Time flies and so will we tomorrow

This is the last post - not in the military sense of course. We've spent the past week in Dublin and enjoyed every minute. There are still places I haven't seen but I've certainly enjoyed some new ones on every visit.

I made the compulsory walk to Stephen's Green to the spot where Dad had his picture taken in 1945 when he and his brother Ray visited Eire before being repatriated to Canada. It's a beautiful spot and anyone who comes to Dublin and gives this park a miss is really missing something lovely.

There was a day trip back to Wicklow to pick up my golf clubs, return Kathy's car, say farewell to the cousins, and after Ann Byrne gave us a lift to the train in Gorey, we had a lovely train ride home. It's certainly been planes, trains and automobiles. Our other train trip was on the DART to Dun Laoghaire on Sunday for a late lunch with friends at the Royal Marine Hotel. 

What a beautiful spot Dun Laoghaire is. There was a craft market that day, but by the time we'd said goodbye to Margaret and Lynne, most vendors were folding up their tents and leaving. The harbour is lovely and there's a wonderful long pier, but my feet weren't up to such a long walk. There was a huge cruise ship anchored outside the harbour but I don't know where the tourists might have been wandering around. Perhaps they were on a trip to Glendalough.

Little shopping was done, well, except for the chocolate and a pair of golf shoes that will soon see more action. For my chocolate-loving friends, I'm looking forward to sharing.

I took some photos around Dublin, notably on the tours of Kilmainham Gaol and Christ Church Cathedral but they look like everyone else's. No need to post them here.

Our 4-week odyssey is drawing to a close. It's been fabulous and exhausting. I'll return to Ireland again but for a staycation here rather than another with so much touring. I really hate to blame it on age but ...

We've completed the Arrive Can app, got our boarding passes on our phones and the taxi has been ordered for the ride to the airport tomorrow at 7 am. I hope that checking the bags is a short process and accomplished quickly after arrival at the terminal so I only have to manage the backpack before flight time. Judi and I are flying out of different terminals but once our checking in is accomplished we may be able to spend time together. Somehow I doubt it but you never know.

We've been very compatible travel companions and Judi must get full credit for putting up with me as I stressed out about directions when Google took us on so many "little roads" and weird diversions. It was wonderful to have a navigator who could watch the maps and know how far it was to the next turn. Although they never met, Pat and Judi shared a SIM card and navigator duties equally well to keep me on track. I just had to keep shifting the gears and manoeuvering the roundabouts of our load VW Polo. We put it through its paces and loved it.

We had separate bedrooms at the Airbnbs but spent the two hotel stays in the same room. And we're still friends.

Ottawa suffered a horrendous windstorm on Saturday and the power has been out in the area where I live since then. I'll have to throw out all the food in the fridge and freezer and clean them out, right after, or maybe while I do several loads of laundry. We had no access to a washing machine this past week although we'd made good use of the ones at each Airbnb we rented.  

I'm not even sure if I'll be staying in my own place when I get back. I have an offer to stay with a friend until the power is restored. I would just visit home to get some clean clothes and keep an eye on progress. It's hard to imagine how much damage was caused by the hundreds, maybe thousands, of downed trees. Apparently, the situation is worse than the great Ice Storm of '98 or the tornado of 2018. At least at this time, we aren't dealing with extreme heat or cold but I think that's all there is to be thankful for.

I hope our pilots are experienced and happy tomorrow and that our flights are uneventful and the food is better than on the way over here. 

There may or may not be a concluding post when I get home. If not, thanks for being faithful readers.

Settled in Dublin

The journey from Belfast to Dublin is pretty straightforward - all main highways once you've got onto them. The Belfast end of it was simple enough. Google must have been in good humour when the day started. It got rather twisted about having nothing more to do and decided to get up to its old tricks.

We had been chatting about where we might stop for lunch and Drogheda was mentioned. It would depend on where we were on the route when hunger struck. It was raining but not seriously. As we approached the turnoff to Drogheda, Google gave the order to take the next exit. But the M1 was bringing us happily towards Dublin. I ignored the first command. But she persisted as we approached the next exit. So, figuring there might be construction ahead, we exited where Google told us.

Boy was that a mistake. We ended up on a tiny back road and when we finally came to a signpost, it said that Drogheda was 12 km behind us. But we'd never even been there. There was no indication of how to get to a highway. After a short time, we found a lady enjoying a late morning walk and she was able to direct us back on track using N2, not M1 where we should have stayed. The route Google first chose for us must have been about 20 metres shorter and then even the 'directional dictator' got muddled. 

It was annoying but we have seen some lovely back roads that we could never find again.

Eventually, we arrived at our hotel. Google is very good in cities. Dublin is not without its challenges when it comes to traffic circulation.  I knew generally where we were heading and all was well until we came to Findlater Lane where the Academy Plaza is located. It's 2-way, very narrow, had cars parked along one side, with another car parked at the front door of the hotel on the other side, making it impossible for any vehicle to get past. Those folks did move after a while. 

I pulled to the side after a truck had left and parked the car while Judi went inside for further instructions. As it happens, the lane ends just past the hotel entrance. I would have to do about a 25-point turn to go back up this lane to find the parking garage. Luck was with me. One of the trucks moved and I was able to drive into an entrance to something, backed up and turned, hoping against hope that no car would choose that moment to enter the lane and drive towards me. More good luck. We only had to wait for the LUAS (train/tram/surface rail) to pass on Parnell St and we exited the lane. 

Entering the parking garage was another joyful experience. Our car is small and when I opened the window to take a ticket it was asking for a contactless card - but we didn't know what kind. Our hotel room key card didn't work. We still had no ticket. We had left our purses, with our credit cards, in the hotel room when we dropped off the suitcases. Judi went back to the hotel. I was blocking the entrance to the parking garage and the gate had closed behind me. Ta-da. After a few minutes, I looked high up on the post with the various buttons and slots and saw "Press here for ticket" so I opened the car door, reached way up and pressed. Voila. A ticket and the barrier opened ahead of me. I was in and drove on to find a spot. After the first turn, I found myself almost at the exit. I'd missed the turn to the next parking level. I pulled into a space for a hybrid vehicle and an SUV pulled up behind me - having done exactly what I did. 

A parking attendant materialized (where was he when Judi was still in the car?) and pointed out the turn we'd both missed. Oddly to go up to more parking I had to use the right lane and the left one was for exiting. Confused?? yep. In every other place, you drive on the left but this one was on the right of the two ramps.

Anyway, I found a spot and Judi found me. We returned to the hotel, got the ticket validated for a reduced parking rate and went for a walk down O'Connell Street. It was a lovely evening as the rain had finally stopped - after we'd done the luggage and parking things in the rain. When we did leave the garage the next morning we didn't get the reduced rate. Arrrggghhh. €35 - usurious. Then because we'd taken too long to leave after paying for parking we had to pay an additional €3.30 to get out. We'd forgotten the bag of goodies to drop off in Ashford and Judi went back to our room to retrieve it.

Yesterday was the day to return our little car to its rightful owner in Carnew. Google did its best to get us out of Dublin and onto the highway. It just took a while. There were a few "turn right and then immediately left" turns that I was unable to make - being in the wrong lane. After driving around a few blocks we were finally on the right road.

From that point on it was smooth sailing. We stopped in Ashford for a farewell to Mary and Oliver and dropped off the food we could no longer use as we have no fridge or anything to cook on or heat food up. The drive to Shillelagh was lovely, golf clubs were collected, car was filled up with petrol and returned to Kathy. We had a nice visit with Kathy before Ann drove us to the train in Gorey.

Lugging the golf bag up the metal stairs, across a bridge above the tracks, and down another set of stairs to track level was a little challenge. Once aboard, a helpful gentleman put the clubs up on an overhead rack. The ride was very smooth, partly along the coast where the waves were pounding. Rain and wind around Bray were awful but it had settled into drizzle when we got off at Tara St station. No taxis anywhere. We ended up walking. back to the hotel with me dragging the golf bag. I discovered that the handle one holds for this purpose is singularly uncomfortable on the hands. But we managed.

When I woke up this morning my back was more than usually stiff. Judi went off for her hop-on hop-off bus trip and I gradually got moving. It's time to tidy the bags and decide if I'll walk all the way to EPIC Ireland or not. My Achilles tendons and calf muscles are still quite painful as they've been throughout the journey. I will go for a short walk soon to find some lunch. 

Tomorrow we'll visit Kilmainham Gaol, Christ Church Cathedral and Dublinia.

Just relaxing today

Today we took a day off from driving and touring. We went to see the new Downton Abbey movie. Loved it.

Getting there was half the fun. Somehow I managed to book tickets for the movie at one theatre and get directions to another. Google got us to a rather lonely-looking mall with an Omniplex where we thought we'd booked our tickets. The options for lunch were not great and we ended up at Burger King. [Note to self, the last time I ate there decades ago should have remained the last time I ate there]. We killed some time walking around until almost showtime and then found out our tickets were for a different Omniplex.

Google came through again and all we missed were the previews and the opening scene with the credits. Didn't miss any dialogue. But we almost killed ourselves getting to our seats. The theatre was completely dark, with dim red lines of light along each step, more or less. Our seats were up at the back and the aisle width varied. Eventually, we stumbled into our reserved spots - happy not to have fallen down the stairs. After that, there were no problems and getting home was easy.

Tomorrow we will set out for Dublin and the last week of this odyssey. We have some general plans but won't buy any tickets for anything prior to arrival. We've been told our hotel is in a sketchy area but there's nothing else affordable and it is convenient. We'll manage. Some Airbnb accommodations are over $1100 per night - for one room with an en suite bathroom. 

No photos were taken today so none to add. Tomorrow is likely to be short of pictures also as it is a travel day, likely in the rain. It seems every time I drive from Belfast to Dublin it's raining. But we shall just have to wait and see.

A great day in Belfast

The forecast was pretty good, we'd made our plan and off we went. We took our little car to the Connswater shopping mall to find it a nice parking spot for the day so we could take a bus to the centre of the city. The Sunday schedule for the Metrolink bus that stops about 50 feet from our location, was iffy at best.

Getting to the mall was easy enough but navigating the parking lot was rather frustrating. There are several sections of shops and each has its own parking lot. There is only one way in and out of each area and you have to drive back out onto the street to find the next one. We had no idea where to find the bus stop. Eventually, we parked near Starbucks and asked for directions, and no, we didn't have a Grande Moccha vanilla cream latte extraordinaire, or even a Tall Pike Place black coffee. We just wanted and got information.

The "bus" was what they call The Glider. It's a hybrid vehicle, rather like our long bendy buses at home although the wheel covers make it seem like it's just gliding along the street. So we glided to St George's Market on our all-day city bus ticket. 

Judi did some shopping, we bought a large scone each, and wandered and marvelled at many of the interesting crafts and foods. Those scones turned out to be lunch and afternoon snacks and saved our growling stomachs from disturbing others. We saw a Bacon Bap and figured it would take days to eat anything that big. There were food offerings of all kinds from all nations. My favourite to look at but not purchase was the Wee Giants Meringue. 

The word "wee" seems to precede everything and it doesn't mean small. Like, let's have a wee pint. Here's your wee ticket. Have you done a wee tour of the city? 

From the Market we got back on the Hop-on Hop-off bus, having bought 2-day tickets yesterday. The guide this time pointed out a few different things from yesterday. We soon hopped off at the Europa Hotel and Crown Bar, across the street from each other and close to the Grand Opera House. The Europa is the most bombed hotel in Europe, maybe in the world, having been hit 18 times. The Crown Bar is the oldest in Ireland, maybe in Europe, or even the universe because I don't remember what we were told. Unfortunately, the bar was closed so we couldn't go in. We did marvel at the exterior in all its detail. The Opera House was also closed so we couldn't visit the lobby. The Europa lobby was open and we were able to read a bit about its history and some of its clients.

The Crown - our timing was off. It was closed.

All evidence of the bombings has been repaired

The Grand Opera House

The four triangles that make up the Titanic Experience, are each the size of the bow of the ship

Hopping back on the tour bus half an hour later, we finally got to the Titanic Experience. Our tour tickets gave us a discount, on top of the senior discount, so entry was "only" £18.50. It is very well done, and this time after missing it on the first tour 7 years ago, and on our first go-round today, we did take the cable car which gave us an idea of the very loud, very hot, very cramped working conditions experienced building the Titanic. The movie showing the discovery of the Titanic and various artifacts was also well done. It's a definite MUST SEE.

Part 2 of the Titanic experience was to visit the SS Nomadic, a tender to the Titanic and many other boats. It's the last surviving boat of the White Star Line. For such a short duration between shore and ship, the Nomadic was also divided into First, Second and Third Class. It certainly saw a large number of movie stars and other notable people over its working lifespan.

Then it was time to find transport back to the shopping mall. We had a choice between the Glider and the Hop-on services. We had tickets for both. We opted for the Glider to City Hall (the centre of everything in Belfast) and a transfer to the other Glider for the drive back to our little car. It was much faster than sitting through 14 more stops on the tour bus.

Once back in the car we headed to Lidl a couple of hundred metres away. But, there is no passage between the parking lot where we were and the Lidl store. We did pick up some dinner and a few other consumables. We've come to quite like the cans of Gin and Tonic available in supermarkets. Ontario are you paying attention? 

Back at our lovely apartment, we had our own happy hour and then dinner. We spent the rest of the evening watching an event for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Her Majesty seemed to enjoy the show which mostly involved horses. Some of the acts were astonishing, especially the Azerbaijan demonstration of horsemanship which left us gasping, the synchronized drumming, and the general pageantry of it all. The Queen herself is looking frail which someone of her age is more than entitled to. She was accompanied by Prince Edward and Sophie, and their daughter Lady Louise drove Prince Philip's horse cart in the display of all the Queen's horses. 

Today we're not sure what we'll do. It's still early and it's raining. We might enjoy the apartment we're in and the books we're reading, or we might go for a drive. Walking outdoors is not on the program.

It's marching season

In Derry during our walking tour of the walls, we learned that this is marching season. I'd thought that there was such marching only around July 12th. Nope - very wrong. It starts in April and goes into the Fall, but not every day. To our initial surprise (around 8 pm this evening) we heard the beating of a drum, followed by flutes. Now at 10 pm (and it's dark) they are still marching. To our complete lack of delight by this time, the marching is taking place on the street where we are staying. Our living room overlooks the spectacle. Sadly there is no soundproofing. And those drummers are very keen. Enough already - go home and beat your drums somewhere else. Tonight was in honour of the Scottish Apprentice Boys, at least that's what the "schedule" seems to say. Thank heavens the next night is after we leave - or so we hope and pray.

The bands varied in size but they represent protestant groups from all over Northern Ireland. Often there are youngsters walking ahead of the group, many in the uniforms worn by the adult marchers, and these little folks are tossing batons. I wouldn't say they were particularly skilled but they were serious about what they were doing. The bands were made up of drummers, one very enthusiastic bass drummer, and pipers. Except for one band that had accordion players. By that point, I didn't care if they were made up of pianists or violinists as long as they stopped.

After about the 15th band I was ready to start my own protest, but there was an audience on the street and I wouldn't have wanted witnesses. They weren't cheering them on, just watching. And I didn't have any weapons useful for stopping hordes of marching bands. Bobby pins were the only weapons I could find, along with some kitchen knives I suppose. Useless.

Anyway, it's finally quiet and cars have once more started driving on the street. There's a chance we'll sleep after all.

So now I'll back up a little bit. Earlier today we left Limavady and took the shortest route to Belfast. This time, Google brought us directly to our destination. The Airbnb had not yet been cleaned and besides, it was not yet 3 pm which is check-in time. We were able to park and leave the car and then we took the bus to the centre of Belfast.

There we had lunch and took the hop on hop-off bus tour of the city and planned what stops to revisit tomorrow. We wanted to return to St George's Market but it closed at 3 and will again tomorrow so we'll get there early. On the tour, the guide pointed out a glass dome on the Victoria Square shopping centre that had a viewing platform giving a great view over the entire city and quite far out into the countryside.

We took advantage of the great sunny day to admire the view and took a few photos - mostly for other people who wanted to record their visit and include all members of their groups. And one of them returned the favour for us.

Using our one-day bus pass we returned to Queen's University and wandered through the botanic gardens. The greenhouse was closed but based on the heat and humidity of another pavilion it would have been stifling hot in there anyway.

We waited quite a long time for a bus back to the Donegall Square at City Hall, from which we caught the bus back to our accommodations. This time we unloaded the car and settled in. The premises are very nice, very clean and the fridge held some milk for our tea and coffee and best of all a bottle of Prosecco. There isn't much of that left. It was quite lovely.

Tomorrow we'll visit the market in the morning and the Titanic Experience later. And we'll hope that there is no marching down the street outside our window all evening.

Fatigue has set in so I'll try to post some pictures in the morning before we head out.

Friday the 13th on the Causeway Coastal Route

There were no black cats in evidence but there sure were motorcycles. Tomorrow is the big race day for the Northwest 200 series of races from 10 am to 9 pm. We're heading to Belfast so we're very happy to have driven the coast road today. We'll avoid the entire area on our revised route. 

This morning was cloudy, windy and wet as the forecast had warned us, but there was a promise of brighter skies later in the day. Not to be deterred we set out in the wind and showers with a first destination of the Mussenden Temple. I'd heard of it and even seen it in the distance on previous trips but hadn't bothered to check it out. It's well worth a visit, if for no other reason that to have a bird's eye view of the largest beach I've ever seen. It's 7 miles long. We didn't go anywhere near the cliff edge for fear of being blown off, but despite the overcast skies, temporarily without rain, the view was breathtaking.

The temple itself is not open but worth a close-up look. From there we walked uphill (it's always uphill) to the ruins of the Downhill Demesne. It was occupied by a family until 1922 and later for RAF personnel in WWII, and it sounds like there might have been a good few parties held there. It was a huge house and hard to imagine how it fell into ruin in the last few decades. 

More or less "next door" is the Bishop's Gate and lovely gardens maintained by the National Trust - we are in the UK now. The gardens were worth wandering through as well.

Then it was on to the Giant's Causeway. Hah! We crept along the highway in the midst of all the race preparations, motorbikes of all sizes and noises, hundreds of fans, and lots of tents and RVs (caravans). Finally arriving at the Giant's Causeway there were dozens of motorbikes and their riders, there was a lineup for the little stone café we'd hoped to visit for lunch, it was raining and still very windy, so we just drove on. 

We were able to visit Ballintoy harbour, White Park Bay for some amazing views in the wild wind. The Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge isn't open until Monday but even if it had been it was too windy today to allow anyone to cross. It was hard to stand up in the wind. We settled for a view of the bridge from a mile up the coast. Deciding that driving along the coastal route wasn't enough, we opted for a secondary road to get a view of Tor Head.

This road is so narrow and so winding and so up and down I was really grateful that neither Judi nor I suffered from motion sickness. It was scary not knowing if another car was coming over the steep blind hill ahead or around the hairpin bend on a slope. Luckily we and the car emerged unscathed. We were rewarded with some spectacular views. The weather was starting to clear.

Once we reached sea level again as Cushenden, we stayed on the main route and got as far as Carrickfergus, after a brief visit to Islandmagee, just in time to watch them lower the protective shutters on the The Gobbins visitor centre.

After dinner in Carrickfergus we made our way back to Limavady via the motorway and a couple of other very good highways and have now settled in for the evening.

Tomorrow we'll plot a new route to Belfast and get ready for the Titanic Experience.

And now for today's pictures:

Holding on to the gate so I don't blow away

View from the ruins of the house to the temple

And out the dining room window you see the causeway coast

The seven-mile beach

Mussenden Temple on a windy day

In the Demesne gardens on the upper path

Bishop's Gate and the gardens beyond

Rejoining the lower path from a wander on the high path

Ballintoy Harbour --- just beside the actual harbour; nobody would bring a boat here

Ballintoy Harbour - used in Game of Thrones

At Ballintoy Harbour - can you tell it's windy?

Coastal view when it clouded over

Risked our lives on a narrow road for this view of Tor Head

A relatively ordinary day

We woke up this morning to bright sunny skies. Opening the door brought the quick realization that there was a price to pay with the temperature. I'm not sure exactly what the temperature was but it would only have had 1 digit. It didn't warm up and the sun went away.

After doing some laundry we went to a local garage to have the right headlight checked. Yesterday it seemed that we were operating with only one. It turned out to be just loose and that was remedied. Then we asked the mechanic to check the right side backup light. Apparently, you only need one backup light here. News to us but there you go. Then he checked and topped up our oil, using the supply we carry with us. This little car is thirsty for oil. Some conversation followed but I admit to understanding little of it. I have no idea where this mechanic lives but his accent was so thick and his speech so fast I would have appreciated an interpreter. I understood about 20% of what he said.

We went with him into the office to settle the bill and ended up in another conversation with the office manager. We understood every word she said and she understood the mechanic. In the end, there was no bill to pay - no parts were installed and the oil was our own. We didn't have to pay for the time spent on the job. Wow - if only that were the case at home. 

After getting the suggestion of Antoinette's cafe for lunch we set out according to the directions we got. The drive from the garage to the parking lot was "a one-way system" but you have to be in the correct lane. I wasn't and when I should have turned right into a parking lot, I couldn't. Simple fix - drive around the block. Not so fast. This block seemed endless and involved a couple too many turns but we came upon a parking lot that we thought was the other side of the lot we'd missed. Nope. The first pay and display machine rejected our coins. It would not take bills or a credit card. The second machine was more receptive.

We set out to find Antoinette's. Eventually, we did and at that point knew we'd parked in the wrong lot. Oh well - extra steps for the day. Lunch was fine if not spectacular. 

There are no tour buses operating at the moment because of Covid and they have not determined the processes required, so we opted for a walking tour of Derry. We found one that was oriented towards the history of the city. This included why it was originally something like Daoire, then Derry then Londonderry. Call it what you will it's the only completely walled city in Ireland. The walls are original but the surface has been upgraded over time.

There were only about 8 of us in the group and the guide was excellent. We walked on the walls which are wider than some streets, saw various cathedrals and learned their stories, and got a bit of a lesson on The Troubles and how that all started. Things are much better now in this city, with cooperation for the most part between Protestants and Catholics. 

The guide walked us back to where the tour had started so we could find our car. He was giving another tour shortly after we left him. Given that it was now about 3:40 we decided to try to get ahead of rush hour. That mostly worked. I only missed one exit of a roundabout and had to re-drive the route to get the right one. Then we were held up by an accident, but at least it didn't involve us.

The rain started just after we started home so all in all it was a good day. We'd been here for about 15 minutes when the host reported that I'd left the car lights on. I did remember turning them off but went out in the rain to check. Only one of the driving lights was on, the lights were in fact turned off. I tried every combination I could think of and that light would not go off. Finally, I realized that the left turn signal was on. We'd made a sharp left turn to park here and I turned off the car before realizing the signal was still on. Once I turned that off, all was well.

A quiet evening is planned. We haven't done anything about supper but soup is the likely choice. It's cold and wet out and we have no idea if any places around here deliver. Whatever we eat will involve whatever's in the house now. And thus ends another day. No photos today.