Archive for November, 2010
Not So Grim
I’m at Heathrow Airport getting ready for the trip back to Washington. Things got a little better after my last post. Once I accepted the fact that this would be the most expensive vacation EVER, I found some peace.
We stayed an extra day in London. Attended a beautiful high Mass at Westminster Cathedral. It had a large choir (men and boys), a partial Latin liturgy, incense, the works. It was very nice.
Then, since a day without shopping is like a day without sunshine, we went shopping at Harrods. Massive store, packed with people, a woman singing opera to people on escalators and a huckster selling the Vegimax, who was the spitting image of Eric Idle.
Finally, we went to the British Museum. saw the Rosetta Stone, again, and an exhibit on the Books of the Dead from Egypt.
Maybe I’ll post on everything that happened since Kilmainham Gaol, but I can’t promise.
Grim
Our flight from Dublin to London was canceled causing us to miss our flight from London to Washington. I had used precious upgrade certificates for that flight, so we would have been traveling business class. Because the Dublin flight was not booked with the London flight, United takes no responsibility for missing the flight, meaning I will likely have to pay a substantial amount of money to change the flight and we will be put back in coach.
I am deeply depressed and not in the mood for further blogging about this trip. I hope the Muse comes back so I can describe our extraordinary visits to Belfast, Derry and, most especially, Rathlin Island.
For now, just can’t.
Kilmainham Gaol
It is interesting that Ireland’s modern political history is best told in a horrific prison. Kilmainham Gaol is a powerful symbol of the struggles of the Irish people. Architecturally, it resembles the prison in The Shawshank Redemption. Unforgiving stones and steel. Our tour guide was a burly, passionate Irishman with a full beard who talked non-stop for almost an hour and a half in a presentation that was rich with fact, anecdote and drama. For instance, here’s a picture of the altar where Joseph Plunkett, one of the leaders of the 1916 uprising, married his beloved, 3 hours before he was executed by firing squad. His bride lived to her 70’s and never remarried.
But the history of the prison vastly pre-dated this event, having been build in the late 1600’s. All the Irish rebels through the years passed through Kilmainham. The most dramatic story was that of Anne Devlin, who effectively sacrificed her entire family, not to mention herself, for the cause of Ireland. I’m not disciplined enough recount her story, but click here for more. It was our tour guide’s most passionate story and he concluded with the protest that one of the most grievous omissions in Irish history was the minor place to which this heroic woman is relegated.
The prison is now a multi-use facility where there are often concerts or theatrical performances. It has also been used as a movie set, recently in the movie Michael Collins with Liam Neeson, which, outside of the dramatic love story, is a pretty accurate account of the founding of the Irish Republic. Collins, of course, served time in Kilmainham.
Dinner with the Saunders and Murphys
We had a delightful dinner with our friends, the Saunders and Murphys. The Saunders are effectively our benefactors in the two times we’ve visited Ireland as a family, generously donating their car to us for our travels and, on our first trip, lodging. The Murphys are friends of the Saunders’ whose son, Liam, did a short exchange program in Washington.
It was a lively dinner, full of laughter and goodwill. The restaurant was The Winding Stair, which is right off the Ha’ Penny Bridge. It was an unpretentious place with excellent food. I would definitely go back.
Dublin – Reconnecting with Danny
Traveling to Dublin was uneventful. A nice benefit of the European Union, we breezed through Customs. What we arrived to was unusual, though, a driving hail storm. Standing in the taxi line, the hailstones were clattering on the overhang. Within a short time, it turned to rain, more typical Irish weather.
We stayed at the Ashling Hotel, a recommendation of a friend in Dublin. While it was a Best Western, apparently Best Western is a more upscale brand in Ireland that it is in the U.S. It was a very nice, seemingly business hotel. Clean with attentive staff.
Meet the Parents
The first night we had dinner with the family that was hosting our son for the last three months. David and Gilian are the parents, Adam and Ian the two teenage sons. There are a delightful young family. He’s an interior designer with his own business, she’s a nurse. He is also an adventurous gourmet cook, which explained their choice of restaurant, the El Bahia Moroccan, which bills itself as the only authentic Moroccan restaurant in all of Ireland. I have no reason to doubt the claim as it was extremely authentic. Upon walking into its dark, lush interior, Bridget remarked, “I feel like I’ve left Ireland.”
Danny was extremely fortunate in his host family. They were all bright, intelligent, friendly, open and creative. The sons are both musicians, Gillian sings in a choral group and, as noted above, David is a chef. They appeared to have true affection for Danny and David even delivered his pre-approved lines with conviction when I asked how Danny was doing? He said, “He’s unfailingly diligent and focused!”
My Favorite Picture So Far
Here’s Bridget on the Millennium Bridge over the Liffey River in Dublin taken on our way to dinner.
London – A Short Visit
Boy, that was quick.
Preparing to leave a whirlwind visit to London. So quick, there was no time to blog.
Here are the highlights:
Day One – Arrival
What an ordeal arriving. Here’s advice for future travels, take a taxi from Heathrow. We thought we’d save money by taking the Express into London and then the Underground to Covent Gardens where we stayed. Big mistake. We had six pieces of luggage and what a sight we were, lugging this collection from transit mode to transit mode. Since the UK doesn’t not have an Americans with Disabilities Act, we had more than a few stairs over which to drag our belongings. Some kindly Londoners graciously helped Rita and Bridget navigate their respective loads.
Then, relaying upon my IPad for directions, we schlepped from Covent Garden station to Liecester Square, to the Radisson hotel….the wrong Radisson hotel. Enough of the lugging, we took a cab back to the right hotel, in Covent Gardens, a block from the Underground station that we had just left.
Shopping
Since I’ve been to London before, I utterly deferred to Rita and Bridget on how we would spending our time….mostly. Their top priority was to shop. So, I tagged along. Impressions noted in previous post.
Mamma Mia
Since Lion King tickets were unavailable, who chose to see Mamma Mia at a price so expensive I’m embarrassed to reveal the amount. The beginning of the show had me very troubled. It’s seemed utterly derivative to the movie, right down to the overalls worn by the “mother” character to match Meryl Streep’s. It also seemed very much the stage version of a chick flick. I kept stealing glances at Rita and Bridget in hopes they were enjoying it more than I was.
Fortunately, after intermission, the show took off. Much more impressive staging. The opening dream sequence was very clever and creative. While I didn’t buy the darker emotions from which the show would emerge at the end, I was glad that the who began to diverge from the movie. And, of course, the show concluded with a series of false endings with steadily increasing exuberance, from the final performance of Mamma Mia (not one of my favorites) to Dancing Queen (which is my favorite) to Waterloo (whatever).
As a show, I can’t say for sure it was worth the price of the tickets, but as a London experience, it was.
St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Sunday morning we attended Eucharistic service at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. I’ve been to the church before. Here’s a post, with video, of that visit. I still suffer from the cognitive dissonance of the images I’ve had from years of listening to classical musical performances by Sir Neville Mariner of the Orchestra of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. In my minds eye, I see a bucolic scene of rolling green hills with a small chapel in rural England. In fact, the Church is off Trafalgar Square on a busy intersection in the middle of London City.
Nonetheless, it’s a beautiful church and the service was very nice, with a choir. It was interesting experiencing both the similarities and differences from the Catholic Mass. More the same than different. Of course, the biggest difference was the woman celebrant.
More Shopping
And more tagging along. Bought a nice hat, though.
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| Consulting my IPad for Directions |
The London Eye
Biggest Ferris Wheel in the world, takes you up more than a thousand feet for a spectacular view of Big Ben and Parliament.
Harry Potter
Saw the new Harry Potter movie in the Odeon Theater in Leicester Square. Quite the venue. Part of the movie was shot within blocks of the theater including a prominent shot of this place:
Now, I’m in Heathrow on the way to Dublin, where we will be reunited with son, Danny.
Visiting London
Starting my second on a family vacation to London and Ireland. Cold and overcast, but excited about the day. Heading down to Sunday morning service at St. Martin in the Fields.
— Post From My iPad
ACORN Redux
The right wing never sleeps and is relentless in its non-stop battle against the poor. Even in the Catholic Church, an institution inspired by Jesus for whom the poor and marginalized were his paramount concern, has internal critics who attack programs for the poor. Contrary to Jesus’ explicit teaching, they would sacrifice the needs of the poor in order to protect against supposedly violations of Church doctrine on homosexuality, on which subject Jesus said exactly nothing.
Here’s a piece in the HuffPost about attacks on a program for the poor being conducted by the Catholic Bishops conference.
The hypocrisy is apparent in this quote by the leader of the mob trying to end the program.
Deal Hudson, who directs the conservative website Inside Catholic, said the CCHD’s reforms might eliminate funding errors if they are doggedly implemented, but said a more systemic problem remains.
“The groups they are dealing with, community organizing groups, are 100 percent committed members of the political left. That’s just a fact,” said Hudson, a former adviser to the Republican National Committee and former President George W. Bush.
Hudson strongly denied that politics play any role in his concern about CCHD, but said leftist groups nearly always conflict with Catholic doctrine on issues like gay rights and abortion.— Post From My iPhone
