Carrick-a-Rede

That night we heard drumming until very late in the night, but the natives didn't quite make it the 4 miles from the town to the hamlet.

I had no clue about this tradition/holiday and I'm glad that chance made me pick the most out of the way place possible on this particular day. We later learned that there had been bust ups and minor riots in Belfast and other cities.

Over breakfast the proprietor was telling us that it was difficult living between 2 religions - no shit! But nothing bad happened in our little corner - a part from the whole ATM incident, (no worries, have back up). There was a reason I had picked this little out of the way place though...it was right in the middle of 2 very great sites.

The first one we went to visit was Carrick-a-Rede, which means rock in the road. This area used to have a big salmon fishing industry. There was one particular spot that the salmon favoured - it's a small island just off the coast, and when I say just , I mean just. It's like a section of the cliff dropped off in between the main land and this piece of rock leaving it stranded. For over 350 years fishermen in these parts would string up a rope bridge to cross over the chasm to reach the best spot for catching migrating fish. The industry died when the fish stocks were irreparably depleted. Now, thousands come from all over the world to cross the flimsy bridge 30m over the sea to enjoy the fabulous views and wildlife.

It's a very cool place to visit and we were lucky enough to see a single seal basking in the sun dappled sea. The island was loud with the cries of all the sea birds and we were particularly taken with the flying penguins...ok they're actually called razorbills, but seriously, they look like penguins.

Opposite Carrick-a-Rede, there are the Larrybane cliffs. This is the limestone headland  on the west of Larrybane bay. They used to mine the limestone and dolerite here until the early 80's. Much of Glasgow's cobbles come from the stone in these cliffs. Scotland is only about 60 miles out from this area.

On the Road

On our last morning in Dublin we took a local double decker bus. We weren't quite sure where we were going so we stayed downstairs. We were off to pick up the rental car.

We were given a lovely new Skoda 4-door sedan with a trunk (boot) big enough to sleep in (not as yet tested). Now driving a new car - well, new as in different to your own - always has a learning curve involved: the clutch is different, the brakes are different, the widgets and doodads are in different places...like the indicators. All this to say that I was indicating with the windscreen wipers for a while. Jolene got her navigator cap on and after one wrong turn, we were off to the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland!

We didn't want to go by way of Belfast, which is the usual way to go, instead we headed towards a little town called Armagh that I had seen mentioned on a travel program. Apparently it has a great public library.

There are no borders to cross and the country side didn't really change all that much, but after driving for about an hour we were no longer in the Republic of Ireland; we were now in the United Kingdom.

We arrived in Armagh without mishap at around lunchtime. We parked and walked to the

tourist information centre to get a map and some directions. The chap there told us that the library was closed between  12 and 2 so we decided that this was a good time to have lunch. We bought some extra fixings at the local supermarket to extend the left over veggies and hummus we already had and then headed to a park we had seen indicated...oh did I mention that it was yet another glorious day? The park it turns out, had the ruins of an old Friary that was founded in 1263. So we ate our lunch with the bones of centuries past.

When we were done we meandered our way through to the top of the hill to the Public Library.

It's an unassuming building built in the late 18th century - not particulary old in these parts. We needed to buzz to gain entry. We entered through a large door and climbed up the stairs as directed by the voice at the door. This small library has books from the 17th and 18th century as well as illuminated manuscripts, books printed using hand carved wooden blocks, to the first edition of Gulliver's Travels with revision notes in the margins by Jonathan Swift. This is an incredible place for anyone who appreciates the written word.

But onwards and upwards!

As we continued on our way we noticed that almost all of the towns had flags everywhere. Union Jack  flags. We remarked on it because we thought it was a little curious, but just thought that they were particularly patriotic in these parts.

This night we were staying in a proper tavern/B&B in a tiny hamlet near the Giant's Causeway. When we arrived they told us that although breakfast was included, they did not serve dinner there but if we went to the small town we had passed on the way in, we would certainly find something there.

We freshened up and off we went . Again, we saw British flags flying as we entered the town. We parked in a lot at the edge of town. Behind the parking lot there was a large field, and in the back of the field there was a very large stack of palettes, wood, and even a couple of old couches. It was well over 3 metres high. On top was the Irish flag. Hmmmm. We began to feel a little uneasy.

We both needed some cash so we went to the ATM. Jolene went first and when I went. The ATM ate my card and wouldn't return it...and then it had the gall to tell me to take it gracefully! This evening was not going well.

As this was a small village our options for restaurants was rather limited. So we chose the one that had a vegetarian option available. We had to walk through a courtyard full of people in the middle of some kind of celebration. Young, old, seemed like a good part of the town was there. They were well on their way to getting smashed. By this point we had figured out that this was some sort of British holiday and it had something to do with a battle with the Irish. I tried to ask some questions of the waiter, but he was evasive. Yes there was a bonfire tonight, but it was going to be quite late, midnight. Yes, it was a holiday - no more details. He seemed uncomfortable talking about it.

During dinner we could hear the people in the courtyard below singing.

The Battle of the Boyne was fought between the Jacobites and William III (William of Orange) in 1690...and lost by Irish/Scottish forces. Folks in Northern Ireland that belong to the Orange Order celebrate heartily this victory. There have been riots in Belfast on this day in the past. We picked the perfect day to go to Northern Ireland.

Wandering the Streets of Dublin

The next day started out just as beautiful as the last two. The question today was do we go see indoor things that are interesting or do we stay outside? The lovely weather won out.

We made our way up towards the Liffey, which is the river that runs through the city, and then we walked along it. We were going towards the Viking/Medieval area of town.



Christchurch



It is believed that the Vikings settled the area of Dublin in around 840. Imbeded in the sidewalks now are reproductions of artifacts that archeologist found from that period. Near the civic offices there is also a small square that has cobbles in the paved area that form a traditional Viking longhouse.

I must say at this point that it was all overshadowed by the Christchurch church. It is as massive as it is beautiful. We walked around it snapping picture after picture. The price to enter though was a little unpaletable however so we stayed outside. There was an ice cream and coffee seller inside the gates as well and there were many people lounging in the sun, sipping lattes...somehow this, coupled with the hefty entry fee, dimminished the whole mystique of the place.

We moved on.



St. Audoen's - the ruins of the main knave



A little ways more we came across another church (I swear there's one every 50 feet). This was St Audoen's. It wasn't as impressive as the other, but it had a lovely, inviting garden with tall grasses and pretty flowers. We gladly walked through it, if only for a bit of nature in the middle of all the concrete and brick. The path lead us to the entrance of the church...Free entry...hmmmm

We walked in and discovered that this was originally built between 1181 and 1212 (expansion you know). This church has continuously served it's parish for the last 800 years! It still holds services to this day.

Inside it is divided into two parts down it's length. One is the church proper and the other side is a sort of museum. It's in this part that they have excavated a part of the floor so you can see the cobbles of medieval Dublin. The whole place was interesting, because although there was a lot of info on the church itself, there was also lots of facinating information on life in the 12th century, the influence of weathly merchants as well as information on the birth of the guilds - the most interesting being the Barber-Surgeons....scary!

From there we went off down a road at random and ended up at St.Patrick's Cathedral (see every 50 feet!). This was built in 1192 and on the grounds is, allegedly the well where St. Patrick baptised the folks of 5th century Dublin.

- A note on churches: As I mentioned there are heaps of churches here and I'm not noting the demomination, coz to me they're all the same...I know, I know, I'll burn in hell for that...

We weren't there to see the church though, we were there to sit on the grass a while and munch on the lunch that we had brought along with us.

After a wee rest and lunch, we went through the antique shop district. There we saw the most exquisite pieces of fine furniture, clocks, statues and carved wood that made the 'antiques' of Canada and Australia pale by comparison.

Now, there was one place that we did want to visit that was indoors, and that was the National Museum. We headed over to it and just before we got there we had to wade through a pro-life demonstration, complete with dead fetus pictures and shrill slogans.

The museum is absoluetly fantastic. Just the building alone is worth a visit. The displays are also very impressive - including incredibly well preserved bog men. These were found in bogs and most were brutally murdered...a few centuries ago. There were also displays of Viking, Medieval, and Neolithic Ireland. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

When the museum closed, we crossed over to St.Stephen's Green, a massive park established in 1663. It even had a big pond with swans! As we entered I remarked that it looked like a Renoir painting...men and ladies promenading in the park, pond glistening in the late afternoon sun...yes, all very civilised....until the Euro dance music coming from the iphone of a young man ruined it all.

We then circled through Merriton Square (1752) on our way back to the hostel. It was surrounded by typical Irish row houses, now mostly business offices. Inside the park we gave our tired feet a rest and noticed, while sitting there, that there was a very large tree that appeared to be covered in a huge tablecloth. The people scattered about the park basking in the leftovers of a glorious day, didn't seem to notice it. Curious.

Well, it wasn't quite dinner time yet, but we both agreed, as will you no doubt, that it was time for a pint of Bulmers. Fine Irish cider!

Bottoms up!