Uncategorized Archives • Folksy Travel by Bill Smale

May 3, 2026May 3, 2026

quaint Killarney

if you’re looking for a nice relaxing place to go where the historical attractions are very close than I recommend quaint Killarney. This is very much a tourist town but it is very interesting one and you should have fun going to the pubs and listening to the music. Just on the edge of town there is the first national Park which was formed by the estate of one family and then another estate joining it to create the national park. There are two old homes on those two states which are really worth visiting and it’s such a beautiful area with lake and animals here and there.

Horse buggy quaint Killarney — When you visit Ross Castle you come up to these fellows who will offer you a horse drawn buggy ride.

Ross Castle quaint Killarney — Ross Castle is not named after a family. Ross and Irish means peninsula

Castle River quaint Killarney — Beautiful river by the castle

First National Park Bill Smale — After Ross Castle you need to go to Muckross house. The last owners gave this state to the county and they created the first Killarney Park. When the Ross estate was left for the last time the owners decided to add this to the Killarney Park and it became the first national park in Ireland.

Closing keyhole Bill Smale — If you look at the next photo you’ll see what caught my interest. This keyhole has a latch. I don’t know why but it seems it would definitely keep it clean inside.

Great entrance — This is the great entrance to the house

Dining area — The dining area is very lavish

Silver mirror — This mirror is very old but doesn’t look like an old mirror , tarnish and so forth. The reason is simple. It’s made a pure silver. The story is the children used to bounce balls off of it.

1/2 larger than any billiard table I have ever seen

Saint Mary’s

Nice to know ducks have their own stores

Have you ever seen a “non authentic ” barber shop?

A little history of the fight against England’s oppression

April 13, 2026April 13, 2026

Dublin and history

Dublin was a trading center established by the Vikings and later built up by the local people and of course, since it was close to England, the Normans and then the British. It’s an interesting town with almost as many pubs‘s restaurants in some areas. It’s a good place to spend three or four days and there was a lot to see. If you were interested in the history the Irish people are very proud of it is not only their ancient heritage but also how they gained their freedom from England.

Kilmainham Goal

this is the jail where they kept people to be punished and also temporarily housed before they shipped them to some other place in the world. This is also the place where the major organizers of the Easter rising in 1916 were executed by the British. Make sure to book this in advance on their website. In the off-season you have to book a few days in advance. During the tourist season it could be very crowded.

Courtroom Dublin and history — The courtroom where you start your tour and where judgments were made upon prisoners

Eire Dublin and history — This is the symbol of Ireland. Eire is the name of the country and it means “the land“. The English, be because they did not understand what the name meant, they added “land” to the name and therefore became Ireland.

Here we go on the tour through the prison

The cells Dublin and history — Walking through the narrow passages next to the cells

Chapel Dublin and history — The chapel were prisoners are allowed a service. There was one famous prisoner who got married the day he died here in this chapel.

Thick walls Bill Smale — You can see there were very thick walls

Cell inside Bill Smale — The inside of one of the cells

The new part of the jail Bill Smale — This was a later addition to the old jail. This is the section where the Easter rising organizers were imprisoned.

Patrick Pearse Bill Smale — His history is in another photo blog. He was executed for participation in the Easter rising

A rebels Cell — Simon was a rebel who was captured in 1921

She was not executed but let out within months

Thomas Clarke — Thomas was executed also

Execution plaque — The execution of the organizers of the 1916 rebellion

Eamon’s cell — Eamon was not executed because he was also a US citizen. He was let out and went to the US to get support and then came back and eventually became the president of Ireland for many years.

The New Edition — The outside of the New Edition

This is the wall against which the prisoners were executed

The hydra — The Hydra represents the five most heinous crimes

Trinity College

Graduating class — I arrived just at the graduation ceremonies

The book of Kells is an ancient fifth century Bible which was rescued and preserved in the city of Kells and later moved to Trinity College

Irish symbolism — You see the symbolism of the whirling circles with three items inside exactly the same as the Japanese symbol which I found very interesting in 1985 and I find it everywhere in ancient Irish art

Ogham letters — You can see here the old language which shows some letters carved on the left of the edge and some on the right and some going over the edge. They all represent different letter letters

The long room library — This is the library where every published book is kept. It has been added onto over the ages

Republic declaration — One of the original declarations of the Republic in 1916

Old map — A very old map Showing Ireland

Political districts — The different political districts in Ireland

16th century harp — This is called the Brian Boru harp but it was made almost 500 years after he died. This is from the 16th century And the oldest one found to date.

Sandycove and James Joyce

The author of Ulysses and Finnegan‘s Wake, James Joyce, was often staying in Dublin but he loved SandyCove. The tower he stayed in is one of his memorial spots and a very interesting place to visit. It’s just outside Dublin so a very easy trip.

St. Joseph’s Parish — Saint Joseph’s Parish

Stained glass window Bill Smale — Beautiful stained glass window

James Joyce memorial — A memorial to James Joyce

Sandycove and James Joyce

Many smoke stacks — You see the many smoke stacks from just one building. It represents the cooking ovens and the fireplaces in each of the rooms

The tower — You can see the tower in the distance on the right

This is where James Joyce stayed for a while and the characters he met here are very much reflected in his book “Ulysses“.

May 18, 2025May 18, 2025

Spending the day at Meiji Mura

as real estate prices increased in Japan after World War II old buildings were no longer economically viable. Some of those buildings were considered historical, culturally important or architecturally reminiscent or beautiful. Those buildings were moved to this large piece of land north of Nagoya. If you are going to make this trip from Tokyo it is definitely a full day at Meiji Mura. If you are staying in Nagoya you can do it in half a day. It is almost 1 hour train ride away from Nagoya station in a little village called INU YAMA (dog Mountain). Meiji Mura is an important place to visit if you are interested in late 1800s up to World War II architecture, history or culture, or if you just want to have a very pleasant half day or full day walk in one of the most interesting places in Japan.

day at MejiiMura — This shows an interesting mix of western colonial and Japanese architecture

Royal family chrysanthemum — This chrysanthemum with 16 front petals is the symbol of the Japanese royal family.

Textbooks day at Meiji Mura — Text books, writing instruments and the one upper bead abacus (the Chinese one has two on the top).

Attending school day at Meiji Mura — Attending school, a day at Meiji Mura

Kanji with phonetics — Here you see a textbook with not only the kanji but also phonetics beside them indicating how the kanji is pronounced. Some kanji can have up to more than 20 different pronunciations depending upon the specific Chinese dialect (a longer story)

Fungus on the tree trunk — Interesting fungus on the tree trunk

A talisman and an indicator — On the front of the sake brewery building you will see on the left a talisman which warns away bad Fortune. On the right you see a ball made from cedar leaves indicating new sake is available.

Physics and Chemistry Theaters, the Fourth National High School

Dr. Shimizu's Office — Dr. Shimizu’s Office

Rainy day — Not too many people on this rainy day

Old tram — an old tram which goes between stations

"Zagyo-so", Villa of Prince Kimmochi Saionji — “Zagyo-so”, Villa of Prince Kimmochi Saionji

Ward, Japan Red Cross Society, Central HospitaK — Ward, Japan Red Cross Society, Central Hospital

Steam locomotive — an old steam locomotive

Barber Shop "Kinotoko", Hongo — Barber Shop “Kinotoko”, Hongo

St. Fracis Xavier's Cathedral — St. Fracis Xavier’s Cathedral

River area — a view of the river and Lake area

April 17, 2025April 17, 2025

Exploring Topkapi episode 2

Exploring Topkapi palace is a must when visiting Istanbul. This is the palace of the sultans. You need about three hours at least if you want to just walk through slowly and enjoy the different rooms and details. You need a few hours more to study everything.

European style room. Exploring Topkapi — The rooms are extremely ornate and some of them like this one employed European styles

Ornate robe — The robes were extremely ornate

Greeting room — One of the main greeting rooms

Eastern design. Exploring Topkapi — Using mostly eastern designs

Beautiful colors — The colors even on the chair upholstery is amazing

A sultan. Exploring Topkapi — One of the sultans

Lighter colors — A Lighter coordinated design arrangement

Starry night replications? — The ceilings remind me of conglomerations of stars

French designed throne — French designed thrown. You will see a light blue used in the emblem which was also used in France for the royal family

Beautiful calligraphy — Arabic calligraphy is kind of mind blowing

Washing basin — A place for Royals to wash

Eastern design throne — A very eastern designed throne. It doesn’t really look very comfortable though. I hope they used some pillows.

Sultans shoes — Shoes of the sultan and other items

A prophet's letter — A letter supposedly written by Muhammad

Mohammed footprint — This is supposed to be the footprint of Mohammed. He must’ve had extremely gigantic feet. It reminds me of the footprint moldings of the Buddha.

Mohammed's walking stick — Mohammed’s walking stick

Ornate things — The ornateness of everything was incredible

The Palace library. You will notice there is very good lighting here

Beautiful designs — I love the decorations and designs

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