As Remembrance Day approaches, I am looking back through my blog memories of our week touring War Memorials in Belgium and France. The article below is a culmination of that very emotional week:

Ever since I was a kid, November 11 was a day off school, a day off work and watching the laying of wreaths in Ottawa on TV. Though I realized the significance of the day and memorized all the words to “In Flanders Fields”, it did not really hit home until we took a week of our journey and travelled war memorial sites in Belgium and France. To say it was emotional would be an understatement. To actually see those “crosses, row on row” in field after field gave us a new perspective and respect for the men and women that gave up their lives for the very freedoms that we still enjoy today. 

We rented a car in Lille, France and headed into Belgium where we made our way to Hill 62 and Sanctuary Wood (a memorial commemorating the actions of the Canadian Corps in defending the southern stretches of the Ypres Salient between April and August 1916), Tyne Cot Cemetery (the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world), Passchendaele (where Canadian soldiers fought in the mud for months to regain the town), St. Julien and the Brooding Soldier, Essex Farm Cemetery (where Canadian John McCrae wrote the poem “In Flanders Fields”) and then on to Ypres where we finished off the day.  Every day since 1927 and the opening of the Menin Memorial Gate into Ypres, a moving tribute to all the fallen soldiers is given at 8 PM. Every day the road is closed and people gather from all around the world to pay their respects and listen as the haunting sound of “The Last Post” is played. Every day people weep for family members that they never knew and every day we are blessed that these people made the sacrifices that they did.

On our way through France we stopped at many cemeteries and memorials including the beaches of Dunkirk and Calais, both very important battlegrounds during the Second World War. The magnificent memorials at Vimy Ridge and Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland pay homage to the tens of thousands of Canadians that died during WW1. We wandered among the trenches and bunkers, trying to imagine what the days and nights were like for these young men. Of course, we can never know but as we stood on the ridge and felt the chilly wind tug at our jackets, we knew that every day was a struggle.  

Very humbled and emotional, we made our final stop at Juno Beach. We walked along the boardwalk and crossed over the dunes to the beach. There are a number of storyboards along the way telling the story of the first offensive of the Allieds on this day of days. Buried in the sand is a German bunker and we realized just how close the enemy really was to the beach. Even though many young men perished that day, it is amazing to me that any of them actually made it up out of the water onto the beach without being completely slaughtered. Their courage is amazing!! 

Situated immediately behind the beach is the Juno Beach Centre. This museum, established in 2003, gives a history of Canada before the Second World War, our contributions during the war – both in Europe and at home, our current role as peacekeepers around the world and finishes off with a very moving twelve minute film of the landing and subsequent fighting on D-Day and the days that followed. It is emotional at times, very well organized and always informative. It was a perfect way to finish up our tour of the Canadian Memorials and we would recommend it to anyone. 

As we left Normandy forever changed by our last few days, we vowed that we would take Remembrance Day much more seriously when we got home. This year our plan is to attend an outdoor service in Winnipeg and truly remember those young men and women that gave their lives for this great country. Because without them, and the ones that continue to represent us around the world, we would not be enjoying the freedoms that we do. 

Lest We Forget.

 

As we travelled the world we met some wonderful people. The dialogue was usually the same: Them: “We’ve always wanted to come to Canada” Us: “Well, now you can come and stay with us!” “We’ll show you around”. The thing is – what would we show them? What does little, old Manitoba have to offer the people from countries that have castles, pyramids, mountains, cathedrals and temples? As it turns out, we have so much to see! Because we look at it every day, it does not seem so special to us. But, look at it from a tourists’ eyes and the views are spectacular!!

Take Birds Hill Park, for instance. This park has been our temporary home for the last couple of months. We walk the trails and ride our bikes without really seeing. However, as my dog loped in and out of the swaying grasses, I took off my jaded glasses and put on my traveller ones. What a fantastic place! The trees are teeming with bird calls as the wind whispers secrets across the plains. The flowers are exploding in colors of yellow, purple and orange. The wide open spaces and the huge, blue sky envelope the landscape.  As we walk out of the bush, through the campground, we hear sounds of people starting their day, smell the campfires and the coffee, and silently nod and wave to others taking their morning stroll. There are many kilometers of paved bike, horseback and hiking trails, a recently expanded beach, the campground, of course as well as many day use areas. It is home to the world famous Winnipeg Folk Festival in July. During this four day festival, the park explodes with campers and music lovers. This delightful oasis is just a few kilometers from Winnipeg and is only one of many that dot the Manitoba prairie. 

My hometown of Russell has always been just that – my hometown. Nothing spectacular at all. However, with my new glasses, I start to see past the humdrum. The bright yellow canola fields, and the soon to be harvested wheat and barley fields all waving in the distance. The trees along the roadways loaded with Saskatoon berries, soon to be picked and made into pie or frozen for a delightful treat during the long winter. The green hills rising above the Assiniboine River as it snakes its way through the valley. The absolutely amazing hiking and biking Trans Canada Trail that runs through Russell and beyond, joining small towns like its predecessor, The Great Canadian Railway. 

From Russell, my Mom and I drive a few miles north of Roblin to take part in the Keystone Pioneer Museum Show Day. My family has been involved with the KPM for many years and in fact own one of the many buildings on this 10 acre lot. The Museum embraces all things pioneer from antique tractors and farm equipment, to a general store and a one room school house display. Our family has one of the oldest (and largest) tractors on display – A 1916 Minneapolis Moline – bought by my grandfather many years ago. Most of the tractors still run and later in the afternoon, after threshing displays, kiddie rides in the old school van and wood sawing demonstrations, there is a tractor parade where everyone shows off their oldest machine. It is a cacophony of sound that vibrates across the grounds and spectators place their lawn chairs at the optimum spots while the rest of us that have been recruited to drive make a couple of circles around the buildings, each of us hoping that we actually remember the quick instructions of brake, clutch and gear. The museum is open during the summer on Monday to Thursday 1 – 5 PM. It’s well worth the trip. 

On your way to Roblin, don’t forget to stop and check out the Inglis Grain Elevators. These five wooden prairie giants will take you back to the golden years of the Canadian Grain Trade. They are open for self guided tours everyday from noon until 6 from May to September. 

The Asessippi Ski Resort Area and Resort is the largest ski area in Manitoba. For the past 20 years, it has been developed into a first class resort. Not only are the hills covered with skiers, snowboarders and tubers in the winter, it is now the home of a number of cross country bike trails for the summer months. There is always an adventure at the Ski Hill – just ask Jon Montgomery or Mark McMorris!

Back in Winnipeg, I also begin to see a city that is teeming with history and culture. Though I travelled here everyday for work for almost 40 years, it was always just a city. A place to see a movie, go to Costco, Walmart and the mall and complain about the traffic. Though I still complain about the traffic, I now see a city with the St. Boniface Cathedral and the legend of Louis Riel, the world renown Human Rights Museum, Assiniboine Park – home to the Winnipeg Zoo, the polar bear exhibit, the famous Botanical Gardens and Ballet in the Park, Folklorama and the Fringe Festival, the trendy Forks and Corydon Avenue, sports home to the Jets, the Bombers and the Goldeyes. So much to see and do in the Peg.

Every year we head to Spruce Woods Provincial Park on the August Long Weekend to ride our horses and reconnect with friends. Though we no longer have horses, I am still lucky enough to have friends that are willing to let me take a spin on one of theirs for a day or two. A few leisurely hours spent riding through the hills, having lunch along the trail with an evening of sing song in front of a campfire to finish the day is definitely one of my favorite things. 

Camping, swimming and boating on any one of 100,000 lakes along with weekend festivals and rodeos can keep any person busy for the entire summer. An evening on our friend’s pontoon boat, cruising the Winnipeg and Bear Rivers, rounds out an already perfect weekend spent in Pine Falls with friends and family. There really is no shortage of things to do in this beautiful province of Manitoba. So, for all our new friends from around the globe – Come on over!! We have lots to show you!!

Trans Canada Trail at Russell

Keystone Pioneer Museum – Roblin

St. Boniface Cathedral – Winnipeg

Louis Riel Memorial – Winnipeg

Hogsback at Spruce Woods Provincial Park

How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on when in your heart you begin to understand that there is no going back?” Though I would like to take credit for these words, they are not mine. They belong to the Hobbit Frodo, who, after returning home after a most amazing adventure, realizes that his life will never be the same. Though we did not battle Orks, nor conquer Mount Doom or even come close to Mordor, we do understand his lament. We have come home to the most wonderful family but do not have a home or jobs. We have looked at condos, houses and mobile homes. We have considered ownership and rental. We have signed up on Linkedin and Indeed and sent out our resumes. We are doing all the things that need to be done.
Yet, we feel that there is a bigger picture that at the moment is just out of our reach. Surely this past year cannot be just be about a vacation. It has to mean something. Perhaps it is the first year of the the rest of our lives. Searching, always searching….
We have always been taught that the key to success is goal setting. My goals are to continue writing daily and to spend more time with my Mom. I have had a couple of pieces published in the local Russell and Pine Falls papers. I continue to submit articles to local papers and contact others. Some are quite interested, others, not so much. Unfortunately, none of them pay (though I might get a free meal or two from my Mom!!) Are these goals too small? The big goal is to write a book and make a million dollars. Is that goal too big? Or is it just a dream? I think that I read once that goals are dreams with a timeline. So, I set a timeline. Stay focused. In the meantime, winter is coming and we need a home.
Isn’t it funny how you can travel for a year, being vagabonds, moving from place to place, yet once back in a familiar setting the need for permanent roots becomes so strong. We search for a firm footing, a place to call our own even as the ground beneath us continues to shift. We must move forward. We must keep living. We must keep dreaming. We must. There is no going back.

Our Home

My Office.

As we travelled across the wide open prairies from Alberta to Manitoba, we couldn’t help but comment on how large the space is compared to the countries in which we had just travelled. We are so spoiled here in North America with the amount of space that we have that we have become lazy with our resources and our stewardship of the environment. In all the countries that we visited, laundry is hung, not thrown into a dryer, public transport is used rather than individual vehicles, and recycling is a big part of the garbage program in Europe of which we have only just begun to establish. We have made ourselves a vow to live simpler and more conscientiously. That should be pretty easy when you are living out of a 400 square foot motorhome!!

We decided to drive straight through and arrived at the Russell Peace Park at 1:30 AM so thought that it might be a little late to call in on my Mom. After a few hours sleep, we walked over to my mom’s and as she wasn’t expecting us until later in the day, she was almost speechless. It was a wonderful reunion and we spent a couple of hours hugging and talking before it was time for her to head to church.

We spent the next couple of days with my family but got some tragic news on Tuesday evening. Richard’s Dad passed away at 5:30 PM after spending a satisfying day planting his garden. It was quick and sudden and though a blessing for him, it left the rest of us reeling in shock. We said hurried goodbyes to my family and early Wednesday morning headed down to Pine Falls to be with Richard’s Mom and siblings. We grieve that we were unable to see him before his passing and share some of our stories with him. He loved life and whenever Richard spoke to him during our journey, he was interested in the history of the area and the things that we were doing. His sense of humor was always present and we are quite sure that he and St. Peter are sharing a chuckle as Bertie says “Have you heard the one about….?” We will miss him immensely!!

We have parked our camper at Robin and Garrett’s and though we’ve been here less than 24 hours, we have already fallen head over heels in love with Scottie, born last September. It has only been a year since we left but it is unbelievable how much the other two girls have grown. Allison is a young lady now at the age of five, graduating from Pre-K at the local French school and Landyn is talking non-stop with questions about absolutely everything. So much fun!!  Though I was lucky enough to see Luke for a few minutes yesterday as well, we will hopefully be able to see more of Logan and Luke today or tomorrow, the last of our grandchildren to see.  Looking forward to it.

The next few days will be busy with funeral arrangements, family visits and catching up with everyone. Though the circumstances are not how we had planned or hoped, we are glad to be home with our family.

 

Our journey from Dublin to Edmonton was uneventful but very long. By the time our head hit the pillow in our motorhome in Hinton, we had been going for about 27 hours. I had about an hour sleep on the plane but other than that, not much else. Unfortunately, our bodies were still on Ireland time so we only managed a couple of hours sleep before they felt we should be up and going again. After three days we are now getting our internal clock back into a proper sleeping routine and managed about 6 hours last night.

Blair met us at the airport in Edmonton and we drove straight back to Hinton – at least a six hour round trip for him. He dropped us off at Hilary and Dane’s and we spent an hour or so visiting before the two hour sleep fiasco. Norah had waited up for us and the hug she gave me was what I had been missing all these many months. It was exquisite – so full of love and innocent abandon. To be hugged by a child is divine. We met our new granddaughter Indiana, now seven weeks. She is, of course, perfect. She is sleeping, eating and pooping like most that age but she is also cooing, smiling, and laughing at her own little personal jokes. I am sure she wonders who these two grey haired folks are that keep zooming into her focus!!

The boys went golfing on Saturday and the girls spent the day talking, catching up and watching the baby sleep. I borrowed Hilary’s jeep and Norah and I went grocery shopping and got a treat at Dairy Queen – just normal stuff. However, it is still part of the adventure for me – driving a car on the right hand side of the road, not having to convert currency at the grocery store, holding hands with my grandaughter as she chatters us around the store with all the wisdom of the world from a 7 year old’s perspective. The best line of course being, “Wait, how are you going to pay for all these groceries? You don’t have a job!” Ahhh, from the mouths of babes.  

The Hinton family all got together at Blair’s for a barbq that night. The grandboys were not quite as enthusiastic to see us but nevertheless, we got our hugs and squirmy kisses before they all rushed to play on the trampoline. As we sat in Blair’s back yard, enjoying the evening sunshine and the fantastic food and company, I couldn’t help but think that this is really the destination. Family is the ultimate goal. What do we spend our life striving for if it is not to be with the ones you love at the end of the day? No matter where we travelled this theme resonated everywhere – parents with their children, couples holding hands, grandparents and grandchildren. Love is all around us.

Though we are happy to be home and are enjoying spending this time with family, we are missing our free and easy travel lifestyle. As we sadly unpacked our backpacks, we reflected on how we managed to live in four shirts and two pairs of pants for 10 months. Our camper is full of clothes and yet we still only want to wear these clothes that were a part of our great adventure. Will this feeling pass? Will we ever feel comfortable living a routine? Are we square pegs trying to fit in round holes? Where will we live? What will we do? Can we leave the family again? So many questions and so many possibilities.  

We have literally travelled around the world. As you read this post we are crossing the Atlantic from Dublin and will land in Halifax. We left Vancouver 10 months ago heading south and then west across the Pacific. Our original departure and final arrival is Edmonton. Yes, a true circumnavigation.

During the last 11 months (we actually left our home in Russell, Manitoba on July 2 and lived in our camper for five weeks in and around Hinton, Alberta), we have travelled by planes, trains and automobiles, caravans, buses, and boats through 30 countries. We have ziplined in New Zealand, hiked Table Mountain in Capetown, South Africa, safaried in Tanzania, witnessed life and death on the Ganges River in India, rode a camel around the great Pyramids of Egypt, cruised down the Nile, spent Christmas Eve in Bethlehem and walked in Jesus’ footsteps in Galilee and Jerusalem, explored the ancient history of Athens, Rome and Pompeii, witnessed the horror of the Holocaust at the sites of Dachau and Auschwitz, empathized with the citizens that for years lived behind the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall, wandered across the Belgian and French countryside remembering the sacrifices that Canadians made for our country and the world, and followed our history through the streets and roadways of Great Britain and Ireland. We are having trouble processing it all and as I write this last travel post (oh, don’t worry folks, you haven’t heard the last of me yet!!), I am overwhelmed by the things that we have seen and done. And we have barely scratched the surface of this great, big world.

An adventure like this would not even be possible without the support of our family and friends. Our parents, our siblings, our children and grandchildren gave up a year of life with us so that we could follow this amazing dream. And along the way we have met so many people that have touched our lives, from all our amazing Air BNB hosts, to the Intrepid and Expat tour companies in India and Egypt, the customer service personnel in airports and train stations that helped us untangle the sometimes complicated web of arrivals, departures and bag collection, and of course, the stranger on the street who, seeing our lost expressions, came to our aid with directions and helpful hints. And though many of these names will mean little to you, our readers, they have meant a great deal to us and I would be remiss not to give them special mention in our blog. Richard’s sister Louise and brother-in-law Rick Welwood opened their home to us for the first leg of our journey in Hawaii. They lost a whole week’s revenue from their BNB suite just to put us up. Thanks guys – we appreciate it! Our first point of contact in Australia, my cousin Norman and his very generous friends Sasha and Ruth, who opened their home with open arms to a couple of strangers – thank you for feeding us, teaching us the ways of great coffee making and how to eat Vegemite and showing us the sights of Sydney and beyond. Our Air BNB hosts Liz in Te Anau and Su in Rotorua, New Zealand – you are such beautiful people and we are so glad that we got to spend some time learning about your families and your lives. Thank you for your generosity of time. Darryl and Shirley, Elina and Ephata and the rest of the team at Dashir Lodge in Tanzania – you have something so special here. We left you feeling refreshed, revitalized and strong in spirit. May the Lord continue to bless you. All the folks that we met through the tour groups in India and Egypt. It is so amazing to meet people from all corners of the world who love to explore culture and history like us. Thank you for becoming our friends and may you continue to travel the world over. To my long lost cousin Glenys and her husband Ron in England – what a joy to meet you and I am so pleased that you continued your search into the Wileman family and tracked us down. Our encounter has only triggered my imagination and determination to find more of our family members around the globe. The Joneses – cousins and lifelong friends of my parents – may we carry on the friendship through the next generations as well. The young man on a tour bus in Belfast who mentioned that he was touring with the King and I performing in Dublin and when we expressed interest, offered to get us tickets. Thanks JP. It was a great show!! And after a chance meeting in a swimming pool at a small resort in Zanzibar, striking up a conversation, asking their advice on where to visit in the Emirates, Lionel, Martina, Elena and Cedric opened their home to us for an incredible week in Muscat, Oman. We were practically strangers when we arrived with our backpacks at their door. We expected only a few hours of their time, some helpful hints to explore the area and a shared meal or two. Instead we received their full generosity of room and board, a tour of the city, many meals together and an opportunity to witness a cohesive, family unit navigate a very different world from ours. We will be forever grateful for your kindness and friendship. We look forward to reciprocating when you come to Canada! Without all these people touching our lives, our journey would have been mediocre at best. Thank you all.

And thank you, dear readers, for your comments, suggestions, and support. Because we knew that you were waiting for the next adventure, we continued to write and post even though some days we did not feel like it. As a result, we have a wonderful record of our travels. After logging over 52,834 miles by air, 6,338 miles by rail, 7,714 miles by car and 2,300 miles on foot, we can honestly say “What a Wonderful World”

Well, obviously, not THE last supper but rather the last supper of our most excellent adventure. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we met a young man who was playing in The King and I here in Dublin. He reserved tickets for us at the box office and we went down to see it this afternoon. Our seats were great and the musical was fantastic!! We enjoyed it immensely.

Because the show is about the King of Siam (now Thailand), we thought that it would be fitting to have our last supper at a Thai restaurant. As we chatted over our last meal, we shook our head in disbelief that we are now done our “trip of a lifetime”. When we got back to the BNB, I had an email from my cousin Glenys in England. She  mentioned that she and Ron have been catching up on the blog and are amazed at all the places that we have visited. She closed her email by saying “You never know, there may be ‘Excellent Adventure 2’ “.   She may just be on to something there…..

Our last official photo of Richard & Colleen’s Excellent Adventure.

Thank you Col for not thinking I was completely crazy when two or three years ago I said, “Hey, why don’t we quit our jobs, sell the house and travel the world.”  You have been the best travel companion I could have hoped for.  Thank you for putting up with me and being my rock.

We did it……..

Being the history buffs that we are, we have thoroughly enjoyed travelling through Great Britain and reliving much of the history that we learned in school and or in adulthood, either from movies or books. Where we seemed to be lacking knowledge was in the history of Ireland. We decided it was time to set this right and made a date at the GPO – the General Post Office and the headquarters for the Easter Rising and Rebellion in 1916. In a nutshell, tired of British oppression and the inequality of the classes,  the rebellion was launched by Irish republicans to end British rule in Ireland and establish an independent Irish Republic while the United Kingdom was heavily engaged in the First World War. Though they appeared successful for the first day or two, by the end of Easter week, the rebellion had been suppressed and the leaders were captured and consequently executed. Over the next several years, British and Irish and then Irish and Irish were at odds resulting in the division between Northern Ireland (Loyalists) and Ireland (Republicans). Over the years, as we know, there has been infighting and squabbles between the two countries. Though peace has been tentatively achieved at this point, one Irish fellow from Dublin that we talked to a few months back in France was concerned that Brexit and the establishment of a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland may again cause some conflict between the two nations. Let’s hope that he is not correct and that this beautiful island can continue to live in peace.

After the museum, we stopped for a drink at the local pub while waiting for the doors to open at the Arlington Hotel for our evening of dinner and celtic music and dance. We were not disappointed and the videos that Richard is sharing will tell more of a story than I ever could. Enjoy!! We certainly did!!

The Celtic Experience.  A great meal and traditional Irish music and dance.  Personally, I love this music and dance and it was a real thrill for me to take part in it.  Loved it.

We arrived at our BNB on Monday evening in the pouring rain. Amazingly enough, it was the first time in almost 11 months that we arrived at a destination soaking wet. We managed to meet our host and get inside. Once we dried off and settled in we had a very nice chat with our hosts. Coincidentally they both work for Air BNB which is located in Dublin and is the app that we use to find all of our travel homes. How interesting. They gave us some ideas to keep us entertained for the next couple of days and we finally headed off to bed.

This morning we hopped the bus towards downtown with our first stop being at Trinity College where Richard went to see the Book of Kells. This is a library that houses many old manuscripts, the most famous being the gospels. These date back to 800 AD. He will have to give you more details on that. From the college we tracked down the statue of Molly Malone. Though she was not a real person, she has become famous as the subject of the very popular Irish folk song “Sweet Molly Malone”. It tells the story of young Molly who is a fishmonger and peddles her wares up and down the street. Unfortunately, life is not kind to Molly and she dies of a fever. Why this song became so popular, I really do not know. Regardless, we joined the rest of the folks lined up to see her and took our turn taking her picture. Ah, sweet Molly Malone.

After lunch, we stopped at St. Patrick’s Cathedral founded in 1191. It is the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland and with its 43-metre spire, St. Patrick’s is the tallest  and the largest church in Ireland. Just down the street from St. Patrick’s is Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin’s oldest building and spiritual heart of the city. It was founded in 1030. Both churches are spectacular and well worth a visit.

Our next stop was Dublin Castle – which doesn’t really look like a castle at all! It is a major Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. Until 1922 it was the seat of the British government’s administration in Ireland. It was a key target during the Easter Rising of 1916, which marked the first step towards the end of British rule in Ireland. We decided not to tour this “castle” and moved on to Temple Bar.

Now, Temple Bar is actually a busy riverside neighbourhood, spread over cobbled pedestrian lanes. It is home to many pubs, restaurants and quirky shops. We had heard that a visit to Dublin would not be complete without stopping into the Temple Bar Pub. So, that’s what we did. It was a Tuesday afternoon and the place was packed with people – most of them singing along with the musician on stage. It was incredible and it wasn’t long before we found ourselves singing along too. It was quite infectious. We ended up staying for an hour or so, just drinking in the whole atmosphere (as well as a couple of beers and a G&T).

Leaving Temple Bar, we crossed the Ha’penny Bridge. It is a pedestrian bridge built in May 1816 over the River Liffey and is officially called the Liffey Bridge. However, locals still call it the Ha’penny Bridge because when it was first built, a toll of a half penny (ha’penny) was charged to each pedestrian to cross. This toll continued to be collected for 100 years and in 1919 the turnstiles at each end of the bridge were removed.

By this time, it was late in the afternoon and we turned for home. We debated about taking the bus back but in the end decided to walk. It was a little longer than we thought but we grabbed a bite to eat along the way so it wasn’t so bad. We’re planning our day tomorrow which will include a Celtic Night Dinner and Show. Now that should be fun!!

The Book of Kells

The Book of Kells, one of great treasures of medieval Europe, is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing four Gospels of New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created by Celtic monks some time around 800 AD. It is a masterwork of Western calligraphy, employing decoration that is not only extraordinarily rich and colorful but also, in places, deeply enigmatic. It is widely regarded as Ireland’s finest national treasure.  A very interesting part of the display was a demonstration how books were made in the 9th century.

Trinity College Library

Molly Malone.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral and some of Ireland’s famous people buried there.

Temple Bar.

The Ha’penny Bridge.

From Col and I, a salute to our faithful blog followers.