culture – Page 3 – Destination NOW

OAT’s Kyoto Itinerary

There was so much to see and do in Kyoto, I decided Kyoto required two posts. This one describes the “official” OAT activities. The next post is all the “extras” sweet Mori made sure we experienced.

After Covid cancelled my 2020 Japan trip, I comforted myself with an on-line “tour” of Kyoto. From that, I got the mistaken impression that Kyoto was a rather compact city with all of the sights clustered together.

I was TOTALLY unprepared for how big Kyoto is and how scattered the points of interest are.

My iPhone photos will give you a rough idea of how much ground OAT’s itinerary covered during our 5 day stay. I was very grateful that Mori handled all of the logistics.

The Shinkansen brought us swiftly and smoothly to Kyoto. Because we had ridden the bullet train from Tokyo to Kanazawa, we were familiar with the drill: you pack a small overnight bag to tide you over until the larger luggage ( which was shipped) arrives a day later. The bullet train is super comfortable, but storage space is quite limited.

I was glad that I was traveling with only a backpack, because unlike our arrival in Kanazawa, in Kyoto we had to swim through an ocean of humanity to get through the train station.

I’m wondering what was easier to follow—Taco, or my gray head sticking up above the crowd.

What a multisensory extravaganza the Kyoto train station was! We were bombarded with sounds, sights and wonderful smells, but as you’ll see in a later post, it is even more thrilling at night, so no more daytime station photos.

But first, here’s a whirlwind tour of my favorite things on OAT’s itinerary, which successfully hit Kyoto’s traditional hot spots.

The majestic Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

It is hard to describe the peaceful feeling one gets while walking through these towering plants.

The Tenryu-ji Temple

A brief stroll away from the forest was a beautiful garden and Buddhist temple. We were so excited to see the cherry blossoms were starting to open.

I managed to pitch a coin right into the ring in front of the frog. I keep making the same wish. One of these times it should work.

Kinkaku-ji Temple (Temple of the Golden Pavilion)

The original temple was constructed around 1400, but was rebuilt in the 1950’s after it was burned to the ground by a crazed monk.

Wasn’t it fitting that the phoenix atop the temple was the only part of the original that managed to arise from the ashes of the burned building?

Nijo Castle

We toured the interior of Nijo Castle, but we weren’t allowed to take photos. That’s okay. I found the exterior far more compelling—especially at night (and yes, you are going to have to wait for a future post to see how glorious it is).

Nara

India has its sacred cows; Japan has its deer.

Todaiji Temple

This is the home of the world’s largest wooden Buddha.

He was so enormous, it was difficult to photograph him. Besides, we’ve all seen Buddha photos.

As you may have noticed from earlier posts, I’m rather fond of the Guardians. Even though this one has a fierce facial expression, he’s holding a scroll and pen, so how scary can he be? Maybe his message is “the pen is mightier than the sword”?

This next photo requires an explanation, but first take a look and see if you can figure out what is happening.

There is a wooden block in the temple, with an opening that supposedly is the size of Buddha’s nose (the statue, not the human). The belief is that anyone able to squeeze through Buddha’s nose (or the passage) would have a good life. I’m pleased to say that although he initially struggled, Mori made it thru.

Zen Temple

After walking alongside this beautiful river, we climbed 200 steps ( I didn’t count; I took Mori’s word for it) to meet a zen master, with whom we meditated.

We left, totally at peace, feeling “zero”. It’s fortunate that l learned to let go, because that hat on my head and I were soon to go our separate ways.

Fushimi Inari Shrine

After experiencing Buddhism, we moved on to the famous Shinto shrine with its beautiful vermillion Torii Gates.

We didn’t have time to climb to the top, so this map will have to suffice to give you an idea of the immensity of the shrine.

When Christo did “The Gates” in NYC’s Central Parking 2005, Mike and I spent an enjoyable February afternoon strolling through them. Could Christo have gotten his inspiration from Japan? I think he did.

Sushi Making

I will say up front that raw fish wrapped in seaweed does not meet my definition of delicious. Still, I was determined to keep an open mind. I was quite happy to learn that we had a vegetable option.

My son Greg would have loved the discussion about knives and whet stones.

Okay, so maybe it didn’t look like much, but it sure was tasty.

What better way to end this post than with a photo of a beautiful blossom…

and a group shot taken after our farewell dinner. Sadly, Mary, Jim, Kathleen and Cathy, weren’t joining us on the post trip to Hiroshima.

Japanese Cultural Experiences in Tokyo and Hakone

When you think of Japan, what comes to mind? For me, it was all about the cherry blossoms and the Geishas. Sumo Wrestling? Drumming? Karaoke? Not so much. But I kept an open mind, and I’m so glad I did. Frequently, on OAT trips, I didn’t know I wanted to see something until I got there.

Take, for instance, sumo wrestlers. These guys put on quite a show for us. I hadn’t expected them to be so funny! While demonstrating the forbidden moves—poking their opponent’s eyes—a fake eyeball popped out and rolled on the floor.

Sumos have “stage names”, like US wrestlers

They’re heavy, but muscular and very fit.

It wasn’t just laughs, though. We also learned quite a bit about the sport. Some of the sumo wrestlers are recruited from the ranks of “troubled” boys, usually around the time they turn 15, providing a constructive use of all that testosterone.

Their careers last about 20 years, which means they retire from wrestling in their mid to late 30’s, similar to the career span of professional athletes in the USA.

Renee and I (because of our insurance backgrounds) immediately had questions about the impact of all that extra weight on life expectancy. We learned that sumo wrestlers, on average, live 10 years less than most Japanese. As one would expect, diabetes, joint problems, head injuries and other medical issues are responsible for decreased longevity.

Like our time with the wrestlers, we were offered a “hands on” experience at a subsequent cultural event —drumming. And boy, did we get into it! We were like a bunch of pre-teen boys, wildly pounding away.

It was raining off and on during our second day in Hakone, but we didn’t mind. Our day was filled with indoor cultural experiences, starting with a boat ride across the lake to visit a woodworking master.

Renee, attempting to get the perfect exterior shot

I’m not normally a shopper, but this master craftsman’s work was so exquisite and so unusual, I had to buy a couple of his smaller pieces. Partly because of the prices and partly because traveling with carry on, my purchasing power was severely limited.

Next up was shabu shabu for lunch ( Japan’s version of fondue),

followed by a delightful encounter with these two lovely geishas, who danced and played a traditional instrument to demonstrate how they entertain clients.

During the question and answer period, they dispelled many misconceptions about geishas.

Unlike the book and movie “Memoirs of a Geisha” would have you believe, geishas are not prostitutes, nor are young girls sold to geisha houses. Although they admitted those things might have happened many years ago, the practice was not widespread even back then.

I never would have guessed there is a geisha union that clients contact when they want to book a geisha for an event. Geisha musicians are the highest paid, and if a client wants them to paint their faces white, and don wigs to create that traditional hairdo, it costs extra. An event normally lasts about two hours, with geishas sometimes attending two parties per night.

Curious about that big padded thingie on their back? I sure was. Well, they don’t carry a purse, so they need SOME PLACE to store their cell phone, right? Think of it as a Geisha backpack. I couldn’t believe all the stuff they pulled out to show us!

Because Hakone is noted for its hot springs, many hotels have onsens on site, and our hotel was no exception.

Men and women have separate areas, because everyone is naked in the onsen. During our stay, Kris , Janis and I experienced different pools, both inside and out, during our multiple visits. Since this is not an X-rated blog, there are no photos of the three of us frolicking in the onsen. Plus it’s against the rules. . .

Did I mention Japanese are very good at following rules? They are much better than Americans, which is probably why the laminated card in our rooms included English translations.

I’m going to end this post with our final Hakone activity—karaoke. My only prior experience with karaoke was at a bar, where individuals performed solo. The Japanese do it differently. It’s a group sing-along in a tiny room. Yep, the room isn’t much bigger than what you see in the photo below.

What a bonding experience! I’ll admit, it helps if you downed some sake (or wine) beforehand, which we all did, to celebrate Kathleen‘s birthday.

Wondering about that red basket? It held the microphones.

Luxor

I was awakened from a deep sleep by Jeanne, who was standing at the foot of my bed, shaking my leg. That was strange, given that we weren’t rooming together. Was it a dream? Nope. It seems I managed to sleep thru my 4AM wake up call, my cell phone alarm, and numerous text messages. They say there’s one in every group, and this time it was me.

Fortunately, I had arrived early for every other meeting, so my group knew I wasn’t t just being an inconsiderate jerk. At least not this time. They were concerned that something bad had happened to me. Was I dead? (I probably looked like I was). Did I meet with foul play? (No). Was I unconscious? (Sorta). What happened was I woke up at 2:35 but made the mistake of not getting up then. Lesson learned. Next time, I’ll grab my phone and do wordle, read email, check Facebook until it is time to leave.

Good thing I had packed almost everything for our flight to Luxor the night before, and laid out my clothes, so with Jeanne’s help, instead of being on the bus at 4:45 AM, my butt was in my seat at 4:52 AM. I’m quite proud to say that those 7 minutes also included the elevator ride all the way down from the 17th floor. Still, l felt bad for keeping the others waiting.

Normally, I put my empty backpack into my carryon, but because I stuffed my toiletries into my carryon (so I could brush my teeth at the airport), I needed to pull out my backpack and allocate the carryon contents between two bags.

Well, I almost left my carryon at security. I was at the check in desk when I realized I should have THREE bags, not two. Yes, you put ALL luggage, including your checked bag thru the X-ray machines, before you arrive at the check in counter to get your boarding pass. Then your carryon goes thru security again, after you dropped off your checked luggage.

Maybe when I get home I’ll do a post about my “interesting” airport experiences, of which, so far, there have been several, especially in Jordan where I got intimately acquainted with security coming and going.

There is far too much to say about Luxor to dwell on my rocky start, so I’ll move on. .

Did you know that 1/3 of the world’s antiquities are in Luxor? And that Luxor was once known as Thebes? I hope those are trivia questions some day.

The reason we had such an early start was so that we could go straight from the airport to the Temple of Karnak, then on to lunch before checking in to our hotel.

At one time this avenue united the Karnak and Luxor temples. Notice the rams head sphinxes that lined the avenue.

Just about everyone has seen photos of Egypt’s temples and tombs, right? But let me tell you, it just isn’t the same. You really DO have to be there to appreciate the immensity of these structures.

Although it looks crowded, and certainly felt that way, this is about half of what the crowds normally are at this time of year.

If you walk counterclockwise around this beetle (scarab) seven times, your wish is supposed to be granted. I had nothing better to do, so why not?

I’ll admit it, by the 7th time around I was starting to feel a little dizzy. But if I get my wish, it will be well worth it.

Lots of school groups were touring Karnak Temple that day. As was our experience in Jordan, the children were adorable and oh so friendly. They blew kisses, waved, shouted “hello” “how are you” and “welcome”.

That evening, five of us had dinner at the home of Mansour and Azza. We were joined by their two gorgeous daughters-in-law and their two very outgoing and entertaining granddaughters.

It was the perfect way to end our first evening in Luxor.

We spent two nights at the historic Winter Palace Hotel. Besides us, other famous guests included Jackie Onassis, Princess Diana, Henry Kissinger, Al Gore and Richard Gere.

On our free afternoon, Jeanne and I enjoyed a glass of wine in the gorgeous gardens. Helpful hint: if you’re going to drink the local Egyptian wine, go for the white.

Our second full day was spent exploring the Valley of the Kings in the morning, and the Valley of the Queens in the afternoon.

The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt’s first female ruler, was our first stop on the way to the valley of the Kings. According to historians, her reign was quite successful—no wars, a prosperous economy, but that didn’t stop her successors from trying to completely erase her from history.

Fortunately, archaeologists were able to recreate her story by studying the empty spaces on the walls, and the remaining, very faint outlines.

On our visits to the Valleys of the Kings and Queens, we explored the tombs of Ramses 1, 3, 4 , King Tut and Queen Nefertari (wife of Ramses the Great, also known as Ramses 2). All were spectacular, covered with vibrant hieroglyphics, but Tut’s tomb was unique in that his actual body—with face and feet exposed—is still in his tomb.

I had originally planned to leave Mike’s ashes inside King Tut’s tomb, but then I thought the caretakers might sweep him up, so I went with Plan B. I dug a little hole in the ground outside Tut’s tomb, inserted the ashes, then constructed this little pyramid atop them using stones lying nearby.

Okay, so maybe it doesn’t look like much, but I didn’t take 20 years to build it and I didn’t have the help of thousands of workers.

By the time we’d finished with the tombs, we were all too tired to tour the Temple of Luxor. It was just down the street from our hotel, so I caught a glimpse of the outside at night when it was lit up. That was good enough for me.

Our final Luxor activity was an optional one—a balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings. Only 4 of us were willing to endure yet another early morning departure (5AM). THIS time I was early!

To get to the balloon site, we had to cross the Nile by boat. Well, there were many boats lined up at the pier. To reach our boat, we had to climb through other boats. In one instance, it felt like we were walking “the plank”. But there was a reward. Take a look at what we got for our efforts. Yes indeed, that is a Twinkie in my hand. I hadn’t seen one of those in decades; it was so long ago, they came two in a package! No, I didn’t eat it, but it did make me smile.

The day before our balloon ride , we had seen these statues of Amenhotep III from the ground.

Here is the aerial view.

Next post will be about our 5 day cruise on the Nile.

Three Days in Amman, Jordan

Remember learning about the “Dark Ages” in school? Well, come to find out, it wasn’t dark everywhere. In the Muslim world, for instance, the “Golden Ages” is a more apt description. Don’t believe me? Then come to the magnificent Jordan Museum. In addition to archaeological treasures, like Dead Sea Scrolls, the museum has a wonderful short video about the many significant contributions Muslims made to the world during Europe’s dark days, plus several interactive, multi-media displays.

Even if Amman isn’t on your bucket list (although Jordan should be) you can still experience some of the museum’s wonders by visiting this website ( if the link doesn’t work type in 1001inventions.com. )

The Jordan Museum was not part of the OAT tour, however my friend Jeanne and I arrived a day early, so we had free time to explore before we met up with Hisham, our trip leader. My virtual travel buddy, Esther, who I hope to meet in person someday, had highly recommended the Jordan Museum, and I’m so very glad she did.

For those who like antiquities, the first floor has plenty of pottery and jewelry, plus something you don’t see in most museums— Dead Sea Scrolls

The upper floor has the video and the interactive displays that delighted me. Bet you can’t guess what this elephant contraption is.

Believe it or not, this is a replica of an 800 year old clock. “ The large clock uses Greek water-raising technology, an Indian elephant, an Egyptian phoenix, Arabian figures and Chinese dragons, to celebrate the diversity of the world”. ( description courtesy of the website).

The Crowne Plaza Hotel linked us up with Sam, who drove us to the museum, waited for us for over an hour and drove us back, for about $45 total. Best of all, there was no extra charge for Sam’s great commentary, delivered on the way to and from the museum.

The area around our hotel is definitely NOT conducive to walking, however that didn’t stop Bobbie and me from venturing out for lunch at Kabob Express, where our language barrier resulted in our ordering one lunch instead of two. (It turned out fine, because there was still food left over even after we’d both had our fill). Would I recommend it? Well, it was close to the hotel, they accepted credit cards, you got a lot of satisfying food for your money— and as my dad used to say, “it filled the hole”.

Jeanne, Bobbie and I met the remaining 4 travelers at our dinner, in the hotel restaurant. One of the reasons I enjoy traveling with OAT is the small group size allows you to really get to know your traveling companions, who are usually interesting, curious, friendly and seasoned travelers. This group is certainly all that, and more.

On our tour’s first full day, we visited Amman’s most important sites: the Citadel, which is located atop one of Amman’s seven hills, and the Roman theater; both have on site museums, which we explored.

The sites weren’t crowded at all, so you could take your time perfecting your next instagram post. And believe me, this couple did.

It was easy to get whatever shot you desired, like these fingers and an elbow from what was once a 42 foot statue of Hercules. You can also get a feel for the old section of Amman, which appears in the background.

Check out this great view of the Roman theater from the Citadel. The theater is so large, this was the only way to get all three tiers of it into one shot.

Here at the theater, the preferred photo op was to plop your toddler atop the front pedestal and then give the child directions on exactly how to pose. This little girl was having none of that.

Notice the special seats carved from stone in the first tier, right behind her? Those were the royals’ (Caesar’s) box seats. Way up high, in the nose bleed seats was where the women and slaves were relegated.

So, of course we ladies had to do something about that!

We spent our last day in Amman driving about an hour north to Jerash. Don’t feel bad if you’d never heard of it. Neither had I, before this trip.

Despite having been partially destroyed by the earthquake of 749, it is still one of the best preserved Greco-Roman cities, as interesting as Ephesus to me.

This is normally the high season, with thousands of daily visitors, but because of the fighting between Israel and Hamas, we had the site almost to ourselves. Although I am so sorry for the Jordanian people who make their living in the tourist trade, I am even more sorry for all the Palestinian and Israeli victims of this horrible war.

Still a work in progress, these stones are sitting on the ground, waiting to be fitted together.

View of the oval forum from one of the temples

The theater, with incredible acoustics brought about by the series of niches. They didn’t need microphonesGood thing because they hadn’t been invented yet.

We will be leaving shortly for our dinner with a Jordanian family in their home. Tomorrow we travel to Petra, stopping at the Dead Sea along the way.

Leaving Northern Ireland

On our return to the Republic of Ireland, we made one last stop in Northern Ireland, to the walled city of Derry, where we visited the Museum of Free Derry for a history lesson.

On January 30,1972, inspired by the civil rights marches and peace protests that occurred in the USA, about 15,000 Catholics staged a march to call attention to the discrimination they were experiencing. British soldiers shot indiscriminately into the crowd, killing 14 unarmed protesters. The day after what became known as Bloody Sunday, 2,000 men joined the IRA, which up until that time had not been very active.

Although attempts were made to portray the peaceful marchers as terrorists, a film crew was there, recorded what actually happened, and smuggled the film out (in their underwear!) to the Republic of Ireland where it was broadcast around the world. Despite the visual evidence to the contrary, the false narrative that some march participants were terrorists persisted until 2016, when an inquiry finally revealed the truth. The result was a long overdue apology by Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron. An excellent video in the Museum shows the huge emotional impact that historic apology had on the people of Derry. Sadly, the guilty soldiers still have not been brought to justice.

While on the Black Cab tour in Belfast, our driver showed us the size of rubber bullets that were used for crowd control. These were fired on Bloody Sunday, and contributed to the injuries many protestors suffered. Can you imagine being hit by one of these?

We couldn’t leave Derry without touring its city walls, and learning about its history, most of which I promptly forgot. Of course, the wall had the requisite cannons, strategically interspersed.

Our border crossing into the Republic of Ireland was seamless. No check points, no guards, no showing of passports, just a change of currency, back to the Euro. Ireland has sworn that it will never have a border dividing it again. Boris Johnson declared the Irish Sea will be the border, but many wonder exactly how that will work post Brexit. No one quite knows.

And now for a little perspective: the population of Northern Ireland is a wee bit under 2 million. The population of The Republic of Ireland is almost 5 million. Compare that to the population on NYC, which is over 8 million, and you can understand why much of this glorious island is comprised of rolling green hills and picturesque landscapes, perfect for raising sheep.

Which brings me to the next subject: the Irish Diaspora. We all know that millions of Irish left during the potato famine, but I never knew that many lost their homes when they were evicted.

This beautiful castle was built by John Adair, who evicted 244 of his Irish tenants because he thought raising sheep would be more profitable than allowing his tenants to continue farming. By the way, the Irish became tenants on their own land, after Oliver Cromwell conquered them, and seized their property so he could use the land as payment to his soldiers.

Adair was the first of three owners of Glenveagh. The third, Henry McIlhenny, was an Irish American. His grandfather, John McIlhenny settled in Philadelphia, where he became very wealthy from his invention—the coin operated gas meter. Henry was an art aficionado, who donated his family’s extensive collection to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. His generosity extended to Ireland, when he donated the castle and its gardens as a gift to the nation. It is now a national park.

Touring the grounds of Glenveagh with a naturalist, who demonstrated the depth of the bogs, and explained why the people sacrificed in the bogs were so well preserved.

I had originally planned to write a bit about Donegal, but that will have to wait for a future post, because I have run out of time.

From Ireland’s Capitols to its Countryside

We’ve thoroughly enjoyed our time in this island’s two capitols: Dublin and Belfast. But now it’s time for a change of pace, so we hit the road to experience the castles and cliffs of the beautiful Irish countryside.

We departed from Belfast by way of the “leafy suburbs”. As is the case in most countries, the wealthier areas were spared the violence and disruption of “the troubles” discussed in earlier posts. The beautiful homes facing the water were much like those in many of the wealthier neighborhoods in the USA.

At one time, oh so many years ago, I could never have imagined that I’d be taking a bus tour. But let me tell you, at this stage in my life, it’s a great way to travel. No getting lost, no speeding tickets, no fruitless searches for rest rooms. It’s all taken care of. All I have to do is sit back, gaze out the window and chat with my fellow travelers.

We really lucked out, with a huge, comfortable bus for only 11 of us, and a delightful driver, Michael, who clearly loves his job. The repartee between Joe and Michael keeps all of us entertained and laughing.

Our drive to Ballycastle was broken up with multiple stops. At the first one, Joe, our guide, pointed out that this white rock is composed of the exact same material as the White Cliffs of Dover. About 350 million years ago, this very rock was being formed somewhere south of the equator. I don’t know about you, but I find that little fact fascinating. I’m sure my geologist neighbor, Ed, would agree. He would undoubtedly have been able to identify the dark streaks in the rock as flint, which was highly prized for its sharpness, and its fire making properties.

Our route along the Antrim coast took us past picturesque little fishing villages like this one.

I loved that the windows of this vacant building were painted to look like they were festooned with flower boxes.

Our final stop before Ballycastle was at the Glenariff Forest Park, which gave us the opportunity to get out of the bus and stroll along the river to our restaurant.

One of the waterfalls in Glenariff Forest

Ballycastle’s Marine Hotel was a bit quirky, but the entire staff was so friendly and accommodating, and the location across from the beach was fantastic.

Because the weather was so wonderful, we couldn’t resist a walk along the beach, before we strolled into town for a delicious and inexpensive dinner at the Anzac Restaurant.

Ballycastle was the perfect jumping off point for the following day’s excursions to Dunluce Castle and The Giants Causeway. Although Dunluce Castle is in ruins, you get a feel for what life was like way back in the 1600’s. The castle was built high on a cliff, surrounded by water, with access only via a drawbridge. Clearly, those were scary times!

Joe quickly figured out that Janet and I are the walkers in this group, so he always made sure to tell us about more challenging hikes. The Giant’s Causeway offers several trails, plus a shuttle bus for those who prefer to ride. We chose the red course, labeled the most difficult, because of the spectacular views Joe promised us. He was right!

Even if you do opt for the easier trail, the scenery is still pretty dramatic, especially if you are intrigued by rocks, volcanic activity and ocean views.

Our last stop in Northern Ireland will be Derry —or Londonderry, if you are aligned with the British, or the Protestants, before heading back into the Republic of Ireland and to our hotel in Donegal.

Belfast: The Troubles and The Titanic

We left the Republic of Ireland, crossing into Northern Ireland two days ago, just in time to get our first experience with legendary Irish weather. Our walking tour was soggy, and although we were undaunted, we were grateful when our Tour Leader took us on a quick detour into the nearby mall. Not only did we get a chance to dry off, we also ascended to the mall’s top floor to take in this magnificent view.

Okay, so maybe THAT day’s view wasn’t all that magnificent, but you have to admit, it is pretty cool to have a glass dome atop a shopping mall.
The next day’s panoramic view was significantly better because we were higher up, and the weather cooperated.

This photo was taken from the Grand Central Hotel’s cocktail lounge. No, we didn’t have a drink there, because I suspect the cost of a cocktail would have been as much as our full dinner at a nearby pub. Joe, our tour leader, took us there for a “ gawk”, and that’s exactly what we did.

Although the city is lovely, and I have many photos to prove that, the real highlight of our time in Belfast was our visit to The Felon’s Club. We spent the morning with three men who, back in the day, were formerly enemies: a loyalist, a British soldier, and an IRA member. They each told us a little about themselves, their backgrounds, their activities during “the troubles”, their time in prison and what their lives are like today. It was a riveting discussion that was particularly relevant now, given the divisiveness we are currently experiencing in our own country. What was encouraging was where they are NOW. All three have been working toward reconciliation and educating others about “the troubles”. All three are committed to the peace process.

I had forgotten the important role George Mitchell and Bill Clinton played during peace negotiations. One key element of the negotiations was a referendum (with no date specified) on whether or not Ireland should be reunited. When asked if the referendum were held today, only the former member of the IRA was able to say for sure how he would vote. The other two wanted to know more about the impact the change would have on their lives. Their focus was on the issues, not on former identities as a member of a particular group. I would have loved to spend more time with them, but our Black Cab Tour was scheduled, so off we went to view the murals painted on Belfast’s walls.

During our tour, the final song from the Broadway musical “Hamilton” kept playing in my head: “Who lives, who dies, who tells our story”.

In the photo below, our cab driver is holding a rubber bullet, to show us how huge they were. He then pointed out the names of civilians, carved into the wall, who died after being hit by rubber bullets. By telling their stories, the black cab drivers and the members of the Felons Club are keeping their memories alive.

The afternoon was spent at the Titanic Museum, an experiential museum, where another sad story was told—not only about those who went down with the ship. We also learned about the workers who built the ship.

It was a rather poignant day, so we were only too glad the sun was shining as we walked back to our hotel.

We are all quite happy that we were leaving Belfast BEFORE King Charles III arrived. Yes, I know it is a historic event, but the crowds and traffic might have made it difficult to see as much as we did.

Three Glorious Days in Dublin

Spending our last night in Dublin at the Castle Vaults Pub was a wise decision indeed. I had my best sleep yet, and am feeling grand this morning.

I’ve either been too busy or too tired to write, so this is a stream of consciousness, unproof-read post, hastily done before we board our coach to Belfast.

The Belvedere Hotel is perfectly located, close to a HOHO stop, and within walking distance of all the sights, but away from the madness of Temple Bar. Although it has great WiFi, I was glad that I had purchased the Aíralo eSim, because I used it frequently while walking around Dublin. My sense of direction is legendary, and I soon discovered my travel buddy, Janet’s, is equally bad. Fortunately, Aíralo has been working great and it has helped us to avoid wrong turns more than once.

About the HOHO: in an earlier post, I talked about the three different Dublin options, and my research pointed me in the direction of Do Dublin, the green bus. It was the perfect choice for us. We spent our jet lagged arrival day hopping on, and didn’t hop off till the end of the route. It gave us exactly what we needed, a very helpful overview of Dublin’s most important sights, and it was over just when we were ready for lunch. The Parnell Pub was recommended by the driver who picked me up at the airport, and he didn’t steer us wrong. The soup of the day was wonderful and the bread was out of this world, but the chicken wings could have been skipped. Best of all, the price was right—only 11 Euros.

Our HOHO ticket included two freebies. We used the ticket to The Little Museum on our jet lag day. It is located in a Georgian House, near St. Stephen’s Green, and is packed with memorabilia, including a room devoted to the band U2.

I’m not a fan, so instead, here’s the model of Admiral Nelson’s column, which was blown up in the ‘60s.

It was replaced by the Spire, affectionately dubbed by the locals “the stiffy by the Liffey” or “the stiletto in the ghetto”. I didn’t find the Spire visually pleasing, so haven’t included a photo. The nick names, however, should give you a really good idea of what the Spire looks like!

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the Trinity area, until it was time for the early bird special at a restaurant recommended by my blogging buddy, over at Aging Gracefully My Ass. Thank you, AGMA.

This was NOT false advertising. The food WAS great, the service friendly, and their Early Bird Special offered excellent options. Luckily, we went with the 2 course option because their portions were so generous, we were unable to finish them. In fact, weliked this restaurant so much, we actually toyed with returning, but Dublin offers far too many attractive alternatives.

The other freebie that came with the Do Dublin HOHO was the “Paddy Liddy Walking Tour”. Here in Ireland, though, it is called the PAT Liddy Walking Tour. And yes, there really IS a Pat Liddy, who is now in his 80’s. We saved that for our second day in Dublin and we were SO glad we did. Jim, our tour guide was AMAZING! He knew so much about the history of Dublin, and walked us around to spots we never would have found on our own.

Here’s Jim, standing in front of a Clery’s department Store, which will be reopening in October. He’s explaining that, back in the day, the favorite Friday night meeting spot for his contemporaries, was under the Clery clock at at 7 PM. (The clock is that black thing on the building, right behind his head). If, by 7:30, your date hadn’t shown up, that meant you were being stood up. Sometimes, though,when you looked around, there were members of the opposite gender who shared a similar fate, which presented an opportunity to make a new friend and possibly experience a Hollywood ending.

As you walk through Dublin, be sure to look down occasionally. You’ll see plaques like this one, which shows Viking artifacts that were taken from the ground below. When I did 23 and me, and discovered that I had Viking ancestry, I had assumed that it was from a “rape, pillage and plunder” Viking excursion into Ireland. Maybe not. Apparently, the Vikings had a trading settlement in Dublin.

I couldn’t get a good shot of the Music Hall where Handel’s Messiah debuted. Every year, since 1772, it is played on April 13 at 1 PM to commemorate its first concert. During COVID, on that date and time, one of the area residents placed her speakers in her open window to keep up the tradition. Can’t you just hear the hallelujah chorus blasting through the neighborhood? That must have lifted the spirits of her neighbors at a time when spirits definitely needed to be lifted.

During our tour, Jim walked us through the Temple Bar area. Prior to coming to Dublin, I had mistakenly thought there was ONE bar, called Temple. Nope, it is the name of the land, formerly owned by a guy named Temple, and the “Bar” part was shortened from the “Barricades”, which were built along the Liffey River.

I was horrified to see that the hotel I had booked for my return trip to Dublin was in “ party central”, right next to a Hard Rock Cafe. After listening to Jim’s description of what the area was like on most weekends, I decided to look elsewhere, so at the end of the tour, I asked Jim for hotel recommendations. Well,that question turned into a delightful 2 hour lunch with our wonderful, fascinating guide at his favorite pub. At the end, we followed his recommendation to visit the National Portrait Gallery, before heading back to the hotel for the official start of our OAT trip.

There are 11 of us on the tour: 3 couples and 5 singles. We had an opportunity to converse over our welcome dinner, and I feel very lucky to have joined such an interesting and congenial group. I’m looking forward to getting to know them better over the next two weeks.

We started our final day in Dublin with a brief tour of the city. It wasn’t as in depth as the Pat Liddy walking tour, and because there was only a slight overlap, I was glad we were able to do both. As you can see from the photo of the Oscar Wilde statue atop this blog, we were blessed with fantastic weather.

Our next stop was a tour of the fascinating, multi media EPIC Museum.

This beautiful sculpture shows the evolution of transportation from the early ships to modern aircraft

Recognize any Irish Americans in this collage?

There is so much more to say about this fascinating city, but I’ll end this post by saying I’m so very glad I’ll be returning to Dublin in 2 weeks!

Ouarzazate

I know you are probably wondering how in the world to pronounce the name of this Moroccan city. Well, wonder no more. “Ou” sounds like our “W”, so when you come to Morocco and want to stay near the movie set for Game of Thrones, book a riad in “ WAR-za-zat”.

We spent two nights in Ouarzazate, staying at the beautiful Dar Kalifa. During the 1900’s our riad was the court house of Pasha Glaoui. This very powerful Bedouin chieftain was France’s ally against Sultan Mohammed V, and was instrumental in getting the Sultan exiled to Madagascar in 1953.

Unfortunately for France and the Pasha, the Sultan was beloved by many Moroccans. His removal resulted in unrest and uprisings in Morocco. As a result, de Gaulle reinstated Mohammed V (who changed his title from sultan to king) in 1956; simultaneously Morocco gained its independence. Pasha Glaoui had clearly made the wrong choice. So what became of this traitor? He traveled to Paris, knelt at the feet of in submission to Mohammed V, who forgave him. Their actions reunited the warring factions and made it easier for Mohammed V to regain his throne. Glaoui died of cancer in 1956, Mohammed V died in 1961.

I have to admit, it was pretty thrilling to think about all the history that must have taken place within the walls of our riad. It isn’t easy to find—you walk along some narrow passages to get there, but it is worth the walk to discover this spectacular dwelling.

Our suite at Dar Kalifa, the House of the Moon

If you make it to the rooftop before 7:30, you can see the sun rise and the moon set at the same time, simply by turning your head.

Be forewarned: there are MANY steps in Dar Kalifa, and they all seem to be a different size.

Can you guess why Ouarzazate’s nickname is WallyWood? The dramatic scenery and the perfect lighting from sun filled days have made it a favorite spot for film makers.

Many of the locals work as “extras” in movies like Gladiator. Our local guide, Mohammed has been in several movies. Here’s his picture, so you can look for him in Season 4 of Game of Thrones.

Mohammed never had the opportunity to attend school. He spent his childhood ferrying tourists across the river on his donkey. Although he was never taught to read and write, he became fluent in English, French, Spanish and a few other languages, by listening to tourists he transported. I find that amazing—what an impressive and intelligent man!

Mohammed’s children: 2 girls, aged 13 and 6 and 1 boy aged 10, all attend school, and are teaching their dad to read. Mohammed told us he thought his family was complete, but his “coronavirus baby” arrived 8 months ago!

Most tourists visiting the area want to spend time in Ait Benhaddou, stopping at one of the two studios in town. Before Covid, Mohammed told us during high season Ait Benhaddou received more than 1,000 tourists per day.

Instead, we visited Asfalou Village, for what OAT calls “A Day in the Life”. There, we spent the morning with an extended family, visit their home, learning how the women make bread and the men make bricks.

We enjoyed the bread that Kris helped bake and we especially loved the chicken tagine.

For the afternoon, we visited the Women’s Association, a beneficiary of the Grand Circle Foundation. The Association’s objectives are to build women’s self confidence and to empower them. The women learn to bake cookies, which are sold to hotels and to tourists. We sampled some during our visit and they were so delicious, we all bought more.

While there, we all decorated our bodies with henna—even the men.

But the highlight, for me at least, was playing dress up. Unfortunately, my first choice for spouse was feeling under the weather that day, so I had to go with a substitute for this Berber wedding.

Click on the photos to get the full effect

For you movie buffs, I’ll end with a list of some of the movies and TV shows filmed in this area.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Sodom and Gomorrah (1962) The Man Who Wished To Be King (1975)
The Message (1976)
Jesus of Nazareth (1977) Bandits, Bandits (1981)
The Diamond of the Nile (1985)
Killing is not playing (1987) The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Tea in the Sahara (1990) Kundun (1997)
The Mummy (1999)
Gladiator (2000)
Alexander (2004)
Kingdom of Heaven (2005) Babel (2006)
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)
Game of Thrones (season 3, 2013)
Game of Thrones (season 4)

For the curious—the photo at the top of this post shows the artist doing paintings using a sort of “invisible ink”. He heats the paper over the flame to make the colors appear. This “invisible ink” , used for secret messages sent during French occupation, has been repurposed!

The Sahara

Once again, my image of what the Sahara Desert would be like only slightly reflects reality.

I didn’t expect to find this very productive farm amidst sand dunes.

The farmer’s father, once a member of a nomadic tribe, used ancient techniques to find water. The family hand dug two wells: one with salty water and the other with “sweet” water for drinking. They combine water from both wells for irrigation and livestock.

Farmer and friends. How many do you recognize? One outfit (caftan and scarf) was purchased in the Rissani market for about $20 US.

You might recognize Goldie from an earlier post. She given to me by Bonnie, my grand-niece, before the start of our trip. Photos of Goldie’s escapades have been making their way back to Massachusetts on a regular basis.

As you can see, one of the farmer’s goats was quite taken with Goldie.

Our camp was very comfortable. Although we didn’t have Wi-Fi, cellular service surprisingly, is available in the desert.

Goldie approves of our home for two nights. Her owner, Bonnie (on the right) and big sister Katherine, were heading off for the first day of school.

I expected the sunrises and sunsets to be jaw dropping, and they were. What I didn’t expect was to be drinking wine while watching the sun go down.

Mike went to another dune to take this shot of our group

Kris, Burke and Mike after the sun had set.

Of course, a visit to the Sahara wouldn’t be complete without a camel ride.

But who would have expected to find this swimming pool in the desert?

For 100 dirhams you can use the pool, get a non-alcoholic drink and use a towel.

We also visited another nomadic family. Unlike the farmer, this family doesn’t own the land they are living on.

According to Moroccan law, if someone can find 12 witnesses to attest that the family has lived on the land for 10 years, then the squatters become landowners. The catch? The 12 witnesses have to be around when the 10 years commence.

Say good-bye to Goldie. She found a new little girl to love.

There is so much more to say about this incredible experience, but I’m going to stop now and invite you to put the Sahara on YOUR bucket list.

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