As I crossed the border from Ireland into Northern Ireland my first thought was how much the beautiful rural scenery reminded me of western Wisconsin, but once in the populated areas the country had a flavor all its own.

Titanic Belfast (pictured above) opened in 2012 as a tribute to Belfast's maritime heritage on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard in the city's Titanic Quarter where the RMS Titanic was built. (The RMS stands for Royal Mail Steamer/Royal Merchant Ship.) Also noteworthy is that filming of Game of Thrones seasons 1-7 took place in Northern Ireland including the Titanic Studios in Belfast.

What I found most interesting were the painted murals on Belfast's 'Peace Walls.' The Peace Walls are located in what was once an area of violent conflict decades ago (The Troubles). The murals are definitely a walk through the history of this city. Recently painted murals are more graffiti-based and convey a message of peace. I posted just a few for you to see, in addition to some city photos.

Visiting London had always been one of my dreams. What  I loved the most about London was the diversity. It was not unusual to hear five or six different languages in a matter of minutes while out walking. I enjoyed a conversation with our Iranian Uber driver and hearing his story. And it was fun taking a photo of a family on the London Eye and having them take our photo despite the fact that we didn't totally understand each other's language.

Along with the diversity came a great variety of ethnic restaurants to experience. I ate, for the first time, at a Lebanese restaurant (loved it). Traditional breakfast buffets in the UK always included trays of sausages, mushrooms, baked tomatoes, and baked beans--regular and barbecue! This, in addition to, porridge, eggs, crumpets, scones, fresh breads, croissants, muffins, a variety of granola, clotted cream, jams/marmalade, and several cheeses. Believe me when I say eating breakfast each day was awesome. Coffee was WAY stronger in the UK than in the US. There was a little water-adding going on at first, but after a week or so, not so much :)

What was hard to get used to in London was the insane amount of traffic! You better pay attention, because Londoners don't dally around. It was disconcerting to have four lanes of fast, congested traffic (driving on the opposite side of the road than in the US) and seeing bicycles and motorcycles whiz by *in between* the four lanes of traffic. Not to mention cars jumping the curbs to cut in front of each other. "Mama Mia!" to quote our Italian driver as he yelled and gestured out the car window on the way from Heathrow Airport. With 8+ million people, intense traffic is expected, but if I had to drive in London on a daily basis I'm pretty sure I would need anxiety meds.

While in London a few of the landmarks we saw included London Bridge, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral, Kensington Gardens, Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus, Westminster Abbey, and Hyde Park. We also took a Thames River cruise to see Tower Bridge and toured the Tower of London, in addition to visiting a few pubs. London is a contrasting mix of contemporary modern architecture alongside of historic buildings from centuries past.

Photos: The London landscape of the Thames River taken from the top of the London Eye, a pub that served fish and chips, the doorway of a pasta/pizza restaurant, me on the London Eye, the Tower of London, a British Royal Guard, and Tower Bridge.

Where did the summer go? Mornings are getting cooler and mist-covered. Crickets are everywhere, and they are huge this year! There are only about 12 daylilies still blooming in my yard, but I am thankful for my late bloomers. They continue to add color to my flower beds when most of my other daylilies have dried up scapes and much of the foliage is starting to look ratty. I always trim my daylily foliage this time of year to keep my yard looking neater. After the trim I can check around each plant and make sure no moles or bunnies burrowed under or around them and pull out any invasive weeds that I couldn't see otherwise. Every single plant gets a check-up.

The recent fall-like weather has been great for transplanting. I appreciate every single day that I have been able to be outside.

Four of my late season daylilies pictured include:  'Deliverer' (coral), 'Heavenly Starbrite '(yellow-green), 'Hymn to Her' (pink), and 'Suzy Cream Cheese' (pale peach)