Half-Day Dublin Trip

Yeah, even after being here for almost a year, I haven't seen all the attractions yet, so I decided to cover some of those yesterday before I go grocery shopping.

The first place I went to was the National Museum. It showcased artifacts dating back from the Paleolithic to the Viking Eras of Ireland. There was nothing about modern Ireland though. I guess they put it somewhere else. And like all museums, it bored the heck out of me in 2 hours. I did learn a few useful things though, for example, more history!! T_T I can say I remember more Irish history now than Malaysian.

Next I went to the Old Jameson Distillery, birthplace of the most popular whiskey in the world, Old Jameson Whiskey. We saw a video of its history, took a tour not too different from the one at the Guinness Storehouse, and finally had a taste of Old Jameson whiskey. Best of all, since I volunteered to do taste comparisons, I got three extra shots of whiskey! 8D But hey, I got this cool certificate which nobody else got because they didn't volunteer!

Then I went to grocery shopping. Like I said, short trip. Nothing much.

Cork and Limerick - 5-day trip

Since I had some spare time, I figured I should come back and revive this poor little blog. Sure it's MY poor little blog, but it doesn't kiss up to me enough for me to care so much. It should feel lucky that I'm even doing something with it again, and not wiping it from the face of the internet.

Nah, I can't do that. This place houses my Watched Anime List, which I also haven't updated in months now. But that hardly matters. I haven't really watched much since the last time I updated the list. Only some 20 new titles. That shouldn't be too hard to remember.

Anyway, I returned to Dublin a month and a half earlier than my peers for some traveling and tidying up my house at MY OWN PACE. I LIKE to do things at MY OWN PACE, got it memorised?

Traveling plans got a little delayed because of that and some other things which I need not discuss. So, after a week of settling things at home, I can finally continue the initial plan.

Cork and Limerick were the places I decided to visit. I also planned a second visit to Galway, but accommodation became an issue and I was forced to give that up. Accommodation in Limerick was already a bomb, I didn't need a second one.

On the 10th of August 2010-the first day of my trip-I arrived in Cork City, capital of the Rebel County. I took a walk (yes, on foot) around the city to familiarise myself with place. A harbour and many warehouses occupied much of the city's eastern side; boring commercial buildings filled the western side; and old houses lined the northern side. I never bothered to check the southern part of the city. The central part of Cork City was the only place kept new and tidy, but it was much smaller than Dublin's City Centre and a little less attractive. Also, the city as a whole was also very small. It's like Dublin compressed to fit a tuna can. Seriously!

On Day 2, after much rescheduling, I decided to take a tour out of the city and head for the port town of Dingle. On the bus, I met a Chinese family. Their son sure was a talkative one. While he did entertain me for the 3 hour ride, it did get a wee bit irritating once he started following me and still kept talking, even when I'm clearly not listening anymore. I mean, come on, I'd like to go see things when I'm on a tour, not listen to a kid telling me about the difference between China and Ireland. Heck, he didn't listen to me when I explained why there was a difference!

Now then, more about the tour. We first stopped at a beach, which felt kinda meaningless to me seeing as I lived 18 years of my life on an island. So, 30 minutes on that beach, and I spent it observing how the sand changes its tone when I step harder on the ground. For those who didn't know, it does. Go try it out. Make sure you're stepping on the wet sand and not the dry sand.

Then, we continued on (and the kid continued on and on and on) to Slea Head, a peninsular on the southern coast of Ireland. There, we were introduced to the seven islands of Blasket, where the inhabitants were once almost separated from the outside world, not that it was a bad thing. In fact, they didn't suffer from the Great Famine of 1845-1852 because they were separated from the rest of the country. While the whole country was dying because the potato crops were ruined, the islanders continued on with their daily lives relying on fish. Blasket was also the birthplace of many great Gaelic authors, poets and storytellers; most of them told tales of life on the island. Too bad I can't read Gaelic or I might just give them a try.

You might have noticed that I mentioned nothing about the scenery, because it's the exact same thing I saw in Galway. Long stretch of grasslands and hills, fenced by walls made of rocks. No cement or mortar was used in constructing those walls, which is quite impressive since they were very neat and have been standing there for hundreds of years.

Finally, we headed for Dingle, and I resorted to daydreaming by now. Now, Dingle is a port town that used to thrive on fishing. It still does that now, but its main business is now tourism, all thanks to a dolphin. You heard right. Some 30 years ago, the town was a small fishing village, totally unknown and the people just barely get past the day. Dolphins would visit that port town every year but only for a short while. But one year, a dolphin did not leave the town and hung around toying with the fishing boats. When news spread out, people started flocking in to see that dolphin and well, the townspeople decided it was time for a change of business. An aquarium was opened to showcase the dolphin, which was named 'Fungi'. Fungi was free to come and go as it pleased, but never left until 20+ years later. But since Dingle still gets visited by dolphins yearly, people still keep coming and the town is still prospering till today.

One more thing. Dingle has great ice-cream! But I wonder how many people will actually try it with the 16 degree temperature and the sea breeze blowing in the town.

After that, we wrapped it up and went home. 3 hours of non-stop radio was drowned out with my last resort and favourite hobby. GAMING!!! I beat Hachi/Sensei and Colin/Sasha with Eagle/Andy! Yeah!

That night, I went for food at Clancy's, since it was being advertised everywhere. One waitress was nice, but I can't say the same about the others. Food was okay, and, since the alcohol was expensive and my mom wouldn't be too happy about me drinking (not that she would know if I don't tell), I didn't drink.

Next day, I went around Cork and visited places I missed like the Cork City Gaol (it means 'jail') and the Butter Museum, which introduces Irish butter such as Kerry Gold. Then, I left Cork for Limerick, bidding adieu to the birthplace of many Irish rebels before their independence.

So, Limerick... I arrived kind of late and the city centre was rather far from my accommodations so I decided to rest for the day. I tried Irish coffee again that night, and found that it tasted much better than the one they served at Bewley's, which, might I add, tasted like bleh!

Then, Day 4... Today, actually. I took a stroll around the city and visited their many attractions. King John's Castle, the Hunt Museum, the Treaty Stone, several churches... and I was done by 1pm. WHAT?? Yeah, all those places done in 4 hours. Longest one was the castle, which took me an hour. And since the shopping district was completely boring (at least the one in Cork entertained me for several hours), I came back and posted this.

Tonight, I'll be heading over to O'Connell's bar for some cheap but quality food (or so they boast). In fact, I should be leaving right now!

Tata, folks. Hope you enjoyed the revival post.

Next week, I might bring you an exclusive documentary on Oslo, Norway... if plane tickets are still cheap. I haven't booked. xP