Penshurst Place & Parham Park
A pair of grand houses built two centuries apart (the 14th and 16th) but both strongly connected with the Elizabethan era. Parham Park is one of the finest Elizabethan houses…
Dublin museums
The places I enjoyed the most in Dublin, there were a number of interesting museums to explore. The Little Museum of Dublin Starting with one of the newest, which tells…
Irish lakes and coastline
Comparable to Scotland and Iceland, Ireland is blessed with many attractive lakes (or loughs) and an extensive and often rugged coastline. Here’s a taster of a few from my travels…
Irish castles and forts
As expected, given the history of conflict (mainly with the English), Ireland is home to a large number of castles and forts throughout the land. Some are ruins, others over…
Ring of Beara
The quietest of the three main peninsula drives on the southwest coast of Ireland (after Ring of Kerry and Dingle Peninsula), Ring of Beara is the only one free of…
Bunratty Castle and Folk Park
One of the most popular tourist attractions in Ireland, Bunratty combines a 15th century castle and a folk park recreating Irish life from the 19th century. Other than the tour…
Irish monasteries, churches and cemeteries
Religion has played a huge role in Irish history, often tragically in the centuries long conflict between Catholics and Protestants. The number of monasteries, churches and cemeteries across the country…
Irish houses and gardens
As is standard across most of Europe there were plenty of grand old houses with accompanying gardens to explore in Ireland. Kylemore Abbey Built in 1860s with Manchester cotton money,…
Griffith Observatory, Scientology, Hollywood and other assorted Los Angeles sights
A round up of places I visited during my three days in Los Angeles not covered in my other posts, starting with the iconic Griffith Observatory, a beautiful building, with…
Getty Villa
Opened in 1974 the Getty Villa is a gorgeous replica of Villa dei Papiri, a Roman villa in Herculaneum covered in volcanic ash from the eruption of Pompeii. It is…