Blas, his wife, and many Sister City members went on a 9 day trip to Dingle, Dublin, Edinburgh, York, and London. Special thanks to Marti Correa de Garcia for putting it together and if you are interested she is developing another trip, this time to Cuba!

 

First they went to Dingle, Ireland where they met with Dingle Rotary Club and exchanged banners. In Dingle, they visited a whisky distillery, a department store, and a jewelry store where Blas’ wife Mary bought a bracelet.

 

Their next stop was Edinburgh, Scotland. Here they visited many historical landmarks including St. Columba's Free Church of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle, St. Giles Cathedral (known for its stained glass windows), Holyrood Palace, and St. Edward the Confessor Church. In Edinburgh, they also paid a visit to the local Rotary club and told them about Santa Barbara’s Rotary Club. Blas added that they also visited the National Museum of Scotland, which was FREE! In the museum they saw Dolly, the first cloned sheep, Viking graves, and a guillotine.

 

In York, the group visited even more historical sites; York’s ancient Roman city wall, Methodist Church of Great Britain, Hall for Meetings of Working Guilds, the open market, and the York Cathedral. Blas explained that biblical figures were acted out all around public areas with music and costumes. York City Street was another area they visited which even included a ride very similar to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, just instead of pirates it was all about vikings!

 

In London, the group continued their journey seeing Wembley Stadium, the British Museum which included Egyptian rooms, Greek rooms, and the Rosetta Stone. They then saw the Royal Court of Justice, downtown London, St. Paul’s cathedral, the London Bridge, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey Church, House of Parliament, Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace, and the department store Harrods.