odohertyelaine

Singapore 🇸🇬

I’m heading to Singapore to meet himself and work for the week, well four days as we have our new Irish Bank Holiday in celebration of St. Brigid. The last time I was in Singapore was in 2004 (although I have a vague recollection of an overnight here in 2007 on a work trip) so quite a while ago. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s changed and if there’s anything I can remember.

I fly through Dubai with Emirates and arrive in Singapore a bit knackered on Saturday evening. It’s a fairly handy trip into the city and we’re staying at a nice hotel in a central location (Bencoolen street). We kick Sunday off by going for a traditional local breakfast – Kaya toast at “Toast Box”, a cute chain restaurant. In a toast set you get kaya toast (which is sweet with coconut milk, eggs and sugar), two soft / half boiled eggs and a tea or coffee. The toast is sweet with kaya and butter, the other is peanut butter. The tea is also sweet as they put evaporated milk in it!

We take a walk around the streets nearby… love the colourful Hindu temple…

And next door there’s plenty of activity around the Chinese temple as the lunar new year celebrations are not quite over…

We pass Raffles hotel, but don’t go in – it’s a bit early to enjoy an overpriced Singapore sling – and head toward the river.

Elgin bridge (1 of 3 Singapore river bridges collectively a national monument)

We briefly check out the Asian Civilisation Museum

Lots of opportunities for photos in the garden of mirror balls… (my name for it not an official one!)

We walk further along the river and look across to the Marina Bay Sands. This wasn’t here when I was last in Singapore!

It’s busy around here with lots of tourists getting the obligatory shot in front of the Marina Bay Sands… just like I did 😁

Looking back at the skyline and Merlion park…. That’s the “merlion” spewing water!

We’re getting peckish for lunch so we head into one of the large hawker pavilions to see what’s on offer…. It is hard to take in… so many tiny food shops with so much variety of cuisine

Shane convinces me to try the traditional “chicken rice“. It’s poached (so has no colour which doesn’t quite appeal to me) but it’s cooked in broth and it’s really tasty. An excellent first choice. I’m also loving the fresh lime juice

It’s turning out to be a bit of a food tour today and why not, Singapore is famous for its food… there are so many exciting options everywhere you turn. We move along and find a very authentic looking stall offering fried Kway Teow which I’m assured is a must try…

Fair play to yer man on the queue… he knows what to order!

Fried Kway Teow is a mix of flat rice noodles and yellow wheat noodles stir fried with soy sauce and some delicious fatty bits and pieces…. It is delicious!

We continue toward China town and I recognise this Hindu temple from my previous visit. I know I have photos of this somewhere at home… they might even be printed!

It’s very hot as we walk around (about 30 degrees) so we need a little respite in a place that has air conditioning… it just happens to be a craft beer bar!! Not long after we’re back on the road it starts lashing rain (I mean bucketing down) so we take refuge at the Mustafa centre which is quite a place to see…. I believe we have now gone from Chinatown to Little India.

It’s a huge shopping centre… well actually it’s one big shop with everything you can imagine to buy. It’s packed, in particular with Indian men who must be sent by their wives as they are all over the cosmetics section (which by the way consists of rows and rows of products). Even more astonishing is the jewellery department downstairs – the yellow glare is dazzling. There must be millions worth down here and lots of groups of lads (with hardly a woman in sight) buying gold!!

It’s time for another stop on the food tour… another Shane must-try (in fairness he’s usually on the money with these things). This time it’s pani puri… little crispy hollow dough balls with potato inside that you pour in spicy tangy water and then shove in your mouth in one go! A little too much liquid in one bite for me! I did enjoy the side of pakora though.

We roll into the evening dodging the rain and going from hot outside to cold inside (turn down the air conditioning!!!) and enjoy some drinks in a couple of nice bars walking distance to home. I’m loving the sangria in the last place. Some noodles to finish off the food tour before a bit of jet lag hits and I need some sleep.

Shane is off to the office this morning and I have a holiday so I take myself off to explore Fort Canning park. It’s only a few minutes walk from the hotel. There’s a lot of ground to cover while the weather is dry… I walk through Farquhar garden and see the marker indicating the fortification line of ancient Singapura.

Fort Canning park was once called Bukit Larangan (which is Malay for Forbidden Hill), and it was the seat of the Malay kingdom also known as Singapura. The kingdom was found in 1299 and lasted until the colonists arrived in the 1800’s…

Along the walls leading to the large Fort Canning centre are Christian burial graves.

And some nice gates…

There’s lots to see in this park including a spice garden, sculpture garden, ruins found from a recent archeological dig, old British military stuff 🤪 and Raffles house. [Sidenote: Sir Stamford Raffles (known as the founder of modern Singapore) was a British officer who arrived in Singapore in 1819 and struck a deal with the Malay rulers to set up a British trading port. This would eventually lead to the colonisation of the island]

I particularly like looking out to the city. The Singapore government have done their utmost to make the city as green as possible, including building gardens on skyscrapers and putting trees everywhere possible. Apparently there is one tree for every 4 people living in Singapore. Recently they have changed their motto of having a garden in their city to aspiring to be a city within the garden of Singapore…..I like this idea and it’s evident as you walk around.

On the map of places to see within the park it mentions Tiong Bahru Bakery…… I’m slowly making my way there and hope it’s an actual bakery and not the site of an ancient bakery from the 14th century!!

Phew! It’s a real bakery and I’m ready for some sort of breakfast item. I’m not disappointed … they bake fresh croissants every two hours and they have English breakfast tea with fresh milk! There’s a sign in the corner of the display case that says everything is served warm…suits me!

The salted egg brioche is sweet and very tasty

Continuing in a loop to get back to where I started I pass Fort Canning Lighthouse. It seems quite far inland for a lighthouse until you realise much of the land between it and the water was reclaimed in the last 100 years. In fact the lighthouse was closed in 1958 as the development of skyscrapers obstructed it from being seen by the sea.

There are a number of covered in escalators in the park but I prefer to build up a sweat on the stairs!!!

I look for something small to nibble before heading into the museum and find some “takoyaki” – I’ve no idea what they are but they look good. They are indeed very tasty and seem to be filled with potato and a little something else inside that I can’t quite figure out. It turns out it’s octopus. 😋

I’m ready for some air conditioning after shlepping around the park so I head into the museum and spend a lot longer than I thought I would. It’s an interesting history of how this island became the modern city it is today.

I learn how Raffles was a keen botanist which I assume is partly why Singapore has remained so green; that the first garden I walked through to get to the park was named after William Farquhar who was a Scottish officer, considered the first citizen of Singapore; how there was a mutiny in 1915 where Indian soldiers based in Singapore rose up against the British government (there’s a chilling photo of the rebels lined up against a wall being shot… reminiscent of what happened in Kilmainham jail); that Japan invaded and ran the island for a couple of years and that in 1965 Singapore broke ties with Malaysia and became independent under the leadership of Lee Kwan Yew.

I watched some captivating footage of Lee Kwan Yew addressing the people of Singapore where he got emotional speaking of how Singapore will be a truly multi cultural country welcoming to all. He certainly got that right. If you look at most of the signs posted around the city, they are in four languages: Malay, English, Chinese and Tamil.

I’m a bit worn out after all that history so I head to an exhibit with an interactive “Garden” …. It’s peculiar but beautiful

The final sections of the museum show how Singapore progressed into a modern nation. Movies, pop songs, fashion… in particular I’m loving an actress Marrie Lee who played a very popular character in the 70’s called Cleopatra Wong. She was kick ass.

I head back to the hotel and have time to check out the pool before dinner.. the sky is grey but it’s really warm so nice to cool down in the pool.

We walk to a casual outdoor restaurant and have a delicious Chinese meal… maipo tofu, spicy green beans, aubergine (my fav), prawns and some special noodles…. and of course a Tiger beer. Yum 😋

We thought the portions would be small… not in this place!

Work next day and I set myself up from the hotel. It’s roasting outside but the air con is high indoors so I’m freezing… I’m back and forth between sweating and putting on a cardigan! Air con on / air con off!!! I’m sure I must be driving Shane mad! (I’m also pretty sure some of the heat episodes are not down to the temperature in Singapore… but we’ll speak no more of that! 🤫). A swim helps and I get a little sunburn on my back as I did 50 lengths this morning!

We get out for lunch and hit the Albert centre which has a million hawker stands (ok maybe not a million but it’s a lot). Some wanton soup goes down well but the highlight is fried carrot cake which seems to have very little carrot and some sort of gnocchi .. it is outstanding. Fresh lime juice is definitely my drink of choice for lunchtime.

I love walking through these streets on the way back…

This evening we take a walk to Arab street and check out an area that looks like we could be in a different country.

We pass Masjid Sultan also known as Sultan mosque and eat nasi goreng in a very casual Malaysian restaurant (with no alcohol)… well it is a school night!

It’s an interesting area to walk around with some cool old buildings and restaurants.

Next morning I get a few steps in and walk Shane to the mrt station (the underground) as he’ll be at the office today and out for dinner tonight so I’m on my lonesome and could get up to anything!!! There’s quite a few art deco buildings around this area…

So I start the day with a swim and pick up breakfast at a cafe called Huggs Collective – I’m not sure if I should expect a hug when I go in but it doesn’t happen 😭. I have a full day of work so grab some lunch at Food Dynasty which is next to the hotel. I go for a salted duck wellington.. quite unusual but very tasty. I try a different juice today – calamansi. It’s lovely and sweet with a hint of sour.

I’m happy working away with this view until it starts to rain… My shoulders are sore when I finish work at 7pm (trying to somewhat manage the time difference) so I decide to go for a massage and have an easy dinner.

So those of you who have read my blogs in the past know I love to get a treatment when I go abroad. Well this massage (which I think was Thai style but not sure) was quite the experience. When I got on the table the lady asked me if I would like my massage soft or strong… of course I said strong (hoping I won’t regret it). The lady then proceeded to get up on the table and kneel on top of me… I mean her whole body was on mine and her knees were first of all digging into my legs, then my bum and then my shoulders.. I really don’t know how she did it. She asked me “you ok sista” to which I groaned “yeah”. She eventually got off me and cracked the length of my back with her elbows… holy jamoly this was seriously “strong”! Luckily enough the rest of the massage was a bit more what you’d expect, lots of elbows and strong hands…. In fairness I felt great afterward.

A quick visit into the OG department store and I can’t help myself… I buy a pair of cute but comfy shoes. It’s late so for the first time I visit a Jollibee, which is a fast food restaurant that’s very popular in the Philippines. It’s a bit like KFC but it also does spaghetti and you can get a side of rice with your fried chicken!! I have a chicken burger and chips and it’s a bit disappointing.. ah well. First chips of the trip so that’s something !

Another day starting with a swim in the pool followed by work with a hawker lunch and then I’m getting the train to Chinatown to meet himself…

View of Bencoolen Street from the 15th floor outdoor pool

This evening we’re going for dinner with Shane’s work colleagues so I take the train to Chinatown.

There are seven of us in a private dining room (with much appreciated air conditioning) called Oriental Palace. The menu is massive and the food ordering takes about half an hour!!! It is so worth it as the food is fantastic – an amazing feast!

I had a bit of a run-in with the chilly crab. Very poor outfit choice on my part!

It’s Friday and we’re both working from the hotel today, trying to wrap up things before our week off. Luckily our calls don’t happen to be scheduled at the same time….. Shanes are early, mine are late. We manage to get out for a quick lunch and I insist we try the durian puffs. (Remember the smelly fruit that’s not allowed on the train). I really want to taste this durian fruit it and I reckon in some crispy dough it couldn’t be that bad. They look so good….

Now if you don’t know durian is a fruit famous for being super smelly. In fact it’s not allowed in certain public places, definitely not on trains or buses. I’m told I really should try it… hmmm we’ll see!

Work calls finished, laptop switched off… it’s time to head for Singapores’ big attraction the Marina Bay Sands. The plan is to go to the top for a fancy cocktail but unfortunately the rain has come again and they’ve stopped allowing people up. It’s lashing so we find refuge in the HUGE shopping centre that’s underneath.

There are lots of dinner options in this huge centre, a lot of fancy fine dining, some big chefs places, American and Asian chain restaurants… lots of options. We settle on a beer and burger bar that has red wine (which I’ve set my mind on) and the most delicious wagyu burger. It’s a great final meal in Singapore and a bit of a palette cleanser as we move onto Laos cuisine tomorrow.

The rain eventually stops and we get outside to see the building all lit up.

We take a walk through Gardens by the Bay…. although we didn’t see the official light show, they’re quite spectacular to view at nighttime.

Saturday morning it’s time to pack up and head to the airport. The expressway to the airport is lined with trees and we pass so many high rise apartment blocks, you realise this is how the 6 million population fit into such a small landmass.

After checking at the counter for our flight to Laos, we check out the waterfall which is a bit of a tourist attraction….

It’s been a nice week and we are ready for our holiday to start… bye bye Singapore!

Bali

I’ve been in Sydney for a couple of weeks and now heading to Bali for a proper restful (I hope!) holiday. The flight from Sydney should be just over 6 hours but we get diverted to Darwin to pick up extra fuel because of weather conditions… so we arrive very late to Denpasar. Luckily we are met by the manager of the villa we’ve booked so we don’t have to worry about finding it or how we get there. It’s 2am going to bed and a thunder and lightening storm hits for about three hours. I’ve never heard rain so heavy and it’s really hard to go asleep…. Cool to be in this place with the rain outside though!

Today we are going to need a restful day so after a bit of a lie in we head out to check out our local surroundings and hit the local supermarket for some essentials.

The house is amazing, it’s as much an outdoor house as it is indoor and it has a jungle vibe to it.

After a shower in the very cool outdoor shower we head out for a ramble…

There are temples everywhere .. this is our local one, less than 50 metres from the house.

The streets are narrow, noisy and chaotic. Mopeds, scooters, motorbikes whatever you like to call them are everywhere and there doesn’t seem to be any rules of the road! Along the streets are shops, cafes, restaurants (called warungs) and so many tattoo shops! There are small offerings of flowers, placed on the ground, outside most shops or restaurants so between trying to avoid those and the dodgy paths you need your wits about you!

Our first meal in Bali is a good local buffet lunch at a place called Warung Murah and an obligatory glass of the local hogwash Bintang!! Delightful 😀

It’s all about the sunset in Bali …

We decide to join the masses for a cocktail while looking out at the ocean. There are so many people on the beach at this hour, I’ve never seen anything like it. We pass the famous La Plancha which seems a bit too busy and noisy for us but we’re keen to sit for a bit and check out the local music. Every beachfront establishment has a little stage with musicians each one vying to be the loudest!!

It’s a lovely temperature to sit outside so we have a couple of cocktails and some grub before walking back to villa

Next morning we take a walk to the market but it’s very quiet and a lot of stalls have already closed up. Everyone seems to be making the little offerings that we’ve seen.. maybe it’s some sort of feast day.

An interesting and scary sign..

We continue a big walk around the main road and end up at the restaurant we want to try for lunch called Pork Star… we have pork 4 different ways and a lemon Bintang -love it!

The kitchen part of the restaurant is in the container and the seated area is inside the main door!

We have a rest for the afternoon and I cool down in our very own pool

This evening we walk to the beach and check out the sunset – it’s a beautiful one tonight. We settle on a Thai restaurant on an outdoor veranda at the back of the Main Street so it’s nice and quiet.

…….

I go for the nasi goreng… delicious!

This morning we do a big walk (along different noisy chaotic streets!)

Lots more temples and interesting buildings and we stop for brunch at Poppies restaurant which is a little garden oasis away from the rows of shops.

The last time I saw electrical wires as crazy as this was in Nepal!

On the way back home we pass the memorial to those who lost their lives in the Bali bombing in 2002.

In the afternoon we are driving to the southwestern tip of the Bukit peninsula. En route we pass a parade heading toward the local temple…

We are heading to the giant statue that you can see from our beach at Seminyak – it’s at GWK – Garuda Wisni Kencara cultural park.

The statue is quite new, commissioned in 1993 and finished in 2018. It depicts Lord Wisnu, the preserver of Universal Equilibrium, riding the great Garuda, his trusted companion; representation of a human who endures a life of great responsibility.

It is the strangest “cultural” park we have possibly ever visited and we are somewhat perplexed!!

We continue climbing upwards and check out all the weird and wonderful statues until we get up close and personal to Garuda himself .

From there we continue the journey further south to Ulu Watu and the famous Pura Luhur Ula Watu temple. It’s perched on the tip of the peninsula with a sheer cliff drop that’s very popular to visit… it is packed with tourists and you can only imagine the posing that’s going on for photos.

There are also monkeys hanging around … they are Balinese macaques and they love to steal phones and glasses. In fact a woman in front of us is chasing one who has her bright blue phone in his hands!

Against our better judgement we are talked into getting tickets for the Kecak, which is a dance show. It starts with 70 men singing … well singing is a loose description of what they’re doing – they’re certainly making sounds… tika, tika, tika, tika, it’s interesting for about ten minutes and then it’s just a bit hard to listen to. There’s dancers who are telling s story about a goddess and a king and Garuda… it’s all a bit hard to follow and during the show people are jumping up to take photos of the sunset and monkeys are also causing commotion at the back. We are sitting right at the top and a monkey comes right up behind us and steels glasses from a young lads face… not sunglasses, his proper “I can’t see without these” glasses and runs off. The poor lad got a terrible fright. With the help of a steward he managed to get them back but it caused all sorts of commotion while the show was in full swing.

Interesting but not really our cup of tea…

We were hoping to have a seafood dinner at one of the restaurants at Jimbaran beach but they are closed because of the festival that we saw happening earlier in the day. A bit disappointing but there’s a “restaurant” that Nyomen recommends where he knows the owner and Shane can get a fish head curry so needless to say “we” are delighted!! I have fried tuna which is very nice but served completely on its own, (where’s me chips!!) Afterward the ladies ask if they can take a photo with us… I feel like we could be up on their wall of fame!!

This morning we are off to explore more of the island with Nyomen. We start with a visit to a beautiful garden in the Celuk area that makes the famous luwak coffee. This little guy eats berries and poops out the seed which is essentially the coffee bean… yep you heard me right!! They’re washed (thoroughly!!) and made into the coffee.

We get a short tour and description of how the coffee is made..

and then have an opportunity to sit in the garden and taste some…

I don’t taste the luwak coffee but Shane is only delighted to. I’m happy to taste some teas though and I particularly like the lemongrass and mangosteen which I buy to bring home… apparently it has all sorts of health benefits!

Before we leave we check out the garden which is lovely and has a swing that I’m tempted but ultimately too scared to try. [We didn’t realise at this point but we’d see a lot more of these swings later!]

Can you see the woman with a pink flowing shawl on the swing?

Although Bali is a fairly small island it takes a long time to cover any amount of ground because the traffic is horrible … there appear to be no clear rules for driving, who has right away etc and there are virtually no traffic lights (we saw a few on some “main” roads). So although we’ve only gotten started on our tour we already need to head to our lunch destination which we are very excited about as we are tasting babi guling (spit roasted pig) for the first time.

The location of the restaurant called Pande Egi is tricky to find as it’s in the middle of nowhere!!! But it’s beautifully situated along a rice paddy and the food is great…

While trying to find the restaurant I noticed signs for a waterfall so we decide to check it out.. it’s called Kanto Lampo…..

Next it’s onwards to Ubud and the rice terraces. We drive on some quiet country roads through some beautiful scenery….

……..so much quieter out here in the country and we see real farmers at work…

Then we arrive to the tourist destination “rice terraces” – pretty to look at but a bit “Disney-fied”!

You have to pay to look into the valley as the view is blocked by shops and cafes. It’s full of those big swings and places to take photos in – love hearts, nests (yes nests a couple can sit in) and of course you can imagine the serious amount of posing going on. Instagram has a lot to answer for!!

Locals heading to the temple for the festival

We continue on the Sacred Monkey forest sanctuary (another tourist trap if you ask me!), passing through small villages and seeing people heading to temple for the festival.

The monkey sanctuary is a strange place…. we walk around the gardens which are full of statues and monkeys! Apparently this place is the natural habitat of the Balinese long-tailed macaque.

Time to go home and hit a local warung for some Indonesian food which is always very tasty and spicy but generally served cold (ish) but on hot rice!!

I think we chose well… there’s a corn fritter, tempeh, quail eggs, aubergine, tofu and squid on there. And I had a “happy soda which was like an American cream soda”… that brought me back!

Next day we have a quiet one where we take advantage of our beautiful villa. We head to another warung that’s been recommended for satay pork. It’s roasting out…. The place is extremely local and low key – the food is really good.

We’re really enjoying our time at the villa, it’s so relaxing… we put up with the cat and might even be getting a little fond him.. I think he likes Shane more than me as I run away every time he tries to rub against my leg…. He cries and knocks on the door when we put the tv on so we let him in for a little bit ….

There’s a brunch club “porn cakes” that’s supposed to have amazing pancakes so we check it out… they’re soufflé type pancakes… quite strange as you can see from my face! By the way another thing about Bali is you can wear your beach gear all day long and everywhere you go!

We decide to have Nyoman take is back to Jimbarun (where the restaurants were closed due to the festival a couple of nights ago) and we walk along the beach which is a lot quieter than our local 66 beach.

You can see the big Garuda statue from here…

We have dinner at the New Moon cafe at a lovely table in the sand and enjoy a margarita while watching the sunset…

It’s our last day and we need to be out of the villa by 11am but our flights are not until late that night so we book ourselves into the hotel next door which has a pool and let’s us check in at 11:30… fantastic! It has a rooftop pool and an interesting view from up high! Who’s idea was this – genius!!

Our final meal is lunch and we head to Warung Kampung where I have my final nasi goreng of the holiday… it is delicious!

A swim and some relaxation time and then it’s off to the airport and goodbye to Bali…

We have had a lovely relaxing time and maybe we’ll get to explore other Indonesian islands in the future. Pamit dumun Bali!

Portugal Part III : Nazaré and Coimbra

I neglected to document a day’s excursion that we made from Obidos, so capturing it here as it was a fabulous day to Batalha and the beautiful Nazaré.

We drive about 50 minutes to visit Batalha monastery. It’s a Dominican abbey considered a masterpiece of Portuguese gothic architecture (described as late flamboyant) and as such is a UNESCO world heritage site. The pale limestone structure was started in 1385 and various kings made their mark on the building.

We buy tickets to visit inside and get to see the tomb of King Alfonso V and Queen Isabel. We also catch the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier. The cloisters are beautiful……

The highlight comes at the end when we see the unfinished chapels.

The architecture certainly is flamboyant…

We have a spot of lunch in the square looking at the monastery and avail of the public toilets (vitally important when traveling) and when done we continue to a seaside town called Nazaré. Nazaré got its name from a monk who apparently arrived from Nazareth with a statue of the Virgin Mary in the 4th century.

Nazaré has a beautiful beach backed by steep cliffs. We arrive to the small village (called Sitio) at the top of the cliffs overlooking the beach.

There’s a tiny building that I see people entering to say a prayer, with a small alter inside and I find out later it’s a memorial to the Virgin Mary. According to legend, the Virgin Mary saved a local dignitary from following a deer that leapt off the cliff in a sea mist in 1182.

We walk along the cliff path where there are signs welcoming us to “the biggest waves in the world” and look down to the lighthouse.

In the main square is the 17th century church of Nossa Senhora da Nazaré

We take a funicular down the hill and dip our feet in at the beach. It’s fairly cold (nowhere near our recent paddle in Inchidoney mind you!!)

The funicular looks like a bus coming down a very steep hill!

There is a row of old ladies sitting in deck chairs but they are not looking toward the beach as you’d expect, they are facing into the town… it seems quite strange but I suppose they’re more interested in who’s who and what’s going on than enjoying the seaside!!

After a light refreshment we make the journey back to Obidos and pack up ahead of tomorrow’s departure.

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We depart Obidos and get on the road to first visit some Roman ruins. Conimbriga was an Iron Age settlement with a long history when the Romans conquered it in 136 BC. It became known as the Roman town of Lusitania. They’re not the most exciting ruins but it’s an enjoyable ramble around the site and there are some nice tiles.

The pathway we follow is actually part of the Camino de Santiago.

We head further north to Coimbra, the former capital of Portugal. It faces the river on a hillside and is very picturesque as we approach it over the bridge…..

I’ve done a bit of research on what we should eat and an old pastry shop comes up as a must visit…. They have giant meringues which seem to be their speciality but we opt for more appropriate lunchtime fare…. There’s a fairly decent queue and on entering the building a low flying pigeon swoops Shane and nearly takes him out!!

We walk up the narrow streets toward the hilltop and the university…

The university of Coimbra is the oldest in Portugal. We enjoy rambling around the various faculty buildings and checking out the many statues

Time flies by and we must get back down the hill and move onwards to Porto.

Beautiful Beautiful Copenhagen! (A very quick trip to Denmark)

I have the opportunity to tick a new country of my list as I need to take a work trip to Copenhagen. I’m delighted as Denmark has been on my list for a while. I may not get to see much but I’ll maximise any free time and see what I can of the city. This will be a short one but worth documenting.…..

I arrive from Brussels having had some work meetings there so it’s a really short flight (1 hour 5 minutes) to Copenhagen. I’m staying at the Marriott hotel which is on the water and although my room has a view to the street rather than the water, it’s a great location, walking distance to all the key sites that I’m hoping to get some time to see. After check in I get straight out for a walk. It’s only a few minutes walk to the famous Tivoli gardens.

Tivoli is an amusement park built in 1843 right in the centre of the city. Apparently Walt Disney was inspired to build his own park after visiting it.

I continue to walk around the neighbouring streets and I arrive at Radhuspladsen – a big open square with the Radhus (city hall) at its centre.

I’m getting hungry so I visit the Tivoli food court which has every type of food you can imagine. Of course I have to try a Smørrebrød. It looks like a piece of art and it tastes really good. It starts with a slice of rye bread with pate, beetroot, a couple of slices of bacon and red berries. Delish!

Another beautiful building on my walk back to the hotel

The office is a 15 minute walk from the hotel so it’s a nice opportunity to see a bit of the city. Copenhagen is practically surrounded by water, there are many bridges crossing canals and waterways and even more noticeable is the amount of bike lanes and cyclists around.

View from the hotel looking out on the water

For lunch we are served the best lunch I have ever had at a work meeting. It looks so fancy and it is really good. There’s salmon, a piece of beef, mushrooms, beetroot and a meatball in the little pot. It is absolutely delicious.

After a full day of meetings we are taken out for dinner to a really nice restaurant called Restaurant Koefoed. We spend three and a half hours over many small courses and although I can’t recall what exactly everything was I did take photos (of course!!) and I do know there were sweetbreads in the bowl and there was amazing bread with whipped butter! It really was delicious and I may have done a check-in on FB to NOMA which was obviously a spoof!! (Very bold of me….)

Today we have a half day of meetings so get a few hours in the afternoon to explore the city. I set out to explore with two colleagues and we head down Anderson Boulevard to find the statue of Hans Christian Anderson….

Hans Christian Anderson is by far the most famous Danish author. He wrote over 150 stories of which most people know at least a few of his fairy tales. His most famous fairy tales include “The Emperor’s New Clothes“, “The Little Mermaid“, “The Princess and the Pea“, “The Ugly Duckling“, “The Little Match Girl“, and “Thumbelina“.

We continue to Christianborg Slot which houses the parliament, Supreme Court and office of the prime minister.

Ooops I’m not supposed to be in here.. didn’t realise until after the photo. This is where the guards hang out!!

This really interesting looking building was formerly the stock exchange

There are so many picturesque waterways, it would be great to see the city from a boat but alas we don’t have time.

We continue to the famous Nyhavn with its colourful houses along the side of the canal known as New Harbour. It’s full of restaurants and bars.

The money shot… cover of the guide book!!

We walk through Nyhaven to Kongens Nytorv – Kings New Square. The statue at the centre is of Christian V and was made in 1688. There’s an exhibition called 50 queens around the outside and it chronicles the 50 queens of Denmark.

It’s time for a local beer… it can only be one, dare I say it’s “probably the best lager in the world”

My colleagues head back to the hotel and I continue exploring. Continuing on to Amalienborg Slot which is the residence of Queen Margrethe II. There are four separate palaces around a cobbled piazza with a statue of Frederick V in the centre. I watch a guard in full uniform march up and down in front of the building…. What a crazy job!.

Onwards to the little mermaid… yes she’s small and a lot of people say underwhelming but I really like her. There aren’t too many tourists around so I get a good look at her from the path and then down closer nearer the water. She was inspired by Hans Christians Anderson’s fairytale and was commissioned by Carl Jacobsen (head of Carlsberg brewery) – his name comes up a fair bit in this town!

There’s been some light rain showers but the sun has come out again as I pass a very picturesque church – St Albans Kirk, built in 1887.

Across from the church is a military fort known as Kastellet. I walk over the small bridge to take a look and it’s surprisingly serene.

It’s time for some grub…. At the work dinner last night when we were discussing NOMA (the best restaurant in the world), my colleagues mentioned Popl restaurant where you can get a burger by NOMA! I check google maps and it’s a 9 minute walk. Can’t wait to try this…

It didn’t look much but it was cooked perfectly and was so juicy.

I haven’t had a Danish pastry so I fix that for breakfast on my final morning. A quick google search tells me one of the best bakeries is in fact the oldest in Copenhagen. It’s a 20 minute walk to St Peders bageri and there’s a significant queue… it’s certainly a popular spot.

I pick a cinnamon icing and a chocolate.. they look a bit dark but the pastry is really good…… very nice but not really anything to get too excited about.

After a couple of hours work and a couple of danishes, I have an hour before I head to the airport so I head for the Ny Carlsberg Glypotekt.

It’s as famous for this indoor space known as the winter garden as it is for its collection of art and sculptures

The ancient Mediterranean collection is amazing… Roman and Greek in particular

They also have a fabulous Egyptian collection and I spend far too long admiring these ancient treasures.

I read about Palmyra, the Syrian desert city that blossomed in the first centuries AD. It’s not somewhere I’m familiar with and I’m fascinated to learn that it was the centre of trade between east and west during the Roman Empire. It flourished under the reign of Queen Zenobia, who was considered a legendary rebellious queen. Under her rule Zenobia, increased Palmyrene territory considerably. This provoked the Roman emperor into sacking the city in AD 273 and it never recovered to its former glory.

In 1980 Palmyra was added to the list of UNESCO’s world heritage sites.

The limestone funerary busts are particularly beautiful

Kaspa

Nebuchadnezar (604-562 BC), the King of Babylon, commissioned the richly decorated Ishtar Gate. The facades of the Ishtar Gate were decorated with reliefs in glazed tile, representing a dragon Marduk’s emblem, and a bull symbolising the weather god Adad. The processional route away from the city was decorated with lions, the animals of Ishtar, goddess of love and war, They were to
guard against advancing enemies, as is indicated by the name of the gateway: Ishtar conquers its enemy. It’s amazing to see these pieces of the gates in perfect condition all these years later.

Column with palmiform capital surrounded by the black pharaohs

Between 760 BCE to 656 BCE Egypt was ruled by the 25th dynasty of kings from Nubia, known as the black pharaohs.

I really enjoyed the Glyptpteket, it’s one of the best museums I’ve visited in a long time. I would highly recommend a visit.

I head for the airport and have a lunch opportunity that I don’t want to miss. When discussing the Popl (aka NOMA) burger the other night, my colleagues also mentioned a rival, some consider even better…. I walk the full length of the airport and finally find “The Gasoline Grill” – the burger is fantastic. I’m not sure which is best but I’ve definitely had two if the best burgers I’ve ever had.. I wasn’t expecting that in Copenhagen!!

Portugal Part II : Cabo Da Roca —> Ericeira —> Obidos

We pick up a rental car and leave Lisbon. James has kindly offered to be the driver and I’m the back-up (hoping and praying I won’t need to drive the monster 9 seater minibus!!). We pack all the bags, load up the passengers and get on the road…..

Before making our way to Óbidos we drive to Cabo Da Roca, the most westerly point in Europe.

As we continue our drive along what is known as the silver coast, we are taken through a number of small villages and up and over a number of steep hills and narrow roads. James does a great job keeping us between the ditches with his trusted navigator up front (not me!!).

We stop for lunch at Ericeira and have the largest toasted sandwhich EVER!! They’re the size of a large pizza and are definitely for sharing

Ericeira is a beautiful seaside town considered the surfing capital of Europe. We have a short look around and admire the beautiful white and blue coloured buildings and the picturesque beach.

Onwards to Óbidos which is a walled city, located approximately 85kms (just over an hours drive) to the north of Lisbon. It is considered one of Portugals prettiest towns with a population of approx 3,000 people. It’s a myriad of narrow cobbled streets and has a very old medieval feel to it.

Our Airbnb is definitely the most unusual and spectacular place I’ve stayed in. It’s essentially two buildings joined by an arch over a narrow street. Tourists actually take photos of it as they pass by…

It takes us a while to navigate the house as it’s over multiple levels. The kitchen feels like it’s a kilometre walk from the bedroom. We communicate via group chat as it’s hard to know where someone is at any given time and there’s no use shouting as you’d never be heard! There’s a large living room with a library at mezzanine level.

Our first night we decide to stay in and enjoy the beautiful terrace. The weather is warm and there’s a great view. We are right beside a church where the bells ring on the hour, quarter and half… flashbacks to Seville! There’s a dumb waiter that we use to get goodies from the kitchen to the terrace… it’s so exciting hearing it’s arrival to see what surprise someone has sent up.. is it tea or biscuits or wine… hmmm….

Next day we have a full day to explore the town. We start by checking out the castle

At the entrance to the castle is Sao Tiago church, which when you step inside, you see is a very nice bookshop.

I walk the ramparts the whole way around the town

We meet the rest of the gang for lunch at a cute outdoor restaurant just outside the walls that forms part of the aqueduct.

After lunch we take a walk to a large hexagonal church outside of the walls. Unfortunately it’s closed but the view back to the town is worth it.

Tonight we eat at a restaurant called Jamon Jamon. It’s recommended in lonely planet and is a short walk outside the city walls. It’s Moniques birthday tonight so we are celebrating. The restaurant serves tapas style dishes and is a lot fancier than we had expected. Unfortunately I’m not feeling great in the tummy area so I don’t have much but I’m assured it’s all very tasty.

Next day in Óbidos is a chill out day as we’ve been on the go since we left Dublin. I’m glad for the rest and we lounge around the casa, reading and relaxing. We take a little wander around the streets taking it nice and easy.

You can enter Obidos via a number of gates, the main gate being the decorative Porta da Vila

The main Street has lots of small shops with local crafts and goodies. It gets a lot of day visitors so I sneak out early on our last morning before the hordes arrive to snap some photos.

The drink we tasted in Lisbon is originally from Obidos. Shots are available everywhere… even from small craft shops selling textiles or local crafts – they’ll have a stand with a shot glass or chocolate cup ready to sell you a shot for a euro.

It’s time to leave Óbidos so we wheel our bags out of the city gates and wave goodbye to to this beautiful town.

Portugal Part I : Lisbon

The flight to Lisbon is 2 hours, 10 minutes. Thankfully there are no major queues and it’s an easy check-in (which is delightful considering all the drama there’s been at Dublin airport in recent weeks). On arrival we are greeted by Shanes name on a piece of paper which is great as that confirms we are getting picked up just that there’s no person with the piece of paper! After a couple of phone calls our driver arrives and we travel in a comfortable 6 seater to our home for the next few days. [By the way there are 6 of us on this trip.. two other couples traveling with Shane and I for our two week Portugal adventure. I am outnumbered by Australians but I’ll keep the Irish flag flying!!] 😀

The Airbnb is right in the centre of Lisbon in the Chiado neighbourhood. It’s on a steep hill – no surprise there, as Lisbon is built on 7 hills so there’s virtually no avoiding them! It’s a 4th floor apartment with a fabulous rooftop terrace that has a magnificent view of the castle.

We are surrounded by restaurants and bars so right in the thick of it. Our Airbnb host has asked us to be “silencio” when navigating the staircase at night…. 🤫

The host explains everything in minute detail, even how all the light switches work!!!! Rich is upstairs for about 15 minutes getting instructions on the air con and the awning over the terrace… Once she’s gone, we hit the streets and find our local super market – Pingo Doce (this will feature quite a bit in our Portugal holiday). Once we stock up on some essentials, we decide to send the boys home with the groceries so the ladies can order some white sangria and check out a local establishment. We have a drink and some appetizers and then hit a restaurant recommended by our host called Sinal Vermelho. It’s very popular so we are lucky to get a table. We have a delicious first dinner which includes two dishes we just saw Rick Stein have on his weekend in Lisbon… pork and clams and horse mackerel.

It’s surprisingly quiet for such a well located apartment and everyone sleeps well. Next morning I take my tea up to the terrace and enjoy a few minutes reading my book before we get our site seeing groove on. We enjoy a pastel de nata (Portugese custard tart) for brekkie each morning in Lisbon… sure you’d have to!

Side bar my sister got me this book for my birthday so I’m travelling without my kindle… it’s a fun read.

A few minutes walk takes us to Santa Maria maior and the gothic ruins of the Carmo convent which was devastated by the earthquake of 1755

Next we head to Casa St. Jorge hoping to catch the famous, and clearly very popular, 28E tram. Unfortunately, after waiting for about 20 minutes a very full tram arrives which doesn’t have space for us and a few minutes later when the next one arrives which looks like we could fit on, it passes us by and doesn’t stop…… looks like we’re not taking the tram

We opt for a tuk tuk instead and it’s a lot of fun getting to the top. The driver points out some places of note and drops us a short walk from the castle entrance.

We join a fairly long line to get tickets for entry into the castle (should have booked them online but the website wasn’t very mobile friendly!). I can’t resist falling into the tourist trap and getting a bacalhau cake – that’s a salted codfish cake… I’m not sure it’s authentic to have cheese in the middle but it’s very tasty.

We walk around the castle which has beautiful views of the city…..

We wander down the hill winding our way through narrow streets enjoying the old buildings and lots of amazing tiles and stop at a small cafe for some lunch. We all order extremely well and it’s a very tasty local lunch.

We continue down the hill toward the train station passing through Praca do Comerico.

At the Cais to Sodre train station we catch the train and travel just 3 stops to get to Belem. I’ve been a number of times and have climbed the Monument to the Discoveries but I’ve never gone into Belem tower – I really want to go in this time so I’ve booked a ticket online to avoid any queues (Note: The Tiqets app is very handy and means no standing on a long line to buy the ticket)

When I realise the oldest bookshop in the world is just around the corner from our apartment I have to see it. It's called Livraria Bertrand and it opened its’ doors in 1732. It's a nice looking building from the outside, not so oldy worldy on the inside but still a lovely bookshop. There's a coffee shop that sells wine and beer at the back which looks really nice but we don't have time to stop. I buy a novel set in Lisbon and it gets a stamp from the bookshop which I'm delighted about. Oldest bookshop in the world = Tick!

After a day of exploring we hit the terrace for drinks and grub from our local pingo doce. They do some great iberico pate, sausage and various local cheese along with some really nice rosé and various other beverages for the boys! Oh and did I mention our view… we are happy out!

Next morning we have an array of both sweet and savoury pastries, along with our pastel de nates. The pastelerias are hard to resist! We are fed and ready for a day in Sintra. Sintra is one of the most beautiful towns I've ever visited. It has a charming old town feel to it and is surrounded by beautiful palaces and castles. I came here a few years ago and did a walking trip and loved it, it's great to be back and remember some of the sites and see some new ones.

We start with a visit to the Palacio Nacional (I don't think I went inside here last time so I'm very keen to take a look around). It's not very busy but I booked the tickets using the Tiqet app and I got 10% off)

It's a pleasure walking around and exploring all the different rooms - it's huge and the majority of it is accessible with your ticket

There’s some very interesting art in the palace also… Jesus looks way ahead of his time in this one..

After the palace visit we have a very cool lunch at a place called Villa Craft Beer & Bread. (Seriously if there’s a craft beer bar in town Shane will sniff it out!!). Not only does it have craft beer (and a nice rosé) but they make bread fresh when you choose your order…. it’s not quite a sandwich but also not a pizza… mine has blood sausage (i.e. black pudding).. it is absolutely delicious.

Sintra is a busy town with a lot of tourists all year round. The majority of the hoardes will visit the Pena palace and the Moorish castle which are up the hill. We decide to take a tuk tuk (which is actually a jeep so a bit more appropriate for our gang!) to do a tour of the mountain so we can see the palaces but we’ve decided to avoid the hoardes and not actually go in. It’s a great way to see it all.

Moorish castle on top of the hill behind us!

Our driver stops at all the best viewpoints…

On the way home we stop at a ginjinha (a bar serving ginja) and have our first shot of the holiday. Ginja is a Portuguese liqueur made by infusing sour cherry in alcohol and adding sugar together with other ingredients - cloves and/or cinnamon sticks. Apparently it's what the workers have at the end of their day. It's very tasty.

Tonight we eat in a restaurant that's been recommended by our host. I call and make a reservation to ensure we get a table as it's in the busy Bairro Alto area. As we are walking toward the restaurant I get a phone call to say the restaurant is actually closed and we must come to a different location. It's not too far away and we arrive at Maio which looks very local and old school. The reviews say that the food is as authentic as it gets. They weren't wrong.... We have a delicious meal and local wine and fall into bed after a busy day.

Tomorrow we head north….

Portugal Part IV : Porto and Braga

We arrive to Porto and are greeted by our Airbnb host Alexandra who gives us lots of info and recommendations including where the local Pingo Doce is so we are happy out! I am a little sad that when I produce my list of incorrupt bodies to ask if she can point them out on the map her response is “not in Porto, not in Porto”…

Our top floor apartment (yes it’s got a terrace) is on Santa Catarina street which leads straight to the pedestrian area and the heart of Porto. We take a walk to one of the recommended restaurants called Reitoria which has a casual sandwich cafe downstairs and a very fancy steakhouse upstairs. We enjoy a tasty meal and get our first “taste” of Porto.

Next day while we still have the car we set off to visit the Douro valley. It’s about an hour and a half drive from Porto. The views from the car are stunning and we drive over some impressive bridges…

The terraced vineyards clinging to the steep slopes

We stop for a quick coffee and toilet break in the town of Villa Maria. Finding a small local cafe with granny sitting out front, we sit outside and apparently have the best coffee the gang have had on the trip so far, and surprise surprise it’s the cheapest!!

We continue to Peso Da Regua and it’s lunchtime. I must admit that I was expecting we’d have lunch in a small village overlooking the Douro valley but this is definitely not that. It’s recommended by Lonely Planet but let’s face it, looks like a kip… that said I have a sneaky suspicion this could be a great meal and guess what… it is!!

Fabulous lunch of meat and local red wine… we were lucky we avoided the queue which was out the door (and it was raining !)

We continue to what is widely known as THE most scenic viewpoint of the Douro valley – Sāo Leonardo de Galafura. It is absolutely stunning and the weather cooperates and stops raining so we can enjoy the 360° panoramic view. [Theres a small chapel at the top with a stone engraved with a poem by Miguel Torga]

We arrive back to Porto and are all a bit knackered so some of us head off to explore a craft beer bar and some of us (i.e. me!!) decide to check out some dodgy tv and have an easy evening with the feet up at our very nice Airbnb.

Next morning we ditch the car and get ready to explore Porto on foot… The famous tiled church “Capella das Almas de Santa Catarina” is about half a kilometre down our street so it’s our first port of call. The tiles are by Eduardo Leite.

Onwards to the São Bento railway station famous for.. yep you guessed it… tiles! It’s a popular spot and quite busy with tours. The tiles are by Jorge Colaço and depict the history of transport, ethnography (culture, customs etc) and other famous Portuguese events.

For the afternoon we are doing a Food Tour. We are due to meet our guide at noon at another big church called Igreja dos Congregados. This one is also ornamented with tiles by Jorge Calaço. We arrive early so we get to go inside where there are a huge amount of statues and relics.

Our Lady of Fatima with Jacinta and Francisco

We meet our guide, Ida and she brings us on an amazing journey around Porto.

We start with an amazing little tasca where we have a bachalau – the original salt codfish cake and then a bifana which is a delicious sandwich of pork in a piri piri sauce and a light bread roll. There’s extra piri piri sauce on the table and I check it out and see it’s from the Pingo Doce (there’ll need to be a little trip there to bring some home me thinks). We have a cup of vinho verde (which translates as green wine) served in a mug. What a great start…

Next we go into the market which is a temporary market as the original has been closed for 4 years! It will open again soon but this temporary one looks amazing – it used to be a car park but they’ve done an amazing job. We try a very dense rye bread and check out some fruit – the figs are delicious. We get a tiny bottle of moscatel (a light fortified wine made from muscat grapes) and make our way toward the olive oil stand to try a few varieties, we also try some lupine beans which are a nice snack with the wine. Next for some cheese and then sardines…

Ida asks if we saw the Anthony Bourdain show where he visited Porto and points out a woman at a fish counter who apparently appeared on the show as she was shouting things at him, being a bit raucous…. literally a bit of a fish wife… she’s giggling as we pass by so we jump in for a photo with her – she is clearly famous at the market!

We leave the market (after purchasing quite a bit) and go to a restaurant where we try the famous franchisina. This is the crazy “sandwich” with layers of meat, covered in cheese and sitting in a tomato sauce – its proper mental! Also we have chorizo and beans, bachalau with cream and tripe – at the request of Shane! The suggested beverage is the local Super Bock beer but we couple of us wangle a glass of rosé. From the restaurant we go to a new cake shop called Tonton cake for some tiny but delicious tarts… then some pastel de nata which obviously can’t be missed and we finish with a port tasting.

I would definitely recommend this tour. Ida works for herself and is really knowledgeable about the city and the food of Porto. She was really friendly and was able to answer all of our questions.

We take a ramble down to the river and decide to jump on the tram to Foz, it’s a nice spot for an evening stroll along the water and around the little town.

We head a little further north to Matosinhos and have a beer before heading back for some nibbles at the casa.… we’re all still full after the food extravaganza of the afternoon.

Next day we set off to to explore more of Porto. I love the buildings, the streets and the shops as we walk around…

We pass the Porto sign and I want to see the famous McDonalds.

We walk to the Livraria Lello bookshop also known as the Harry Potter bookshop because its decor and staircase were apparently the inspiration for Hogwarts. There’s an entrance fee and the queue is already a way down the street… thanks Harry Potter fans…. yeah, I think I’ll give that a miss.

Lots more churches and tiles to see….

We head back to the river and walk the bridge to Gaia.

The views back to Porto are fab…

Gaia, on the opposite side of the river is where all the port houses are.

I’m really looking forward to trying a full size franceschina for lunch so we hit a low key little cafe…it’s the strangest “sambo” but I love it…with a glass of vinho verde of course! [bread, ham, steak, sausage, covered in cheese and served in a tomato sauce]

We take the cable car and enjoy more views of Porto…

From the cable car exit we walk further uphill to the highest point for yet more views.

And we find the Gaia sign…. The Portuguese do love their signs and it’s a great photo opportunity !

We walk across the bridge, this time on the upper level where the tram runs, and return to the Porto side. Next is a visit to Porto cathedral.

We meet the gang at a rooftop bar and have a cocktail made with white port – it’s gorgeous. Then we hit the market for a port tasting which is really good and incredible value. We taste 5 ports : a white port, an LBV (late bottle vintage) a 20 year, 30 and 40 … all big pours and all for €10! I’m not sure how they are still in business. Once we’re done it’s time to head home for a chill out evening and some nibbles…

Next day (the last day of the holidays) we decide to take a day trip to Braga. It’s just over an hours journey on the train.

Braga is Portugal’s religious capital. Located in the northern Minho region, the city is also one of the country’s oldest, most likely founded by Bracari Celts and known in Roman times as Bracara Augusta. In the 12th century, Braga became the seat of Portugal’s archbishops and remains the nation’s most important religious center.

The old town features a number of splendid 18th-century mansions fashioned out of granite in an imposing architectural style. This house called the Raio palace or the house of the Mexican was built in 1754 and is particularly nice…

My research tells me there’s a pastry local to Braga that we must try. It’s called Frigideiras. I somehow walk right past this restaurant but Shane spots it and we try them out.. as ever with most savoury pastries I taste, I love it.

We visit Braga cathedral which is the oldest cathedral in Portugal and the seat of the primate archbishop of Portugal and Spain.

We find an authentic looking cafe to sit and have some lunch but alas they are out of the soup that Shane has been looking for but hasn’t managed to try yet. We do get to see the Braga sign though!!

They’re really into their angels around here…

Second visit back to the cathedral to see some of the treasures that weren’t open earlier. A young boy with really good English brings the six of us and a large set of keys around some very interesting rooms including some tombs and the huge organ.

The highlight is the mummified body of the archbishop Lourenco Vicente, deceased in 1398. It’s the closest I get to an incorrupt body so a highlight of the trip for me … doesn’t he look well?

We take the train back to Porto and have a couple of things to do before we have our final dinner together. First a stop at the Pingo Doce to stock up on some piri piri sauce to take home… it is all of 37cent!!!! And next a quick walk to the top of our street where I’ve been told there are vending machines worth checking out… I won’t say what’s in them but let’s just say you could have a very interesting party for 1… or 2!!

It’s time for our final dinner and we are going to an old school fine dining restaurant at the top of quite an ugly building that we can see from our bedroom window. It sounds interesting though and the food is really good.

The final story to this amazing trip involves 6 (not so small) adults in a (small old) lift designated for 4 (possibly Portuguese size) adults. I think you might guess where this is going. All I can say is, we survived, nobody got too distressed and we learned our lesson!!

Adeus Portugal, you’ve been great!

Kilkenny to Wexford (Ireland’s Ancient East continued)

Leaving Tipperary, Miriam and I continue our journey to Kilkenny. We head to Goresbridge which is a pretty little village and thankfully the local Spar has a toilet we can use!! We walk a part of the Barrow Way, which is a lengthy walk along the river. We cross the bridge and the sun is out for the walk along the riverside.

We do a 5km stretch as far as Ballyteigelea

We’re well prepared with leftovers so have a picnic by the bridge and then carry on toward the city.

Going through Gowran we stop for a look at St Mary’s church

St Mary’s was built in the late 13th century dedicated to our lady.

The sky threatens rain so we don’t have long before a shower comes. I run to the car while Miriam saunters along delighted with another excuse to wear her cape!!

We’re staying at Fanad house which is an ideal location for exploring Kilkenny. It’s a few minutes walk along the side of the castle grounds to the main parade and the room is very nice for a reasonable price. I would definitely recommend it for future visits.

We have a delicious meal at Aroi, an Asian fusion restaurant on Friary street.

As we have a window seat we notice Ryan’s bar across the street. It looks like a proper pub that doesn’t serve food (one of my pet peeves is going to a pub for a drink and everyone is eating or there is just a stench of food when you just want a drink.. so annoying) ok rant over, Ryan’s is a great spot – it usually has music but of course that’s not allowed yet. We get a couple of gin and tonics and it’s nice to feel like we’re “out out”. We get chatting to Arthur who runs the bar, meet an interesting mannequin and even get our photo taken for the Facebook page!

Next morning we decide to go for a walk before breakfast. We need to build up our appetites so we wander around the castle grounds.

Back at Fanad House the full Irish is outstanding…

We have some additional peeps joining us for our journey today. Miriam’s sister Grace and her youngest daughter Emma have been on their holidays in Kilkenny for the past week and are joining us for the day as we head toward Wexford… but there are some adventures to be had ahead of that. We load up the car (looks like they were away for a month!!!) and off we go…..

_{I insist on pulling over to check out this random square tower / castle that is clearly very old and part of someone’s house and garden.}

Our first official stop is Kilfane Glen and Waterfall. We walk around the beautiful gardens which were untouched for 200 years and are an example of a romantic era garden.

There’s even a little cottage orné that has been restored and as we come upon it from the woodland walk it feels like it could be the home of Hansel & Gretel!

Time to move on and we head for Duiske abbey which is in Graiguenamanagh or as I like to call it Gu-gen-a-bar-ah!! As we approach the town we notice a statue of a monk and then we see another one further into the town and then another as we leave (unwittingly having passed the abbey). Grace as quick as lightening is onto the google and finds out there are actually 12 statues of the monks and they are positioned all around the village. We decide there and then we will find them all…. first we need to turn around and go back into town!!

Monk No.1

We park the car and head back up the road to check out our first monk. He appears to be a baker 👨‍🍳

Monk No.2

We quickly get to monk no.2 on our way to the centre of town.

So here’s the story with the monks : In 1204 a group of twelve monks made their way along the river Barrow (where Miriam and I walked yesterday) and they established Duiske abbey. A number of years back local Tidy Towns committee commissioned 12 life size granite statues of the monks depicting them working in the community and placed them all around the town. They hope it will bring tourists and encourage people to learn about the heritage of the town. It has certainly worked on us.

Monk No.3

Monk No.4

We’re a few monks in so we decide it’s lunchtime or at least coffee & tea and maybe cake time. We sit down outside the Duiske cafe and are looking across at this magnificent display of flower baskets. On first look the cafe doesn’t look up to much but we were so delightfully surprised. The lady who served us was extremely pleasant and helpful and everything we ordered was tasty and very inexpensive.

After the spot of sustenance we head to see what we actually came to Graiguenamanagh for – Duiske Abbey. Another highlight of Irelands ancient east, Duiske abbey was founded in 1204 by William Marshal [this guy Marshall is a key figure who built most of the castles you see today including Kilkenny that we just visited this morning – this is all pieced together later when we get to Ferns] and is one of the largest Cistercian buildings fully standing today. Unfortunately it wasn’t open when we were there but we walked around it and checked out the graveyard which had some high crosses.

Sure we’re too busy to spend any more time here, we have monks to find… we decide to enlist the help of some locals as we’re running out of monks in town and need to figure out where the rest are… our next fella is outside the bank and we decide we’ll jazz up the selfies… this one, as you can see we decided to opt for hoods up with a cap for the monk!

Monk No.5

Monk No.6

Having interrupted some local ladies sitting outside having a coffee, I get invaluable information as to the whereabouts of the remaining monks… it’s hard to keep track of them all though. They did tell us that there’s one up the hill at the back of the abbey on the way to the Silaire wood loop walk… we are on it…. and 20 minutes later we are still walking… and enjoying a beautiful view back down to the town.

Grace has forged ahead at speed and we’re starting to worry that we’ll have to retrace our steps and get the car when she shouts that she spots a monk up ahead…

Delighted with ourselves we continue the loop walk that takes us down to the river where we get chatting to a couple of men who tell us there is another one further along the water on this side and one more on the other, say no more lads, we’re on it…

Monk No.7

We spot monk no.7 from across the river so we take a snap… alas no selfie it’s too far and we still have 5 monks to find…

Monk No.8

The sunshine has come out again and we continue a delightful walk along the river. Emma and I decide to run ahead in the hope of finding our next monk and just around a slight bend we spot him. We realise he probably doesn’t know there’s a pandemic and decide he should be wearing a mask.

There are beautiful houses and gardens along the route, this one in particular

And look what else we find… a castle – Tinnahinch Castle from 1620 (seriously they’re everywhere!!)

Monk No.9

It’s getting harder to find the remaining monks. We’ve been told they are on each of the roads leading into the village so we decide to head for the car, via an ice cream shop!

Monk No.10

The excitement is fierce as we drive one of the roads (who knows which one at this point) and find our next monk

Monk No.11

The last two are the hardest to find but after driving in and out multiple main roads we spot this fella collecting the sheaves

Monk No.12

He was the toughest to find but we wouldn’t give up… we just followed our noses and low and behold before our eyes he appeared in front of us. The excitement is fierce and there’s a fair bit of whooping from the car! We’re delighted with ourselves and the extra effort was worth it… he definitely deserved a big kiss!!

Much later than anticipated we leave this cute little village and head for Wexford, a relaxing evening of Thai food, wine, chat and craic lies ahead.

Next morning after a bit of a lie in, we visit the refurbished Ballycarney post office. It was a post office from 1891 and a local man Sean Lacey has done a fabulous job restoring it.

Next we head to the Ballycadden Windfarm walk which provides some beautiful views of the countryside

Our weeks holiday ends with a Sunday roast courtesy of Miriam’s Mam and it is delicious. She’s definitely spoiling us as she’s made my favourite apple and blackberry crumble with fresh cream. What a way to finish the week

Tipperary : Continuing on the trail of Ireland’s Ancient East

We head from Cashel to Moyaliffe house which will be home for the next three nights. We are in the recently renovated maids quarters which is very apt for Miriam and I 🤪. The house sits on twelve acres and is quite remote (although only 20 minutes from Thurles) so we stock up in Aldi en route. Our little apartment has a kitchen, living room and bedroom and is gorgeous.

The house is owned by Lorna (Irish) and Paul (Australian) who moved back from a sheep farm in New South Wales a few years back (with their 5 dogs!) and they’ve been renovating the house and rebuilding the walled garden ever since. They’ve done a great job so far and have been keen to keep the history of the place alive. Lorna is very welcoming and as we unload the car and get settled in, she tells us that the previous visitors had a bat get into the bedroom last week. We reckon they must have had the windows wide open because of the recent heatwave. We don’t intend to be that silly…..

Once we get settled I proceed to burn a pizza in the new oven and we eat it with some salad and a bottle of red wine and plan tomorrow’s hike.

Our home for the next few nights – the maids quarters above the purple doors on the right

Next morning we drive about half an hour to the Glen of Aherlow and do the 9km Millenium Stone Loop walk. The trail (which is very well signposted) starts at the Christ the King statue where there are beautiful views of the Glen.

It’s a forest trail loop which goes across the Slevenamuck ridge (Slievenamuck stands for hill of the pigs!) and at a couple of points there are some beautiful views of the glen.

When we finish the hike we have a delicious picnic with our blaas from Waterford and our fancy milk jug looking out at the lovely views….

On the way home we visit Athassal priory (or abbey) which is close to the village of Golden. Siri has been brilliant with the google map directions so far but she lets us down here. We can see the ruins but can’t figure out how to get to them other than passing through someone’s land and possibly having to navigate a river! We decide to head into Golden and sure enough the priory is signposted from there.

We have to climb a turnstile and pass through a field of cows to get to it…

It’s worth it though. The abbey was founded around 1200 and sits on the banks of the river Suir. It’s Augustinian, dedicated to St. Edmund and at one point housed 2,000 people. It was one of the largest medieval priories to be found in Ireland. There are some interesting statues and I love the “windows”.

We say goodbye to the guardians of the priory and head back to our maids quarters

Back at Moyliffe house Miriam cooks a beautiful dinner (ok she puts a chicken kiev and spuds in the oven but she does also prepare some carrots and peas)! It’s gorgeous.

Miriam has ensured the windows are closed and we are chilling out with some wine after our delicious dinner when the loudest smoke alarm I have ever heard goes off. We definitely haven’t done anything to set it off and although Miriam manages to stop it for a while, the lady of the house calls the electrician to check it out… wouldn’t want that happening in the middle of the night. We decide to go for an evening stroll around the grounds

There’s a carriage from 1834 and we feel very Bridgerton as we climb up and check it out

Next morning we check out the tennis courts…. Miriam may have found a new sport 🎾

The weather forecast is not so good today so we haven’t planned a big hike just some “local” exploring.

Farney castle is just up the road and is the family home of the Cullens

The present round towers were built in 1495 and it was owned by the Butlers before being confiscated by Henry VIII in the 16th century. We do the tour and get to meet the owner Cyril Cullen. He is quite the character and tells us lots of stories about the treasures he has accumulated throughout his very interesting life [sidebar: I think he should be on the Tommy Tiernan show!].

There are many photos with famous people and his 4 daughters The Cullen Sisters are harpists who have been on the Late Late and performed at many highbrow events. Cyril himself is a knitwear and porcelain designer and we check out his studio and buy a Christmas ornament. If you’re ever in this neck of the woods I fully recommend checking out Farney, it’s a castle tour like no other.

Next we head to Upperchurch which has a bog walk and not much else….. apparently there’s a dolmen around here somewhere but after walking around in the rain with no sign of it we give up and decide to check out Thurles. The weather has definitely turned on us although silver living it gives Miriam a chance to wear her new cape 😀

Thurles is a wash out, there’s nothing much in it other than a Tesco where we stock up for tonight’s dinner. On the way home we turn off when we see a sign for a Ballinahow castle. It doesn’t disappoint.

Back at the casa, Miriam insists I get started on the blog so after another handy dinner we relax on the sofa with yes you’ve guessed it, a glass of wine! I love traveling around the country with my favourite wines in the back of the car, it’s the way to go!

I’m a few pages in, fairly engrossed in what I’m doing when I see something out of the corner of my eye (have I mentioned my peripheral vision is excellent!!) so I jump up screaming. It’s a bat swooshing overhead and it takes a while for Miriam to see it so she has no idea what I’m screaming at. I’m jumping around like a maniac and Miriam spots it and although she doesn’t scream she does let a very cross roar at me to STOP SCREAMING! She tells me to go into the bedroom and shut the door which I’m happy to do and leave her to try entice the bat out the window…

After turning off all the lights I can hear her trying to coax the bat to fly outside. She goes between softly telling the “poor little fella, come on, out you go” to “stupid bat, there’s the window, come on, get out”. I go toward the door and open it slightly to check on her but the bat flies directly toward me.. arghhhh, I bang the door and decide I won’t be doing that again. I have my phone but there’s no cell service so I can’t ring the hosts. There’s WiFi so I message them on the Airbnb app (which seems futile but maybe they’ll see it or maybe they’ve heard some of the screaming). At least ten minutes have passed and I decide I need to go to the loo. Luckily there’s an en-suite so I use that. Just as I’m about to dry my hands there’s a swoosh and to my horror there’s another bat in the bathroom … cue the scream….arghhhhhhhh. I manage to keep him trapped and bang the bathroom door.

I don’t think his ears were as big as this fellas but he was basically a mouse with wings!

By now Miriam has trapped the one in the living room behind a blanket (a beautiful Avoca blanket no less) which she’s holding up, at full stretch against the wall. She tells me it’s safe to come in as I need to go through to get outside and alert out hosts so maybe they can help us. I head downstairs and out into the dark (do you know I’m afraid of the dark!) so I’m being very brave and next thing a dog barking furiously runs at me… arghhh… more screaming and door banging. Miriam is shouting from upstairs wondering what’s going on and I’m trapped yet again, this time by the dingo outside … well ok he wasn’t a dingo but he might as well have been!

Eventually after banging on their door, Lorna arrives to help. She explains she did hear noise but thought we were laughing at a movie!! Miriam is still arms stretched keeping the bat in the dark under the blanket and Lorna suggests she put on gloves so she can grab him …. seriously! I seriously hand her a pair of yellow marigolds and remove myself from the situation but luckily her husband has arrived with a net and they manage to get the bat out the window. A similar approach with the net sees the tiny bat unravel half of the toilet roll but eventually be removed from the bathroom. I’m not the better of that. Poor Miriam, so brave 😀😀

Bright eyed and ready for more adventures it’s time to bid adieu to Moyaliffe. It’s been quite an eventful stay and we would do it again in a heartbeat. It’s a fabulous place, just keep the bats out!! Lorna and Paul dig us a few spuds and give us some homegrown tomatoes and we set off as we have more ancient east treasures to uncover.. first Holy Cross abbey

Holy Cross Abbey founded by the Cistercians in 1182

The holiest of relics resides in the abbey – a relic (i.e. a splinter of wood) of the cross of Jesus Christ. Presented to the abbey in 1110 by the then Pope it was stolen in 2011 by some unknown thieves but retrieved by Gardai in 2012 and is now back on display! [sidebar: if you google relics of the true cross you’ll be surprised how many there are around the world, or maybe not…]

Onwards we go to find Kilcooley Abbey which is within the grounds of the Kilcooley estate where the residents live in a massive Georgian house and enjoy their garden of 1,000 acres! So this is kind of in their back garden….

Another Cistercian abbey founded in the 12th century

The entrance to the estate is a long avenue and we are the only people around. We pass an interesting pyramid monument which I feel Robert Langdon would love!

That’s our Tipperary adventure done, we’ve ticked a lot of places off the list and we’re moving on to Kilkenny. Slán for now

Waterford and a taste of Ireland’s Ancient East

After the August bank holiday weekend in Tramore (where plenty of pints were had as the pubs are now open), I set off with Miriam to explore more of county Waterford and follow some of “Ireland’s Ancient East”. En route to Lismore we stop in Cappoquin to get blaas at the famous Barron’s bakery but unfortunately it’s closed. We will have to return …. [a blaa is a soft white roll introduced to Waterford in the 17th century; in 2013 it received protected geographical indication status so you can only call it a blaa if it was made in Waterford]

Barron’s bakery is baking blaas in a scotch brick oven since 1887

We continue to Lismore and are greeted with a fabulous view of the castle as we drive over the bridge. It really is a stunning site as you round the bend and see it appear…..

The castle dates from 1170 and has a lot of rich and interesting history. It’s current owner is the 12th Duke of Devonshire who goes between here and his other grand houses in England. Just like me, popping down to the holiday home in Waterford!!! 😀 It has been visited by many including JFK, Lucien Freud and Fred Astaire but no public visitors allowed as it continues to be the dukes private dwelling. It is however available to rent “on an exclusive hire basis” per the website. If anyone needs me to make up numbers for the large party group just let me know, I can make myself available!

The gardens are open to the public so we head there after a little sustenance at the Vault cafe, named as it houses the vault from the former bank. The large vault door which you can see behind the deli counter leads to the pantry. After tea and coffee and a homemade scone (sure you’d have to), we hit the gardens…