We arrived in London on the 13th of August, meeting up with Aunt Corinne to spend the final week of our big trip. We’ve rented an apartment bordering Trafalgar Square. What an incredible location! From where I am writing this I can crane my neck to see Lord Nelson standing high upon his pillar.

I have been geeking out at all the amazing Horatio Nelson history here in London. The nearest subway tunnel portrays Trafalgar drawings showing the battle formation of the Spanish, French and English ships and other Nelson history:

And no trip to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich would be complete without viewing the uniform, breeches and stockings worn by Lord Nelson when he was shot and killed on the quarterdeck of the HMS Victory on the day of Britain’s greatest naval victory (you can see the bullet hole that killed Nelson in the close up of the uniform):

The apartment we’ve rented has its own geek factor: a very famous British pioneer of the computer industry (before Jobs and Gates, but arguably just as important) owns and lives here when not in use as a VRBO rental. It’s been fun to peruse the books of a knighted lord who paved the way for the modern day PC. The honor of staying here seems lost on the rest of my household though who keep complaining about the dead rodent smell coming from the lobby. Go figure.

For our last week we’ve steered clear of most of the heavy duty museums and churches (excepting the obligatory trip to Westminster Abbey and a pilgrimage to Lord Nelson’s uniform of course!). I think all of our brains have reached their limit in appreciating artwork and architecture. We had a blast visiting the cheesy London Bridge Experience and had fun zipping through the underground tube system to get around. Heading to St. James Park today to have a picnic to enjoy our first cloudless day here in London.

Hard to believe our two month trip ends tomorrow!

If you think life is a long stretch of the mundane with an occasional sprinkling of the sublime, then you must not have been to Ireland. Everything is backwards here: the roads, the steering wheels in cars, the direction of roundabouts, even the brakes on bicycles. And yes, the ratio of mundane to sublime is reversed here as well.

I love that feeling you get when you’re in the middle of doing or seeing something that you know you will remember for a lifetime. I had that feeling so often here that at times it felt like a pleasant form of vertigo. Winding narrow roads with breathtaking vistas, dotted with meandering sheep, and holding your breath around blind curves; tiny villages rising up as you drive through the countryside, all bright colors and full of charm and welcoming; ancient rock walls dividing everything, even mountains; cliff edges inviting you to peek over if you’re brave enough, the wind gusting up to take your hat as you do; smiling and friendly people, quick to laugh or tease, making even the most ordinary thing sound extraordinary with their manner of speaking, more like bird song than speech.

Hemingway thought Paris was a moveable feast; I feel that way about our time here, a visit that will surely stay with me for the rest of my life. Thank you Ireland! Thanks a million!

Ireland is a magical place.

We’ve visited some incredible places on this trip and have truly enjoyed ourselves everywhere we went. I wish I could have spent some more time in Spain, particularly Valencia, and eaten just a few more plates of pasta in Italy.
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