Read, Write, Ramble

 To complete our stay in the hallowed grounds of Trinity College, we braved breakfast in the Buttery for the final time. I behaved, confining myself to cereal and milk - no fruit and no yoghurt!  I didn’t want to buck the system on my last day.  We packed up and checked out, depositing  our bags with the nice man in the luggage room before assembling in the Front Square for our Trails of Trinity tour.  Our animated guide, a very recent Trinity graduate, described the twin buildings with the matching columns which face each other across the square, as Heaven (the chapel) and Hell (the examination hall). We were told of the student superstitions surrounding the central bell tower, and taken into the very impressive Museum building. Here we could explore the foyer with its samples of Irish granite, which we had seen featured on the outside of the building, and prehistoric elk skeletons!   After a quick look at the College Green and the Samuel Beckett theatre b...

 Having failed to find a cafe that served breakfast in the immediate neighbourhood, we reluctantly ended up at the Buttery (the student cafeteria) for breakfast again. I dared to have fruit and yoghurt on my cereal and was told if I did it again tomorrow, I would have to pay twice because it is two different prices. Huh?! Anyway Wallsy and I headed out after breakfast to catch the commuter train from Tara street to explore the coastal line to the south, with views of Dublin Bay and the coast, while Julie and Mark set off in the opposite direction to spend more time in the city.  We got a lucky break and walked onto the train that goes south through to Rosslaire Aeroport, stopping at Greystones which was the end of the commuter line and as far as we wanted to go, but it got as there in half the time as, unlike the Dart, it didn’t stop at all stations. The sun was shining (worth a mention!) and the ocean was glistening as we glided past. Spectacular!  We had time for a quic...

 Sleeping in our little student room was a pleasure. It was clean and bright. With a double bed instead of a student single, moved in for the purposes of summer accommodation, it was a bit squeezy and Wallsy did have to launch himself onto his side of the bed from one end, as it was pushed up against the wall, but nevertheless we were comfortable.  The communal kitchen across the corridor enabled me to make my early morning cup of tea when I woke at 6, so the day started well.  Breakfast in the college dining hall however, was a little less exciting, the cooked offerings being largely cold and the ‘toast’ not resembling anything even vaguely toasted. We had to pay for this per food unit and it was enough to put me off the student life!   We wandered down to the statue of Molly Malone well before the appointed time of 9am to meet our Hilltop Treks tour bus. Once we were all checked in and loaded, our tour guide commenced his spiel about the Boyne Valley and the Neolit...

 Today we again left our little apartment in Cork for a few days. Brian O’Flynn was on the job to take us to the station in time for our 12:25 train to Dublin, and as usual, he was on time, friendly and efficient.  As usual, despite the fact we had booked seats, when we boarded the train,  we had to move people on from our allocated spots, however they couldn’t really be blamed today as the system that shows seats have been booked and by whom,  wasn’t working.   We settled in for what was to be a very cold 2.5 hour trip; to compensate for the seating system failure, the air conditioning was working too well. We were almost two hours in before the refreshment cart reached us in carriage E and we were able to grab a warming drink to thaw us out. Arriving at Dublin Heuston right on time, we found a tram to take us to Trinity College, checked into our apartment in the student accommodation block, eventually worked out the tricky numbering system for the units, and s...