A sunny day in Ireland

So we woke up yesterday morning to a perfect sunny day. As if to make up for the dismal weather we had when we did the Ring of Kerry we had the perfect day for exploring Connemara National Park. We had a relatively early start and hit the road west of Galway for a couple of hours and managed to get a glance at some really beautiful lakes. The day was so clear (relatively speaking) and calm that the lakes had glass like reflections and were really stunningly beautiful.

We stopped for a quick morning tea in Clifden before passing through to Letterfrack (say that with Father Jacks accent). In Letterfrack we stopped and hiked/ran (we'll us girls hiked Sam and Nick ran) up Diamond Hill. It was pretty steep going and I feel a little sorry for the people that made the stone stairway but it was very worth it. The view from the top was absolutely stunning and gave us 360 degree views of the National Park and well past the coastline. I think the locals who were also walking the track with us thought the boys were pretty ridiculous to be running the track. Sam and Nick told us that at one point when they were running down again an older gentlemen literally pointed and laughed out loud at them as they ran past, while his poor wife cried out in fear as they bolted past. So at the least they were a bit of a novelty, I guess its a good thing that Nick managed to keep his pants on in the car park today - that might have taken things too far.

Rather than backtracking the way we came we followed the highway around some fjords and looped back in a ring to Galway. We also stopped off to have a quick look at Kylemore Abbey, which looked spectacular nestled in against the surrounding mountains.

Once we returned to Galway, we caught up with Bella and Rodney (who had arrived back from Cardiff). We had a well earned dinner that Bella had prepared before celebrating our last night in Ireland the way the Irish do... at the pub. 

This morning we got all packed up and headed out for a quick brunch with Bella, Rodney and the Kids before once again heading back on the road back to Dublin. After a sad goodbye to Nick and Amanda (who we may see again in London in a few weeks) we checked in at the airport for our next destination Barcelona. Ireland has been heaps of fun, a great mix of beautiful scenery, interesting history, architecture and Guinness. We would certainly recommend anyone to make the trip.

Ring of Kerry and Galway

We started early and left from our hostel in Killarney heading North West around the scenic Ring of Kerry. Actually, let me back track a little, our hostel was by far the nicest one that we have stayed in so far. It was about 15 minutes out of Killarney on the Ring of Kerry Road in an old brick building with creeper climbing down (or perhaps up) the walls.

We had an early start and left to drive the scenic ring of Kerry. With some very helpful advice from the hostel owner we made the most of our rental car by getting off the bus routes into some of the more interesting areas including Valentia Island and the Skellig Loop. On Valentia Island we drove around the island exploring the Lighthouse, the Grotto (a cave with a statue of Mary) and we went for a run around the Bray Head Loop. Given the weather was less than stellar (or perhaps the typical Irish weather) we weren't able to see the spectacular views we were promised but we were still able to make the most of it. The Bray Head loop was a 7km track which leads up to a Navy outpost built in 1907 and then peaks at the top of a 250 high sheer drop into the water below. We ran the first and last parts of the track but had to walk in between for safety reason.

After our walk we made some sandwiches in the car park. At an in opportune moment Nick gave some older ladies a bit of a thrill when he decided to change out of his running shorts (and under garments) behind the car without first checking if anyone else was around. They loved it to say the least - it made their day. We got back in the car and continued off the island onto the Skellig Loop. On a clear day this would have been a spectacular view of the coast line and the Island off shore, but it was grey so was really more memorable due to the narrow roads. After living in Canada I thought that New Zealand had narrow roads but they don't come close to this. This was literally driving on a single lane bordered by rock walls and hedges, up hills that border line on vertical with trucks and cars coming from the other direction. The saving grace was that every 100 metres or so there was a gap in the hedge that allow the cars to move out the way just enough to allow the trucks past.

In the afternoon the weather cleared a bit more and we stopped for a coffee in Kenmare before hitting the lakes on the South side of Killarney. They were stunning with a really different look to the lakes we are used to seeing in both Canada and New Zealand. We explored Muckross House and Torc Falls before returning to Killarney for a traditional meal of fish and chips (I guess it had to be done).

This morning we hit the road and made north east for Galway. We drove past (but didn't bother stopping) in Limerick and got into town at around Lunchtime. After a quick sandwich in the park we did a self guided tour through the historic points downtown including the Spanish Arch, Lynch's Castle and Galway Cathedral. It was a pretty interesting town given that there is a lot of history but it is largely a student town town. After our tour the girls couldn't help but do a quick self guided tour of the clothing shops which Nick and I did a self guided tour of the bottom of yet another Guinness glass (My liver is fine Mum, don't worry).

In Galway we are going to be staying with Kimilla's good friend Bella and her husband Rod. They are over here as Rod is playing Rugby for Connacht (actually he's just finished playing a game in Cardiff as we speak - we watched it on T.V.). Bella cooked us a delicious stuffed chicken breast dinner and we had fun playing with Zeph and Xavier their little boys in the backyard. Should be a fun couple of days here.

Churches, Castles and Small Villages

We got up early on Tuesday morning leaving our hostel heading south west. Actually our hostel is worth a mention. When we were travelling I told a few people that we were staying in hostels and for the most part they really are much better than people think. In this case I would say it was pretty on par with what many people would think. I wouldn't say it was a good one - there were at any time a hundred or so 12-21 year olds - well some of them looked like they were twelve anyway. It became pretty clear on the first night that we were in the older bracket too as Sam and Nick found themselves in a room with two men over 60 years old (at least they try and make the room age appropriate). Anyway, we have left there now and have stayed in two much better ones since.

Where was I... oh yes, we left Dublin and headed South West for about an hour and a half to Kilkenny. Our first stop there was the Kilkenny Castle, which dates back to 1195. It was a really interesting castle from the outside, with beautiful gardens to one side and a huge park to the other side. We did a quick self guided tour through and had lunch outside.

After our trip to the Castle we checked in to our hostel and went for an explore through the downtown area. The village was really cute with little knick-knack stores, tea and coffee shops complete with cobble stone streets. In fact the whole village was like it was out of a story book with a tiny population of only 25,000.

After our exploration of the little downtown we checked out several of the local churches which dated back to 500 A.D. and a still fully functional within the community today. We headed back to the hostel as it started to get dark and cooked a curry for dinner.

We were only in Kilkenny for the night and left early on this morning heading further south west. First we checked out the Rock of Cashel, which was initially built as a Palace around 500 A.D. and was later (in the 1200's) turned into a monastery until the monks decided that it was too cold to stay there in just robes in sandals. Nick and Amanda went through the Castle, while we explored the nearby village, which had several other smaller castles and abbeys. 

From there we drove to Blarney and saw the famous Blarney Castle, where you can kiss the Blarney stone to get the gift of the gab. However, we quickly got back on the road and drove to Killarney where we are going to spend the next couple of days... we we'll probably be in the national parks but for those who are looking at maps we are based in Killarney.  After a bit of an effort finding the hostel (which is a few km's out of town - more on that another day) we got settled in before driving to downtown Killarney for an explore and a well earned pint. We then got some groceries and have just finished one of Sam's red wine rice risotto's not bad for a bunch of backpackers in a hostel.

Guiness, Tombs, Blood Pudding and an introduction to Irish politics

After leaving Canada we landed in Dublin, Ireland to an overcast and slightly chilly autumn day, or just an autumn day as they would likely say here. We spent and hour or so coming through the customs line where we met Nick and Amanda – we had originally organized to meet them at the rental car place but because customs took so long we ended up in the same line. Which was good as the catch up helped to pass the time. So far Ireland C- on the efficiency of customs officers.

We got the rental car and drove in to Dublin. The streets were rather busy as the Hurling Final was on that afternoon. The street was a mess of red, blue and yellow colours which one would assume was the colours of the teams involved. Once we got checked into the hostel we decided to go get some breakfast. This turned out to be a bit of a mission in itself with all the local excitement. However, we found a crazy pub/restaurant that was serving a traditional breakfast. We got in a line with about 100 others and made our way down the line. The food was pretty much what you expected from an Irish breakfast eggs, sausage, blood pudding, mushrooms, toast, tomato and bacon. It was awesome, the restaurant was packed out and full off enthusiastic Irish men and women literally stuffing their faces with food that would make a nutritionist cringe.

After breakfast we made our way down to the town hall through the main street and joined a walking tour. The tours took around three hours and covered some of the iconic and historically significant downtown areas. The tour guide had recently completed a masters in Irish History and with a dry local wit gave an excellent presentation of Dublin's checkered history. It included a tour of Dublin Castle, Trinity College, Temple Pub (the local bar area) and an overview of which pubs and hotels were owned by Bono or other members of U2. It was an really fun day, which we capped off with a trip to the supermarket and a hostel made spaghetti bolognaise. 

We had an early night to make up for the red-eye flight we had taken the previous night and kicked off Monday with breakfast and a drive to the Newgrange monument. This was about 40 minutes tour of Dublin and is a stone tomb or human made rock formation that pre-dates Stonehenge. The tour was really interesting and discussed some of the rudimentary tools likely used to make the monument and some of the fascinating aspects of its architecture. Turns out that its build based on a three point alignment which allows light to flow in to the chamber only on the 5 days surrounding winter solstice.  We had a picnic lunch complete with wasps before heading back into Dublin.

Our afternoon was well spent doing a tour of the Guinness Storehouse. It was a self-guided tour which covered seven floors of the building. The tour overviewed the process of creating the beer, how it was made historically, how to taste the beer, how the beer has been marketed throughout the businesses lifespan and concluded with a free pint at on the seventh floor. This floors provided a 360 panoramic view of Dublin and is the highest point of the city. Also, interesting fact for the day. The Guinness book of world records was originally created by Guinness as a reference book to help solve arguments that were commonly started over discussions in the pub.

We finished our evening with a traditional stew at Temple Pub while listening to some Irish Music. It was a very touristy but thoroughly enjoyable way to spend the day.

Farewell Canada

So it has been just over two years since we moved to Canada. We landed here on the 7th of August 2011. It's pretty sad to be leaving because we have met so many amazing people and had some really good experiences. Hopefully we will be back sometime in the future.

Our last couple of days in Toronto have been pretty quiet. We had a little bit of work to do yesterday morning and in the afternoon headed downtown for a tour of the Steam Whistle Brewery. It was really interesting to learn about how they make the beer not to mention the generous samples that they were providing (I think Sam benefited from that more than I did).

In the afternoon we came back to Mississauga and went for a bit of a run - actually it was a terrible run but oh well at least we tried. In the evening we spent sometime with Aunty and Uncle, they told us lots of embarrassing stories about Zab growing up and even showed us some rather unflattering baby pictures. No, I joke (don't worry Zab). Aunties cooking has been amazing and we have been blessed to have experienced lots of South Indian dishes. Today we have been getting ready to head on the next leg of our journey. We will soon head to the airport to board a flight destined for Dublin.

Toronto & Niagara Falls

So we left Montreal on Tuesday to Downtown Toronto. We arrived downtown at about 9.30pm and caught a few trains and a bus to Zab's parents (Vilayil and Susan - henceforth Aunty and Uncle's) house in Mississauga.

Wednesday Morning once we were up and breakfasted we headed back into Toronto to explore for the day. Our first stop was BMV books which is a huge second hand book store where we stocked up on a few books for some of the longer flights and bus trips we are going to be doing over the next few weeks. After putting it off for the last few years I have finally caved and decided to start reading Game of Thrones (So to answer your question Randi - I do read fiction not just business and finance books). After the book shop we strolled down to Kensington Market, which was about 5 blocks south of the bookshop. It was a really interesting mix of shops and not what we were expecting at all. There were lots of little food/spice stores and coffee shops mixed in with a good dose of hippy culture and dope smoking paraphernalia. We stopped for coffee at this corner shop which opened out on to the road. It reminded me of a cafe you would see in Golden Bay because there was a sign on the counter which said "Cellphone or Service, you choose". I asked about it and the man behind the counter rudely answered, we got tired of people using cell phones in here - fair enough, very Golden Bayish I think.

We left the market and took one of the street cars south towards Lake Ontario. The Toronto International Film Festival is on at the moment, so we were kind of movie star spotting but didn't actually see anyone we recognized. We got off the street car and walked around the CN tower and Rogers Stadium down to the lake front where we went for a walk along the boardwalk and stopped for a late lunch.

The rest of the afternoon we spent just exploring around the different streets. We went for a huge walk through the financial district, town hall and around the University, which was fun. 

Yesterday, we got up a the crack of dawn and caught the bus to Niagra Falls. The trip was really nice and the falls were incredible. They were pretty much exactly how we expected them to be. Kimilla did her thing with the camera and had fun getting some great shots. I'll be honest, Canada wins when it comes to a good view of the falls. Anyone else who has been there will likely agree that the USA side of the river just does not decent view. 

I have a confession - I have to get this off my chest. For all the criticism of Tim Horton that I have given over the last two years but to Canadian and to Kiwi's thinking of coming to Canada, Kimilla and I have been finding we are becoming increasing dependent on it. Its not the terrible coffee, the chewy sandwiches or the sugary donuts. Its the cheap prices, the familiarity and the ease of access. Where ever you are no matter how touristy you can guarantee that there will be a Timmy's and that the prices will be low and the food consistent. It is in that light that we must have somewhere along the lines become reluctant frequenters of Tim Hortons. So yes, that is what we had for lunch yesterday and I'm not ashamed.

We spent the afternoon just looking around the falls and enjoying being in the sun.

Bonjour Montreal

We arrived in Montreal to a stunning sunny and slightly cooler day, which after the humidity was a huge relief. We got off the plane and through border security pretty quickly and took about 45min to get to our Hostel. We arrived at four in the afternoon only to be told in french by one of the cleaners that we couldn't check in till 6pm and that the owner was sleeping. So we took out some lock chains we had and fastened our 25kg packs to one of the beds before heading out exploring for the afternoon in the sun. The hostel is really well located on Sherbrooke Street - but unfortunately, not having access to wifi or a map, I followed my gifted sense of geography in the wrong direction, so rather than exploring downtown we ended up in a not so nice area just south of La Fontaine Park. Eventually we gave up walking and went to relax in the park, while trying not to let our first impressions of Montreal dampen our spirits - as many have told us it is a lovely place.

Just before six we went back to the hostel to check in. Once we had our room all sorted we went in the correct direction to explore Montreal. Less than 3 blocks from our hostel is St Denis street, one look at that street and we realised what people had been telling us about. It was Sunday of Labour Weekend and the streets were packed with people there were lots of cafe's, pub's and clubs with outdoor seating where people were just sitting together, drinking, smoking and socialising. There was lots of interesting music playing and the whole vibe of the place was relaxed and electric at the same time. We walked for a couple of hours through St Denis and St Catherine Street before calling it a night.

Our first activity the next day was a walk up Mount Royal. We walked to the summit and then down to Beaver lake. It was nice and the cool weather made it pretty pleasant.

The top of Mount Royal, facing downtown

After our walk it was lunchtime so we headed to a local favourite Schwartz's Hebrew deli as recommended by many but evangelised by Mr Lorne Dmitruk. It was well worth it, smoked meat sandwich had literally 7cm of the melt in your mouth meat.

Mmmm smoked meat

 Once the meat had settled we headed down to Old Montreal. Which had a very similar vibe to St Denis Street but was situated amoungst all the old historical building on a cobblestone road. I guess it was a good taster for what we should expect when we head on our Europe Tour in October. We had a nice walk but and down the street which is a collection of restaurants, souvenir shops and art galleries. We stopped at a pub and rested our feet while enjoying one of the local brews.

Once we got back to our hostel we had a bit of a nap before we capping our day off with a dinner of poutine (for the kiwi's - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine). As we were in Montreal it seemed fitting to eat there most celebrated dish.

Today we leave for Toronto on the bus, so we got up, went for a quick run around the park and have just finished a lovely croissant breakfast at one of the local cafes.

P.S. Dawn-Marie if you are reading this, Kimilla and I couldn't help but picture you sitting outside in one of the cafes enjoying a glass of wine. It all seemed very fitting.