Mallorca Sunshine and Darkness into Light

When our mother retired, she wanted to celebrate it by going on a holiday, I was only one who had time off around the time. So I booked a last minute holiday for both of us to Palmanova in Mallorca for the end of April. The day before the holiday, our mother got the bus up from Ennis, although it was raining when she arrived, once it stopped we made our way into town and showed her around. We finally managed to get her to House, a bar on Leeson Street and see if our cousin whose the manager there, was working and luckily enough he was on duty. It was great to catch up with him, we hadn't seen him in years. After a few disagreements on where to eat, we finally settled on a place our mother picked, a bar called Darkey Kelly's where the food, music and staff were great and the general atmosphere in the bar was brilliant. Although we only went into food, we ended up staying for hours as the night was so good.

After such a lovely weekend, it was a great way to start the holiday, the coach to Terminal 1 at the airport and through security went smoothly except me getting randomly picked for a pat down which was funny enough, the security guy doing was so nice bout it. As we waited for our flight, we made use of the chill out zone in duty free. Once we boarded the plane and departed the 2.5 hour flight over to Mallorca was so quick and painless, that my mother joked the flight over was quicker then the 3.5 hour bus journey up to Dublin from home. The coach bus to our hotel, Ola Hotel Bermudas which is an all inclusive one, was a quick enough one and our receptionist was kind enough to tell us that to go the bar first as there was food laid out and the bar was serving for 15 minutes more. Once we checked-in, and got settled int our room which we were very happy with, it was time to call it a night to the perfect first day. From the onset after breakfast, and sunbeds sorted by the pool, the hotel animation entertainment team were introducing themselves to us by the pool and what the fun events for the day ahead were. Through these events, we got to know several of the guests in the hotel, which was fun. Some how by the end of the Monday night, we ended up tagging along with a hen party into Magaluf. Although we some how ended up in Magaluf the following night as well, it was to check out the strip as a whole was like, it became obvious how dangerous Magaluf can be and this was not even high season yet.

By Wednesday morning and on our 3 different types of sun oil/lotion which I this time picked myself, we were onto a winner and stopped burning as easily. Life by the pool with the sun, drink and great company was starting to make this holiday into a great one. Later that afternoon, my mother won one of the activities and won one of the coveted entertainment diplomas. Before dinner we went for a stroll the length of the beautiful  beach not even 2 minute walk from hotel and back which built up quite an appetite. After that nights entertainment, I some how ended up going out again, which itself is ironic as I rarely go out from one week to the next and here I was going out for the 3rd night in a row. This time a group of us from the hotel decided to stay locally as we had our fill of Magaluf, so we tried Banana Joe's just around the corner from the hotel. We all were having fun and some how I was dragged up on by some random French girls up the stage and shown how to pole dance which was hilarious in itself.

We decided the following morning, to get the local bus to Palma to check out the Cathedral de Mallorca. Despite the early start, I had yet to suffer a hangover on the holiday which was itself a promising sign. After waiting a small while for the bus, the journey itself to Palma was quite an interesting bumpy ride. However once off the bus, which was right across the road from the Cathedral, it was smooth sailing. The Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma is a Gothic Roman Catholic one built on the site of a pre-existing Arab Mosque. The entrance fee into the Cathedral, museum and Cloister was 7 euro which comes with a audiobook for self guiding. My mother at start was taken back by the cost but once inside she immediately said it was worth the money. The cathedral is 121 metres long, 55 metres wide and its nave is 44 metres tall. The construction began by King James I in 1229, but only finished in 1601. In 1901, reforms of the Cathedral were carried out by architect Antonio Gaudí and his influence is seen everywhere from the huge ceramic mural, stained glass windows and even down to the furnishings especially the wrought-iron canopy. The cathedral has a tower with nine bells with the size of one called N'Eloi weighing 4,517 kilos. Besides the cathedral itself, the museum and cloister are both worth visiting during your visit. The museum has several artifacts dating back to the 13th century and cloister which is a covered open arcade had a photo exhibition showing the differences and development of Palma over the years from the same vantage point. The Cathedral of Light is worth a visit if visiting Palma and you will not be left disappointed.

After leaving the cathedral, we explored around the ground outside and the palace next door before making the short stroll to the Poor Clare's Nunnery, which was not anything neither my mother or myself expected and totally complimented the tour of Cathedral we had just done. My mother said leaving the convant that she nearly enjoyed the visit to convant more than the cathedral. Walking back towards to the port we came across the old Arabic Baths and the entrance fee in was 2.50. The baths are situated in the narrow streets of the medieval quarter of the city and is the only remaining Moorish-built building in Palma. It was such a random find that there was a peaceful and quiet columned garden next to the Cupola or dome in the otherwise bustling city. The dome has various round apertures to allow steam to escape as the surviving room was used for hot baths. The Arab bathhouse is such a rare unique building thought to formed part of the palace of a noble Moslem,
from the time of the occupation of the Moors and is worth a visit. Once we left the baths, we made our way to the port to have a wander, the port just seemed to go on for ever. We decided it was time to get the bus home, when finally found the bus stop bout a 20 minute walk along the port, it was another 40/45 minutes before the bus finally turned up and as is typical not just one bus turned up but two. At least the journey back to Palmanova was quicker and a lot smoother. When we got to the hotel, the sun was just getting hotter, so we timed it well. As it was so hot, I finally gave in and tried out the pool, although it was freezing at first, it was exactly what I needed with that heat. That night we enjoyed the night time entertainment at the hotel, which was running Mr Ola Bermudas which ended up being quite funny. As my mother was wrecked from all the walking,  I ended up meeting people for a drink, at the bar near the hotel, it was a perfect end to the day.

  

The following morning, the Friday and last full day and night of our holiday, we decided to make most of the sun, drink and pool. I somehow finally managed to get my mother into the pool, still not quite sure how I did as it was quite the ordeal but once she finally got into the coldish pool, she started to enjoy it and cursed herself for waiting so long to get in. When the clouds were blocking the sun,  a small group of us did the afternoon entertainment activity indoors, a movie themed version of charades which our team won by a Point which was a fun but tough game at times. After dinner we went to go sort out our boarding passes for the way home however it just failed epically, luckily I was able to contact +Niamh to do it for me and email it to the hotel who were able to print it out for me, the stress of it all. Despite the hassle, we were able to enjoy the other parts of Palmanova. We made it back to the hotel for the evening entertainment which is so had to explain but was so much fun which involved answering the questions and running the stage first. In the final came down to me and other guy and somehow I managed to win it. I was so embarrassed with all the fuss but was so entertaining. 

 

Our final morning, we packed up and did some last minute shopping before checking out at 12 as we were not able to get a late check out. Luckily enough one of the people we got to know offered to mind our bags in their room for the day which was so kind of them. As we enjoyed the 31 degree sun by the pool for a while, we decided after lunch  to go play mini golf as we noticed the place on one of our walks. The course was very well done, and it got quite competitive between myself and my mother. In the end she somehow managed to win the game by 1 stroke. When we got by to the pool to enjoy some last bit of sun and drink, my mother fell asleep I had To wake her up as she beginning to burn. We were able to use the couresty room which was funny enough as it was one of the gang we got to know old room. Not long after we finished people started to depart for the airport. We were the last to leave for the airport at 8 pm didn't take too long to get to the airport. The coach just before the airport passed by the cathedral in Palma one last time. After we got through security and duty free, we actually met most of the gang from the hotel in our terminal. We said our good byes and waited to board our plane. The Aerlingus flight only had 14 people on the flight home although I heard the flight the following day was full, it's was so empty as it was Aerlingus first flight of the season from Palma. The flight itself both of us slept most of the way back to Dublin. Once we exited the airport at 1 am, we were met by 8 degrees and rain what a welcome home. The taxi journey was quick which was great as I needed to get home to bed as was up at 7 am for a full day at work, sure no rest for the wicked. The holiday was an unexpected gem, the people we met were so nice and were great to interact with, the bar and entertainment staff were so much fun and helpful and sure the sun and drink helped too. I've made some friends from this holiday that I'm still chatting with since. 

The Saturday morning at 2.30 am both Niamh and myself got up to get ready for the +Pieta House +Darkness into Light 5km walk in the Phoenix Park. The money raised for the Pieta House charity is used in the prevention of suicide and self harm. Over 10,000 people did it in the Phoenix Park and 80,000 nationally and internationally as far a field as Sydney and New York. The atmosphere and buzz in the park was electric which was great to see and be part of. Through out the 5km there were lights and music provided by a choir between the 3-4 km mark which was a pleasant unexpected surprise. After the end of the 5km there was a great feeling of accomplishment but we both had to rush up as I needed a nap before work and Niamh did before her exam. Despite the tiredness I had during work I felt great having done it. 

From Voyage to FLC

We started off the New Year with a mini adventure and city break to Belfast. So the first Saturday of January, we both met in the city centre for breakfast at O'Neills on Suffolk street at 9 am before catching the 10 am Goldline bus to Belfast from Busaras.  The journey itself took about 2.5 hours and when arrived it was a tad over cast. So we attempted to go and find the hotel - Park Inn using Google maps. After awhile we got lost, lucky enough we backtracked and some how managed to find the hotel. We checked into the hotel, and then went off sightseeing via the Victoria Square shopping centre. As the whole reason in the first place for the visit, was for Liam to try and get his phone fixed through the manufacturer themselves. After waiting a while, we finally got seen at the Genius bar and a replacement phone was ordered in for collection at a later date. After the technical part of the weekend out of the way, it was time to have some fun or that was the plan.

 First port of call, was to the public viewing square on the 3rd level which is entirely covered by a glass dome, and from this platform, there is beautiful sights of the city. After the obligatory picture of both Liam and I, we decided it was time to visit the Titanic quarter. We managed to get the metro bus from the waterfront which dropped us almost directly outside the Titanic Experience. As we had passes we managed to get 10% off the cost of admission which normally costs 14.75. The Experience had such much to offer, that neither of us noticed the time get away from us, as the building explores what life was like in Belfast at that time, as the city was thriving in areas such as engineering, ship-building and linen manufacturing. After experiencing what boomtown Belfast was like in early part of the 20th century, we passed through the original Harland & Wolff shipyard gates and got the lift to continue our journey. At the top floor, we boarded the Shipyard Ride, which ascend into a replica of one of the hugh pillars of the Arrol Gantry which originally was erected alongside the 2 giant slipways that were built in 1908 to prepare for the construction of the Olympic and Titanic. These slipways still exist at the back of the Titanic Quarter.

            

 

After disembarking from the ride, we entered Gallery four, which contained range of original artefacts, exhibits, model and CGI video that illustrated The Ship of Dreams interior. After leaving the fitting out gallery, we entered the gallery that detailed the ship's maiden voyage, and discovered what life on board Titanic was actually like helped by the famous photographs taken by Irish Thelogical student Francis Browne. Directly after this Maiden Voyage gallery, we entered a detailed gallery describing the sinking and immediate aftermath of the Titanic, which occurred at 11.40pm on April 14th 1912 when the sink raced into an iceberg with the loss of 1,500 men, women and children. The aftermath gallery explores the inquiries held on both sides of the Atlantic, as the ship was British built and American owned. The inquiries examined how and why the disaster occurred, while trying to find a culprit to blame. This gallery brings together all the details from these inquiries and news reports using a range of recordings, re-enacted performances and exhibits. Towards the end of this experience, we entered the Myths and Legends gallery which brings together the many books, movies and songs inspired by the Titanic story. The final gallery we entered is a multi level gallery which explores Titanic's final resting place nearly 2.5 miles below sea level. Before leaving the building, we were able to obtain a souvenir ticket of our experience. 

After our entailed, fun filled experience, we went outside to explore the slipways of Olympic and Titanic. Because of the time of day, we decided to walk back towards the city centre, along the way, we noticed the tender to RMS Olympic and Titanic, SS Nomadic. We decided on our return trip to Belfast to collect Liam's replacement phone, that we would visit, the last surviving White Star Line vessel. At the waterfront, after we crossed over the bridge we noticed the statue of a Big Fish, we were informed afterwards, that statue represents the Salmon of Knowledge, located on Donegall Quay. 

At this stage of the day, we were both hungry, so decided to find somewhere to eat near the hotel. On route back, we passed City Hall, which looked amazing with all the Christmas decorations and lights. 

We decided on Wetherspoons, and had one of their meal deals, then having a few drinks before heading back to the hotel to unwind after our day. The following morning we were unfortunate, that the weather was so bad, that we were stuck in the hotel for the day, lucky enough it gave us time to rest after working over the Christmas. Although the weather was against us on this trip,we both agreed that Belfast was an amazing city and definitely worth visit again soon. Typical in Liam fashion, he received a phone call the Tuesday after we got back, to inform him that his phone had arrived and was ready for collection. So decided to make a return day trip for the following Tuesday and to make the most of it, regardless of the weather. 

Between Liam and me, we managed to get 2 tickets for Ed Sheeran when they went on Sale on Friday 10th, pure lucky as we only managed to get ones for added dates, we ironically enough suits us better. Only Sunday I meet up with Liam after he finished work, and we went to the cinema to see Frozen, which made us both want to go to Disneyland. After some food, its was time for a game of pool and drinks in Dandelion and Capital  before Bingo in the George.

We arrived just before 9 to make sure we had seats and a good view. We had a good laugh, I hadn't been to Bingo and the drag show in years, I informed Liam that we must do this again soon. After we both managed to get our last buses, and arrived home, we got online and booked flights and Disney package for Disneyland Paris for the start of February. So on Tuesday morning, I meet Liam on O'Connell street, where he attempted to redraw money from the Ulster Bank branch ATM, however his card got swallowed by the machine. Lucky enough though, I could from the one at Busaras. On the upside, we managed to board an earlier  bus then we originally planned and got to observe an amazing sunrise over Dublin. After completing the compulsory business involving Liam's phone, we had a gorgerous breakfast on the top level of the Victoria Square in Frankie and Benny's. We decided as we had plenty of time before returning back to Dublin that this time, we would do a sight seeing bus tour, +Belfast City Sightseeing Hop on/ Hop off one. I managed to get both of us the concession student price. As the tours in Belfast were on a winter schedule, we were on a strict time table. As we promised last time, we got off at the Titanic quarter to do a tour of SS Nomadic.

As we went into the office to purchase the tickets and handed in city sightseeing ticket for a discount, we both were surprised that they gave us tickets for free. It was a mistake on their part, but lucky for us. We boarded the ship for the 1.30 pm tour,  which has been restored to her original 1911 glory combined authentic heritage and atmosphere with intriguing stories of her passengers to demonstrate its dramatic 100 career. Nomadic Experience explores how Titanic first-class passengers marveled at it's grandeur and luxury. We meet and chatted with the holographic Pierre, the first-class barman. The tour illustrates some of the extra-ordinary journeys that passengers embarked upon and about the great era of emigration, also in this section, there is a fun interactive area involving dress up in the clothes of that era. During wartime, the Nomadic performed dangerous tasks and played active service in both World Wars. Inside the lower deck, we discovered the story of it's construction and of Cherbourg Port where she spent her career. This area has interactive elements, such as a game where you get to sheer the ship or dress up as a crew-member.
Also in this area, we stepped inside the cramped crew quarters and experienced the stark contrast to the luxurious first and second class passenger areas. After 57 years as a passenger tender, Nomadic was retired in 1968, we then learned of the years the tender spent in Paris as a restaurant and nightclub before been returned to Belfast and been restored to her original 1911 condition. The Nomadic has only been opened to the Public since June 2013, the cost of admission is normally £6.50 and again time got away from us because before we knew it, we were rushing to catch the last bus of the City Sightseeing at 3 pm. Once back on the bus, we passed the Pump House, which was the final spot Titanic rested on dry ground. From here, we travelled to Stormont Parliament which is the home of the Assembly. On our way back we passed by the George Best Airport on route through the city, we passed by the St George Market which is a heritage market offering local food, crafts and music until 2pm daily. From this area, we continue towards the Cathedral quarter, which is the Belfast version of Dublin's Temple bar and also houses, Belfast oldest bar, White's Tavern been on site in Winecellar Entry since 1630. St Anne's Anglican Cathedral has the largest Celtic cross in Ireland on the north side, which is a memorial monument to Belfast victims of the First World War. From here, we travelled towards the peace wall via Crumlin Road Gaol, which was a former prison situated in north Belfast and is the only Victorian era prison remaining in Northern Ireland and been derelict since 1996. Across from the Gaol, stands the Crumlin Road Courthouse, also derelict. A tunnel under the main road connected the two buildings and was used to transport the prisoners to the courthouse. Then we entered the Cupar Way Peace Wall which is one of the original 'peace' barriers in the city separating the Unionist Shankill Road from the Nationalist Falls Road. Our Bus guide, Karen, described the historical and emotional significance of the Peace Wall, you could nearly hear a pin drop on the packed bus, everyone was emotional as we drove through these areas. The mural of Bobby Sands, the republican hunger striker, is one of the most photographed murals in Belfast.

  After the emotional trip through the Peace Wall, we continued our journey along University Road, which is house to Queen's University, the Botanic Gardens and Ulster Museum. To finish off our tour, we passed by the Europa Hotel, which was the only hotel during the worst years of the Troubles and the most bombed hotel in Europe. We both agreed, that we were glad that this time, we did the bus tour, as it was such an interesting and fun experience. To warm up after the tour, we went to the Victoria Square to get Lunch before our journey home. We decided to try Chiquito, a Mexican restaurant and of course the compulsory churros, which reminded us so much of having them at Movie World on the Gold Coast in Queensland. We managed to be in time for the next bus leaving for Dublin. Although it was a jam packed day, it was full of fun and history.
To continue on this historical theme, we decided to finally make our way to the Marsh Library, the next day. The library is located on St. Patrick's Close, just behind St. Patrick's Cathedral and has a entrance fee of €3 or €2 for students. The library was built in 1701 by Archbishop Narcissus Marsh and was the first public library in Ireland. It is one of the few 18th century buildings left in Dublin that is still being used for its original purpose. The interior of the library has remained unchanged for three centuries, with its original dark oak bookcases each with carved and lettered gables housing more than 25,000 rare and fascinating books. The walk through this perfectly preserved library of the early Enlightenment, was quite unusual yet fascinating and definitely worth a visit.

  We decided while we had time to spare, we finally managed to visit the Dolls Hospital and Museum on the top floor in the Powercourt Centre, when it was still opened. It was surreal to see Ireland's oldest Toy store and some of its famous merchandise such as Bosco.

As we wanted to try a nice coffee place, we passed one on South William St and it looked kinda funky and decided to try it, +Clement and Pekoe, I had a quaint homemade hot chocolate with real Chocolate to dip into it and the pastries were also homemade and were to die for. After such a taxing day, lol, it was time to unwind with cocktails and game of pool in Dandelion before we went to support our friend +Mark Cox, who was performing at the Song Room in the Globe. 

To round off such a fun week, we went to a gig in the Academy, that I had won tickets to, the Fun Loving Criminals. So I meet Liam after he finished work and went for tapas in the Porthouse on South Williams Street followed by drinks at Lafayette before making our way to the Academy. The night started off great with the warm up act, the Propeller Palms, who were brilliant, then went into the stratosphere when the FLC came on to the stage. The entire set was one we won't forget in a hurry, it was a night to remember.