(continued from previous post)
Ok, I promise this will be the last post on this trip! After leaving Killarney, we headed up to Galway, We checked out of the hotel a little late, because we wanted to soak up the peace and quiet as much as possible, so we pulled into Galway right around rush hour. The hotel was pretty decent,
although it had terrible wifi, and had an attached restaurant where, with a reservation, we became the least-well-dressed and youngest couple (by at least 20 years) to have a freaking delicious meal. Thankfully, we both overate horribly, because the waitstaff was not what I'd call speedy, so we had plenty of time to digest before the bill came and we went back to the room to pass out.
The next day, we drove into oldtown Galway, parked by the water, and began to wander. Since we didn't really plan anything, this turned into somewhat of an adventure as we left the shopping district, found a train station, trespassed on abandoned private property to get a good view of the Bay, got rained on, and found a random cemetery. Knowing that my gentleman and I both appreciate quiet and old spaces, we decided to duck in, counting on the fact that it had a plaque near the front gate to indicate that it was, indeed, open to the public, and we weren't further trespassing.
There were some pretty neat graves there, including some clearly intended to keep graverobbers from getting in, or zombies from getting out. Apaprently, it has been in use since the 1500s, although some of the older, more worn headstones and capstones had been repurposed to provide walking paths, which felt a little disrespectful. Still, it was clearly kept up and still in use, as evidenced by more recent headstones and a pretty good variety of roses that smelled and bloomed beautifully along the path.
Random side expedition aside, we did make it back to the shopping area, where we watched a small video on claddagh rings by, supposedly, the original claddagh makers (the legend of the ring stems from the town Claddagh, now a part of Galway). Interesting, and a nice way to get out of the rain for a bit. Once it cleared up, we kept wandering, and found the Galway Cathedral, the most recent (1965) European Catholic Cathedral. The stained glass and decoration was beautiful , but as it's an active church, we didn't stay for too long.
Far more interesting (to my mind) was the walking paths and millrace along the river between
oldtown and the cathedral. It was absolutely beautiful, despite a bit chilly, and it was neat to be bordered on one side by the rushing, wild river, with the placid, calm millrace (which came from and emptied back into the same river!) on the other side. There were life preserver stations at regular intervals along it, which I hope is for when drunk people fall in, because I couldn't imagine going into water that cold without being "well fortified."
We walked another couple miles that day, then headed back to the hotel for what appeared to be rugby practice in the field right outside our hotel. Thankfully, they didn't stay up too late, and we were able to get to bed at a decent hour.
The next day was the drive back to Dublin and out last night abroad. Since it was a fairly short trip (~3 hours), we decided to take a side trip to Birr Castle - another castle/science mashup out in the middle of nowhere. After about half an hour of some very artful driving by my gentleman along less than generously sized back roads, we arrived in Birr in a light rain. It wasn't too bad, though, so we set out to explore the grounds, which were gorgeous. Sadly, we couldn't tour the actual castle, as it was being occupied by the current Birr lords, but the grounds do offer views of it. The picture to the left was taken from the far side of an actual (dry) moat. How. Freaking. Cool is that. I want a house with a moat and a 20-foot tall wall to keep people out...
Turns out the third earl of Birr (1800s) was an avid scientist, and built what was the largest telescope in the world for 70 years before it was surpassed. The picture really doesn't do it justice - it's basically a 6' diameter, 30ish-foor-long barrel positioned by winches, and was responsible for the discovery that galaxies are spiral. I don't know what it is about Irish optimism and telescopes, as the person viewing through it basically had to sit outdoors, exposed to the weather, sandwiched between stone walls acting like wind funnels, to see anything on rare clear night, but apparently the earl made significant contributions to astronomy using this and other telescopes he made. The guy was a pretty decent lord, too, as he decided that his scientific advances should benefit everyone, making Birr a central point of knowledge in the 1800s, and providing skills and employment to the locals, who were employed to make and upkeep the equipment. Record has it that the Great Potato Famine
in the mid-1800s had little effect on the estate and the town, because of this. Moreover, the ladies of Birr were encouraged to participate, and because rather experts at photography and photo development, a rarity in that time period.
Nifty science stuff aside, however, the grounds were beautiful. They included a centuries-old, massive tree that provided shelter when the rain intensified, the Guinness World Record tallest box hedges, a lime orchard planted in the shape of a spiral galaxy (because why not), formal gardens, and select specialized areas for different biomes. Sadly, the rain didn't let up, so we didn't get to see it all, but we did stop in at the greenhouses (so jealous!) and saw some truly beautiful plants. The above two-toned Oxalis was just randomly shoved in as ground cover around a rosebush, which gives you perspective on the beauty of the other plants. I could do a whole nother post about the plants, but I realize it's not a common hobby, so I'll move on.
When taking photos of the route to Birr, I'd noted another route back to the highway that would have been faster, had there not been the 2016 Ploughing Championships going on that day. At the time, we had no clue what that meant, other than a multitude of signs saying "All Non-Ploughing Traffic Detour HERE" and pointing us back the way we came. Judging that, if they put that many signs up, it was probably wise to follow them, we took the same route back. Turns out the other way would have shaved about 30 minutes off the ride... and taken multiple hours longer. Once we got around the detour, the traffic heading toward the Championships was literally stopped. Like, "police standing in the middle of the road, so that cross traffic could get through" stopped. If you're curious what the championships are, and who won, check it out here. We just moved on.
Unfortunately, the detour meant we hit Dublin right at rush hour. We managed to get to our final
hotel just as the sun was leaving and the rain was coming in. Totally worth it, though, as the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel is an 18th century castle transformed into a luxury hotel with fine dining in The Dungeon (yes, they even named the restaurant that). I'm not well enough acquainted with "fine dining" to know if it is synonymous with "slow service" or if we just happened to get bad waiters both time. The food was not bad, but somewhat of a letdown after all the other delicious meals we'd had. It was more than made up for, though, by the view from the balcony in our room:
It really gives new perspective to the phrase "lord of all one surveys." That covers quite a bit of ground, really.
That night was spent trying to repack and balance the weight between all the suitcases - remember, we had six extra pairs of very large boots from London, plus some odds and ends we'd picked up along the way. After a bit of discussion on the merits of staying vs going back (steady paychecks won out), we turned in early (for us), and got up the next day in "plenty of time" to get to the airport for a 12:30 flight. Or at least, that would have been the case if the bus drivers of Dublin hadn't been on strike again. At one point, our progress was measured in car lengths per minute. Since I am deathly allergic to being late, I was rather stressed out, despite my gentleman's attempts to soothe me.
He was right, however, and we made it to the airport in time. We lucked out and got row 3 for the flight to Iceland, and row 1 for the flight to BWI, giving us a bit more legroom, although the seats were still ridiculously narrow. Since it was daylight for this flight, I caught a couple pictures from the airplane, including the rifts in the ground as we came in over Iceland (being situated a volcanic island situated over the Atlantic ridge), and this shot, which looks boring at first:
If you think about it, though, we were in a tiny tin can, flying over absolutely nothing, halfway between water and space. That water, those clouds, the air that's keeping us up... that's all we have. Maybe we ought to keep a little better care of it, because when it's all screwed up, there's nowhere else for us to go. Yet. They say travel changes your perspective - this isn't one I was expecting, but it hit me pretty hard.
Anyhow, the flights back were (thankfully) uneventful, customs and immigration went smoothly, and we were back home by 7pm that night (midnight, Dublin time). After sleeping for an incredibly long time, I went to work next next afternoon (Friday) to clear out my email and catch up a bit. Turns out, working half a day, then having a weekend is a fantastic way to end a vacation, and we were able to resume work and normal life without too large of a wrench the next Monday.
Overall, the trip was a success, we had a wonderful time, and my gentleman has definitely caught the travel bug. We're probably going to stay domestic and hit a few conventions in the US next year, but 2018 (knock on wood) will definitely be international again. Not sure where, just yet, but there's a whole world out there, and we're gonna see it. Cheers!
Ok, I promise this will be the last post on this trip! After leaving Killarney, we headed up to Galway, We checked out of the hotel a little late, because we wanted to soak up the peace and quiet as much as possible, so we pulled into Galway right around rush hour. The hotel was pretty decent, although it had terrible wifi, and had an attached restaurant where, with a reservation, we became the least-well-dressed and youngest couple (by at least 20 years) to have a freaking delicious meal. Thankfully, we both overate horribly, because the waitstaff was not what I'd call speedy, so we had plenty of time to digest before the bill came and we went back to the room to pass out.
The next day, we drove into oldtown Galway, parked by the water, and began to wander. Since we didn't really plan anything, this turned into somewhat of an adventure as we left the shopping district, found a train station, trespassed on abandoned private property to get a good view of the Bay, got rained on, and found a random cemetery. Knowing that my gentleman and I both appreciate quiet and old spaces, we decided to duck in, counting on the fact that it had a plaque near the front gate to indicate that it was, indeed, open to the public, and we weren't further trespassing.
Random side expedition aside, we did make it back to the shopping area, where we watched a small video on claddagh rings by, supposedly, the original claddagh makers (the legend of the ring stems from the town Claddagh, now a part of Galway). Interesting, and a nice way to get out of the rain for a bit. Once it cleared up, we kept wandering, and found the Galway Cathedral, the most recent (1965) European Catholic Cathedral. The stained glass and decoration was beautiful , but as it's an active church, we didn't stay for too long.
Far more interesting (to my mind) was the walking paths and millrace along the river between
We walked another couple miles that day, then headed back to the hotel for what appeared to be rugby practice in the field right outside our hotel. Thankfully, they didn't stay up too late, and we were able to get to bed at a decent hour.
Turns out the third earl of Birr (1800s) was an avid scientist, and built what was the largest telescope in the world for 70 years before it was surpassed. The picture really doesn't do it justice - it's basically a 6' diameter, 30ish-foor-long barrel positioned by winches, and was responsible for the discovery that galaxies are spiral. I don't know what it is about Irish optimism and telescopes, as the person viewing through it basically had to sit outdoors, exposed to the weather, sandwiched between stone walls acting like wind funnels, to see anything on rare clear night, but apparently the earl made significant contributions to astronomy using this and other telescopes he made. The guy was a pretty decent lord, too, as he decided that his scientific advances should benefit everyone, making Birr a central point of knowledge in the 1800s, and providing skills and employment to the locals, who were employed to make and upkeep the equipment. Record has it that the Great Potato Famine 
Nifty science stuff aside, however, the grounds were beautiful. They included a centuries-old, massive tree that provided shelter when the rain intensified, the Guinness World Record tallest box hedges, a lime orchard planted in the shape of a spiral galaxy (because why not), formal gardens, and select specialized areas for different biomes. Sadly, the rain didn't let up, so we didn't get to see it all, but we did stop in at the greenhouses (so jealous!) and saw some truly beautiful plants. The above two-toned Oxalis was just randomly shoved in as ground cover around a rosebush, which gives you perspective on the beauty of the other plants. I could do a whole nother post about the plants, but I realize it's not a common hobby, so I'll move on.
When taking photos of the route to Birr, I'd noted another route back to the highway that would have been faster, had there not been the 2016 Ploughing Championships going on that day. At the time, we had no clue what that meant, other than a multitude of signs saying "All Non-Ploughing Traffic Detour HERE" and pointing us back the way we came. Judging that, if they put that many signs up, it was probably wise to follow them, we took the same route back. Turns out the other way would have shaved about 30 minutes off the ride... and taken multiple hours longer. Once we got around the detour, the traffic heading toward the Championships was literally stopped. Like, "police standing in the middle of the road, so that cross traffic could get through" stopped. If you're curious what the championships are, and who won, check it out here. We just moved on.
Unfortunately, the detour meant we hit Dublin right at rush hour. We managed to get to our final
hotel just as the sun was leaving and the rain was coming in. Totally worth it, though, as the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel is an 18th century castle transformed into a luxury hotel with fine dining in The Dungeon (yes, they even named the restaurant that). I'm not well enough acquainted with "fine dining" to know if it is synonymous with "slow service" or if we just happened to get bad waiters both time. The food was not bad, but somewhat of a letdown after all the other delicious meals we'd had. It was more than made up for, though, by the view from the balcony in our room:
That night was spent trying to repack and balance the weight between all the suitcases - remember, we had six extra pairs of very large boots from London, plus some odds and ends we'd picked up along the way. After a bit of discussion on the merits of staying vs going back (steady paychecks won out), we turned in early (for us), and got up the next day in "plenty of time" to get to the airport for a 12:30 flight. Or at least, that would have been the case if the bus drivers of Dublin hadn't been on strike again. At one point, our progress was measured in car lengths per minute. Since I am deathly allergic to being late, I was rather stressed out, despite my gentleman's attempts to soothe me.
He was right, however, and we made it to the airport in time. We lucked out and got row 3 for the flight to Iceland, and row 1 for the flight to BWI, giving us a bit more legroom, although the seats were still ridiculously narrow. Since it was daylight for this flight, I caught a couple pictures from the airplane, including the rifts in the ground as we came in over Iceland (being situated a volcanic island situated over the Atlantic ridge), and this shot, which looks boring at first:
If you think about it, though, we were in a tiny tin can, flying over absolutely nothing, halfway between water and space. That water, those clouds, the air that's keeping us up... that's all we have. Maybe we ought to keep a little better care of it, because when it's all screwed up, there's nowhere else for us to go. Yet. They say travel changes your perspective - this isn't one I was expecting, but it hit me pretty hard.
Anyhow, the flights back were (thankfully) uneventful, customs and immigration went smoothly, and we were back home by 7pm that night (midnight, Dublin time). After sleeping for an incredibly long time, I went to work next next afternoon (Friday) to clear out my email and catch up a bit. Turns out, working half a day, then having a weekend is a fantastic way to end a vacation, and we were able to resume work and normal life without too large of a wrench the next Monday.
Overall, the trip was a success, we had a wonderful time, and my gentleman has definitely caught the travel bug. We're probably going to stay domestic and hit a few conventions in the US next year, but 2018 (knock on wood) will definitely be international again. Not sure where, just yet, but there's a whole world out there, and we're gonna see it. Cheers!
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| Don't worry, Ireland, we'll be back |
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