Yesterday was big hike day. We went to Kinbane Castle, a ruin, down many steps to a crag and a rock in the ocean. It was fine gong down but definitely a sweaty hike up the steep steps. My sister couldn't make it.
Then we drove (driving is fine now...mostly, except those traffic circles, which are literally every five blocks when you drive through a city. Very confusing when there are five names on each sign and you're trying to find one.) to the Carrick a Rede rope bridge. Randi is afraid of heights so I went on and over the bridge (short) to the hummocky island. It's like it's covered with peat and then grasses and little field flowers here and there. A beautiful view of the North Sea in its blues and turquoises with the white cliffs, the black rocks and the little green sharp cliffed islands called Carric Island (where the rope bridge leads to) and Sheep Island. That was another easier hike but with some steep steps to climb back up.
We then went to the Giants Causeway where there were hundreds of people. This is where the land coughed up great sestagonal? (six sided) columns of stone everywhere to the water. These columns form natural seats and steps and are very cool. Managed to get some good pics but the haze stopped me from getting good ones of the chimneys farther out and I was a bit tired to walk that far.
We went on to Bushmills. Why we did this tour I'm not sure. It wasn't on our itinerary (made up daily) and it wasn't very exciting or interesting. No old architecture, a bit on the making of (which was kinda intersting). Bushmills is named for the old Bush river from which they pump the water and the milling of the barley. But because we did this we missed getting into Dunluce castle. October hours means many things close at 5 instead of 6. It would have been the most impressive castle with a bridge, large environs and a cave beneath the castle. All these castles today were coastal castles. All we could do was take pics from the gates.
We then drove and drove through many a roundabout, through Portrush and Portstewart, Strabane, various little towns to Donegal. We stopped in a pub, the Reel Inn, had a drink and got some idea for B&Bs. This was a nice change. A small town center and our B&B just over the bridge, less than five minutes from the town. The pub is just one side of the little bridge. We ate in some restaurant which was okay. I had chicken curry (13.50€)which was only chicken, no veggies. Lots of chicken and rice though and then I was given a huge bowl of fries, which I didn't even touch. The Irish do love their taters.
We went back to the Reel Inn which was supposed to have live music. We barely set foot in the door when we were mobbed by drunk Irish men. There was a very drunk, bleary eyed, mostly incoherent Liam and his friend who we called Harry Potter, of barely legal drinking age. Enda was a nice guy who looked like he used to play rugby (on the TVs everywhere here) who had his own pub but goes for drinks with the boys on Mondays because one of them is banned from his pub. The banned one, the older Liam (40-ish)with a front tooth missing, regaled us with many a story of his fishing forays, true or not. Liam McGurdy holds the world record for fish whacking and gutting. Supposedly this is true though some of the other tales were not. There was a equally drunk, red-haired Eric. They were all drunk when we arrived and just stayed the same.
Randi and I had been told that the men buy your drinks everywhere. We hadn't found this yet or even that people talked to you that much. But it was true here. They all wanted to shake or hold our hands but we never bought a drink all night.Each guy would try to up the other in blarney.
There was also a Pete or Finnbar but it was hard to tell as he was not always on the up and up either, who kept telling me I was a fine woman and if I was there alone would I fancy him. I didn't want to say outright no, but I did say no and he asked why. I said because I like to get to know people there. A younger Pete came in and all the guys in the bar started calling old Pete Daddy. Younger Pete, Pete Cannon was kind of like a leprechaun, not that tall, pretty eyes, lots of character in his face and brown hair with blond and light red streaks. Turns out he's a musician and he also contributed to the blarney in his way. But overall the lads were friendly and harmless, if half of them completely inebriated. I got to try Adam's cider which came in a larger 1.5 pint bottle.
Now we're off to Slieve League and the coast. More as the internet allows.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Sunday, September 30, 2007
We're in Belfast
Well, we spent till Friday in Dublin and went to pick up the car on Friday morning. Then with at least six people asked for directions we seemed to cross the Liffey and cross back so we were on the south side when we should have been on the north side. We did Baggot St. and lots of Dublin that we never meant to do. Plus we went far east before ending up going south and north again. A 15 minute drive took about an hour and a half.
The Charleville was very good to us and didn't charge us for being late. We also had to get her to show us how the reverse worked in the car, which even she couldn't find so we had to call the rental company. Signs in Ireland and in Dublin can be nonexistent, or on buildings, and covered by trees. Not to mention no streets are parallel. This city wasn't planned, it grew. Many intersections have five or six streets off of them too.
Randi drove and I navigated and it was a big big mess. Finally we got directions out of Dublin to go north but they gave us the N1 when we needed the N2. We tried to get over but they have all of these semie routes (R123, R153, etc.) and somehow not on one of the three maps we had was there any R132. The ones that showed on the map petered out into townships and at one point we asked a woman at a petrol stn. where to go and she said turn left at the garda stn. (police) and right at the cemetery. Maybe they moved it because all we saw was a subdivision with children playing so maybe they were zombies. Eventually, four hours later we made it to Newgrange, 45 minutes too late.
We drove into Slane, a cute little town with a castle and asked if there were any B&Bs and it turns out there was a wedding in town so that there were no openings. But we got a place just 2 km from Newgrange and Roughgrange farm with a lovely woman, Irene, and her husband. Clean, cheapish, and friendly. We went into Donore that night for dinner at Daly's a pub and a restaurant.
Next day, Saturday, we went to Newgrange and Knowth (neolithich passage graves), then on to the Hill of Tara (soggy soggy weather), then on to Trim Castle and St. Peter and Paul's Cathedral in Trim. We drove into Kells but were too late and would have had to wait till 2 pm today. So we drove back to Slane and had a drink at the Village Inn Bar (disappointment is that there is only one type of cider so far in Ireland--Bulmers) then across to the Old Post Office Restaurant and B&B, one of only 2 places in Slane that serves food. It was pretty good but food is not cheap here. (Meals can be about 20€ average though you can get pub meals for cheaper.) We also had a good, not cheap meal in Dublin at Fitzers; very yummy and good for celiacs which my sister is.
I should say that I took over driving on Saturday and we're both much happier. My sister tended to scream and freeze if she saw a car coming at her. The Garda swerved into our lane to get around traffic and the streets are very narrow and windy and the speed limits relatively fast. Except for getting down that center line thing and not going too far left, I'm doing okay. The care we have is crap and very hard to shift into the correct 1st or 2nd gear. And we couldn't find a way to open the gas tank today, nor the gas jockey. Turns out you just push the lid.
This morning we did Monasterboice and Mellifont Abbey before heading north.
Time's nearly out but we're hoping to see the Crown saloon here and go off towards Giants Causeway tonight. Whoo and we made it into Belfast without a map of the city.
The Charleville was very good to us and didn't charge us for being late. We also had to get her to show us how the reverse worked in the car, which even she couldn't find so we had to call the rental company. Signs in Ireland and in Dublin can be nonexistent, or on buildings, and covered by trees. Not to mention no streets are parallel. This city wasn't planned, it grew. Many intersections have five or six streets off of them too.
Randi drove and I navigated and it was a big big mess. Finally we got directions out of Dublin to go north but they gave us the N1 when we needed the N2. We tried to get over but they have all of these semie routes (R123, R153, etc.) and somehow not on one of the three maps we had was there any R132. The ones that showed on the map petered out into townships and at one point we asked a woman at a petrol stn. where to go and she said turn left at the garda stn. (police) and right at the cemetery. Maybe they moved it because all we saw was a subdivision with children playing so maybe they were zombies. Eventually, four hours later we made it to Newgrange, 45 minutes too late.
We drove into Slane, a cute little town with a castle and asked if there were any B&Bs and it turns out there was a wedding in town so that there were no openings. But we got a place just 2 km from Newgrange and Roughgrange farm with a lovely woman, Irene, and her husband. Clean, cheapish, and friendly. We went into Donore that night for dinner at Daly's a pub and a restaurant.
Next day, Saturday, we went to Newgrange and Knowth (neolithich passage graves), then on to the Hill of Tara (soggy soggy weather), then on to Trim Castle and St. Peter and Paul's Cathedral in Trim. We drove into Kells but were too late and would have had to wait till 2 pm today. So we drove back to Slane and had a drink at the Village Inn Bar (disappointment is that there is only one type of cider so far in Ireland--Bulmers) then across to the Old Post Office Restaurant and B&B, one of only 2 places in Slane that serves food. It was pretty good but food is not cheap here. (Meals can be about 20€ average though you can get pub meals for cheaper.) We also had a good, not cheap meal in Dublin at Fitzers; very yummy and good for celiacs which my sister is.
I should say that I took over driving on Saturday and we're both much happier. My sister tended to scream and freeze if she saw a car coming at her. The Garda swerved into our lane to get around traffic and the streets are very narrow and windy and the speed limits relatively fast. Except for getting down that center line thing and not going too far left, I'm doing okay. The care we have is crap and very hard to shift into the correct 1st or 2nd gear. And we couldn't find a way to open the gas tank today, nor the gas jockey. Turns out you just push the lid.
This morning we did Monasterboice and Mellifont Abbey before heading north.
Time's nearly out but we're hoping to see the Crown saloon here and go off towards Giants Causeway tonight. Whoo and we made it into Belfast without a map of the city.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Things to Know About Travelling
Well we made it. Just slept like the dead in Dublin and we're off to a slow start.
Backing up, it was a bit of a whirlwind beginning. My friend Lorna picked me up around 7 and my flight was leaving at 10:10 pm. Plenty of time, right? Well originally this flight had been leaving at that time and going straight to Glasgow, but along the way Air Transat changed it to Vancouver, via Calgary onto Glasgow. I looked at all the changes when my sister first sent them and thought the only change was Calgary, after initialing thinking they had shortened our flight by a day.
So here we are at the airport and there is hardly anyone there. I naively said, geez they say get here three hours early and there's no lineup. We walk up to the counter and I tell them the flight. They say no it's gone already. But then these guys (more airport security than the ticket people) say they don't work that counter; go over to the Air Transat counter. We do and the woman says it's too late, it's gone, it leaves at 8:00!
At this point my stupidity is dawning on me. I misread numerous times 20:10 at 10:10. I know the 24 hour clock but my brain had been stuck on the previous time. This woman calls upstairs as I'm breaking into a sweat (literally) and finds that they can get me on the plane but not my suitcase because the plane is packed. I'm going, what can I do and she says nothing because it's a charter flight and only goes out once a week with not agreement with the other airlines.
But somehow, bless their hearts, a guy comes down, checks my baggage, almost forgetst to give me the boarding pass and then I have to take my luggage to the xray machine. The guy there jokes that I have to wait a half hour. Then I speed through security, luckily without any additional searches and jump on the golf cart they have waiting, lacing up my boots as we go, thanking them profusely. I got on the plane but if we had been 5 minutes later I would have been hooped and my sister would have thought I was dead when she got on in Calgary. I was lucky and the plane was not late in taking off.
So then my sister gets on in Calgary and she's put on 50 pounds in 6 months from thyroid issues. Let's just say the small Air Transat seats are more crowded now. We got into Glasgow and went through the cattle gates for the passports with the customs guy joking that he wasn't happy because we were going on to Dublin.
A note to people travelling to Ireland: you can't very easily get a direct flight from the West Coast so it's Gatwick or Glasgow for joining up a new flight. Glasgow really has two airports, which we didn't know at first. Glasgow International only has Aer Lingus that flies to Dublin (about $150 CDN) and Glasgow Prestwick (about an hour away by bus and train) has Ryanair (only) and is cheaper. But if people tell you (even those that supposedly live there or are Irish and go all the time) that you can just book when you arrive from all of these different airlines, they're mistaken. There are only those two and though we could have made it to Prestwick in time for the late night flight, there were no seats left.
So we had to take Aer Lingus, but first we met up my friend Erin who is doing her PhD in Viking archaeology in Glasgow. She fed us and let us freshen up (and we saw these lovely foxes, the local vermin, in their back yard). Then we caught a taxi back to the airport and caught our flight, an hour late because the plane malfunctioned and they had to get a different one. So we left at 11:20 pm instead of 10:15. We finally got to our lodge and into bed at 2 am.
Scary things: a phone call requires constant money put into the machine. A call of a few minutes cost about 2.5£. Yikes. About 5 bucks. Glasgow is pounds. Ireland is Euros until you get to the Northern parts. And now, it's off to see what we can of Dublin after our late start.
Backing up, it was a bit of a whirlwind beginning. My friend Lorna picked me up around 7 and my flight was leaving at 10:10 pm. Plenty of time, right? Well originally this flight had been leaving at that time and going straight to Glasgow, but along the way Air Transat changed it to Vancouver, via Calgary onto Glasgow. I looked at all the changes when my sister first sent them and thought the only change was Calgary, after initialing thinking they had shortened our flight by a day.
So here we are at the airport and there is hardly anyone there. I naively said, geez they say get here three hours early and there's no lineup. We walk up to the counter and I tell them the flight. They say no it's gone already. But then these guys (more airport security than the ticket people) say they don't work that counter; go over to the Air Transat counter. We do and the woman says it's too late, it's gone, it leaves at 8:00!
At this point my stupidity is dawning on me. I misread numerous times 20:10 at 10:10. I know the 24 hour clock but my brain had been stuck on the previous time. This woman calls upstairs as I'm breaking into a sweat (literally) and finds that they can get me on the plane but not my suitcase because the plane is packed. I'm going, what can I do and she says nothing because it's a charter flight and only goes out once a week with not agreement with the other airlines.
But somehow, bless their hearts, a guy comes down, checks my baggage, almost forgetst to give me the boarding pass and then I have to take my luggage to the xray machine. The guy there jokes that I have to wait a half hour. Then I speed through security, luckily without any additional searches and jump on the golf cart they have waiting, lacing up my boots as we go, thanking them profusely. I got on the plane but if we had been 5 minutes later I would have been hooped and my sister would have thought I was dead when she got on in Calgary. I was lucky and the plane was not late in taking off.
So then my sister gets on in Calgary and she's put on 50 pounds in 6 months from thyroid issues. Let's just say the small Air Transat seats are more crowded now. We got into Glasgow and went through the cattle gates for the passports with the customs guy joking that he wasn't happy because we were going on to Dublin.
A note to people travelling to Ireland: you can't very easily get a direct flight from the West Coast so it's Gatwick or Glasgow for joining up a new flight. Glasgow really has two airports, which we didn't know at first. Glasgow International only has Aer Lingus that flies to Dublin (about $150 CDN) and Glasgow Prestwick (about an hour away by bus and train) has Ryanair (only) and is cheaper. But if people tell you (even those that supposedly live there or are Irish and go all the time) that you can just book when you arrive from all of these different airlines, they're mistaken. There are only those two and though we could have made it to Prestwick in time for the late night flight, there were no seats left.
So we had to take Aer Lingus, but first we met up my friend Erin who is doing her PhD in Viking archaeology in Glasgow. She fed us and let us freshen up (and we saw these lovely foxes, the local vermin, in their back yard). Then we caught a taxi back to the airport and caught our flight, an hour late because the plane malfunctioned and they had to get a different one. So we left at 11:20 pm instead of 10:15. We finally got to our lodge and into bed at 2 am.
Scary things: a phone call requires constant money put into the machine. A call of a few minutes cost about 2.5£. Yikes. About 5 bucks. Glasgow is pounds. Ireland is Euros until you get to the Northern parts. And now, it's off to see what we can of Dublin after our late start.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Not Seeing Clearly
One of the other things needed for Ireland was money, of course. Euros and Great British Pounds as Northern Ireland and Glasgow are on pounds and the rest of Ireland on Euros.I'd been reading and was told that it's getting very hard to cash traveller's cheques. I presumed because of the amount of forgeries and counterfeiting.
So, I called my bank's central phone number and told them which branch I'd be going to and about how many Euros I would need, as well as when I'd be coming in. They said no problem, there will be enough. I dropped in on Friday, though I had been thinking of doing it this Tuesday afternoon. I'm very glad I didn't wait.
I arrived to find they had nowhere near enough Euros. I had a wedding and work on the car on Saturday. They were closed Sunday, and other branches were closed Wednesay as well as me working. They called around but no branches had enough. Eventually, after 45 minutes the bank scraped up every Euro they had. I ended up with a rather large wad of 5s, 10s, 20s, 50s, and one 100. It's bulky and it's a lot of money. But kudos to Vancity for coming through.
So that night I'm telling my friend Lorna about the Euro crisis and she says: There are banking machines all over Europe. You could have just withdrawn the money there. Arrgghh!
The last major travelling I did outside of the US was to Cuba where there weren't many if any banking machines and I just brought cash, bringing most of it home again. Before that was India in 1989 and even today I'd be dubious about parts of the country being up to date with banking machines. Sigh, you learn a few lessons and at least this wasn't a bad one to learn.
So, I called my bank's central phone number and told them which branch I'd be going to and about how many Euros I would need, as well as when I'd be coming in. They said no problem, there will be enough. I dropped in on Friday, though I had been thinking of doing it this Tuesday afternoon. I'm very glad I didn't wait.
I arrived to find they had nowhere near enough Euros. I had a wedding and work on the car on Saturday. They were closed Sunday, and other branches were closed Wednesay as well as me working. They called around but no branches had enough. Eventually, after 45 minutes the bank scraped up every Euro they had. I ended up with a rather large wad of 5s, 10s, 20s, 50s, and one 100. It's bulky and it's a lot of money. But kudos to Vancity for coming through.
So that night I'm telling my friend Lorna about the Euro crisis and she says: There are banking machines all over Europe. You could have just withdrawn the money there. Arrgghh!
The last major travelling I did outside of the US was to Cuba where there weren't many if any banking machines and I just brought cash, bringing most of it home again. Before that was India in 1989 and even today I'd be dubious about parts of the country being up to date with banking machines. Sigh, you learn a few lessons and at least this wasn't a bad one to learn.
Here is a sample of using my 50 mm manual lens with my digital SLR Nikon. The digital can't read the f-stops from the old lens but it doesn't matter as long as I fiddle. You can't meter the same and it takes some experimentation but I did get it to work, as well as getting my bigger flash to work with it.
I may not get the second lens in time for Ireland so using the manual will fill in what I need. I'm beginning to think it could be better. I'm happy that I'll have a range of sizes now.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Time Crunch
I'll be leaving for Ireland next week and hope to post some while on the trip but I have no idea how our time will be and how often I'll find an internet cafe. Ireland is not cheap by far, and Dublin is one of the most expensive cities in Europe. I'm going with my sister and we'll be spending a day or two at most in Dublin. Advice by Irish people I've met is that you don't need longer there.
So far, even before going, transportation has been a bit of a tangle. We booked through Air Transat because it was cheapest by far but having flown to Cuba before on that airline, they really like to cram you in. I think I'll be going for strolls while on the plane.
The flight goes to Glasgow and then you need to book one to Dublin. Well, no problem. Everyone says Ryanair is really cheap. There's Aer Lingus but it's a tad more expensive (like a lot!). We didn't rush in booking because we wanted to coordinate it with the car rentals and when our first flight would arrive. And before that we took two weeks to find suitable and cheapish accommodation in Dublin. Not that easy and you have to check various sites as the price can vary.
I have friends in Glasgow and Erin happened to ask if we were flying to Dublin from Glasgow International or Prestwick Glasgow airport. Errr? I'm so glad she asked as we fly into Glasgow (GLA) and Ryanair only flies out of Prestwick. Then we have to take a train and a bus or taxi from one to the other, and it takes about an hour. Our heads were starting to spin by this time.
We arrive into GLA at 2:30 pm but the only Aer Lingus flight leaves at 10:30 pm. But if we get to Prestwick, then there's a flight at 5 or at 10:30. Is it cheaper with all the hassle and train/bus fare, plus after customs would we make the 5 pm flight? Or should we bite the more expensive bullet? (Aer Lingus has a lower baggage weight so do we pack for that flight and extra pounds can become extra pounds British!) Erin suggests that we have dinner with them and then can catch our flight out.
Once we get through this nodule of confusion, I'm sure the rest of the trip will be fine. But what a logistics headache. I now wish that I'd gone with a travel agent but they can't book Aer Lingus or Ryanair flights. After this, we'll be more experienced on travel to Ireland.
So far, even before going, transportation has been a bit of a tangle. We booked through Air Transat because it was cheapest by far but having flown to Cuba before on that airline, they really like to cram you in. I think I'll be going for strolls while on the plane.
The flight goes to Glasgow and then you need to book one to Dublin. Well, no problem. Everyone says Ryanair is really cheap. There's Aer Lingus but it's a tad more expensive (like a lot!). We didn't rush in booking because we wanted to coordinate it with the car rentals and when our first flight would arrive. And before that we took two weeks to find suitable and cheapish accommodation in Dublin. Not that easy and you have to check various sites as the price can vary.
I have friends in Glasgow and Erin happened to ask if we were flying to Dublin from Glasgow International or Prestwick Glasgow airport. Errr? I'm so glad she asked as we fly into Glasgow (GLA) and Ryanair only flies out of Prestwick. Then we have to take a train and a bus or taxi from one to the other, and it takes about an hour. Our heads were starting to spin by this time.
We arrive into GLA at 2:30 pm but the only Aer Lingus flight leaves at 10:30 pm. But if we get to Prestwick, then there's a flight at 5 or at 10:30. Is it cheaper with all the hassle and train/bus fare, plus after customs would we make the 5 pm flight? Or should we bite the more expensive bullet? (Aer Lingus has a lower baggage weight so do we pack for that flight and extra pounds can become extra pounds British!) Erin suggests that we have dinner with them and then can catch our flight out.
Once we get through this nodule of confusion, I'm sure the rest of the trip will be fine. But what a logistics headache. I now wish that I'd gone with a travel agent but they can't book Aer Lingus or Ryanair flights. After this, we'll be more experienced on travel to Ireland.
Monday, September 17, 2007
The Coolest Thesaurus Ever
Ireland looms close with some snags in coordinating transportation. I'm working three jobs at the moment with little time to post. I do hope that I can post a bit when I'm in Ireland.
But in the meantime, this is the greatest thesaurus. I'm going to order it once I'm back. It's like a mind map but with the word you pub in at the center. Then adjectives, verbs, nouns, whatever are spaced off of it. It's best just to go look because everyone who's seen it has gone, wow.
Visual and intuitive and easy to follow. It's a great tool: http://www.visualthesaurus.com/trialover.jsp
But in the meantime, this is the greatest thesaurus. I'm going to order it once I'm back. It's like a mind map but with the word you pub in at the center. Then adjectives, verbs, nouns, whatever are spaced off of it. It's best just to go look because everyone who's seen it has gone, wow.
Visual and intuitive and easy to follow. It's a great tool: http://www.visualthesaurus.com/trialover.jsp
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
