Leeds Castle

March 18, 2007

Trivia - Because of Lord Fairfax, there is a sundial at Fairfax, Virginia telling the time in Leeds Castle, and a sundial at Leeds Castle telling the time in Virginia.

Springtime in England and it was on to Leeds! Leeds Castle, a Norman castle set on two islands in the middle of the River Len, was built in 1119 and has been home to a number of English royalty, including Edward I, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

Leeds is the home of the famous black swans. they were a gift given to Winston Churchill after WWII. He sent them to Leeds to live, and the descendants still live here today!

Leeds Castle has an aviary, a maze (which was a-mazing!), a grotto (very cool), a golf course and maybe the only dog collar museum in the world (which we didn't go into).

We took an ITT tour there (with Ang and Josh Campbell as the escorts). It is nice to go on these trips - we don't have to worry about parking or driving - after a long day out, it's a real treat!

There is quite a walk to get to the main castle, and along the way, I took many pictures of the wildlife and beautiful scenery. Of course, the scenery happened to include my two beautiful children! ;)

Unfortunately, we arrived during some renovations of the front of the castle ... stinks for the pictures, but pictures were taken none-the-less. The good news is we were able to delight in the thrills of the maze! It took approx. 20 minutes to find the center - Jacob and Austin were repeat visitors to the maze! After the maze, we entered the grotto, which appears to be a man-made cave, filled with intricate patterns made out of shells and rock. It was AWESOME in the grotto! Definitely our 'favorite part of the day'!

We did get caught in a downpour at one point, but the day turned out to be mainly sunny, though the wind was chilly!

At the end of the day, we were getting ready to board the bus and lo and behold, we saw ourselves an albino peacock! It was amazing! This was the first time we've ever seen one ... not sure how common they are, but we were total tourists and took tons of pictures!

Leeds is sometimes called the most beautiful castle in all of England - we all have our favorites, of course, and Leeds Castle is in the top 5!

Ireland

The Emerald Isle

FUN FACTS about Ireland:
- Population is less than 4 million
- Scotland is only 20 miles across the water
- St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland (duh)
- St. Patrick was kidnapped, enslaved and sent here
- St. Patrick bannished snakes from Ireland
- Post-glacial Ireland never had snakes
- Gaelic is taught in all schools but is rarely spoken

It has been several months since we went on a trip to someplace we've never been ... this trip consisted of ... moi, Carla, Jane and Bethany Smith. WOO HOO! It was awesome and green! ;) The first delight was seeing my passport stamp green ... please, don't be green with envy! muah ha ha ha! ;)

After landing in Cork (put a cork in it!), we rented a car and travelled to Blarney, only a short hop from the airport. We were there about 15 minutes after opening, so it was really quiet, hardly anyone was there, there was a subtle fog just lifting ... may I say serene? It was the perfect day to go! Well, we strolled along and came to the castle.

We all agreed that there would be much kissing of the Blarney Stone at the top, so in the castle we went! Now, brace yourselves, here is the sad part ... the graffiti in the castle was astonishing, horrific and quite pathetic. It really was a shame. Well, one to the top! A little history note: Blarney Castle was originally built as a timber hunting lodge in the 10th century and was replaced by a stone castle in 1210.

The world famous Blarney Stone is situated high up in the battlements of the castle. The stone is believed to be 1/2 of the Stone of Scone which originally belonged to Scotland. Scottish Kings were crowned over the Stone of Scone because it was believed to have had magical powers. Queen Elizabeth I helped in giving the Blarney Stone it's legend of 'the gift of eloquence'. Kiss it and you'll never again be lost for words! Sir Walter Scott is said to have kissed it! *SMACK*

Well, the castle is situated on a number of acres of breathtaking woodland - we even saw some bamboo! Of course, I had to take a nibble!

The Rock Close is laid out on a pre-historic Druid site with the remains of huge boulders, rocks, a dolmen (a megalithic tomb with a large, flat stone), a sacrificial alter and a witches kitchen! (bubble, bubble, toil and trouble!) Don't forget about the wishing steps! Carla and Bethany braved them - you are to go down them (eyes shut) and then back up them (eyes shut), whilst making your wish! We heartily wish them successful wishes.

After Blarney, we headed for a drive around the Ring of Kerry, Kerry being the county we were in. It is said to be one of the most beautiful drives in all of Europe! We stayed in Killarney (no blarney), so we headed toward that general direction. Next time, I will print out a map from mapquest on where our hotel is located! (oops!) At the hotel, I made the girls do an Irish jig ... muah ha ha ha ... and I took a picture! (If you would like copies, let me know ... ;) )

It took us quite a while to traverse the Ring of Kerry - because we couldn't stop stopping! HA ... anyhoo, there were lots of beautiful quaint little churches dotting the road! It wasn't our fault!

We did go to the seaside ... Atlantic Ocean, here we come! We stopped off at a darling little area called Rossbeigh (Rossbay) and spent a nice time putting our toe-sies in the water. We arrived at sunset, so we had an awesome view - the large rocks looked green and purple to me, so I asked a local about them and she mentioned that they were "Caspdfiuioakn" rocks. Okay, that's not really what she said, but it might as well have been! :)

The second day of our Irish adventure began with a really nice breakfast at the hotel ... I must include the food! yum ...
We drove to the Killarney National Park, which was not even 15 minutes away. Originally, the park was a wedding present to a rich American's daughter. Must be nice ... We parked and before we could say "top 'o the mornin", a cute little Irish man asked if we would like to take a cartride around the park. Well, seeing as I'm highly allergic to horses, we opted for a half-way tour. At first, our little Irish escort was hard to understand - his accent was thick as pudding - but it slowly improved as your brain switched into Irish mode.

There is a reason Ireland is called the Emerald Isle - it's because all of the moss! It's everywhere! Most of the trees here are 200 years old ... wowza! We went to see the Torc Waterfall (don't "torc" me off!) - MAGICAL! I could have stayed here all day! The water was soooo cool and clear - our tour guide said it was good enough to drink! I was tempted, because the thought of having "Leprechauns Revenge" sounded good (I do need to drop some more weight, you see), but I opted for the negatory.

Historical note: there are many signs of the presence of humans in the Killarney area dating back to the bronze age - 4,000 years ago!

The walk back to the car consisted of checking out the Muckross House and gardens and the old Muckross Abbey (founded around 1448).

Historical (hysterical) note: I broke my sunglasses on this trip. I know ... tragic! The saddness that overcame me! Well, it's a good thing I bought a new pair - they wouldn't have fit, anyway.

WOW - the opportunity to go and visit! I do wonder why my ancestors ever left such a breathtaking place (okay, potatoes). It does give me more incentive to do my genealogy so when I go back, I can do some research at the same time! ;)

On a trip scale of 1-10 (1 being dismal and 10 being celestial) ... I give it a 10! ;)

Audley End

Our good friend, Carla, came to visit us in the wonderful month of March - her second visit across the pond to visit us! This visit, we did the whole "London" thing - Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, Parliament - for two days. We arranged it so I could ride a bus down to London, pick Carla up at the airport, then I we were to take a train to London town, traverse in the London-style (the tube) and viola! ... on Saturday, Jacob and the kiddos were to pick us up at the closest tube station to our home (Epping) ... poor family ... they were stuck in a really bad accident and were an hour and a half late in picking us up! Good thing we were an hour late in getting there! (evil laughter ... muah ha ha ha) On Sunday, March 25th, we went to Audley End (sshhh ... don't tell anyone ... the Sabbath and all), a beautiful manor home in the early 1600s. Now, we (except Jacob) have been to Audley End before, but it turns out that at certain times of the year, access to the house is by "Behind the Scenes" tours and "Guided Historical" tours only. We went throughout the house, but the furnishings and pictures were still covered in white sheets from the off-season. I must say, it was really fascinating to hear and see all the the "Behind the Scenes"! Men from WWII lived here for some time - it turns out the majority of these men ended up going behind enemy lines and died. Viewing the old rooms, vintage wall paper and various nooks and crannies (hee hee, I said crannies) was a chance everyone should take! P.S. Austin bought a sling shot ... cool. We all had to try it out. (good times)