I Am A Celebrity!

Sunday, May 31, 2026

2019 - Liverpool and The Beatles!

Port of Liverpool - Liverpool, England
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

LIVERPOOL SURPRISED me. I blogged about it on my LightCentricPhotography Blog back in 2019, shortly after this visit. There is a brief history of the city there. We knew it was the where the Beatles started; all 4 of the "fab four" growing up there and finding their way together. So it made total sense that we plan our visit around that theme. We hired a "Fab Four Black Taxi" tour for most of the day, and we followed the youthful lives of John, Paul, Ringo and George.

"The Cases" sculpure - in front of the Liverpool School (of performing arts) for boys - John and Paul both attended at various times
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

IN THE 2019 blog post, you will find a link to the James Corden "Carpool Karaoke" episode where he picks up Paul McCartney at his boyhood home in Liverpool, and then covers essentially the same route that we followed with our very knowledgable tour guide: Eddie.

Downtown Liverpool, England
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

OTHER THAN the Beatles, I didn't think there was really much to see in Liverpool. I was wrong. England's 5th largest city, and an important commercial port during WWII, Liverpool was the primary entry point for U.S. Soldiers joining the "European Theatre." At one point in history it was England's largest financial center. There is a bustling commercial - industrial complex there today, as well as some splendid architectural examples - primarily Victorian and Georgian, with a smattering of Gothic, Neo-Classical and even some Art Deco buildings in areas. It has a lively bar scene, and we have sampled a few of them. In 2023, we made another port stop there, where we repeated our Beatles Tour (with some friends we now travel with frequently who are very much music fans - so we had to do it). Much had changed during the 4 years between.

Mural of Ringo on the side of the Empress - 2023
Copyright Andy Richards 2023 - All Rights Reserved

IT DOESN'T make a lot of sense to me to re-hash our Liverpool Beatles Experience here. When I migrated my primary LightCentricPhotography Blog here to Google Blogger, I was having some "admin" issues with my prior host (Wordpress.com). Primarily, I was running out of space for my images, and so I tried to set up a couple "archive" blog sites to move the older blogs to. But eventually, that got old, as I needed to set up a second archive site only very shortly after the first, so I moves it all over to Blogger which has not presented the limitations my prior host did (and where I had already established this blog. As the link above demonstrates, I am able to link back to the old ones (for now). I think the link above covers it pretty well and would suggest you follow that and read it. The second link to my 2023 blog recounting of our second visit: not so much. For reasons I cannot explain, the text is there, but no photos. I will make just a quick summary here, as it mainly showed changes from a couple of the long-established spots.

The Empress Pub - Adjacent to the Admiral Grove entrance - owned by the Starkey Family for many years
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

FOR MANY years, the pub on the corner of Admiral Grove, just a short walk from Ringo's "pink house" boyhood home, "The Empress," looked like the image above. Colorful, but a traditional English Pub. It was not open when we visited, but it certainly looked like a fun place. Like so much of the world, the 2019 Pandemic caused the Empress to close. Sometime in 2022, it was purchased and turned into a small hotel. The first floor remains a museum to the Starkey family and their connection to the Beatles. The exterior is - as you can see - wildly different looking today.

The Empress - Post Pandemic
Copyright Andy Richards 2023 - All Rights Reserved

THE OTHER major change since our 2019 visit was Strawberry Fields. It was not open for visitors in 2019, but in the ensuing years, a major visitor center with a cafeteria and souvenir store was added. There is now a modest admission and some nice exhibits to the Beatles. I give that some coverage when we get there - in 2013.

FROM LIVERPOOL, we sailed back again across the Irish Sea, to the southern coast of Ireland, and the picturesque and historical little seaport of Cobh.

Sunday, May 24, 2026

2019 - Northern Ireland's Antrim Coast

Antrim Coast - Northern Ireland
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

COUNTY ANTRIM in The Republic of Northern Ireland displays some of the best scenery the entire of Ireland has to offer. Bordered on its south by Belfast and the north by Portrush and Bushmills, it encompasses over half of the northeastern coast, showcasing some of the world's most dramatic seacoast cliffs. Known for the Cliffs of Moher on the western side of the Republic of Ireland, the Antrim Coast easily rivals those views.

Launching basin for the Titanic - Belfast, Ireland
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

OUR DRIVER and guide picked us up at the cruise port and after a very quick stop on our way out of the port at the site of the building and launching of the Titanic, we headed for the coast.

Game of Thrones Movie Set - Harland and Wolff Shipyard - Belfast, Ireland
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

WE MADE a handful of stops along the way, including a quick peek at some of the movie set that was was used for filming the Game of Thrones. Our driver did some private driving for some famous folks, including some of the actors for the series, and for another famous Northern Irish gentleman (another surprise he saved for us for the end of our day). Because he drove in and out of the movie set regularly, he had a pass, and our stop on the way out included a few minutes to get out and walk around the flooding basin and pump house where the Titanic was launched. A rare life opportunity. Since that time, the "Titanic Experience" Exhibition has been opened and the only way to get where we were for most people is to ride a little spectator train as part of the Exhibit.

"The Dark Hedges" - County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

WELL UP into the northern part of County Antrim is another famous movie set used by the Game of Thrones series when filming their grand entrance to the castle: "The Dark Hedges." It is pretty easy to see how it fits the medieval theme.

Dunluce Castle - Bushmills, Northern Ireland
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

IT's NOT all movies and make-believe, however. One of the area's most popular tourist sites is the 13th century Dunluce Castle. Built out on a high promontory above the Irish Sea, overlooking the narrow strait between Ireland and Scotland, its only access is by bridge from the mainland coast. Steep cliffs surround the castle on all sides. All that remain today are the ruins of the castle, but they provide a pretty good idea of the historical structure, and amazing views of the Antrim coastline below.

View of the Antrim Coast from inside Dunluce Castle
Bushmills, Northern Ireland
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

WE STOPPED for a few minutes to walk around the grounds. If you are willing to pay the few $ for the admission, there are also bathroom facilities in the castle. Bathroom or not, I thought it worth it for the views (especially for photography).

The "real" Bushmills - Northern Ireland
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

FROM DUNLUCE Castle, we headed the short distance into the quaint and very picturesque village of Bushmills. You would be forgiven if you weren't aware that "Bushmills" was a village (rather than just the name of a famous bottle of Irish whiskey). The whiskey fanciers among us are generally aware of Bushmills Irish Whiskey. I didn't make the connection, however, that it was the distillery located in the village of Bushmills, and therefore Bushmills Distillery. The pretty little village is located right on the Bush River, which presumably provides the clear water used in making the whiskey. Part of our excursion included a tasting here, so we stopped. Bushmills holds the distinction as the oldest working whiskey distillery in the world. Though I have partaken every time I have visited Ireland, I have never been a huge fan of Irish Whiskey. I have, however, developed a taste for one Bushmills variety (I learned about it at the tasting) that is aged in old bourbon whiskey casks (Black Bush). The most fun experience was when I began to take a selfie of me in front of the bar in the vicinity of a 100 year old Bushmills bottle that had been recently discovered in excavations at the distillery. The bartender invited me behind the bar and allowed me to stand directly next to the bottle (holding it, however, was out of the question 😅).

Bushmills Distillery - Bushmills, Northern Ireland
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

FROM THE distillery, we headed toward the next attraction. An attraction, I must confess, I was underwhelmed by: The Giant's Causeway. The legend is certainly interesting, if a tall tale. The geology is much more fascinating. Some time in the Paleocene era (50 plus million years ago), volcanic erruptions drove basalt up from below the surface of the water, and astoundingly, created octogon shaped columns, side by side, well out into the ocean. The formation is at the edge of the narrowest part of the Irish Sea between Ireland and Scotland. Legend has it that there were 2 giants. Once was Irish and the other Scottish. The Scottish giant purportedly challenged the Irish giant to a fight and the Irish giant built the causeway so the two could meet. The rest of the story differs depending on who tells it.

Bushmills Distillery - Bushmills, Northern Ireland
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

MY UNDERWHELMED reaction is more perhaps to the way it is presented. Today the causeway and surroundings are owned by the UK National Trust, and the area is a UNESCO world heritage. But it has been set up as the quintessential tourist attraction, with a substantial admission (for what you get), gift shop and large entrance, and shuttles. It was the only place we visited that day that was essentially overrun with people. It was the least exciting stop we made in my opinion. Looking back, I didn't even make any memorable shots there.

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge - Bushmills, Northern Ireland
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

ON OUR way back down the coast we stopped at one other spot that I thought was pretty cool: The Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. Our stop wasn't actually at the bridge, nor did we walk it. Our guide assured us that it was a rather long walk downhill to the mainland side of the bridge, and there was an admission as well as a generally long line to cross it. He took us to a viewpoint high above the bridge where we could see it (and photograph it). Then he popped open the rear of his SUV and handed us each a cold Guiness! I liked my shots from above.

The Peace Wall - Belfast, Northern Ireland
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

WE HEADED back to Belfast, where we would make two more stops. One was part of the itinerary. The other was unplanned and was a kind of surprise from our guide that I foreshadowed at the beginning of this blog. We did not have time to do a tour of Belfast, or cover any of the areas made famous by the thirty years between 1968 and 1998 known as "the troubles." But we did make one stop - at the Peace Wall, where we took a few minutes to stop and sign it. Our guide had grown up during this period and had experienced it very closely first hand and he told us quite a few sobering stories during our day spent with him. It was meaningful, and I knew then that I really wanted to spend more time and learn more (we would do so when we stopped in Belfast again in 2023).

Holywood Golf Club - Rory McIlroy's home club where he grew up and learned to play
Holywood (Belfast), Northern Ireland
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

THE SURPRISE. At some time during the day, our guide asked if any of us were golfers. My brother in law and I were, and he mentioned that one of his driving assignments from time to time was driving local celebrity, Rory McIlroy when he was in town. It turns out, though, that he was something more than just a "driver." In fact, he knows Rory pretty well. And, he knows the club pro well also. He had us wait outside for a few minutes. I was assuming we would get to see the clubhouse. Maybe even have a drink in the bar. Instead, out comes the club pro and greets us. And then asks if we would like to see Rory's private trophy room? Seriously? 😀Um. Yeah! The photo below tells "the rest of the story." What a great way to finish a pretty amazing day! We headed back to the port. Tomorrow we would sail across to Liverpool. And another amazing day. The Beatles!

Rory's Trophy Room (and trophy :-) ) - Holywood Golf Club - Holywood, Northern Ireland
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

Saturday, May 16, 2026

2019 - Dublin

Port of Dublin, Ireland - From our Docked Cruise Ship: Celebrity Reflection
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

IT SEEMS like we had settled into a pattern of every-other-year doing a major cruise-based trip. There were no cruises in 2018. That would change, though, in 2019 (and later, after an almost complete moratorium on travel during the 2019 - 2021 period of the world wide pandemic, our cruising would escalate into multiple cruises nearly every year). I think I have mentioned that we like to cruise! 😁

OUR LAST cruise had been to the Mediterranean on the Celebrity Reflection with Paul and Linda. We didn't do any Caribbean cruises for a few years running, until 2022 when we felt like we had finally emerged from the Covid Pandemic, but we would eventually get back to that, too. In 2019, though, we were ready for another trip to Europe. It turns out we would do 2 Mediterranean Cruises that year.

COINCIDENTALLY, THE first one would again be the Celebrity Reflection, cruising out of The Port of Dublin, Ireland. This was our 4th time on the Reflection. It was becoming familiar to us. Even though the last time we sailed on her was in 2021, it remains my own personal favorite Cruise Ship. For reasons unknown to me, Celebrity has been keeping the Reflection close, with numerous "short" cruises to Key West and the Bahamas, and a couple over into the Western Caribbean. That is a shame, as I think Reflection is the best of the Solstice Class ships. They seem to be concentrating their newer, larger, Edge class ships more for the longer cruises - in the summer months in the Mediterranean and in the winter months down into the eastern and southern Caribbean. The itinerary for 2019 would be another good one, covering the east coast of Ireland, parts of England, and the English Channel (including a trip to Paris by train). We arrived in Dublin a couple days early, and spent some time touring the city and beyond. Our hotel was right in the center of the popular Temple Bar area of the city.

ON ONE of our days in Dublin, we took and excursion out the north side of Dublin Bay, nearly to the Irish Sea, to the charming fishing (and apparently also vacation) village of Howth, stopping on the way, at Malahide Castle. Fish & Chips, of course, are a staple in the United Kingdom, and nowhere more prevalent than in Ireland. We were told that there were two primary "best" fish & chips restaurants in the Dublin area. One of them was Wright's, so when we stopped for lunch in Howth, we availed ourselves of the fish & chips at Wright's "Crabby Jo's" restaurant on the main street near the pier. Walking down along the pier revealed the usual colorful local fishing boats.

THE STATELY old Malahide Castle dates back to the 12th Century when King Henry II granted the lands and harbor (adjacent to the Village of Malahide) to the Talbot Family. The grounds include impressive botanical gardens, and are one of 100's of Irish castles that can be visited.

IN DUBLIN, there is also plenty to do and see. We had visited there on a 10 - day land - based trip in 2014, and seen many great spots, including the reknowned Trinity College, with its Book of Kells, Phoenix Park, Dublin Castle, The Guiness Storehouse and Jameson's Dublins Distillery. On this trip, we made a point to visit several local pubs. Some were tiny, and some were more of a showplace. All were fun. I found, and developed a kinship with a locally distilled gin back in 2014: Ha'Penny pink gin (after the famous Ha'Penny walking bridge over the River Liffey). On this trip, we discovered the tiny Pearse Lyons Distillery, immediately adjacent to the Guiness Storehouse. An Irish Whiskey Distillery that had been a recommended tour, we were delighted to discover that they were also the makers of my Ha'Penny Gin! The Pearse distillery was set up in the small, abandoned, 12th Century St. James Catholic Church. The distillery re-modeled the interior and it is a beautiful old site.

AS I often do, I was up early, and walking around the streets of Dublin. One of the things I noted was how many historic churches there are in the city, most of them built around (or before) the 12 Century. The most famous and largest is, of course, St. Patrick's Cathedral (after Ireland's patron saint). It is a very picturesque church, and I made it a point to try to be there by the early morning light. Not known for its sunny, blues skies, the Dublin morning light was a bit subdued, but nice and warm on this morning.

BETWEEN OUR Temple Bar hotel location and St. Patrick's is another immensely impressive cathedral: Christchurch. Originally built by the Vikings in the 11th century, it was re-built in stone during the Norman reign in the 12th century. Christchurch serves as the Diocesan Church of Dublin (St. Patrick's is the national Diocesan Church of the Republic of Ireland).

AS I walked on toward the west side of Dublin and the Guinness Storehouse in the "Liberties" area of the city, I passed another Catholic Church. St. Catherine's is - surprisingly to me - much newer than the foregoing churches. First built in the 18th century, the current structure was built in the 19th century and is still in use today. From the street, through the old stone arch, it appeared much older than that to me. It is actually quite close to the old St. James Church now occupied by the Pearse Lyons Distillery.

DUBLIN IS hard not to fall in love with as you walk her streets, meet her people, and hear about her history. And, as is true with many cities, she is not without her quirks. When I see them, I have to photograph them, and the appearance of Superman was not exception.

SOON, WE would depart on our cruise heading next to Northern Ireland, and the port of Belfast. We would not spend much time in Belfast, though as we were bound for the Antrim Coast, and parts north.