My Grandpal Fred went on a sixteen-day tour to Ireland in 2022. He got there on a plane that flew from Toronto to Dublin, and visited five castles that had been turned into hotels, but still had the look of old castles. One of the castles was called Blarney Castle. It was called that because you would wait in a long line, and go to the top of the castle.
You would lie on a plank that hung off the castle, and an attendant would hold the plank down so you wouldn’t fall. Then, you would put your head back, and kiss the Blarney Stone. Twenty-one Canadians went with Fred on the bus as he travelled from one place to another. They all came from different places such as Newfoundland, the East Coast, Alberta, and Ontario.
Fred’s favourite part was the Titanic Museum and the famine ship. I learned a little bit about the famine ship. When the potato famine struck Ireland, the Irish went on a boat because they lived on potatoes, and the potato farms were wiped out. Some people entered workhouses, while others took dangerous voyages in hopes of finding a new place to live.
Many people did not survive. His other favourite place was the Titanic Museum, and Fred said that they have a bucket built into a table that holds water at the same temperature as the water the Titanic was in, which I think is really cool. Fred really liked his trip to Ireland, and if I went I think I would love it too!