Ireland By Alicia
- 2. As most of you know I spent my Easter holidays in Ireland. When we were planning our travel we had to decide what we wanted to visit and mainly decide whether to go to the North or the South of the Island. At the end we decided to go to the North because we wanted to visit a friend of us who lives in a city situated in the North-west of the country, Sligo.
- 4. 4 February We flew from Madrid to Dublin and the flight was ok. We have rented a car on the internet and we took it at the airport. It was a big car, a grey Nissan and I was the driver. Oh my God!, what an experience!. I love driving... but on the right hand not the British way. What I found most difficult was to maintain in the correct place on the lane. I tended to go to my left hand and that was dangerous because we could crush with a lamp post or something like that on the road. Roads in Ireland are ok but only between main cities. The rest of them are narrow. We spent the first day and part of the second one in Dublin. I know some of you had been there and I don’t know whether you will agree with me but I think it’s a lovely city. I think it’s like Salamanca, a not very big city, easy to walk, lively...
- 5. We visited the most famous places in the town such as Ha’penny bridge, The Trinity College, Merrion Square, Molly Malone Statue, the City Hall, St. Patrick Cathedral and of course the main shopping street, Grafton Street. Ha’penny bridge is Dublin’s oldest pedestrian crossing over the River Leffey.
- 9. Merrion Square is a well-known place famous for its coloured doors. It’s a beautiful square surrounded by a wonderful public park and you can see plaques on the walls of the Georgian mansions recall famous occupants such as W.B. Yeats, O’Connell...
- 11. What I liked most in Dublin was the famous Book of Kells that is exhibited in the Trinity College. This book was written around the year 800 AD and is one of the most beautifully illuminated manuscripts in the world. I can’t show you a photo of it because taking pictures it’s forbidden inside the exhibition. Everyday a new page of the book is exhibited because of the rules of conservation.
- 14. Night-life is amazing. We could see a lot of hen parties. Temple bar is the most typical area to go out in the evening. That night we went to bed at midnight because we were exhausted. We got up at 4 a.m. to go to Madrid and take the plane. We thought to live the night in Dublin the last day of our holidays but you won’t believe it... it was Good Friday (Viernes Santo) and all pubs were closed and drinking alcoholic drinks was forbidden even in restaurants so I’ll have to come back to Dublin again.
- 15. 5 February After having lunch we drove to the North of Dublin. We went to visit Trim Castle on the shore of the Boyne. It’s the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland. Some of the scenes of the famous film Braveheart were filmed there.
- 16. After that we went to visit Monasterboice. The Monastery, which was founded by Saint Buite, contains two of the finest High Crosses in Ireland. Both of these Crosses are made of sandstone and date to around the 9th century. The site also has a round tower that was used as a belfry, watch-tower, and a refuge for monks and valuables during times of Viking attack.
- 20. In the end, we went to sleep to Dundalk but I can’t tell you anything about that town because we didn’t visit it.
- 21. 6 February It was a rainy morning so we decided to drive to Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. After parking the car in down town we went to a bank to change money. We had pounds but only a few notes and we needed some coins to pay the car park ticket. We intended to visit the City Hall but unfortunately it was temporarily closed.
- 23. Then we went to the Tourist Office and they suggested a possible tourist route. We took a taxi to go to the protestant part of the city. There you can find Shankyl Road and some famous murals painted on the walls and houses there. You can feel the aggressiveness and a tense atmosphere. I was impressed by a really high wall which separates the two areas. On the other side of the wall were plaques and paintings dedicated to the IRA. We were told that the population now is 50% catholic and 50% protestant. Although they live together the problem it’s not likely to be solved in a near future.
- 30. Some typical Irish recipes
- 31. 7 February We left Belfast after having breakfast and that was a wonderful day because we visited the most popular tourist attraction in Northern Ireland, The Giant Causeway (in Irish: Clochán na bhFómharach).It’s an area of about 40.000 basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven and eight sides. The tallest are about 12 metres high.
- 33. Giant’s Causeway
- 34. Legend has it that the Irish warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) built the causeway to walk to Scotland to fight his Scottish counterpart Benandonner. One version of the legend tells that Fionn fell asleep before he got to Scotland. When he did not arrive, the much larger Benandonner crossed the bridge looking for him. To protect Fionn, his wife Oonagh laid a blanket over him so he could pretend that he was actually their baby son. In a variation, Fionn fled after seeing Benandonner's great bulk, and asked his wife to disguise him as the baby. In both versions, when Benandonner saw the size of the 'infant', he assumed the alleged father, Fionn, must be gigantic indeed. Therefore, Benandonner fled home in terror, ripping up the Causeway in case he was followed by Fionn. Another variation is that Oonagh painted a rock shaped like a steak and gave it to Benandonner, whilst giving the baby (Fionn) a normal steak. When Benandonner saw that the baby was able to eat it so easily, he ran away, tearing up the causeway.
- 35. Near hear it’s another tourism attraction, Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. It links the mainland to Carrick Island. The rope bridge originally consisted of a single rope hand rail which has been replaced by a two hand railed bridge. Traditionally fishermen used it to carry the salmon caught off the island but it’s no longer used by fishermen because now there are very few salmon left. A maximum of eight people are allowed on bridge at the same time. If you want to visit this bridge you must go between March and October because the bridge is taken down every year in winter. It’s worth to visit this place because the area is exceptional in natural beauty with unique geology, flora and fauna.
- 38. Bushmilss Distillery, the worlds oldest whiskey distillery is in this area but we couldn’t visit it because when we got there it was closed. It was a pity! I’ll give you a piece of advice. If you go to Ireland you must be careful with the visiting hours of monuments and other places to visit because all of them are close around five o’clock.
- 39. 8 February • Visit to Derry • Slieve League Cliffs • Dinner at Sligo
- 40. Derry or Londonderry is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland. The name "Derry" is preferred by nationalists however many unionists prefer to call it Londonderry. Derry is very near the border with County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. In the 1600s the Crown brought people from London to inhabit the city and the Ulster. It was conceived as a defensive city. There were serious troubles in the 1970s. A great part of the city was burned. Nowadays it’s a lively city.
- 41. SLIEVE LEAGUE CLIFFS Although The Cliffs of Moher are the most famous cliffs in Ireland we couldn’t visit them because they are in the South West so we decided to go to Slieve League Cliffs (In Irish Sliabh Liag). They are said to be the highest and one of the finest marine cliffs in Europe (600 m.) To visit them you must leave the car at the car park and walk a few miles to the cliffs enjoying the exciting scenery of the area. There are terrific views of the Atlantic Ocean, the Sligo Mountains and Donegal Bay.
- 42. Of course, you can see the typical sheep along the walk.
- 43. We were lucky because we could see these wonderful cliffs in a sunny day, which is not easy.
- 45. After that we drove to Sligo. As I said before we have a friend who has lived there for fifteen years. We spent the night at her home. We had a typical Irish food for dinner: Sheppard’s pie, made with potatoes and meat. Tim, her husband, who is a known sailor in Ireland, was “suffering” because that night Liverpool was playing a match so he had to record it and see it afterwards.
- 48. After dinner we went out to have some beers. I used to have Smithwick’s which José Luis recommended to me. I liked it a lot. It was funny because we went to a pub where there were some musicians playing typical celtic songs. We met some friends of Pilar. Irish people are known for drinking a lot and to me it’s true. Apart from Guinness, they usually have Bulmers, a brand of cider produced in Ireland.
- 49. 9 February As we had our special local guide (Pilar) it was an intensive day. We visited a lot of places even though it was a rainy day. The Irish county of Sligo is known unofficially as Yeats County because of One of Ireland's most famous personalities, the poet William Butler Yeats, whose family came from Sligo. The most I liked in Sligo was the Benbulben, a large rock formation that was formed during the Ice age. This place is the setting of many Celtic legends.
- 51. 10 February : Galway Although it has only a few typical sightseeing spots, what makes it a wonderful place to stay is the atmosphere, the culture, the people, and the events. Although Galway is the fourth largest city in Ireland, it has retained much of its small town character and is home to many artists, writers, and artisans. Galway is nicknamed Ireland's Cultural Heart and is renowned for its vibrant lifestyle and numerous festivals, celebrations and events. As in most Irish cities traditional music is popular and is kept alive in pubs and by street performers
- 52. Galway is a good city for shopping. Many of the shops have the typical traditional hand knit Aran sweater. The Aran wool sweater, which takes its name from the Aran Islands, comes from the fishing villages on and islands off the West Coast of Ireland. An a natural wool sweater like this provides a warm and breathable layer. It's also surprisingly water resistant. This was why it was so popular with fishermen.
- 53. That night we drove to Dublin. We had a walk by the main streets of the city and we went to sleep early because we had to take the plane at 6 a.m. in the morning.
- 54. I hope you have enjoyed with my travel blog.