The World Through Our Lens
Photography of birds, animals, landscape and places we have travel to around the world.
Bob and I awoke to a fine drizzle the next morning, so rather than pursue the harbour boat tour first off, we headed to The Titanic Experience where visitors are invited to retrace the footsteps of the Queenstown passengers who boarded the Titanic on its maiden voyage. Cobh Town was known as Queenstown from 1850 until 1920. Read more
From Waterford, Bob and I followed the scenic coastal road towards our next destination, Cork Harbour. Sheer cliffs and pretty farms were visible all along the route, but it made for slow progress. As storm clouds hemmed in the sky, we eventually resorted to using the main freeway in order to achieve our destination by mid-afternoon. Read more
After leaving the Waterford Crystal Factory, Bob and I did some hasty research and selected Dunmore East (Irish: An Dun Mor Thoir) , a small fishing village south of Waterford in Ireland, as a likely destination that seemed of interest. When we pulled into the sleepy community, it immediately had us feeling right at home. Read more
The shimmer on the street below our hotel window betrayed a light drizzle that had dampened the City of Waterford. The House of Waterford Crystal was a short walk from the Granville Hotel so we were not deterred by the weather but set out on foot to check out the world-famous crystal manufacturer. Read more
It was yet another unseasonably hot day when Bob and I struck out from Glendalough in the direction of Baltinglass, which brought us nearer to the Brownshill Portal Tomb in Ireland. Read more
The day following our wild ride around the countryside in and around Glendalough, Bob and I wanted to get up close and personal with nature by going for a hike in Wicklow Mountains National Park. The predawn light nudged me from my sleep around 4 a.m., and excitement snuck into my consciousness as I thought about the hike we would take in the morning. Read more
Bob and I had wanted to visit Ireland and visit the Valley of the two lakes at Glendalough in County Wicklow, Ireland, for many a long year. So finally, we booked a flight and made for Dublin, and Glendalough. We were excited about exploring the land of Bob’s ancestors. The Emerald Isle, as Ireland is fondly called, had me envisioning rolling hills burgeoning with lush green vegetation, and sprawling masses of shamrocks in shady glens. Read more
After leaving Powerscourt House, our drive became very interesting because Bob and I avoided using the main thoroughfares. Instead, we took to driving the back roads in County Wicklow in the Shadow of Sugar Loaf Mountain. We were on a search for adventure. Bob and I loved the canopy of trees that spanned the carriageway from one side of the road to the other, creating a living, green tunnel. It was reminiscent of our drives on the country roads in England. Read more
Chateau de la Bourdaisiere in the Commune of Montlouis-sur-Loire, in France, is elegantly situated on a 54-hectare estate of combined gardens and mixed woodlots in the famed Loire Valley. Having changed hands many, many times over the centuries, it was lastly bought, in 1991, by the brothers Prince Philippe Maurice and Prince Louis Albert de Broglie. Read more
One of my hopes on our trip to France was to spend a night in a “real” castle like Chateau de la Bourdaisiere. By happenstance we learned about this castle when we came upon a little tourist information booth along a country road in the Loire Valley. It happened to be staffed by an English-speaking young woman. Read more
