.....and the sun shone!

JOHNmann

Two days of sunshine! What a treat!
We spent last weekend outdoors making the most of the fine weather ( with a raincoat and umbrella just in case).
Dublin was holding the Street Performance World Championships with wacky and zany performers such as Lizard Man (a green scaly bloke with a forked tongue), JOHNman (a human robot with red and white striped eyes and a red plastic suit handing out lollipops), 2 on 1 (a couple of American street dancers and musicians), Lisa Lottie (a very pink hoola hoop performer), Cirque No Problem (Hungarian acrobats) and Hakuna Matata Acrobats (African flaming limbo dancers). I forgot to mention the Human Canonball- now he was a real blast! Actually he was a bit of a fizzer!

Hakuna Matata Acrobats

Lizardman

All acts had something slightly different to offer but were basically juggling or acrobatic and drew huge crowds.Being short made it difficult to see some acts but a relief when the sword swallowing or face piercing started!

To keep with our outdoor theme, David bravely suggested a tandem bike ride in Phoenix Park on Sunday. The last time I had ridden on a tandem bike was when I was about 12 in NZ and it wasn't a pleasant experience as my brother, David, might recall. Needless to say David and I are still talking and all in all it was a great afternoon. David did most of the peddling while I carried the back pack( a fair balance of duties). It was a great way to see the enormous park. There was a huge cross where the pope had celebrated mass for a million people in 1979. The same spot was also used for the Swedish Mafia Concert earlier this month which drew lots of attention due to 2 deaths at the concert. We rode the length of the park which is about 6 miles and had lunch at a little cafe. On the return we fed the deer, which roam the park.

Tandem cycling in Phoenix Park

With weary legs we caught the Luas, Dublin's light rail, back to town, as our evening was to be spent in Howth, a 20 minute bus ride north of our apartment. We caught the bus to the Summit and did a short stroll to the cliff tops to view the coast south towards Bray where we had been with Paul and Dolores a few weeks ago. After a drink at the Summit Inn we headed into town to meet Paul and Dolores for dinner at one of the seaside cafes, which we followed by a visit to The Bloody Stream to listen to the Celtic Symphony, seven musicians playing traditional music with a modern twist.

The girls returned to us on Sunday night for the last couple of days of their holiday. We had planned two busy days - shopping, dinner at a traditional Irish pub, a trip to Howth and an evening at Riverdance.
Riverdance would have to be a highlight! The music, costumes and sheer energy made for a spectacular performance. I may take up Irish dancing!!!!!
After the girls' 4th trip to Bewley's Grafton Street Cafe (thanks Peter and Faye) for a late night coffee, or in Emma's case a caramel cino, it was time to go home in preparation for their early start.
We have had a great time with the girls and are sending them home tired and broke.
David and I are, on the other hand, looking forward to more Irish adventures.  Anne.

Ye Olde Merry England

"Who parked that car there!" It was an eventful start to our trip to England as David backed into a parked car, wounding his pride and the rental car (not to mention the parked Mercedes!!). Did I mention we hadn't even left the car park of our apartment in Clontarf. After sheepishly returning the slightly dented rental car, we scurried off to the terminal and our Ryan Air flight to Birmingham. The first of the downpours had us taking the scenic route to Sheffield, our first stop. Once there we checked into our B&B (Westbourne House).

Westbourne House, Sheffield

This was a lovely place opposite a private school where you could hear the sound of the children at band practice. After a search of the Internet we decided that a journey into the picturesque Peak District would suit us for dinner. We had a lovely meal at The Plough Inn. It was in the valley in the beautiful little town of Hathersage. The next day David had meetings at Sheffield University, so I set off to explore the city. After eventually finding the tourist information, I set off on a self-guided walking tour, which had 27 points of interest. It will probably come as no surprise that I got lost at stop 3. After once again getting my bearings, I located the Peace Garden and Winter Garden and Millennium Gallery. By chance, old friend's of David's from Palmerston North, Ken and Sheila Jolley, were just down the road at their daughter's so we had an early dinner with them at The Strines, another old English pub in the Peak district.

Shakespeare's birthplace

Next stop and a quick 2 hour drive - Stratford upon Avon. Of course, we saw Shakespeare's birthplace and everything Shakespeare. We fitted in Shakespeare's childhood home before setting off towards Banbury to meet some business colleagues of David's for lunch. Lunch was at an old pub with the politically incorrect name of the Black Boy Inn. After a morning of sunshine, the afternoon changed with another downpour and the rest of our sightseeing was spent jumping puddles before heading off towards Oxford for our next overnight stop.

We had been managing to navigate our way quite well until the A46 was closed at a vital entrance to the motorway and a detour was in place. I decided the blue signs with an arrow were the detour signs, however after half an hour of driving we realised these were normal road signs and we had driven now further away from Oxford than we needed to be.

Oxford

Eventually we arrived at Dorchester-upon-Thames (just south of Oxford), a quaint little town that is used for the filming of "Midsomer Murders". The hotel dated back to between the 16th and 17th century and the owner was very friendly. We had a lovely dinner here and a lovely morning following in Oxford exploring the cobbled stone streets and narrow roads. I loved Oxford and its beautiful buildings and history. Of course quite the contrast to busy, crazy, pre-Olympic London where we went on Friday afternoon.

The Lyceum Theatre, West End

Over the next couple of days, we took in most of the major sights - did the Hop on, Hop Off bus, Tower of London, did a cruise on the River Thames, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, saw the Lion King and walked and walked and walked.  The highlights of our too short stay in London was the performance of The Lion King and dinner at Sarastro.

Sarastro, Drury Lane

The show was brilliant with its costumes and music and as we left the show with the raining pouring down we were caught up in the bustle and excitement of the West End at night. Sarastro, also in the West End, was where we had dinner the following night. David had been there before with Helen and I had heard stories about this quirky restaurant with its operatic decor and interesting paintings. Midway through dinner an ensemble of musicians entered the restaurant and started playing. It was a lovely evening despite the naughty little boy who upended salt and sugar canisters and tried to get his hands on our bottle of wine while his parents ignored everything he did. We managed to fit in sooooo much in 2 days and yet still so much yet to see. We will save these sights for next time. Anne

The Tower of London

Trafalgar Square

 

The gift of eloquence

Rock of Cashel

We have just had a great weekend with Emma and Rebecca in the south west of Ireland. This was an early 21st birthday present for Emma. We set off on Friday towards Killarney via Cashel and Blarney. Cashel is a beautiful little village where the Rock of Cashel (actually a medieval cathedral and castle built on a rock) is an imposing structure overlooking the town. Of course it rained and rained and rained but we are getting used to that. We had lunch in the town before exploring the rock. This was the first medieval structure that we saw and was amazing to see how well it was constructed.  Even after more than 400 years there is still some of the original plaster on the walls open to the elements and exposed to 100s of tourists.  From here we drove on south around Cork to Blarney Castle.

Blarney Castle

Fortunately Ireland is operating on summer hours so tourist attractions stay open until around 7 pm. The walk to the castle past a little stream and along very green lush paths was just beautiful. The castle with its turrets, and winding staircases was intriguing and of course a trip to the castle was not complete unless of course you kissed the "blarney stone". Now according to legend we should all be very eloquent! Another hours drive to Killarney meant eating at a very European time - 9.30 pm.  We stayed in Killarney overnight where the plan was to travel the Ring of Kerry on Saturday but when we arrived, we discovered that the town was host to a charity cycle ride where 9000 cyclists had descended upon the town to ride the Ring of Kerry, also on Saturday.

Muckross Friary near Killarney

We had therefore to come up with Plan B since the roads were closed for most of the day. Instead we went to Killarney National Park, which we were so pleased we did not miss. The park is tranquil with an old friary to explore and Muckross House at the end of the road. There were lakes to view in the distance and we were passed by people exploring the area by horse-drawn cart or bicycle. Back into town slowly driving amongst the finishing cyclists then out to the local ruined Ross Castle where we had a quick look around the grounds before setting off towards our overnight accommodation in Ballyvaughan, a 2 hour drive north almost all the way to Galway. 

The Burren

Ballyvaughan, a small village on the coast on the edge of the vast Irish stoney landscape of County Clare called the Burren, has streets  lined with brightly coloured buildings all with hanging baskets filled with flowers outside the doors and at least 5 pubs. The most difficult decision was which pub to visit first. We had a lovely dinner and then went to a pub to listen to traditional music, one that seemed to be favoured by the locals. Sunday was our visit to the Cliffs of Moher. This trip took us along winding coastal roads where the fields were lined with stone fences and were typical of the Burren, quite stark and rocky by comparison to the lush countryside of our previous two days. The sheer drop of the cliffs and the squawking of the gulls flying around the cliff faces and caves was amazing. 

Cliffs of Moher

So was the presence of the other 1000 people that were there!  After a late lunch at a little seaside village just down the coast, we ended the day with a quick look around Galway, enjoying the festive atmosphere of the last day of the Volvo Ocean Race regatta, before heading off back towards Dublin. We will have to visit Galway on another trip to immerse ourselves in the music and pub life that the area is known for! Today the girls have headed off to the Guiness factory and Trinity College whilst I try to get washing dry in preparation with us heading off to England tomorrow.  See you next time from London! Anne

Ballyvaughan Pub

Rain,rain and more rain

Always pack a raincoat and an umbrella. That is the first lesson of life in Ireland. I stepped out on Tuesday, deciding to take a walk towards the marina. It started to lightly rain and I thought this is ok. Then it started to rain a little harder and I still thought this will be ok. Then of course the heavens opened and I thought Oh Dear! I returned home to dry off and set off again, this time fully prepared but of course the sun shone and I got hot. Yesterday, Wednesday, I went up to the shops to buy a few groceries. As usual bought more than I intended and then had to carry them home. In my distress of the load I was carrying I returned to the apartment and slipped the key into the lock but it wouldn't work. I tried all different keys and combinations only to find I was trying to get into someone else's apartment. Safely inside I had only a short time to compose myself before I set off to meet Dolores. We were taking the train to Howth to go to the fish markets and have lunch. Howth is a very pretty seaside town where the mist rolls in over the mountains. And that is exactly what it did. The fishing boats were unloading and the seals swam alongside the boats looking for their share of the catch. The wind blew but the Seafood Chowder did the trick. On my return I thought I was being very clever at disembarking at a station closer to home but of course went right and not left and walked in the completely wrong direction. A half hour extra walk was always in the new exercise plan! I had a great day with Dolores and we look forward to another day out together soon. Off to the university soon to meet David for lunch. Girls arrive tomorrow. Anne

A busy weekend

What a busy weekend it has been. Lots of eating, drinking, music and sightseeing! Saturday began with a lazy start. It was then off to the city to do some sightseeing. We rode the hop on hop off bus to get our bearings of the city which got us caught in the middle of the LGBT Festival( gay, lesbian bisexual and transgender ). Once we cleared the parade we walked throught the city to the Dublinia exhibition. This showed Dublin through the medieval period. This was a great exhibit and very interesting. We then walked to the cathedral to go to mass. After this we were in need of some refreshment so headed for the Cobblestone. This was all very quiet so walked towards Temple Bar where we had entree at the Merchant Arch, main at Finnigans and desert ( minus the food) at the The Stags Head. each venue had music and we particularly enjoyed the traditional music at the Stags Head. Today we have spent the day with Paul and Dolores (Paul is also here in the same capacity as David). We caught the Dart to Greystone where we had lunch and then did the 7 km walk along the coastline to Bray. It was very scenic, with steep cliffs dropping down to the water. Apparently dolphins could be seen but we were not so lucky. The weather behaved so we were able to almost complete the walk without the rain hindering us. The train ride home was eventful as it broke down. Fortunately it was fixed without too much of a delay. The train took us to a stop close to where we are living so after all the walking it was an easy down hill walk to the shops to get some thing for dinner and then on home. We are looking forward to Emma and Rebecca arriving later in the week and have planned a weekend in the country for next weekend. Until then, Anne.