It's late

And I'm for bed! I am trying to get back in the swing of this blogging thing, though, so here are some Fun Woking Facts (London shouldn't get all the attention!) to tide you over:

1. The bin-men are rather temperamental. I don't think they like doing the recycling bins (every other week) because they tend to leave ours semi-embedded in the hedge. Judging by the aftermath of bin-day on other streets, they also think pedestrians need more obstacle courses in their lives.

2. There are two shopping centres! One is quite new and fancy, with a food-hall-type thing, but the other is much better because it has a decent-sized Sainsbury's in the bottom. I can pop in before walking home from the station! So much more convenient than city living.

3. There is a Charlie Chaplin-themed kebab shop. Need I say more?

4. I have witnessed occasional outbreaks of Neighbourliness, such as a man walking his dog who always says 'Evening' to me, strangers helping each other with cars in trouble, chatty old ladies and the like. Maybe I spend too much time on trains and the mean streets of London, but this all makes me rather suspicious. The last place I saw people behaving like this was the charming village of Midsomer, and we all know how that ends.

5. There is a fresh fruit and vegetable market, which I will never, ever go to on account of having much better things to do with my mornings and the convenient pre-bagged-ness of supermarket stocks (see above).

6. Apparently, there is a huge War of the Worlds statue somewhere. And also an opera house. I really need to explore more!

7. There is a Nando's, which makes me very happy indeed. It was robbed recently, and a man is appearing in court around now for it. Maybe I should go along and tut disapprovingly at him...

That is all for tonight!

Goodnight (anyone who is still awake)!

Final Ireland roundup

Quick picture highlights, as I have been up watching the news most of this evening. I have nothing new to say about the earthquake and tsunami, but I hope they manage to shut down the nuclear power plant safely. 

On to Ireland:

Phoenix Park

We went for a walk in Phoenix Park in Dublin. It's huge, and there are lots of deer wandering around. It's not safe to get too close to the herd, but this one wandered off on its own.

More outside

The ultimate bolognese

The boyf makes amazing bolognese, but this one (made with turkey mince in a kind but not uncomplaining concession to my fussiness) had bacon in it! And about half a pot of herbs, a bottle of tabasco, a whole tube of tomato purée... 

Diner times

We went to a diner for lunch on the day I flew home. The food wasn't mind-blowing, but I had a lot of chocolate milkshake so I was happy!

Although I don't look it

I had a really, really lovely time and I really want to go back! And I really want another holiday... Just so tired at the moment (spent all afternoon creating a spreadsheet of birthdays this month. Mostly copying and pasting, but I was so dizzy by the end! Turns out a lot of people are turning 69 this year), I think I'm getting culture shock coming back to commuting after only a week away! (And I'm surprisingly unfit after a week of good food and lazing about - I was out of breath on the way to the station morning for the first time in months on Wednesday.)

Off to bed now.

Goodnight!

Aran Island Adventures

I am a bit sad this evening because I didn't get to meet up with all the awesome people from Journalism School this evening as I was hoping to. I really wanted to, but I have to work again tomorrow and my head is spinning from an entire day googling things. I knew the Royal Wedding was going to cause trouble, but I didn't expect to spend quite so long coming up with timelines to contextualise every royal wedding since 1816. The good news is, it's finished (much faster than expected, which makes me a little bit smug) and I can move on to other things. You may also spot me masquerading under a false name in tomorrow's You The Editor. 

Anyway, fail aside, more reminiscing! 

We actually only went to the biggest of the Aran Islands, Inishmore. We checked out of our Galway hotel very early (so early that the parking garage attendant who had to let us out was off buying his morning paper), and had breakfast on the road.

Actually, the boyf had to have breakfast in the port car park, as he had all that pesky driving to do

A seaside scene

We caught the ferry to Inishmore. It goes twice a day, so we were on the 10am ferry there and the 5pm ferry back. You could spot the tourists from the locals very easily! (For starters, the locals had toolboxes and shopping bags, rather than wheelie suitcases). 

Stubbly seaman

Boat-related excitement 

As soon as we got off the ferry (it takes about half an hour, and we sat on the top deck enjoying the ride), we were accosted by tourguides. The Aran Islands have two main industries: fishing and tourism. Guess which was in season! We eventually decided not to walk or hire bikes, but to hire a tour bus (it really was ours - tourists were a bit thin on the ground) for the same price as bikes, with a very insightful local man to tell us about things as we drove past. 

I learned that the Aran Islands are covered in drystone walls because there's nothing else to do with all the stone that had to be cleared to make fields, and if you put all the walls on the islands end to end, they would stretch more than 7,000 km. I can well believe it!

We saw the seals on their rocks, examples of interesting houses and gardens, old factories, the recycling plant and, of course, a few historical bits and bobs as well. 

The Seven Churches

The Seven Churches are in fact three churches and some accommodation, built long enough ago that there are Roman graves tucked away in the corner. The graveyard was fascinating, but we didn't stay as long as I would have liked because of the obnoxious group of American tourists prancing around. We saw quite a lot of them, regrettably, as they were the only other people to be doing a bus tour. For me, part of the charm of the island is that it feels so empty and old, so having loud, ignorant people screaming at each other in the background is not appreciated. We didn't let them spoil our day, though! (Although our bus driver did almost manage to run one of them over.)

The island from on top of Dun Aengus

The main part of the day was taken up with visiting Dun Aengus, the huge clifftop hill fort. We were dropped off with directions up the hill to the fort and a café for lunch, and left to our own devices for a couple of hours. There is a little walk-through visitor centre on the way to the fort, where you buy a ticket (presumably to go on up the hill) and can read all about the history of the place. We had a brief hike in the increasingly warm sun, and had shed our coats by the time we were halfway up. 

Me, holding the fort (ho ho)

It was actually very impressive when you reached the top - you'd certainly see any enemies coming from miles off!

More fort

We had a civilised lunch (although at tourist prices) in the café at the foot of the hill - vegetable soup and bread that was more like wholemeal scones. Very delicious. After a few more sights on the bus, we were dropped off back in Kilronan, the biggest town on the island (home to its only shop (a Spar) and post office) with an hour to kill before the ferry left. We went to the Sweater Warehouse and Museum and saw lots of beautiful Aran jumpers (all a bit too steep for my pocket, sadly) and some frankly frightening mannequins demonstrating the traditional process of making them. We also had ice cream and wandered around the back of a few people's houses trying to find the local Heritage Centre. There's still plenty to do if we go back!

By the time we boarded the ferry, we were a bit worn out.

Bless!

We made it back to dry land without incident, and had an exciting night drive back to Dublin. 

That's going to have to be it as I am now very sleepy. Its plenty to be getting on with, I'm sure!

Next time: more Dublin! (It was a very good holiday!)

Gadding about in Galway

Apologies for my crimes against alliteration. I'm pretty knackered after my first day back at work (not all bad, though - I got my new pass card super-fast and people missed me!) with lots and lots of letters waiting for me tomorrow. I have my own email address actually properly set up now (Hooray!) and the Royal Wedding is making even more work for me to do (Boo!). Also I am getting all sorts of clearances to use various parts of the newspaper-making system. I sense a learning curve ahead...

Here is part two of my adventures in Ireland:

Sunny, student-y Galway

Galway is excellent. It may have helped that we went during RAG week and it was gorgeously sunny, but I definitely plan to go back! It's a proper university town, and has the pubs, hang-outs and noisy streets to prove it. We went to the Galway City Museum after checking into our hotel, and learned about currachs, Cromwell and ceremonial maces. Galway itself was lovely just to wander around (although driving around it almost caused a navigational disagreement on the way in) and there were lots of people out enjoying the weather. 

Me, in a hotel room

The hotel (the Spanish Arch Hotel, in case anyone is planning a trip) was quite reasonably priced (about the same as the hostels in town) but not as sound-proof as advertised. We left quite early in the morning the next day, and didn't really spend much time in it in the evening, so it served its purpose. 

When it started getting dark, we went in search of supper (the boyf's second, I shall embarrass him by adding, as he was hungry enough to get a chicken fillet roll (a visit to Ireland is worth it just for these, trust me. You'll wonder why Subway even exists) shortly after we arrived. He'll probably blame me for eating all the Doritos in the car on the way). A not-too-busy pub did very decent food for very reasonable prices. I had pizza (I think I mostly ate pizza (and chicken fillet rolls) in Ireland) with plenty of vegetables and the boyf had Shepherd's Pie and chips. 

I swear it's just the angle that's making it look so gigantic!

After a very civilised meal, we wandered off to another pub to listen to some trad and skulk in the corner. It turned out to be a very local pub. We were the first tourists not to turn tail upon entering, and it was pretty empty. I learned that they have apparently never heard of rum & coke in Galway. I got a funny look, a full bottle of coke and a tumbler of rum. I don't think I have ever seen so much rum outside of a bottle. The boyf says that Irish measures are much bigger than British ones, but even by that standard it had to be at least a quadruple (is that a thing?). London's pricy establishments must have taken my edge off, because I didn't manage to finish it, although I smelled like a pretty authentic pirate by the time I'd finished.

We stayed for a good few songs, and things got a bit livelier when some Americans who were even less observant than us set up camp by the bar. We headed home via a supermarket so I could buy a chocolate muffin.

That's your lot for now. Look out for the next thrilling episode tomorrow!

Dublin days

I'm back in England again, as of last night. Straight back to the rat race, in fact, as I've discovered mild cash-flow problems which look set to make this week quite interesting. It's taken a while for my wages for all my hard work journalising to start coming in, and this week's are not only thin on the ground but apparently not in my account yet. Much as I love the ascetic life, I may need to have a chat with my bank about that.

But on to more exciting things! Lax as I've been on the blogging front lately (all Ireland's fault), I've got quite a lot of What I Did On My Holidays-ing to do. I've decided to keep it mostly in picture form, as I have quite a few! It's also going to have to be a bit episodic, as pictures take quite a while to upload. Therefore, I will begin with the highlights from my first few days in Dublin: 

The Natural History Museum (and me!) 

So many stuffed animals! The ground floor was all Irish species, and then upstairs were animals from all over the world. I learned that I never want to eat sole again (their faces are just disturbing) and that tigers are pretty big. Also just how creepy moles' little hands are. It was a fun day out, although it was a bit chilly.  

Misty

Misty is the boyf's dog, and I will try not to be too soppy about her. Suffice to say, she is very cute, if prone to stepping all over you when you are trying to watch TV. 

Christchurch Cathedral (and the boyf)

I would like to pretend we toured the cathedral and were all cultural like that, but we only visited this bit by accident on the way out of Dublinia. Dublinia is kind of like Jorvik without the smells - lots of dummies demonstrating the various areas of Viking and Medieval life in Dublin. Did you know the vikings pretty much founded Dublin? It was very good fun (and Educational), although we had to rush around Medieval Dublin a bit because they were about to close. 

Me, sombre in a cathedral

Obligatory arty picture

I may have mentioned that we went to see Drive Angry before we headed off to Galway... Poor Nicholas Cage. I don't think I've ever seen him in a good movie. The boyf pointed out that this may be because he is not what you'd call a great actor, but it still seems a shame. He always has to be slightly oily and unpleasant, but maybe that's just his hair being typecast.

Next time: Galway! And maybe the Aran Islands, if I can get all the pictures into one post!

A viking did it and he ran away

I may be stretching the truth a little. Actually, I don't have any pictures (or even many words) today because I am shattered and have to go to bed. We went to Dublinia today, which is amazing and features many reconstructions, such as a viking street and a medieval fair. I learned that I have a smaller head than most vikings, and monasteries were the banks of the olden days!

This evening we went to see Drive Angry. In 3D. I realised this was in fact my first ever 3D movie, which was exciting and entertaining for the people sitting behind us because I tended to duck and squeak every time something 'flew' at me. The movie was ridiculous, but in a fun way.

Going to bed now. We're off to Galway tomorrow! I may be bereft of internets, so I will say goodbye for now, hope to blog soon!

Goodnight!

In Ireland

I'm writing this on the boyf's netbook before going out to meet him in the city centre, so it'll have to be brief. No pictures yet, but watch this space (if my camera will talk to this peculiarly tiny machine). I've also just noticed that there is no spellchecker to rely on, so apologies for any glaring typos.


I got up at 5am yesterday (which is the main reason I wasn't feeling very talkative, blogwise) to get the earliest bus to London Liverpool Street, where there is a handy train to Stanstead airport. I got through the whole airport rigamorale with plenty of time, and was sat next to a Sega Virtual Tennis game for quite a while waiting for my flight to board. I now know the names of most of the foremost players of the nineties, and what they look like made of pixels.

The boyf picked me up from the airport and drove us back to his house, where we mostly collapsed in front of the TV (he has had a few late nights recently too). We took Misty (his spaniel, who is probably the first person to appear on the blog without a nickname! (although she's not a person, she's a dog, so I don't know if that counts) for a walk in the park and went to the supermarket in the evening to find food, but that was as far as our energy went.

This morning, he's doing admin things at university, and I've been trying to get some work done in the house, but I'm going out to meet him soon. We are hopefully going to go to a gallery or a museum this afternoon, and I plan to take lots of pictures of everything!

Good afternoon!