Paris: July 29 - 31

Friday, July 29th 

We took the Eurostar from London to Paris. Even with a delay outside of Paris, and Laura getting stuck in a turnstile while exiting the Metro station, we were still at our hotel ("Hotel de la Tour Eiffel") before the sun went down. We took a quick walk past the Eiffel Tower and over to the River Seine for our 

"we're on vacation" picture.

The weather was beautiful Saturday morning and we walked over to the Eiffel Tower,
only several blocks away from our hotel.

We began our sightseeing in earnest with a two hour ride around the 'City of Light' in a tour bus. 

We discovered on our trip that we liked these open-air buses. They were a great way to quickly get the lay of the land in a new city. 

Scenes along the Champs Elysees, the famous boulevard of high-end shops (and tourist traps).

After the bus tour we walked around some more, soaking up the sun and the ambiance.

On our way to the Rue Cler for dinner we stopped to watch a rockabilly group playing outside 

"The Bosquet", a restaurant near our hotel where we had dinner the night before.

Kevin was the first to catch the cold we all wound up catching, so after dinner he went back to the hotel to lie down while Laura and I went to stand in the queue for the Eiffel Tower. We took the elevator all the way to the top and enjoyed the amazing views.

Arc de Triomphe

Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur Basilica

Afterwards we got Kevin for the light show. It was spectacular!

Sunday, our last day, was filled with Laura's top sights to see. We used the Metro to get around.
Our first stop was the Louvre.

We walked down the River Seine, mingling with the crowds, past street artists and sunbathers.

Cathedral of Notre Dame

We walked across the bridge to the Ile Saint-Louis.

Our last evening in Paris... Au revoir.

Belfast

On our trip to Ireland we flew into Belfast. After renting a car and before setting out to Donegal to visit our friends the Dolans, we took some time to drive around Belfast, to try and get a sense of the city and "the Troubles" it has seen during the past century.

The Catholic (a.k.a. Republican, Nationalist) part of the city is centered around Falls Road, while the Protestant (a.k.a. Loyalist, Unionist) part is centered around Shankill Road.  Both roads run east-west from the city center, with a large wall (the "Peace Line") in between, separating the two sides. 

The look of the wall has improved since we last saw it 17 years ago. Trees have been planted, signs of hope have been posted, and it's now possible to go from one side to the other through several unmanned gates that are open during daylight hours.

It's easy to tell which side of the wall you're on. Large murals decorate the sides of many buildings and walls proclaiming allegiance to one side or the other, along with references to the paramilitary groups "IRA" (Irish Republican Army) or "UVF" (Ulster Volunteer Force).  

Scenes from Falls Road (Catholic):

Signs and murals on the Catholic side are often written in Gaelic.

Another way to tell which side you're on is by looking at the flags and colors 

(green white and orange for Republican, blue red and white for Loyalist).

Scenes from Shankill Road (Protestant):

Loyalists also have an affinity for the ancient English flag (white with a red cross).
And notice the reference to "UVF" inside the logo below.

As I read the first few sentences of this plaque along Shankill Road, I was thinking 

"good thing I didn't wear my McFarland t-shirt today":

Hope lies with future generations. If you're not old enough to remember,
maybe you can start to let go of the past.

The Dolan's Donegal paradise

We were fortunate to be house guests of our friends who vacation at their family home 

in County Donegal every summer. We had a fantastic time!

We explored nearby Doe Castle,

watched the horse races,

and Gene won!

The girls had fun on the beach...

and we all had fun in Gene's cousin's pub.

Here's Kevin jamming with a local.

Heartfelt thanks to the Dolans for welcoming us into their home!!

---------

Kevin flew back to London and Laura and I took a bus to Dublin. We stayed with my second cousin Maureen and she took us around Dublin to see some of the sites. Thanks to Maureen for her hospitality!

We visited Dublin Castle.

We saw the shoppers on Grafton Street.

 Laura posed with the Irish fishmonger Molly Malone.

We saw the stunningly beautiful book of the four gospels.

And here we are crossing the river Liffey on the O'Connell bridge.

We had a quick one day tour and then flew back to London that evening. The next day we got ready to leave the UK and begin our vacation on the continent.

... and goodbye!

We invited some people from the office to our flat shortly before we left.

Laura drew the invitation. It shows the outside of our flat.

On our very last night in London, more people from the office gathered at a nearby pub 

for drinks and goodbyes. 

They presented us with this beautiful canvas print, based on Laura's original invite.

Cheers!

The London Eye...

The London Eye, or Millennium Wheel, is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe and the most popular attraction in London. So in true tourist fashion we headed over on a clear evening to take a ride.

I've posted a number of pictures from various heights as we rotated around the big wheel.

This first one is Big Ben and Parliament.

A red double-decker bus way down there on the bridge.

Looking west down the Thames.

Looking east down the Thames.

The design resembles a huge spoked bicycle wheel. Cool!

 Wendy, taking a picture of us.

 Jean, Michael...

and us.

The ride took about 30 minutes to complete. We took some silly pics on the Westminster bridge
then walked home. 

Brilliant!

There's also a short "4D" video you can view while waiting for the ride.  Posted here, it loses a little effect without the 3D glasses, but we thought it still captures some of the spirit of this amazing city.