It’s Christmas Eve and I just finished my nellyglass studio sign project. What a wonderful journey I had through this project not only building the art piece but also blogging every step along the way.
The anticipation builds and builds as I work along many hours until that final moment when I hang it and get to step back and see it for the first time as it was meant to be displayed… in this case, lit from behind. This is the moment I can feel anything from amazed and delighted beyond my expectations to suddenly disappointed that something didn’t work quite as I had envisioned. Usually, I feel the entire range of emotions with every project. This one was the same. Emotions were fully engaged as I proudly hung my sign over my studio space in the basement. If I had to use one word, it felt real.
Now it’s time to set the glass aside to celebrate the birth of Christ with loved ones, exchange presents, be merrily foolish, and enjoy a grand gathering of several families to feast and rejoice. Blessed, are we not?
Thanks for coming on the journey with me through the various steps in the making of this special piece of art. Hope you learned something new and enjoyed the experience.
Nelly
Immediately after the soldering is all finished, I spray the entire panel with Kwik Clean and rub it into every nook and cranny with a tooth brush. Then wipe off with clean dry rags (no water used for rinsing as it can react with the cleaner and turn white). Sometimes I repeat the cleaning process if heavy flux needs extra scrubbing but not this time. It cleaned up really easily.
Immediately following cleaning and drying is polishing for both sides. Special stained glass polish is rubbed all over the panel into every nook and cranny and allowed to dry. Once dry, it is buffed off with clean dry rags and out of every nook and cranny with q-tips; (quite time consuming with this project due to the many deep curves and points.
This step is just as often done before soldering especially in small panels like this. Nevertheless, to me it’s six of one, half a dozen of the other.
Regardless of when it’s done, a frame has to be cut. Zinc came comes in many sizes. This time I used a 5/16″ and cut all corners to 45° with my hack saw and mitre box.
Once cut, the frame is super easy to assemble with the panel previously soldered and ready. The came has a chanel on one side that fits over the edge of the glass. That’s why it was important not to solder the edges earlier. With frame in place and held tightly with pin I flux and solder each corner and join every solder line between each border piece (38 in total) to the frame. This many connections helps to strengthen everything. It is time consuming, though, doing the same thing to both sides (78 connections total). Finally I add hanging rings.
For this step, I assembled the panel directly on the pattern on a slab of drywall. That’s so I can pin down framing jig strips along the edges. They help to keep everything straight and parallel.
Once the first side is tack soldered together (avoiding all outer edges that will go into frame later), I take off the framing jig and flip over the panel and solder the backside (avoiding all outer edges). The backside is soldered better than just rough tacking. The beads are built up and kept smooth since I will see the backside all the time when I’m working at the bench).
Backside soldering done, I flip the panel back to front and solder to a smooth finish.
I soldered the entire panel first and then framed it after. (Sometimes I frame first and then solder… but not this time).
My soldering iron is a good one and keeps good heat at the tip during long runs. I like that it has a coil iron holder for when I need my hands elsewhere and that it has a temperature control dial so I can set it where I need it.
I tried to be careful and fussy and can feel my development progressing and am very pleased with the results. However, that super clean smooth solder bead with not one single ripple is still a work in progress for this student.
Normally I’ll have a panel reassembled before foiling unless space is an issue (as in this case). It’s quite a long panel and to have it assembled for foiling would mean using a 3 foot glass table base for the pattern and glass. My foiling space is preferably near the TV in the family room where, at the moment, the Christmas tree is taking precedence. Solution: foil the panel unassembled. Since each piece is unique and only goes in one place, assembly is easy. So, for foiling purposes, I’ll save space by bunching all the individual pieces together in small containers and just foiling away, enjoying Netflix Christmas movies, until all pieces are done. Then I can reassemble on the studio table for step 7.
Foiling has to be my favorite steps in the process…I just love the slow careful finger work… its so relaxing… so long as my eyes and fingers continue to behave, I could foil forever. This project has some very deep curves including one drilled hole in the letter “g” which slows the process down but also extends the enjoyment time (happy face).
Total time foiling: 10 hrs total
Letters and border @3 hrs.
Background @ 7 hrs.
Now that the entire panel is fitting snugly, the next task is to wash every piece to get off all the grinder dust which can be stubborn like dried paste. Unless the edges of the glass are super clean, the copper foil won’t stick and that would be a big problem.
Happily, this is a short quick step in the process and a delightful one at that as you see the glass sparkle after a fresh washing.
I like to wash and dry the entire panel in sequential order to make it quicker to reassemble before foiling and to prevent mixing up pieces that are nearly identical. However, with this project, each piece is unique from all the others (126 pieces total) so there’s no risk of mixing up pieces and therefore no need to reassemble the panel until after foiling. Nevertheless, I wash in sequence.
Before I can cut and fit the background pieces, I have to have the letters ground smooth and fitting in their place (then I can fit the background pieces accurately around the letters). So time to grind! 🙂
Three hours today and a little last evening had the letters fitting in place. Grinding is very much a “stand in one place and pay attention to what your fingers are doing” step (my fingernails are often mangled from getting too close). It’s also very therapeutic. The whir of the spinning motor and the hiss of the glass against the diamond bit drowns out most other sounds and allows your mind to go numb. I honestly can’t tell you what I think about during the grind but I completely enjoy the task so it must be something good.
Step 3 and 4 are often completed sequentially and in their entirety where all the cutting is done first and then all the grinding. Just as often, however, I go back and forth between steps 3 and 4 developing the parrern as individual pieces or larger sections are cut and ground right away… as in this case.
Enough for one day. We’re heading out to deliver and put up a Christmas tree for a dear old friend of ours in the city. She loves Christmas so much and we love seeing her giggle like a child when the lights are turned on. That always brings out the Christmas spirit.
Tomorrow, it’s back to step 3 again to cut out the background and then step 4 to grind it to fit.
Grinding time for this project: letters and border @ 3 hours and background @ 7 hours = 10 hrs total.
A very happy 4 hours spent cutting glass in my studio this morning. While Monica and our daughter, Sarah, baked Christmas cookies in the kitchen, I started on the rough cut of the letters for my “nellyglass studio” sign. The work felt important, positive and uplifting… who wouldn’t enjoy that? Part of the fun was choosing which colors for which letters to produce a harmonious but unpredictable flow of color across the piece. I love the artistry of free imagination. So many possibilities! And I love the sound of scratching glass with the carbide cutter and then the “snap” as you break the glass along the score line.
The cutting is not done yet. I’ve still got the background and the rest of the border to do. However, that’s for another day… right now it’s feet up to play with photos and record the journey so far… and maybe enjoy a Christmas cookie (or two). I’ll continue to add photos as the process continues.
Total tracing and cutting time for this project (letters and background)= 7 hours.
Up at 5:00 am picking through my inventory of project scraps to select 16 different colors for the studio sign. So many possibilities and most of them right choices… it’s a challenge to not continuously second guess yourself (which I can’t help doing a bit). By 7am, decisions were made and it’s on to step 3.
p.s. there’s always room for decision alterations early on in the process and I made a couple after this photo was taken.
I’m working on an original pattern for “nellyglass studio”… this piece is 2ft x 0.5ft and will hang over my studio in the basement. The first 2 hours were spent playing with different fonts on the computer until I settled on “Cooper”. The next 3 hours were enjoyed designing the pattern and cutting out the tracing pieces. Amazing how 5 hours can fly by like that. Creative juice gives you lots of energy but makes you forget the time.
I find pattern creation to be the most creative of all the steps in producing a finished product. With original patterns especially, the connection to the piece runs deep. I’m already feeling it.
The template shown here is yellow but the finished product will be multi-colored. Hope to have it done in a few days… stay tuned.
Total time for pattern prep = 5 hours.
I have been having a ball in my studio. Since retiring in September, I’ve completed 5 projects and am ready to start #6 (a Christmas gift for someone close…shhh).
Included in these projects are my first two official nellyglass commissions…a 5 ft window transom for a friend and a set of miniature village houses for another friend.
First four
What excellent practice I’m getting. I can see my technique improving steadily and that was my goal for the first year of retirement. This is perfect and I am blessed. Happy December everyone.
This was truly a great Sunday. First off, I played with stained glass in my shop for a couple of hours…how great a start is that! Next, as Monica is planning her Christmas decorations and in need of supplies, she and I went for a drive on the hunt for pine cones, birch twigs and fir boughs and just so happened along the way to enjoy visiting one of New Brunswick’s beautiful waterfalls, Welsford Falls. Spectacular.
In the afternoon Monica multi-tasked an incredible salmon, baked potato and veggies dinner as she surfed potential future adventures while I played with stained glass in my basement for a couple more hours. I’m on a little Christmas project…perhaps a gift for my wife (sneak peek below).
Ahhh Sunday, you treat us well. Thank you and see you next week.
Happily finished the mermaid panel project this weekend.
a mermaid’s tail in the seagrass
Still need to paint on her face and find hanging chain so not quite done yet but close enough to be able to post and share.
angel fish detail
You can read the full story of her making and watch the slide show of pics from start to finish on the Mermaid page under Panels. I will add more pics when her face is finally added.
Seeing all that stained glass in Ireland and Scotland filled me with more than enough inspiration to keep me going. Next I’m going to learn how to fix broken glass panels (I have three to do…sounds like an interesting project).
It’s so good to be home after 18 days of travel and exploration, discovery and astonishment throughout Ireland and Scotland. I’d like to thank everyone who followed me and especially to those who commented with words of encouragement and support…some of you who I do not even know personally – you all were my motivation.
Inspiration is spilling over every time I go back and look at some of those amazing cathedral windows. The entire experience was too big for me to see as ‘one trip’ and I can still only piece it together with the help of my blog posts. I knew these would come in handy someday!
I’ve been in the studio ever since returning and imagining many things – things seen recently and future hopefully. My latest project is progressing well and I’m ready for the foiling stage…my favorite step in the journey because I get to sit back with my feet up … more like a lay than a step 🙂
The morning started foggy and cold but by 10:00 was full sunshine with clear blue skies (I think we’ve only had two days with rain since we arrived). We were on the streets early looking for a breakfast spot and found the perfect place at the i-café on Sauchiehall Street- really good pancakes and strong coffee…ready now for six hours of city walking.
First stop, the Glasgow City Chambers at Royal Exchange Square. We timed it perfectly for the 10:30 free tour of this magnificent building with is four stories of Italian marble, gold leaf covered carvings, Wedgewood ceilings, mosaic tiled walls and painted murals. Dating back to 1889 and officially opened by Queen Victoria, it had a construction budget of 150,000 pounds but came in at more than 600,000 pounds and today would cost an estimated 40 million pounds. it is absolutely magnificent in every way. Best of all, admission and the tour is…free!
From there we made our way to Glasgow Cathedral in the north east of the city to view the magnificent windows. This cathedral, like many others we have visited, is a historic museum and also free to the public. This one in particular has fascinating catacombs under the cathedral filled with ancient treasures all well marked for a self-guided tour. Next to the cathedral, are the burial grounds called ‘The Necropolis’. High on a hill, one gets a sweeping panorama of Glasgow while enjoying centuries old monuments to the city’s famous and less-famous dead.
From the necropolis, we made our way south to Glasgow Green to see the People’s Palace, a one acre glass conservatory filled with plants and trees that the people of Glasgow can enjoy all year round. Also on site is a museum of the history of Glasgow, the Nelson Monument (love that) and the Doulton Fountain dedicated to the four continents that Great Britain colonized in the 1800’s, i.e. the British Commonwealth: Australia, India, South Africa and Canada.
Time to start heading back toward our hotel, we strolled along the pedestrian-only shopping district of Argyle and Buchannan Streets (known as the Style Mile) passing notable landmarks like the Clock Tower and Central Station along the way. Thousands (mostly a young crowd) milled about on this very cosmopolitan part of the city. What good fun we had people watching while strolling along.
Dinner was terrific at ‘Thairiffic’ restaurant just a block from our hotel. And finally we retired to our room for a nightcap of Bushmills Whiskey (we had bought two drams a week ago on the Causeway Coast) which went wonderfully with Irish Whiskey Chocolate. That’s a perfect end to a perfect vacation. Tomorrow we are homeward bound for New Brunswick. Thanks everyone for coming along with us on this trip of a lifetime. Slán.
pancake breakfast at the i-cafe
walking down Sauchiehall Street at 8 am
City Chambers at Royal Exchange Square
arriving in time for the 10:30 tour
the salmon are a significant emblem in Glasgow
the ground floor of city chambers – covered with mosaic inlay
hanging with Nelson Mandella – waiting for the tour to start
white marble lion at the stairs
City Chambers logo etched into all the glass doors
I’m sitting in the Provost’s Chair
The Great Hall
mural depicting the story of the salmon and the golden ring
Wedgewood ceiling tiles
four stories of Italian marble
Queen Elizabeth at Royal Exchange Square (the sun was in the wrong direction for a face-on shot)
arriving at Glasgow Cathedral
inside Glasgow Cathedral
detail – the salmon
one of several windows at Glasgow Cathedral
detail – again with salmon (a very important icon in Glasgow history)
coat of arms window at Glasgow Cathedral
details – the Lamb of God
The Scottish coat of arms
monuments at the Necropolis
the Necropolis at Glasgow Cathedral
Glasgow panorama from the Necropolis with clear blue skies
The Lord Nelson Monument at Glasgow Green
The People’s Palace at Glasgow Green
Passion Flowers blooming at the conservatory
the conservatory at the People’s Palace
The Daulton Fountain at the People’s Palace on Glasgow Green
The Tollbooth Steeple (clock tower)
beautiful glass walls and ceiling of Central Train Station
dinner around the corner from our hotel at Thairrific
‘Golden Bags’ appetizer for Mon
prawn cakes appetizer for Nelly
we shared the red curry chicken and green curry pork
the sun is going down on our last day in Glasgow – tomorrow we go home
Leaving Edinburgh, we caught the train at Waverley Station for Glasgow at 10:00 and enjoyed the 50 minute ride across the Scottish countryside, arriving at Charring Cross station which is right beside our hotel…how convenient!
A quick and easy check-in and off we went on foot to explore the west side of the city on this beautiful sunny day (again). First stopping point was the Kelvin Grove Art Gallery which is free admission to the public and is designed to be interactive and educational for people of all ages. What a marvelous place with something for everyone from priceless paintings from all the masters to dinosaur skeletons to (best surprise of all) a full sized Harry Clark stained glass window, and so much more. The building itself is phenomenal and contains a full sized pipe organ in the Great Hall. Luckily, we caught a 1:00 recital … wonderful acoustics.
Carrying on, we strolled the beautiful park walkway along the Kelvin River for a kilometer or so until we came to the Glasgow Botanical Gardens with its multiple glass conservatories filled with exotic plants from every corner of the planet…also free admission to the public. Truly spectacular and the oxygen level inside the glass houses is invigorating.
Hungry from all the hiking and marvelling at the wonders we had seen, we found the perfect place for lunch at The Ubiquitous Chip, totally different than anything we have every seen before and very much like dining inside one of the garden conservatories at the botanical gardens… with its assorted trees and plants, glass ceilings, and silk screen wall art…it was incredible. The food was great and the service wonderful. Our waiter (German fellow) gave us some sight seeing tips for the city.
Heading back toward our hotel, we had one more stop planned… at the Hunterian Museum on the campus of Glasgow University – again, free admission to the public (that’s three free admission today). This place is like a miniature Museum of Science and Natural History and is totally fantastic – from the ancient Romans right up through the ages to modern medicine and everything in between (except for the arts).
Fully exhausted from seven hours of walking and sight seeing, we crashed in our hotel room to upload pics and blog the day’s adventures. Tomorrow we will see the city’s downtown and, I expect, will be just as impressed.
at Waverley Train Station
arriving in Glasgow
the Premier Inn is right above the train station
view of the west side from our hotel room
The Kelvin Grove Art Gallery (free admission)
inside the Kelvin Grove Art gallery (notice the pipe organ at the far end – we heard a recital at 1:00)
second floor balcony view (a spitfire and an elephant)
what a surprise to find a Harry Clarke window here
I’m standing two feet from this
the colors are exquisite
Renoir ‘Portrait of Madame Valentine Fray’
Orchardson ‘The Marriage of Convenience’
Burmese carved elephant tusk depicting the life of Buddah
Unbelievably, the skies today were cloudless…we’ve been so lucky. Even the locals are saying this is way beyond normal. After breakfast at the B&B, Monica and I caught the bus to Calton Hill. Only a 10 minute ride and we were there and climbed the steps to the summit of this hill with its sweeping 360 degree views all around Edinburgh. We saw the Dugald Stewart Monument (1800’s key influence on the Scottish Enlightenment), the observatory, the Lord Nelson Monument and the National Monument (looks like Greek pillars) which remains unfinished since the mid 1800’s due to lack of funds.
Descending from Calton Hill, we explored the residential neighborhood just north of the main city core admiring the architecture and occasional surprise such as the Sherlock Holmes statue. We also happened across the National Portrait Gallery with its free admission and just couldn’t say no. Nice to see these historically important works of art – for free! and the interior of the building itself is worth the visit. Our ultimate destination this morning was the National Gallery (different from the Portrait Gallery) on Princes Street also with free admission to the public. This gallery has a wonderful collection from many of the masters and we were allowed to take all the non-flash photos we wanted. Got to love that!
After the art gallery, we parted ways for the next couple of hours. Monica wanted to finish exploring the shops on the Royal Mile and I wanted to explore the west end cathedrals…so off we went in opposite directions with an agreed on meeting place later.
I discovered St. John’s Cathedral on the corner of the park with its beautiful ceiling and stained glass windows. However, it was St. Mary’s Cathedral further west that I really had in mind and I found it easily after a 15 minute walk from the city park. (it really doesn’t take long to get around Edinburgh on foot). On this bright and beautiful morning, St. Mary’s was fully flooded with multi-colored light streaming through the stained glass windows. What a thrill to see and since I was the only person in the church, I enjoyed taking my time and snapping photos. It is quite lovely but nothing yet has compared to St. Giles from yesterday…that cathedral is out of this world.
Monica and I met up as planned at 1:00 and slipped into the Black Bull Pub for lunch right under the castle. The food was good (not great) but the pub was quiet and cozy and that was grand. Back to the B&B for an afternoon rest and making plan for an evening of pub music.
It was dark when we set out to find a suitable restaurant. I thought I had the city routes memorized by now but one little mistake ended us up on a dark alley behind the castle with spooky characters wandering about and drunks passed out on benches. Yikes! Gladly, we soon came to more civilized quarters and found, by accident, The Elephant House restaurant where JK Rowling used to sit and write the chapters for her famous Harry Potter series. The food was excellent and reasonably priced. This restaurant is on top of the George IV Bridge and directly underneath the bridge is the Dropkick Murphy’s Pub (which we had discovered yesterday) so we popped down for a pint to celebrate our last night in Edinburgh. The Dropkick Murphys are an alternative Irish band from Boston and the pub here is a vibrant “late night”sports bar that doesn’t even open until 9:00 pm. We, of course, were the first and only ones there at 9:15. It was nice and quiet.
Tomorrow we’ll head to Glasgow for the final leg of our vacation.
Wellington statue
Edinburgh Castle from on top of Calton Hill
sweeping view with several landmarks in the background and the Dugald Stewart Monument front and center
the unfinished National Monument
Nelson’s Monument
Sherlock Holmes
he’s thinking about something
Queen Victoria (covered in anti-pigeon netting)
Robert Burns statue at the National Portrait Gallery
Scottish National Coat of Arms window
upstairs at the National Portrait Gallery
Charles II
Queen Ann
Queen Victoria
King George VI
Winston Churchill
piper in full regalia outside the National Gallery
The Scott Monument
Monica beside Rodin’s ‘La Defense’ (The Call to Arms)
Raphael’s ‘The Holy Family’
Procaccini’s ‘The Raising of the Cross’
Rubens ‘The Feast of Herod’
Tiepolo ‘The Finding of Moses’
The Royal Scots Greys Statue in Prince Street Park
“The Call” commemorating 1914
The Ross Fountain in the park
St. John’s Cathedral at the corner of West Prince Street Gardens
inside St. John’s Cathedral
a window in St. |John’s Cathedral
St. Mary’s Cathedral in the west end
inside St. Mary’s Cathedral
detail of one of the St. Mary’s windows
Mazzola’s ‘Christ healing the Dumb” 1500
a surprise to find this enormous geometric window in St. Mary’s
our lunch pub is right under the castle
at the Black Bull Pub
pub lunch of chicken wings and mac n cheese
dinner at The elephant House where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter
chili con carne for me and lasagna for Mon
under the George IV Bridge going to Dropkick Murphy’s Bar for a nightcap
We afforded ourselves a leisurely start to the day since we couldn’t check into our B&B until after 10:00 am. We caught the train from the airport hotel into the city and had a 15 minute walk to find our address… eyes wide open all the way. Edinburgh is simply lovely and today was bright and sunny (we’ve been so lucky this entire vacation so far).
After checking in and chatting with the proprietor to get some sight seeing tips, we set off on foot to explore the city core. Strolling along through residential neighborhood streets we passed by George Heriots School (which looks like a castle) and soon came to Greyfriars Square and the statue of Greyfriar’s Bobby, a popular attraction with lineups of people waiting for their chance for the photo op. The statue is simply of a little dog “Bobby” who, as the story goes, came faithfully everyday starting in 1858 to his master’s grave site at the kirk for 14 years until his death in 1872.
We carried on to the colorful Victoria Street lined with its boutique shops and began the climb up the hill to Edinburgh Castle. I had been here once 33 years ago with my friend, Karen, on a post university trip across Europe and was anxious to see if my memory shots would still look the same today. I’m happy to say, they were. The castle grounds have been wonderfully preserved after all these years and we thoroughly enjoyed our tour.
Two hours later and with tired feet but still so much more to see, we started down The Royal Mile lined with shops on either side. While Monica did some shopping, I visited St. Giles Cathedral which originally dates back to the 11th century but has been expanded in more recent centuries. I could not believe my eyes when I entered. This cathedral blows all the other ones that I had seen in the past two weeks right out of the water and you might think I’m exaggerating…but I’m not. 360 degrees of stained glass windows, priceless statues and other treasures from Stotland’s past history. A minimal fee of 2 pounds gets you permission to photograph all you want and throughout the cathedral, volunteer guides are waiting and happy to explain the marvels around you. Magnificent doesn’t even begin to describe it. I took at least 30 photos and tried to choose only 4 or 5 for this blog. You really would have to see it for yourself to appreciate the beauty.
Afternoon was getting along and our feet were screaming to stop but we wanted to finish the shopping on the left side of the Royal Mile (saving the right side for tomorrow) so we pushed on to the end and got a nice look at Hollyrood Palace just before the sun went down. This is the official residence of Queen Elizabeth when she is in Scotland. Hungry as well as tired, we chose the nearest bar we could find and what a find! Kilderkin Bar-restaurant is marvelous, quiet, old and the walls are decorated with 70’s rock star ablum covers…we sat with Alice Cooper, Van Halen, Whitesnake and others. Pink Floyd was a couple of booths over but had people there so I just admired it from a distance.
We strolled back to our B&B and got there just at dusk. A totally different day from those in Ireland and totally wonderful.
found our B&B in Edinburgh (a 15 minute walk from the train station)
‘Arthur’s Seat’ to the west of the city
George Heriots School
memorial to the little dog who faithfully came every day to his master’s grave for 14 years
a peek at the castle through the streets
colorful Victoria Street
The Royal Mile
Edinburgh Castle
entering the castle gates
the St. Columba window in St. Margaret’s Chapel…the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh
William Wallace window in St. Margaret’s Chapel
the Royal Palace (home of the crown jewels)
boudoir in the Royal Apartments
The Great Hall
one of the many coat of arms windows in the Great Hall
the Great Hall fire place and armor
portrait of Stewart
the castle prisons
view to the west of St. Mary’s Cathedral
view to the east of Calton Hill
St Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile
stepping into the cathedral
one of the many windows at St. Giles Cathedral (I didn’t have time to research each window just now…I’ll do that later)
obviously ‘The Last Supper’
St. Giles himself
incredible
yes, halleluiah
The Balmoral Hotel
Governor’s House below Calton Hill
a great place for dinner
stained glass in Kilderkin Bar
we sat beside Alice Cooper
cheers!
seriously good burgers
UK beer for Mon and cider for me
Hollyrood Palace in the late afternoon sum
the contemporary (and controversial because of that) House of Parliament
Our final day in Ireland was almost surreal for several reasons: 1) the weather was absolutely beautiful with not a cloud in the sky (not your typical day here) and although the early morning was chilly, the day warmed up quickly and by afternoon it was downright balmy. 2) We saw three more cathedrals, all more beautiful and/or significant than all the previous (if that’s possible). 3) We saw three of Ireland’s most historically important landmarks.
Up at 4:30 and chomping at the bit to get started, we checked out of our hotel in Carrickfergus and headed south on the M1 highway in the dark. The early start was a calculated attempt to avoid the Belfast morning rush… that was a good idea and even at that early hour, there were lots of commuters around the city.
First destination: the city of Armagh. It was here that St. Patrick established his first church in the mid-4th century. In modern times, Armagh has become the center for both Catholic and Protestant religion in Ireland. Therefore, there are two churches here; St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral and St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland. We arrived before either of them were opened so we found a little corner café that served breakfast and good strong coffee and waited for 8:30.
The first one we visited was the magnificent Roman Catholic Cathedral with its twin spires the tallest in the county. The sun was just coming up as we climbed the stairs. Every square inch of the interior walls and floors are covered with millions of 1 inch square mosaic inlaid tiles. Then there are the stained glass windows – and there are lots of them. Then there is the statuary and the priceless artifacts and so on. It is breathtaking. I really didn’t want to leave… but the other St. Patrick’s in Armagh also needed seeing.
St. Patrick’s Church has a more square look like a castle (not really) and is somewhat smaller than the catholic church… but no less incredible inside and with more historical artifacts of Ireland (sort of museum-ish). The windows, of course, are spectacular but there is a mosaic of the Last Supper that is particularly attractive as the halos of Jesus and the Disciples are made of mother of pearl… so different and so lovely.
Leaving Armagh, we continued south to the town of Monasterboice to see Ireland’s tallest high cross. At 7 meters it is completely impressive and must weigh several tons. We timed it perfectly and got the photos just before a bus tour of students arrived for a history lesson.
From there, we travelled just 15 minutes south to “Bru na Boyne”, a 5000 year old burial tomb in the area called Newgrange. It was astounding to hear and see how simple farmers of this land built this site out of hundreds of thousands of tons of rock… 6000 years ago! No photos allowed inside but we were escorted in by our guide and marvelled at the structure and wall art carved into the sandstone rocks. Nobody knows for sure what the purpose of it was (perhaps religious or sacrificial reasons) but it predates both the Pyramids and Stonehenge. Incredible history in this place and there are more than 40 other tombs in Ireland some similar in size and many smaller.
Next door to Newgrange is the city of Drogheda (busy and bustling) where we parked the car and strolled the streets to find several gems starting with St. Lawrence’s Gate – through which Cromwell ( in 1646 under Henry VIII) invaded Ireland and “took no prisoners”. We also saw Magdelene Tower (13th century) and St. Peter’s Cathedral with its three sparkling and huge circular stained glass windows. This is the only cathedral we visited with such grand circular windows.
And then we were done in Ireland and made our way to the Dublin airport where we dropped off our rental car. In total we had driven 1800 kms. Time now to make our way to Scotland for the next leg of our journey. Slán Ireland (goodbye in Gaelic). You were amazing beyond our wildest dreams.
on the road early and it’s chilly out there
where we had breakfast waiting for the cathedrals to open
beautiful early morning skies in Armagh
St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, Armagh
St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, Armagh (the walls and ceiling are covered in mosaic inlay)
one of many Windows at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral
the details are in the glass
St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland, Armagh (Protestant)
one of the windows in St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland, Armagh
the window over the alter at St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland
details of the alter window
mosaic of The Last Supper – the halos are made from mother of pearl
the tallest high cross in Ireland at 7 meters (23 feet)
arriving at a 5000 year old megalithic site
at the Newgrange passage tomb
at Newgrange
the Newgrange Passage tomb (5000 years old)
St. Lawrence’s Gate in Drogheda (Cromwell invaded Ireland through here in 1649)
The Magdelene Tower (all that remains of an 11th century Dominican Friary)
Today we drove from Ballycastle to Carrickfergus along the beautiful Antrim Coast hugging the tight turns all the way. Very lovely indeed and not a long drive at all. What we thought would take us four hours only took one and a half hours including a couple of quick side trips to catch a view of something interesting. The sight of Carrickfergus Castle indicated our arrival to the town where we would stop for the night. We found our hotel (too early to check in) and left the car in the parking lot to catch the 20 minute train ride into Belfast for the day.
Belfast is gorgeous…big…and fascinating. First up on the agenda was a Black Taxi Tour of the city. Terry, our driver, was wonderful and so engaged in his story telling. He gave us the 90 minute history of the religious/political background that lead to “The Troubles” that we westerners know about but can’t really appreciate. He was a little boy when it all began in late 60’s. His perspective was very personal… for example, whenever there was an explosion in the streets, he and his friends would look for a way around it rather than to run away. He drove us slowly past a couple of the 40 peace walls in the city and explained some of the murals that we saw and the stories of the people and events behind them. The experience was sobering… neither Monica nor I dared say much during the tour out of respect and for fear of showing our ignorance. He was incredible and the story of Belfast and the rest of Ireland has new meaning for us now that we’ve been there.
After the tour, we set out on foot to see the rest of the downtown core with its magnificent architecture. As we walked the streets, we recounted the stories our cab driver has told us… and a two hour walk seemed like 15 minutes. Of course, there were a couple of cathedrals that just begged to be seen and rightly so… my favorite was St. Patrick’s. We also saw St. Georges Market which was packed with Sunday shoppers, got a glimpse of the Titanic Museum from across the river, Albert Clock Tower, and City Hall just to name a few of the more famous landmarks. We also slipped into the renowned Crown Bar for a glass of wine (gorgeous, opulent and expensive!). The entire city is grand and it was very difficult to narrow my photo selection for the blog down to the chosen 32 pics.
the town of Cushendon
lovely drive down the coast
imagine doing this in a convertible with the top down
Carrickfergus Castle
Carrickfergus Castle view from our hotel
Waiting for the train to Belfast at the Carrickfergus station
we’re here…this is exciting!
visiting St. George’s Market
a vibrant and colorful place at noon on a Sunday
street scape walking toward the city center
Belfast city hall
one of the first murals we saw – the RHC
the notorious leader of the Ulster Defense Association (UDA) – he murdered many Catholics
this mural is of International Peacemakers
Adding our names to the Peace Wall
our cab by the Peace Wall (the top of the black section is the height of the Berlin Wall for comparison)
the memorial at Bombay Street where the fighting began in the Summer of 1969
Bombay Street (Catholic) was burned to the ground – 14 yr old Gerald McAuley was shot
Bobby Sands – IRA activist who lead 9 others in a hunger strike of protest – he died
Belfast (St. Ann’s) Cathedral
a window from Belfast Cathedral
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Ireland’s Patron Saint in statue
Ireland’s Patron Saint in glass
the nativity scene at St. Patrick’s Cathedral
The Merchant Hotel
Albert Clock Tower
beautiful architecture (can’t remember what this building was)
nellyglass studio 