I got home last night – very tired but happy. Myr flight was late and turbulent – although the flight attendants at KLM were very good. It took an hour or more to get through MSP passport processing – not sure why.
It was so nice to hang out with Kate. She was a little under the weather but she was a trooper. We had a good time seeing new things and going back to nostalgic places. Kate really likes traditional music and classic art. You can see it in her art.
For myself, I was able to work some (thank you broadband) but also had a nice break. My hope was to walk 10 miles a day. I walked more than 120 miles over 10 days. I’m going to miss that. It’s nice to be back home (thank you Minnesota heating) but I’m also sad do be away.
I thought I’d share the quick videos and some unused images from the last 10 days.
The last day in Dublin is always bittersweet. I’ve had an amazing time, I’m cold and tired and I’m OK to go home tomorrow and I hate flying so much I’m also already sick. As a special treat the winds are about 25 miles per hour today. I was almost worried about my glasses flying off my face. But Kate and I can think tough. So tough we took the DART to Howth. Poor Kate is still under the weather, so she didn’t last long. I just about made it to the end of the closest pier and back. You can see how crazy the wind was from the video below. But it was nice to see Dublin Bay from the Northside.
We headed back to town for lunch and last-day shopping. It was a good activity on a windy-cold but bright and dry afternoon.
I snuck into The Project Arts to get us tickets to our night show and got to see Kate Cooper’s Ground Truth. I used to drag the girls here to see very, very modern art. Kate will admit now that she doesn’t like modern art – but something must have swayed her to the art world.
We went to see Ghosts at night. It’s a one-person show that recounts different stories spanning Gen X fears to the anxieties of adulthood woven together with Greek myths and ghostly tales to create a uniquely engaging, frightening and relatable experience. It was funny, relatable and thoughtful. Then we ended my visit with drinks at Grogan’s. I had not been there in a long time. I forgot how much I liked that well-managed plavce.
Today I revisited Dun Laoghaire with a walk down the east and west pier. Dun Laoghaire is about 7 miles from Dublin city center. It’s a port on the east side of the Dublin Bay. When the girls were little, we lived nearish to Dun Laoghaire or at least near enough to walk the pier regularly. So, this was a nostalgic trip. Sadly, Kate has been sick so she didn’t come.
It was a cold day. I think it was 40 degrees, which would be balmy in St Paul but between the wind off the ocean and the dampness, it’s bracingly cold. But I was rewarded by seeing four porpoises. I was sad not to see any seals but porpoises are a pretty awesome trade. They just seem so cheerful.
I also checked out the new library. Wowzer! The view from the window is from the library. It’s a fantastic addition to the town.
Tonight I met my friend Karina for drinks and dinner. It’s always fun to hang out with someone so smart that I’ve known for so long.
Last night Kate and I went out to Whelan’s Ones to Watch show, which would have been called best new bands in Minnesota. We saw three bands: Sheep, Peer Pleasure and Blue State. I loved Peer Pleasure – very punk. Fun to be at a local music event that’s not in Minnesota. Funny how quickly you can still appreciate the comradery and local support.
Today was a relaxed walking day. I started off before Kate. I thought I wanted to see Andy Warhol at the Hugh Lane Gallery but turns out I’m too cheap to get tickets, but I did see “Suzanne walking in leather skirt” by Julian Opie. I love that video; I remember when it was installed.
Roaming around between the gallery and EPIC HQ, The Irish Emigration Museum, I saw so many fun things. I walked by the Markievicz Swimming pool, where I swam daily for a summer many years ago. I saw a house where Bram Stoker lived when he was a kid. A huge nod to people who made the house so obvious, or I would have never known! I ended up walking down to the North Wall, where I saw an amazing sculpture of musician Luke Kelly. It’s huge and the hair is so perfect. Then I made my way to EPIC in time to see a gorgeous rainbow. A nod to the weather when the only rain I walked through led to the epic rainbow. To be fair, I think it rained every time I ducked into a shop and that rain made 35 degrees feel so cold but not as cold as if I had been out in it.
Kate and I went to the Emigration exhibit. It’s a full-on multimedia experience. With your ticket you can visit once again in the next 10 days, which would be helpful since there’s so much to see. Parts feel very historical, like the information on the famine and parts feel absolutely contemporary because emigration is still very much a part of the Irish experience. Also equal rights for women and everyone play highly in the exhibit, something we’ve been working in Minnesota for more than 100 years. And/or I realized, I must be getting old because especially when they talked about the music of the 1980’s I realized I had seen most of the bands and mourned the Mean Fiddler, a venue in London that closed years ago. My favorite section of the exhibit was They Gave the Walls a Talking, the story of Shane MacGowan.
Our post-museum plan was to check out a flea market in The Liberties and we did but it was more of an art market than the vintage clothes secret shop we were hoping for. But we had fun walking through the city. We popped into the National Gallery for a quick look. We were there last summer and it’s someplace we frequented when Kate was young but it’s always fun. Then a quick look at the Oscar Wilde statue in Merrion Square, one of my favorites. We saw fun things everywhere. I made a point to stop at several James Joyce/Ulysess landmarks because they are always fun to see and bring back completed and abandoned attempts of walking through Bloomsday (touring Dublin on June 16 in the path of Leopold Bloom, the main character). It made me think that I should write a St Paul (ok maybe Twin Cities) version of Ulysess to help celebrate and memorialize my home.
Kate and I traveled from Galway to Dublin yesterday once Kate finished work. We got in late, and being fair we were both tired and possibly crabby. I had been outside all day and Kate had been working a new job. But after a drink we both warmed up. We are staying in the city center, half a block from the Liffey behind Trinity so we headed into town through Templebar, the touristy/trendy part of town, which wasn’t too busy but the bars were too boisterous. I dragged her to the heavy metal bar at Bruxelles, which was actually not busy and pretty nice. Then we hit The Palace, another old favorite.
Today I did something new (to me) in Dublin. I can’t say that every day! I walked to Poolbeg Lighthouse. It’s in Dublin Bay right where the Liffey pours in, well a mile out on the pier. My big mistake was walking to the site from the flat – it ended up being about a 7-mile walk. Part of it is a fun walk, down the Liffey, through a very-family park and then you hit a very industrial part of town. I found myself surrounded by stacks of train cars and power generation stuff. The road became less pedestrian-friendly. Mostly big truck were passing me on the famously too-narrow road. Occasionally, a jogger would pass. Then I passed a waste management treatment center. (Yes, it smelled!) I was about to turn back because I’ve sent myself on these sort of boondoggles before. Then I turned a corner and found myself on the beach on the “other side” of the Poolbeg Stacks, the striped-like-barber-pole chimneys. You’d notice them in any picture of Dublin Bay because you can see them from anywhere in Dublin. It was very cool! Then it’s a short hike to the pier to the Lighthouse. It was a gorgeous day – a perfect day for a windy, windy walk. I’d definitely recommend doing it – but I might drive, bike or uber to the pier. (Even I uber home after I realized I had 8 miles done and an afternoon of shopping planned.
Then I met up with Kate in town. We spent the afternoon thrifting around the city center. We had a lovely Thai lunch and checked out charity and vintage shop in Templebar. We walked down Grafton Street where we got to see Christmas decoration and buskers. It was a perfect day of new activities and old favorites. And now we’re recovering before we head out tonight!
Filed under: Galway
I’m writing this Friday evening as we take the coach from Galway to Dublin. Kate had to work today so I was solo all day. I do enjoy a free day of doing whatever I want. I will admit I probably had two hours longer than optimal alone-walking time. (Sidebar: on top of her artist residency, Kate recently started working at a hotel.) It was a gorgeous day – lots of sun and not much rain at all. I got 12 miles of steps in; I’m not even sure if they have 12 miles of street in the City Center. I spent the last 40 minutes pretending to be a guest in the lobby of a very nice (and warm!) hotel lobby. I’m just going to organize photos by idea rather than any sort of linear chronology. Think of it as my Beckettian post of the trip.
Claddagh
Claddagh is the part of Galway city where the River Corrib meets Galway Bay. It used to be a fishing town. (Bonus factoid: I was told several times that the River Corrib is the fastest river flowing in Europe. It’s formidable – and that’s from someone who walks by the Mississippi River often.) Many folks know the Claddagh ring (pictured below). Well, rumor has it that the design came from Richard Joyce in the 17th century. He was apparently kidnapped by pirates and sold as a slave in the West Indies to a goldsmith. He learned the trade of jewelry making and eventually got back to Galway where he created the hand and heart motif.
Street Art
Art is big in Galway. I learned from the Galway City Museum that the poet has historically (going back centuries even) been a well-respected position and Galway was top Cultural City of Europe for many years – until bad weather caused them to cancel so many festivals. (Or so I was told by a local.)
Galway Cathedral
I popped into the big Cathedral because I had a long time. It’s gorgeous inside and every much a working church. Lots of people lighting candles and praying. I love the St Therese of Lisieux corner. (It is my middle name.) Although, I sometimes question the idea that she became a saint by doing many good little things. I like the concept except I don’t they’d make a man a saint for doing many good little things. Maybe it’s the word little. Honestly, it sems like being consistently kind, helpful and generous can be much harder than one big miracle.
Galway City Museum
All of the signage in the museum is prominently in Irish and English. There’s an exhibit on the history of Galway going back to Druidic culture and language. That morphs into a more recent history of Ireland decoupling from the British colonizers. (I won’t say more – you can buy me a beer if you want my broken recollection of the history.) There are also very family/kid friendly exhibits on science and Ireland and giant Galway hooker (the boat) hanging from the walk. But my favorite part was the collection of gig posters from 1979-1982 called This is the Modern World, as a nod to The Jam.
Filed under: Galway
Today we traveled via van through Connemara. We thought we were going by big coach, we went on little van. But apparently, we were the bold hounds who grabbed the only seats with tables in the back – even though we weren’t the first to arrive – so we were very comfy. We heard all about the area enroute from our fantastic tour guide, Padraic Moran from Wild Atlantic Way Day Tours.
Connemara is in Western County Galway, much of it on the Atlantic coast. It’s known for ponies, stones and Irish speakers. The Connemara ponies are smaller than most horses so apparently it’s a good starter for horse riders. Connemara stone, or Connemara marble, which comes from the area. It’s a greenish stone. Connemara is the largest Gaeltacht (Irish speaking area) in Ireland. There are still many Irish speaking schools and many summer schools or other programs where people might go for accelerated, immersive language lessons. The connection to culture is as close as the language.
Much of day was spent checking out the views of the Atlantic Ocean and the Aran Islands and/or the 12 Pins (aka 12 Bens), which is a mountain range. (The Banshees of Inisherin was filmed on the Aran Islands. So, it’s that kind of stark, creepy, yet beautiful world of lots of nature and few people.)
At one point, we seemed to drive through a rainbow. The weather is wild. It can be sunny and storming at the same time. We had a day where the harder rain really held off until we were on the way back to Galway. Otherwise, there was plenty of mist but nothing to hold us back too much. And we had lot of clear skies to see the Islands and mountains when the views were the best. Skyway Drive was a spectacular view of the coast. My palms were sweating the whole way from the heights.
The big stop was Kylemore Abbey. Actually we had a choice between the Abbey of climbing on of the 12 Pins. On a less rainy day or with better clothes, I might have gone with the mountain hike. One out of eight on our tour did.
The Abbey is majestic from the outside. It feels like it’s in a mystic, foggy valley and deep woods. The building was originally a castle built by John Henry. He gave it up after his wife died and kids grew older. It went from hand to hand until someone lost it in poker game. Eventually, the gambler ran into harder times financially and the sisters were able to buy the abbey for a song. It was a boarding school for the elite. I can only imagine the ghost stories they told. It still is an abbey for the Benedictine nuns.
On the way home, we stopped by the famous bridge from the Quiet Man, a movie I should probably watch at some point although John Wayne doesn’t sell it to ne much.
We brought the good weather with us. (Well, me I guess.) It’s been torrential rain for weeks but today was gorgeous. But that I mean it was sunny half the time, lots of cloud and rained (gently) at least 5 minutes every hour but that’s all we needed. I started off walking to Kate’s place. She has a room and studio space at an artists’ residence. It is in idyllic setting. There are cows in the back, chickens to one side and you can see a derelict castle a short distance away. Kate told me that often the rainbows seem to end in their back garden.
Our original plan for the day was to rent a car and drive to nearby sights. I said I’d pay if Kate drove. Unfortunately, we learned that you need to be 25 to be an insured driver in a rental car. So, we had to go to plan b. (In the years I lived here I never once drove. I hate driving at home, can’t imagine it’s more fun here.) We ended up taking a taxi out to Salthill, a beachside town just outside the Galway town. We could see a rain most of the hour or more we were walking. It is a gorgeous area. We also saw a fair number of swimmers – nutty as that seems.
Then we had a little break before we had an amazing dinner at Ruibin. I had chicken liver pate, Kate had something vegan that she really liked and we both had cocktails. It is a lovely place; we’d been there before.
Then we head out to see some Irish music. You’d be amazing how many pubs there are to choose from in Galway. Kate seems pretty well-versed on the topic. So, I was in good hands. We saw some impressive music – with background of sports cheering and discussions.
Filed under: Galway
The first step is the hardest is never truer than the start of an overseas vacation but my New Year’s resolution is to travel more in 2024. (It even rhymes.) And why not start with a visit to Kate in Galway. I left Monday (Jan 1) at 9pm, traveled and now it’s 5am on Wednesday and I’m jetlagged.
The travel was fine. I flew to Amsterdam, and had three hours to wait for my next flight, so I got a little walk in around the airport. The highlight was seeing the Schiphol Clock, it’s giant clock above a main terminal and it looks like a man is standing in this giant airport clock, painting the hands in real time. I feel lucky I even noticed it. According to Atlas Obscura, the painter is actually a 12-hour-long recording, that gives a convincing illusion that a human is standing inside the translucent clock, busy at work as the hands go around. The artists, Maarten Baas, is a well-known Dutch artist and designer that has a series of similar live clock recordings.
I more intentionally sought out Rijksmuseum Schiphol, which seems to be a sample plate of a larger museum in town. A few amazing “Dutch master” sort of paintings. I noticed a big trend in painting women selling fish.
I finally caught the flight to Dublin. I hightailed it to the coaches and got an express bus to Galway. I was feeling very lucky since it did sell out. It was dark and rainy but still nice to be in Ireland. Kate met me at the Galway station with a Diet Coke and croissant in hand. Two of my favorite things in Ireland. What a thoughtful kid. We taxied to the Maldron hotel, which happens to be where she works. Let’s just say, I have a very nice room.
We headed to the city center. It was damp, but not raining. (Very important distinction.) We had a nice dinner – three cheers for seafood chowder -then walked around and checked out a few pubs. There was live music in many of the pubs. Often it’s a choice of tradition or cover music. We went with traditional. There was amazing musicians. The key is finding an intimate place that still has good seating for us.
We capped off the night at a heavy metal/rock pub. See if you can figure out all of the featured artists on the mural. (One mural is on the ceiling, which made it harder to capture.) More adventures today!
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