A Month in the UK - Week 4

Day 25
I made it back to London and I am actually kinda ready to get back to the states.  I've been away now for over 3 weeks which may not sound like a long time but when you're not doing your normal daily routines, like going to school, work, taking care of family or whatever your thing may be you don't see the time fly.

Eye of London Observation Wheel

This is my 4th and last week here in England and do have some pics to share so here you go.  I went back down by the London Tower Bridge where the London Eye aka the Millenium Wheel is located.






It is a huge ferris (Observation) wheel that you ride on & once your cart gets to the top you can see the city of London.





Walking across the bridge to get to other side where there's street performers & other entertainment.

This was a long bridge







View from bridge







Another pic of view from bridge







Like I said it was a long bridge :)







OMG! my hair is a mess :) but the view of Big Ben is lovely.

Some of the entertainment, a guy doing a twirling act on his head.  Pretty entertaining I guess.

Now these group of guys who were from Nigeria definitely were talented & put on a very good show.

He was working that tin pan :)

I think these guys were good enuff for vegas, to see them perform live was really awesome.

A black gumby...okay, I'm being comical :)  This guy was extremly limbo, as most of them were.

They really need to be on "America's Got Talent", well in their case "Britain's Got Talent" w/the not so liked Simon Cowell.

I'm mean really, this guy balanced this umbrella with a plastic knife from his mouth.

This guy has one leg around his neck while standing on the guys head...wow!  How do you balance a guy on one leg on top of your head....TALENT! and maddd skills :)

This guy is folded up & being balanced on the feet of the other guy.  It was kinda hard to watch as he folded his body into that position, look at some the faces of the people, they were just as amazed as I was.

After he got all his joints to bend...another black gumby...LOL, they put him that tin pan & as you

can see displaying him. It wasn't that pleasant to watch but very entertaining to see how he did that.

Lastly, they did the limbo act.  Mannn! they were all limber....did I say that right, limbo, limber :)  You don't see this everyday or anyday in Dallas.  I enjoyed myself.

Well, moving on.  I was pleasantly surprised to see this carved statue head of Nelson Mandela.

This is Traventure Woman signing off for now but please come back soon, I will have the last of my pics of my spectacular journey here in the UK, that has come to a close.  I hope you have been having as much fun following my blog as I have had actually experiencing Europe.

Day 26

Okay, so I'm wrapping up my last week here in the UK & have just a few more days of blogging my travel blog and spent my last few days hangin out with the horses as we walked on the footpaths in the hill country. It was just amazing how these animals are so human friendly, I was really expecting them to run off but nope they didn't and are such gentle creatures.

Enjoy the pics.

Walking along a footpath - hill country

I did come across quite a few fox holes and saw some in town I was staying in.  The foxes are like stray dogs.  In London to see them is just as normal as seeing a stray cat or dog.

Yes, I was having too much fun riding on this tire swing :)  As you can see the horse behind me is paying me no mind.  And from the clothes I had on it was pretty warm during my whole stay in the UK, of course in the evening required a sweater of some sort.  I really looked like a country bunkin...I know...lol!

Look at Mrs. A, tryin to feed the horse.  Normally, we will bring apples which the horses really like.

Aren't they beautiful?

Can you see the little colt behind me watching me.

There was a large herd of horses everywhere on this land.  This was just a few.

See how friendly he is.....

Tex and horse getting acquainted..too cute :)

Me and the horse getting acquainted :)

Like I said this will be my last week blogging so please check back as I wrap up to say my final good-bye to the UK.

 

Day 30

Okay, so I'm in the air headed back to the states.  It's been grand.

And it's a beautiful view from up in the sky as we flew above a blanket of clouds.

And mannnn! am I pooped.

How's that for a view

As you can see the sun was about to set as we flew into the night.

Well, I'm almost home back to Dallas.

Dallas Skyline

Thank God, made it back to the states safely. 

So, I hope you have enjoyed your journey thru my eyes with me on my month long adventure in the UK to the cities of London, England & Dublin, Ireland.  It is a trip I will never ever forget.  And can only pray to have the opportunity to visit there again.

So I leave you with a sklyine view of London England.

And Dublin, Ireland  

This is Traventure Woman signing off...until her next fun filled adventure around the world. Cherrio!!!

A Month in the UK - Week 3 (Ireland)



 
Day 18
We arrived in Dublin, Ireland on Sunday, October 2, 2011, it's  capital city is home to 1.8 million people in that city alone.  My goodness.... And the gas price is enuff to make you want to turn in the 4 wheels and adapt to the public transportation which is how we got around in & out of the city.  It was a cinch but can you say $1.47 per liter, not gallon?  that's apprx over $5 bucks a gallon in the U.S.  Fact, drivers pay over 70 buckaroos to fill up a "SMALL" car.  Mrs. A. it costs her over $100 usd to fill up her Sebring.   Anyway, Dubliners sure know how to have a good time.  The weather was marvelous and the people were warm & friendly, as I stated in last blog.

As promised, here are pics from my time in Dublin.  I will try to narrate & keep it simple if possible :)





After we flew in, we wasted no time & hit what's called the "City Centre" of Dublin.   But before I show you those pics you have gotta see the view from my hotel window at the Radisson Blu, it was absolutely plush.

This is the back view from my hotel window.







This hotel is popular for its landscaping & is the setting most used in weddings.







And this is me in the front view of hotel.






Full front view of Radisson Blue, Dublin, Ireland.






Hold that thought, time out, gonna go eat dinner....pizza!!!

Okay.  Here we're heading down to the City Center on the local bus.  It kinda looks like I'm still in Dallas, but look closer at the sign.  I look a bit tired, we literally came from hotel, checked in & headed back out.  Didn't want to waste anytime gettin out.  And we rode the double decker bus wherever we needed to go ( €1.85 euro each way, which is $2.35 usd).






Headed into downtown City Centre







At the River Liffey which flows thru the centre of Dublin & supplies most of it's water.

The sun was going down, but we weren't finished yet.

Made our way over to the Hard Rock Cafe. Surprise! they have one here too.  And guess what game they had on the big screen uptop? The Dallas Cowboys & Detroit Lions...how bout that!

The guy workin the door didn't know the score but I now know the Cowboys lost.

Well, I leave you with this pic of me enjoying a nice soft ice cream mix. It's on the lines of marble slab, if you've heard of it before.  It kinda pricey but well worth it.  Be sure to stop back by, this is just the tip of the iceburg of what I plan to share.  Dublin is kewler than I thought.  I almost thought I was in Dallas, if it weren't for some of the historical buildings but they got it goin on in Dublin, fun...fun...fun.

This is Traventure Woman, cheerio for now :)  gotta get some sleep I'm pooped.  It's just about 11pm here and almost 5pm there.  G'nite.

Day 19

Monday, October 3, 2011 & we have left the hotel & headed to City Centre.  This is pic of Church at the corner of the bus stop pick up.   Love the message.

Dublin Castle was until 1922 the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland, and is now a major Irish government complex. Most of it dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland. The Castle served as the seat of English, then later British government of Ireland under the  Lordship of Ireland (1171–1541), the Kingdom of Ireland (1541–1800), and the United Kingdom of Great Britain (1800–1922). And and established as the Irish Free State in 1922.

Me in front of a portion of the castle that still remains.  Yes I did tour inside.

I met these ladies while touring the castle.  Both are from Amsterdam, Holland the lady in the middle is portugean & the other is Dutch.  We had a fab time.

Touring one of the rooms in the castle.  There's a lot of history dating back centuries which for us is usually found in school history books or library books back in the States.  That's the tour guide.

This is the room where Britain's Queen Elizabeth II delivered her historic state address in Dublin May 18, 2011.   According to the tour guide it was the 1st visit of a queen to visit Ireland.  The last visit from a monarchy was 100 yrs ago in 1911 by King George V.

This is the ceiling of the room where Queen's address was made.  It was a sight to see up close.  Tour guide said it took 3 yrs for the painter to complete it.

Now in the lower portion of the castle where it was excavated & 100s of thousands of pieces of treasures, jewels, skeletal remains, furniture, all kinds of stuff was found & is now located in the National Museum in Dublin.

Well cheerio for now, gotta get some things done.  But please stop back by there's much more to share about Ireland.

Radisson Hotel - Dublin (rear view)

A better pic of the rear view of hotel.

Headed to Dublin City Centre.

Irish Times Newspaper Building.

Saw this Church ministry on my way to the Library.

Pic take of college students most were coming from nearby hostel.  Can't recall what the bldg is in the pic. 

Sorry, I don't remember the name of this bldg either

Obviously the gospel is being preached around the world :)

 An old historical ship docked.

Dublin has some intersting architectual buildings but very cosmopolitan.

See what I mean?  And this city is packed with tourist...such as myself every single day of the week.

Isn't it lovely.  I could have spent the whole night down here, which sorry I don't have any pictures of.  They had folks in the streets showing off their talent w/dance, with playing instruments. 

They had a dart train that ran throughout the city.

See the trains?  I told you this place was packed with people & this is a weekday.

Christ Church Cathedral

Standing in front of Christ Church Cathedral, it is massive.

Like I said this Church is massive.  It conects to the other side of the street.

Well on that note, I will tune out right here & prepare my dinner.  It's lunch time there in Dallas, right about 11:30a.m. there & 5:30pm here.  The weather is 16 celsius which is 60.8 deg farenheit. So just a tad nippy & windy but comfortable.  To the dublins that's pretty warm to them.   I believe Dallas has been in the 80s this week, much nicer than the 100+ weather we were having when I left last month.

This is Traventure Woman signing off til tomorrow, tune in again.  I still have pics to share of the Natural History Museum, you know with the stuffed prehistoric animals :) St. Patrick's Cathedral & the Irish Sea which seperates Ireland from Great Britain.  There are 4 countries that make up Great Britain (Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales & England) & it's present monarch is Queen Elizabeth II.

Tootles for now :)

Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin

Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, also known as The National Cathedral and Collegiate Church of Saint Patrick or in the Irish language as Árd Eaglais Naomh Pádraig, founded in 1191, is the larger of Dublin's two Church of Ireland cathedrals and the largest church in Ireland.

Inside St. Patrick's cathedral.  Facing the front of sanctuary.

Facing rear of sanctuary.

Elisabeth did not wait for me to get in position to take the pic & is why you have the awkward shot of me walking.

Now, you can tell who was taking the picture, yes, me :)

Beautiful stained glass was amazing to see.

Day 20

These are pics were taken at the Dublin National History Museum.

Nope, it's not what I was expecting.  You'll see in the next few pics.

This winged beauty (bat) was found in the good ole USA....lol!

See what I mean.  Most of the animals were not prehistoric at all but regular animals we see at the zoo.

Needless to say I was just a tad disappointed.  I guess compared to back home, I'm talkin bout my original home...home...as in L.A., Calif. home, at the History Museum, you'll see all the dinosaurs in their makeshift habitat & so on.  Anyway, it was entertaining if nothing else. 

However, they did have some interesting skeletal remains of certain animals like this one was an elephant, they had some ancient prehistoric mammals as well.

Well, that's it for the day.  Sorry, I ran out of time to upload pics by the sea, so that'll have to be on tomorrow.  It's dinner time....woohoo!

This is Traventure Woman saying good-night for now!  One week to go & I will be heading back to the states.  Will leave Dublin & spend my last week in London, before flyin back home.  I'm kinda lookin forward to gettin back to some type of normalcy, in otherwords, the comfortability of being in my own country :)

Day 21

Okay, it's been a minute since I last blogged but my schedule got a little busy, well actually a lot busy.   Am finally able to get the last pics of Ireland uploaded, so here you go.

 

 The Irish Sea is right behind me but you can't hardly tell bcuz the tide was out. And I'm actually standing on the shore of the sea bed.

Just me again :)

A town called Black Rock in front of some Irish hills, they don't have mountains.

Was walking along collecting seashells & clams.  I had to throw some clams back, the clam was still it em...ewww!

I had walked quite a ways out & took this pic of the town I was stayin in.

Just a pretty sight for a pic.

I did make my way out far enuff to actuall touch the water.  Can't possibly come all this way to the Atlantic Ocean & not dip my finger in the Irish Sea.

Gonna wrap things up, fly back to London for one more week.  Stay tuned....