NORTHERN IRELAND: DERRY/LONDONDERRY, PART I (CITY WALLS, ST. COLUMB'S CATHEDRAL, AND MORE)

 July 9, 2024

We drove from Drumcliffe Church outside of Sligo to Londonderry/Derry, Northern Ireland, actually part of the United Kingdom and therefore a different country than the Republic of Ireland. Brits call the city Londonderry and Irish Republicans call it Derry. From here on out, I will refer to it as Derry for ease of typing.

There was no indication that we had left Ireland and entered Northern Ireland--no signs that said  "Leaving the Republic of Ireland" or "Welcome to the United Kingdom" or even "Change your euros to pounds here." We made it into Derry and parked the car near an interesting series of photos on the city walls near the Heritage Tower. 

"The Wall Museum Project" presents the words of local women who endured "The Troubles," a 30-year period of religious and nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland in the 1960s through 1990s. It's worth your time to click on the picture below and read the background of these photos as well as the thoughts of the women who lived through them.

Then take the time to read the childhood memories of the survivors. I can't imagine growing up in this environment.

IRELAND, DAY 3: MINARD CASTLE, THE DINGLE PENINSULA, AND SLEA HEAD DRIVE

 July 6, 2024

Our plan had been to start the day at Blarney Castle, but when we tried to get tickets online, they were sold out. That's okay--we didn't feel a great need to kiss the Blarney Stone and taking one thing off the schedule made for a more relaxed day.

We left the B&B at about 9:30 or 10:00 and headed west towards the Dingle Peninsula.

Our first stop on the Dingle Peninsula was Minard Castle.

To get there from the main road, we drove down a very narrow single-lane road. Every now and then there was a turnout so two cars could pass, but in most spots even our tiny car seemed to hug both sides of the road, and if two cars meet in an area like this, they both have to pull over into the weeds in order to pass.

Eventually, we came upon a windswept hill crowned by a lonely mid-16th century monolithic three-story ruin . . .

. . . that looks over a desolate bay of the cold Irish Sea.

TEXAS, SAN ANGELO: PAINTBRUSH ALLEY, SHEEP, AND WATERLILIES

 March 22, 2021

San Angelo turned out to be a pretty big surprise--in a good way. It turned out to be a place I think we just touched the surface of, a place it would be fun to return to. There were many things that were closed because of Covid that I would like to see, and there were some great places we didn't know about before we just stumbled on them. One of those amazing, unanticipated finds was Paintbrush Alleyway.

This second sign has a hilarious nod to Bob Ross (star of the TV show The Art of Painting) in the middle section.

The alley is part of San Angelo's "Art in Uncommon Places" initiative that we had seen the fruits of in other places. The sign says it is themed after the 1956 movie Giant, but there were a lot of other "themed" murals before we got to Giant.

So here are some of the other murals. One of my favorites is this peacock that welcomes visitors.