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May 10 - It rained overnight. The temperature is fine but once again it is cloudy and windy. I took my time and didn't go for breakfast until 9:00. I walked through a different part of St. Stephen's Green to the "Little Museum of Dublin". The museum is located in an old Georgian house with creaky wooden stairs. The main level display is about Christy Brown (of My Left Foot fame) and the 1st floor was everyday and cultural items from the 1930's through to the 1990's all relating to the lives of ordinary Dubliners. The top floor was divided in half - one room devoted to the history of the Irish Times (newspaper) and another room devoted to U2.
I wandered over to Merrion Square where there are a number of Georgian houses with different coloured doors, most of which are now housing businesses. They were built in the 18th and 19th centuries. The square is a park. I noticed quite a few fathers out with their young children, either on their own or with other fathers. It is Sunday so it must their turn to spend time and entertain the little ones. The parks are all very pretty
Huguenot Cemetery
Tucked away, back from the street, behind an iron fence, on the way to the Museum.and well kept yet I have not seen any workers. This involved quite a bit of walking so I went back to the hotel for an hour to rest my knee then headed out again. Since it is Sunday a lot of places open in the afternoon. I want to see museums today but first stopped at a pub called Foleys for some lunch. The bartender looked vaguely familiar which was not possible then I realized that when there was a certain look on his face, he reminded me of Colin Farrell. On the wall of the pub was a sign that said "In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria."
I got to the Archeological Museum just before it opened. There was an astonishing number of people waiting to get in. The museum is free so once the doors opened, we all got in quickly. The interior is impressive, there are mosaic floors, marble columns and fancy ironwork. I spent a lot of time going through all the exhibits including the 3 bog men. I didn't realize that 2 of the bog men were only the upper torsos. There were also
a couple of skulls. The Viking and the Medieval Ireland exhibits were excellent. There is a collection of Irish artifacts dating from 7000 BC to the present. There's a decent Egyptian exhibition as well. Next was the Natural History Museum which was on the opposite side of the block but there is not a walkway connecting them. It was necessary to walk all the way around. There were even more people at this museum, including many children. I couldn't believe how many birds were displayed. This museum is free as well so it's a good educational outing for kids. There is a grand Victorian staircase leading to the upper floors.
Footsore, I returned to the hotel. On the way back I was asked once again, for directions. I think this is the 3rd time. I must look like I know where I am going. Hahaha I have my last bus tour tomorrow so it's another early wakeup call. It is hard to believe I have been here for a week but it also seems like I have seen and experienced a lot.
May 11 - Today was the Cork/Blarney tour. I had to be at the meeting point
at 6:40 am. It was a large coach for quite a few people. The driver/guide's name was Gabe. He liked to tell stories but warned they may or may not be true. He was a real joker. When we came to a narrow road, he asked everyone to breathe in. I didn't know this but Dublin has two canals. The tow paths on either side allowed horses to pull the goods along the water. Gabe said that when the horses were pulling Guinness they were happy because they got the odd drink of beer. Gabe announced that he always started a trip with a song. He started singing "In Dublin's fair city...." the Molly Malone song because it promotes a sunny day. He has an excellent voice. Leaving the city, the Wicklow Mountains were on our left. The tallest is only 3,000 m. When a town's name starts with Cill (Kil), it is Irish for church. We passed an area and he said "here is where the turo bread is trained". I was thinking "what?" then realized we were passing the racetrack and he meant thoroughbred. My father had Irish blood. He sang or whistled constantly when I was growing
up. He also, had an excellent voice.
We changed direction and stopped at a town called Laois (Leash) for coffee and a toilet break. We now had the Blue Mountains on our right. Our first major stop was the Rock of Cashel in County Tipperary. Cashel was the original centre of the kingdom of Munster. The ruins are perched atop a huge rock, hence the name. The legend is a huge stone was cast out of the Blue Mountains in a storm. It is actually an outcrop of limestone reaching 60 m (197 ft). St. Patrick converted the King to Christianity who in turn, gave the Rock of Cashel to the church. As an important site, the church immediately began building. Dating from the 4th century, it was a centre of power for kings for over 400 years. The current scaffolding is to stop some of the stone from falling. Sometimes when walking around a site such as this, it is necessary to stop and turn in a complete circle. Stop and absorb the history, think of the feet that walked the same path.
Ireland's temperature averages only 5
o - 15
o C however it can reach 24-25
oC in
the summer. The lush green grass is due to all the rain. There are about 7 million cattle in the country - more than the human population. About half are used for milk and the other half for beef. The cattle are not grain fed, they only eat grass which is why the milk and cheese is so beautiful. The products are almost organic! I did notice all the towns and villages have butcher shops.
The last large battle with the Vikings took place around 1095. 1172 brought the arrival of Henry II and the beginning of British rule. In 1948 the south instituted the Republic of Ireland.
To kiss the Blarney stone is to receive the gift of eloquence. It was placed at the top of the battlements and is actually a piece of the Stone of Scone, a gift from Robert the Bruce. In order to kiss it, you have to lay on your back so you are suspended backwards under the parapet. There is a worker there to hold onto you as you reach to kiss the stone. When we arrived at the parking lot, there were about 12 coaches already there. I didn't want
to spend all my time in line for the stone so instead thoroughly enjoyed walking around the castle ruins and the grounds. I later found out some of the others waited 1 1/2 hours to kiss the stone.
When I first walked the path to the castle there were some drops of rain but it quickly ended. Along the path was a harpist setting up. He was so in keeping with what I felt was quintessential Ireland - long reddish, curly hair and a beard. He looked the part. Further along, I checked out a cave but didn't go too far because I had to bend low, it was mucky, and I didn't have a flashlight. There is a "poison" garden, all plants that can cause harm and a carriage house. I also walked a ledge beside the castle walls. After exploring the castle ruins, I headed to the Woollen Mill and souvenir shop. I had some wonderful broccoli soup at the cafeteria. The Woollen Mill has beautiful sweaters, cardigans, scarves, etc. but they are very expensive. You would think it would be cheaper in a country with so many sheep!
Cork is the 2nd largest city in
Rock of Cashel
Cormac's Chapel Ireland and was established on the River Lee. Patrick Street is the main street. The people here drink Murphys or Beamish beer NOT Guinness. It is not far from Blarney and we spent an hour in the city centre. It really seemed the same as the centre of Dublin or Belfast. I had a leisurely latte, a toilet break and a nice stroll. We were back on the road and had just left the city when a rook swooped up and flew sideways right into the coach one seat ahead of me. It must have misjudged the distance and I am sure that was its death. The bang caused everyone on the coach to jump and gasp.
By this time it was later in the day and we could see cows headed in a single file back to the barns to be milked. At one location there was actually an overhead cow bridge for them to cross the highway safely in their single line. Then.. a highway sculpture. This was several figures that looked like African natives standing, ready for the hunt with their spears. In another spot was a tower house ruin and in the background quite a
few modern wind machines - the ancient and the new. Another tale by Gabe told as we passed the navy's training grounds: because Ireland is neutral, the navy has 2 rowboats, 2 outboard motors, and 2 boats a little bigger. He had a similar story about the army and the airforce, each with 6 pieces of equipment. As we drove back into the city, he finished the trip with a lovely, poignant song.
May 12 - My last day in Dublin. It seems I have been here for quite awhile because I have done so much. It was good to see the sun shining when I looked out the window. While having breakfast, I tried to plan my day. I was going to walk and take city buses but decided instead to buy a ticket for the hop-on, hop-off bus so I could see the places I had missed previously. My first stop was Dublina, a museum by the Christ Church Cathedral. It is set up primarily for children but I quite liked it and found it interesting and informative. The 1st floor is all about the Vikings, the 2nd floor about their early life in Dublin and the
3rd floor demonstrates archeological methods and artifacts.
My next stop was the Guinness Storeroom. I initially thought it was expensive but the "museum" is really extensive over six floors. There is a central glass atrium shaped like a giant pint glass. In the tasting room we were given a small glass to try. Since I am very allergic to beer I only had a sip and since it is not something I normally drink, it just tasted like beer to me. I couldn't really tell how it was different from other beers. In the tasting room they had a "mist" rising from a couple of short columns with the scent of the beer. The smell seem to activate my allergy making me feel faint so I did not linger. Many others in the room seem to revel in the smell, breathing deeply. An excellent tour for beer lovers.
My next stop was St Michan's Church. Unfortunately no one was around and a sign said the next tour was at 2:00 pm. It was only 12:45! The church is surrounded by law courts. I smiled watching barristers walking around in their black robes, white collars and wigs. For some
reason, this was slightly thrilling - perhaps because I am used to seeing the outfit only on tv. I couldn't see any eating establishments but did see the Jamieson Distillery. The same as Guinness but whiskey. I thought there had to be a restaurant or two in close proximity. I did not buy a ticket for the tour but did eat at their restaurant. I had fish and mushy peas. I was not keen on the peas because they were....well.....mushy. I left there a little before 2:00 and headed back to the church. Shortly after I arrived, a young couple appeared as well as a father with 2 young children. The church is small and very old, best of all it has a crypt! It was built during the 17th century. I originally came into the yard through the back gate. The backyard was somewhat overgrown with ancient tilted gravestones. Anyway, after a look around the church, a guide invited us to go outside where he led us to some doors near the ground that looked like a storm cellar or loading doors leading to the basement. He wasn't very big, had a slim build, looked weatherworn and set his
half-smoked cigarette on a ledge created by the church's stone wall and unlocked the padlock on the doors. He only opened one side and told us to be careful climbing down the stairs into a crypt. It was a bit of a squeeze with my daypack on my back. The stone steps leading down were of different heights so it was necessary to watch your feet while ducking your head to avoid the low stone lintel. Once inside the crypt, the light was low, there was lots of dust, some cobwebs and two large "cells" or rooms. The first was quite dark and contained coffins. The second also contained coffins but had better lighting in order to see 4 mummified bodies in open coffins as well as a couple still closed. The bodies mummified because of the conditions in the crypt. The guide was a real character using a lot of humour when describing the bodies and the speculations around them. For instance two of the bodies are female and it is highly unusual to find females in the male dominant world of the church. He was also being dramatic for the two children. He would walk with a heavy
step and play things up. As he was doing this, I realized the back of my right hand was bleeding freely. I must have banged it against the rough stone. In keeping with the guide's dramatic narrative I thought, "oh no!! Crypt germs!! Leprosy....the plague!" My silent panic was interrupted by the guide opening the gate to the cell and inviting us to shake the hand of the 800 year old mummy referred to as the Crusader. Easily distracted, I said "oh yes, of course!" I actually touched only the bony, musty middle finger of the man at the back of the cell. It felt like smooth marble. The Crusader had his legs broken so he would fit into his coffin. The other man was missing a hand and his feet. No one knows why. Was he a thief? If yes, how did he come to be in a church? Were his feet removed so he fit into his coffin? Again, no one has the answers. Their true identities were somehow destroyed in 1922. We scrambled out of the crypt then the guide opened a 2nd. Our group was then joined by a woman and her 2 grown sons. The
second crypt was as difficult to enter but I didn't cause any more spilled blood. This one was bigger and had more "cells" but was just as musty and cobwebby. The guide asked us where we were from and had fun teasing each of us. He had a good knowledge of each country (Canada, U.S., and France). In this crypt two of the bodies were men executed on Bastille Day for treason. They had tried to use the French Revolution to foment trouble in Ireland. Instead they were hung then quartered. The guide made the visit highly interesting and entertaining.
Once I left the church, I caught the bus again and completed the tour without any further stops. Once back at the hotel I arranged a 3:45 am taxi and headed upstairs to pack. I wanted to try and get a little sleep before I had to leave for the airport. Home again, home again, all too soon!
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