Arrived safely in Doolin....but!

We left Arundel around 3 PM on a post-rainy Saturday afternoon, took the bus from Portsmouth to Logan Term C and after a closer than usual TSA inspection ( " Sir, your boots have produced an unusual swab code. Please step over here and left me inspect everything in your bags. "), we made it to the blessed Priority Plus lounge outside Gate 19 and relaxed over the free goodies & quiet until our Aer Lingus flight was called at Gate 20.

Following an uneventful and actually rather pleasant 5 & 1/2 trip across the Atlantic, we arrived in Shannon at 7:30 AM, made it through Immigration in our now-usual split fashion (Joan zipping through the EU line; me slogging behind in the All Other crawl) and after picking up our small checked package of goodies intended for relatives to be met once we get to Innisheer island in a couple of days, went outside to catch the bus to Ennis.

We were the only passengers on the bus (fare 8 euros, 50 cents each) and rode swiftly through the quiet Sunday morning scenery. Once arriving in the deserted bus station, and finding that the bus to Doolin didn't depart until 10:30, the bus driver started calling a taxi for us (very nice!) until I noticed a taxi pulling in right behind us. Walking over, we met the driver - Mrs O'Rourke - who took us the 40 km over to Doolin for 60 Euros. She was very friendly, showed us the sights as we drove through the Cliffs of Moher area and finally dropped us at the Doolin View B & B we had booked on line.  It's a delightful place, set a bit away from the little town on a hill, with quiet cow-filled green fields surrounding the place.

After finding that our room was not yet available, we went to the dining area, had a great Irish breakfast and relaxed in the lounge until about 11:30 when our lovely host, Sandy, brought us to our room (the James Joyce room) and we collapsed into bed, exhausted.  Now it's 3 pm on a gorgeous sunny day and we're going exploring. We need to find an ATM  quickly, since the taxi fare nearly exhausted our Euro supply! So far, a good start.

Joan is delighted to be back in Doolin. It was some 44 years ago, as a young nursing student on a short assignment in Dublin, that she hitch -hiked here and talked a fisherman in giving her a 5 mile ride across the water to Inisheer, the smallest of the three Aran Islands from whence her grandmother Delia Joyce had emmigrated around 1900 to Woburn, Mass.

"I'd Rather be in England, Jolly, Jolly England"

A veteran English music hall star, comedian and actor, Stanley Holloway was a featured player as Eliza Doolittle's father in My Fair Lady (stage & screen versions); that's where most American's first encountered him. I was lucky and through the ministrations by Paul Schulte, a good friend who'd spent years in London, plus large amounts of fine Scottish whiskey late at night and accompanied by Paul's extensive collection of English music-hall recordings - mostly in 78 rpm format - I was introduced to the songs and sayings of Holloway way before Eliza-time. The title of this blog is a line from one of those songs that pops into my head now and then as Joan & i are off on one of our long distance walks in England (the next line is "living off the earnings of a high class lady! -and it goes on from there, verse after verse - really good for singing whilst walking over the English landscape).

I bring Stanley Holloway up for no good reason except that Joan and I are leaving this Saturday (June 17th) for a three week walking trip, first to Ireland to visit the small island in Galway Bay in the West of Ireland where Joan's grandmother was born; the source of Joan's certification as an Irish citizen and EU member Irish passport holder and then to fly from Shannon to Manchester, transfer to a train first to Leeds and then change trains to get to Ilkley. 

Once in Ilkley, we'll spend the night in the centrally located Dalesway Inn and take off the next morning for Burnsall, located on the River Wharfe, a stream we'll be following for miles more. This will be a long stretch of 13 miles but very flat. Hopefully our five days in Ireland before we get here will have given us a chance to catch up on the time change and stretch our legs walking the Irish coast and Aran Islands. 

Stay tuned- we'll be blogging as we go, hopefully aided by the brand new Kindle Fire 8" tablet we bought out of frustration with trying to create a coherent article on a tiny Android smart phone. Yes, I know it can be done - but it sure is hard unless you have the tiny fingers of an eight year old!