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16 SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | JANUARY 2020 By Berkie Harris, Resident Humm, I thought, a visit to Scotland and Ireland would complete my major bucket list. If I got these two done, I could move on to my secondary bucket list and then to the third and fourth. You see, travel is never ending for me. So, fellow resident Sherrie Chaparro and I booked Gate 1's 16 Day Scotland and Ireland Land Tour leaving August 31, 2019. Ten castles, three water crossings, countless gardens and 1,777 miles later we had seen the best of these ancient, green and misty lands. Scotland first. In Edinburgh the weather was cool and cloudy and would remain that way for the duration of our tour. We toured historic Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood House and attended a lively Scottish dinner show with music, dancing and the traditional dish haggis. Then we took off for the Highlands. We saw the legendary golf course a St. Andrews, Scone Palace, Urquhart Castle, Loch Ness and Dalwhinnie Whiskey Distillery to taste some of Scotland's finest product. We headed west and crossed over to The Isle of Skye. Here we went to Armadale Castle which is the ancestral home of the Clan Donald and houses a research center covering all Scottish clans. A cruise across Loch Lomond followed. Our last day in Scotland took us to its largest city, Glasgow, where men still wear kilts on the street. Nearby is Stirling Castle and Bannockburn Battlefield. We drove out to see them since they have an important place in Scottish history. One of the best parts of the tour was crossing the Irish Sea. Our bus loaded with all 40 of us and luggage drove onto the Stena Line Ferry. Once aboard we were free to go to the upper decks to eat, shop, etc. After several hours, we debarked in Belfast. The next two days were spent in Northern Ireland learning about Ireland's 500- year struggle to free itself from England's oppression. We also got to explore the geological wonder of The Giant's Causeway. On the tenth day we drove south into The Republic of Ireland. This part of Ireland achieved independence from British rule in 1922. Gone was any reference to English royalty and there was a concerted effort to revive the Irish (Gaelic) language and customs. In Galway we hit the pubs but arose early to make it out to The Cliffs of Moher with stops at Belleek Pottery, Connemara Marble and the grave of Irish poet, William Butler Yeats. My favorite stop was Kylemore Abbey. This Victorian era estate and extensive gardens are truly stunning. During our drive around The Ring of Kerry we stopped at a sheep ranch to see a demonstration of working sheep dogs. We also stopped at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park and of course, Blarney Castle in Cork. We spent our last day in Dublin touring St. Patrick's Cathedral, The Book of Kells at Trinity College and of course, hit a few more pubs before boarding our flight home. Thistle and Shamrock BUCKET LIST