.

4.  As we watched the waves break on the rocks and the surf come into shore, Sara and I agreed - The ocean is a beautiful spectacle to watch from solid ground.

5.  Anyone back home that complains about Red Deer's new traffic circles needs to come here.  Try the 4 lane double traffic circle (figure 8) or the 4 lane triple traffic circle (snowman).  Im like Mario Andretti in these things now - just minding my business in the left lane.

C.K.

Day 7. October 2, 2016

This morning started off like I finished yesterdays post.  Thinking of Lee's Dad, and my affinity with endless canola fields, the smell of hay, and solid dusty ground under my feet.

The ferry ride was actually relatively smooth after 0700hours, so we slept in until 1030 or so.  We weren't too hungry for breakfast, but the coffee was good.  At about 1:30 we could start to see the Irish coastline and enjoyed watching it from outside.  This may shock some readers - but Ireland is green.  With even more green behind that.  It was really very beautiful.

As we made our way through Customs, there were three Irish residents, Sara and myself, and two really sketchy guys on our little bus.  Full marks to the Customs agent - the two sketchy guys were unloaded from the bus with haste.  Awesome!  Car rental was smooth.  Nice automatic this time as I don't want to have to shift with my left hand while trying to navigate the wrong side of the road.  

As we drove through Ireland on our way to the Rock of Cashel, we both noticed how much it was like home here.  Unlike France, most of the larger roads have shoulders, the speed limits are reasonable, and the houses are more open.  (It seems most of the residences we saw in France were brick facade, or shuttered windows - very cold).  In Ireland - houses have windows.  We saw some sheep, and lots of dairy cows.  I didn't find the driving on the left side of the road to be too stressful today, and hope that doesn't change.  Sara is a great navigator, though sometimes I think she is jealous and fights with the GPS lady for my attention.  Sara did take a photo for me as I screamed in excitement passing the Magners Cider factory.  (Brewery?  Distillery?)  I knew at this point that my stomach was better,

Tomorrow we plan to visit the Rock of Cashel and I can explain it then.  Tonight, at the base of this hill, we visited the remains of Hore Abbey.  I don't know too much about them, but they date back to 1266 which is really neat.  These old building always seem to have a magic when you are in them, and this Abbey was the same.

Thats about all for today.  Pretty laid back.  Kind of nice actually.

Things that we learned today.

1.  Like in Scotland, I still try to get into the wrong side of the car.

2.  The U14AA Sting tied their first game of the year.  Awesome!

3.  Everyone here speaks English, and that is so nice.

4.  I'm losing my edge.  Sara has been right in 90% of our arguments on this trip.  I need my mojo back.

5.  As Sara has discovered, SnapChat, FaceTime and Emojis go through data pretty fast.  She might have to kick it old school and just text her Mom and sisters.  Hopefully we survive.

Day 6. October 1, 2016

Sorry for the late post.  No connection on the ferry.........

Day 6 started off with a short visit to Great Grandpa Kelly to say good by.  It was a nice sunny morning and a perfect way to start the day.  As we were leaving,  I did photograph one more headstone with a story.  Sadly, this soldier died and was buried in Le Havre, France two months after the end of the war.  It seems tragic that he didn't make it back, one way or the other.

We then hit the road as we needed to get to Cherbourg later that afternoon, and I really wanted to see Juno Beach first.  As everyone likely knows, D-Day (Operation Overlord) took place in Normandy, France on June 6, 1944.  There were 5 different beach heads, with the British taking Sword and Gold Beaches, the Canadians taking Juno Beach and the Americans taking Omaha and Utah Beaches.  We thought that it would be a shame to drive by Juno Beach without stopping - so we did.  We have no personal attachment to this battle, but wanted to see where it happened, and honour those who fought in it.  We took several pictures along the beach and at "Canada House".  We also took a picture of an old German bunker on the beach.  Now THAT was some concrete work!  I was initially disappointed that there was no Juno Beach Centre, similar to what we saw at Vimy.  It turns out that such a facility does exist - we just missed it.  Nuts!

After leaving Juno beach, we were back on the road to Cherbourg.  Taking the back roads, it was like driving the movie set for Saving Private Ryan.  As I explained the battle to Sara, we thought - what the hell - lets visit Omaha Beach too.  We got a little turned around, and then surprisingly amongst a whole lot of farmland in every direction - we saw a Canadian flag.  We thought it would be a plaque, or small Memorial.  Boy were we wrong.  It turns out that we stumbled across the Beny-Sur-Mer Canadian Cemetery.  The WWI cemeteries that we had visited this week were always a mixture of allied countries, but this WWII cemetery was almost exclusively Canadian.   We saw row upon painful row of Canadian kids.  Over 2000 Canadian headstones.  Poor Sara finally broke down after a long week.  Too much sacrifice and sadness for one holiday I think.  Certainly for Sara and myself, Remembrance Day will never be the same.  Sara took the panoramic picture below.

 

We spent a little time at Omaha beach, which rightfully had a strong American presence.  Leaving, we saw a sign for the "Operation Overlord Museum".  I was not quite sure what to expect, but had hoped that it would truly represent the contributions of the French, Americans, British and Canadians.  It did not disappoint.  It was an amazing museum that actually spoke to the efforts and accomplishments of all of the participants that day (including the Germans) in a way that spared us the one-sided propaganda often seen at these places.  I would recommend this museum to anyone that ever visits the Normandy area.

Once we got to Cherbourg, we said goodbye to Andre and marched off to the ferry terminal for our 17 hour voyage to Ireland.  Though we loved France, and will never forget what we saw and learned, it has not been relaxing.  It has been a very emotional and sombre week.  Now we were looking ahead to a five day vacation in Ireland!  We loaded the ferry with a large group of high school students from Australia.  A boys rugby team and a girls field hockey team.  85 people.  I just stood back and smiled.  As Sara and I easily navigated the customs area, I tried to identify the pain-in-the-a** parent chaperone  that is on every trip.  The female field hockey goalie was WAAAAAY to easy to pick out.

The ferry trip started off great.  A huge boat (not as big as our Finland Ferry), but big enough with six restaurants, two movie theatres and a shop.  I should have clued in when I noticed that every cabin and every public common area had barf-bags in shelving on the walls.  Holy crap did we get tossed around in a storm off the southern tip of Wales.  I'll readily admit that it is a matter of perspective, and I'm a prairie boy - but this was 100 times more than anything I'd experienced on the Baltic.  This huge ship would ride a wave and go crashing down to meet the next one.  I wasn't worried that we'd survive, that was fine  - I was however worried if I'd ever want to eat again.  After about 0700hrs, the room was just rocking gently.  I like that better.  Sara put it best this morning when she said, "I'd rather be on a gravel road going anywhere than a ship going somewhere".  Amen!  One final thought on the voyage.  Between 0500 and 0600, all that I could think about was Lee Caine's father who, also being a prairie boy, enlisted in the Canadian Navy and served in the North Atlantic during WWII.  We are definitely having a rum for him when I return (after my stomach settles).

Things that I learned today.

1.  The French are very nice people.  They are portrayed as, and I was expecting, rudeness.  We did not meet a single rude person.  They were all very friendly, and helpful.  

2.  Gravol is for wimps.  Sara and I now own bracelets.  Styling......

3.  So a drunk Irishman walks up to the bar and wants to fight the French waitress....  Sara is seeing and learning lots this week.  (I think he is still in the Cherbourg drunk tank and probably not enjoying life).

4.  As exhausting as this past week has been for us, I'd encourage everyone to visit France and the Canadian WWI and WWII sites.  We missed many (Ypres, Passchendaele, Dieppe, etc) but certainly have a whole new perspective.

5.  Australian high school boys are just as geeky and dorky as Canadian boys.  OK - worse.