The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the full name of the country that we usually just shorten to England. Of course, Great Britain includes England, Scotland, … Read more
Since 1985, the European Commission has been designating one or two cities per year as European Capitals of Culture (ECOC). That’s thirty years of work, recognizing more than fifty cities, … Read more
Last summer, while on a driving tour of the UK, we joined the National Trust. It’s essentially the historic preservation and national park organization for all of the UK: “We … Read more
Kris and I visited 13 foreign countries this year. In order: Spain, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Canada, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Japan, back to Spain, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, and Hungary. … Read more
I can talk about this now, and I’ll start by saying Tom is a very good driver. And I am a very good navigator. I can read a map, have a good sense of direction, and am good at planning routes, scenic or otherwise. But things are different here in the UK and in the Republic of Ireland, and I’m not just talking about driving on the left. For both driver and passenger, I offer these true stories and tidbits of advice.
The message read, “This site has been blocked as potentially politically controversial. If you think this message has appeared in error, please see your network administrator,” or something like that. Had I accidentally Googled my way into a terrorist site? No, as a matter of fact, I was trying to look up UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Ireland. I was in my room at Bewley’s Hotel in the Ballsbridge neighborhood of Dublin, a fairly nice place, the nicest place I’d been in for quite a while.
We took two days to do not much more than drive at random around the northeast coast of Ireland. A lot of focus on the natural beauty of Ireland is … Read more
I’m told that fans of Game of Thrones will recognize this scene from Northern Ireland, where much of Game of Thrones is filmed, evidently. Sorry, but I’ve only seen snippets … Read more
As we were walking through the center of Belfast we saw this future bonfire at the edge of a parking lot. On the night of July 11 every year, the … Read more
Just after finishing a spray paint portrait of Margaret Thatcher, a graffiti artist sprayed a white rectangle next to Maggie to prepare his next canvas. We stopped a bit and … Read more