Pieces of {my} Earth

I had decided to lump in both days in Dublin in one blog post just because it would have made it easier to find in the future. But it makes for one heck of a long blog post so this is just the first day in Dublin.

We visited Dublin on Friday May 3 and Saturday May 4. Museums are mostly (though not entirely) closed on Mondays. And the following Monday was a bank holiday anyway.

So I must have been tired or something as I got up late. 9:30 am late. Not happy about that. I had woken up around 5 or 6 am but went back to sleep. Being that late meant we had missed breakfast. So we got dressed and headed to Bray. And promptly got lost. Those small Irish town streets! Eventually we figured it out though. Took awhile. And you must pay for parking everywhere via coin machines on the street that spit out a receipt with your time. You place this on your dash. Even the grocery store as it turns out (found that out a couple of days later)!

From Bray we took a train into Dublin, about a 40 minute ride. Admittedly a great view of the ocean along the way.

Once we got to Dublin I used the most amazing app to get around. It is an offline GPS map that not only tells you where your are but what direction you are facing, hours and placements of tourist attractions and even has an augmented reality to point out what you are seeing through your camera. It is called Mtrip and they produce guides for lots of cities across the world (at $4.99 a pop) which are totally offline. I have never worried about anyplace in the USA as I have my iPhone available but this was amazingly helpful abroad! Now I may just use them in the USA as well. I strongly recommend their apps when visiting somewhere. Best $5 I spent on the entire trip! Checkout the demo on the website.

So we walked to the National Museum of Ireland. Out front is a map of the area and while looking at it we had a helpful Irishman point things out to us. He then told us several stories about working for the museum, most of which split along class/religion/caste lines. Very interesting fellow!

The museum was a fabulous experience. This is where most of Ireland’s national treasures are stored like the Tara Brooch:

Or the various bog mummies that have been found:

Yes, that’s red hair on his head.

After the museum we walked to St. Stephen’s Green to find the nearest Hop-on Hop-off bus stop. Waited a bit then got on the bus so we could visit Kilmainham Gaol. We arrived about 2:30-ish but got into the 3:45 tour. Until then it was checking out the museum pre-tour area which told you all about the people, the building, the prison system, etc. This was a revolutionary Georgian jail, the top of its class at the time it was built. It is also where Irish rebels for hundreds of years were stored and eventually shot, the children and the poor for stealing during the Hunger (the youngest was 5 years old!) and a great source of “remembering” for the Irish.

Click on the photos to read some of what the signs say. Very interesting stuff.

Plus we grabbed a bite to eat in the upstairs cafe. This eclair was not sweet! It was just a tiny bit sweet. Perfect. Along with a high fructose corn syrup-free Coke. Tasted so much better than our soda, so much less sweet!

Then it was off for the tour of the jail by a lovely Irishman named Patrick. The rebels in the Easter Rising of 1916 were killed 97 years ago the week we were there. a very sobering and awe-inspiring place. If you have a chance to visit Dublin do not miss this!

This was were the 1916 rebels were shot. There are no bullet holes because they were lined up against sandbags.

We were done about 4:45 and just managed to catch the last Hop-On Hop-Off bus back towards the city center. We got off near Ha’Penny Bridge on the Northside and walked across to Temple Bar.

These are more of those same “Locks of Love” that you find in many major cities in Europe (here in the USA too). The idea is you write your name and that of your love on the lock, maybe a date, lock it to the bridge (something not going anywhere) and throw the key in the water never to be found. Eh. I think it’s an interesting idea but I would never do it. I’m not one for carving our names in a tree either though!

We absorbed a bit of Temple Bar and then had dinner at Gourmet Burger Kitchen right in Temple Square.

I had the Wellington burger – grilled mushroom, horseradish, rocket and mayo with chips and smoked chili mayo to dip plus a high fructose corn syrup-free Sprite. One thing I loved about being there was mayo offered with all the fries/chips! I love mayo with my fries/chips and it’s not an easy thing to get in the States for some reason. Anyhow it was utterly fantastic!

From there we walked a bit further into Temple Bar and went into the Temple Bar Trading Co. tourist shop. Lots to buy. Got my husband a hat he is utterly in love with.

We ended up being too tired, especially since we were an hour and fifteen or thirty minutes from the hotel so no pub. That’s right. I was in Temple Bar in Dublin mere blocks from the oldest pub in the world (the Brazen Head – the red & brown building in the center of the photo with all the flags as I saw it from the bus earlier that evening) and I didn’t go in or have a Guinness.

I don’t feel like a failure though as I am not a bar person at home. I get claustrophobic easily and overwhelmed with all the people. And Friday night in Temple Bar on a bank weekend? Yeah it was crowded. And pubs just don’t interest me enough to put up with that. Besides I righted – and topped – this failure the next day.

We ended up deciding we were done (and besides we honestly thought we would be back in Temple Bar the next day – which didn’t happen) so we walked to Tara Station and took the DART back to Bray. We ended up back at the hotel about 9, which means it was too late to go swimming. Watched TV, messed around on the internet, Facetimed my husband and then it was bedtime.

Up Next: Dublin Day 2

Before I go any further I strongly recommend that you all check out my mother’s Flickr stream set as well as mine. She took some amazing photos. Not everything is up there yet (just Glendalough and the Giant’s Causeway) but she focused on entirely different things than me. And of course I am not posting anywhere near the amount of photos I actually took (I came home with about 1350 or so).

Now we woke up early due to going to sleep early. No surprise there! Besides we needed to be on the road. It was just about 3 1/2 to 3 3/4 hours to the Giant’s Causeway from our hotel.

But first the breakfast buffet at Gordon Ramsey’s. Lots of traditional full Irish breakfast items. I still dream about this breakfast.

There is wine poached pears, scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, prosciutto  sausage, black pudding, a scone and a croissant. And yes I actually like black pudding, I have had it before. I am not sure where to get it here at home as I have always had it on vacation in other parts of the USA. Sad considering how many Irish settled in this part of the US. Including my ancestors.

From there it was time to drive north. A pleasant drive. The beautiful thing about driving anywhere in Ireland or Northern Ireland is all the signs! Signs for everywhere and easy to follow! Not at all like the US.

The beautiful part of our drive just surprised the hell out of me. We drove up near Portrush, which is on the northern coast, popped out over a hill and BAM ocean. It was absolutely stunning!

We drove along Dunluce Road/the Giant’s Causeway Road just a few kilometers (Portrush is like 10 miles from the Giant’s Causeway) and found the visitor’s center easily. Again, lots of signs!

Once you pay to get in there is a little cafe (didn’t eat, no idea if the food was any good, but it looked good), a gift shop, a diorama of the coastline and interactive displays explaining the history, cause and anything else you could want to know about it.

I won’t bore you with the science but I will say this. Yes, this is a natural phenomenon. It’s what happens when lava is allowed to cool slowly and evenly. These are natural basalt pillars and they crack both vertically and horizontally. At least according to the tour-guide I eavesdropped on because I was too cheap to pay for a tour! They do give you free audio guides but I have never been one for those so I bypassed it entirely. And this is a large example of it but there are formations like this all around world.

Instead I took photos and video.

To give you a better idea of how everything is laid out there on the coast check out this YouTube video. A £1 bus ride (each way) will take you down there and back. But it is only a 700 meter walk down a hill from the visitor’s center to where the bus drops you off. It was much easier to walk down and hitch a ride back up.

I absolutely loved this place! Definitely my favorite of everything we saw, even the Cliffs of Insanity…er…Moher. I strongly recommend the visit if you are in Ireland. And don’t let people talk you out of it just because it is 4-ish hours from Dublin OR in Northern Ireland (which means a whole different form of currency, etc.)

After we got nice and cold (it was in the 40s, raining and windy so we got cold quickly and it wasn’t the full stay I wanted as a result) we headed back to the visitor’s center to see if there was anything else we wanted.

Then it was onto Dunluce Castle. Originally we were going to tour the castle but it was too damn cold. Period. So we took a few photos and moved on back towards Belfast.

We drove around Belfast a bit trying to get our bearings and/or find a place to eat. We were too late to do the Titanic museum unfortunately. It would have been interesting. And it was the after work crowd so the streets were packed which means I didn’t get to see any of the Troubles graffiti either.

Ultimately we found a takeaway that seemed popular with locals and ordered fish and chips. Oh, this was very good!

From Belfast we drove on towards our hotel, stopping in Newry. Newry is the last major town/city before you hit the invisible country line between the UK and Ireland. Time to blow the rest of my Sterling Pounds as I wasn’t bringing them home with me or exchanging them. I just hadn’t brought that much! So we got gas and I bought a bunch of junk food. That’s the way to blow cash, right? It was there that my mother ran into a helpful local who informed us that “if you want to party you go to Dublin, if you want a view you go West and if you want trouble you go to Belfast”! And I saw my only Troubles-related graffiti.

Once we got back to the hotel a little before 8 we went swimming in that beautiful pool. Then it was TV and bed, exhausted.

Up next: Dublin!

Since I already covered my NYC adventure time to move onto Ireland itself!

I hated the flight there. And I hated the flight back! Just no leg room. And both times I was near the window and trapped behind someone who would not put their seat up during the whole flight. They both had to be reminded by the flight attendant so I could eat. Yeah. Terrible. For about 6 1/2 hours (less going there than coming coming home).

But having food on the flight was interesting. I haven’t had actual food, a meal, since 1997 or so. I had forgotten all about food. Sad huh?

Anyway we left NYC a little after 9 pm local time and arrived in Dublin just before 9 am local time. Customs was a breeze. Though I did get in the wrong line. I was just following everyone and didn’t see the signs for the EU passport vs All passport lines until it was too late. No stamps in the EU line. For those, like myself, never having been abroad I will say it was super easy. Basically 2 questions after they looked at my information card (a note card with your name, passport number, where you are staying in Ireland, etc.) from a super grumpy dude – “business or pleasure?” and “how long will you be here?” Then they stamped my passport and on I walked to get my luggage. Easy peasy. Definitely nothing to fear. Customs coming home was worse. And even that was easy.

Anyhow ran to the nearest restroom (TMI I know but true and urgent!) and then waited for my checked suitcase to arrive on the belt. It took a very long time before suitcases even arrived, nevermind mine. Considering how early we checked in it had to have been one of the first loaded onto the plane. Let’s just say I had plenty of time to do a lot of things.

We then trekked to the rental car counter and picked up our vehicle from Dan Dooley. It was a Nissan Micra. And definitely one of the tiniest cars I have ever encountered!

Turns out they offer a Wi-Fi enabled vehicle. We turned it down (additional €10 a day) but honestly I should have done it. It would have been awesome to have Wi-Fi anywhere we went since neither my mom nor I got the international phone and/or data plan on our cells. I rely on Google Maps in my everyday life even though I can read a map. It would have been fantastic. But instead we were cheap and I read an atlas the entire time I was there. I updated my personal Facebook each night at the hotel. It worked (most of the time, but we did get lost spectacularly in Bray looking for the DART Train Station) but I missed my iPhone and access to the internet so very much!

To say we were exhausted is an understatement. Not much sleep on the flight. But driving on the opposite side of the car and road was enough of a wake-up let me tell you! Not hard but something to get used to. We drove south to Enniskerry (about 1 hour from the airport) and to the Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt.

I will highlight all the pro and cons of the hotel (and other services/experiences) once I’m done sharing the adventures I had for those that would like to know but for now I will just say that I liked it and hated it for a number of reasons. They were very accommodating on our early arrival however. We got there about 11:30-ish and only waited about 30 minutes for our room to be ready. I nearly passed out in the gorgeous lounge though!

We had a suite room on the courtyard side and while beautiful the view wasn’t as impressive as the mountain side. They know this of course and charge accordingly. I stupidly didn’t take a picture of the courtyard view but let’s just say it doesn’t compare to this:

The room was a fantastic way to spend a vacation. The curtains, the lights and the temperature are all controlled by touchscreen, with 3 of them situated in the suite including one in the bedside table.

If you would like to see a few more check out my Flickr stream.

I unpacked a bit and then took a bath and a nap. I desperately needed them both. My mother did the same.

In the afternoon we got dressed and investigated the hotel at bit. The pool was to die for and definitely is one of those cases of being better in person than in a photograph. It had no gutters and was a zero entry. I have never seen anything like it. And the chemical smell was very very low. Within it were black and dark brown tiles as well as Swarovski crystal lights that reflected the ripples of the water back unto the ceiling. Just an amazing pool to swim in. It hit me about halfway through my visit why they designed the pool this way. Dublin began as a Viking settlement and it’s name is anglicized Viking/Gaelic for Dubhlinn which means “Black Pool” (It was founded on a black pool of water originally). Whoever designed the pool did a fabulous job.

We headed out in the car on back roads to visit Glendalough. I had hoped we would get there in time to visit the visitor’s center but no such luck. So instead we wandered around the nearly abandoned ruins. I think there were maybe 6 people there besides us.

Do you think that’s a ghost in the image below?

As always lots more on Flickr. And of course I took video. I took a lot of video while in Ireland.

Afterwards we wandered towards Wicklow trying to find somewhere to eat (should have just eaten at the restaurant inside The Glendalough Hotel just next to the monastery). But ultimately ended up driving north towards Bray (a larger town next door to Enniskerry). We couldn’t find parking (and after spending several days in Bray I am not surprised in the least but it was frustrating at the time). And decided just to go back to the hotel and have dinner there instead. It is a Ritz-Carlton with a Gordon Ramsey in house so the food was good, always good, the entire visit. I ordered the lamb shank with potatoes, root veggies and a Guinness.

I pretty much ordered a Guinness with every meal I could while in Ireland. *shrug* I happen to like Guinness so it was easy. Besides I was in Ireland. I will say they all tasted exactly the same regardless of where I got it. Even at the Gravity Bar at Guinness Storehouse. And they all tasted just like a decently poured pint here in the States. I wish I could say they were better in Ireland but honestly I think Guinness works very hard at ensuring that their beer tastes the same everywhere.

After dinner it was TV, Internet and bed. The hotel carries only a few tv stations and they have a mix of International ones – major USA stations, major UK ones, a couple German ones and a few Spanish ones. There was never anything to watch but the commercials were better and more interesting than here in the US.

Up next in Part 2: Northern Ireland & the Giant’s Causeway