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Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England:

HARRY POTTER CASTLE, ANYONE??  I guess it is true that they save the best for last.  This was such an awesome visit for all of us.  We visited Alnwick Castle where the Duke of Northumberland currently lives during the winter.  This is also the film site of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Elizabeth.  WOW!  Everyone knows that I am a huge Harry Potter fan (I wanted to name PJ, “Harry”).  So this was fantastic for me!!!!!!!  They had a little sideshow with Professor Dumbledore and Hagrid which was so fun.  We then had a chance to eat in the castle in one of the rooms that looked like a dungeon.  Overall, this was a perfect day for all.  Paul falls asleep in Harry Potter, but he appreciated the dazzling landscape and castle.

We have day left at sea as we sail back to Rotterdam, and then we will journey back to Florida.  Thank you for following our vacation with us!  Time to begin working on the holiday season!!

XOXO, Beth

Holyhead, Wales:

As I mentioned previously in my Dublin post, I was surprised that it was not to my liking.  I was once again surprised (although pleasantly) with our visit to Wales.  This is definitely the gem of The United Kingdom.  It is absolutely breathtaking everywhere you turn!  We hired a car driver who took us to Beaumaris Castle, the Snowdonia Mountain range, and to Caernarfon Castle.  The Snowdonia mountains resembled the scenery in the Harry Potter films….so you know that I was in all of my glory.  There were the cutest sheep on every mountain side.  I asked the driver to pull over so that I could photograph the sheep.  He laughed but found me the perfect sheep perched on the slate covered mountain side.  I hiked up the rocky cliffs in my Tory Burch wedges, which proved to be excellent hiking shoes (haha).  I must add that I did not eat lamb for lunch or dinner today.  Our driver was hilarious and entertained us with many Welsh jokes.  I highly recommend taking a private tour when you are in these countries for such a short amount of time.  The locals know the places off of the beaten path where there aren’t any tourists.  I left feeling like I really visited Wales and would definitely return.

Dunmore East, Ireland:

Today we awoke to the gorgeous South East coast of Ireland.  The coastline here is so green and rocky mixed with the beautiful blue hues of the sea.  It was nice and cool here this morning with a high of 57 degrees.  We hired a driver who brought us through the Irish towns of Dunmore East, Waterford (where Waterford Crystal was founded), and onto Kilkenney.  Here we visited the Kilkenney Castle and toured the inside and the gardens.  Paul kept bringing up the South Park quote, “Who killed Kenny?”  Haha he is such a riot, my husband.  We had a delicious lunch in the tea room inside the castle which was a special treat.  I think it was the first time that I have ever had seriously fresh green vegetables in my salad.  They were not from a salad bag.  This is definitely a farming country so it was a delight to really have a taste of it.

We were then driving down a winding road and I spotted a dramatic Abbey.  The ruins of Jerpoint Abbey are a photographer’s dream come true.  It was over 800 years old and full of history, texture, carvings, and tranquility.  It was my favorite stop of the day.  We then continued on and stopped at a place called Mt. Juliet.  WOW.  What a place – true Irish greenery, fields of flowers, horses and their colts, trickling streams, and a manor house.  Our final taste of the day was driving along the rocky coast.  We stopped alongside the road to pet some friendly horses.  We then said our goodbyes to our new friend, Sean our driver, and tendered back to the big blue boat.

Portland, England:

Our first port was Portland, England (Weymouth).  I don’t know how this port can be beat.  I felt so at home here in this beautiful part of England.  Our driver, Robbie, from Unicorn Courtesy Cars picked us up at 11:00 a.m. at the ship and drove us through the beautiful countryside of Southern England.  We had a very traditional fish and chips lunch in an English pub, called The Milton Arms.  Our driver had the liver and bacon which is supposedly delicious, but I just couldn’t divulge that much into the English culture.  Haha.  We then continued through the countryside to Salisbury Cathedral which has the largest spire in England. (I know, woo-hoo).  However, it was a beautiful cathedral and quite picturesque.  We had a beautiful walk through the town; the weather is just beautiful here compared to the Florida swamp.  I enjoyed the beautiful flowers that are EVERYWHERE.  I stopped to admire them everywhere we went.  Paul, you need to bring me flowers more often! Hint-hint.

We then continued our journey to Stonehenge, one of the world heritage sites.  This is not just a pile of rocks as some would say…..Paul.    He changed his mind once he saw it in person and we were both in awe at the size, history, and mystery of this amazing place.  There are two types of stone in which the circle was created with.  Some of them were rolled from as far as Wales.  Did I mention that they are over 5,000 years old and still standing.  They were used for Pagan rituals and celebrations.  Anyway, I love magic and Harry Potter stuff so this was quite fascinating to me.  I asked an Asian man with a huge camera and tripod to take our photo….I figured he had a clue how to use my camera and boy did he get the shot!  I plan on having our family photo that he took made into a giant canvas for our wall.  Thank you, sir!

The highlight and finale of this day was Cream Teas.  YUMMY!!!  We were taken to a local inn where they served creamed tea.  This delight was English tea, scones with clotted cream, and strawberry jam.  I’m in love with this country!  I think I will move here and milk cows and make cream tea.  There is a mall 36 miles from Dorset…..it could work.