Rainy Night Walk in Edinburgh to feeling a sense of familiarity on Icelandair

Monday Dublin, fly to and sleep in Edinburgh
Tuesday morning, drive to and fly from Glasgow, sleep in Reykjavik.

Due to much higher airfares on her weekend, we only ended up with a night in Edinburgh before heading back to Iceland. This was our first guesthouse located in a nice part of Edinburgh not far from the Edinburgh Castle.  So after a very wise decision to use Onward Travel Solutions to pick us up and get us to the airport in the morning. Emotional and financial cost was much less than our original plan to rent a car. We had booked a car through Expedia, but since they were incapable of modifying our car type, changing the plan was a perfect solution. Watching our drivers maneuver the streets of Edinburgh and the highways of Scotland was a ton easier than driving it ourselves.

After we landed on a rainy evening at St Bernard's House (not recommended by me- not clean, pretty run down, charged extra for not much), X and I headed to a grocery store for some grub. Later, he and I went for a fast-paced rainy, dusk, trek through the streets and parks of Edinburgh to get a nice glimpse of the castle and a few nearby sights. Gotta do what you gotta do to fit it all in.

Though I am not sure I would do a circle travel again, there was a sense of relief as we came back to the Glasgow Airport. The drive there was worry-free and entertaining as we gabbed with the driver about this and that.

Arriving at the Glasgow and Keflavik airports gave me a nice sense of familiarity. Though it's very Buddhist to appreciate impermanence, I love familiarity.

For this last car rental, we took advantage of the fact that the minimum driving age in Iceland is 22, they drive on the same side as us, and we ordered an automatic.... Xander became our driver. Finally Rory got a break.

Our first stop was to buy groceries and a towel. I can't believe we made it this far not paying heed to the first rule of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy of always having a towel.

I found out about a beach with a hot pot (cost- free) located between Keflavik Airport and our place called Ylströndin í Nauthólsvík. Due to late flights with the ongoing Iceland Air Traffic Controller strike, we only had 30 minutes were the bathrooms were open. But X and I did an Iceland Atlantic Ocean plunge followed but squeezing into a small hot pot filled with Icelanders. Being from Santa Cruz, we had no issue doing the surfer method to change our clothes. Followed by a picnic dinner from the back hatch of the car next the ocean, we were feeling good.

This last Airbnb is about 6km outside of Reykjavik, is a full studio apartment (my now fave type) and has some spectacular views just outside the window.

Yesterday, being our official last day, entailed a lovely day of driving, swimming, and eating in Western Iceland. The weather this time around was gorgeous. Sunshine with picturesque fluffy Toy Story clouds showing off the majestic mountains that had some snow on them. The drive was one gasp of awe after another. We didn't know about it ahead of time, so we were amazed by and loved the winding 6km long tunnel that burrowed under a bay of water that saved an hour of driving. We went to the small town of Borgarnes and started with a dip in their public swimming pool. Our timing was perfect, no crowds. And this pool waay favorite so far. It had 3 water slides, 3 hot pots of varying temps (38° C (98.6 ° F), 39° C, and 42° C) a steam room (hint- lift your feet up away from the hot steam) and a 35 ° C lap pool. I have come to love the light sulfur smell of the warm pools and showers of Iceland.

Here's a link to pools in Iceland to get an idea of how Icelanders love their water.
http://www.swimminginiceland.com/west-of-iceland/101-borgarnes-swimmingpool

Today, we haved packed up and are currently on the plane ready for 9 hours of flying.

TTFN!

Last pics of Dublin

View of our backyard in Dublin. Zoo is just beyond the wall.

Cumley's Pub.

I will miss Irish food.

Last stop for Dublin before the flight- visit our nighttime zoo pals.

The wolves heard the golf cart approaching with veggies for the nearby critters but sadly it was not horsemeat dinner time for them.

Edinburgh on a dark and stormy night. We adventured to see some of Edinburgh.

One block from our guest house.

Rain sure does make colors vibrant

Awesome sign

A powerful message to us who drive on the right side of the road.

The castle in a distance

I finally tried haggis at the Glasgow Airport. Tasted great. What's everyone talking about?

Flying back to Iceland

Have I mentioned I love flying and I love plane wing shots?

Love this

We parked out on the tarmac like a parking lot while they rolled out staircases and sent busses to pick us up. Classy. Best thing is I walked under the belly of this lovely beast to get the Kneeling Scooter sitting nedt to the baggage conveyor belt for Rory. 

(Bold strategy, Cotton.)

Planned stop... 

Beach side hot pot- Nauthólsvík

Backyard view at Elmar's Airbnb. Nice.

A few Icelandic foods: Gull beer, shrimp and egg salad, baked flat bread, and the most beautiful very yolked eggs.

Icelandic poppies

Driving northwest of Reykjavik

Rock wall next to our table at the Settlement Restaurant

6 km long tunnel

Borgarnes 

X and I checked out Reykjavik one last time an hour before closing time for most of the shops.

Trekking at dusk (11pm) in eastern Reykjavik near or pace in search of a swimming pool. Sad to say, I put in the wrong address on MapsMe and we headed back without a pool sighting. 

Geothermal steam sources, seen from our backyard at 4 (or so) in the morning. We learned that this 700° C water/ steam is the source of the warm water and radiator and hydronic heating of the whole area. 

Ireland West to Midlands to Dublin

Day 2- Ireland- western side
Bunratty castle and folk park, climbing a mile of stone spiral staircases, Cliffs of Moher, rain and more rain, haute cuisine and a well-needed rest at Bun Ratty Manor Hotel.

Day 3- Ireland- Midlands
Birr Castle, scientific genius, rain-sunshine-repeat, pub salvation, we found our Tullamore family.

Day 4 and 5- Ireland- Dublin
Lost again without street signs or numbers on houses, Halo a cab, Once, the Musical at the Olympia Theatre, nighttime sounds at the zoo.

We left our Cork home and headws northwest to Bunratty. Bunratty is a wonderfully well-kept and nicely restored or preserved four story castle with 4 corner tight spiral staircases that bring you to see bedrooms, chapels, dining areas, servant quarters, and more. There is a short dramatically narrated tour in the beginning of the castle experience that does a very nice job laying out the fascinating features and nuances of the rooms and their contents and inhabitants. We ended up getting separated, so I adventured this castle sola. At times, I had to wait for forty plus people to descend the narrow passageways before I could ascend but it was worth it. Each room as I went up to discover was even more lovely than the last with well-placed details (boots by the bed, a dress laid out to be worn, a cradle, etc) that added back story to the room. And the rooftop view was excellent. And I can now say I did the Irish castle Stairmaster workout because my thighs felt DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) the next morning. Nice.

The voyage to the Cliffs of Moher in a torrential downpour was interrupted by a tyre blow out. (That's, once again, Irish for tire.) X and R would have made any Indy pit crew proud as they swapped the bad tire with the spare all the while being soaked and chilled to the bone. My job was to get soaked as well and stand look out to try to dissuade fast passing busses and motorists from killing us all. Needless to say after all was said and done and you recognize you are but 10k from the cliffs, you know you still have to go. But you also do them fast since you are so wet and cold at this point. Then instead of driving  hour back to our hotel on a crappy little spare that's limited to 50kmh, we went on a 15+ point turn left and right to and fro in the hills near the cliffs in search of a tyre repair shop at some guy's house we heard about from the nice girl at gas station. It was really a rather surreal experience getting there and after quick multi-turn run into a nearby village for cash, we had a new tyre. If there is a Tyre God, I feel we should have an alter to it now.

Upon return to the lovely Bunratty Manor Hotel, we enjoyed haute cuisine and some traditional Irish culinary delights.

The next day we headed due east, Midlands bound. To arrive in Birr.
The Birr Castle is still a residential home, so not opened to the public, but the beautiful grounds, informative science and Birr family history center, a fun tree house and trampoline, and the amazing enormous telescope kept us busy and happy. This family had many scientific geniuses, male and female. Their works included first photography discoveries, use of mirror and magnification to create powerful telescopes, and inventing steam turbines to power ships. This is the day we really got to experience how the Irish weather changes on a dime from sunshine to downpours.

We finished our Birr experience with a lovely and delicious and huge meal at Kelly's Pub.  After which wehad to figure out how to get to our Tullamore Airbnb. This brings me back to getting lost in Ireland (much like we did in Scotland, Iceland, and a day later in Dublin).... A state of being we sadly have come to have to accept. We have learned the directions to homes in Ireland (and the other countries we've visited) involve landmarks a half mile away the turn off, signs that aren't readily evident and distances that don't always calculate out. And in Ireland, they involve cars parked out front to signify the house location. Sort of like when I tell people to go left on a road where the old Santa Cruz Community Hospital was (+25 years ago). So I get the concept. But GPS doesn't always get it and I can't seem to really know how to use this system while we eek along the road ticking off drivers behind us while we feel lost as heck. Yes MapsMe and Garmin did their best but add in fatigue and landmarks and well, it took us a while to get to our Tullamore and Dublin airbnbs. And both times we were blessed with a charitable young bartender or waitress who simply called the Airbnb host from their cell phones. And when we finally arrive, thank God for the flush of relief that causes amnesia washing away all the map and feeling lost frustrations. (Much like post childbirth joy.)

And that joyful amnesia is just what we experienced when we sat for afternoon tea in the kitchen of Mary and Eammon and Dara and Saoirse. We finally met our Irish family and bonded like no tomorrow over delicious scones, sweets and tea. Our conversations meandered in a gentle current around the wonders and sadnesses of our world, the planet earth and its inhabitants. This table of youth and experience, geographical intelligence and human kindness made for a truly most excellent afternoon. This later extended into the the wee hours of the morn with piano playing and singing by Eammon and Rory and more round table discourse. Xander later said, we found our family and a true Irish experience.

After enjoying the traditional Irish breakfast feast so generously provided, we could have stayed all day gabbing away with our new-found friends, but Mary had company coming and we had a play to get to in Dublin. So off we went.

Once in Dublin and after a several hectic loops, many tests of patience and another pub girl's cell phone, we arrived at the lovely home of Eithne. Warmly we were welcomed to this sweet Airbnb next to w Dublin zoo. Throughout the afternoon and evening, through our open window we heard the calls of monkey troops, the howls of packs of wolves, and deep roars of the lion. We finally had to shut the window for the noise. So I guess you could say we experienced A Night at the Zoo much like the movie, a Night at the Museum.

We loved the swift technology our Dublin host used to use Halo to hail us a cab in minutes to get us downtown to enjoy night of dinner and then theatre. After some seeking in the insanity of the hag and stag night revelry of the temple bar area near the Olympia Theatre, we arrived at a lovely place with lovely food and wait staff called The Larder. And then to the Olympia Theatre for the debut of theatrical return of Once! We'd never seen the movie, nor heard the soundtrack, so it was truly a debut for us. Musicians dance, sing, and play on stage to tell a story of dreams lost and pursued. The songs were powerful and the dialog was interspersed with humor and bittersweet dilemmas. Before the play started and during the intermission, the stage became an actual bar for the audience to go up on to buy drinks and hangout. The theatre was ornate and small. We were in row Q on the floor and I think I would opt for front row seats one balcony up. There were two bars that had lots of famous faces lining the walls. And at the end of the evening, a zippy fast cab ride got us back the edges of the city to our home away from home.

This brings this tale today. Dublin- day 2. I loved the no driving of yesterday, so I figured out if we took the Hop On and Off guided green bus tour with 24 stops, one of which is by the zoo, we could see the city in an easier way. This is true unless you misinterpret the map and decide to walk between 2 or 3 stops. Let's just say it was a bit torturous on Rory. We got to see the city and hear some fun and informative info about our surroundings, to trek around a couple museums, and to tour the Guinness warehouse (and sip the brown good for you beverage while watching and listening to Celtic dancers and musicians perform). I loved it, but I can't vouch for my travel mates. We made another quick city exit via Halo and ended up a delicious hot buffet meal 4/10 mile from our "home".

Here are some pics...

Bunratty Folk Park

Bunratty Castle

Soldiers' sleeping area, 

now midieval banquet room

2nd floor

The ceiling

Apothecary

Clockworks

Irish Castle Stairmaster

View from the roof

Rooms on 3rd and 4th floors

Every floor had a big room

The cliffs of insanity (of Moher)

As you wish, Buttercup.

Inconceivable!

Bunratty in the morning

Birr- a place for kids to be kids

The Birr Castle

The telescope

Music is the universal language

Once! Stage Bar

Dublin by tour bus

Guinness

This made it all worth it.

Back to Scotland for a day tomorrow afternoon... Then Iceland... Then home

PS  by the way... 

All my photos and videos are taken with my Motorola Moto G phone.

And this blog and all my travelling website browsing has been done with my $49 Amazon Kindle Fire HD, 5th generation (with an added 32 GB micro SD card). To access Google-based apps without loading them (since, sadly though the Kindle Fire uses Android OS (Google's OS), it won't allow the apps to be installed)... just copy the URL of the website version on a computer and email the link to bookmark on the Amazon Silk browser for easy access.

Pretty slick. I say.