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We decided to leave Ireland early. It is too expensive and we think we will be able to do more in England so we are going back there. So, after using the internet to change our flight we checked out of the hotel. Then we stored our bags in the hotel’s luggage room and spent the day in town. We rode the city bus to see Dublinia. Dublinia is in the old Synod Hall of Christ Church Cathedral. It is a multi-media exhibition that covers the medieval times from about 1170 to 1540. It is two stories of models and videos etc. of the development of Dublin. The first floor had a large model of Dublin. The whole exhibit was well done and took about three hours to tour.

Dublinia ends at Christ Church Cathedral. Both places require a ticket purchase but I would recommend starting at Dublinia. They gave us a discount on the cathedral ticket because we bought tickets for both places at once. I understand you do not get this same deal if you start at the cathedral. I found the cathedral to be very beautiful. We spent the rest of the day shopping and enjoying the downtown area.

We had to take a bus back out to the airport and they did not run all night or early enough the next morning. So we had to take a late evening bus for a flight the next day. We went to the hotel and retrieved our luggage and walked about two blocks to the bus station. Then we took a bus to the airport and arrived at 8 PM for an 8 AM flight. I was worried about the airport security letting us sleep there but it was no problem. McDonalds was open late and there was a coffee shop open all night. And there were LOTS of people spending the night in the airport. While many sat upstairs in the coffee shop we were trying to get chairs downstairs. People were stretched out on rows of chairs and some people were even in sleeping bags. I finally secured a row and the girls laid down with coats for blankets and got some sleep. I stayed awake all night but it was okay.

We started the day by eating at the hotel. It is included in the price of the room. It was very good and nicely put on. I had the best cup of tea I have had on the whole trip. The concierge at the hotel sold us tickets at a reduced rate for the Dublin city bus tour. We walked over to O’Connell Street to catch the tour bus. It is about eight blocks from the hotel. Taking Trista’s advice from other trips we decided to ride the bus for the whole tour and then decide what we wanted to get off to see. But by the Guinness Storehouse we decided to get off. This way the major place that Trista wanted to visit. The tour was pretty good. It showed all the steps of making the beer and explained it well. There were also displays and videos that told how the process originally started. Each adult received a pint at the end or children received a soft drink. Of course a gift shop was on the premises where we were able to buy a few souvenirs.

Our next stop was St. Patrick’s Cathedral. This was a beautiful church which has been in existence for over 800 years. St. Patricks is the National Cathedral of Ireland. They hold two sung services everyday except Saturday. We learned that over 300,000 visitors each year. Once again we rejoined the tour to complete the route.

One of the tourist guide books listed the post office as a “must see” . We didn’t really understand why we should see a post office but we went to check it out. First of all it was a huge, beautiful building. Then inside it was just as beautiful and we learned that many things go on in the post office. You could buy stamps, envelopes, and post cards. There was also a small office on the side that sold collectable stamps. Also people were there to pay bills such as municipal bills and to pick up their welfare checks. It was a really busy place.

We ate lunch at a small place off O’Connell Street on Henry Street. The food was okay but the place was really too small for eat in guests.

We went to join the tour again but found it was too late. How could we forget how early everything closes? We did not want to sit in our hotel rooms so we went to see a movie in the multi-plex on O’Connell Street.

I woke up at 4 AM. Trista and I had shared the nottom of a bunk bed. There was just not enough room for the two of us. The hostel was clean and we had our own bathroom but it was not going to work. It didn’t really matter-we only had a reservation for the one night. They did not have any larger spaces available for the three of us so we had to go in search of another hotel. We found a hotel around the corner that had a room for one night so we took it. It was very expensive but we had not been able to find anything else in Dublin.

It is packed with people here. The taxi drivers said it is always very very busy here. We went to Grafton Street. It is a major shopping area with no cars or busses allowed, only pedestrians. It was so crowded we were constantly being pushed and shoved. We were told it is one of the ten most expensive shopping areas in the world. I believed it.

We ate lunch at Captain America’s Cookhouse and Bar. It was very good food but expensive. Of course we had been trying to eat cheap to save money but this was high just like most things wer had seen in Dublin so far. Trista had noted that while living and traveling in Europe for the last few months that they did not have ranch dressing. It is such a common thing at home and she had missed it. Although Captain America’s advertised American food they did not have it either. Most people use a dressing called salad cream which seems to be mayonnaise based. Trista liked it but not as much as ranch. Looking around the restuarant one of the things I again noticed was people never use their fingers to eat. The french fries were not so different to watch eaten with a fork but it was interesting to watch people try to cut and eat thick hamburgers. We just picked ours up with our hands as we usually do. I am sure people had fun watching us uncouth Americans also.

At the end of Grafton Street is the Stephen Green mall. We spent several hours there and found it to be a beautiful shopping area. There were three stories of shops and restuarants. I think we looked in most of them; the girls love to shop. We didn’t buy much though because once again everything was so expensive.Everything in Europe seems to close early so we took a taxi back to the hotel.

The day started with us, once again, sleeping in. We were up late last night. Trista and I sat up until about 1 in the morning. We packed and checked out of the hotel but left our bags at the hotel in their luggage room. We scrounged but could not come up with the money for the bus into town. The cash machine was not working but they directed us to a cash machine by a little market a few blocks away. That machine was also out of service! At home you can buy something at a store and pay with a card and get change back. Not in Scotland; at least not at the market we were in. So we stood at an unused check out line and took all our money out of our pockets and purses and just came up with enough money to get the bus into town!

We finished out bus tour on our same tickets by visiting the Royal Yacht Brittania. I had not been that excited but it was really interesting. One thing of note; the only double bed on board was one Prince Charles brought when he married Princess Diana and they used the yacht for their honeymoon. All the rest, even the queens, were just singles. Sort of weird! Overall, the ship was very luxurious. It is now rented out for corporate dinners and such.

After the tour we searched(!) for a cash machine before returning to our hotel. Trista used the internet there to make us a reservation in Dublin and then informed me we should already be checking in at the airport! We took a taxi to the airport-made it. Then we flew to Dublin Ireland for the next stage of our trip. It was about one half hour bus ride into town and a short walk to our hostel. The hostel was nice and clean and we had our own room with our own bathroom. That was nice but we just did not have enough bed space and their was no couch or anything else to sleep on. We will have to look for somewhere else to stay.

First thing this morning we used the computer to try to book a room in Dublin. We had no luck. Either the rooms were to expensive , wouldn’t let three people stay in them, or were not available for the whole time.

Then we decided to eat breakfast at the hotel. It was a buffet but once we saw how awful it looked we decided to skip it. Sort of embarrasing leaving the dining room after we had taken a table and been directed to the buffet. We took the bus into town and ate at a small place called SNAX. It was located sort of in a back alley/street off Princes Street. We had a traditional scottish breakfast: egg, back hash brouwns, sausage, black pudding and tatlie scone. It also came with beans but no thank you! Black pudding is also called blood pudding and is just what it says; pigs blood cooked with a filler so it gels together. It was okay. I did not tell Chloe what it was until after she had eaten. She ate some of it but was disgusted after she learned what it was and said it made her feel yucky the rest of the day. Tattie scones are a potatoe scone and a variant on a gridle scone. A gridle scone is basically a scone cooked on a gridddle instead of being baked. Trista did not eat the black pudding but I did try it. I did not really care for it or their sausage.

We got on a different tour bus today. I find it interesting to listen to the different information we hear from different guides. We got off at the Edinburgh Castle today. The bus lets you off at the bottom of a hill in town and we walked up. First we had a guided tour outside which was very interesting and we hadn’t even entered yet. Then we toured inside. The self-guided tour took three hours. As you look over the walls of the castle you are on the top of a large hill and can see the whole town. It would have been a perfect place to defend.

On the way up the hill we had noticed a woolen textile mill and decided to stop in. They were in the process of making many different wool items, blankets, sweaters, shirts, etc. The place was set up to also be very educational and explained how the whole process worked. The store part sold the items they were making and they also shipped out items. We did not find it less expensive to buy Scottish woolens here at the source but perhaps that was because they are on the way to the castle and so many people pass by.

After finishing the bus tour we visited an open air market. It contained foods and crafts for sale. Of course, we managed to find our way back to Princes Street for some more shopping before riding the bus back to our hotel at the end of the day. We had pizza delivered for dinner.

We took the public bus into downtown Edinburgh today. After finally locating the correct place we bought tour tickets for the bus. The busses are the type you can get on and off of as often as you like. The tickets are good for 48 hours and also good for admission to Hollyrood Palace, Edinburgh Castle and the Brittania Yacht.

It seemed like a pretty good deal so we started the tour. It went all around the city with a guide telling us points of interest as we went. We got out at Hollyrood Palace. I enjoyed looking around the Palace. I have very much enjoyed the Royal’s living spaces we have seen. Of course there was a gift shop and we all bought a few gifts to take home. We could not visit the castle because it was SO windy it was closed. They were afraid someone would blow off the hill.

We ate at Jimmy Chung’s for lunch. It was a buffet and was quite good with reasonable prices. We then did some more looking in shops. I expecially enjoyed Jenners as I had never been in one before. We returned to our hotel fairly early. I think we are all tired and so feeling a little down. For probably the first time on this trip I went almost immediately to sleep.

We took the public bus into town today to do some shopping. That almost always puts Trista and Chloe into a good mood. It worked pretty well until Trista’s feet started hurting because of her new boots.

First the public bus is just around the corner from our hotel. Nice. But things didn’t start out so well. We had some trouble figuring out our coins for the bus and since the driver does not give change it had to be exact. The driver got impatient and was rude to us. Maybe she is fed up with tourists.

But we got off the bus on Prince’s street and spent most of the day going in and out of shops. All the shops are on one side of the street and on the other is a park. The castle is up above and can be seen from the whole town. When I first heard the name of the street I thought it was Princess street. However, the street is named after King George III sons. We ate at a KFC in Prince’s Mall. It was okay but KFC in Europe has no mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, corn, etc. It is chicken and fries. Weird.

We all bought some things either for ourselves or gifts for others. Then we took the bus back to our hotel when the shops were closing. We ate in the hotel bar. It was expensive but not as bad as some places.

We got a late start today. We used the rental car and I asked at the desk about using reverse. The clerk was able to come out and help me. How embarrassing! It just involved pulling up on a lever as you shift into reverse. Very simple if you know what to look for.

We spent a great part of the day looking for a place to park anywhere within walking distance of town. The city was so very busy. Much of the street is marked “Loading Only”. We finally found a spot to park but I am not sure it was actually public parking. It was only one hour parking with no “meter feeding” allowed.

Trista had spotted a Subway restaurant on one of our drives through this part of town and wanted to eat there. I think it was the missing home thing. She has been gone a long time. So we walked quite a ways to get there only to find it was only take away. We ended up walking back and eating in the car.

After walking around town for a while and seeing how the buses worked it was time to return the rental car. We got VERY lost. I thought I had been doing the wrong side of the road driving quite well but then I drove around cars waiting in the left lane and I ran a red light. We were almost hit by a small van. The signs were so different and the people drove so crazy. (In fairness, they probably thought I drove crazy too). I knew it was time to give up for now. I was glad to find my way to the airport, return the car and take a taxi back to the hotel.

We just ate in our room.

We ate at a cafe on our street. It advertised, on a board outside, an American breakfast of eggs and ham. That sounded good but were were really disappointed. The eggs were sunny side up and barely that. The ham was cold. The waiter and a Frenchman who appeared to be a regular made fun of us. Not a great start to the day!

But then we rode to Versailles on a double decker train. We had great views of the area. The walk was relatively short to the palace. It was all worth it! The palace and gardens were beautiful. The gardens went on for what I think were miles. We walked out as far as we could on that level but the view of the gardens went on forever.
The palace had an audio tour which was very helpful. One disappointment was the hall of mirrors. Chloe had especially been looking forward to seeing it but it was under construction and the mirrors were not all in place. After the self directed tour we had a guide to show us into the King’s private quarters. She spoke with an strong French accent so I had to pay attention. The palace, built by Louis XIV, was constructed around a chateau belonging to Louis XIII. It was transformed by additions in the French classical style.

After touring the palace we visited the town of Versailles. It a large city with just under 100,000 people. We found a shopping area and everyone found things to purchase. When we were returning to our hotel we were stopped from getting on our last connection on the Metro. Armed soldiers told us we could not get on but would not tell us why. They told people they would have to find alternate ways to get to their destinations. We would have to walk a LONG way. After procrastinating for quite a while we noticed people getting on the metro and after checking with the the soldiers we were allowed to get on. Yeah!

Friday we left Paris for Edinburgh, Scotland. We learned that we could save much money by traveling on Ryanair. However they do not fly out of the main airport, de Gaulle, in Paris. We traveled by Metro to Porte Maillot. There we caught a bus to Beavais Airport, which was about one a half hours away. It was very hard to travel with all our luggage on the Metro. Trista had the heaviest suitcase but she also took my backpack for much of the time.

The bus trip was uneventful. At the airport we ate a snack that was very overpriced. I had a moment of anxiety when I was checking in and was told I could not take a backpack and a purse as carry ons. However, they let me leave the backpack open and set my purse sort of in it. Makes no sense. As soon as I had checked in I just took the purse back off.

The plane was a boeing. There were three seats on each side of a narrow aisle. We had to pay for any snacks or drinks. We had the smallest Pepsi I had ever seen, 150ml I believe.

We had flown into Glasgow but were actually staying in Edinburgh. Upon arrival we picked up our Hertz rental car. We had reserved it from Paris on the internet. I believe Hertz cheated me. They did not give us the price I had been quoted but I could not make them change it and they were the only rental agency available to us. THEN the biggest shock of all; the steering wheel was on the wrong side of the car! The car was a manual six speed. Also, it was hard to remember to drive on the left side of the road. I made a wrong turn somewhere and ended up on a two lane road. It was very dark and we drove on curvy roads through many small communities. I also could not figure out how to get the car into reverse. A few times we had to push the car in the wind and rain! We did eventually arrive safely at the hotel. We ate at the hotel restaurant and it was very overpriced.

We have had a busy three days. We are seeing many cities in a very short amount of time. The weather has been nicer here than in London. Overall, though, I like England better than here. The people are friendlier and it is definitely easier to get around. But Monday was a good day. We were gone from the hotel about 12 hours and busy the whole time.

We ate breakfast in the hotel. We had a croissant and a baguette each. Also jelly and/or butter. That was accompanied by a bowl of fruit cocktail. And of course tea for me and hot chocolate for the girls. The tea was a very good breakfast tea and the girls said the hot chocolate was the best they have had since home.

We went to the Louvre. The Louvre is a former royal palace built by Francis I. There are so many galleries and because we wanted to see so much we probably rushed through. We really needed several days for the museum. But, not really understanding what we were getting into we bought passes and signed up for an English language tour. We had to pay extra for the guided tour but it was worth it. The tour wasn’t until 2:00 so we decided to go out of the museum and come back.

We visited an open air market that had dozens of stalls. We did not have time to look at everything but I bought some scarfs for a very reasonable price. It has been windy and the scarfs will be a big help.

Then we returned for the tour. We got mixed up on returning and entered at a different entrance! We almost missed the tour but rushed in at the last moment. The tour was really good but exhausting. So many stairs!! After the tour we ate in the museum and then looked around more. It was exciting to see so many famous pieces like the Venus de Milo. When we saw the Mona Lisa we were surprised. It is really quite small; just 21 x 31 inches. They were not allowing any pictures to be taken of it although we were allowed to take pictures everywhere else. I can only guess that is to protect it from the light of the flashes. Trista tried to take a picture and was caught by the guards. They tried to take her camera but she dropped it into her purse and they let her go after a lecture in front of everyone.

Shortly before closing time they announced that due to a security concern we should go immediately to the nearest exit and follow the instructions of the staff. We wondered if something was going on or was this normal for closing and hurrying people along. It must have been normal because when we reached the ground floor the gift shops were open and they let us stay and spend our money.

When we left we went in search of the address we had for an internet cafe to make reservations for our plane and hotel in Scotland. We made several changes on the Metro and walked many blocks only to find no cafe. We were exhausted! We ended up just eating at a hamburger joint which was not very good. My burger was VERY rare. We waste so much time because the street signs here don’t make any sense. We are lost a lot.

We were able to take the RER back to a connecting point with the Metro and got back to our hotel about 9:30 or so. I hated to do it but called my husband to see if he could make any reservations for us. He said he would give it a try. Yeah!

Tuesday found us all tired and a little down after our big day. We ate breakfast at the hotel. The price is included with the hotel and it is quite good. Then we just rested for a while. We learned my husband could not make the reservations after all.
Finally we asked at the desk for an internet connection location (an English speaking clerk today). It was right around the corner after all our searching the day before. We spent a couple hours there but in the end found great flights on Ryanair. We will have to take a bus to another place (about 1.5 hours drive) but we got two of our flights for only $.01. Yes, just one penny plus taxes and fees. Unbelievable. Now I know why Europeans travel around so much.

We tried to go to the Picasso Museum but it is closed on Tuesdays. That was not mentioned in the tourist information. We then went to the Musee Carnavalert. It was a museum all about the history of Paris. It was good and explained many things. However, it was dim in many places and we could not take pictures in several places .

We had to change rooms at the hotel this evening. They figured out there were three of us in our party. We had not tried to hide this and had always been together when we asked questions or directions at the desk. We also ate breakfast together at the hotel where I had to sign a paper which required me to list how many people were eating. Apparently three people cannot stay in a room with two beds. We have had enough room but did not mind the change. They moved us to the fifth floor but still in the front of the hotel and we now have a peek-a-boo view of the Eiffel Tower from our room. Nice.

At dinner the menu was all in French and Chloe just took her chances. She ordered “potage du jour”. Found out later it was “soup of the day”. She got a bowl of orange mush. Sweet potato or squash soup! She ate more than I would have.

Today we visited Notre Dame Cathedral. It is located on the Ile de la Cite, which is an island in the Seine. We waited for today to come because we could have an English speaking tour guide. Our guide was an older woman who seemed to know everything about the cathedral and the whole area. I would have liked to spend a day or two with her. We began outside. We learned the cathedral was built between 1163 and 1250 in Gothic Style and was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It is especially noted for its flying buttresses and sculptured facade. She also took us all through the inside. There was so much to learn and see even though it is not a huge place. The tour took several hours.

We ate at a restaurant right across the street. It was busy and very expensive. As we attempted to pay our waiter we learned they did not take cards of any kind. We had to scrounge through our purses to find enough cash. I was a little worried for a bit there.

Our tour guide had also told us of a nearby chapel called Sainte-Chapelle. It was guarded by soldiers. It cost money, of course. Everything does to help with upkeep. We entered on the ground level and it was not very exciting. It contained a gift shop. We then climbed some very simple and uninspiring stairs. It was very much worth the money and the climb to the second floor. It was beautiful. The side walls were all very large stained glass windows. They depicted the Bible from creation until redemption with Christ. Wonderful!! This upper chapel had been used by the King and his family and close friends. The Crown of Thorns were kept here until the French Revolution when most of the building was torn down. The windows were also all taken out and stored in preparation of the Germans taking Paris in World War II.

This day was worth all the cold and wind.