Ireland

Monday: Lyon

Posted on by Susan

Today was a beautiful Monday, close to 80 degrees and sunny. We took advantage of the nice weather (it is supposed to rain all of tomorrow) and walked around Lyon for most of the day, checking out some shops and enjoying the architecture and the old city.

It is remarkable how many restaurants, coffee shops, and bakeries are here – one right next to another – and they seem to be thriving. It is a beautiful old city.

photos: 222 steps going up ( and down)

below: peanut butter, apple, walnut toast for breakfast

beautiful old buildings are throughost the city.

Monday: Athlone

Posted on by Susan

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Today was partially a travel day. We left Galway in mid-morning to drive to Dublin airport and drop off our rental car.

(I haven’t mentioned how handy it is to have brought an older phone with us to which we added a EuroSIM card. We can easily figure out where we are going when we are walking around towns.)

We stopped in Athlone – a nice little city – and got some laundry done and (yippee) I got my hair cut a few doors away while we were waiting. Those bits of housekeeping accomplished, we continued on to the airport. We dropped off the car (We wouldn’t rent a car in the UK again. Driving is too stressful) walked to the hotel shuttle (no easy feat with bags of clean clothing to carry, until we rearrange suitcases) and made it to our hotel where we are now in its restaurant.

Tomorrow we fly to France.

photos: Athlone, a pretty city on the east bank of the River Shannon.

A busy Monday at the laundry. Still, we got squeezed in. ” I don’t want you leaving Ireland with dirty clothes,”  said the kind woman in Suds. 

 

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Saturday: Cliffs of Moher

Posted on by Susan

It was a wet, wet, wet day to visit the Cliffs, but since we are just in the area today, we went anyway.

The 45-minute drive there was pretty, as all drives around Ireland have tended to be. As we got closer, we saw more than a few large coach tour-buses. I guess rain won’t stop anyone’s plans.

There’s a short walk from the parking lot to the cliffs, and it gets more amazing with every step. We walked up the slick staircase to get the best look we could, but there were no puffins out today. Nor were there any other sea birds or the wild goats I had read about.

The cliffs themselves are fantastic, and I’m sure they could be unbelievable on a sunny day. The rain continued. We watched a short film at the visitors center and eventually left.

We had planned to have lunch at a nearby town, but it was deluged with tour buses so we kept driving and found a pub about a half- hour away. The sun came out at the end of the day and our Saturday was complete.


photos: a rainy, foggy day at the Cliffs.

Friday: Ennis

Posted on by Susan

We left Wexford after breakfast this morning and set off for Ennis, about an hour from Galway and 40 minutes from the Cliffs of Moher.
Ireland has so many roundabouts which come up sometimes one after another. Still, the drive went well and we stayed on course.

We stopped along the way for tea and a snack, and enjoyed the beautiful countryside, green and often full of grazing animals.

We arrived here at about 3:30 and had lunch. I was happy to go for a swim in the nice (but hot) pool.

Tomorrow we will check out the Cliffs of Moher.


photos: above – the golf course near our hotel.

below: the hotel (and town) pool, well used by I was the only one in my lap lane.

animals grazing throughout the countryside

Thursday: Wexford

Posted on by Susan

With Hurricane Lorenzo threatening rain and wind today, it wasn’t the best day to go to the Wildfowl Reserve, but we aren’t in Wexford long so we seized the moment anyway.

We had an interesting drive on some back roads – small houses set close to the road, huge houses behind gates and then the reserve at the end of a dirt road.

It was much too cold to take any of the hikes they had mapped out but we could see birds from the observation tower. There was a class of adorable school children in the tower too, and they were fun to interact with a bit.

We eventually left and went into the town of Wexford, where finding a parking space is no joke. We did, then walked around a bit in the cold rain. The rain and wind got worse throughout the afternoon as the storm made its way to our part of the country.

We had a delicious dinner at the hotel and planned for our drive to near Galway tomorrow.

photos: Hurricane preparedness while we were out of our room today.

below: a view from the tower. bird looking for food at low tide

Tuesday: Dalkey

Posted on by Susan

 

20191001_132526This morning’s weather was rainy, windy, cold, and generally miserable. We still followed through with our plan to go to Dalkey, a suburb of Dublin that is about a half-hour train ride from Dublin.

My cousin lives there (she is in the U.S. for a few weeks so we had to change our plans to spend a few days there this week) and so does Van Morrison, Bono, Sinead O’Connor, and some other interesting people. Dalkey is a charming city and even though we were not going to stay there, it was still worth checking out.

Or was it?

The walk to the Dublin train station was a bit of a struggle with the wind but we got there eventually and didn’t have to wait long for a train.

Once in Dalkey, it seemed to be even colder, windier, and it continued to rain as we walked into town.

We were content to sit in a warm, dry coffee shop for a while and then left and tried to enjoy the shops on the main street.

Eventually we had some delicious seafood chowder and decided to go back to Dublin. It was not the best day to visit Dalkey. The train on the way back was delayed for an hour because of the weather and I was grateful we were sitting in it rather than waiting on the platform.

Eventually we realized that the train we were on aas not going to our intended destination, so we got off and waited for another one – frustrating.

We walked back to our hotel and have a fun dinner with our Ireland-based niece near where we are staying. This salvaged our otherwise cold day.

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Monday: Dublin

Posted on by Susan

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It is a rainy day in Dublin but we still made the most of it. First, I was happy to see a 24-hour gym directly across the street from where we are staying. I was there at 6am and on the rower for 45 minutes, my first good exercise (aside from a ton of walking) in a week. It’s a nice place and well used. Tomorrow I’ll remember a towel!

I sat in a nearby coffee shop after that and was happy to read my book before going back to the hotel for breakfast. It’s always interesting to see what Breakfast Included ends up meaning, and this was a fine selection of coffee, tea, and cold food.

We walked to Trinity College after that, where my traveling companion/husband saw the Book of Kels (I had been there before) and the very impressive library there. I walked around the city and popped into some shops before meeting up with him again an hour later.

We walked to the river and checked out some places near there, then had lunch as it poured outside. We went back to the hotel where he left me so I could do some work.

photos: above – a pigeon staying warm on a light. below – breakfast; gym rower is perfectly positioned under a nice cool open window

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Sunday: Dublin

Posted on by Susan

We left Edinburgh after breakfast this morning, and the bus to the airport was conveniently across the street from our hotel. We hopped on (well, our luggage weighs a ton so we didn’t exactly hop).

Our flight left about a half-hour late, but we were in no rush. The flight was on a small plane(70 passengers) and packed.

Once at the airport and through customs, we got our baggage and looked for the bus to Dublin Centre. We found it pretty easily, and an hour later we were at our hotel.

The hotel is hip and terrific. Our room is spare but nice, and we are in such a great location, within walking distance to some great pubs, restaurants, and shops. It is a happening place here and (bonus) I’m happy to have found a gym right across the street. I’ll be there in the morning.

We found a restaurant in our walk around the hotel neighborhood and I was able to get Sunday brunch: eggs, corn, polenta plus a delicious mojito.

We left and were sucked into a chocolate shoppe where we sat outside with a dark chocolate hot chocolate (me) and a latte (him). Drinks come with a complimentary chocolate, so there was that.

Tomorrow, Trinity College.