After negotiating the huge puddles from the car park to the cathedral, we were quite amazed when we got inside. We have been to a lot of museums now, but were so surprised at what was inside for just a donation. The outside of the cathedral had amazed us with the walls of sculptures, but the inside was a hidden treasure (literally). Apart from the lovely interior, we discovered ancient treasures. Inside were some pieces from the Staffordshire Hoard. Amazingly this was found in 2009 and is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork ever discovered. They date to the 7th and 8th century and are amazingly intricate in their designs. They were found using a metal detector and were valued at over three million pounds. The farmer agreed to the seeker sharing 50% of whatever was found (many others had already been over the field) but from what we heard there was a lot of bad blood afterwards, so he obviously regretted his deal.
But this wasn't the only surprise. In a case nearby was the St Chad Gospel, a book from around 730. Although not as illustrated as the Book Of Kells, from what I can research, it appears older. Absolutely amazing to see the condition this is in. It is made from vellum, and we couldn't believe it when we were told that it is still used about four times a year for special ceremonies. Because it is made of vellum they don't even wear gloves when handling the pages.
We had a lovely farewell dinner with Mel and Rob and all too soon we were up bright and early for our flight from Birmingham. We felt so sorry for Rob who drove us there and then had to go to work in the opposite direction. We have had such a wonderful time with them, and it just felt like it was only yesterday that Mel had lived with us. As for Rob, it was hard to believe that we had only met a few short weeks earlier. And Sam, how I am going to miss him, he is such an entertainment.
I don't think I have ever come across a ten year old like him!
Our flight was only about 40 minutes in the air, and we were in Ireland. In fact it took longer to get the hire car than the trip. Three hire cars, and three black cars. This one is petrol, and we had been getting used to the wonderful consumption from the diesel. Jim is still very fond of the Peugeot 208 we had in Wales rather then the Ford Focus we have now.
After finally finding our B and B for the night, we got a bus into Dublin, and then got on the Hop On Hop Off bus for a tour of the city. We were very disappointed to discover that after the first circuit, the second circuit stopped at 3.00. It was now 3.15 so we had missed out. Normally this would be good value as you can use the bus for two days, but we only had the afternoon.
We were somewhat surprised at the number of Garda we saw. So many that in the end Jim asked one of them what was going on, as we didn't want to get caught up in anything. We were told that the budget was being announced and they were taking precautions in case of protests. Every government building had at least a dozen police at it
We started walking, going through Trinity College, lots of shops, the Temple Bar area, and finally back near our B and B. What a laugh. Out of all the B and B's in Dublin, I picked one in the shadows of a stadium that had an Ireland vs Kazakhstan game. Who would go to this? It appeared half of Dublin. The street to our B and B was blocked off and there were police everywhere (We did think there must have been a rostering nightmare with all we had seen that day.)
Molly Malone statue
So, ironically we had what was probably the best car park in Dublin that night, and weren't at the game. The downside was we had such trouble finding something for dinner. Most of the pubs weren't even serving dinner or had a "footy" menu that consisted of items not worth repeating. Not the best meals that night.
The next morning we were so grateful for Mel's suggestion of finding accommodation on the south of Dublin. The traffic was horrendous, but it was all going the other way! But we were also confronted with unbelievably heavy rain which made navigating quite difficult. At one stage we exited the motorway and found ourselves driving through 30 - 40 centimetres of water over the road, not easy in the little car we were driving. Our destination of Glendalough was very interesting. A monastic city dating back to the 7th century and is supposedly one of the most visited sites in Ireland. Considering the aweful weather conditions when we arrived, it was amazing the number of people who were there. We paid the small fee for the information centre and found it very interesting.
We headed then to Waterford and made it in good time for a tour of the Waterford Crystal factory. This was surprisingly good, and we were amazed how close you were allowed to the workers, and no restrictions on photos. Would not have that in Australia. After the tour we enjoyed looking around the gallery, but even with our tax free factory prices, we weren't buying. Lucky we had the excuse of too heavy.
Another nice B and B with a good breakfast to set us up for the day, and back to Waterford to see the sites we missed the previous afternoon. The city has three good museums covering different eras, and we knew we had time for only one, so chose Reginald's Tower with its Viking relics. Wonderful history and there is even a cannon ball embedded in the wall from the time of Cromwell laying siege to it.
At our B and B in Waterford
We needed to keep moving, and drove through some towns before stopping at Midleton and a quick look over of the old whisky distillery. No longer used but many do the tour. We were happy to view the old buildings. Next stop was the lovely seaside town of Cobh, built on the second largest natural harbour in the world. Lovely scenes with steep roads leading to the harbour. It is apparently a popular stop for cruise ships.
Jameson Distillery
Cobh Town - all in a row
More views from Cobh
On the way to Cork
Then it was only a short trip to Cork where we have an apartment booked for two nights. A trip first to Tesco as we were looking forward to some home cooked meals with vegetables. I am still suffering from the Scotland menu item that said with vegetables in season, and I got chips and peas. Eating out is great but sometimes it is nice to have a home for a little while.
No comments:
Post a Comment