Our Awesome Trip Last Summer

I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about our trip to Ireland and the UK last year. For me, it was not only an opportunity to meet people I’d only gotten to know online, but it was like … well, I can only describe it as a trip in which I experienced a feeling of connection with my ancestral roots.

Now, to say I was going through difficulties at the time would be understating things, quite a bit. 🙂

Nonetheless, I managed to enjoy the trip very much, despite all the horrible drugs I was on, plus the fact that I was so out of shape, etc.

Someday, I hope to return to all those countries, and see them again, in a much improved condition. Hopefully, my fingers will have been realigned or whatever and all will be better.

If you’d like to see a whole gallery display of photos from the trip, just click here. (quickly while it lasts)

Otherwise, here are a few of my very favorites.

Our first stop was Dublin, Ireland. Unfortunately, we didn’t rent a car, so we didn’t get to see much of the country. But we did walk around the city, which was great. I really enjoyed just being offline, seeing the sights of the city, and talking to the people, many of whom enjoyed talking about books so much it was amazing! Why, at one pub we went to for dinner, the waiter and I got into a lengthy discussion about mysteries and literature in general that was so much fun, I was ready to just invite him to join us for a drink and say, “Don’t worry about those other customers. Someone will serve them, I’m sure.”

Here’s a photo of that pub, I think.

While we were there, we met Caren Kennedy and her daughter, Aisha, in the lobby of the Davenport Hotel, which I have to say was a really awesome place to stay. It was so exciting to meet Caren, who I’d come to know online and to be able to give her a copy of my novel. Anyway, here we are.

I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to meet Louise Phillips, whose books are doing so well! Maybe next time?

We took a few more photos of Dublin, here and there.

 

 

Then, we went to Scotland, where our first stop was in Glasgow, where I found this TARDIS!

I must say, isn’t that the most ironic thing? We never saw anything like this in England. So … really. London, where are your TARDISes? Hmm …?

Glasgow was really cool. It reminded me of Pittsburgh. Kind of a working class town, only very historic. I liked that.

It was when we were in Glasgow that we went to Loch Lomond, if I remember correctly. Or perhaps it was Edinburgh. Frankly, my memory of the trip is somewhat blurred at this point, since I was on such horrible drugs and tortured constantly.

While we were at Loch Lomond, I couldn’t resist having my husband take this photo!

Then, while we were in Edinburgh, we went by the Scott Tower. And I wondered if I could possibly manage to climb all 239 steps to the top, despite my gamey (sp?) foot and aching thighs and so on and so on. Anyhow, we stood there thinking about it, until I said, “Oh, fuck it. C’mon, let’s do it.”

And we made it, of course!

Frankly, I’m leaving out a few parts. Like the various museums, bookstores, and art galleries I dragged my husband to. Because I actually am interested in history, art, and books, etc.  In fact, I think we even stumbled into the middle of a small rehearsal. However, I think that was in London at the Globe Museum … so, let’s talk about London …

Here’s a photo of Big Ben, which is a really awesome clock!

My husband is a big fan of clocks. We have our own grandfather clock, and I thought Big Ben was a grandfather clock to beat all grandfather clocks and then some!

So … while we were looking at Big Ben, we also took photos of Winston Churchill and Parliament and me walking around in a daze, probably thinking, “I could sure use an espresso right now.”

 

 

 

We also got to meet Paul Downie and his friend, Trevor Veail, in Brentwood. As you may or may not know, I met Paul online through blogging and a mutual interest not only in James Bond, but in Doctor Who. So, anyway, we met Paul and Trevor in Brentwood, and ended up having drinks at Café Nero.

Paul is also one of my readers. That was one of the things that made our meeting so interesting and awesome!

I had so hoped to meet Karen Chilvers, too, but she wasn’t there. Such a shame, really. Oh, well.

Here’s a photo of Karen with a crowd of people in front of the Brentwood Library, where I once donated a bunch of copies of my first novel.

And here’s a photo of Karen pounding the streets of Essex, dealing with the pothole situation.

And here’s a photo of me and Paul, at the Brentwood Library!

Finally, here’s a photo we took in Kensington Gardens.

I’m sorry I never got to meet Stephen Leather. Maybe next time? Hmm …?

Apropos of nothing in particular, I thought I’d end this with a song! 🙂