Malahide Beach - June 7

Thursday, June 7

 My morning started out with tea and a book out on the patio. I finally finished the book. I highly recommend it- Holding by Graham Norton. Every time I thought I had it figured out there was another unexpected (although quite plausible) twist. I also enjoy his writing style and humor.

I finally remembered to take a photo of this chimney. I asked Jane what the wire cages were on the top. She said that they are there to keep birds from flying down the chimney and getting inside. Apparently that happens around here. Jane said a bird flew down her friend's chimney and when it came out through the fireplace it brought all the soot with it. Then it crashed into the walls and blinds trying to get out and made a terrible mess. Thus, the metal cages on top.

 I considered taking a bus to Belfast today but that would be a two hour trip one way. So I took the bus to a much closer destination. I went north to Malahide. I got off the bus in the Village and then walked over to the estuary.

What a difference from Monday (Bank Holiday) when it was packed with people! We drove past this beach on the way home from our visit to the castle last Monday. I don't think there was more than a dozen people on the beach today, a couple of  families with small children. This is a great beach for small children. The waves are gentle and small. No crashing waves here. I walked on the beach for three hours!

 As I got closer to the mouth of the estuary (and the Irish Sea) the surface of the sand changed into some really interesting patterns. Also, there were lots of little piles and holes. Don't know what made them but they're really curious. I'm guessing that as the tide goes out slowly when it gets thin on the sand the wind makes little ripples in the water which creates the ripples in the sand.

There were a lot of little crab bodies scattered around on the beach. Do they get stuck there as the tide goes out? Did birds leave them there? 

I could have walked on this beach for another three hours or more! It was warm and there was as good breeze blowing so it was very comfortable. I think I even got a slight sunburn. Who gets a sunburn in Ireland???

Went back to Jane's place. We had some really good Chines food for dinner.

Dublin City Center, June 6

Wednesday, June 6

Jane is back at school today and I’m off to City Center again. I walked over the Ha’penny Bridge (officially the Liffy Bridge), built in 1816 and around Temple Bar. I’m getting pretty good at getting around the city with my map! 

 The Ha'penny bridge is so called because that was the toll amount to cross it at one point in time. The Liffy River divides Dublin between north and south.

Ha'penny Bridge

 Temple Bar is the area south of the Liffy River. Originally this area was outside the walls of the city of Dublin. This is the area for nightlife in Dublin.

 This building houses a store called The Pen Corner. As the name might suggest they sell pens and other writing supplies. I couldn't find out anything about the architecture of the building, which I really like.

The Pen Corner

After a rather circuitous route I found my way to the National Gallery. 

There was an exhibit of Harry Clarke stained glass. I was able to get very close to these windows.

 

His windows have a beautiful, jewel-like quality to them that I don't see in other stained glass. It's almost as if he made them out of jewels, instead of colored glass.I didn't even bump up the saturation on these photos. This is the actual saturation of color in these windows. Just beautiful!

Parquet floors, chandeliers and a massive painting at the end of the room. So impressive! I don't know how they get pictures that size into these rooms. Do they bring in the rolled up canvas and then stretch them on the frames once they're in the room? The painting is called The Marriage of Longbow and represents the Norman conquest of Ireland.

 

 I am always amazed at how sculptors can make marble looks like soft, flowing fabric.

There were some beautiful enameled copper pieces in the museum. The were quite small. Maybe a little larger than a silver dollar. Two of them were portraits of Victoria and Albert. 

Also in the portrait hall is a recent portrait of Graham Norton. A contest was conducted to see who would be chosen to paint it. It was done in 2017 and I think it's a great likeness of him.

All the walking I've been doing for the past week and a half is catching up with me. My feet started hurting so I headed back to Jane's to relax.

Later this evening Jane, Allison, Lucy and I went to see a play at Bewley's Cafe Theatre. The play was called Burdian's Ass by SR Plant. It's a two-man play set in a taxidermy shop that is falling on hard times. It was really well acted and quite absurd. We had a good time.

Newgrange June 5

Tuesday, June 5

The other item on my “must see” list was Newgrange, which is on the Boyne River, north and a little west of Dublin. Jane programmed Fred to take us to Newgrange, which he did. Unfortunately, you can’t go directly to Newgrange by just parking outside and walking up. You have to go to a visitor center a few miles away, get on a bus and THAT brings you to the entrance at the site

You Can't Get There From Here

Boyne River

 Newgrange is older than both Stonehenge and the Egyptian Pyramids. In 1699 landowner, Charles Campbell had his workers dig up part of Newgrange for access to the stone that was inside the mound of earth. At some point the encountered this "entrance" stone that has spirals cut into it. Knowing that this was man-made and not a natural phenomenon he called in a local antiquarian to examine it. Speculation is that if the workers had started in any other location around the perimeter of this mound it would have been destroyed before they even knew what it was. By finding this carved stone this National Treasure was saved.

The passageway into the main chamber is VERY narrow and the tour guides are cognizant of people’s claustrophobia issues. They tell people who have this issue to be the last person in (if they want to go in) so they can be the first person out if the need to be. They only take 15 or 20 people in at a time as it’s a very small interior space. I managed to not freak out over the narrowness of the passage. Fortunately it is a very short passage! The central chamber is round with three smaller chambers, one at the end of the passage and one on either side of the passage, forming a cross shape. When it was originally excavated remains were found in each of the smaller chambers. One of the reasons Newgrange is so famous is that on the morning of the Winter Solstice the rising sun shines through a “window” above the entrance to the passage and illuminates the central chamber. This also happens a couple of days before and after the solstice. This place was deliberately built in this alignment to the solstice sunrise. Also, the “window” and the main chamber align with the altitude of the hilltop across the valley, allowing the morning sun to shine directly down the passage. It’s very cool inside the chamber and the stone walls are actually cold to the touch. The ceiling is vaulted and very high. The entire chamber is made with only stone and no mortar. They have installed electric lights in order to do the tours but they shut them off and simulate the solstice sun shining into the chamber. It was an other-worldly experience.

  This is a panoramic view of the valley looking out from the entrance to the passage. The height of the window above the door is the same height as the hill across the valley.

 

After that magical experience we hopped on the bus and went back to the visitors center, looked around there for a bit, got a bite to eat and then started home. On the way we stopped in Skerries (LOVE that name) and went for a walk along the beach. I got to stick my fingers in the Irish Sea and collect a couple of sea shells. Jane went shoe shopping and found a couple of pairs of shoes for her upcoming trip to Greece.