Time Marches on...

The Samuel Beckett Bridge in Dublin in the shape of a harp. A symbol originally assigned to the emerald isles by Henry VIII, more recently a symbol of nationalism or resistance to the Crown.

Time is the most elastic of measurements, sometimes too short or too long. Numerous words have been used to describe it, moment, dimension, passage. Time's passage can be slow and painful as if it's on 2 broken wheels climbing up a steep hill (time drags) or short when it's at its sweetest moments to be savored (time flew). We balance between the 2 passages precariously standing on the zenith, our sweetest moments now.

Family

Zayn joined us for 10 days as we stretched out our last moments in Great Britain imbibing Scotland and Ireland, getting a worm eye view of the last few inches of Great Britain we hadn’t visited while living here.

Zayn's visit started in Lund, Sweden to visit Kenz and Diane's nest, then swooped in to Ireland and Scotland to take a turn with the vagabond parents.

Dublin

Dublin is by the River Liffey, in the Republic of Ireland. It's a worn city with faded grandeur made famous by its dark beer-Guinness, traditional Irish folk music and an ability to beat the odds. It has a youthful population living in an expensive city not unlike most cities we visit.

Ireland has had waves of emigration starting in the 1800's caused by a certain tuber blight (hytophthora infestans), repeating in the 1980's with economic downturns during the Celtic Tiger period.

EPIC, the emigration museum in Dublin portrayed a story of resilience, desperation and reinvention in new lands. Emigration came in the form of "coffin ships." People were crammed into cargo ships restricted to the lower ship levels for the duration of the voyage for 5-6 weeks traveling to North America. No beds or food were provided." 2/3 of the passengers died on the voyage, hence the name coffin ships. We visited a replica of the Jeanie Johnston which offered better passage than most ships.

On board the Jeanie Johnston with tour guide, the sculptures of gaunt ghosts portrays the hopelessness during the famine.

Why leave if you know the chances of reaching other countries alive are so risky? The answer lies in the desperation of their current lives. No jobs, no homes, no food, no future, not so different from my grandparents story and those still today. The Great Hunger killed over one million people.

Dublin also offered us a chance to view Trinity College Library and see the Book of Kells, Temple Bar area, The Little Museum of Dublin and tap our feet to traditional Irish music.

Northern Ireland

A visit to Belfast in a black cab tour by a local living and growing up during « The Troubles” gave us another view of the Northern Irish story. Delicate balance still exists in this tenuous brokered peace. Our guide "Pat in the Hat" preferred we didn’t tape his talk as he had been threatened by Protestant para-military groups for his viewpoints.

Murals of resistance were everywhere with a chance to sign the peace wall in Belfast.

A wee bit of trad Irish music. The spoon player was something else.

Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland

This is what happens when 40,000 basalt columns interlock after a volcanic fissure erupts. Or according to legend, when Finn McCool created a causeway to get across the Irish Sea to meet rival Scottish giant Benandonner. Benandonner destroyed the causeway as he fled back to Scotland leaving all that we now see.

Scotland

While the potato famine changed Ireland’s future it didn’t affect Scotland in the same way. Both Scotland and Ireland's population today, unlike other nations, is less than it is was in the 1800’s for two reasons, emigration and death.

The original family unit was complete when Kenz came for a brief reunion in Edinburgh warming our hearts to have them both with us for a short bit. We never take these moments for granted with our global lives.

Granting my wish to see Edinburgh from its highest point, the Arraki commando unit scaled to the top of Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh's ancient extinct volcano to see what we could see. Time well spent meandering, visiting, and reconnecting as adults.

The Owls of Edinburgh.

It takes 8 yards of fabric to make a kilt. The kilt was banned for 100 years, a prison sentence abroad was your penance if caught wearing a kilt.

"Stop and Graze Tour" Zayn called our Scottish 3 days tour through the Highlands, isle of Skye & Loch Ness.

Our tour guide brought us to a wee museum that showcases some of the first dinosaur discoveries in Scotland found in Staffin Bay and Bearreraig Bay included the footprints of a Velociraptor parent and its' 27 baby velociraptorettes offspring set in the stone piece below.

Got to love a country that puts the “hairy coo” at the top of the list of things to see in Scotland.

Billy Connolly the Scottish comedian and actor sums up Scotland, "There are two seasons in Scotland, June and winter."

Is the immovable object, unstoppable force in Scotland the people or the topography? The Dalwhinnie, Eilean Conan castle, Cairngorms mountains, Highland, Lochs, Three Sisters are all spectacular representations of Scotland.

Such complicated and different histories in our visit to Ireland and Scotland. One common denominator I can pull out of the fate of both nations: monarchy and colonization never plays out well for the locals. The tenacity of these populations shines through in their heritage. Every inch of the way people were friendly and helpful. we always felt welcome.

Our Future

Arraki Ground Hog Day: Packed boxes loaded on moving van to storage, cleaned out apartment, on to our next destination.

View of Bath on our last day.

Folie a Deux. Where are we headed to next?

We liked the name Folie a Deux for our next adventure without realizing it was a term referring to 2 people with delusional ideas. Well maybe, but we prefer to think of it as a train trip to see Europe with a 3 month Interrail Pass allowing us train travel to 33 countries before settling in France for a bit.

Our first train travel month focuses on Italy. Venice, Turin, Bologna, Arezzo, Assisi, Lecce, Caserta and Palermo, all by train.