Dublin & London

Returning to Wales, without sounding too dramatic, may've felt for some of us like a long overdue step in our own evolution. Heaven and earth, the Celtic saying goes, are only three feet apart, but in thin places that distance is reduced, the veil diminished. All five of us found places in Wales that made us feel something larger than ourselves, as though we were held between worlds, beyond experience. But also the boys fought occasionally, just like they do in Ohio, over things like who got the last chocolate croissant or who had to sit in the middle of the backseat.

While our actual vacation was filled with abundantly fecund landscapes and gorgeous coastlines, before we took the ferry to Wales from Ireland we did a bit of city sightseeing. We arrived in Dublin very early the first morning and, after covering more than twelve miles on foot, made it almost to dinner before we crashed at the hotel. Highlights included a peek into Christ Church and a tour of Trinity College (with a bonus cricket game) Temple Bar and the Dublinia museum to learn about Viking history. Up early the next day allowed time to tour Kilmainham Gaol, a fascinating space with a sad history (one small piece of the true story is told in Rod Stewart's song Grace).

At the end of the trip was London with the double decker bus and the red phone booths and the very bustling feel of a very big city (we just missed the World Naked Bike Ride by one day). We squeezed in guards at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Eye, plus one last pub meal at Nicholson's.