The Ireland and Wales Sanction 2015

In which Carolyn and Fred visit Wales and Ireland in Sept of 2015.

September 2015

We’d been planning to visit Ireland for a long time.  We both have Irish roots and enjoy the Irish culture and way of life.  We decided to tack on a trip to Wales, so that we could visit Cardiff, the namesake for the town where we reside in California:  Cardiff-by-the-Sea.  (Founded by a Scot whose Welsh wife suggested the name.)  We thought it would be great fun to tell people we were from Cardiff and see their reactions.  And it was!

Cardiff

The bus from Heathrow dumped us at a temporary ‘station’ since the Cardiff bus station was being remodeled.  With no phones or taxis, it was a bit of a puzzle to get in touch with our AirBNB hosts.  Stayed at a lovely property, hosted by a lovely young couple.  He was from the Canary Islands, she was from  Czech Republic (or another nearby country.)  Conversations were very interesting – particularly their views on the E.U.

Lots of butterfly bush here!  Same wildflower fluffs as in Alaska.  And I saw my first hedgehog in the wild – what a cute little critter!

Cardiffians are incredibly polite and cheerful people.   Everything is bilingual and a surprising number of people speaking Welsh.  Balkanization?

A fascinating visit to old village at St. Fagan’s – they’ve set aside a huge parkland and populated it almost entirely with actual period buildings.  I’m always fascinated by how people live and have lived.  The homes are tiny but cozy.  Clearly, the structures protected from the elements, with thick stone walls and sturdy roofing.  Fireplaces and high backed seats contained the heat in the living spaces.  Once off to bed, though, you’d need some serious comforters and company to stay warm.  Most often, the children slept en masse in a loft if there was one, giving them the advantage of rising heat.  I don’t recall ever seeing homes set up with meats being cured indoors until here – nice ceiling hooks set into a raised cove kept hams above everyone’s heads.  One home contained a handcrafted slate icebox.  It was quite attractive – sleek black and clearly functional.

A cab driver mentioned “Daddy” – it took a little questioning to discover that this was his name for Obama.  All the Europeans seem to love him.

We were very disappointed that the Doctor Who walking tour canceled out on us without notice.  We love Doctor Who, and much of the show’s scenes are set in Cardiff, including Cardiff Castle, so we were hoping to get the back story and see the actual scenes.  Not to be – this time.  We did tour the Castle on our own.

We found ourselves at the 10th Anniversary of the incredible  Wales Millennium Centre.  Called Ar Waith Ar Daith, it was truly a spectacle.  We got some film and video, but for better pictures, go here:  http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/arts-culture-news/ar-waith-ar-daith-provides-10044086.  Narrated by a “witch”, the show theme was the history and culture of Wales, played out in music, video projections, live dancers and actors in costume.  It included an interlude of four-wheelers decked out as sheep (think Texas longhorns on that Cadillac, only smaller and fluffier.) and finished with dazzling fireworks.

We literally stumbled upon the preparations the day before the event, and chatted up one of the crafts-people, a woman who was building a frame with oil-soaked ropes in kind of heraldic pattern, that would be lit on fire during the event.  Her other role was as a fish – essentially the lead puppeteer of the fish brigade.

The witch is actually an opera diva, who narrated in English and Welsh.  All good fun and good practice for our Welsh Gaelic, which now totals about 2 words.

After our three days claiming we hailed from Cardiff, we departed via Rail /sail trip from Cardiff to Crewe/Holyhead/Dublin.  The train was nothing special, but it connected well with the ferry.  With a casino, movie deck, restaurant and bar, the ferry was elaborate and comfortable, at least as far as crossing the Irish Sea.

Dublin

We had an equally wonderful AirBNB here.  The location, near Temple Bar was unbeatable as we could walk to almost anything of interest – food, drink, yoga, and endless music.   The musical pub crawl we signed up for was a hoot and educational to boot.  Oh, I must be in the home town of many poets.

The many bookstores offered up Oscars Wilde’s many quips, my favorite being roughly that when God created mankind, he overestimated his own capabilities.

There’s good food to be had – our hosts turned us on to Brother Hubbard, excellent for breakfast and walking distance.  Every pub has food and music, any day of the week.

Yoga two evenings with Keith at the Iyengar center helped work out some of our travel kinks.  Highly recommended.

And off to the South and West

We rented a car and visited Saint Kevin’s and Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains.  A very beautiful first taste of the wild beauty of Ireland.

First night away from Dublin town was in Cobh (Pronounced “cove”)   One of the most flowered towns I have seen – displays all over town of lavish begonias, petunias, and other flowering plants.  There’s an ongoing rivalry between villages for the annual ”Tidy Town’ prize.

Stayed at Gilbert’s, which had the location convenient to the town center, and kitty-corner from Rob Roy pub, where we were able to enjoy a trad trio, with violin, guitar and a sort of accordion or concertina.  The musicians fessed up that all or most of the trad Irish instruments have been liberated from other countries.

In Cobh, we viewed the Titanic memorial garden – quite peaceful and a nice tribute.  It included a memorial stone to Mr. Islay, who was the chairman of the White Star Line at the time of the loss, and who retired not long after, presumably in distress.   His wife had erected the stone in the garden of their home after his death and later donated it to the memorial garden.  A glass display contains the names of all passengers joining the Titanic at Cobh, surrounding an illustration of the liner positioned such that you view the ghost image of where the ship last anchored before its doomed journey.

Finally some good rain!!!

We chose to stay in Clonakilty to tour the Cork vicinity and found the Bay View House B&B –  Host Miriam, parents Tony and Noreem, 4 stars.  Very nice, set on farm-like grounds.  We were told to look for foxes… no dice!  Plenty of cows, though.  Met Kevin and Jessica – a nice Pittsburgh couple.  They’re seasoned Ireland travelers, off now to Dingle, then Galway.

Took off for Lit out for Drombeg stone circles – very interesting.  The stone circle is like a more primitive Stonehenge – smaller, shorter and with burial as its apparent purpose.  (Along with obligatory sunrise alignment with spring.)  More fascinating were the huts nearby – the remaining stone more like stone igloos, built with running water and a fire pit, boiling water whenever you have the fuel to heat it.

Raining all day – dropped in at Glandore and CastleTownshend.

Song about Michael Collins at Shanley’s – very touching how audience went silent and moved towards stage.

Ring of Beara – awesome!  Lunch at O’Neill’s  Rain on and off.

In Kenmare, stayed at Caha’s – very cramped, but clean and great shower.

Next to Dingle – lovely surf yeah. B&B An — —- run by Anne and Derry – cute older couple.  He was B&B inspector for years.  Tiny bed – it was the first time in a long time that I found my legs dangling off the end and in danger of rolling off the bed!

Doolin, tiny town, full of music, is known as the center of traditional Irish music.   The Cliffs of Moher – impressive and worth trekking along.  Windy night at Lodge at Doolin.  Walked to the local pub, met Lisa from NJ via Austin, on 4-week sabbatical, hiking the Burren trail.

Now in Spiddal, a suburb of Galway, pronounced a lot like “spittle” but no one seems to mind.  Just settled into a little thatched-roof 18th-century seaside B&B called Cloch na Scith.  It’s been in the family for generations.  We had a little time for a rest before dinner after a day full of a castle, some dolmens and a tour of a perfumerie (who knew?).  Our room looks out on the Cliffs of Moher and Aran Islands in the distance.  In the yard, the white ducks’ antics are amusing, though I know they’re being groomed for “the pot” at Christmas.

Drove into Galway city proper – lovely walking streets.  Buskers are everywhere, many in modern dress, but there’s the odd Elizabethan getups like the Chanting Bee hurdy-gurdy man.  I’d be exhausted doing what he does – stand on soapbox grinding and playing his instrument.  The Galway city museum is quite interesting – a large exhibit given over to the sport of hurling and its lengthy history – some hurling balls found in bogs date back to 12th century!  Before there were lots of sophisticated materials, balls were made from the hair of cows and horses, often braided tightly to bind the ball together.  We were sad to learn that we had just missed the hurling season.  It would have been exciting to watch!

One amusing vignette in Galway… Just after we’d finished lunch, we stumbled across the Boojum Burrito shop.  Many of you know that the Boojum plant (also known as Cirio) could have been a Dr. Seuss invention, for its weird shape and spiny offshoots.  It’s native to Baja California and rare anywhere else.  Fred and I are fond of this oddball, and Fred so much that he named his company Boojum Mobile!  Hence, we had to check out the burrito restaurant.  We were quite amused to watch the clients’ method of eating their burritos.  While we Californians hold the burrito like a harmonica and start gnawing, the civilized Irish plant the burrito vertically on their plates, peel open the upper end and delicately fork the contents into their mouths.

The Tigh Giblin pub was a great find – excellent food and great music.  We got to mix with the locals and met a traveling couple, Jim and Anneke who happened to be staying at t=our same B&B.  He’s originally from Dublin, she from Germany, now living in Australia.  He’s a musician and travels a lot to gigs all over the world.  After leaving the pub, we sat up with them in the living room of the B&B and chatted.  They were very interesting and nice to talk to.  Would like to stay in touch.

Next day, we drove from Spiddal to Clifden, a small and tidy town on the coast, then to the spectacular Connemara.  Encountered our first peat-stop.

The day trip to the islands was fascinating.  Aran Islands?  from Dingle?  I’ve forgotten!

Eventually, we made our way back to Dublin, just an overnight before heading back to the states.

And we’re still vowing to return to Ireland, to many of the same locales, and also up to the northwest and Northern Ireland.  I’d like to chase down my mother’s great grandfather’s trail in Sligo.  He’s the most recent immigrant to the U.S. on her side.  And Fred’s McClain roots likely lived in County Antrim in Northern Ireland, part of the Ulster Scots.