Read, Write, Ramble

Finally, we have some warm weather. The current temperature at 5 pm is 25 and the expected high today was 27. The Irish are all melting!   We decided to stay local today and set out on a walking treasure hunt after breakfast. This took us from our accommodation on the now familiar route, down Lee Road, over Wellington Bridge and along the other side of the River Lee as far as Lee Fields.  Here is where the treasure hunt began as we turned onto the Curraheen River Walk with 5 archeological points of interest, remnants of the old Bishopstown Estate to be discovered. A total distance of 4.75 km in addition to the 2 kms we had already walked to reach the start.  As soon as we turned onto the path, away from the busy main road, we walked into a peaceful, leafy canopy bordered by a narrow Curraheen river which looked more like a man made canal in parts.  Reaching the point where there was some work being done to cut up and remove a very large fallen tree, we discovered fro...

We were afforded the luxury of a late start today with no rush to be anywhere until our scheduled coach back to Cork in the early afternoon.  Of course it was drizzling rain, but we ordered a taxi at 10 and set off into Galway City to stow our luggage and explore a little.  First stop, The Spanish Arch, which everyone found a bit underwhelming, but hey, it was built in 1584 and is still standing, surely that is enough to recommend it.  Through the arch is the Long Walk; a promenade along the river Corrib past some coloured houses, but most importantly, there was a coffee shop stop to fuel us for the rest of the morning.  Over the river and the Eglinton Canal Sea Lock, we visited a mysterious sculpture of a seated man and a memorial to some Claddagh Fishermen who were lost at sea in 1902. We saw the Claddagh  mute swans, believed to carry the spirits of old fishermen.  Back in the Latin Quarter we wandered the shops, were entertained by a variety of buskers,...

 The vaguaries of Irish hot water systems have again defeated us and hot showers were not available before bed, despite following the host’s instructions. We did have hot food and breakfast supplies, having found a supermarket within a comfortable walking distance, so we turned in with hope in our hearts and food in our bellies.  The party next door seemed to increase in volume and enthusiasm as we crawled into bed, and continued into the early hours. It was to our combined relief that all went quiet at 1, but this was short-lived, and kicked off again at 3 am.  The alarm at 6:45 was an unwelcome intrusion but necessary, as we had a bus to catch in central Galway at 08:45; a bus that would take us through the misty morning along the Wild Atlantic Way to the Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands. And the water was finally hot enough for showers.  On the way we passed through The Burren, an area of ancient limestone hills and a unique landscape designated a UNESCO Globa...

 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...