I'm On My Way From Misery to Happiness....A Ha, A Ha, A Ha, A Ha

 Our York trip took us back to Edinburgh via the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District.  Our first destination was Millers Beck (our accommodation for the night) just out of Kendal in the Yorkshire Dales. We drove there through narrow winding roads, through small colourful villages where flowers festooned the window boxes to a renovated corn mill, now B&B. After settling in to our room, which overlooked a lush green field and stream, we headed off to a local pub for dinner. We had a great traditional meal of Cumberland sausage and Steak and Ale pie.

A hearty English breakfast the next day gave us the energy we needed to begin our day exploring the ruins of Kendal Castle, which sits above this town in Cumbria. We then travelled on through villages in The Lake District such as Windemere, Grassmere and Thirlmere. We spent a few hours exploring and reliving the Tales of Beatrix Potter at "The World Of Beatrix Potter" just out of Windemere, marvelling at the beauty of this area.

In Grassmere, we wandered the town and bought gingerbread from a small shop that has seen three generations prepare and cook gingerbread. The story of Sarah Nelson, who first began to make the gingerbread in the early 19th century, is an inspirational one of dedication and overcoming hardship.  Next door, we visited the Daffodil Garden of remembrance of William Wordsworth who lived in Grassmere for many years.

We spent the night in Thirlmere, in a B&B called Barn Gill Guest House, interesting accommodation in which the owner had chosen to decorate the rooms using every possible mix of colour, texture and design. She also seemed to favour fairy lights that were a feature across the bedhead and in various parts of this converted barn.

Our final day in the Lake District had us driving through Keswick to the Scottish Borders. David had found reference in a tourist guide to Castlerigg, where ancient boulders form a ring on the hilltop. How these large boulders came to be positioned is a mystery that cannot be explained - as was how David was to get the car down the extremely narrow lane leading to it!

Near Keswick, we took a walk high above the Derwentwater to one of the most photographed bridges in the UK. This small stone bridge at Ashness, looked like something from a fairy tale and crossed a beautiful running stream. Further up on the edge of the hill overlooking the lake, green moss sat like pillows on the tree roots and rocks. This area had breathtaking views. Everywhere we went in this area we saw people hiking through the hills, many with their dogs as companions.

As we travelled though the Scottish Borders, you could not help but be in awe of the beauty of the countryside and its remoteness. We headed towards Innerleithen, our accommodation for the night, close to where the Porteous cairn is located in Peebleshire. This was very pretty countryside. High mountains embraced the narrow road where the sheep wandered or just lay oblivious to the oncoming cars. As the weather was a little warmer and the sky was free of rain clouds, we headed straight to Tweedsmuir, the closest village to the cairn, more like a speck than a village. Having gained explicit directions from cousin Richard Porteous, including photo, diagrams, maps and directions, we set off. The directions took us eventually to Fruid Reservoir. Here we were to ignore the "No Admittance" sign and walk across the reservoir, along the tarred track and over the hill. It was almost eerie as there was not a person in sight, we were surrounded by lush green mountains and the calm expansive waters of the reservoir, with the only sound being the sheep bleating in the distance. The track took us over the hill to where a stoned walled paddock could be seen opposite us, with a structure sitting at the high end of the field. After crossing a small dam, hopping over the fence, and wending through the thistles, we reached the cairn and the monument to the Porteous forebears who had inhabited the area in the 1400s. I can now check this off my bucket list!

The next morning, we left for our last destination, Edinburgh. On the way, we visited Rosslyn Chapel built in 1444 to save the soul of Earl William Sinclair. Its intricate stonework had mysterious symbolism and therefore not surprisingly it had been used for movie sets such as the Da Vinci Code. We spent a while here with our necks craned upward searching for the stone carvings and reading about their intriguing meanings.

After checking in to our hotel out of the city, we caught the train into town to attend mass and then to begin exploring. We caught the Hop On Hop Off Bus around part of the route before heading off to dinner in a pub named The Last Drop, known for its medieval ghost and the fact it was the site of the last hanging in the Grassmarket area of Edinburgh. We then set off in a bleak, rainy evening for desert at The Elephant House, the cafe where J K Rowling wrote some of the first of her famous book series. 

The next morning the weather was particularly nasty, so once in the city we retreated to the warmth of the Hop On Hop off bus and took in the sights, in the dry, but noisy bus. Our first hop-off was Edinburgh Castle, which looms over the city, and we spent about 3 hours walking through the various exhibits in the castle, in and out of the rain, wind and cold. Edinburgh is preparing for the tattoo and I could not help but think how unpleasant it would be sitting in the open air stadium in the weather conditions we experienced.

After completing a full lap of the city on the bus, we had time for a late lunch before heading off to the airport. Our England/York trip was now at an end. Back to an equally cold Dublin to wash and prepare for ... Germany, Switzerland and Croatia!


Here's hoping for some warmer weather!

For I Would Walk 500 Miles.....Da La Lat Da

After plane delays and rental car pickup delays we arrived into a blustery and cold Edinburgh. We were only there for one night before we started our round trip down to York for David's conference returning via the Lake District to Edinburgh. Given that it was not raining, we decided that we would climb Arthur's Seat, the volcanic peak in the middle of Edinburgh, first thing in the morning and leave walking the Royal Mile and viewing Edinburgh Castle until we returned.

Atop Arthur's Seat

The steep walk up the path that leads to the peak was spectacular but did require some stamina. Thank goodness for my daily bike ride before leaving Dublin! I hate the people who effortlessly jog these tracks! The view of Edinburgh was amazing and well worth the effort, despite being nearly blown to Glasgow. A great place for some solitude if you could get away from the noisy tourists. We walked up the steep side and returned on a more gentle path where the grasses rippled in patterns across the hill.

Mary Queen of Scots House

From Edinburgh, we traveled to Jedburgh, a small quaint town in the Scottish Borders where Mary Queen of Scots stayed in 1566. Whilst waiting for our dinner reservation at the very Scottish tapas restaurant, we met one of the local drunks who was very friendly and asked to join us for a drink. He seemed amazed we were driving the 3 hours all the way to York. We were quite thankful when he decided he'd had enough to drink and staggered to wherever it was that he was going. Whilst in Jedburgh, we visited Jedburgh Abbey and Mary Queen of Scots' house. This was a free museum, giving an excellent history of the area and its relevance to Mary Queen of Scots.

We drove from Jedburgh along the coast to Dunbar before heading inland. We avoided the motorways where we could which led us to stumble across Witton Castle, a beautiful 15th century castle. You approach the castle through stone gates,  pass the pheasantry, drive along a winding narrow road, through a tall wooded area to..... rows of mobile homes! It turned out to be a very English holiday camp!

St Oswalds, Heavenfield

After a bite to eat in the grounds, we continued along our way and saw a sign to Hadrians Wall, which once stretched 73 miles across England and was built by the Romans to keep out the northern Barbarians. In trying to find the wall, we stumbled across St Oswald's Church in a field at Heavenfield. This is where it is believed King Oswald raised a large wooden cross and called his troops to pray before the battle of Heavenfield. It was a bleak afternoon and it may have been for this reason that a family were eating their picnic lunch in the front pew of this tranquil hilltop church!!

Next stop York and all things Viking! 

We had 4 nights in York whilst David attended a conference.  I amused myself at The Jorvik museum (the Viking Museum), a visit to York Minster (the city's enormous gothic cathedral), a river cruise, a city walking tour, a walk up Clifford's Tower, Hop On Hop Off bus, walking the city walls and, of course, a trip to York is not complete without a visit to the medieval city area known as The Shambles. David saw some of these attractions with me and some we returned in the evening to see after my wanderings during the day. The Viking history of the city was very interesting and the fact that no new renovations can occur without another piece of history being uncovered is amazing!

I would walk into the city every morning, about 25 minutes along the riverside, and return each afternoon to meet David before walking it all again for dinner. It was a picturesque walk where you could look at beautiful old homes, squirrels, geese and boats heading along the river. I loved the cobbled streets of the town centre and the fact that it was a pedestrian thoroughfare with very few cars. The evenings stayed light until 10:00 pm and so we were only ever walking back to our accommodation as the light was starting to fade.

After 4 days of city bustle, sights and medieval history, I looked forward to the next few days of country serenity and scenery on our return journey to Edinburgh.

The Shambles

At Clifford's Tower

The Second Best Carrot Cake in Dublin

I was devastated to find that Bewleys, an Irish institution and one ofour favourite coffee stops, is closed until September. When we were last here, we loved sitting upstairs in the window watching the passing parade of shoppers along Grafton Street and listening to the buskers. We also loved their carrot cake!

Consequently, I searched the internet to find "the best carrot cake in Dublin" and found the "Queen of Tarts". This gem is located in Temple Bar and serves pastries that make your mouth water and of course, carrot cake! Tea is served in dainty cups and tea for two could have served ten. We were not disappointed but was it the better than Bewleys?... I think I  need another visit before I make that call!


                                                             

Apparently "Flans Yer Only Man" or so the title of the play at the Viking Theatre at Connolly's Pub says. We went to this show about Ireland's most famous satirist on Thursday evening. I struggled to understand the broad Irish accent of the actor of this one man show and certainly did not understand the humour! The small theatre which probably could hold 50 comfortably had more like 70 squashed into this tiny space. There is another theatre in Temple Bar which has "The Importance of Being Earnest" coming on in August. This theatre, The Smock Alley Theatre" is one of the oldest in Dublin and I look forward to this production!

On Friday night we caught up with Sue and Chris Perrin, who are travelling around the UK and France. I work with Sue at Holy Cross. We met up at the Merchants Arch before heading off to dinner at Oscar's. The restaurant had chairs of different shapes and sizes. We sat on the movie theatre chairs. The menus were inside old record covers, some with the records still inside. Sue was the winner with a Kris Kristofferson album. Meeting up with Sue and Chris makes you realise how small the world is. It was great to catch up and hear about their trip and news they had from home.

Mike The Machine, Mario Queen of the Circus and Million Dollar Eyebrows were just a few of the acts from the "City Spectacular" performing at various venues around Merrion Square this weekend. The various acts danced, juggled, moved like robots and contorted their bodies in ways your body shouldn't, all with maximum audience participation and humour. My favourite was Mario whose whole performance was done to various music from Queen. In fact I think he fancied himself as Freddie Mercury! He was very funny and got my vote for best performer. David may have preferred Million Dollar Eyebrows. He selected him from the audience and every time there was applause David was called on to twirl his nipples. Very embarrassing! (No photo to follow)

We ventured up to Howth for dinner on Saturday evening. We had a lovely dinner at Findlater House, followed by a walk around the harbour and drinks at The Bloody Stream.

We have done sooooo much walking this weekend.

Dublin resolution on track!

Sunshine and Exercise

I know that I need to exercise more! In fact, I should say I actually need to start exercising. That is one of my goals while I am here!

As part of this new resolution, we planned to do the Greystone to Bray cliffside walk. We did this walk last time we were here and as Saturday was a beautiful sunny day we took the 60 minute train trip south to the town of Greystone, where the walk back up the coast begins, with Pawel, one of David's colleagues, who was in Dublin working at DCU (Dublin City University) with David.

The narrow path from the town takes you firstly across fields that are scattered with vivid pink wild flowers. Eventually you walk closer to the cliff face where the gulls and cormorants dip and dive. The path was busy with locals and visitors taking advantage of the weather.  Half way along the track we sent Pawel, who is a daily runner, up the alternative route over the top of the mountain beside the track where a cross stands as if it is protecting the seaside town of Bray. He said the view from the top was spectacular so we plan to go back and do it when we are in better condition.

Walking along the seafront to the pub for lunch, we were amused by the people sun baking on the hard stony beach and the three people swimming on a hot summer's day!  After lunch, we caught the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit train) back to Dublin and then a bus to a North Dublin suburb where we had arranged to meet Sean who had some bikes for sale. David rode to DCU last time we were here and as there is no direct bus route from our apartment in Clontarf, a bike still remains the most sensible means for him to get to work (as long as he doesn't mind sharing the bike track with the double decker buses). After purchasing two bikes with an agreement that we could sell them back when we leave assuming of course that they have not been stolen, we slowly did the 5 km bike ride home. Apparently, there were 40 bikes being stolen a day last year at DCU!! Sean kindly gave me a bike helmet, although they are not compulsory here. I will look very stylish riding in my WWII German war relic.

We finished Saturday with a visit to the Cobblestone to hear the traditional Irish music the pub is known for and a quick catch up with Dermot Diamond, David's DCU host, his wife Tara and daughter Helen. Dermot was playing the fiddle and Helen singing and playing the banjo.  We won't see them for a few weeks as Dermot and Tara teach at a summer music school and Dermot is away for another week brushing up on his Gaelic! The extraordinary life of an Irish chemistry professor!!

Having purchased bikes, we needed to get bike locks to avoid contributing to Dublin bike recycling. Sunday saw us catch the bus into town to attend mass and to buy some much needed items like wine glasses, as the apartment was missing these, and of course bike locks.  The mass at St Therese's, a large and beautiful church in the heart of one of the main shopping areas of Dublin, was beautiful and the singing of the choir unbelievable. The church is down a narrow ally and, apart from some signposting, there is nothing to give away the size of this church as it is hidden from view amongst other buildings.

We were also looking forward to a walk along the main pedestrian shopping street, Grafton Street, round the corner from the church, and particularly to a visit to Bewley's, the home of the best carrot cake in the world! To our great dismay, it was closed for renovations and will not reopen until September.  I am devastated! I am now in a desperate search for an alternative coffee venue!

We returned home laden with our purchases and ready for a bike ride. We dumped our things and took off along the Clontarf waterfront towards the park at the next suburb,  Fairview.  A quick ride through the park and a quick return home meant that I had got through Day 2 and kept my resolution!

But not so sure how the muscles will feel tomorrow?

"They're Back" (spoken in the voice from Poltergeist, after a Guinness or two!)

Its such a pain that Australia is so far from Europe!  30 hours of flying with 14 hours of those with a very young child who coughed every 3 seconds. Thank goodness for David's access to the Business Club lounges where a shower revived the spirits.

Outside our apartment block

We've arrived to blue skies and a comfortable 20 degrees. Apparently Dublin had its summer the day before we arrived when the temperature was 26 degrees. 

Prior to us leaving Sydney, David emailed the owner of the apartment, John O'Connell, to let him know the time we were due to arrive and to arrange the collection of the keys. Fortunately, David checked his email whilst we waited at Heathrow for our connecting flight to Dublin. Three emails or should I say clues had been sent to give the information about the whereabouts of the key. 

Emails 1 and 2 (Clues 1 and 2 ) were photos of the garden at the front of the apartment block. Email/Clue 3 gave a description of where we needed to dig in the garden to find the key. You have got to love the Irish! Very tricky Mr O'Connell!

Back at the Merchant's Arch

So now we have phones and bank accounts sorted out and have visited one of our favourite pubs. David is organising a bike so he can ride to work. We have been out walking to check everything is still where we thought it should be from our previous visit and have planned our weekend. We are looking forward to the coastal walk from Greystone to Bray followed by meeting Dermot at the Cobblestone for some Irish music.

And for everyone at Holy Cross... not an Angry Bird in sight!

Stay tuned for more installments of Anne's Dublin Dalliance 2!!!