Oh it's such a perfect day

This morning I woke up at 8.30 which is quite unusual for me, normally I wake up and stay in bed for a good while before managing to get out of bed.  I must have needed the sleep.  I didn't feel much in the mood for exploring Waterford, so I had breakfast at the hotel (two slices of toast and black coffee) before hitting the road.

After driving for a while, I was in need of a proper coffee and so I stopped in a town called Dungarvan (although I had no idea of the name of it at the time), and had a really crap coffee, but an excellent slice of Apple Pie.  Oh my God, I simply cannot resist temptation!  From Dungarvan, I drove onto Cork.  In Cork, given it is a bigger town, I needed to find a car park.  The plan was to spend most of the day in Cork, then get to Kinsale, and have dinner in Kinsale before going to my B&B in Balinspittle.

This photo taken from Dungarvan:

Cork was just lovely.  It had a completely different feel to it than I got from Waterford.  I got a bit lost walking around, but I didn't mind.  Then I stumbled across a restaurant called Jacques Restaurant, and it was listed in the Top 50 restaurants of Ireland in a tourist magazine I had purchased in Dublin.  Given it was open for lunch and I was there, well fuck me if I was going to walk past it!  In an attempt to improve my diet, I ordered the Soup of the Day, with 1/2 sandwich.  The soup was Cream of Mushroom, and the sandwich was Cheese, Tomato, Lettuce and Pickle.  Well blow me down with a feather, if that wasn't one of the BEST sandwiches I have ever eaten.  The Soup was fantastic too!   Given the food was outstanding, I then ordered an Espresso.  Perfect!

I was just in the central part of town and I came across a silver shop and ended up purchasing a pair of earrings.  I thought they were a bit expensive, but my beautiful Nonna had given me 50€ to buy something with, and so these were her gift to me (plus some).  I will think of her every time I wear them.  

I then asked the store owner how to get to the English Market (famous in Cork, it's a food market), and it happened to be just around the corner and I drooled through various spots in that market, not giving into temptation once. 

Entrance to the English Market:

I considered going to the Butter Museum, but decided I couldn't really come to Cork and not go to the Blarney Castle.  So, I got back in the car and this time turned on the GPS (I had got to Cork without it).  And I was simply amazed at what I saw when I got there.  I was expecting just the castle and a few ruins, but it was surrounded by beautiful gardens, and turned out one could spend hours and hours there.  I didn't have hours though, so I walked up the steep stairs of the Castle, walked past the Blarney Stone (no, I did not kiss that urine infested stone, and if not urine infested, then kissing an inanimate object where hundreds have been before, really does not appeal to me), walked around for about 10 minutes then got back in the car and headed to Kinsale.

As I drove into Kinsale, I literally fell in love with the place.  Just gorgeous.  But I didn't really have time to explore much, I walked around for a bit before searching for the 'Fishy Fishy' restaurant.  I know, completely ridiculous name for a restaurant, but in my research for Ireland, I had listened to a podcast and put this restaurant on my 'must do' list.  I found the place easily and got a table.  I ordered the Sea Bass on a bed of broccoli with hollandaise sauce, and a glass of wait for it....Fishy Fishy Sauvignon Blanc from the Malborough region of New Zealand.  Both were excellent.  In fact, I think I class this meal as the best meal of my trip so far.  Certainly, besides the toast this morning, today has definitely been the best food day.  So so good.

And can I just say, today has been the perfect weather.  Just a perfect day.

Feeling satiated, and not really sure how to get to my B&B from Kinsale, and all of a sudden my GPS/iPad maps wasn't playing the game, I thought I better get a move on.  I read, and re-read the instructions provided in the 'Discover Ireland' booklet that lists all the B&Bs, and tried my luck in the direction I thought I needed to go in.  Well bugger me, if I didn't just literally drive straight there, and via some magnificent scenery to boot.  I only stopped once, but that was mainly to get a little red car off my tail.  Good instructions and being alert to the road signs and getting a handle on the how to 'read the road signs' all contributed to me getting there, in the end, quite easily.  

Driving up to the B&B, I was just so pleased I had taken this route.  Just beautiful.  I checked in, and the couple hosting are just lovely.  Why I fail to remember their names is beyond me, but the wife checked me in and after I was settled, I spent some time outside just looking at the wonderful scenery (the B&B is just on a hill, right on the coast).  Then I grabbed the car keys, drove down a bit, parked the car and went for a brisk walk (I had to put my down jacket on).  There was a 'crepes' van down at the beach, and if I hadn't had such an excellent meal, I would have ordered crepes.  Any way, it is simply one of the most beautiful places in the world.

When I got back to the B&B, I was greeted by the husband, and he started to give me advice on what route to take tomorrow.  I went and grabbed a map, went back into the bar, ordered a beer, and he spoke to me for ages about what I should see, and pointed out places on the map.  What a lovely lovely man!

I am now sitting in the bar, one Corona down, and when I started writing this I was looking out of a window to some beautiful scenery.  It has now turned dark and there is a lighthouse flashing at me, and all of a sudden the bar has filled up, I'm not quite sure where all these people have come from, but I keep hearing car doors slamming.  It is 9.12 pm.  The crowd looks quite a bit older, and I'm feeling quite a bit older than them and will probably head off to my room shortly.

-----------------------

And in my room now, I've realised why there were so many people in the pub.  There is a meeting at the venue that a whole swag of people are here for.  I'm glad they're not all staying here - I want this place to myself for a bit longer.

On the road

Up bright and early this morning, not really, but when I went out to breakfast which was around 8.30/9.00, there was hardly a soul around, and none of the cafes were open.  I was disappointed, because now that I'd found the 'rest' of Temple Bar, I wanted to find a good breakfast spot.  I wonder if it's just Temple Bar that opens late on Sunday, or all places.  Anyway, I found an Italian cafe and there were lots of people in there (many with suitcases).  I ordered French Toast (I really do love sweet things for breakfast, or for any meal for that matter).  Then the couple next to me (Italians) complained that their croissants weren't cooked.  I thought it was a sign to leave, but I didn't because God only knows where I would have to have gone to eat, and my French Toast was ok, and the coffee pretty good.  (I had ordered an espresso and then a cappuccino because I missed my regular ritual of an espresso first thing in the morning.)

I hadn't got to spend any time in St Stephen's green, and because I wasn't picking up the car until 12.00, I wandered to the park and ambled around.  It was lovely.  From there, I went back to the hotel, finished packing and checked out, and caught a taxi to Hertz!

I picked up my car, decided to pay through the nose for insurance to reduce the excess from 2000€ to zero...  I never know whether to do that or not.  I mean it's not like you're going to go out of your way to have an accident, it's why it's called an accident!  But if I do have an accident, I'm certainly not keen on paying that much in excess.  Any way, let's just hope I don't need it now that it's done.

They gave me a scratched-up brown Megane.  I don't really like it, but it actually drives quite nicely, although, getting out of Dublin I stalled it twice!  And it has keyless entry which I've never had before.  I had my iPad with me, and I set the GPS to get me to my first port of call, Enniskerry.  It's one of the places where they filmed Ballykissangel.  I was such a fan in it's day that I thought I should go there and see the country side that way.  I got there in 30 mins!  

I decided to have lunch there at a cafe, and just had a sandwich.  The lovely old lady that served me (she probably wasn't that old, but she looked too old to be waitressing), seemed concerned that I wasn't going to get value for money, and tried to convince me to have extra filling in my sandwich, but I insisted a chicken and coleslaw sandwich would be just fine.  She eventually let me have what ordered.

Enniskerry didn't really remind me of the show though, so after having a look at the church and cemetery (there was nothing else in the town), I decided to drive on to Avoca, the other town it was filmed in.

In the car, I thought I would detour through Glendalough.  Actually, the thought process wasn't that simple.  The fact is that the GPS took me around in a circle leaving Enniskerry, and was about to do it again (you can fool me once, but you cannot fool me twice), and so I just took a right turn because at least there was a sign to Glendalough!  I turned the GPS off at that point figuring I would work out how to get to Avoca from Glendalough.

I got to Glendalough and thought to myself that I really should have planned this trip better.  Glendalough has a National Park, and when I got there, there were hoards of cars - people going on treks and picnics.  The area was simply stunning and I would have loved to have explored it more and done some walking.  I walked around for a bit, saw some old ruins, a church and cemetery, then got back in the car.  I turned the GPS on again but it wouldn't connect to the net (the iPad was connected, but just not maps).  I looked at my road map (which I should point out I purchased in Australia about oh, ten years ago or so....that's how long I've been thinking I'd be doing this trip!), but somehow ended up at Redcross.  This meant I had back-tracked a bit.  Another look at the map, and I soldiered on.

It was however quite late by this time, and I figured I just needed to get to Waterford from this point.  I drove through Arklow, Enniscorthy and New Ross.  I arrived in Waterford, but I knew I had to stop the car to work out where the hotel/B&B was before getting right into the town, not to mention I didn't think I could wait much longer before needing a toilet.  I found a servo, went to the loo, then turned the GPS back on.

Just driving into Waterford, and finding the hotel (one of the first ones you see when you cross the bridge to get to the Quay), I don't have great first impressions.  Then I had to go park the car, and just walking around, I felt like I was in a dodgy part of town.  So I checked in, and sorted out some paperwork and worked out a general itinerary for the next eight nights.  I'm glad I've taken the time to do that!  And I booked my next night's accommodation.  I'm going to stay in Kinsale after spending the day in Cork.  When I rang the B&B, a lovely man answered the phone, got my details, then made a point of making sure I knew how to find it, as well as pointing out that it is 7 ks out of town and that I should have dinner before getting to the B&B.  My dinner tonight however, has consisted of two oranges!  I didn't even go outside again to the convenience store I saw around the corner.  I haven't decided if I will spend any time in Waterford in the morning or not.  I probably should as it's one of the oldest towns in Ireland, but I read that the Crystal factory closed a few years ago, and Waterford Crystal is now made in Europe so I'm not sure how I feel about it all.  Let's see where the wind blows me tomorrow.

As an aside, the road trip so far has been simply wonderful.  Not like driving in Australia where the landscape can be so dry.  Here, everything is green.  But my favourite parts are where there are trees on either side of the road, that have grown so tall that they form a kind of 'tunnel' over the road.  The little Irish houses are gorgeous too.  Love it!

N.B. This post has been edited - extra photos added.

Two by half pints

This morning I woke up not feeling well at all.  I think it's my sinuses, damn them to hell.  But, rather that than a cold I suppose...  I went out to breakfast and thought I should try an find something substantial, as my poor diet of late has probably been contributing to how I feel.  I ended up back at the Parisian cafe from the other day, but this time I ordered coffee and an omelet.  

From there I made my way to do a walking tour of Dublin.  The main road was all cordoned off, police everywhere.  It turns out today is 100 years since the Dublin Lockout, and the city was undertaking a re-enactment.

The walking tour went for two hours and took us through little hidden/secret places, many that I hadn't come across in my previous days here.  The tour guide Pauline, was extremely knowledgeable on all historical matters, but I particularly liked her because she focussed on the social aspects, the people of Ireland.  And that's where my main interest lies along with the political aspects.

Google this story:

An old church converted to a pub and club.  Mr Guinness himself, married here:

She walked us through Temple Bar (and that's where I'm staying), and I thought I had seen most of Temple Bar, turns out I had missed, oh about a whole half of it.  She took us to City Hall and Dublin Castle as well as lots of other spots of interest and finished up at Trinity College.

After the tour ended, I went back to check out the other parts of Temple Bar that I had previously missed.  There was a food market on that day, so my lunch consisted of a piece of Apple pie (so much for improving my diet).  But on the walking tour I had noted that there were a couple of photography exhibitions near the food market so I went and had a look at both of them.  One of them isn't worth mentioning (although the portraits were excellent), and the other was from an artist who went back to where she grew up in Dublin, and whilst the photos were very good, the subject matter did nothing for me.

It was a really cold day in Dublin today, and this morning I hadn't put socks and boots on (because I was sick of them already), and so by this stage I was frozen and I just went back to the hotel, and had what is turning out to be a very regular nanna nap.  

I was intending to get back to another library today, but that didn't happen and when I woke from my nap, I actually had to spend a bit of time in the hotel sorting out my plans for tomorrow.  It's my last night in Dublin tonight, and tomorrow I pick up my hire car and start seeing some of country Ireland, and I needed to work out where my first stop was going to be, and book my B&B.  Without much deliberation, I decided on Kilkenny, then changed my mind to Waterford!

Content with sorting that out, I organised myself and went and got a bite to eat (Italian restaurant - unplanned, just happened, malangiana parmagiana).  And then I hunted out a pub to have a Guinness at, that also had live music.  I ended up back in the one I first went to on my first night in Dublin that the taxi driver had recommended.  

Live music all over Temple Bar.  Love it!

I thought I better start off with a half a pint because I wasn't sure if I would like Guinness.  That went down quite well, so I had another.  I'm now not sure if I like it or not, as it has quite a bitter after-taste to it.  The live band (one vocals/guitar, the other banjo) were incredible and had the place rockin'!

Dublin has been amazing.  But worth noting, it has only rained once since I've been here (it poured down for about 5 mins after I got into my hotel last night - perfect timing!).  In contrast, Milan rained every day I was there.  In Dublin I have been prepared by carrying umbrella and disposable poncho with me everywhere because rumour has it, it rains a fair bit here...  Actually, I have Jamie to thank for his recommendation to me many years ago (if you're reading Jamie, I'm not sure if you remember), but he advised me to plan to go to Ireland in September, as that's when you'll get the best weather.  So, firstly, I'm glad I listened, and secondly, let's see how this goes...  But if, nay, when it does rain, I plan to be prepared!

TGIF

I'm a bit behind in my posts, so catching up now.  It's astounding how hard I have to wrack my brain to remember what I did yesterday.  Curse my feeble memory!

Anyway, I was determined to get to the Kilmainham Gaol before the hoards of tourists so on the way to the bus I just grabbed a coffee and Lemon Muffin from a cafe that had people spilling out the door waiting for their coffees.  Ireland is turning out to be a bit like America, where it's a battle to find a decent coffee.  The muffin was great, the coffee on the other hand was repulsive and so it went straight into the nearest bin.  I had to resort to McDonalds for a McCoffee (there is a first for everything).  It was at least a bit better than the one I threw away.

Going to Maccas meant that I missed the first bus to the Gaol, and a line up started for entry, just when I got there.  The tour guides for the gaol are usually well educated history buffs.  The tour provides an excellent run down on the social and political history of the time, but with a focus on the 1916 rebellion.  It was excellent, truly excellent.

From there I went across the road to a coffee shop at another attempt for a decent coffee.  Only to be disappointed, again.  I caught the bus back to the centre of town and by this time it was time for lunch and I spotted a Vietnamese restaurant that looked quite good, so I stopped there and had a Vermicelli salad.

As an aside, all the toilets have been decent and clean in Ireland, hence no toilet stories!  And, the others thing I have noticed (in comparison to Italy) is that there are tourist information offices everywhere.  And people ready and willing to help at nearly every corner.  It is a pleasant and welcome surprise, and something Italy can learn from!

From lunch I got on the hop on hop off tour for the Docklands area of Ireland.  It reminded me a lot of Melbourne's Docklands.  This went past the U2 graffiti wall, which anyone is allowed to graffiti as long as it relates to U2!

This photo's for you Todd:

The Docklands area houses some huge IT companies like Google, Linked In, etc. etc.  A specific tax law introduced to bring in investment to Ireland makes it attractive for these companies to channel their profits through Ireland, and their Headquarters are here too.  They only pay 12.5% tax.  So, it's got a lot of new modern looking buildings, but interesting Dublin doesn't have many high rises at all.  Not unlike Adelaide in that sense.

I went back to Central Dublin for and went to a Gallery then a spot of shopping before getting back on the Docklands bus as I had an appointment at 5.00 with Alessia from Google.  Nadia had arranged for a friend of hers to show me around the Google offices.  I felt bad for Alessia as she was doing this in her free time for me at 5.00 on a Friday, but she explained that it was a good excuse to get her away from the office.

Now, I thought the Milan Google offices were impressive, but the Ireland offices are nothing short of jaw-dropping.  There is a full gym (as good as any paid gym I've been to).  A swimming pool.  Amazing terraces, kitchens fully stocked (include chocolate bars) etc. etc.  The aesthetics are appealing, and bright on all floors.  I like that they use Macs, and not Windows!  But the thing that really appealed to me was when I had to use the toilets.  Wait for it ladies....they provide tampons and sanitary pads for the staff too!  Flabbergasted.  I think big companies can learn from Google, but I'd be really interested to know if it impacts staff retention rates.  

View from one of the floors:

Alessia took me to TGIF, which is like happy hour for the staff.  The beer is fully supplied along with hot food.  I had a Bulmers on Google!  Alessia and I spoke at length about various topics.  Such a lovely girl with ambitions, and  plans.  Impressive.  

I had a good look around and noted I was definitely the oldest one there.  Alessia said (at 28) that even she feels old.  It would be interesting to work in a place like that, I wonder what the dynamics would be like?  Most of the staff looked like they were 25, and Alessia said that a lot of people move to Ireland for work, so then their work becomes their life, they make friends at work, go to the gym at work etc.   She said she tries to maintain a life and friends outside of work and pays for gym membership, but you can see how the cycle would occur, and how the company probably gets more from their staff than the staff do from the company.

Working hard? Hardly working.

This morning I woke at my usual hour I think, but fell back to sleep because I was feeling really sluggish.  I ended up sleeping in quite a bit so squashed my plans to go to the gaol as I had been told on my first day here that I should get there early.  So I made my way out to breakfast, which, guess what?  Consisted of a flat white and an almond croissant.  I just can't help myself!  It was from a French patisserie and it was delicious of course!

Then I walked to Trinity College, and just made it in time for the 11.45 student tour.  I had done one of these when I went to Harvard University at Boston a couple of years ago, and it was fantastic.  Today I was lucky enough to be escorted through the grounds by the gorgeous Henry, who will be going to Oxford to do an MBA in Criminal Science.  But it was lucky I heard anything Henry said, given how good looking he was!

Trinity College houses two out of the four 'Book of Kells'.  But I was more keen to see the library itself.  Henry told us that the Trinity College old library is the largest 'single chamber' library in the world.  That the library gets one of every book published in Ireland and the UK, and that for this reason, most books are kept in storage off site.  This means that when students want a book, that they have to request it and it has to get retrieved.  But the most amazing thing is that the books in the old library aren't arranged by any logical order, like, gee, the alphabet... no, they're arranged, wait for it... by size! 

After seeing the Book of Kells and enjoying wandering through the old library I went and had some lunch which was just a soup!  Then I started the hop on, hop off tour.  I did the whole circuit without getting off so I can work out what I want to see tomorrow (another taxi driver recommendation right there).

Molly Malone (or more affectionately known as the tart with the cart):

Somewhere during the day I bought myself a ticket to see 'Riverdance'.  And for dinner I just had an antipasto plate and a great glass of wine - a 2011 Baron de Badassiere (I can only read that as as being a bad-ass wine), Sauvignon Blanc from Languedoc, France.

It made me laugh at dinner when someone walked by and chatted to my waitress and asked 'working hard?', and without blinking an eyelid the waitress replied, 'hardly working'.

This was a sign on the restaurant window.

I got to the Riverdance show and took my seat, and it turns out Ross Noble's twin brother was sitting in the seat in front of me.  Tall as shit, and hair that would make any female jealous.  I had to move seats to see anything.

The ceiling of the hall:

Riverdance was amazing.  They dance so tall and straight, but their legs are going at the rate of knots.  Really incredible and impressive.  The physicality of it is astounding, but it is so well put together, and I really love the sound of ancient Ireland, I just love the music.  And when there are a stack of dancers all on stage together, their feet moving in total unison with the rhythm of the music, it is simply superb!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Hello Ireland

Yesterday I left Milan.  Nothing exciting to report about the whole departure, other than usual poor service at the airport.  My bag weighed in at 20.1 kgs.  And breakfast consisted of an Italian style doughnut (with a hole in the middle) and an espresso.  The flight was delayed by about an hour but it didn't really bother me.

Flying into Dublin, the could immediately see green everywhere, beautiful luscious green.  Outside of the airport were also great patches of green lawn.  So much more comforting than concrete!

I was looking forward to a taxi ride so I didn't catch the transfer bus to the city, even though it would have been much cheaper and taken me straight to my hotel in Temple Bar.  And I'm glad.  I got a great driver (although I expected nothing less), he chatted all the way giving me excellent recommendations for my drive itinerary, and also recommendations for around Dublin.  I took notes and reckon I will take him up on most of it and have already started the processes.

I checked into my hotel and settled in before heading out to explore Temple Bar.  I walked around a bit before settling for an afternoon lunch/dinner at the Elephant and something.  Steak sandwich, and a home made ginger ale.  Very nice.  Wandering around there were buskers you could listen too, but first impressions of Dublin weren't that great.  I went into a tourist office (you see them everywhere here, unlike in Milan where, despite the distances I trekked, didn't see one), and got some information and purchased a ticket for the hop on hop off bus (the green one, as per my taxi driver's recommendation).  

Then I wandered through another section of the city, and this is where I started to see what I was expecting!  I went into a Vodafone store and now have access to Wireless wherever I go!  I feel connected now.  Haha.  

Her right boob was hit by a bullet in 1916 :(

I explored a bit more of the city, but after having a couple of late nights in a row and early mornings, I was feeling in need of a rest and went back to the hotel again.  At around 7.00 I decided I was going to hit the pub - the one that the taxi driver recommended (are you starting to see a theme here), and I'm glad I did.  Grabbed a drink (not a guinness...that will happen...) and scored a stool in front of two guys with guitars.  They were great.  Some random dude from the audience started dancing in front of them with some fancy foot moves.  The crowd seemed to love him, but I just thought he was a dick.   I listened to the band for about an hour before another band came on.  There were three of them, violin, guitar and some sort of rhythm box that the dude played with his hands.  They were technically excellent, but no vocals so after about 30 mins, I just went to the pub next door and listened to some more live music.  Oh this is the Ireland I've dreamed of!