June 2026 • Page 3 of 3 • Folksy Travel by Bill Smale

June 8, 2026June 8, 2026

visiting Dublin Castle

there is something interesting about this castle beyond the fact that it was a target of the revolution and that it was the seat of power of the English colonialists in Ireland. It was one large seat of occupation that was not destroyed during the Civil War or after. It’s good to walk through to get an idea what it meant to be an English overlord.

Large staircase visiting Dublin Castle — Typical large central staircase taking up a lot of room but great for presenting people as they come down the stairs

One of the entrances visiting Dublin Castle — at one of the entrances it’s nice they put the symbol of Ireland at the top

Declaration of the republic visiting Dublin Castle — The 1916 declaration of the Republic is very prominently displayed

James Connelly room Bill Smale — This room was used as a hospital for World War I wounded soldiers and was later named after the great Irish patriot

James Connolly Bill Smale — James Connolly portrait

The Irish version Bill Smale — This is the Irish version of the dedication above to James Connelly. As you will notice, the name Seamus in Irish is equivalent to James in English.

Elaborate hallway Bill Smale — Down the elaborate hallway

Eamon de valera Bill Smale — The great revolutionary who was also a US citizen so was spared execution after the 1916 Easter rising. He became the president of Ireland several times.

Monarch symbol — On the mirror the symbol of the monarch

View from the castle to the gate — A view towards the gate from the castle

Entertainment room — The main entertainment room

Ceiling — Beautiful Murals on the ceiling

The three countries — The Royal Banner depicting the lion of Scotland, the three Lions of the Plantagenets and the heart of Ireland

June 6, 2026June 7, 2026

Ventimiglia to Cuneo

since I’ve been to Genova, Torino, Milano and some other big cities in the north of Italy I decided to take some time in the smaller cities. They aren’t crowded, everything is much cheaper and people are extremely friendly and they are very safe and fun to walk around.

Ventimiglia

this is the first major stop on the train from France and it’s a cute little town. There’s not too much to do here but it’s by the ocean and the beaches are very nice and so it’s just a relaxing place to be for a couple days.

Restaurant downstairs Ventimiglia to Cuneo — I stayed above this restaurant owned by the same family and with the same name. It was very adequate for what I needed and well managed. The food in this restaurant was very nice.

Pasta with pesto Ventimiglia to Cuneo — Pasta with pesto sauce. It was very filling and had a very rich flavor

Poke bowl Bill Smale — Hawaiians are imperial the world even here with their Poké bowl

The beaches Bill Smale — The beaches are very inviting though I did not go in

Beautiful flowers Bill Smale — Beautiful flowers in the small park

Old buildings Bill Smale — Some of the buildings are showing signs of wear and tear. But as you can see there is a tower among these which is kind of interesting

Cuneo

This is the center of the province with the same name. They seem to have quite a few interesting things going on especially the fair which was set up well I was there to promote local agriculture

Famous guy — This must’ve been a famous guy

Dario Fo Bill Smale — This might be a statue of Dario Fo The director of this opera Or musical created in 1966

This was a little event for kids. The video below shows some of the fun they were having

Selling dry goods — For several hours the streets were lined with vendors of all sorts of dry goods

Cinnamon Café — At the cinnamon café, a Chinese restaurant

Local church — The local church has some very interesting art

Belltower — This church has its own tower for the bells

Coffee ice cream — In France I order coffee cream and I get coffee mixed with some cream. So without knowing what that is in Italy I ordered it here and I got coffee ice cream.

Beautiful countryside on the way up to the city

Farm spectacular — This is the agricultural groups getting together to promote local farmers and their wonderful farming goods

They were even promoting McCormick tractors

Kids education — This was an educational experience for the kids

California bunny — I didn’t know that California had its own kind of bunnies

Strange chickens — These are strange looking chickens

Noisy birds — These birds were very noisy

Learning about crops — A demonstration of certain kinds of crops and a group of kids learning about them

Many children — I think almost all the schools were here with the children

Going to the mountains — These are some views climbing up the mountains going to Cueno

Small train station — Just a small train station

June 4, 2026June 4, 2026

Liverpool, Heysham, Shrewsbury

there’s not much to see in Heysham. It just happened to be where the ferry from the Manx Isle of Man comes in on certain days. But Liverpool is well known for a number of things, not only the Beatles but also for the port where many people left to go to Canada, the US Australia and New Zealand. Many of those people were from Ireland and Scotland. Scotland had the clearance and Ireland had the attempt to eliminate The Catholic population. But of all the three cities I found Shrewsbury to be the most intricate and interesting because of the buildings, the history and the beauty. You might spend a day or two in Liverpool but in Shrewsbury it would be nice to stay for three days and just wander around and enjoy the environment. It’s a good walking city and very charming.

Liverpool

Old main entrance Liverpool Heysham Shrewsbury — The old main entrance when the Beatles were playing

Mini pizza Liverpool Heysham Shrewsbury — I ordered some mini pizza type food with something like Jamon On it. The waiter forgot to put the cured ham on so I took it back, microwaved the cured ham and put it on top. It was OK

Inside the cavern Bill Smale — Inside the cavern an old favorite plays

Donated guitars Bill Smale — They have guitars donated by many famous musicians

Playing Beatles songs Bill Smale — In another part of the cavern this guy was doing some Beatles songs and people were joining in

Local houses bs — Just some local houses

Heysham

A play on words Bill Smale — This is funny if you know the term for those who supported Bonnie Prince Charlie and his father James who claimed to be the rightful heir to the throne of England. They were called Jacobites Since the name James is a derivative of Jacob Which I guess is what they use in France.

Old post box — So for the past 80 years they didn’t feel the name to change this post box

Beautiful view — The most interesting scenery in this town

Shrewsbury

this is a very cute and interesting town where you should spend a couple days, maybe three. It’s very walkable, very pretty and quiet and it’s a great place to just calm down and enjoy the river and scenery and hopefully a Guinness

Tutor style buildings — Many old tutor style buildings

Old buildings — These old buildings are still standing

Three fishes pub — Three fishes is an interesting name for a pub. I didn’t check to see if they serve fish but I’m sure it is deep-fried

Preparing for the tourist — There is a lot of work going on to prepare for the tourist season

Beautiful window windows — Beautiful Stained glass windows In the cathedral

I wanted to eat some more Thai food. Unfortunately there wasn’t much flavor to the LAAB

Shrewsbury Castle — The old castle is still there. It is filled with military items which I was not really interested in seeing since I have seen many places with the same kind of uniforms and armory

Old building. Rowley house — I couldn’t go in since it was being restored but it’s a very beautiful old building

It seems everybody from China, Vietnam and Taiwan want to prepare Japanese food. If you have been to Japan for an extended period of time then you won’t find very much interesting Japanese food in Europe. Of course, if you’re just interested in having good food whether it takes you back to Japan or not then these places I guess are OK

Japanese restaurant — It seems everybody who comes from a country east of India wants to open a sushi restaurant in Europe. There is only one restaurant in Europe that I saw which was “Japanese“ and was actually managed by someone from Japan. I’m sure there are more but they are most likely very upscale and not for the average daily meal

Leaning building — This building is really leaning. But it is very old

Old station house — An old house near the station

Interesting designs — This is an interesting combination of design designs

St chad’s. I still don’t know who this guy was

Semi circular church — I don’t recall ever saying a church in this semi circular Layout

The loopy shrew — This is where I stayed and it was kind of a nice place, right above the pub restaurant

Strange board — Maybe you can figure this out

A joke about a song — Do you get the joke? I’ll give you a hint. It’s a song

This is where Charles Darwin lived and studied so they have a statue devoted to him At the town council

Scottish Highlands train — This is a very beautiful train and not for boarding here. It’s a first class train to go into the Scottish Highlands. It might be nice to ride this sometime

June 3, 2026June 3, 2026

Close to Bangor

Bangor

this is a good place in the west of Wales to stay and visit very touristy places not far from Bangor. Don’t below you will see the hotel, pub, restaurant I stayed in. The great thing as the owner is Thai, she is a very accomplished artist and a good cook. If you ask her to make the food as she would for Thai people she will do it. Otherwise she tends to adapt the food to local flavors which means almost no red Peppers.

Good soup Close to Bangor — This was a very delicious Thai food

Nice hotel Close to Bangor — This hotel is not expensive and it’s right near the station so I recommend it for comfort and convenience

Turkish restaurant Bill Smale — Why not mix Turkish food with fish and chips ! After all, in Italy Turkish restaurants also make pizza

World War I memorial Bill Smale — I think this was a memorial to World War I veterans

Good beer Bill Smale — This is a very tasty local beer

Purple moose beer — The purple moose beer. In the background you can see some ofSu’s Artwork

TOM KA GAI SOUP Bill Smale — Good TOM KA GAI SOUP

Buffet leftovers Bill Smale — These were some leftovers from the Thai buffet which is arranged every Thursday

Guinness Bill Smale — Not the perfect pourbut Guinness is always delicious

Longest town name — The longest city name in the world is close to Bangor. I was told it means the white church on the hill

Hollyhead

Long sub name — The longest Shop sub name

Of course you have to have a Doleck Protect protecting your store

Rhyl

Llanberis

you must visit this place since it is an entrance to Snowden, the national park that has such extensive beauty, places to hike and scenery that is world famous.

Looking for food — They are not trying to hide. They are just looking for food

Black swans — The black swans were very aggressive and as I was feeding them some nuts they started chasing away everything and even came up to me begging

Rhuddlan

The purpose for visiting this place was to see the castle which has a very interesting history and I recommend if you are interested in ancient Welsh history

Denbigh

Denbigh castle — The castle is one of the main attractions in the city. It’s a nice place to walk around for the day

Common names — Jones and Griffith are 2 very common names in Wales

June 2, 2026June 3, 2026

Caernarfon to Aberystwyth

The areas of Wales which are close To these two towns are extremely beautiful, interesting and definitely worth visiting. Caernarfon to Aberystwyth Provides two cities which are fun to walk around and give you quite a bit to do.

Caernarfon

this castle is where the Investiture of the Prince of Wales happens. In 1969 Charles was invested in Carnarvon. It would be good to spend a couple days here. The city is a little bit expensive so you might want to stay outside in another little town and commute by bus which I did.

Bird perch Caernarfon to Aberystwyth — Birds seem to find the darndest places to hang out

Prime Minister Caernarfon to Aberystwyth — This Prime Minister was Welsh and you can tell by the name Lloyd

Fun costume Bill Smale — All sorts of fun things are going on

Castle moat Bill Smale — The moat around the castle

Castle Center Bill Smale — The center of the castle. You can buy the Welsh Heritage card And use it if you’re going to spend a couple weeks in Wales. I think the cost is around 50 pounds

Castle view Bill Smale — View from the castle

It’s fun to see the Welsh flags with the red dragon down the streets

Interesting church — It’s interesting to see how churches are reinvented to attract people and keep them in good shape

Soccer player — I’m guessing this is a famous soccer player

Slate mine — Northeast of Carnarvon you will find the slate mining areas. Slate was a big export at one time

Jones family name — This is a list of the World War I war dead. When you look closely you will see that Jones is a very common Welsh family name

Jones family — The Joneses were a large percentage of the people in this area

Plantation castle — The castle was a Plantagenet creation

Betws-y-Coed

you really need to visit this Village and spend the day going up and coming back. The trip up is really very beautiful as well.

Funny toilet — I guess this is a very funny company

Slate miners dedication — In this church you will see a lot of dedication to the people who mined And split slate for usage and export

Betws-Y-Coed

Llanberis

this town provides a beautiful entrance to the Snowden areas, a great lake and interesting views of the slate mines

Sheep mowing the lawn — Lawn mowers for free

Resort house — I think this is now a resort

Summit train — The train which goes up to a summit

Interesting building — Just an interesting building

Aberystwyth

Slate roofing — Slate was used for roofing

Interesting company name — Interesting name for a company

Great Lao and Thai food — This restaurant has excellent Lao and Thai food

It was good to have these Iisan Sausages again. They brought back good memories.

This LAAB Was made with Lao Or Thai customers in mind so it was delicious, Some of the best Iisan Food I have had in Europe.

I forgot which restaurant this was but they were labeled as “Mexican“. Normally I do eat Mexican food in Europe since, unless it’s in Spain, it definitely does not have any Mexican flavor. These nachos were not anything like I’ve had before but the food was very good and the taco chips were crispy.

Lip licking good — OK, interesting play on KFC

June 1, 2026July 5, 2026

Touring Toulon

It’s easy Touring Toulon. Unlike Marseille which is very spread out, Toulon is fairly compact and a nice little Port town to be walking around in. What you will see is not only a port for private yachts and boats but also for some smaller cruise ships, fairies which will take you to Corsica and some military ships as well. The seafood here was very good. In fact all of the food was very good so just spend time walking around and enjoying the southern France ambience. This town is not far from Marseille.

Mussels with fries Touring Toulon — As you can see it’s a fairly large serving. And remember that what is called french fries in the US were actually invented in Belgium. They are just called fries in France.

Dog leading a dog Touring Toulon — My timing was awful a little bit. I tried to get the photo of the first dog which she is leading holding the leash of the second dog in his mouth. So they were a chain of a dog leading another dog which I thought was kind of fun.

Nice building Bill Smale — I just liked this building

That’s Amore Bill Smale — They serve good Italian food and also a lot of love, that’s Amore

City center fountain Bill Smale — City center fountain

Nicaraguan cigar Bill Smale — It was not an expensive cigar from Nicaragua and I don’t particularly recommended. It was a little bit bitter

Delicious gelato — Café on the bottom and raspberry on top

Multipurpose port — A port with yachts, fairies and naval ships

Pointing to the ocean — This guy is pointing out to the ocean, probably to the pirates who stole his clothes

Wall painting — A glimpse into the past of this town, painted on the wall walls

Ice cream after the meal — A meal would not be complete without ice cream, this time not gelato

Sparsetourism — Almost all the tourists were French and so the tourist population seemed to be way down from what I saw last year

Beautiful wall — Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so it is said. I don’t know why I found this interesting and a source of beauty but I just had to take a photo of it.

A very delicious Middle Eastern style (almost like a curry) sauce with chicken (Tajine de Poulet) cooked very well. It was very delicious at Le Petit Prince de Toulon

Old building — Just an interesting old line of buildings

Old door — This is a very old door still in use

Police station — Look closely down the street here because where that little sign is you will find the municipal police station. It’s very well hidden

Grill restaurant — Nice little grill restaurant

Serving pot — This is exactly the same kind of pot that my chicken was served in today. I find this design very interesting and also that it is somewhat popular in this part of France

Easy to read French — My information indicates that the English language is about 25% of French origin. As you will know it is due to the Norman invasion of England in 1066 by the Viking descendants who occupied Normandy. They brought French in as the official language of England. And what I like is that I was able to understand 100% of what is written on this commemoration to the statue. I also find it interesting that English is classified as “low German“. But in Germany I understand almost nothing except for food menus. But once I cross into France all of a sudden I feel very able to get around just by reading. Speaking French is an entirely different issue. I only know a few words.

Multiple product kiosk — This kiosk sells many different things

Product lines — You can’t see their line of products

Manga shop — It was interesting seeing this manga shop. But I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised since French people are very un tuned to Art and especially to Japanese art and culture.

Narrow street parking — This is how they park on the narrow streets

Retro design brasserie — This is the brasserie in front of the train station and I find a design very interesting and retro

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