Words: 72
Average Length: 5.25
Difficulty: 4 out of 5
The main seed for this puzzle was 58A, which occurred to me while I was out for a stifling morning walk. I think there were several subconscious seeds as well: I’ve been daydreaming about once again traveling – we just had to cancel a trip to Portugal in October – and it turns out a handful of entries are places I’ve been and loved. Not surprisingly, the solving notes below (with bonus photos) are something of a travelogue. I hope you enjoy the puzzle. Please share it if you do.
21A: Here’s another hint – the Book of Kells is in Dublin. As far as I know I don’t have a drop of Irish blood in me, but I’ve never felt so at home while away from home. What a wonderful island, and what wonderful people!
18D: As Nigel Tufnel might have said about the sights and sounds of this city, “they go to 11.” (This Is Spinal Tap). It’s as vibrant and fascinating a place as I’ve ever been.
25D: The Cliffs of Moher were the exterior for the cave scene in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Jeff's Puzzles 
2 replies on “Themeless 16”
I’m confused about the puzzles, but I’m usually not good at Crosswords. (Perhaps I’m too old to retrieve known words…92 IS OLD.) I spent two weeks in Ireland, after a week in the US, after two weeks in the Soviet Union, in 1984. Loved Ireland and the unexpected people and places I found driving around with a very loose plan. (I even had tea in a family’s thatched roof home. Visited an elderly couple “on the dole” ; stayed with a family with 4 young children, then went with the wife into Londonderry which had English soldiers with machine guns everywhere. I also partook of the continuing parties with singing which started after the bars closed at 11 PM. Those parties continued until 3 AM and were held in a large room on the other side of the bar.)
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What wonderful memories! I’m flattered that you’re working on my puzzles.
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