Ireland, day 6 – Malahide to Belfast

We started off this day with breakfast at the Grand hotel. It was buffet style and featured a very good selection of breakfast items. We got on the bus being forewarned that it was going to be a relatively long day on the drive up to Belfast.

Our first stop was Drogheda. This city was formerly a walled city and you could see the remnants of the wall as you drove in and out of the city. From there we visited an exquisite cathedral.

Our next stop was the Battle of the Boy ne visitor centre, which detailed an important event in the history of the republic of Ireland. It was a cool attraction and I always love hearing about the history of a place and love the museum-like atmosphere, but it was definitely one of the lesser impressive places on our trip so far. Honestly, I was a little bored….

We piled into the bus again and next we stopped at a small town called Carlingford. We decided to eat at Taafe’s castle… Yup it was actually located in an old Norman castle! It was a pub-style atmosphere. 45 of the 47 people decided to eat there! The service was quite slow, but then again, I highly doubt they are very busy at other parts of the day when tour buses aren’t passing through and 45 people all at once in any establishment would be quite a lot. We sat at the bar and got to chat with the bartender all about the local area. It was so much fun! I ordered a “toasty” (toasted sandwich with ham, cheese, tomato & onion). It was so delicious!

After we were done eating, the bartender took the 6 of us sitting at the bar into the other part of the castle, which is an unrestored area used as a storage room right now. Really neat to see nevertheless! There were a couple of tapestries and old family coats of arms on the walls as well. It was a great experience. The scenery in this town was amazing and it was right on the ocean (which a couple of crazy people were swimming in!).

We continued the scenic drive up to Belfast and our tour guide filled us in on the “Troubles” in northern Ireland. It was fascinating to hear about it and if you’re interested in learning more about it, I highly recommend looking it up, since I certainly can’t do the topic justice on this blog.

Our first stop on arrival to Belfast was the Ulster Museum. Another amazing museum! I immediately went to the more recent history section because I wanted to learn more about the more recent conflicts in the area and the info was just fascinating! I then went backwards to the beginning of known history in the area with the Neolithic timeframe. It really is crazy how old this place is and how long people have been inhabiting this island! I ran out of time because I am one of the freaks that likes to read every single thing in the museum! The museum also had an arts section and a natural history section which Corey enjoyed most with their wide collection of rocks & minerals. There was also a botanic gardens behind the museum which I didn’t make it to, but the photos Corey took looked lovely.

Back to the hotel where we went to the bar for a drink before supper. We stayed in Malone lodge and it’s a very clean hotel with spacious rooms and a nice bar. It’s hard to compare to the one we stayed in Malahide because that was just exquisite and probably the nicest place I’ve ever stayed in! The meal was served by the hotel and it was a 3-course meal and it was awesome. Totally in love with the food, that’s for sure!

We packed it in early tonight on account of such a long day. We’re definitely loving our trip so far!

Ireland day 7, Belfast, UK

Of course, the first order for the day was breakfast. We ate at our hotel in Belfast, Malone Lodge. It was buffet style with a great selection of fruit, pastry, cereal, and hot food. It was yummy!

After breakfast we hopped on the bus and headed down to Belfast City Hall. It’s an old building which they started building in 1898. It took 6 years to build and high vaulted ceilings. On the interior it is full of exquisite Italian marble. We did a guided tour through there which talked to us a little about the history of Belfast as a town/city and some info about the art in the building, mostly portraits of former Lord Mayors. Very interesting stuff.

Next we hopped back on the bus and did a tour of the city. I wish I wasn’t on the bus for this part or that the bus had a top floor (double decker) like the hop & go bus we were on in Dublin. It was hard to see super well or get photo as we drove by, which was a little disappointing. We learned a little more about the Troubles of Northern Ireland. We toured falls rd & shankhill rd and got a look at some of the political murals. Unfortunately, most were through the bus window which really is a shame. We stopped at the “peace wall” which is a massively high fence that separated the catholic & Protestant neighborhoods in the area. It really was a surreal experience to learn about such recent conflicts when you come from a peaceful country (aside from riots following Stanley cup playoffs). Apparently you can do a “black taxi tour” of the area too and it’s supposed to be amazing. I’ll keep it in mind for next time.

After that we stopped for lunch and a couple of hours of free time. We were Originally going to go to The Crown, a popular saloon style pub in the heart of Belfast. It was very busy there so the food must be good! It definitely had lots of character… Oak & mahogany finishings with carvings in the ceilings and walls and booths to sit in that were totally encapsulated from the rest of the bar. After reading the menu, we decided to go elsewhere since about 80% of the menu contained fish products and the last place I want to end up on this holiday is in a hospital!

We looked around as we walked around the city centre, close to the town hall and eventually just decided to go to Pizza Hut…. Sometimes you just get exhausted trying to find food that won’t kill you and fast food at a place you know doesn’t serve fish is just easier. After lunch we looked around in some shops and took some photos of the fabulous architecture in downtown Belfast. I just love the old buildings!

When we got picked up by the bus again, we got to take in the Titanic exhibition. I am pretty much fascinated by anything related to the Titanic. I’ve been to various exhibits in St. John’s, Halifax and Las Vegas so I was really looking forward to this! There’s a walking tour, but the wind is so crazy today (hurricane strength) that we did it on the bus instead. We got to visit the old drawing room where the vision of the Titanic was brought to life on paper! Incredible! Unfortunately, the building and the room is crumbling as it hasn’t been maintained. Our tour guide informed us they are trying to open up a boutique hotel there instead but they are really hoping that the building will be turned into a museum. We also got to see the massive drydock where titanic went to get the finishing touches just before her sail date. That really put a perspective on the size of this massive vessel. After a quick coffee, we went to the pumphouse to see how the drydock works and some of the cool technology from the turn of the 1900s. We also got to see a video of original footage of the Titanic coming into and out of the drydock. I highly recommend this tour if you’re ever in Belfast! Well worth it for sure.

Our tour guide told us there is a Museum of transportation just outside the city that has a portion dedicated to the Titanic and houses over 500 artifacts from the wreckage. Very cool.

Then it was about an hour of relaxing/drinking in the pub before supper. We had supper at the hotel (Malone Lodge) and once again it was an amazingly delicious 3 course meal. After that we went down the street to the pub and drank pints, despite the fact we are leaving at 8 am this morning and have to have out bags outside our room by 7 am! It was a good time, lots of fun. My drink of choice? Do you even have to ask? Guinness of course!

Ireland day 5, Malahide

The 5th day of our trip was way more low key. We decided to sleep in for once, but we were still out of bed at 7:30 and hungry! We decided to eat breakfast at Flanagan’s on O’Connell street since we knew the food was good there and we didn’t want to waste time looking around. The huge downside and peculiarity I’ve found with a lot of places that offer breakfast is that they often don’t open until 9 am. This time I had eggs with bacon, sausage & tomato. It was very very salty…. The breakfast I had there the day before (omelette) was much better. The coffee was good though, the service outstanding and the price was right.

After breakfast, we packed up our suitcases to move on to hotel #3, where we would meet our your group, Royal Irish Tours in a very swank hotel in Malahide, which is a town about 20 minutes North of Dublin City. Driving into this town (we took a cab), we saw many beautiful estates…. Magnificent houses with perfectly manicured landscaping. Getting into the town centre were many stores, restaurants and cafes. Then we saw the ocean! And lots of sailboats.

We checked into our hotel which was just amazing. The architecture and the detail in the ceiling, beautiful antique-looking furniture, amazingly crafted fireplaces, beautifully detailed ceilings…. Just amazing. The room we were staying in was very spacious and comfortable. The only complaint is that it was way too hot! But otherwise, can’t really complain.

We dropped our bags and immediately started exploring the town. We walked down to the harbourside and walked along the beach. It really reminded me of Newfoundland! The wind off the ocean was nice and warm though.

Then we walked downtown and went for lunch at Itsa. It was a funky sandwich/bagel place. I was pretty excited! It was my first time eating bagels since I started eating wheat again (that in itself is a story for another day!). I had a bagel club sandwich and it was the best! They use a Brie in their sandwich called Wicklow Brie (I’m assuming it’s made in Wickow!) and omg, it was phenomenal! I also loved the decor of this place… They had lots of plants, comfy seats, old posters from the 50s & 60s and an outside area with a partially covered veranda. They do have a gluten free menu as well. It hasn’t been easy to find gf friendly restaurants around here (hence part of the reason I’m eating wheat, but like I said, that’s a story for another time).

After lunch, we walked to Malahide Castle. The grounds of the castle cover 250 acres! So you’re walking for a while on a paved trail through beautiful trees and greenery. There’s also a fun park there for kids of all ages. I nearly took a spill walking across a rolling log, but it was all in good fun. The castle was awesome! It dates back to the late 1100’s and was occupied by the same family from 1185ish to 1975… Pretty impressive. We got to tour the castle which was turned into a museum with each room depicting a different era and with many artifacts from that time. The detailed decor and sculpturing is just phenomenal. We really enjoyed this tour. I’d highly recommend it if you happen to be in the Malahide area.

After the castle, we headed back to the hotel and got ready to meet our tour group. We met for a drink (Guinness for me of course!) and then went for dinner at the hotel restaurant, Coast. The view was spectacular as we had panoramic windows that face the beach and ocean. The meal was quite fancy, a 3-course meal and it was delicious! That pretty much concluded day 5. In the evenings we haven’t been up to doing a whole lot, so mostly we just go back to the room to relax and whatnot. There are 47 in our tour group and we are most definitely the youngest! So far everyone seems like they are best kind anyways so I’m sure it will be a fun week!

Ireland!

I’ve been too busy with work and trying to pack and clean and spend time with my dog lately to post. Today, we’re heading off to Ireland where we will spend 2 weeks touring around the country. Most importantly, I will be indulging in at least one pint of Guinness on a daily basis! I can’t wait to recap my trip here for everyone to read!

I was supposed to post this before we left, but for some reason I must have just saved it as a draft. We are having a blast in Ireland! We have spent the past 4 days in Dublin and it is just amazing here. I love the history of this place, the amazing architecture and the beer! Today we meet up with our tour group and tomorrow we travel to Belfast in Northern Ireland and all the way around to Galway in the next week. If there’s wireless and I get any downtime, then I’ll start recapping my trip so far. This is truly the experience of a lifetime!

Ironman Calgary 70.3

Yesterday I watched TSN’s broadcast of this year’s Ironman Calgary 70.3.  It was amazing!  I just loved the stories about the athletes, both pro and age groupers.  It’s inspiring when you hear about how people are able to overcome all odds and then rise to this spectacular challenge of completing a half ironman triathlon.  It gives me faith that I will be able to do it one day.  In fact, I’m planning to do it next year!  I had already decided that I want to try out the half iron distance when I completed my first olympic distance triathlon.  I know I struggled on the run, but I have almost an entire year to figure out what happened and to come up with a better nutrition and fueling plan (because I think that’s where everything went wrong).  I was thinking I would either do Sylvan Lake or Calgary but after seeing the beautiful scenery on TSN’s broadcast, I think I’ll do Calgary! 

I’m really excited to start “training” again.  Right now I feel like I’m in limbo and it’s way to easy to let my inner couch potato out to play.  I stayed really active while I was home on vacation.  I did a lot of hiking, trail running, went to the pool a couple times and walked the dog lots.  Now that I’m back into the work swing, it’s been hard to stay motivated.  The fact that I’m working night shifts doesn’t make it any easier.  Once I get back into a training mode, I will be more motivated to pass up the sofa for a swim or a run and I KNOW that I will feel better for doing that!  Beginning Oct 1, I plan to start again with a workout schedule to start building in some base mileage with running, get into going to spin class and doing some easy spins on the trainer (although I’m hoping to be still riding outside into the end of October like last year!) and to get back into the pool with some drills to help with my swimming technique.  I’m also planning to get back into going to yoga…. and as I’m typing this I remember that I was going to go to yoga tonight at 5:30 and now it’s 6:05…. oops!  And I’d like to use this fall to start doing some more strength training.  Or rather doing SOME strength training.

I think it’s really important to have some time away from structured workouts and schedules and feeling like you “need” to get in a particular mileage or number of hours in training.  I think it’s important to have some time where you just do almost nothing.  It was great to not have to worry about it while I was on vacation… although I still got up early and ran or swam most mornings because I enjoy it and it improves my life!  That being said, it was also nice to get out to the pub and stay out late and drink a few pints too many and sleep in the next day 🙂  But overall, I really do enjoy living an active lifestyle.  I feel better and healthier when I exercise regularly.  And mentally, I feel sharper when I have my sights set on a race.  I’m going to put it all out there right now.  I have my sights set on Ironman Canada.  On Monday, I was very very close to registering for next year!  All I had to do was fill in my credit card info and hit submit.  But, I want to be realistic.  I know I am not there yet.  I know that some people who are less fit and active than me train for it and do it in a year with no previous triathlon experience.  But I also know that I want it to be an enjoyable experience overal and that I will feel much more comfortable and confident if I have a few halfs under my belt first.  So I won’t put a timeline on this goal because I know that life loves to get in the way 🙂  But I definitely want to do it sometime!