Day 17 - Edinburgh To Dublin Travel Day

We are in Dublin tonight at a hotel near the airport.  We were fortunate to get an early check-in around 1:30, and spent the better part of the afternoon in our room watching Irish Hurling (very cool sport!) and dozing.  Around 5:00 we headed out to find a book store for Jojo, and a spot for our last dinner of the trip together.  Jojo got a good crime novel for the trip home - if it lasts that long… 🤣 We found a sweet spot for dinner called The Old Schoolhouse.  It was a classic multi-room pub/restaurant with lots of character and atmosphere.  What did we have for our last meal - fish and chips, of course!!!

The Last Supper 😂

We are now back at the hotel cleaning up, repacking our bags, and preparing for travel day tomorrow.  We should get to bed at a good time, but only after watching a few more episodes of trivia on The Chase!!

Last day of the trip - what can we say….

Favourite Town Visited:

JM - Doolin

Jojo - Belfast

Favourite Activity:

JM - Lawn Bowling in Scone with Joyce and Allan

Jojo - Walking to the summit point in Dingle Bay

Best Meal:

JM - Fish and chips at McDermott’s Pub in Doolin

Jojo - Fish and chips at The Friary

Best Drink:

JM - Thistly Cross cider at The Oxford with Jojo

Jojo - Stonewell Cider in Doolin

Would we come back:

JM - Yes

Jojo - Definitely!

What would we definitely do again:

JM - Walk the Cliffs of Moher, Hop-On-Hop-Offs

Jojo - Explore more of the Dingle Peninsula (smaller towns)

What would we do differently:

JM - Smaller towns, go to a Hurling match

Jojo - More hiking and biking in the countryside

What we are looking forward to most when we get home:

JM - Morning tea/coffee with Mandy, in my PJs and my slippers!

Jojo - A slow cup of coffee!

Although we have listed some favourites above, we both agree that all of the other locations and activities were not second-best.  I think we would both say it has been a trip of a lifetime, with so many good memories.  The food and drink were amazing, the scenery was spectacular, and the experiences were unforgettable.  We had a lot of laughs and good conversations along the way.  The people here have been very kind and friendly to us (except for the yelly bus driver 😡), and we were both thankful for all of them.

I guess that’s it for this trip.  Thanks to those of you who followed along, we really appreciated it.  It was fun to share with you.  I hope you enjoyed reading our blogs as much as we enjoyed putting them together!  Slán!!

Day 16 - Last Day In Edinburgh

As with all of the other legs of the trip, this one went way too fast.  We made the most of the day however, visiting the  National Gallery, Calton Hill, The Royal Mile, and Edinburgh Castle.  We saw the city from many different viewpoints, and each one only reinforced how unique of a city it is.  It is visually beautiful both from an architecture point of view (the castle, cathedrals, churches, bridges, monuments) as well as the natural point of view (Arthur’s Seat, gardens, The Meadows, The Firth Of Firth).  The passageways and hidden stairwells also make it so fun for exploring!

Watching The Magic At The Fudge Kitchen - Amazing!

Arthur’s Seat From Calton Hill

Jojo At Jacob’s Ladder - Thank Goodness We Didn’t Have To Go Back Up!!

Jojo At The Castle

After our late-afternoon rest we headed back into town to meet our good friends Gerry and Audrey from Okotoks, who are at the front end of their Scotland and Ireland adventure.  They arrived in Edinburgh around 4:30, and we connected about an hour later.  We headed over to Grassmarket to look for a place to eat, and ended up settling on the Beehive Inn.  We kept it local with our dinner choices - mac and cheese, fish and chips, and two steak pies.  It felt great to catch up and pass on a few travel tips we’ve picked up ourselves the last couple of weeks.  After dinner we worked our way back towards our respective accommodations, stopping at a couple of pubs along the way to try out a couple of whiskeys. 🥃 The bartenders were supper kind and helpful helping us roomies pick the right whiskey to try.  It was a lot of fun, and a great way to spend our last evening here.  Have a great trip, Gerry and Audrey!!  Can’t wait to hear all about it when you get home!

Pub Hunting - More Steps!!

Pub Crawl Final Stop

Tomorrow Jojo and I will be heading back to Dublin to start our trips back home - it’s hard to believe.  As with all of our other stops, Edinburgh has been amazing and has left us with some special memories.  I hope we can get back here again soon!

That’s it for tonight.  Talk to you from Dublin tomorrow!!

Day 15 - Trip To Scone

It is spelled “Scone”, but it is pronounced “Scoon”!!

This morning we were up early again to begin our trip to Scone.  We left the hotel around 7:15 and got to Waverley Station at 7:30, an hour early for our train to Perth. 🤪 I’m not a paranoid traveller, but I really do prefer having to wait than not being sure if I’ll even make it.  We spent our hour drinking tea/coffee and watching people and bold pigeons mill around the station.  The train to Perth left on time.  We were surprised at how few people were on it.  In our car we had a maximum of five people, and with a third of the journey left we were the only two still on board.  The journey through Perthshire was “lovely” as they might say here, and reminiscent of some previous trips in the area.  The landscapes of rolling hills, and green farmers fields is very picturesque.

It was neat for my dad to be travelling to Perth, home of the Tay River, because he also lives in Perth back home in Ontario, which is also home to the “mighty” Tay River!!😁

After getting off the train we had a short walk to the bus station for a quick ten minute ride to the town of Scone.  The driver corrected me on my pronunciation right away.  I didn’t mind though, because I knew better - I had been taught the proper way to say it on my last trip to Scotland, but unfortunately wasn’t thinking before I opened my mouth to speak to the bus driver. 🤣

We arrived at Joyce and Allan’s at 11:00, after a short walk up their track.  Amanda and I met Joyce on our first Scottish crossing in 2017.  We knew she was an amazing person right away, and have been blessed to reconnect with her again on subsequent hiking trips - she joined us for part of our hikes, and she rescued us when we were stranded in Glasgow waiting four days for missing backpacks…. She is truly the one of the kindest and most loving people we have ever met.  We met Allan, her husband, last year, and he’s not so bad either!!😁

Joyce had planned a day of visiting and lawn bowling for us, and we have both been very excited about it since the trip started.  It was a beautiful day out yesterday and we spent the first hour sitting on their back patio visiting, enjoying the warm sun, the garden, the birds, and each others company.  Lunch was next - we needed to fuel up for our lawn bowling match!  Joyce had prepared some delicious egg buns, sandwiches, and Scotch pies, with a fresh fruit platter for dessert.  It was all perfect, and we enjoyed every minute of it.

After digesting a bit it was time to drive over to the club and bowl!  We were a little unsure about how it was going to go at first as Jojo and I have never bowled, and it was rather busy with what looked to be some serious bowlers.  Joyce and Allan put us at ease though, and before we knew it we were giving it our best and having a great time.  Joyce and I took on Allan and Jojo.  It’s safe to say that it was really Joyce against Allan, and Jojo and I were just along for the ride.  We did both get a few good shots, but Joyce and Allan are clearly in a league of their own!  The whole experience was picture-perfect - the weather was good, we really enjoyed learning to bowl, and the atmosphere was light and very sociable.  If you ever get the chance, I would recommend trying lawn bowling - so fun!!

Allan Making It Look Easy

Joyce Showing Us How It’s Done

Jojo With A Money Shot!!

Post-Match Rehydration  😁

We headed back to the house after our match, where Joyce served us tea and some delicious treats before driving us to the train station for our journey back to Edinburgh.

Thank you Joyce and Allan for a day we will never forget!!  We could not have hoped for a more enjoyable time with two such special people!! ❤️

Day 14 - JM And Jojo Back In Scotland

Everything went smoothly today as we made our way from Belfast to Edinburgh.  We caught a bus a few hundred meters from our apartment to the Belfast City Airport.  Our flight was on time, we saw the ground crew load our luggage before takeoff, and we enjoyed the legroom of our Row 1 seats.  It was all very low-stress!  Landing in Scotland an hour later felt a little bit like coming home for me - I’m sure everybody who has ever heard me blab on about Scotland, knows how much I love it here. 😁

We caught the express bus to Princes Street Gardens, and then a city bus to our place about 2.5 km south to our B and B.  We have really loved the Maps app on my iPhone this trip.  There is a transit component on it that has worked without fail - whether going 2.5 km, or 250 km.  It gives the best transit options for any trip, and you can set the date and time if you are wondering how to get from A to B on a future date and time.  If you are ever in a city or country and are unfamiliar with the transit system, no need to worry!!

Our room is on the top floor of a beautiful stone house in an attractive neighbourhood.  We are about five blocks from Hollyrood Park, and the same away from some pretty decent restaurants, which should come in handy tonight.

After dropping our luggage off we wasted no time getting back up to the castle area.  First stop was Edinburgh Castle - we walked through Princes Street Gardens, past the National Gallery, over The Mound, along the Royal Mile, to Edinburgh Castle.  We made a quick stop at the Witches’ Well just before the castle, which is a drinking fountain that commemorates the people executed for witchcraft in the 1500s and 1600s.  Hundreds of those convicted were strangled and burned at the stake, right there on the Esplanade of what is now Edinburgh Castle. 😬

Witch’s Well

When we saw the lineup to get into the castle we decided to try again early Saturday morning instead of wasting valuable time today.  We  took our time walking down the Royal Mile, stopping in on some of the shops, a couple of whiskey stores, and my favourite fudge shop where you can watch them work their magic right in front of you.  We eventually ended back at Waverley Station and the Scott Monument.  One of the big reasons we are doing this side-trip to Edinburgh, was that my dad wanted to go to The Oxford Bar.  This bar is a favourite spot of Detective John Rebus, a recurring character in Sir Ian Rankin’s books, pretty much every one of which my dad has read.  I have had the good fortune of going to The Ox in 2017 with Amanda, and in 2019 with Ben, after our backpacking trips, and I was very happy to finally see my dad go there after having introduced us to the Ian Rankin books.  It was quiet when we got there, and were lucky to have the entire back room to ourselves.  We enjoyed a cold beverage, and had a nice chat with a Canadian couple that came in a while later.

Jojo At The Ox!!😊

Cheers!!

Once we were done our drink we headed back to Princes Street Gardens and found a bench to sit and relax while taking in the spectacular view of the castle.  If you haven’t seen it, Edinburgh Castle is a spectacular site, seeming to have been carved right into the side of the craggy hill, which is right in the middle of the city.  It is a truly amazing site!!

Castle View From Princes Street

Castle View From The Ross Fountain

After our routine late afternoon break back at the B and B we headed up the hill to an Indian cuisine restaurant we had passed on the bus earlier.  We had a delicious appetizer and meal, and are now back at our room getting ready for our big trip to Scone, to see my dear friends Joyce and Allan.  I am very excited to see them, have a wonderful afternoon catching up, and to report back on all of our fun tomorrow night.  Thanks again for reading, and talk to you then!

Day 13 - Ulster Museum And Best Chippy In Northern Island

The plan for today was to get up and start out at the Ulster Museum.  We were able to be there for opening time (10:00) but still managed a nice easy morning, the same as the previous two.  We crossed the bridge into downtown and then caught a city bus down to the Queen’s University Belfast stop, where we walked a few more blocks to the museum, which is on the grounds of the botanical gardens we visited the other day.

RETRACTION - I slandered Irish bus drivers in some previous posts, and I would now like to retract those statements.  We have been very fortunate since that time with friendly and helpful drivers who had more than enough patience to deal with us North American tourists! 😊

Ulster Museum has many sections including: fine and applied arts, archaeology, zoology, botany, and geology.  All of these elements are tied together by the history of Ireland and Northern Ireland, from as far back as the dinosaurs, through pre-historic times, Viking and Norman invasions, partitioning of Ireland and Northern Ireland, the troubles, and finally into present-day issues.  We really enjoyed it as it was interesting from both points of view - the artifacts, treasures, and art, as well as the entire history of the two countries.  And it was free!!!

In Front Of Ulster Museum Waiting For The Doors To Open

Cool Dragons Made By Expert Irish Basket Weaver

After going through the five floors of the museum we finished up about two hours later.  Next we were headed to catch a train to Carrickfergus to have lunch at Northern Ireland’s best chippy!!  We walked to the train station from the museum and lucked out on timing - there was a train leaving in five minutes.  We continue to be amazed at the low cost and convenience of the transit systems over here.  Our ~40-km round trip to Carrickfergus and back to Lanyon Place Station only cost us £12.20 total! 😳. This seems more than reasonable to us, and there seemed to be a train leaving every thirty minutes.  Wow!!

A 30-minute train, and short bus-ride later we arrived at The Friary.  I read about this place in an online article I found when searching up chippies.  It made the top 50 list of UK takeaways, and was the only one on the list in Northern Ireland.  We therefore concluded that it had to be the best chippy in Northern Ireland!!🤷.  The staff inside were very friendly, and seemed happy we stopped in.  We both went with battered haddock and chips, with a can of Coke Zero, and we were most definitely not disappointed!  The fish was fresh, the batter was crispy, the chips were delicious!!  Our only complaint, and it is not really a complaint, is that we could have shared one order and still been full.  In the end we ate as much as we could, and brought the second half home for dinner tonight. 🤣

Jojo Was Not Disappointed!! 😁

We walked back to the train station getting there about two minutes before the next train arrived, and enjoyed the scenery on our 30-minute ride back into Belfast.  We headed back to the apartment for a rest and to digest lunch for a couple of hours.😂

After our rest we headed back across the bridge one last time to try and get some salad for dinner.  The salad part was easy, the salad dressing was a little trickier.  Eventually we found “Salad Cream”, and decided to bring it home and give it a try.  It had a tangy, creamy mustard taste to it, and we enjoyed it.  It was nice to stay home for dinner tonight, and nice to have as many vegetables as we wanted.  I played some Irish pub tunes on my phone for a little ambiance as we ate.🤣

Zingy Salad Cream 🤣

We are headed to the airport for 8:30 tomorrow morning, catching a flight to Edinburgh for the last leg of the trip.  It’s hard to believe we only have a few days left, and at the same time part of us is probably starting to look forward to getting home and getting back to normal. We are excited for Edinburgh nevertheless, with some really fun activities planned.  Tomorrow we will arrive around 11:00, head to our apartment to drop off the bags, and then make our way back to Edinburgh Castle to tour around for the afternoon.  It will be nice for me to be back in Scotland where I’ve had so many good memories.  I am especially excited to see Joyce and Allan, and hopefully Anne too, my dear friends who Amanda and I met on previous trips.  We are planning to meet on Friday for lunch and a quick lawn bowl if we are lucky, and the weather cooperates. 🤞

We’re off to get packed and hit the hay.  That’s it for today.  Thanks again for reading the posts.  We hope you are enjoying them as much as we are!!

Day 12 - Titanic Quarter

We could get used to this easy morning thing!!!  Today’s wake-up was a repeat of yesterday’s - no alarms, tea/coffee, toast with jam, and a couple morning news shows.  We got things rolling around 10:00 am when we headed out for a leisurely stroll through Ormeau Park, the oldest municipal park in Belfast (1871).  The park is filled with jungle gyms, basketball and tennis courts, fitness equipment, and various types of trails.  On our way back along the river we saw an advertisement on the side of a bus for a Tom Jones concert to be held in June in the same park.  That would have been fun!!

Big Trees In Ormeau Park!

After a quick regroup at the apartment we headed for the Titanic Quarter.  We had a 1:30 pm tour booked at Titanic Distillers.  Good fortune was on our side again, as we were the only ones in that time slot so it was a personal tour of the distillery.  The distillery is located at Thompson Dock, the last site where the Titanic rested on dry ground.  The distillery is found in the old pump house where they have done an incredible job of preserving the past, while building a completely new distillery in the same place.  Titanic will be the first operational Irish whiskey distillery in Belfast in the last 90 years when it goes into production mode in two weeks.  In the meantime they have partnered with another distillery in the area to produce vodka and blended whiskey.  We really enjoyed our tour guide, and the feel of the whole place.  They’ve done a great job preserving the history of the Titanic and location in their story and design.

After the tour we walked along the Nautical Mile beside River Lagan and the Victoria Channel, taking in some of the attractions: HMS Caroline, a decommissioned C-Class cruiser that saw service in WW1; The Great Light, one of the largest lighthouse optics ever built, over 130 years old; Titanic Belfast visitor attraction built on the site of the shipyard where HMS Titanic was built (we did not go in, just looked around); SS Nomadic, also built by the White Star Line, used to transfer people and mail to and from HMS Olympic and HMS Titanic, and the only White Star Line vessel in existence today.  It was very informative and enjoyable.  We learned a lot about the Titanic, and we were amazed to see some of the places where she was built and was last seen.

HMS Caroline

HMS Caroline - Bow View

The Great Light

The Posts Show Exactly Where Titanic Was Built - Titanic Belfast Building In Background

SS Nomadic

That’s about it for today.  Tomorrow the plan is to hit the Ulster Museum in the morning, and then hop a short train to Carrickfergus to go to The Friary, the top-rated UK chippy in Northern Ireland.   Yummy, we can’t wait!!

Day 11 - Two Times Around Belfast

Today we opted for an easy start with no alarms, and no rush to get going. After waking up we relaxed at the apartment drinking coffee/tea, eating toast with jam, and watching the British morning shows. It was a nice way to start the day.

Around 10:00 we got ready and headed over the bridge to start our Hop-On-Hop-Off tour around Belfast. Uncle Doug once recommended HOHOs to me as a good way to get the feel for a city, and learn some good history. I have since done them in Grenoble, Edinburgh (a few times), Seattle, Dublin, and now Belfast, and I have never been disappointed. I really enjoy them, and also highly recommend them. As we did in Dublin, we did the whole loop once before deciding where to get off on the next loop.

Jojo In Front Of City Hall At Stop #1

After the first loop we hopped off to grab a coffee/tea and warm up a little. Jojo has decided that he likes lattes this trip, and might be inclined to have some more when he gets back home.😁 After some discussion we decided on two HOHO stops - Queens’s University/Botanical Gardens, followed by the Peace Wall/ troubles area.

The first stop at Queen’s University Belfast/ botanical gardens was very pleasant. On campus we toured around the Lanyon Quadrangle and looked in at the Great Hall. It must be summer term as the campus seemed very quiet. Next we headed over to the botanical gardens and had a peaceful stroll around the grounds. The trees and gardens were immaculately kept and very lush.

Jojo In Front Of His Alma 

The Great Hall

Once we were done at the gardens we flagged down a HOHO bus and headed over the Peace Wall to tour around the Irish and British sides. This part of the day was very interesting for us. There are still two very divided parts of this city, and it is very clear in West Belfast which side is being supported depending on where you are.  We walked along the Peace Wall first. The Peace Wall or peace line is a series of fences or barriers that were built to separate the Irish republican or Nationalistic Catholic from the British loyalist or unionist Protestants. Some of these walls are over 20 feet in height, and there are gates that are still closed every night to maintain peace between the neighbourhoods.

Jojo In Front Of One Of The Peace Wall Gates

There is a lot of street art that has been painted in the walls promoting peace in Northern Ireland and in other parts of the world.  It has become tradition for tourists to sign the walls with messages of peace and hope. We looked for Bill Clinton’s, Barack Obama’s, and my mother-in-law Annette’s signatures, but to no avail. We added a bilingual message of our own before heading over to the Protestant/unionist part of the city.

Jojo Signing The Peace Wall

Our Simple Message

Jojo In Front Of The Peace Wall

One thing that was immediately clear when walking through both sides is that there are many scars remaining from all of the tragedies of the troubles in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.  There are many  murals, memorials, and plaques detailing the events, the victims, and the lasting feelings towards the other side.  We felt sad, humbled, and grateful all at the same time.

Unionist Side #1

Unionist Side #2

Unionist Side #3

Republican Side #1

Republican Side #2

After we were done touring around both sides we caught the HOHO back downtown and headed to the apartment for a rest before dinner.  Our late afternoon breaks have been a blessing, and have been a nice way to break up the day.  Despite all of the fun we are having, I think we both appreciate this little bit of downtime that helps recharge us for the evening.

Tonight we ended up at The Garrick Bar for dinner.  It was a very cozy place with delicious club sandwiches!!  It turned out being MNF (Monday Night Football) tonight so we decided to stay and watch the first half of the Leicester City v. Liverpool match.  Liverpool has a very big following in Belfast so we were careful not to cheer for Leicester.  No worries though because Leicester are one of the three teams likely to be relegated when the season ends in three games, and it was 2-0 for Liverpool at the half.  It was fun to be part of the group, watching the game together in the local pub.

Tomorrow we had planned to head over to Giant’s Causeway but the thought of getting up early to sit on another bus for two hours isn’t thrilling us tonight.  We will likely look for another activity, closer to the city - maybe the Titanic museum, or maybe a local distillery tour.  We’ll keep you updated tomorrow night!  Thanks again to anybody who’s reading.  I hope we are telling an interesting story, and providing meaningful information.