Filed under: Clare
On Monday we went to the Cliff of Moher. The Cliffs are amazing. There are 214 meters high – which means a 214 drop over into the ocean. But there is a little wall built to keep people (by people I mean Aine) away from the cliff.
I visited the Cliffs with Anita and Darla last month. There are a lot more flies this month.
After we visited the Cliff we went into the interpretative center – the coolest part was the virtual reality video taken of a bird – then fish – eye view of the Cliffs.
Also we learned a little bit about the area – for example puffins live near the area. I didn’t realize that and I love puffins. At the Como Zoo the puffins and the polar bear are in the same building – it’s my favorite building.
Filed under: Clare
The big news is that Grandma and Grandpa are here. Everyone is so excited. Our plan for the week is to stay in Lehinch on the West Coast of Clare – about 5 miles from the Cliff of Moher.
On Saturday we started the drive. Seven of us and our luggage just about fit into the car. Well, we fit if some of us sit on the golf clubs – but we made it. Grandpa is doing all of the driving. Aine told him he was doing a very good job – we all agreed. Driving here takes some getting used to – adding in the driving on the left, the mini-van status, the shift, and the Irish road signs.
We took a detour to see the Rock of Cashel – my favorite castle of all times. The weather was perfect. Most of the pictures are from there. I wrote about my trip to Cashel with Anita and Darla last month so I won’t write too much again.
At about 5:00 we arrived at our house in Lehinch. It is amazing!! It’s big, it’s new, it’s the best of American and Irish features. There are 2 couches near the TV with full able/Sky so that was a big plus. The girls may be sick of Disney before we leave. There is even WiFI for me, which is great! We are about a 20-minute walk from the beach. And we’re living amongst the cows – there’s an electric fence to keep them out of our yard.
Filed under: Dublin
We met up with friends from Minnesota – Brenna, Quinlan, Rowan, Kevin and KC. They are temporarily living in Galway but also hail from St Paul.
It was fun to meet up with them at our neighborhood park. We met for a picnic because it was another gorgeous day! Then we played around the playground equipment. Brenna and Aine are the same age and quickly became best friends again. Quinlan is about the same age at the big girls – I think he falls right between them and they seemed to get along very well too.
Aine and I met up with the crew again on Friday too. The big girls were in school and the crew was leaving Friday afternoon but we enjoyed a great afternoon in Dun Laoghaire.
It is always fun to talk to folks who are in a similar boat and to hear what experiences and opinions we shared (too expensive but fun) and which we didn’t. Because they lived in Galway, a smaller town that Dublin I think they had more of a routine whereas we saw a lot of different things. It would be fun to be able to do both as I think they had met more people in their routine – but I think we got to see a wider variety of things.
Filed under: Dublin
After the MOMA we went to visit the Science Gallery to see the TechnoThreads exhibit. I wrote about the exhibit a week ago (or so) when Patrick and I went – and forgot the camera. So I’m just going to let the pictures and video speak for themselves…
Filed under: Dublin
No, no more accidents for Aine – we went to the Kilmainham Hospital (home of the Museum of Modern Art) for a picnic. We took the bus into town and then walked past Euston station (and 10 miles in kid steps) to the museum. We were getting hungry, tired and crabby and then we finally came up on the amazing gardens of the hospital.
They are beautiful!
It’s kind of a hidden pocket of tranquility in the middle of a ton of buildings and construction. We had a great picnic because it was a beautiful day. And then we ran around the gardens. It’s not super maze-like but mazy enough for Aine.
Then we visited the art gallery. The art is very modern so I liked it. The big girls and I had a good game of “what would you name it?” We had fun helping Aine not touch anything. We really enjoyed the make-some-art room, which was really just a room full of art supplies. What a great idea! We spent about 30 minutes in there making our own masterpieces.
Filed under: Dublin
Yesterday we went to visit Dalkey Castle. The weather was beautiful so we took a bus to Dun Laoghaire and walked the mile (or maybe 2) to Dalkey. It’s a very nice area – like a mile away from Bono’s house nice.
We stopped in to see the Dalkey Castle. Actors toured us around the castle and I have to say that we maybe saw some of the grossest things we have seen in Ireland in the castle – but I mean that in a good way.
We had a few etymology-type lessons. Although I guess it was more history of signs and symbols rather than words.
We met a barber-surgeon. She had a pole that she used in her work. Around the pole she tied bloody bandages to dry. The effect was a red and white striped pole – just like a barber’s pole you might see today.
The cook showed us the plates for the gentry, which we pewter-type plates that looked fairly similar to what we have today. The hunters had square wooden plates – ensuring that they always got a “square meal”.
The archer taught us the history of the 2 finger salute, which is much bigger here than back home. The gesture is pretty much a backwards peace sign – and pretty much means the same giving someone the finger back home.
Well, when the archer told us that when the scavengers would come down from the hill to rob and ransack the castle the archer would show them two fingers, indicating that he was primed and ready with the bow and arrow. If an archer was ever attacked the first thing they’d do was remove their fingers so that they wouldn’t be able to shoot an arrow.
Other interesting facts – the cook hung the clothes of the gentry in the latrine because the ammonia in the urine was supposed to help with the cleaning process.
The barber-surgeon asked for a volunteer for some blood letting. Guess who quietly but forcefully raised her hand? Aine – but the blood letting did not change her humor at all. We learned a little bit about how the job of the barber is to keep the humors in the body balanced to keep everyone in good health. How did they test the humors? By drinking the urine of the patient. Also we learned that puss was very good for curing wounds. So, when they amputate a limb, they put dung in the wound before they cover it up with a flap of skin to promote faster healing. (I warned you – gross!)
The castle was attached to a heritage center that celebrated various authors from the area such as: James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Maeve Binchy, Joseph O’Connor, and plenty of others. Most weren’t from Dalkey – but we from the surrounding area.
Filed under: Dublin
Just wanted to proudly point to the article Kate and Lily had published in the recent edition of the Irish Gazette (Top 10 Places to Visit with Kids in Dublin).
Filed under: Boyne Valley
On Saturday we went to Drogheda. It’s about 30 minutes north of Dublin on the road to Belfast. (Well it’s 30 minutes on the fast bus, but on a Saturday it’s really only 45 minutes on a slow bus. We had the opportunity to check one on the way there and one of the way back.)
Drogheda was chartered in 1194 and is known as the Gateway to the Boyne Valley. (Yup, that name is familiar and it is the place of the Battle of the Boyne.) New Grange is in the Boyne Valley. There used to be a great wall surrounding the city – six feet wide at the bottom, 2 feet wide at the top. Naturally I can’t remember how high it was.
Back to the day… We actually were going specifically for the Drogheda Arts Festival. Well, that and I’ve wanted to visit since we passed Drogheda on our way to Belfast.
Taking the bus was very painless. We got into town and headed to lunch where we had the worst hamburgers ever. We walked by St Mary’s Church to get there – and Patrick remembered that in the church was the head of Oliver Plunkett. (I hope the picture turns out.) So, naturally we had to go see that. It was creepy in a cool way. Patrick, who is nightmare-inducing told the girls that his eyes open once a year. So I spent the next hours asking them if they really through that a head that has been dead since 1680 or so would really be winking at them.
Just a quick tie in while I’m talking about morose topics – Oliver Plunkett was hanged at the Tyburn in London. We saw it while we were there and we learned that the term hangover comes from the Tyburn. They used to do a lot of hangings there. People used to party around the hangings and the next day would talk about the hangover.
Back to Drogheda … we walked around and you could see how old certain parts of the city were –especially wall remnants and churches. Finally we found the art festival. There were lost of booths, a jumpy castle thing, a band, jugglers, and lost of action like that. It was very nice. There was an 80s band playing – and I have to say that I prefer the Irish version than the American as there are fewer power ballads and more Madness and the Undertones.
So we hung out there and then decided to walk down the river to the Martello tower. The river is nice and they have built up a lot of shopping areas. Then we trekked up the hill to the tower. We were a day late for the festival to have moved there (as today they are having a lot of reenactment stuff) but we knew that. But I have to say that the staff who were there were super kind to show us around – despite the fact that I’m sure they had a billion things to do for today.
They showed us these great silk tapestry type things. They were actually union banners – but there were beautiful. They are painted with designs to match whatever union/industry they represent. They are painted on both sides. One had an Adam and Eve scene on the back and you could see that originally they had been naked that (upon the church’s behest) someone had painted clothes on them.
The coolest part was touring the tower. It had actually been bombed in 1922 – but was repaired 8 years ago. The view was amazed – but inside the tower was cool too. Two floors were above ground, one was below. The fire exit on the lowest floor led into a secret passage back to the site. The guide told me that there are loads of secret passages in the tower and the barracks.
So pretty much, that was our day in Drogheda. We had a great time!
Filed under: Uncategorized
Carnac answers: Three places we visited this week.
Dun Laoghaire
Last Sunday we went to lunch in Dun Laoghaire. So while many of my friends in Minnesota we getting slammed with a foot and a half of snow – I was walking down Dun Laoghaire Pier.
This is our least creative activity for a Sunday but it’s always good. I took a couple of pictures.
TechnoThreads
I forgot the camera, I could have cried. It was so cool. We are going back (to the Science Gallery) so that I can get some pictures so I won’t say much today except to describe a couple of the exhibits. First there were the hugging shirts. They are set up with sensors and blue tooth. So you give a shirt to your friend, and then if you hug yourself with your short on your friend will get a hug through her shirt.
Also there was a shirt made a Guinness, a shirt made a red wine, and a an organic short. There’s also an area where they are growing organic leather through mice cells. (OK when I go back I’m going to double check that one.) The shirts are about Barbie-size but it is a look concept.
Finally there’s some kind of combat shirt. It reacts to your fight/flight response. Or maybe the shirt’s response helps you decide which way to go. It’s was not working the day we were there – but again I’m hoping to go back.
Drumcondra
On Wednesday we went to St Patrick’s College in Drumcondra for the second annual celebration of John McGahern’s birthday. McGahern was an Irish poet, who went to St Pat’s. The event was organized by our friend Derek Hand. It included a talk and reading by Colm Toibin, an Irish novelist.
The event was very nice. The talk was good. There was food with the wine afterwards, which I always think is a smart addition. There were some bigwigs in Irish Literature at the event. The campus is a little bit like the College of St Catherine back home, (which is a nice).
My favorite thing of the night happened on the bus on the way home. St Pat’s includes a big teaching college. The teachers-to-be were having a big dinner dance or party. The teachers-to-be were drinking a little too.
So, we got on the bus with a group of tipsy young women dressed to the nines. There were very loudly talking in Irish. (I think you still need to know Irish to teach in a national school.)
They started to talk to some young guy – first in Irish. Clearly he didn’t speak Irish any better than I do. He gave the same tiny phrases that I would know. Finally he said. “I might be Irish but I don’t speak it.” To which they replied that they were going to be national teachers. To which he replied. “So why are you drinking on the bus?”
It was a great line and I feel he could have gotten many teacher-to-be phone numbers if he had tried.
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