Step 59 The European Leg - Ireland North & South

Saturday 9th April - Saturday 16th April


Somewhat less exciting and troublesome check-in at Faro thanks to our investment in a set of travel scales. Much easier balancing the bags at home than on the floor of the airport!

There are 32 counties in Ireland (North & South). Thanks to our planning and Tammy the Sat Nav taking us on a couple of detours, we managed to visit 20 of them in the week.

As per our plan, we started and finished in Dublin, but after picking up the car we drove up to Belfast to pick up Elke who had visited a friend from Uni on Saturday night. That should read "we eventually picked up Elke in Belfast". It would appear my time off from the IT industry has not improved my technology skills and there was "an incident" with loading the UK/Ireland maps on to Sat Nav (GPS) that was not resolved until after we blundered our way around the Belfast one way street system (blind). Anyway, it all worked out in the end - probably shouldn't have been so cocky about the flight from Portugual being drama free.

Second night in Ireland, this time in Northern Ireland, at Carrick Fergus. Home of the world famous Carrick Fergus Castle

Forsooth fair maiden thy hair doth match my tunic

Elke: "Is this how Cher did it????"
Di: "Give me a go, give me a go. I'll show you the tatt on my butt" 

So, after the National Trust Guide threw us out......

It was off to the Giant's Causeway

Glad we didn't bring Mighty Merc - could have been a bit of a squeeze

Di reckons the sheep here have thicker jumpers than at home

Should have ordered the 4wd version

 Before you get to The Giant's Causeway there is an opportunity to cross the rope bridge at Carrick a Rede. A 30-metre deep and 20-metre wide chasm crossed by a SWINGING in the wind rope bridge

  That's NOT us - we passed on the opportunity to walk across.


The Giant's Causeway though - we're up for that

The Giant's Causeway has often been described as 'The Eighth Wonder Of The World'. Legend has it that it was formed when the Irish giant Finn McCool was having a bit of a barney with the Scottish giant named Fingal and Finn built a bridge by throwing rocks. Strangely believable when you see the rock formation. Detailed records are sketchy but the exchange went something like:
 Finn: "Oi ya great Scottish nancy boy, what's with the skirt?"
Fingal: "See you ya ginger Paddy, if there was a bridge over there I'd show ya who's a nancy boy"
Finn: "Well cop this, I'll build ye a bridge then"


Anyway, ticking the to do list item "Giant's causeway" it was off on the coast road again and round to Bushmills Whisky Distillery

Before - the Irish Coffees took their toll on the uprightness of the tourists

Hands up anyone who knows how Ireland got the title "The Emerald Isle"

Now that's a castle ! Built by Richard de Burgh in the sixteenth century -  he was Chris de Burgh's great great great great great great great
grandfather. He didn't pay the ferryman, so it got re-possesed by the bailiffs. 

In a random choice from the tourist guide we overnighted in Derry. Known in England as Londonderry and hence the only word in the English language with six silent letters.

Derry is the only completely walled city left intact in Ireland.

Photo of the "Free Derry" murals taken with a very long telephoto lens
Working on the sound advice that we were given -
"if the area looks dodgy it probably is. Don't go in"

Austins - allegedly the oldest department store in the world.
Di & and Elke have now done the trifecta
Austins, Harrods and Maceys

The other side of the wall

On the road to Dublin

Shortly after this photo was taken, Tammy the GPS decided it would be a jolly jape to take us through the middle of the town that appeared on the news last week. No, not the town celebrating the start of spring with a flower festival, the town where the bomb went off! 

Dublin - and the River Liffey

The second part of El's Ireland wishlist, Dublin.


And in Dublin where else would you go?

Mmmm - Irish stew. With Guiness

Mmm Guinness - without the Irish stew

Seems to be a theme forming here on this trip

Dublins oldest Pub

The other part of Dublin life

oh, and I nearly forgot, one more important part of Dublin life

Molly Malone - Sing along with me now "wheeled her wheelbarrow through streets broad and narrowCrying cockles and mussels alive a-live O!"

PS - the bus driver told us she also had a sideline going in "adult entertainment". Who knew?


Editors note: follow Di's advice, always take the City Bus tour when visitng somewhere new. Very informative and entertaining.

Hands up who recognises this?
No. not Di and Elke.
Give you a clue - it's a jail
.
.
.
Did you get it?
It's the jail from the (original) Italian Job
"Hang on, lads; I've got a great idea."

 And this is where Elke left us, to head off on her "hockey tour to Italy" as she described it. Suffice it to say a) they did play at least one game of hockey and b) she survived.


Meanwhile Di and I continued on and visited the last seven counties of this trip

Did you know - they don't serve Kilkenny in pubs in Kilkenny.
But the Black and Tan, a local delicacy made up of half local bitter and half Guinness, is very close.
And very tasty

Kilkenny Castle

No, not a castle
It's an Observatory - in Cork 

If your car is too small to fit the pram in the boot
Strap it to the back!

I love Ireland
Full of culture
Loads of pubs

Through streets broad and narrow...

This was one of the narrow ones
In Cork

And to finish our trip to Ireland -
Dinner in a Pub, near the Airport

Di also loves Ireland
The wine glasses are as big as the pints

Editors note: judging by the meal we had at this Pub, the reason they had a potato famine is that they eat lots of potatoes here. Standard serve with the roast dinner: five roast potatoes 
and two scoops of mashed potatoes.


We skipped the mash - and three of the roast potatoes!


Next stop - Blighty. The Mother Country, home of the Queen, The Beatles and at least for the moment - our little girl