Beginnings

We will begin our journey by flying 10 hours (give or take) from Charlotte to Shannon, Ireland. It is located in County Kerry next to the Beara Peninsula. We will then travel through the Scenic Ring of Kerry. I'm not sure what this is beyond a road along the peninsula along the coast between the Atlantic Ocean and the Celtic Sea. I'm pretending that there were once Faeries and Leprechauns for the time being :-). At the end of this gaelic path is a bog museum. Picture Jamestown (if you been there). Sounds like a tourist trap, but it should be interesting.

By Day 4 we will be on our way to visit Blarney Castle, home of the Blarney Stone! Once I rub the stone down with hand sanitizer (JK), I'll lean backward under the turret, high above the verdancy below, and kiss the stone, as is tradition. We will traverse on to Dublin, but not before we stop by ancient Cashel Rock. This was the original seat of the Kings of Munster prior to Norman invasion. St. Patrick is linked to this structure as well.

Once back on the road, we will end our day in Joyce's "Dear, dirty Dublin" or Dubh Linn. This city whose name means "black pool," is of course renowned for its production of such literary giants as the afore mentioned Joyce, Yeats, Beckett (my favorite), Wilde, Swift, and Stoker. Joyce's collection of short stories called Dubliners, is an interesting portrait of the personalities Joyce grew up around. Whether you consider his perspective accurate or critical and artistic, it will be interesting to experience his inspiration. One of the long awaited sites of our visit to Dublin will be the beautifully ornate Book of Kells, housed at Trinity College.

We will depart Dublin and land in Wales. After visiting a Welsh castle, we will travel through a place called Snowdonia. This sounds to me as if it has been pulled directly from Narnia.

By Day 7, we will make our way to London on our way to visit the sod of the greatest of all the King's Men. Once we've exhausted Stratford upon Avon, we will light in London where we will see the old boy, Big Ben, Piccadilly Circus (where I hope to see the hero of J.M. Barry's famous children's tale), St. Paul's Cathedral, and Windsor Castle.

Finally, Days 9 and 10 will be spent touring the various attractions of Paris from the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. If I can manage it, I have hopes to visit the illustrious or in some circles, ignominious, Shakespeare and Company. It was THE bookstore and literary salon for such Modernist excommunicates as Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Pablo Picasso, James Joyce, and Sylvia Beach. It was the artery through which Bohemian art pulsed in the early 20th Century. This, of course, would be the proverbial icing on the cake for this little girl.

Feicfidh mé thú ar ball!