who needs a bike helmet

After a speedy and painless flight from Dublin to Amsterdam, we arrived in the land of bicycles early on Saturday.

It was amazing to see all of the bicycles parked at central station.  They seemed to be everywhere you looked and were locked 5 deep at many barriers and poles.

The transit here works seamlessly and is in constant motion.  The bike lanes, the pedestrian lanes, the tram line and normal car lanes all flowed together and moved people around effortlessly. 

Deirdre and I rented bikes and had some huge rips around town.  Biking up and down the various canals, alleys, and lanes, we both were surprised at the level of respect motorists give cyclists.  It was a breath of fresh air.

We both enjoyed popping in and out of cheese shops and sampling more than you can imagine.  The red light district was interesting to say the least, and most definitely the craziest people watching ever. 

We spent a few days with a friend of Deirdre's who is working for a Canadian company in Amsterdam.  It was nice to have a tour guide who was also interested in a pub crawl!

Other than chocolate covered waffles at 1am, the highlight of the weekend had to be seeing Europe make an amazing comeback in the Ryder cup. 

We're off to Brussels!

CF

 

 

The "quiet" fishing town, Galway

Yesterday was Aurthur Guinness's birthday and I seem to have lost my abilty to type, or think clearly for that matter.  (ie.  I will be keeping this short and sweet)

Here are a few photos from the last few days in Galway.  Deirdre and I are catching an afternoon train to Dublin, and then are flying to Amsterdam early in the morning.

Take care all,

CF

 

   The flags are flying as Galway is playing in the all Ireland hurling finals on Sunday

 

 

Low tide in Galway Bay

 

The entrance to the Latin Quarter

 

Galway hookers at low tide (c'mon now boys, stop looking so hard.  I am referring to the fishing boats)

 

A storm rolling into downtown

 

Mandatory Guinness mustache photo

 

...and again  (yes we are dorks, but we love it!)

 

Cliffs of Moher and The Burren

Deirdre and I have been having an amazing time since we arrived in Galway.  I apologize for the lack of updates so I'll do my best do sum it up. 

We took a breathtaking tour yesterday to the Cliffs of Moher and The Burren. The natural beauty of this country really shone through and even though we had high expectations, we were still blown away.

Our tour guide was a wicked guy and his non-stop commentary and amazing bus driving skills were, as they would say around here, "grand".

The Burren is a windswept rock formation stretching from northern Clare to the Atlantic Ocean.  It is a unique limestone landscape shaped by ancient seas and glacial shifts over millions of years.

The cliffs of Moher are one of Ireland's most visited natural attractions. Rising to a height of over 300m from the Atlantic, for once, the hype is bang on.  A vast visitor centre handles the hordes of tourists. Over 30 species of birds (including puffins) can be seen making their homes along the cliff faces.

Even though the pictures will speak for themselves, they hardly do justice to the breath-taking views we were priveledged to see.

 

 These berms date back to 600 b.c and were created to hide small communites from enemies 

 



 

A Wedge Grave that was created in the Burren over 4000 years ago

 

 

 Silvery limestone "clints" that cover the Burren. Between the seams of these rocks the sheltered, humid spaces are filled with wildflowers in the spring

 

 

A "light" lunch at the Pub in Doolin

 

An example of the rock formation where the Burren meets the Ocean

 

Looking towards Galway Bay at the Cliffs

 

Looking north towards the Aran Islands

 

 

Beware of bull?  How about the 600ft drop!

 

A small tower on the egde of the cliffs

 

Most obvious sign ever. 

 

Looking towards the Atlantic Ocean

 

A Castle outside of Doolin at high tide. On the way out in the morning, the water level would have been metres lower and not even visible from this point of view

 

 



Pictures Pictures Pictures -- Blarney Castle and Cork

 

 

We're off to the Galway!  take care all

 

CF

 

 

Go Bengals GO!! what a great win

 

 

Golf and a sunday fry up, life is goood

The train ride from Dublin to Cork yesterday was a wonderful and calm experience.  Basically everything that is annoying about VIA was not a problem here; the price was inexpensive, the train was on time, and the station was clean and modern.

After a short cab ride from Cork station we arrived at Marie's beautiful hill top house where I heard my favorite 5 words from aunt Marie  "would you like to golf ?"    I am sure the smile on my face could have been seen for miles. 

I had a wonderful afternoon round with Marie and two of  Deirdre's cousins at the Fota Island Golf Club.  The club was one of the most amazing places I have ever been.  It most recently hosted the Audi Cork Irish Masters on the PGA European tour.  Let's just say I knew I was a long was from Cloverdale.

Marie is the Club Lady President and was greeted by all of the members and staff as we entered the course. Using her pull, The club Pro let me borrow his clubs for the round.  I felt so privileged and fortunate to play such a beautiful and world class course.

In the evening we went into downtown Cork for a wonderful dinner at cousin Dennis's restaurant Electirc.  We had a great time and everyone was so welcoming (even though I probably understood less than 20% of the conversations  haha)

This morning was the traditional Sunday morning fry up where I attempted to eat more sausages than humanly possible. (they just kept coming!)  Black (blood) pudding was a no go however.  We got the world map out and had fun with the kids showing them where we lived.  One of them pointed out that it looked like we live closer to Santa Claus than they do. 

We have more family stuff planned over the next couple days and are getting ready to watch the Irish football finals this afternoon.

 

Just outside the clubhouse.  My jaw almost hit the ground.

 

The intimidating first tee shot on the old course at Fota Island

 

Looking back up the first fairway from beside the green

 

The beautiful clubhouse and pond framing the 18th hole

 

The calm after the storm.  Some of the kiddies relaxing in front of the tube after the fry up.  This was only half of the kids there this morning!

 

The road leading up to Marie's house

 

Yes people, 170.9 euros per litre.  One could hardly afford to cut the lawn at that price!

 

The view from our room at Marie's

 

 

 

Take care all.

 

 

CF



A few photos

Before Deirdre and I head out for a night on the town, I thought I would throw a few photos up from today's adventures.

 

The Spire of Dublin.  This monument was erected in 2003 on the old site of Nelson's Pillar which was destroyed by a bomb in 1966.  The Spire maintains a metal look during the day, but at dusk appears to merge into the sky.

 

 A hand full of Irish Barley at the Guinness Storehouse

 

 

Mmmmmmmmmmmm

 

 

The River Liffey which runs through central Dublin.  Contrary to popular belief, it does not supply the water for the Guinness brewery.

 

 

One of the many pubs on Temple Bar street.

 

Trinity College, home of the Book of Kells.  The book contains the four gospels of the new testament and was created by Celtic monks ca. 800 or slightly earlier.