More Pictures

 Final Sunrise in Ireland from my hotel room  :(

 Goodbye Ireland - from the Ferry :(

Hello Wales!

Hello Wales - as we are pulling into port

Cardiff Castle

Pictures

Here are a few I couldn't upload. We are now at the Marriott...and a computer!!!!

Here is Bryan hugging the "Blue Rock" which is at Stonehenge

Look at who we met on the street!

On our walking tour

Stonehenge

This was at the  Horse Guards - didn't get to see the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace

From the Roman Baths

 They are all decorated for the Olympics. Olympic rings are hanging from the Tower Bridge

At Buckingham Palace

From the London Eye. The London Eye is the 2nd largest wheel in the World. It was only supposed to be in London for 2 years - 2000 and 2001...it's still there!

Westminster Abbey

Supposedly the only view you can get that shows Big Ben through the London Eye

London day 2

Still no luck finding a computer to upload pictures, so you might need to wait until I return. Today was another full day of sightseeing-today was London. Kevin,Julie, Erin, and my Mom toured the Tower of London this morning while Bryan, my Dad and I traveled around on the Sightseeing Bus. London wasn't too crowded early today, but by noon, it was very busy. After we met up, traveled what seemed to be 20 miles on the sightseeing bus, which was probably only 3, we had lunch and took a walk around Buckingham Palace, unfortunately the Queen was not home so I guess my tea with the Queen will have to remain on my bucket list. Vigil Mass and the River Boat tour to the Tower of London to witness the Ceremony of the Keys took up most of our evening. Tomorrow will be our last full day here and we are hoping to head down to the area where the opening ceremony will take place.

Bath/Stonehenge/London

Today we left Cardiff (the Capital of Wales)and made our way to Bath. We toured the ancient Roman Bath and the headed to Stonehenge. Unfortunately, I can't get pictures uploaded at this hotel either, but hopefully can find an Internet cafe tomorrow or some other computer to upload some. Both sites were very impressive and amazing. To think how far both Bath and Stonehenge date back, it is truly amazing. We often think Philadelphia is old....well think about some of these sites dating back to 50AD! After leaving Stonehenge, we took our last coach ride to London and said goodbye to our amazing driver. We are staying very close to Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. Erin and Julie went to see Les Mes tonight so the rest of the family walked around some of the local sites and tried to plan out or day of sightseeing tomorrow. So much to see, so little time. I am fortunate as this is my 2nd trip to London. I came with my friend KK almost 11 years ago and we spent 5 days here and no realize how much we saw, but will enjoy our day tomorrow. The big thing for tomorrow - the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. This ceremony dates back over 700 years. We will trace the steps The guards take each night as they secure the jewels. Well, that's all for tonight. We are following the news closely and our prayers are with all those who have been killed and injured in the horrific shooting in Denver. Security is very tight here as the Olympics begin in less than 1 week.

Goodbye Ireland...hello Wales

Well, it was a bittersweet day...we had to say farewell to Ireland and the beautiful scenery, however after a 3 1/2 hour ferry ride, we arrived safely in Wales. After a 30 min or so delay getting the bus off the ferry (evidentally, the key to the ferry door was in Ireland!) we made the trek down to Wales. We are currently in Cardiff and for some reason, the hotel computer is not allowing me to upload any pictures to the blog, so you will need to wait to see our last sunrise in Ireland...our farewell photo in Ireland and our getting into port in Wales.  But, hopefully it will bring you back tomorrow to hear about our day at Stonehenge and Bath before making the trip to London for the last leg of our trip.

So..what did we do today - other than the ferry, we toured the Cardiff Castle and had dinner there - a Welsh Banquet. The highlight, was Kevin being chosen to be a wench. Unfortunately, I do not have pictures to prove it...but I do have the video!!! I believe it is safe to say, Kevin was quite a good sport about the whole thing and the rest of the tour people enjoyed it as well.

Cardiff is really hopping. In less than a week the Olympics start in London and the Millenium Park here in Cardiff is going to house some of the events. Security seemed very tight around the Hilton, so I am sure some people associated with the Olympics are staying there.

Looking forward to London tomorrow. Not sure what we will find as I understand things are crazy busy!

Hope all is well. I will try my best to find a computer tomorrow to upload photos!

Blarney Castle

Today was another great day. We started the day at Blarney Castle in County Cork. The McCarthy's trace their roots back to County Cork and played an integral part with the Blarney Castle. Well, most of us "Kissed the Blarney Stone". You need to lie on your back and slide back quite far to Kiss the Stone. Kevin truly is afraid of heights! But, he was a real trooper and kissed the stone! I have the pictures to prove it! It was a beautiful day, sunny with some drizzle at times. A nice lunch at a local pub and a short walk to a Famine Cemetery kept everything in perspective. Over 1 million Irish lost their life in the famine years. This trip has been a reminder of how blessed we are! We are currently in Waterford....and it is our last night in Ireland. Tomorrow we head to Wales. Waterford is very pretty and our hotel overlooks the water. We did get a nice tour of the Waterford crystal plant and seeing the time and energy they spend with each piece explains the cost involved. Great dinner- 6:45 wake call tomorrow! Will write more later.

Day 7 Almost done wtih Ireland

Today we spend a day going around the Ring Of Kerry - a peninsula encompassing about 100 KM - beautiful scenery, spectacular views, green valleys, lots of sheep and cows...and a little bussickness to go with it! We made a few stops along the way, some for shopping, some for picture taking.  We also learned about the Monks and their stay at a remote island just off the coast - Skellig. I wanted to walk up the 650 steep steps...but no one else wanted too!

Here are a few of the pictures. Today was partly rainy but still had some beautiful views. We have only 1 more day in Ireland then we are off to Wales an finish up in London. 
Some of the views reminded me of my visit to Italy and Greece last year...except for the temp. Today might have hit 55 or 60.
Tomorrow we are off to Blarney to Kiss the Blarney Stone and to Waterford.

Day 6 -Rock of Cashill

I will write more about our day - but wanted to upload some pictures while I had computer access. Today we spend a "lovely" day touring the Rock of Cashill..which evidentally has some McCarthy tie - turns out the chapel is Carmac McCarthy...or something such as that, I might have been snoozing a little bit! We also saw the actually cross from where St. Patrick did some baptisms and preaching. We are currently in a beautiful town Killarney. Hope you are enjoying the blog.

Rock of Cashill

St. Patrick's Cross

Oops, maybe it wasn't me sleeping after all!

Day 5

Today, you will get a special treat...a guest blogger- my Mom. We had a morning coach trip around the city of Dublin. We saw our beautiful embassy with a golden eagle over the entrance as well other foreign embassies. We visited Dublin Castle which isn't a castle. It is basically a government building where all the president's are inaugurated as well it had an important role in the revolution. Ireland is an old culture but a young country We went to Trinity College where we saw the Book of Kells. This was quite an impressive exhibit showing the four Gospels with extremely beautiful and ornate drawings. The coach stopped at Phoenix Park. This is where both the president of Ireland and our American Ambassador (Dan Rooney) have their residences. We had to hold Karen on the bus because she wanted to go in and ask for some complimentary Pittsburgh Steelers tickets. We also got out for pictures at the site of where Pope John Paul II had Mass in 1979?, the cross is still standing We had our lunch at a little pub in the Temple Bar district. It was called O' Shea's. Everyone but Karen (lasagna) and Bryan (fried chicken) ate traditional Irish food. The afternoon was free to explore on our own. We enjoyed walking the streets of Dublin and felt authentic Irish atmosphere. We found a lovely Catholic church and attended Mass at 5 pm followed by dinner at our hotel. The shocker of the day St. Patrick's Cathedral is not Catholic! There is not a Catholic Cathedral in Dublin!

Famine sculpture - very moving

Castle of Dublin

All is safe - the Castle is being guarded by Bryan!

Day 4- Dublin

Our 3 days in Belfast are done and after a 2 hour train ride and a short DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) we got to our Hotel. GPa, Kevin, Erin and I took a tour of the Guinness Factory. Wow, what a facility and a really neat guided tour. There was a young lad (trying to get into the correct lingo- he was probably mid 20's) dressed up as a baby. We thought he must have lost a bet...turns out, he was having his bachelor party! After the Guinness tour we were back to the Hotel to meet with our CIE Tour. Ere are only 19 of us...and there are 7 of us! A nice mix of people from mainly the east coast. Even a 7th grader from Annapolis who is here with her Grandmother. For dinner, we were treated to Dinner and a Show at Taylor's Three Rock. The show was good. Authentic Irish Dancers, which of course makes sense since we are in Ireland, a singer, and a comedian. It was a good day...a long one, so we are heading to bed for a full day of sightseeing in Dublin tomorrow. There is a Church just around the corner with a Mass tomorrow evening at 5, however we thought we would check out the Cathedral and hope for Mass there...looks beautiful from the outside, On our agenda for tomorrow - Trinity College with the book of Kells and Kilmainham jail for sure as John mentioned these 2 in particular. Planning on a Pub lunch or dinner and hopefully some time for postcards! Hope all is well where you are and it isn't too hot. It is about 50 - 60 here! More tomorrow

This is the cross which stands where Pope John Paul II had Mass

Trinity College

Day 3

Wow! John Karavage you ain't kidding....Today we took a tour to the Giant's Causeway. Talk about breathtaking views. Crawling over some of the stones for picture taking didn't help my ankle at all, but it was worth it. I am going to attempt to upload some pictures to show you the views. The weather so far has been cool, today was downright warm! Very few clouds in the sky made for nice pictures. On our bus trip up we stopped at a Castle but they were preparing for a "Festival" so we didn't get to tour the castle, but I understand we will tour one or more on our 2nd leg of the tour. We stopped for lunch at The Old Bushmill Distillery. Had my first taste of Irish Stew. John you are right about that too. It was very tasty, although Erin got the Steak and Guiness Pie and it was better than the Irish Stew. The last stop on our bus tour today was the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. After a 1K walk, we finally got to the bridge. The thing that surprised me the most...my brothe does not like heights! Hopefully I can download a picture of him on the bridge to give you the fear on his face. Bryan seemed to love it! I even took some pictures part way across the bridge...it was a LONG way down! Overall, Belfast is a beautiful city and we are glad we were able to enjoy some of her beautiful sites. Tomorrow off to Dublin and the Guiness Factory tour and we will be meeting with our tour.

It is 11:28 PM over here and it is still quite light. It is amazing, I would say the sunset was aroun 10 PM. Tomorrow we are going to go to see the unofficial 8th Wonder of the World- The Giants Causeway. Along the way we will stop an d see a castle, a distillery, and have an opportunity to cross a rope bridge...perhaps, I might even see a leprechaun! Hopefully I will be able to figure out how to post some pictures. Thanks KK for getting th Blog up so family and friends can travel "virtually" with the McCarthy family! More to write tomorrow.

Day Two

We all went to bed early last night so we could be refreshed for the real start of our vacation. After a nice breakfast we were on our way to the Titanic Museum. The Titanic Museum just opened in March and was very nice. A Chocolate World like ride took us around the part of the exhibit which demonstrated just how big the ship really was. A loop video showed us what the Titanic looks like under water today. Later we walked out along the launch dock. It wasn't very crowded as today is a State Holiday...the one day they told us to avoid Belfast. Although the news said there have been some minor disturbances, we have not seen nor heard any, however to be extra safe, we will avoid those area prone to rioting on the "12th".

Day One

The first leg of our trip went off without a hitch. Everything on time. When we arrived at BWI, I was expecting a huge line...well, they actually had to open Security for us! In fact, the man who checked us in also helped us onto the plane. Either way, the flight was great. The second leg started out a little over an hour late due to some electric issue. Not sure exactly what it was, but they told us our In Flight Entertainment wouldn't be operational. Oh well, I could use the sleep. Turns out the In Flight Entertainment did work, so scratch the sleep idea. We landed safely, had a great taxi ride to the train station to catch the train to Belfast.... we had 3 minutes to make the 11:00 train....and all 7 of us made it on board. Our taxi driver, no kidding, his name really was Patrick O'Toole gave us some good tips for the time we will spend in Dublin. The train ride to Belfast is taking us up the Irish Sea side, so the trip is picturesque. Unfortunately I am a bit dizzy from riding backwards!