The advice we got about there being internet cafes everywhere in Europe weren't exactly true! On our last post the shooting competition was about to begin. Ed did very well at 300, 500, and 600 yards individual competition and medaled 4th and 5th out of 72 competitors from 11 countries at 300 and 500 yards. He got the short end of the straw and had to shoot Tuesday afternoon in driving rain and gale force winds so he was quite proud of his scores. Wednesday was 600 yards individual and then mid-range team practice in the afternoon. The captain added Ed to the mid-range team. The weather settled down a bit and there was no rain on Wednesday. Thursday was mid-range team competition. Unfortunately, the US team didn't place in the top 3, we came in 4th but there was only a few points separating us from the top. It was a very tough competition. We ate most of our meals at the North London Rifle Club--Toad in a Hole, Fish & Chips, Lasagna, Shepherd's Pie. Friday was long range individual competition and Saturday long range team competition. Our team won silver at 900 yards. Two of the team members had rifle problems at 1,000 yards and the coaching scheme was disrupted so we didn't do as well as we had hoped.
The Awards Banquet on Saturday night was a lot of fun and we made many new friends during the week from the other countries. We've been invited to stay with one of the South African team members in 2013 when the match is held there! One of the English team members, Mike Alexandre and his wife, are going to visit us in November when they are in the States.
Sunday morning was time to pack up our things and figure out how to carry enough clothes and necessaries for two weeks of touring in Ireland and Germany into our daypacks on our backs. We caught a ride into Brookwood with one of the Australian shooters and caught the train to Waterloo station. Then we did a walking tour of London and ended up at Liverpool Station to catch the express train to Stansted Airport. I got chill bumps when we turned the corner and saw Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. Just as we approached Westminster Abbey the bells started ringing and we thought we were going to see a wedding party come out. Turns out it was Veterans Memorial Day and they were ringing the bells to honor veterans. Then some Spitfire planes did a flyover! We walked along Victoria Embankment on the Thames. Arleen tripped and bummed up her knee and elbow but no serious damage was done. We walked along Fleet St. and saw the Royal Courts of Justice, St. Paul's Cathedral, Lloyd's of London, ate lunch at Ye Old Cock Tavern. Monday morning it was off to Ireland!
We landed in Shannon Airport on a, guess what? rainy day, of course. picked up a rental car and drove to Roscommon. Imagine Ed driving on the wrong side of the road, sitting on the wrong side of the car, and using a stick shift on the left-hand side. it's a miracle we're both still alive to send this message hahahahaha! We came to dread the roundabout signs, and they're everywhere! The best strategy is to gun it and let everyone else get out of your way! i feel right at home--there are tons of freckle-faced redheads here :)))))
We stayed Monday night at a 12th century abbey turned into a hotel in Roscommon. Visited the Sacred Heart Church and pored through records dating back to the 1830's looking for Hanly's, Arleen's great-great grandfather's name. We learned that there were over 50 Patrick Hanly's in Roscommon during the 1830's and 1840's so it's going to take some more research to narrow down the right one. I did copy a bunch of names and addresses from the local phone book and will write letters when we get home. Same story with my great-great grandmother, Catherine Fitzgerald. There are tons of Fitzgeralds in the Limerick area.
Visited the Strokestown Park House and Famine Museum on Tuesday morning. Such a sad time in Ireland's history. It's no wonder that Irish Americans have difficulty tracing family heritage. So many people shipped off at a moment's notice onto so many different boats going who knows where. A delightful drive through the countryside to Westport on the west coast. we happened upon Clooneen's B&B and heard local music at Mike Molloy's Yard Bar (mike's a member of the Chieftains). a local man regaled us with songs, stories, and a joke or two. The wind came up during the night and we awoke at 2:00 am to our wood shutters slamming against the house. sounded like a truck hit the house. drove along the coast road Wed morning and visited the Grace O'Malley Museum in Louisburgh. She was a famous pirate queen in Ireland. we worked our way through Connemara National Park and visited the Sheep and Wool Centre. The Sky Road was spectacular!
we navigated our way to Galway and Berna Kelly's lovely Devondell B&B in Lower Salt Hill. We tried to find some local music that Berna recommended but driving at night we got lost and decided to head back home. Thursday was The Burren, what an eerie landscape, and the Cliffs of Moher. Settled into Ennis late Thursday afternoon after winding our way through a maze of medieval streets (see pics) and had dinner at Brogan's Pub and later had a pint and listened to more local music. Today we're headed out to Shannon airport to fly to Germany. Will check back in once we get to Baden-Baden. check the picasa web album link in the previous post for more pics. I couldn't load all the pics because this internet cafe computer will only let me load one picture at a time \(a money-making scheme I'm sure).
love,
ed and arleen
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