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  • Bodhran, Beer and Beaches
    Day 4

    Beyond the Pale

    September 8, 2018 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    I think Laurie may still be taping her toes after last nights play as we wake up and say goodbye to Dublin. We have our last breakfast at Trinity Townhomes and take a “My Taxi” (its like Uber but with taxi cabs) to the Hertz Rental car and pick up our VW Polo. We have rented many a Polo before while travelling in Europe. Laurie drives, I navigate - we’re both happy.

    We are heading “beyond the pale”, past the safe confines of Dublin and over the Wicklow mountains to Kinsale - we will stop twice along the way; first in Glendalough and then in Cashel.

    An hour out of Dublin, Glendalough is in the heart of the “mountains”, the tallest of which is an ear popping 800m above sea level. Nonetheless the area is lovely and was the home to one of the first monasteries in the world - founded in the 6th century by St Kevin (I find it anti climactic to even type St. Kevin, it sounds like a dude from California). The monastery continued for eleven hundred years, surviving Viking raids, plagues, Norman conquest until.... you guessed it.... Oliver Cromwell and the British came. There are still lots of ruins and being in the mountains some lovely hiking trails, lakes and waterfalls. It is one of six national parks in Ireland and well worth the stop and hike.

    Our second stop is ninety minutes further south and takes in even more winding and back roads. We were lucky to have good weather in Glendalough but our luck does not hold on the drive to Cashel.

    When you arrive on the outskirts of Cashel you are immediately struck by the fortified cathedral dominating the landscape. It is built on an escarpment on one half and fortified everywhere. It was destroyed by.... wait for it..... Oliver Cromwell and the British and stands in partial ruin. We take a guided tour and learn about the history of the castle/cathedral. When Cromwell and his parliamentarian gang conquered the castle they slaughtered all nine hundred people inside. Recent excavations have proven a baby was thrown down a well during that time period and records speak to the atrocities committed. It is said to be haunted but that has not been recorded or proven, but if ever a place.....

    We get back to our car and drive a final ninety minutes to Kinsale. We are staying at Jo’s Cafe and Rooms. It is Camino esque. Clean, simple, small. It is over a bakery. The smells in our room are incredible, is it chocolate chip cookies or maybe brownies, we will have to just wait until morning!

    Dinner tonight is at Fishy Fishy, the highly acclaimed restaurant of celebrity chef Martin Shanahan. A restaurant where the menu mentions both the fish and the fisherman. I have Sean Murphy’s monkfish, caught this morning; Laurie has steak. My fish is paired with a Chardonnay, Laurie’s steak a Malbec. The food is delicious, the atmosphere unpretentious, the service lacking. We wander 400 feet to our little B&B.    Read more

  • Bodhran, Beer and Beaches
    Day 3

    Jimmy's Hall

    September 7, 2018 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    A sunny day in Ireland is a good day and as we wake up it is a good day. Refreshed after our pub crawl last night we hit the breakfast room a bit later than yesterday - its almost 8AM.

    We set off for St. Stephen’s Green the city’s park. Phoenix Park is much much larger but it is on the outskirts of Dublin town; St Stephen’s is in the heart of the city small, pretty, and lots of history from the 1916 rebellion that started Ireland’s path to independence.

    We had received a recommendation from people we met on the pub crawl last night to go to the Little Museum of Ireland and it was well worth the visit. It is a small Georgian house with each room set up to explore key things about Ireland. Well curated it doesn’t try to do to much - they had a nice presentation about women in Ireland. We stopped along the way to grab a PSL for Laurie at Starbucks - yes, Pumpkin Spice Latte’s are a thing in Ireland as well.

    Our second museum is the General Post Office - headquarters for the rebels in the aforementioned rebellion. The post office bears the scars of the battle as the British retook control of Dublin within the week. The buildings around the post office are new as they had been destroyed in the shelling. After buying stamps (it is still a post office) we then go the museum and learn more about the uprising, the causes and the various sub groups that all were rebelling for their own reasons against the British - a short film concludes which outlines how the rebels took control of the city but ultimately couldn’t hold it for very long.

    We stop for lunch at Lanigan’s pub. Lanigan must be the patron saint of single men as we are the only couple in the place - I feel like a rock star.

    After our quick bite and beer we head to the new EPIC Emigration museum which is billed as an interactive museum outlining the history of Irish emigration. It has 20 rooms set in an old dockyard storage building, going through each room to get your passport stamped. It started out so promising for the first three or four rooms then it quickly loses steam and by the end you are stamping your passport just in case they won’t let you leave after room 20.

    It is 2:40 when we are allowed to emigrate from the not-so-epic and we debate whether to go home or go the Jeannie Johnson the “famine” ship which is right next door. Underwhelmed by that-was-not-epic and armed with the Dublin pass that gives you free admission to so many places, we decide to see the replica famine ship. We have a 3PM tour and there are only four of us (the last group must have been forty). The other couple are from Hamilton the tour is thankfully quaint and relatively short.

    We head home, change, and get ready for our pre-theatre dinner at Chapter One - the highly acclaimed Michelin starred restaurant. Going on the Camino and surviving with carry on luggage I have left my tuxedo at home; Laurie somehow has managed to dress impeccably. I have never had brazed lamb neck before; it is surprisingly good, as is Laurie’s pork tenderloin - the sommelier has managed to find a wine from southern France that works with both dishes. The service is adequate but not Michelin starred - they have probably caught on to the fact that we are not secret reviewers for Michelin.

    After dinner we walk to the Abbey Theatre for their presentation of Jimmy’s Hall - it is fantastic - full of Irish music and great musicians. It is a fusion of Footloose and Irish Civil war. Telling the tale of Jimmy Gralton, a communist deported to America who returns to Ireland to set up a dance hall in his home town in defiance to the Catholic Church during the Irish Civil war in the 1930’s. It is based on the 2014 film of the same name and despite the tragic nature of so many Irish stories it manages to be uplifting.

    We catch a night cap at a crowded Friday evening pub before retiring for a well earned sleep.    Read more

  • Bodhran, Beer and Beaches
    Day 2

    Daily Grog

    September 6, 2018 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Turning your internal clock around isn’t always easy and Laurie has had a restless sleep. We get up early and are at our breakfast spot at the 7AM opening. It is a full breakfast and we depart caffeinated and full.

    It is raining lightly as we walk to the National gallery a couple of blocks away. The gallery is part of a series of National museums all in the same part of town - similar to the Smithsonian museums. It is a decent if not spectacular collection of art work - some Rembrandt’s, a Vermeer, a few Ruebens, a bunch of early renaissance works and a whole floor of Irish painters.

    Cultured up, we go full tourist and take the Hop on Hop off bus to the Guinness Storehouse for a 45 minute long advertisement for Guinness that ends with a pint of beer in the Gravity bar 7 stories up with a nice view over the city. It was free with our Dublin pass (thankfully) and I am no more a fan of Guinness now than I was before - luckily Ireland has so much more to offer in the ways of craft beer now.

    Today has been logistically fine tuned, which is another way of saying we have a schedule to keep, and we leave Guinness and catch our HoHo bus to the Kilmainham Gaol for a pre-booked 12:45 tour of this famous prison which housed many a political prisoner but most notably the leaders of the Easter 1916 rebellion. The Gaol is a national museum and if it wasn’t obvious before, it is now, the Irish have not been well treated by the British over the 700 years that the English were lords and masters. The potato famine of the late 1840’s being the worst example of English rule. It is very well presented and you don’t have to hate the English to enjoy it. The Gaol closed in 1923 and fell into disrepair until the early 1960’s when it was restored and used as a location for many movies including the following:
    The Italian Job, 1969
    The Mackintosh Man, 1973
    The Last Remake of Beau Geste, 1977
    The Whistle Blower, 1987
    In the Name of the Father, 1993
    Michael Collins, 1996

    After the tour we linger for a while and explore the museum before HoHo’ing to the Jamieson Distillery for more alcohol and advertising. We both find Jamieson’s to be a better tour and it culminates with a taste test of Jamieson’s, Jack Daniels and Johnie Walker Black label - the best selling brands of each particular type of whiskey. Irish Whiskey is definitely smoother than its counterparts if not as full of flavour.

    By now I am amazed that Laurie has stayed awake, and with a big evening ahead, we HoHo it back to our hotel and have a 45 minute power nap - not in the schedule but important nonetheless.

    Amazingly refreshed we head out for our evening Musical Pub Crawl which starts in Temple Bar at Oliver St John Gogarty’s for a quick bite before beginning our pub crawl. It is a fun 2+ hours at three pubs. It is informative and we make new friends - singing along (quietly). A great time. It is a precursor (hopefully) of things to come on the Irish west coast.

    We end at a north side bar and walk home to our hotel for a good nights sleep.    Read more

  • Bodhran, Beer and Beaches
    Day 1

    Church and State

    September 5, 2018 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Traveling business class is a guilty pleasure - it is very expensive, it is indulgent and it is so nice to arrive at your destination well rested - thank you Aeroplan points. We breeze through customs, get our bags and our SIM card and catch a taxi to our hotel Trinity Townhomes (née Lodge - they changed it last week). We booked the place last year; it is a Georgian four story building and has been lovingly renovated with everything but an elevator - we are staying at the top floor - Laurie’s bag weighs 40.2 lbs (she is “kind of” packing for two).

    It is just after noon when we head out to Dublin Castle the first stop on our trip today, having been here before I know the place like the back of my hand and we only get lost once along the way. Dublin Castle is the seat of power in Ireland since the time of the Vikings. It’s not super castle-y any more but has lovely state apartments “Versailles like” or perhaps rather “Versailles light”. We arrive at 12:30 and sign up for a 2 PM tour so we take the time to view the Chester Beatty Library of manuscripts - an amazing collection of illustrated and written works. It is far more interesting than the singular Book of Kells and far more impressive in its breadth and depth. They have a 150AD manuscript of the writings of the New Testament (very simple), some early Qur’an’s (very detailed) and some early illustrated Bibles. In addition they have a whole section of far eastern manuscripts and drawings. There is also a fascinating study of religions.

    The tour of the castle and state apartments is also very interesting our guide is informative, funny and worth the wait. Feeling peckish we head to the famous Temple Bar for a pint and a snack while listening to some live music - Laurie has a Guinness I have an IPA we split a charcuterie plate.

    It’s later in the day so we head to the other seat of power Christ Church Cathedral - it is nice and contains an original Magna Carta (the only original outside of England) along with the usual treasury plates and goblets - the Irish don’t go for elaborate on either their castles or their cathedrals; their bars however...

    We walk to the Lochs Restaurant situated on the Grand Canal it is a Michelin restaurant - Laurie’s Gnocchi is sublime as is the ceviche starter, my rib eye with duck fat chips is delicious and pairs well with the Alentejo wine; Laurie orders a chocolate Grenache. We are both exhausted and can barely stay awake in the taxi ride back to our hotel, it is 8:30 pm.    Read more

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