Drogheda is History!

This past Saturday started off like any other Saturday: market, library, brunch and ice cream (or here in Ireland a "99", vanilla soft serve with a Cadbury chocolate flake).

Yummy 99: my new addiction

On Friday night, our landlord had texted us and asked if we could chat, so we had an appointment to meet her at our flat at 3pm. Although we both felt the appointment seemed rather ominous, neither of us were prepared for the news.

WE'VE BEEN EVICTED!!!

Well, not exactly. But yes, essentially. Due to unforeseen personal reasons, our landlord has asked us to vacate our flat in the next few weeks. Despite initial shock and disappointment, we have pivoted our plans and are now more excited than ever for what's next in our adventure. We've ordered Eurail passes and after our parents visit in mid-September, we are hitting the open train track to explore the continent for the month of October before heading back to a new flat in Ireland for November and beyond.

Since we're leaving Drogheda soon, we decided to ramp up our exploration of all the history this town has to offer. On Sunday we visited Millmount museum, a fortified army tower with fantastic views of the river and town.

Martello Tower at Millmount

View of Drogheda from Millmount

Getting kicked out of your flat
is not something to lose your head over 

Day Trip to Belfast

Our day started at 7:45am as we waited on the train platform in Drogheda, enjoying the brisk morning air and warm morning sun. There is no place on earth where the sense of possibility is as apparent as a European train platform. By taking a few steps, you can board a locomotive that will carry you to somewhere totally new. And after the past two weeks of running errands (bank accounts to be opened, library cards to be had, apartment essentials to be purchased), we were ready for the possibilities that a day in Belfast offered.

view from the train, so green!

Sadly, for the most part Belfast did not live up to our (admittedly lofty) expectations. While we still had an amazing day, once again Irish cities fell short of impressing us. We are more convinced than ever that the true charm of Ireland lies in the breathtaking countryside, quaint towns and genuinely hospitable people. As with cities anywhere, local culture becomes diluted with global brands, cosmopolitanism and municipal bylaws…and boy, did the Belfastians love their rules!

We experienced culture shock travelling from the Republic into the North. In ROI, things are incredibly laid back - malls have no standard opening hours and people hesitate to rsvp for parties so they can change plans on a moment’s notice. Litter is also a major problem in ROI. In Belfast, however, “Litter Wardens” keep street trash in check, you need a permit to hand out flyers on the street and public parks close at 8:30pm. While these rules make good sense, we couldn't help but feel a sense of stifled possibility in the Belfast air. Were the rules designed to keep the situation in check or simply an innocent carryover from the British sense of propriety? We’re not sure.

Other than the beautiful view from the train, the highlight of our trip was the Titanic Museum, henceforth my favourite piece of modern architecture. At $28CAN per adult, Scott and I were too cheap to go inside the museum (quelle surprise), but the exterior was enough to impress anyway. It was built to commemorate Titantic’s 100th anniversary and its design is reminiscent of a ship's bow surrounded by crashing waves. 

eat your heart out, Royal Ontario Museum

can you spot MB?

ship under repairs in the dry dock near the museum

While we felt the museums’s prices were taking advantage of tourists, a nearby cafe more than made up for this. The Dock had no set prices for coffee or treats; instead it had an “honestly box” where customers could anonymously deposit whatever money they felt was a fair exchange for their java and nosh.

I've made it my mission to find the Deloitte office in every city we visit.
Belfast mission accomplished.

The Last Five Weeks: From County Limerick to County Louth

It’s been five weeks since we’ve posted and a lot has happened: we settled into a new farm in Drumcar and then moved into our very own apartment in Drogheda. We’ve fallen into the pattern of many bloggers: although we’ve had the goal to blog once a week, we’ve slowly let deadline after deadline slide. But we’re back! This post is our attempt to catch up to real time. So here’s a chronological snapshot of how we’ve spent the last five weeks.

Friday, July 11

Finished our work on WWOOF Farm 1 by helping Mike construct a large scale net over his blueberry bushes to keep birds from eating the fruit.  Scott also got to live out his fantasy to drive a farm tractor!

finished product - 50m x 9m net over the blueberry bushes 

the hard workers happy with a job well done

driving a tractor, crossed off my bucket list

Monday, July 14

Began work on WWOOF Farm 2: The Old Rectory at Drumcar. Once again we were blown away by Irish Hospitality. The homeowners, Connor and Cliona, had a genuine interest in helping us maximize our Irish experience.  They introduced us to many of their friends, including Jane, from whom we would eventually rent our apartment.

The Old Rectory

treehouse, more of a tree-mansion if you ask us

chickens - cleaning their poo was Scott's least favourite task

"Sky" - the supposed guard dog that would lick intruders to death

Mari-Beth and "Lucy" - the matriarch of this canine family

"Scout" - she really is as docile as she looks

 

Scott Gump, who can tell the difference?

Friday, August 1

To celebrate our final day of wwoofing, we headed to a traditional irish pub, the Glyde Inn, with two other wwoofers from France and two from Italy. There was lots of drinking, laughing and of course music. We loved it, but we’re not sure how our more “cultured” continental friends found it. At one point the band was looking for guest soloists from the drunken crowd. When the Italians were asked on stage, they spoke elegantly in accented English “but we are from Italia”, thinking this would put the Irish off their case. Not so. Immediately, a gruff, stalky elderly Irish woman yelled harshly “we don’t care where you’re from honey, can you sing?” The two of us roared laughing, but our Italian friends sat mute and rigid, not knowing what to make of the situation.

raising our glasses at the Glyde Inn Pub a week before

Sunday, August 3

Moved into our charming apartment, 77A Chord Road, Drogheda. Although our original plan was to move to Dublin, we choose Drogheda because, with a population of not even 40,000, it was more the quintessential Irish town we were looking for. Plus, it’s only a 40 minute bus ride to Dublin International Airport (easy travel to other European destinations), steeped in history, rivals George Street in pubs per square metre, on the express train line to Belfast and has easy access to the beautiful Irish countryside.

view of Drogheda and River Boyne from our balcony

inside our apartment - the "sitting room" and kitchen

Wednesday, August 6

Visited Newgrange, UNESCO World Heritage Site.  On the first Wednesday of every month many national tourist sites are free to the public.  Not surprisingly we planned our trip to Newgrange around the free day.  Newgrange is a burial tomb from the stone age - dating back to approx. 3,200 B.C which makes it older than the pyramids in Egypt.  The large stones used to construct the tomb came from areas 20km to 50km from the site and it’s not entirely sure how ancient peoples were able to transport the stones and even construct the site.  Newgrange was designed so that during the winter solstice a beam of light would enter the tomb and illuminate a path inside.  During our tour they simulated how this works and it’s truly remarkable!

Newgrange

MB at the entrance to the tomb

view inside the nearby tomb Knowth