Bloom, Clare & Pride with a touch of Fuerteventura

The following Wednesday, I had won tickets for a screening in Dundrum for Me Before You thanks to the RTE guide, Niamh and myself made most the of the weather and our day off before heading to the cinema for the movie. There was a pre-screening drinks reception which was fun to have a glass of bubbly before the movie. Before the movie I was skeptical if I would like it or not, to both our delight, we laughed and enjoyed the movie more than we thought we were gonna, which made the effort getting out to Dundrum worth it.  

The June Bank Holiday weekend, our mother came to visit that Friday for the weekend, as our mother, Niamh and Niamh's Bestie Clodagh were all doing the VHI Women Mini Marathon on the Monday. I happened to be off the Saturday and we decided we go to Bloom in the Park as our mother had got 2 tickets thanks to our cousin Louise winning them and the two girls bought their tickets at the gate. So after entering the complex, we soon realised how massive the place was. We firstly ended up somehow in the Red Zone where all the food exhibits were, before we knew it we all were eating our way around the place, before we decided that we should really check out the Show Gardens, the whole reason we went to Bloom. On route to them, Niamh got her claws around the Tarzan who was there at the garden, which was inspired by The Legend of Tarzan and to promote the new Tarzan movie and made sure she got a photo with him. At one of the show pieces, Bridge The Gap, our mother got chatting to an assistant of the designer who introduced her to Matthew Barrett, the designer of the piece which was designed at the Chicago Park District Conservatories. The concept of the design features 2 living sculptures that can be seen as 2 sides of a bridge, yet they do not connect. One sides features material known for its Irish heritage and history and the other side for plant material seen in Chicago. After seen all the various show gardens on display, we all discussed which we all liked the best and we each had a different favourite, sure the joys of personal opinion. Once we were done with the gardens, we ended back with all the food stalls and such, it was like we were drawn back. I ended up getting a Teeling Whiskey Red Leg Rebellion Cocktail as the sun and weather warranted one to help quench my thirst and any excuse to enjoy myself. It was while at the Teeling stand that Niamh got chatting to the owner's parents, who introduced us to Stephen.We all bought a few items before leaving Bloom after an interesting fun day. We topped off the day with dinner and drinks in a pub nearby to where we live and even Paddy joined us for a drink to. 

As I was working the following morning, my mother and the 2 girls had to collect their WMM numbers and details from the RDS, so I met them after work down by the 3 Arena where the Docklands Riverfest was on,  which had several tall ships on display but the whole event wasn't greatly run or organised which was a pity.  

 The morning of the Mini Marathon, there was a awful downpour of rain, which luckily enough cleared just before the marathon was due to begin. Talking to the 3 of them separately during the race, as all 3 were in different sections and they all said that it was harder to run in due to the dry humidity and lack of air and were all relieved and Niamh in particular who was getting her time engraved onto her medal, was happy and pleased that she managed to actually beat her time from last year despite finding it harder due to the changeable weather and dead dry heat. I was so proud of her for finishing yet another mini marathon. After we all had a few drinks in the pub, I was keeping seats for them in nearby to the finish line, Niamh and myself brought our mother and Clodagh towards the Green Bus for the long bus journey home back to Ennis. To finish off the bank holiday, Niamh and I ordered a Chinese takeaway to relax and chill; and for poor Niamh to try get over the aches and pains from the mini marathon. 

The night before Niamh's birthday, and somewhere she wanted to see and experience, after the time Paddy and I told her about the place, was the Open Gate Brewery at Guinness. Where for the 6€ entrance fee for the ticket which I had bought online earlier that morning, Paddy and myself had a tasting slab of 4 different beers each to try. We both agreed that the Strawberry porter brewed for the Taste of Dublin was our favourite, even though we picked  slightly different choices, we had both picked that one. Despite the weather, I met Niamh at Dublin Zoo after work on her birthday which is a standing birthday tradition we have for her birthday. Niamh was waiting for me at the zoo, when she arrived there it was sunny, but by the time I hopped on the bus to Phoenix Park it had started pouring. Luckily not long after I entered the zoo and met her, the weather started to clear up slightly. The new Orangutan Forest Habitat had finally opened that week, it was kinda awesome to see the family of Orangutans climb over your heads  from one island to the brand new island and back over. It was nice to see that the new habitat was so much bigger than the old ones and the animals actually looked happier in it too. Since our last trip, we noticed that they had moved some of the animals around, such as having all the Asian lions out in 2 separate habitats next to each other and moved the Sumatran tiger near to the Amur Tigers. We watched the Sea lion keeper talk and feeding which never disappoints. We strolled around enjoying the African Savanna, which was with a touch of sadness, when we got to the Gorilla Rainforest as it was our first trip since the passing of Harry the Male Silverback and leader of the pack. 

  The Meerkats in the restaurant, lifted our spirits from the sudden change in the weather again with another downpour, as the Meerkats were playfully messing about and fighting with each other which was so cute and funny to witness and watch. For Niamh's birthday I got her the Annual Pass to the zoo as she loves going to the zoo. The following morning, she went home for a few days as she had holidays from work. On the Monday, our Mother and Niamh went on a road trip down to Cork and Fota Wildlife where she  was able to use the Annual pass to get into the Wildlife park there for herself and our mother for free. Unlike the weather that Niamh and I experienced at the Zoo on Saturday, they were lucky with the weather they had during their visit to Fota. 

On the Tuesday, Paddy, Myself and his cousin Rob went to the 3Arena for the NXT Live! event, which funny enough was my 2nd wrestling event in 3 months, it seems Paddy is having an effect on me. We made use of the Neon Bar within the arena. We all enjoyed the event,  especially when Bayley and of course Finn Balor entered into the ring, both got a warm Irish welcome. Finn Balor entrance out got the whole crowd on their feet, shouting and chanting his name giving him a proper welcome home. 

 Niamh had won tickets to the Taste of Dublin for the Saturday afternoon slot, but with a last minute holiday booked to Fuerteventura  for our mother and Niamh and with my flight out to join them not until Monday morning. I made use of the tickets bringing a mate from work along for the ride. A particular highlight of the day was doing the Lynda Booth's masterclass where I made a Spinach and Chickpea Pattie, it was quite interesting, interactive and fun and the resulting product was tasty even if I say so myself. For taking part in the class, everyone got to keep the apron which was nice. The demonstration which Ross Lewis  did in the Main Tent was funny when he took the piss out of fellow chef Paul Kelly. There was a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere throughout the place which helped me to enjoy the Taste of Dublin even more and sure the food and drink helped too. 

                          

I got the Aircoach from the city centre at the middle of the night, I was at the airport so early even security hadn't opened as yet, which it did at 3.30am. After getting through security and as per my luck getting the usual pat down, I made my way towards duty free but nothing was open as yet until 4 am, which at that stage I got the mandatory Pint as for me it was still night time as I hadn't been asleep as yet. I made my way closer to my departure gate after relaxing over my pint and I was in time for a strong coffee before boarding. The flight itself was grand enough that I was able to nap for different periods during the flight except for a bit of turbulence towards the end. As soon as I was off the plane which was about 10 am I was hit straight away with blinding sun and heat of over 25 degrees which was a pleasant changed compared to the rain back home. As I just missed public bus towards Caleta de Fuste, I got the taxi to the apartments which our mother and Niamh were staying at. Soon after a quick brekkie and unpacking, I was soon joining the 2 women down by the pool in no time making most of the sun during my short getaway. My first night in Fuerteventura, after some food outside, we went to Piero's Cafe to see some of the nightly entertainment, which they had seen the previous night. The entertainment that night was a brother and sister duo, Katy and Paul Gillies who were doing Songs from the Movies, which was very funny, entertaining and great way to finish my first night. I was soon to realise the next morning and every morning after, it would be an early rise to make sure, we got the sunbeds the women wanted by the pool side and make use of me as I was there too. After sorting that out and food, it was time to go exploring around the marina, the beach and the castle, so see what the area had to offer. After which we chilled poolside to catch more of the sun and for me to catch up on the latest episode of Game of Thrones on my iPad which was a different way to watch the show, out in the sun, pool side and on my iPad but I needed my Game of Thrones fix. Socialising with some of the people we got information where to go eat and where to go which was helpful, as we all had to walk exploring when on holiday, to try the walk out to the Altantico Shopping Centre which was 2.5 km away, as the weather was perfect early Wednesday morning, we decided sure why not which was actually quite pleasant to do. On the return walk which went back via the beach and ended up playing a round of mini golf. As the game went on, and the course was more difficult then we figured partly due too to the strong breeze which had arrived from no where, any reason to start a fight over it was pointless as we ended up laughing about it instead. That evening we went to a local Irish bar, to get dinner but more importantly to watch the Ireland-Italy Match, and when Robbie Brady scored that goal many glasses were broken with everyone shouting and cerebrating the Irish win which amazing to watch and unbelievable. Thursday, my last full day there, My mother and me went on the hunt for Sangria which had become our holiday tradition, luckily we found a place that it was reasonable and surprisingly was quite nice. After enjoying the sun that afternoon, Niamh and myself went out for our dinner together which was properly the best of the week, before enjoying more of the entertainment at Piero's Cafe and the Beer garden which was hosted by the Best Disc Jock-ey in a Frock-ey DJ Diva who was so funny and got everyone laughing and up dancing. I of course got dragged up on the stage which had everyone and especially me laughing which was the main thing. It was a late enough night, so as I was up early the next morning, luckily enough I had packed the previous night. The 2 women dropped me off at the taxi rank on their route to the beach, I was at the airport and through security in no time. How Fuerteventura airport have laid out their smoking areas, I was able to enjoy a few last minute rays of sun before I had to board the plane back home. 

The flight was a lot smoother then the one out but the landing was a tad bumpy. As soon as I was off the plane I knew I was back as it was pouring out. I got the bus back into the city centre where I met Paddy and we went to the cinema to see the new Independence Day Resurgence movie, although both of us thought it wasn't a patch on the original, it was nice to spend some time just the two of us together. The following morning, which was Pride, we had a Champagne breakfast and made our way into town, where we met Paddy's sisters Clare and Fiona, Cousin Rob and Clare's GF Sheila, near to the Parade starting line, as we were marching with the Eir LGBT helpline float, who Clare helps out with and was particularly big this year as Eir had just commenced sponsoring the helpline which was major, and we helped give out free stuff to people watching along the parade. After the parade finished at Merrion Square, we stayed about for awhile for some of the post parade entertainment before making our way towards 37 Dawson st where Eir were holding a post parade Volunteer event which was very organised and lovely gesture as they supplied an open bar and free food for us all. After a few hours Paddy and myself got the bus home and left the rest of the gang to enjoy their night. We were very lucky with the weather and the general atmosphere of the parade and buzz about the place which was great to see and be a part of.

            

We all spent most of Sunday recovering from Pride and Niamh was still exhausted after landing back home about 3 am in the morning as the flight back home was delayed leaving Fuerteventura. After watching the Ireland France match, Paddy and myself got ready for our trip down to Cork and then our few days down home to Clare. We got the train down to Cork, where the highlight was our little visit to Fota Wildlife Park, where we both enjoyed how some of the animals such as the lemurs were roaming around the park freely which was cute and fun to watch. Before getting on the long bus journey to Clare, we got some Nandos as you do, which set us up nicely for the journey. 

When we finally arrived into Ennis, we were met at the station with a warm welcome from my parents. It was Paddy's first proper trip to Clare besides a day trip to Lahinch years ago, so we happened doing all the fun touristy trip around North Clare. We spent that first night just all chilling together. My Dad took the Tuesday, the next day off from work, to drive Paddy and myself around for the day, which I was really appreciated of him doing for us. Despite the weather not been the best and at periods the rain was coming down badly, this didn't dampen our moods or motivation to get this boys on tour started. First port of call after the breakfast my dad had prepared for us, of course was Father Ted's Parochial House which is located in the heart of the Burren itself. As we were within the Burren, we stopped off next at the Poulnabrone Portal Tomb, a famous megalithic tomb and see the famous Flora that are in the area. As we were near Doolin, we stopped for a pit stop and lunch before continuing with the drive down the coast on route towards the Cliffs of Moher. By the time we got to the Cliffs, the rain had stopped and the sky had cleared with even the sun making an appearance, which  gave us a perfect view of the Cliffs. Paddy's was delighted to finally get to the Cliffs which he always wanted to see, therefore I was relieved that the view was ideal for us. We decided sure why not to continue our coastal drive down through Liscannor, Lahinch, Spanish Point and Miltown Malbay, before showing Paddy the infamous Bog, that he has heard so much about, on the route back home. We were all wrecked by the time we got home, we all rested a bit, before the family dinner spread that my parents had laid out for us, for everyone except me, the awkward vegetarian who they had also catered for, was roast beef. The following morning after one last big feed before our departure into town, to catch the green bus back to Dublin and reality was via a very quick visit to my Auntie Siobhan. The perfect way to finish off my holidays was with the visit down to Clare and that I got to finally show Paddy, Clare and where I am from. He enjoyed his trip down so much, that he would love to make another one in the near future.  

Tell Me on a Sunday

After the eventful few weeks over Easter with the commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising, our parents visiting and finally getting to meet Paddy and me bringing him to Guinness for the first time and him showing what WWE live at 3 Arena  was like, which I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed more than I thought I was gonna. It was time for a change of pace and for something different, so Niamh and myself went to the Bord Gais Theatre to see Jodie Prenger in Tell me on a Sunday. A show Niamh adores and was dying to see and I went cos I adore Jodie. As I watched the musical unfold, I was in awe of how Jodie was able to sing non stop for this emotionally draining one woman one act musical with just the help of the live band. After the intermission, Jodie came back on stage for a Q&A with the audience and a few more songs. We were lucky enough to meet and chat with Jodie afterward at the stage door which was surreal as we got to chat about the last time we saw her in Spamalot and laughed over that which was nice and the perfect way to finish our night out before getting the LUAS home. As Paddy and myself happened to have the same day off during the week, we have a little date day just the two of us in town, trying out the new Tram Cafe that had opened the previous week, on Wolfe tone Square near Jervis. The tram itself is a 1902 refurbished tram which has been themed out so it's like your dining in 1929, which was something to experience and dine in. Later in the week, Paddy had some Uncle-Nephew time with his godson Mikey, who had a sleep over which was cute to see Paddy interact with his nephew and give him some of his so called wisdom.

 That weekend, I managed to make it home from work just in time, to watch the Hurling league final replay between Clare and Waterford. For the most part, my voice was gone screaming at the tv, shouting come on the banner. When Tony Kelly got the equaliser and winning point, I was in shock, that Clare had won their first league final since 1978. It was such a good game and final. And really sets up both teams when they meet again for the 3rd time in a few weeks times in one of the semi final of the Munster hurling Championship. 

The following Tuesday, which was starting to becoming our unofficial date day, Paddy and myself decided to do something and go to the Wax Museum as we saw it advertised, as they had a new exhibit to celebrate the 1916 leaders. I booked online while I was waiting for Paddy over coffee, it worked out a tad cheaper than buying at the door. Although I have done the museum numerous times before, I think possibly it was company I had, but I was really enjoying the random fun of the place and we both enjoyed the silliness of it. It not as good as any of the Madame Tussuads around the globe, we enjoyed ourselves and managed to get right the exhibit we went to see in the first place, the one showcasing wax figures of the 1916 leaders and a particular highlight for both of us were the Chambers of Horror. It was fun, random and difficult way to spend our afternoon, which was the whole point of picking there. 

I was in work early that Saturday, I made plans to meet Niamh afterwards in town as I would be in for about 3. When I got in and to the place she said she would be, for some commemorative march for James Connolly, she wasn't there and I couldn't get hold of her. So I thought I might try where the march is meant to finish. When I got to the GPO and finally got hold of her on the phone for her to tell me, that she somehow got roped into March itself and was holding a photo poster of Sean Heuston. I finally saw her as the march arrived at Liberty Hall and once it concluded at the GPO. We wanted to make most of the sun and had time to spare before our 1916 bus tour at 7pm - Beyond the Barricades. So made our way towards The Marker and try get again to access the Rooftop Terrace bar which we managed to steak out seats near the concierge who was looking after it, for when it opened at 5pm. We luckily enough  were one of the first lots of people, brought up to the roof as the queue for it was getting busier by the minute. We were so happy with our seats, as it gave us a panoramic view of the city and the nearby landmarks such as the Aviva Stadium and the Poolbeg power station. It helped too that the weather and sun were in our favour, the only down side was we had to leave for our tour, as we were enjoying the sun and our drinks.  

We waited for our tour to begin outside Dublin Bus head office on O'Connell Street at 7pm.  From the second we boarded onto the bus, it feels like your transported through time back to 1916. The ANU production use of Abbey Theatre trained actors brings voices of the past to life, right in front of our eyes. Manus Halligan played the parts of Pvt. Andrew Barry, Sean Connolly, Ned Daly & Charlie Saurin and Aisling O'Mara who was captivating and emotional as she portrayed the characters of Christina Caffrey, Nora Connolly, Julia Grenan and Helena Molony. Aisling O'Mara was a particular highlight of the whole tour. During the 100 min bus tour as the actors enact several historical scenes both on the bus and in St Stephens Green and outside Dublin Castle where Aisling O'Mara as Nora Connolly gave an emotional speech describing the night she visited her father James Connolly at Dublin Castle. We managed to see an offer on the 1916 Dublin bus Facebook during the week, for 15€ each instead of the usually 25 euro. Watching history being brought alive was interesting and a different way to spend a Saturday evening. 

The next morning, after an unexpected sunday off and nice sleep in, Niamh, Paddy and myself decided we would finally go and check out the GPO Witness History museum. The whole the exhibit and experience was built into the grounds of the GPO itself. The price of admission in was 10€ and for Niamh 7.50€ as a student, which was my treat, as Niamh had treated me to the bus tour the night before. The show piece of the whole experience had to be the 20 mins video detailing the week of the rising. To finish we had coffee in the GPO courtyard where you could see the Spire and the tricolour which is on the roof of the building from a different angle which was kinda cool and was a nice way to finish the experience and our weekend.

During the next week, it was a tad stress filled with trying to find somewhere new to live, in a luckily turn of events, we were able to find somewhere all 3 of us liked on the Thursday evening and more importantly managed to get it. So after sorting out the contract and all the paperwork, we started the hard and annoying part of packing up our lives from our old place, moving it with some help from friends and family which was a big help and the delightful task of unpacking, sorting and organising our stuff into our new house. On that Sunday, for a bit of relaxation and to do something, Niamh and myself, went towards Dublin Castle as I had complimentary passes for "In the Shadow of the Castle" exhibition which is the castle's 1916 exhibition. Our little trip was on the 1 year anniversary since the Marriage Equality referendum which was been celebrated by some of the groups at the time of our arrival, which was nice to remember the memories of last year. The exhibition it self showed the role the Castle played the rising and the installation of the Red Cross Hospital when the Throne Room, Drawing Room and the Portrait Gallery became hospital wards. The last days of James Connolly at the Castle before he was brought to Kilmainham Gaol are showcased during the exhibition. Once we exited this exhibition, we got to see other parts of the State Apartments which we haven't seen in previous tours or visits, which made our little visit worth it. To round off a week of settling in our new place, Niamh and myself that Friday evening went to meet distant relatives who were visiting from Australia for a few drinks, before they were heading the following morning down to Clare to visit and stay with our parents and meet some of the relatives.