Safari So Good

“I took the road less traveled and that made all the difference.”

On Saturday, June 30, there was a Gay Pride parade planned for the area around our hotel. In order to avoid the crowds, we decided it would be a good day to ride the train from Dublin to Dalkey – a small town about 11 miles south of Dublin.  It was just KarenAnn, Kenzie, and I.  Lexi was going to the activities with her friends and Amanda had gone home.

A raspberry scone, raspberry jam, and whipped Devonshire cream with a little rainbow flag for Gay Pride Day!

After breakfast at our new favorite place, The Queen of Tarts, we walked to the Pearse Street Station and Kenzie figured out how to buy tickets.  As we were waiting for our train, I asked a young Irish Train Attendant if we were on the right train and he proceeded to assure us we were and then gave us lots of information about Dalkey and where to go while there.  After a short ride we arrived and walked to the Coliemore Harbour, where the locals were enjoying the unusually warm weather.

We then walked back into town and found the Dalkey Castle and learned there were interactive castle tours every half hour!  We had lunch at the Queen’s Bar and went back to the castle to go on the tour.

Dalkey Castle

Having lunch at the Queen’s Bar. We got one of the spots in the shade.

During our tour we learned where the following sayings come from:

One square meal a day — the working men used to be served their food on wooden plates that were square, so it was important to get at least one square meal a day.

Strike while the iron’s hot — when they performed surgery in those days, they had an iron tool that they would put in the fire until it was sizzling hot.  It would be used to cauterize the open wounds, for example when a limb was amputated.  It was important to “strike while the iron was hot” in order to stop the bleeding.

The red and white barber poles came from the strips of cloth used to catch blood when operating.  After they were used (which made them red and white), they were wound around wooden poles which were then placed outside the buildings where there were barberies (surgeon offices) and where the barbers could be found if one needed to be operated on.  (Not sure when barber came to mean someone who shaved men).

Beyond the pale – came to mean the area beyond the pale (a stake or pointed piece of wood or fence made from the stakes), so to be beyond the pale was to be outside the area accepted as ‘home’.  Pales were enforced in various European countries for political reasons, notably in Ireland.

What a cute little town. And there were dogs everywhere – lots of dog people here -made me miss my pups!

A re-enactment inside the castle.

KarenAnn and Kenzie at the top of the castle -where the soldiers would keep lookout.

A view of the church and graveyard from the top of the Castle.

This is where we ate lunch – next door to the Castle. We ate under that umbrella in the corner.

A view of the hillside from the top of the Castle.

Wandering about town.

THE TROUBLES   “You may kill the revolutionary, but never the revolution.”

We had to get up very early to walk to the Starbucks and catch our tour bus to Northern Ireland.  It was about a 20 minute walk and we had to be there at 7 am!!  

Before heading out I said goodbye to Amanda, who had to go back to Montana and her 3 year old, who was anxiously awaiting her return.

We arrived to the bus on time and headed to Belfast, the capital city of Northern Ireland.  Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, which means they use a different currency (the pound, like England) than the rest of Ireland (the euro).

It took a couple of hours and as we traveled through green hills our tour guide told some stories about the Troubles – the term used to describe the revolution that has occurred in Northern Ireland over the last 400+ years.  

We were also informed that today would be the hottest day in Northern Ireland EVER recorded!!  31 C (almost 88 degrees)!  Fortunately we did have air conditioning on the tour bus but (as an aside) NOT in the hotel.  It has been very hot at night.  We did get a rotating fan the second night of our stay and it has been on every night, all night since.

We were offered one of two tours in Belfast – the Titanic Museum (not the Titanic itself, of course, as that is at the bottom of the ocean) or the Black Taxi, which was a taxi ride to several key areas by a driver familiar with the conflict.  The four of us all opted for the Black Taxi and we were not sorry.  Our Driver was actually a political prisoner for 11 years.  He told us that in 2000 there were peace talks between Ireland and the UK and that then President Bill Clinton came over and helped negotiate a peace treaty that still holds today.  He said the Irish hold him in high regard for that.  There is concern that Brexit could jeopardize Peace in Northern Ireland.

This was one of the first buildings we came to once we got to Belfast.

We heard about the revolutionaries that died when they went on hunger strikes and about murders that were committed by both Catholic and Protestant paramilitary soldiers.

An interestingly shaped church.

While things are much calmer, there are still issues in Belfast.

Bobby Sands – born 9 March 1954, died 5 May 1981, was a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who died on hunger strike while imprisoned at HM Prison Maze after being sentenced for firearms possession.  He was exactly, to the day, 2 years younger than me.

Our taxi — our driver (in blue) was a member of the IRA at one time and spent 11 years in prison.

A wall – separating the Catholic neighborhood from the Protestant one. Most think it should be taken down, but it’s hard to take walls down once you put them up.

A memorial to all those killed during the Troubles.

One of the more interesting murals of the many, many on the wall.

This song piece explains what the hunger strike was about. The IRA were political detainees until the Queen decided they should be treated like all prisoners.  That didn’t go over well.

A church near the memorial.

At the end of the taxi tour, our driver dropped us off at the Titanic Museum so we could meet up with our bus.  We had a few extra minutes to check out the gift shop and get some pictures.  Then, we all boarded the bus and headed off to Giant’s Causeway- a geological phenomenon.  Geologists say it was formed from the cooling and shrinking of successive lava flows over 60 million years ago.  But Giant’s Causeway is also steeped in myth and legend — carved from the coast by the mighty giant, Finn McCool, who left behind an ancient home full of folklore.  Local people believe that between the hexagons, the mythical features carved out in the rocks and the tumbling sea, there’s real magic!  

A geological wonder with over 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the Giant’s Causeway is the result of intense volcanic and geological activity.  

We didn’t go through the museum, just hung out in the gift shop and got some pizza from the cafe.

The girls listening to the audio guide we got as part of our Giant’s Causeway self-guided tour.

Aren’t these formations amazing? And isn’t Lexi cute?

This is one of my favorite pictures. Just thought the little daisies looked so cute growing around the rocks.

After departing Giant’s Causeway, we headed to our last stop — the rope bridge.  The four of us started down the very hilly path and after 1 hill and 1 very steep rock stairway (with another steeper one to go), I turned around and went back.  I knew I could make it down, but was pretty sure I wouldn’t make it back up!  But KarenAnn, Kenzie, and Lexi made it all the way and crossed the infamous rope bridge!  This area is also noted for having scenes from Game of Thrones filmed here.

This is the first part of the trail. See how far down it goes? Those are humans -not ants.

The rope bridge was down by the tip of that point to the left. A very long trail and you can’t see the steep rock stairs (2 sets) or the 3 hills that one had to go over to get there.

Opposite view. Games of Thrones was filmed around that area.

More ant-like humans on the trail to the rope bridge.

As we left Northern Ireland to go back to Dublin, we passed miles and miles of pasture filled with sheep, cows and occasionally horses.  It also became obvious why Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle.

Seven-arch limestone bridge across the River Nore in Kilkenny is included in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.

Irish countryside – so pretty!