Dublin, Ireland

September 2018

I had already handed back the keys to my flat in Sheffield, so upon arrival back, stayed with friends before heading off on a little trip to Dublin! I had wanted to go to Ireland for so long, and whilst Dublin was only a tiny taste, I was excited!

Like most ancient towns, it had a large riving flowing through it, a network of cobbled streets, and a mix of modern and old, hodgepodged together. Situated on the mouth of the river Liffey and founded by the Vikings in the 9th century (though settled long before then) Dublin certainly has a long history.

Dublin was picturesque in parts, however we also quickly discovered it was really expensive. Lots of things, such as pub meals and seeing the Book of Kells in Trinity College would have to wait until we could return, hopefully richer. Instead, we enjoyed wandering the streets.

We did of course budget for the occasional pint, how could one not in Ireland!?

We stayed in an 8 bed dormitory in a hostel, to keep prices down. Never a fun experience, though manageable with ear plugs and eyemasks, it did allow us to spend some money on a couple of activities. Firstly, the Guinness Factory! One simply cannot go to Dublin without visiting it. Did I mention neither of us actually like Guinness? Minor detail of course.

The tour was surprisingly enjoyable and informative, from the brewing process, to the history of Guinness, including some amusing advertisement campaigns from the past. Did you know pregnant women in Ireland were once advised to drink a Guinness a day, as apparently it was a great source of iron? Imagine a doctor saying that today!

As part of our ticket, we each got to pour our own pint, something of an art form, we were informed. You have to pour slowly, taking almost 2 minutes to pour correctly (rather longer than a normal beer!) The double pour is also very important, you stop once three-quarters full, allow it settle, and then finish the pour. It may be an art-form, but the beer tasted no better in my opinion.

The entire experience took us a couple of hours, and was well worth the price of the ticket (though this time frame may have been extended by us slowly, oh so slowly sipping the Guinness!) 

Keeping costs low, we were delighted to discover the National Museum of Archaeology was completely free! My main interest in going here was to see the famous bog bodies:

 Bog bodies have been discovered from Denmark to Ireland, mainly from the Iron Age, and most of them killed violently, sometimes in several different ways (gotta make sure they're really, really dead right?)

 The thing that makes them interesting though, is the condition of the bodies. Bogs environments are anaerobic, which means without oxygen. The cool thing about this is it means things that would usually decompose rapidly (wood, flesh, string etc) do not, leaving people - and their clothes - perfectly preserved for thousands of years. Ancient people must have understood this, as they sometimes used bogs as a sort of larder, preserving butter in them! Here is a photo of the charmingly named bog butter - I am sure it tasted just as good as it looks. Mmmmm.

Appetites whetted by the bog butter (not) we decided to stop for a Bahn Mi and Pho - I do love sharing, two meals for the price of one!

 

Our other notable excursion involved a day trip out to the local village of Howth, by train. I had been recommended the trip by a facebook friend, and I am so pleased I was!

It's a cute little fishing village, with some interesting shops and pubs to wander. It was a fine, though blustery autumn day, and we walked out to the Lighthouse for better views.

And a quick selfie in the wind!

We decided to walk the other way towards the cliffs, and were pleasantly surprised to find an easy cliff-top walk. Apparently part of the Bog of Frogs Trail (I couldn't make this up if I tried) we soon found ourselves away from the tourist bustle.

The views back to Howth were gorgeous, but we didn't continue on the path too far, as we were getting hungry.

We had incredible fish and chips on the beach for lunch, and felt very British. I discovered some beautiful wintery ivy on the way and stopped for a quick photo op, before we headed back to Dublin.

Only a brief trip, it was our last morning before I knew it, and I realized I hadn't even tried an Irish coffee yet! Yannick was appalled so I quickly tried to remedy this. A brief adventure around Dublin to find one for less than 15 euro (!???) and I settled in for my far too early in the morning alcoholic coffee, which was delicious by the way. 

We had organised a couple of housesits to get us through the rest of the year travelling on the cheap, and so headed for the airport, destination France!

Croatia Part III

September 2018

Our next accomodation was rather different from the last, and decidedly cheaper! 

A sort of beach house vibe ensconced it, down to the hammock bed outside, the rogue kitten, and - unfortunately - the tiny scorpion on my bedroom wall that greeted me upon arrival. Happily, Yannick heroically captured it, and moved it outside - and I spent the rest of the trip on edge, but didn't die from scorpion stings. Hurrah. 

The kitten was also captured by Yannick numerous times, but it didn't seem to mind.

The house was quirky and felt like it should belong to a sea captain. Better yet, it had our favourite bay in walking distance. 

The lack of air conditioning had me seriously consider sleeping on the outside bed multiple times, but mozzies were everywhere, and we all know how much they love me. Also I had retained an abiding fear of scorpions joining me in bed, which didn't help. 

A ten minute walk to my favourite beach made this a pretty awesome spot. I came down most mornings, and it was worth the steep walk back uphill for this glorious sight - I never tired of it.

Our host was friendly and helpful, and set us up on a day long private boat ride to see more of the island. Friendly captain and skipper in tow, we were off! Finding all the best secret bays to swim off, it was the highlight of our whole trip. Fun fact - a moment after taking this photo, a rather nude man emerged from this boat, looking startled. 

Some excellent swims later, I was feeling as posh as any of those yacht sailing bastards (totally not jealous whatsoever). 

We visited some pretty cool caves, including the inventively named Blue and Green caves. 

The blue cave was more dramatically lit, and definitely the better of the two. An underwater opening allows sunlight to shine through, creating the luminous blue light.

Soon we were feeling hungry, and were obligingly dropped off to a small island for a couple of hours. The main beach bar didn't strike our fancy, so we decided to head for a pirate flag in the distance to see if we would have any better luck.

Our ensuing experience was so brilliant I forgot to take photos. A hippy dude had his caravan permanently set up there, and was clearly living out of it. He had built a sort of shanty lean-to area, with an outside table and grill, when he was frying bread for a couple of guys sat at one of the tables.

 Seeing no menus or anything, I felt like we had definitely intruded on a private party, and the host clearly didn't speak a word of English.

 However one of the guests luckily did, and quickly translated before we could awkwardly leave. He offered that we too, could eat in this strange place, feasting off bread, cheese, capers and wine. How could we not? Although the host didn't speak any English, he was incredibly friendly and smiley, and began serving us up everything he had. Delicious bread, hot from the fire, with slabs of cheese melted onto it, the freshest most delicious capers I have ever eaten, clearly home pickled. 

We also took some of the white wine offered, also bottled by himself, it was a bit of a kick in the face with each sip, but somehow went with the meal perfectly. And that is how I finally learned to love capers. The meal for all of us came to something silly like ten euros total, which of course we happily paid up. Did I mention all the kittens wandering around too? What an unforgettable experience!

Our next food experience of note came from Roki's Konoba, where we had booked a wine tasting followed by dinner. We had to book in advance to eat here (and for the tasting) and it was so incredibly worth it. Croatian wines are always fun to try, ranging from delicious to feeling like you've just been kicked by a donkey, and we thoroughly enjoyed our tasting, sat under the cool vines. (Note the startled Necia photobombing in the background)

The restaurant was famous for Peka, a traditional Croatian way of cooking we had been wanting to try. Food is cooked under a cast iron lid called a Peka, covered with hot coals and then slow-cooked. Both vegetable and meat pekas are common, and we tried both! They didn't disappoint, and coming into the restaurant we even passed them all lined up, cooking under glowing coals. 

A trip to Croatia would not be complete without at least one museum visit, and we obliged by visiting the Issa Archaeological Museum (so called for the ancient Greek town of Issa on Vis). This bronze head of Artemis dates to the 4th century, but aside from this I could find basically no information on it.

The highlight for me however were the artifacts found from shipwrecks, including a large number of amphorae. 

Before we knew it, our trip was over, and we were sharing a parting cheers to Vis, as we waited for our ferry. But being Croatia, even the ferry back to Split was an experience! 

Our airbnb host had sagely advised us not to buy tickets for the ferry online, but instead simply walk on-board, say how many people, and then hand over whatever cash was demanded and apparently it would cost us half the price. And that is how we somehow bribed our way onto a Croatian ferry! What a trip.

Croatia Part II

 September 2018

Now in possession of a car, we headed for the hills, driving up into the mountains, where beautiful views awaited.

High above the town, we were able to pull off to the side for some excellent views of Vis.

Every so often, we were reminded that until very recently, Vis had been largely controlled by the military, and we came across some unusual things, including a big submarine base! And of course, more amazing views along the way.

The church of St. Jerome featured in one of our visits. Built in the 16th century, we could only visit the church itself as the monastery next door was still very much in use. The cool stone interior was a relief from the burning sunny day.

The town of Komiza was the main tourist centre, and upon visiting it, seemed to be, oddly enough, the focus of hippies. We passed a campsite bursting with people and were soon wandering through a vibing, almost hipster town, completely different from our quiet little Kut. 

Once a fishing village, the town still holds a thriving port and seafront area, lined with bars. Apparently once a year a boat is sacrificed and burned in honour of the patron saint of fishermen, St. Nikola. I would love to see this! 

The town itself is first mentioned in records during the 12th century, and wandering the winding alleyways and ancient buildings really gave a sense of that history. It was certainly lovely to walk through, however we were much happier to be staying in sleepy Kut.

Popping out at the edge of the town, we spied a church on a hill a way above us, and decided to trek up to it. This turned out to be the church of St. Nicholas, and was very pretty indeed.

Extremely hot from our walk, a cold beer is always the solution.

Srebrna was one of the first beaches we visited on the island, though there was a definite wasp issue, leading to me fleeing. However, we soon learned that the tiny bay across a scramble of rocks was totally worth it, usually quieter, and with no such wasp problem. 

And we didn't eat out all the time of course, lunch in our little courtyard was lovely and shaded, and perfect when followed up with some Catan! (I didn't win - Boo!)

Croatia Part I

September 2018

Feeling rather burnt out from completing my Masters, I took a well earned family holiday and headed for the island of Vis, in Croatia. Sadly Ben couldn't get any time off work, so I jetted off for two weeks, feeling rather guilty! We had chosen the island of Vis as our sole destination as it was a short holiday, and wanted it to be a relaxing one. None of us had been to Vis before, and it was supposed to be one of the less touristy options. This is partially due to the fact that up until the 90s, the island was closed off to the public, as it was used as a Yugoslavian military base. This only made it sound more interesting! 

We had decided to be spontaneous with the car rental, and not book in advance. So we spent the first day or so without transport, simply soaking in our incredibly lovely airbnb in the small town of Kut.  Technically part of Vis town, it felt like its own, quieter village around the bay. Vis, once known as Issa when settled by the Greeks in the 4th century BC, has jumped between rulers, from Roman, to the Republic of Venice, to Italian to Yugoslavian rule (with a brief period of British rule even too!)

It was a short, very pleasant walk down from our airbnb to the lovely little harbour, and whilst Vis town was nice, the longer we stayed here the more glad I was that we were situated in Kut. Not only was it ridiculously picturesque, it was also quieter, there were fewer tourists, and we had a lovely bakery and fruit and veg shop in short walking distance. Also, our amazing airbnb certainly didn't hinder matters!

The views from our accomodation were incredible too, and I spent many a breakfast out here eating delicious yogurt and honey and reading my book. The perfect relaxation spot!

On our first day, we decided to go straight into holiday mode and eat at a restaurant for lunch. And what an excellent choice this was! Restaurant Pojoda, very close to our airbnb made for an excellent first meal. I had shrimps grandfathers style (no really, that's what it was called) and they were some of the best I've ever had. Consider me converted! 

One of my favourite memories is of us strolling down to the waterfront at sunset, and sitting with a drink at one of the waterfront bars, watching the sun set. Our airbnb host was involved with one of the bars in some capacity, and he always greeted us and ensured everything was okay. Top notch service! 

Because we didn't yet have a car, we decided to explore our immediate surroundings by foot. Going right around the harbour led us on a pleasant coastal walk, with mysterious abandoned buildings. I wonder what they were used for?

They were clearly long abandoned, but the graffiti was interesting!

Walking into Vis town was also super pleasant, through meandering alleys and past tiny beaches, it was incredibly pretty.

Even in September, it was incredibly hot, sweaty work walking around in the heat of the day, but well worth it for the views. We walked through Vis town and all the way around the waterfront.
If you keep walking, you eventually hit a pretty and tranquil graveyard, where the trees cast cool shade, making it the perfect place to sit for a moment and collect your thoughts.

We had decided to secure a car to do some exploring further afield, so walking back into town, we popped into every place advertising car hire and found the best deal. And it really was the best deal - look at this adorable car! It even has a sun roof! I felt fancy. 

Onwards intrepid adventurers!