Sunday in the Wicklow Mountains

We've had a visitor with us from Canada, Glen, who's never been to Ireland before. So Catherine and I figured we'd show him a few of the sights (although he was great about getting out and exploring on his own). So, early Sunday morning Glen and I headed up to the Wicklow Mountains for a bit of a drive and some fresh air. Here's a photo from the Wicklow Gap area....very pretty.Now the town of Glendalough is quite touristy but not much else is in the area, so it's great for just wandering without the fear of packs of Spanish tourists.

We made it back home just in town to head to the pub for the All-Ireland Championships (Gaelic Football), Kerry vs. Cork. A cracking match and we both enjoyed it, as did the whole pub. Now that's a sport I'm going to enjoy, along with hurling. Not quite a full replacement for hockey but it's a start.

Sunshine on the Aran Islands

This past weekend was our first weekend trip with the new students. The plan was to head to Galway for Friday night, Saturday travelling through the Burren, on to the Cliffs of Moher, and then overnight in the small village of Doolin. Sunday was a ferry to Inis Mor (one of the Aran Islands) where the students were free to explore in their own way. So, it's the kind of trip that could be a complete washout in the event of rain.

But, the weather gods shined on us, boy did they ever! Each day was about 23oC and sunny and calm. Not a cloud in the sky. I even got a tan. Yep, a tan, in Ireland, in September!

The Aran Islands, when the sun is shining, must be one of the most beautiful, peaceful, scenic, cultural etc. places in Europe. Stone walls, abandoned churches, small villages, crashing waves....lovely. I'll post some pictures soon.

A Change in the Weather...

We're making some final preparations for our weekend trip to the west coast of Ireland. Lilly is on the phone to various B&Bs in Doolin to try and find a place for our bus driver to stay, but everything seems booked out. In questioning the fifth B&B 'is there something going on in Doolin this weekend', the response from the B&B owner made us laugh.

'The sun is shining'.

Only in Ireland.

Dublin's new IKEA

So, the long anticipated IKEA store opened in Dublin in late July. Apparently the store was ready months ago but the regional government hadn't done their part in finishing the roads leading to the store. Prior to this store opening, Dubs traveled in convoy to the store in Belfast, where the parking lot was filled with a good percentage of cars from the Republic.

Catherine and I had been trying to buy a new bed for a while now, and the Belfast store was either out of stock all the time or only had stock when we couldn't make it up there. So, we were resigned to waiting for the new Dublin store to open, even though prices are guaranteed to be much higher in Rip Off Ireland. We went out to the store a couple of Sundays ago....big mistake. Packed to the rafters with people who had never been to IKEA and didn't understand IKEA etiquette. You follow the arrows people, and don't block the main aisle. If you want to have a chinwag about how great the stuff is, please pull off to the side. Oh yeah, of course it was like a family outing as well, with several generations of Dubs blocking the aisles at the same time. And of course the bed we wanted was out of stock (somehow we still managed to spend €200 on things we didn't go there for).

So yesterday I took a rare day off work and took the bus to the store again, having called first to check the bed was in stock. The bus ride was an adventure in itself. First it goes through the leafy suburbs of Glasnevin, before traveling through the horror that is Ballymun. My god, people actually live there. Burned out buildings, graffiti everywhere, aimless youth just hanging around looking menacing. Grim grim place. At least they're starting to bulldoze it to start again after its been recognized as one of the worst social housing experiments in Europe.

Made is to IKEA, bought the bed, and now I'm sitting at home waiting for delivery. Then I just have to put the damn thing together!

Rail fiasco update

Here is an update on the causes of the near disaster on the northern Dublin commuter line. It looks like scour around the bridge piers is going to take the blame, but I stand by my semi-expert opinion that this doesn't happen overnight. Spotted apparently by some boy scouts but not Irish Rail. Somebody dropped the ball on this one and should pay with their job. Of course this being Ireland that won't happen, because we all know that 'it will be grand'.

As for replacement services for commuters, I must say that I am fairly impressed with Dublin Bus and the way they've picked up the slack. From 6:30 to 9:00 am there is an express bus from Skerries to Tara Street that takes about 50 minutes. Only about 10 minutes more than the rail commute, but certainly not as convenient a drop point for my office. Evening rush hour is similar, with good fast service but inconvenient pick up points. Oh well, I can deal with that for a few (six?) months.

My main beef is that there are no express buses in the evening after 7pm. So if I want to stay in town for dinner, a pint, or have to stay in town for work, I'm kind of screwed. A nearly 2 hour ride on the regular bus is the only option. Sigh. I think Paddy Power must be taking bets on when this will be operational again. I'll give 5:1 against it being operational before Christmas.

And another thing.....the 'apologies for the disruption' signs at the station sort of cover it when there is a 10 minute delay. But for a 6 month denial of service I expect something a bit more....well, apologetic.