Ok, you can't see the snowflakes very clearly, but let me assure you, it is COLD! It is DULL! and it has been like this for about 3 months now! Enough Already!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Where is Spring?
Its nearly the end of February, Spring is officially here on 20 March, and yet this is what we have been waking up to the last few days... SNOW!
Ok, you can't see the snowflakes very clearly, but let me assure you, it is COLD! It is DULL! and it has been like this for about 3 months now! Enough Already!
Ok, you can't see the snowflakes very clearly, but let me assure you, it is COLD! It is DULL! and it has been like this for about 3 months now! Enough Already!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Towns of Malahide, Howth and Dun Laoghaire
Over the weekend we did some sight-seeing trips to seaside towns near Dublin.
Here is a map showing the east coast and the towns of Malahide, Howth and Dun Laoghaire that we went to.
Malahide
First we went to Malahide. Malahide has a small town centre with shops, pubs, restaurants and a lovely big, old hotel called the ‘Grand Hotel’. There is also a marina with modern flats built around it, which reminded me a lot of Hythe Marina Village.
We went to a lovely old pub called ‘Gibneys’ for some lunch. The pub is divided into 7 different lounge areas, some with their own fireplaces. We managed to get a table right next to a lovely roaring fire – it was another very cold day. The food was very enjoyable and reasonably priced.
Howth
After Malahide, we took a drive to Howth (remember, rhymes with both)– which is another seaside town we explored a few weeks ago. We took a drive up to the top of the mountain and had a view across Dublin Bay. We had some lovely fish 'n chips to eat which we got from a shop at Howth harbour.
Unfortunately I don’t have many photos – it really was too cold for all that! (If you don’t believe me, we woke up on Sunday to a layer of snow! Where is spring?).
This is a view from the top of the mountain across the bay.
Dun Laoghaire
The following day we took a trip south of Dublin to Dun Laoghaire.
Dun Laoghaire is the Gaelic (Irish language) name for the town, pronounced phonetically as ‘Doon Layer-eh ‘.It can also be pronounced in its English form as ‘Dun Leary’.
Laoghaire was a 5th century (around 480 AD) High King of Ireland, who chose the site as a sea base from which to carry out raids on Britain. Dun is an Irish word meaning fort
Like Howth, Dun Laoghaire began as a small fishing village, but since the 19th Century, it became part of the sprawling suburbs of Dublin.
The harbour, one of the largest in the country, has a ferry port which links Dublin with Holyhead in North Wales. The harbour was built to provide a refuge for ships headed for Dublin as entry to the river Liffey could take awhile and gale force winds and rough seas would shipwreck them before they could reach their destination. When King George IV visited the new port under construction in 1821, the name Dun Laoghaire was dropped in favour of the name ‘Kingstown’; the town returned to its former name in 1921 – a year before Irish Independence.
I have 'borrowed' this photo to show you the harbour.
This is one I took which is across the sea, looking at Howth - where we had our fish 'n chips at the top of the mountain.
Here is a map showing the east coast and the towns of Malahide, Howth and Dun Laoghaire that we went to.
Malahide
First we went to Malahide. Malahide has a small town centre with shops, pubs, restaurants and a lovely big, old hotel called the ‘Grand Hotel’. There is also a marina with modern flats built around it, which reminded me a lot of Hythe Marina Village.
We went to a lovely old pub called ‘Gibneys’ for some lunch. The pub is divided into 7 different lounge areas, some with their own fireplaces. We managed to get a table right next to a lovely roaring fire – it was another very cold day. The food was very enjoyable and reasonably priced.
Howth
After Malahide, we took a drive to Howth (remember, rhymes with both)– which is another seaside town we explored a few weeks ago. We took a drive up to the top of the mountain and had a view across Dublin Bay. We had some lovely fish 'n chips to eat which we got from a shop at Howth harbour.
Unfortunately I don’t have many photos – it really was too cold for all that! (If you don’t believe me, we woke up on Sunday to a layer of snow! Where is spring?).
This is a view from the top of the mountain across the bay.
Dun Laoghaire
The following day we took a trip south of Dublin to Dun Laoghaire.
Dun Laoghaire is the Gaelic (Irish language) name for the town, pronounced phonetically as ‘Doon Layer-eh ‘.It can also be pronounced in its English form as ‘Dun Leary’.
Laoghaire was a 5th century (around 480 AD) High King of Ireland, who chose the site as a sea base from which to carry out raids on Britain. Dun is an Irish word meaning fort
Like Howth, Dun Laoghaire began as a small fishing village, but since the 19th Century, it became part of the sprawling suburbs of Dublin.
The harbour, one of the largest in the country, has a ferry port which links Dublin with Holyhead in North Wales. The harbour was built to provide a refuge for ships headed for Dublin as entry to the river Liffey could take awhile and gale force winds and rough seas would shipwreck them before they could reach their destination. When King George IV visited the new port under construction in 1821, the name Dun Laoghaire was dropped in favour of the name ‘Kingstown’; the town returned to its former name in 1921 – a year before Irish Independence.
I have 'borrowed' this photo to show you the harbour.
This is one I took which is across the sea, looking at Howth - where we had our fish 'n chips at the top of the mountain.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Belfast - a weekend away
We made a trip up to Belfast for a weekend getaway. Belfast is about 2 hours drive North of Dublin. It is in ‘Northern Ireland’, which is part of the UK. You wouldn’t know where the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is except for the fact that suddenly the road signs are in miles (Northern) and not Km (Republic).
Anyway, it was very cold up there and so we didn’t fancy going sight-seeing. I wanted to check out a new shopping centre that had recently been built called ‘Victoria Square Shopping Centre’. It was built as part of the regeneration of Belfast and the website looked rather nice. However, when we got there, it was very open plan –i.e. exposed to the icy winds blowing through! I have never been in such a cold shopping centre and it certainly didn’t make me want to stay and shop!
There were some restaurants on the 2nd level – like a Spur, Nandos, Pizza Express and Frankie & Benny’s – and our favourite, a chinese buffet! Of course we had the chinese. Well, it was by far the best chinese buffet we’ve ever had – and we’ve had loads in different cities. The assortment of food was new and tasty – dishes like egg fu yung, bbq pork, chicken satay – which we haven’t found at chinese buffets before. There was also a cold / salad section with things like mackerel, crab salad and various salads. And then there was a dessert section – which we don’t usually find for a lunchtime buffet – banana fritters & syrup, apple strudel and custard, chocolate cake, jelly, ice cream etc. etc. Needless to say, we stuffed ourselves.
Afterwards we went up to a look-out point in the shopping centre which has a glass dome and you can see all around Belfast. Here are some pictures from up there.
See the snow on the mountains in the distance?
We stayed at the Radisson Blu hotel, which is very near to the city centre. The hotel is lovely. We had an amazing suite.
The best part of the hotel was the buffet breakfast in the morning. Just like the Chinese buffet the day before, this was the best breakfast I’ve ever had! You could have as much of anything as you wanted and the selection was quite amazing.
There was at least 5 juices including tomato juice (with Tabasco & Worcester sauce), about 10 different cereals, yoghurt, fresh fruit, ham, salmon, cheese and fresh breads & rolls. Then the pastry selection – there were croissants, custard danish, maple pecan danish, chocolate chip muffins and blueberry muffins – I think I had one of everything and two of some.
some of the pastries I polished off
If you're not too full after that lot, there are still the hot dishes to go. These were sausage, bacon, tomato, mushrooms, baked beans, sautéed potatoes, potato farls, scrambled egg, boiled eggs and black or white pudding. The potato farls (bread) and the white pudding are the traditionally irish parts of the breakfast. The world farl originates from the Gaelic word fardel, meaning four parts. This refers to the way the bread is typically cut and served in quarters. The farls are made of mashed potatoes that have then been fried.
a picture of potato farls - to give you an idea
Anyway, so yes, it was more of an eating trip!
Belfast does have more to offer - its a very historical and cultural city - we just didn't do any of that on this visit. There are some beautiful, old cathedrals. The Titanic was built at a shipyard in Belfast and sailed from there to Southampton where she then left on her maiden voyage on 10 April 1912. And you can take tours to the more political areas, where you can see large murals painted on buildings and walls which depict history and political views.
See two examples of murals painted on the sides of buildings below - one of the Titanic and one of Bobby Sands.
Anyway, it was very cold up there and so we didn’t fancy going sight-seeing. I wanted to check out a new shopping centre that had recently been built called ‘Victoria Square Shopping Centre’. It was built as part of the regeneration of Belfast and the website looked rather nice. However, when we got there, it was very open plan –i.e. exposed to the icy winds blowing through! I have never been in such a cold shopping centre and it certainly didn’t make me want to stay and shop!
There were some restaurants on the 2nd level – like a Spur, Nandos, Pizza Express and Frankie & Benny’s – and our favourite, a chinese buffet! Of course we had the chinese. Well, it was by far the best chinese buffet we’ve ever had – and we’ve had loads in different cities. The assortment of food was new and tasty – dishes like egg fu yung, bbq pork, chicken satay – which we haven’t found at chinese buffets before. There was also a cold / salad section with things like mackerel, crab salad and various salads. And then there was a dessert section – which we don’t usually find for a lunchtime buffet – banana fritters & syrup, apple strudel and custard, chocolate cake, jelly, ice cream etc. etc. Needless to say, we stuffed ourselves.
Afterwards we went up to a look-out point in the shopping centre which has a glass dome and you can see all around Belfast. Here are some pictures from up there.
See the snow on the mountains in the distance?
We stayed at the Radisson Blu hotel, which is very near to the city centre. The hotel is lovely. We had an amazing suite.
The best part of the hotel was the buffet breakfast in the morning. Just like the Chinese buffet the day before, this was the best breakfast I’ve ever had! You could have as much of anything as you wanted and the selection was quite amazing.
There was at least 5 juices including tomato juice (with Tabasco & Worcester sauce), about 10 different cereals, yoghurt, fresh fruit, ham, salmon, cheese and fresh breads & rolls. Then the pastry selection – there were croissants, custard danish, maple pecan danish, chocolate chip muffins and blueberry muffins – I think I had one of everything and two of some.
some of the pastries I polished off
If you're not too full after that lot, there are still the hot dishes to go. These were sausage, bacon, tomato, mushrooms, baked beans, sautéed potatoes, potato farls, scrambled egg, boiled eggs and black or white pudding. The potato farls (bread) and the white pudding are the traditionally irish parts of the breakfast. The world farl originates from the Gaelic word fardel, meaning four parts. This refers to the way the bread is typically cut and served in quarters. The farls are made of mashed potatoes that have then been fried.
a picture of potato farls - to give you an idea
Anyway, so yes, it was more of an eating trip!
Belfast does have more to offer - its a very historical and cultural city - we just didn't do any of that on this visit. There are some beautiful, old cathedrals. The Titanic was built at a shipyard in Belfast and sailed from there to Southampton where she then left on her maiden voyage on 10 April 1912. And you can take tours to the more political areas, where you can see large murals painted on buildings and walls which depict history and political views.
See two examples of murals painted on the sides of buildings below - one of the Titanic and one of Bobby Sands.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Exploring Howth
We went to explore a town called Howth (rhymes with both). It is on the east coast, a little piece of land that juts out into the sea. Originally just a small fishing village, it is now a suburb of Dublin – it's to the North East of Dublin.
I just wanted to see the sea really, but it turned out to be quite nice. It reminded me a lot of Hout Bay. There is a little harbour and a whole bunch of fish shops – most selling all sorts of fresh fish and a few with restaurants. We walked along the shops and then all around the harbour wall. It was a very ‘fresh’ (icy) day, so we didn’t stick around outside too much. Went back and picked out some squid from one of the shops – which was a very good deal, we got loads! – and then went back to cook it up.
This is a picture across the harbour with the mountain in the background.
Only after returning did I see that you could drive all the way up the mountain to a look out point and that there is an old Abbey an a castle to go look at – we will have to go back.
I just wanted to see the sea really, but it turned out to be quite nice. It reminded me a lot of Hout Bay. There is a little harbour and a whole bunch of fish shops – most selling all sorts of fresh fish and a few with restaurants. We walked along the shops and then all around the harbour wall. It was a very ‘fresh’ (icy) day, so we didn’t stick around outside too much. Went back and picked out some squid from one of the shops – which was a very good deal, we got loads! – and then went back to cook it up.
This is a picture across the harbour with the mountain in the background.
Only after returning did I see that you could drive all the way up the mountain to a look out point and that there is an old Abbey an a castle to go look at – we will have to go back.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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