CASTLE GREGORY, IRELAND

YOU CANNOT CON A CON-MAN

We drove into the nearly empty and isolated parking lot of a bed and breakfast in Castle Gregory, Ireland. A wise-cracker (obviously either a member of Lions Club or Kiwanis) came up and asked if I had a parking permit. Without missing a beat, I told him we had an All-Ireland Permit in the glove box. Half of a fun couple from Limerick, we enjoyed them and Marietta – as we left for Dingle – announced to the breakfast room that we appreciated his paying for our stay. This is how you learn to act as a Rotarian of 30 years.

French Quarter, New Orleans, LA

NEW ORLEANS: After the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, we stayed for a week in the French Quarter in New Orleans.  A one night visit might give you an idea of the party side of this place, but a week lets you get to see it as a neighborhood. There is something wonderful about the music, the food, and the history that comes together here.

A MATTER OF STYLE

It is a matter of style. We believe that often the more people who visit a place the less it holds for us. Why go to Kenya to see American tourists? Why go to Austria to have dinner with two ladies from Iowa?

So, while we usually try to visit the important sites like the Tower of London, we also hit the small places like the home of Charles Dickens.

If the place is a manufactured destination or one mainly based on marketing, we skip it so we have time to invest in lower profile places. Rather than a stop at Blarney Castle to kiss the stone we will go to an out of the way charity shop. Rather than going on the London Eye we will spend on hour watching a game of darts at a small pub.

MacLellan's Castle

KIRKCUDBRIGHT

Kirkcudbright Scotland is the ancestral home of the MacLellans. We actually spell our name this way, but that is another story. This is the MacLellan Castle. It is not in the best condition.

Church of Scotland, Kirkcudbright

KIRKCUDBRIGHT

I got an offer from the pastor of this church to exchange pulpits/houses with him for six months. The church has 1200 members and a total attendance at three services on Sunday of 150. The church is a Church of Scotland congregation.

New Orleans surprise

NEW ORLEANS:

We were warned not to go into some of the cemeteries in the Garden District as there are often homeless folks living among the graves. (See Legion in the Bible.) We came upon Lafayette Cemetery Number 1 and it was locked up – well almost. We found a gate open and went in. We walked about twenty feet and stopped at a huge above ground crypt with the stone carved banner reading “McLellan”.  Now how is that for luck?

A favorite place to stay

The Staunton Hotel in London is just across Gower Street from the British Museum. It is very near the University of London on one side and the Theater District on the other. The owner of the hotel greeted us after our three week tour of Ireland and we were a little worn. I needed to find an Internet café in order to email a column into the newspaper and he would hear none of it. He gave me his laptop to use for the week we were there. This is a superior hotel in every way. The best things are the staff, the breakfast and the location. (The HoHo stops across the street).

We did not want to leave, although the low value of the dollar to the pound encouraged us to go.