Just back from my two week trip to Ireland. Here goes with the first of the recaps!
Meteor is a type of pizza...
Well, it started with the standard trip through the airport. Gemma got stopped at security to be scanned for bomb residue or something - obviously looked suspicious... Then we spotted what we think might have been part of the Team GB Para-Cycling team in Costa.
Anyway, the flight was uneventful and short and then a short wait for Claire coming in from Birmingham. Gemma was amused that the mobile network she'd picked up was called Meteor. Mostly because it's a type of pizza from Dominoes. And then off to the hostel.
Which proved harder to find than expected. Got to the right bus stop and then we got stuck. Found it in the end. Isaacs Hostel is tucked down a little side street near the city centre and it's a pretty great hostel. Reasonably sized rooms, clean facilities and free breakfast and WiFi. Advice: if at all possible, avoid the rooms at the front of the hostel because the train line passes right outside and can be quite loud, as we discovered on our first night.
There was no toucan...
Our first real day in Ireland began with the obligatory raid on the free breakfast. Then it was off into the city for some exploration. First stop, Trinity College and its famous library to see the Book of Kells. Great little exhibition, slightly glitchy audio guide. The Book itself was beautiful, but photography wasn't allowed.
Almost better was the Long Room of the Library and this I do have pictures of. In my dreams, I have a library like this. So beautiful.
After spending a while just gawping at the gorgeous bookshelves and that amazing ceiling, we headed off again and took a stroll through a park while we waited for the museums to open, it being a Sunday and the museums not opening till 2pm. Pretty, isn't it?
Almost as awesome as the museums, in fact. We started with the National Museum of Archaeology and History, which mostly involved me making a beeline for the bog bodies. I'm fascinated by these things. Not sure Claire and Gemma were quite so enchanted. Something slightly creepy about them, isn't there?
Look at the perfectly preserved fingers!
Oh yeah. Anyways, having creeped Gemma and Claire out with the crispy critters we moved on to the National Museum of Natural History. This is laid out like a traditional museum, all glass cases full of stuffed animals. It's known as the Dead Zoo. Got some amazing glass models of invertebrates though. Very cool.
Misleading sign outside suggested there was a toucan somewhere in the museum. We did not find it.
And then it was back to the hostel for tea and a delightful game of what we came to call Wall Pool. Seriously, look how close the walls are to the table. Made for an interesting game...
Her name is D
Second full day in Ireland and it was time to pick up the car. A little Micra, bit beat up and pointed out to us by the guy at the counter as "She's out there". So she had to be female and given that the only letter on her reg plate was a D, that had to be her name.
Gemma took first shift at the wheel and drove us up to the Hill of Tara, an Iron Age complex of ringforts and other earthworks which used to be the seat of the High-Kings of Ireland. Some awesome little things, like this carving just inside the Mound of the Hostages.
And this is the Stone of Destiny. Yes, it's supposed to be a bit phallic. There's a lot of fertility ideas tied up with the High-Kings.
After that it was on the Bru na Boinne, the World Heritage site which takes in the huge passage tombs complexes at Newgrange and Knowth. Personally, I found Knowth the more impressive of the two. So pretty.
Newgrange is also pretty, but we weren't allowed to take photos inside the passages.
And then onwards across the border into Northern Ireland which caused some delightful issues because our speedometer was only in km/h and not mph. Resulted in me doing some super quick calculations and having to tell Claire how fast she was allowed to go every time the speed limit changed.
We didn't really do any exploration in Belfast. Got to the hostel, nipped to the supermarket, cooked tea and went for a drive up to Cave Hill to have a look out at the city in the night. Nah, not for us. I suspect Belfast's actually got some cool places to explore, but we were only there overnight.
Don't call us Southerners
Third full day into the trip meant a drive up through County Antrim to the north coast. We opted for the coast road, which I think must be stunning in the sunshine. Still pretty cool in the damp, but we didn't stop for many photos.
First stop was Carrick-a-Rede and its rope bridge. Seriously cool and not nearly as wobbly as I expected. In fact, I was quite tempted to jump on it and see how much it wibbled. Nice chatty staff, although one of them on finding that we were English asked if we were from Essex. Not good - we're northerners, not southerners. He won't be making that mistake again.
Spent some time on the island the bridge links to, enjoying the sunshine and the view.
And then off further along the coast to visit the world famous Giant's Causeway. Stunning place, every bit as good as the photos (if a little busier). The admission includes a guided tour and an audio guide if you want it. We took the guided tour and got to spend 45 minutes or so being regaled with stories of the giant Finn McCool who built the causeway to pick a fight with another giant in Scotland. Great fun. Here's Finn's boot as an indicator of his size.
And here's the Causeway itself. Absolutely amazing.
It's volcanic, actually - used to fill most of the valley but obviously over time it's been eroded down to what you can see today.
And then we were off again to spend the night in Derry-Londonderry. Of which you can read more in the next post!
Hostels:
Dublin: Isaacs Hostel
Belfast: Global Village
Things to Do:
National Museum of Ireland, Dublin (admission free)
Hill of Tara, Co. Meath (admission free)
Bru na Boinne World Heritage site, Co. Meath (€11 for both sites)
Carrick-a-Rede, Co. Antrim (£5.90)
Giant's Causeway, Co. Antrim (£9)
