We're heading to Ireland in July. It'll be a fun trip, no responsibilities except to enjoy the opportunity. I found a way to pack my road bike into a suitcase, so will ride as much as I can. I'll show some bike pics, then the trip pics. Lynn is going to sightsee and do other things while I ride.
7-19-06 We're uploading pics from a Galway cafe, activities are as labelled, super trip so far.
7-21-06 In Killarney now for three days/nights. Lynn had convention responsibilities, but I hit the road. Cycling was fantastic today. This p.m. we took a horse-drawn jaunty cart ride around Killarney State Park, then a boat ride on Lough Leane, then ate at a local pub: potato cakes and lamb stew.
7-22-06 Another perfect day, how long can this keep up?! Unusual dry and HOT weather for Ireland, temps approaching 85-90F. The tour group headed to Dingle and the Peninsula, which has fantastic scenery, the kind you expect Ireland to look like. I got an early start on my bike and linked up with them over there,in the middle of a welcome rain. They stopped on the road for me, then we all rode the bus around the peninsula to see all the sights, and came back to Killarney. Another great supper in town, and back to the hotel. Plan is to bike to Blarney (outside Cork) tomorrow, and Lynn will ride with the group.
7-26-06 Dublin internet cafe uploading pics. Long day, walked lots, worth it to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College, Guinness factory, a bike shop, some antique stores, and a bunch of pubs. Ate across from the oldest pub in Ireland, in business 800 yrs. Tomorrow we head for N. Ireland, staying in Derry (Londonderry). I have a bike ride plan in mind that should be good if it works out!
7-31 HOME now, posting some more pics of our trip. Northern Ireland was an interesting place to visit. Very "British" in appearance and in speech inflection of locals we met. Ailbe tried to explain the differences between the factions in N. Ireland, and their history, but it's impossible to absorb it intelligently during such a short visit. We stayed in Derry (Londonderry), at the only hotel within the old city walls. Side trips to the north coast, Giant's Causeway, and Bushmills Distillery, the oldest legal whiskey manufacturer in Ireland (the world?).
I snuck in one last awesome bike ride, from the town of Bushmills to Magilligan Point on the north coast, then across Lough Foyle on a ferry to Greencastle, and biked back down to Derry. Perfect end to a perfect trip!
I ended up with 300+ miles of biking in Ireland and N. Ireland, over 6 days of rides. Thanks everyone for your patience with my riding project, it made for a wonderful trip.
EF Tour VISITORS TO THIS SITE: I'll post as many EF Tour participant photos as I can find at the end of this page. We have some good ones of almost everybody, I think. If you like any of the pics on this little site, PLEASE download it to your own computer by following the instructions on the page.Select "Original" size for highest resolution. Let me know if you want some other pics, we have lots more we didn't post...I think Lynn and I took a few hundred pics, and you're welcome to them! Thanks for being such great travelling companions and becoming such good friends.
Date(s): July 17-30, 2006. Album by John Phillips. Photos by John Phillips. 1 - 170 of 170 Total. 1536 Visits.
1 This is everything for my full-size bike. I'll use the frame tube protectors for final packing. "This is my favorite p..." "John, Only your daugh..." View Comments...
2 FWIW This is the final packing version, upon return to the USA 7-30. I didn't have to remove the rear derailleur or the crank, so packing and reassembly was a snap.
3 Art John & Lynn airport dropoff "Whos that handsome du..." View Comments...
4 7-18 Limerick Barber sign
5 7-18 Lynn & Limerick bridge at Potato Market
6 7-18 Cliffs of Moher "what a beautiful scen..." View Comments...
7 7-18 More Cliffs of Moher
8 7-18 JOhn on the Burren, Galway Bay
9 7-18 Burren & castle ruin
10 7-19 Kylemore Abbey near Galway
11 7-19 Lynn at Kylemore Abbey
12 7-19 Victorian Gardens Kylemore Abbey
13 7-19 Connemara Lake
14 7-19 Carraroe Coral Beach, 30 Miles out of Galway
20 Pint of Guiness at Galway pub 7-19 "Cheers! Wish we were ..." View Comments...
21 Hotel G at Galway
22 Lynn at the G Hotel: PAT, see the basset?
23 7-20 Lynn at Adare, pretty town
24 7-21 Bike unpacked, assembled, and ready to go. There's the suitcase it came in. 1/2 hour for the whole job!
25 7-21 Biking past Lough near Muckross Abbey
26 Lough in Killarney State Park 7-21
27 7-21 Muckross Abbey ruins with recent burials!
28 7-21 Bike scenery, Lady View
29 Castle ruin near Moll's Gap 7-21
30 7-21 JUST before hitting the "highest pub in Ireland"...there was NOTHING out there but fields and sheep
31 7-21 Roadside Guiness at highest pub in Ireland, see the window sign? Near Coolea, after Inchee Bridge, out in the middle of nothing but hilly sheep farms! "My dad is the coolest..." "John, Only a daughter..." "They wouldn't let you..." View Comments...
32 Barkeep and son at "Highest pub in Ireland", would she lie?
33 Castle ruin and jaunty cart horse ears (Molly) 7-21
34 Lynn at Ross Castle ruin 7-21
35 7-21 Jaunty Cart ride begins at Killarney State Park, with driver John and horse Molly
36 Biking to Dingle, Inch Strand beach and bluff 7-22
37 7-22 Biking to Dingle Rt. 563, to meet group for tour of peninsula
52 JACK, this one's for YOU, unidentified wildlife at Dingle Peninsula 7-22 "I ADORE this one...I ..." View Comments...
53 7-22 Lynn at Killarney Randle Court hotel
54 7-23 John leaving Randle Court Hotel Killarney for Blarney as bus loads for group transit
55 7-23 Macroom Bridge on the way to Blarney, lunch break
56 Pretty bridge somewhere out there
57 7-23 Pretty scenery with a human in it, enroute to Blarney
58 7-23 Lynn at a castle in Macroom, I think, en route to Blarney
59 7-23 JOhn riding into Blarney to meet back up with group
60 Blarney hotel and Woolen Mill shop
61 7-23 Lynn at Blarney Castle
62 7-24 Kinsale lunch restaurant, the food was wonderful but left us little time to see the town!
63 7-24 Lynn at Kinsale cool pay toilet, just before helping me unload bike from bus for ride back to Blarney...it hoses itself out on the inside after each user leaves
64 7-24 Most of the EF group evening party at Blarney
65 7-25 Lynn and Matts at cook school enroute to Dublin
66 7-25 John with close sculpture friends at Ballymaloe Cooking School, run by world famous chef whose name I will remember later. "Now everyone knows wh..." View Comments...
67 7-25 Summer house at gardens cook school outside Blarney "Very cute!" View Comments...
68 7-25 Lynn at Rock of Cashel castle on the way to Dublin
69 7-25 John and ruin behind Rock of Cashel
70 7-25 Lynn at Cobh with Irish Navy patrol boat leaving for a 2 week tour
71 7-25 Gaeity Theater Dublin, for Riverdance
72 Us inside theater before show began
73 7-25 Big hotdog at Eddie Rockets after Riverdance
74 7-26 Oldest pub in Dublin - in business 800 years, they claim
75 7-26 Lynn with her new favorite brew "Cheers! We'll have to..." View Comments...
77 "The Deaf Judge" Pub in Courthouse district on the river, on way back from Guiness factory. What'd you say???
78 7-26 Trinity College Book Of Kells line, Dublin
79 Trinity College
80 7-26 Guinness factory complex
81
82 7-26 Antique shop near Ha'Penny bridge Dublin...Lynn returned to the scene of the crime for a fast souvenier purchase 3 days later!
83 Queen's University, Belfast
84 7-27 John with babes at Enniskillen Castle
85 7-27 Lynn at Beleek Pottery
86 7-27 Us at Grinan Aileach, River Swilley and Inch Island in background
87 7-27 Grinan Aileach fort atop hill overlooking Lough Swilley, Inch Island, Lough Foyle and Londonderry
88 7-28 John at Giant's Organ (I have NO IDEA why they call it that)
89 7-28 Luke and Carol, Giant's Shoe
90 7-28 Lynn at Giant's Causeway
91 7-28 Lynn at Giant's boot
92 7-28 us at Giant's Causeway
93 7-28 Lynn's hot toddy at Bushmill's Distillery
94 7-28 Walled garden at Bishop's Gate, Downhill, biking back to Derry from Bushmills
95 7-28 cabin with peat smoke from chimney and waterfall at town of Downhill en route from Bushmills to Magilligan Strand. Ocean is directly across road from the house.
96 7-28 Waiting for Magilligan Pt. ferry with a cup of Guiness, my FFR hat, and my new friend the barkeep
97 7-28 Ferry at Magilligan Pt.
98 7-28 On ferry from Magilligan Point to Greencastle, above Londonderry, coming back from Bushmills
99 7-28 Sea ponies resting near Muff, on the way into Derry "You didn't bring one ..." View Comments...
100 7-29 Poignant statute in Derry, N. Ireland. See their hands ALMOST grasping each other across the divide. "The Troubles" are not fully understandable by an outsider.
101 7-29 Belfast street sweeper machine and operator. Cyclists here should agitate for these in PB County!
102 7-29 Belfast City Hall Titanic memorial statute
103 7-29 Lynn Belfast City Hall
104 7-29 Titanic was built in this dry dock, now abandoned. No shipbuilding industry in Belfast anymore
105 7-29 N. Ireland Parliament building, now in disuse since their powers were dissolved by the British 10 yrs. ago or so
106 7-28 Derry wall tour: old prison tower in Loyalist section of town
107 7-28 Derry Wall
108 7-28 Bogside Art in Derry from old wall
109
110 7-28 Lynn and our hotel in Derry, at Butcher Gate on wall
111 7-28 Loyalist neighborhood outside old wall, Derry
112 7-28 Lynn at old protestant church along wall, Derry
113 7-28 Our tour guide, Tony, on wall, Derry
114 Sign on burned-out fire station outside wall, Derry
115 7-29 Dublin Trinity College sculpture, on way to supper
116
117
118 Our EF buddies, Matts, Emily, Elizabeth, and Lisa...thanks for a great trip
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158 Carol, the statute pics are for you...I didn't know which view you'd want to use, so take all you want.
WOW!!! How totally beautiful your pictures are! Looks like you all had a great time. Thanks for posting them for all to see. = ) Barb - Barb Warren, Fri, 4 Aug 2006 7:27AM
You guys have taken some amazing pictures! The scenery is breathtaking. I love you -- I'm so glad you are having such a special adventure! Love, Angie - Angie, Sat, 22 Jul 2006 4:51PM
HI Have a fun trip. Look forward to seeing your photos. Love you guys, Pat - Pat, Wed, 19 Jul 2006 3:45PM
