Day 3 Problem Solving 101

If you ever come to Ireland you need to know about switches!

Whenever you travel into different countries there are always things that trick you and the last 24 hours has proved this theory again!!!

Last night was a bit late for me after writing my blog (!!)  and generally trying to find my bearings, so all I could think about eventually was having a nice hot shower and getting to bed! But alas and alack it was not to be, because I didn't know about switches!!!! You see in Australia, it's a simple thing to have a shower where you turn the taps on and water come out... but in Ireland first you have to turn on the switch!!! Which is all very well if you know about switches. But 11.30pm at night is not a great time to try and become acquainted with one. So here I was - ready for my shower - pushed the power button on the little shower machine, but nothing happened... pushed again a few times but nothing happened.... so I just had to resort to what my Mum called and "up and downer" in the bath. 

Electric Hot water system

But during the night I remembered when I stayed with Mary Byrne in Dublin (she's the sister of my friend Bernadette) that I had to put a little red switch on... light bulb moment!!! See the pic above!! Once I found the right red switch, I was away!  Problem was there were 3 switches in the unit!!!! But I'm sure everyone will be pleased to know, I eventually found the right one and had a lovely shower!!!

The next problem solving moment was the taps in my sink... hot water was not happening!!! And dripping taps big time was happening!! So my new hero Paul - who came to fix the TV which also wasn't working - sorted out my hot water with  recognizing the right switch  and also changing the washer on the tap that was continually dripping!!!

My new 2nd best friend Paul :) 

Meant to say before all this happened...

The Church bells  started ringing at 9.45am, calling people to the 10am Mass. Thought I might as well take a look and see what Church was like for a weekday  Mass in Lahinch! I started off thinking about it through theological eyes, but soon came to look at it through cultural eyes....

It's quite a big Church, allowing for the holiday crowds.. but everyone was back in the last one third of the Church. In fact the heaters were on there and not up the front! I remember whilst living in Newman, that the Irish contingent could always be found in the back few rows of the church!!!

Mass was pretty standard, except every now and then the priest said the response in Gaelic language and everyone joined in. The people of the West Coast of Ireland are known for their  ability to speak Irish...

The other unique thing was the prayers of the faithful...

I think they went for longer than the rest of the Mass combined!!! And everyone got a mention by name - so it went so and so who've been married 8 years today, and poor old Father somebody who was buried in the Ennistymon parish... and all these people were rattled off one by one! Then when it came to the Eucharistic prayer, they were all mentioned again!!!! Nothing like a personal connection with the Parish!

Lahinch Catholic Church

I thought I would give you a quick little movie showing you where my house is, in relationship to the town...

As you can see I am really close to the main street, the Church and the sea.... beautiful position!

After my hero Paul had departed from my house, I decided to go down the street for a walk... lovely day today - bit overcast but not too cold...

These surfers were all school kids! Way to go!!!

Beach was lovely this arvo!

Didn't do much this afternoon, as I had the boys  back still trying to sort out my TV! Nice to just stay home actually!

Tonight I went down to my favourite  haunt - The Atlantic Hotel - to have my half pint of Smithwicks and I stayed for tea again. Their roasts are lovely and their vegies are just what I'm after... why bother cooking!!!

Walked home along the beach and it was a bit more  rugged this evening...

Lahinch beach after tea...

Love the way the mood of the sea changes - it's always new and different,

I think the weather is going to break a bit soon, with some rain expected. Will be good to see Lahinch in a slightly more wild mood!

Hope these posts aren't getting too long... sometimes I think I don't have much to say, then all this stuff happens.

C'est la vie!!!

 Day 2 - Journey by car

VW T-Cross car

Had a great night's sleep last night.  Have to admit I was a bit brain dead by then. Happy to announce my dramas with the hotel voucher were sorted! I got on to my travel agent, who gave me a number to ring and they sorted it out instantly! Apparently it was all related to the Bank Holiday, and the hotel didn't have their appropriate crew on board to find that I really had paid for my stay there. They were very apologetic!!! But, to be honest, I was just glad we sorted it out.

Next item on the agenda was to pick up my hire car. So I left my luggage in the hotel, whilst I caught the courtesy bus back to the airport to get my car. I though I was getting a little car like my Toyota Corolla at home, but it turns out I got this VW  T-Cross... bit bigger than I thought. Wasn't sure how it would go, but once I got going it was lovely. It is manual, and I love driving a manual car, and slipped back into that mode pretty easily! The only thing I had to adjust to was because it was a VW it had everything backwards, eg Indicators, Wipers etc... But I think I've more or less got the hang of it... although I must admit, I turned the wipers on a few times, not meaning to!!!

VW  Pic 2

And  it has a built in GPS system, which is a bonus! I actually went to a big Shopping center on Swords Rd called Omni to buy an Irish sim card, thinking I would need one for data etc with Google maps. I got to the center only to find it's a  bank holiday (May 1st) and many shops were shut. Anyway as I was contemplating what to do, this lovely Irish lady came up to me and asked if I knew where the florist was... 😁 I explained to her that I was an Aussie straight off the plane, but told her that I was looking for a Sim card, so she suggested Tesco's. Anyway she virtually followed me along telling where Tesco's was and where else I might buy a sim card. Fortunately she found her florist, so I was able to hop in to Tesco's. The lady on the till there started off about how she had to work on the bank holiday and the only way to get out of it was to call in sick, and they didn't pay extra wages etc...  I got the whole description of the problems of Tesco's staffing within the 2 minutes it took me to buy that sim card.

To recover I had a lovely cup of coffee... the girl asked me what I wanted, so I just said we call it a skinny flat white - she just laughed but  delivered a lovely coffee - as good as we get in Oz!!!

Omni Shopping centre

After that I got on the road and followed the M5 and then the M4, which I think became the N4??? Anyway it was the way to Lahinch via Galway.... I even managed the tolls ! Thank you Jesus!!!

Stopped at this service stop for a loo stop and ate half my sandwich that I bought at Omni!

Apple service stop

Stopped at another service stop near Athlone, but it was like going down south in Perth... was absolutely chockers!!! Even the loo had a queue a mile long. Didn't bother staying long, but managed to get out my charging cord for my phone, so I could listen to the Hawks podcast, giving ratings to all the players from last Saturday's game against the Bulldogs!!! Bit ironic to be driving through the gorgeous looking Irish country side and listening to a Hawks podcast!!!!

The whole journey took me about roughly 3 hours driving time.... to cross Ireland totally from East to West.  The road was fantastic - double lanes all the way, until I got near Gort and the old GPS kicked in with the "let's find some country lanes to trick you!!"  It took me through every little country road it could find, but it gave me a sense of the villages behind the main stream towns.

I stopped in Ennistymon to pick up some groceries and essentials, then I eventually arrived in Lahinch about 5pm.

I seem to have this thing about key locks, because whenever people tell me the keys will be in the key locks, it never works!!! And so it was again. I had been told instructions about how to get into my little apartment, but it just didn't work!! Had to ring the girl at the Real Estate agency and she came and rescued me. The apartment is nice and comfortable...  certainly not 5 star, but I don't mind!

Once I got myself in and worked things out a bit, I was off to the Shamrock Inn to have my half pint of Guinness! And they offered a small serve of a Roast Dinner - Turkey and Ham, with real vegies, so I stayed for dinner

If that's a small serve, I'd hate to see the big serve!!!

Then to celebrate my return to the land of my forefathers, I had to have an Irish coffee...

First Irish Coffee

After my half pint of Smithwicks, my nice glass of Sav Blanc and my Irish coffee, I decided I'd better have a walk along the beach for a while (everything is in walking distance!)

So I'll upload a few pics of the Lahinch beach - it just feels like home to me... hard to explain... I've had this conversation before in previous blogs, but his place has a strange effect on me. As I was walking along the Promenade, I almost felt a bit teary - Like I had come home.... 

First one is a quick video showing the Lahinch beach and the Cliffs of Mohr and the hills of Tullygarvan where my family emigrated from...

Next I'll just upload a few pics of the beach itself...

Lahinch Beach with Cliffs of Mohr in the headland in the background

Lahinch Beach 2

Lahinch Beach 3

So that's another day in the life of Wattle Wanderings!!! Think I won't be out of bed long as I'm still adjusting to time zones etc...  :)  Sweet dreams everyone!!

 Day 1 -The journey

Aaah the joys of travel! I had forgotten the stresses and strains, but they came back to me full blast over the past 24 hours. I had a tour of the long term car park at Dublin airport this afternoon, because I caught the wrong bus to get to my hotel. Then I handed in my voucher at the Radisson Blu hotel, only to find it was not pre-paid as I thought it was....

So i immediately went a bought a half pint of Smithwicks to console myself after searching voraciously for my receipts for said voucher... Still haven't found it!!! 😓

Smithwicks  to calm the nerves!

But anyway, let's start at the very beginning - a very good place to start!

I arrived out at Perth airport early on Sat night, courtesy of my friends Kerry and John, and so I decided I would have a nice glass of wine. (Apologies to those who have already heard this story!)

The barman asked me would I like a small or large, and as it was the first day of the holidays and I wasn't driving, I chose the large option. Paid by credit card and then just asked him how much it was  ...  $22.70!!!! eeeeekkkkk.

Expensive wine at Perth Airport

I only had one at that price!!! Anyway got on the plane quite successfully and, as some of you know, I've been having a bit of trouble with my guts and have found it hard to find food that's compatible with my stomach. So I had chosen the "bland" option from their menu.  Luckily I had eaten a small bowl of pasta before I went on board, because neither of the two meals I had on the first flight contained food I could eat.

Airline Food 1

Airline Food 2

So much for "bland"!!! However the lunch we had on today's flight from Dubai to Dublin was actually quite nice - roast chicken Mashed pumpkin and beans! Didn't take a pic of that though !!

The flights were both good, although the first flight from Perth to Dubai left Perth at 10.20pm. I always find it hard to sleep on the night flights and it was 11 hours, so I found it pretty long! Had a young girl beside me who was struggling with being on a plane, and she kept crawling over me to go and stand near the toilets.... I think she was a bit anxious, poor  kid. Didn't think she was going to make it for a while! But nowhere to escape to... 

Arrived at Dubai and had a 2 hour stopover. I had come prepared for breakfast, with some Weetbix and a vegemite sandwich - closest I could get to toast. But I couldn't take any milk with me, because of regulations about how much liquid you can take on international flights. So when I reached Dubai airport I had about half an hour to spare, so I went to Costa's coffee shop and asked for a cup of hot milk - and I had even brought my own bowl, so we were away!!!!

Dubai airport

Flight to Dublin was nice, because it was in the daylight. Had a lovely couple sitting beside me who came from Perth (Jolimont) and were going home to Northern Ireland for her brother's 80th birthday. They were easy companions for the journey. Watched a couple of films that kept me entertained.

Eventually got through customs at Dublin airport, and the next trick was to find the bus that took me to Radisson Blu hotel at the airport, where I'm only staying overnight to recover from the journey, As mentioned above, I took the wrong bus but the lovely driver showed me where to stand for the shuttle bus from the hotel.

Then I had the drama about the prepaid voucher - which stressed me out for a little while.

And this is all functioning on minimum sleep!

So I've had my Smithwicks and I'm about to pop down to the restaurant and see if I can find something to eat on their menu.

I can't believe I'm on the other side of the world already... The last few weeks have been so hectic and full that I'm really looking forward to just slowing down a bit when I hit my mother land in Lahinch in County Clare. I pick up my hire car tomorrow and then we're off to the beautiful country.

Thanks for coming along for the ride with me.

 

Lahinch Ireland 2023

Lahinch is the red dot on the West Coast of Ireland

Wattle is on the move again hopefully and this time I'm doing it a bit differently!

I'm flying straight to Dublin, then driving my hire car to Lahinch in County Clare (on the West Coast) which is the land of my forebears. I'm going to be based there for a month and just explore around about and basically have a holiday there.

Here's where I'm staying -

lui-na-greine-apartment---in-the-heart-of-lahinch1

The apartment looks nice and comfy and there are two outstanding aspects to it - 

1. It's right in the heart of Lahinch, within walking distance to the beach, the coffee shops and the pubs!

2. It has its own kitchen so I can control my own food, which has been a bit of a problem lately.

 I'm leaving on  April 29 and return by June 1st 2023.

Hopefully I can add some stories and adventures as they happen throughout the next month.

Stay tuned!!!