Summer holiday - belated post

In June F and G left the Isle of Man where they had spent a fortnight in glorious weather  watching the TT races.  From there they flew to Dublin and joined B and G for a tour around Ireland.  In the next fortnight the four of us stayed in eleven different accommodations, travelled over two thousand miles (I think), and G took in excess of 2500 photographs, though not every shot was a masterpiece.
How do you choose what to post and now it is so long ago since they were taken.

Resident seagull at Trinity College, Dublin

The above seagull robbed G of his lunch as he was sitting at an outside table at the Trinity College cafe.  He just swooped in, snatched the food from G's hand and flew on.  We watched as the seagull performed the same tactic with several other customers.

No holiday is complete without ice-cream

F didn't really eat both of them - but I couldn't hold my ice-cream and take a photograph at the same time.

The Giant's Causeway

One of the most famous tourist attractions on the north coast of Northern Ireland, this is a world famous site of geological interest. We braved the drizzle and the wind to walk around this extensive area.

The Peace Bridge, Derry

Another day, another centre.  In Derry we visited the Guild Hall, spent time in the Tower Museum, walked around the city walls, a complete wall surrounding the whole of the city during the middle ages and we ended the day walking across the Peace Bridge into another part of the modern city.

We left the North coast and travelled inland before making our way towards the Wild Atlantic Way -  but the weather was wet and misty. We couldn't see the Cliffs of Moher because they were shrouded in fog.

Travelling to the south-west the weather brightened and we were able to see some of the coastal scenery.  We visited the island of Valentia, getting onto the island via the road bridge and travelling back to the mainland by ferry, for the experience and to save miles of travel by road.

View from the top of Geokaun mountain, Valentia.

Travelling  along the south coast we visited the city of Cork, a bustling place with plenty to catch your eye.

A street musician with his own musical invention a violin cum trumpet.

From Cork we went onto the historic city of Waterford, home of the Waterford Crystal factory.  We toured the factory watching the different stages in the production of the cut glass.  We browsed the shop,but didn't buy

It is difficult to choose from so many thousands of items on display.

The holiday was coming to an end and we headed along the east coast towards Dublin and Dublin Airport.  On the way we travelled through the Wicklow Mountains National Park, and spent a little time at Glendalough, an area of early Christian settlement. The scenery was so beautiful - it was easy to see why the area had been chosen by the missionaries as a place of tranquility.  We walked for a little while but the weather changed  and we headed back for the car and onto our final Hotel.

So much more could have been included; a 'Hooley night' where we dined and were entertained by Irish dancing and a folkgroup; travelling through an underground cavern by boat and on foot at the Geopark in Northern Ireland; relaxing in the rose gardens in the town of Tralee;  and so on.
There's so much more to see and we would like to travel there again.

Tonight I burned the sprouts

For the first time ever, as far as I can remember, I left the sprouts cooking on the hob and managed to simmer them until the water evaporated and the bottom of the saucepan burned black.

I had left the kitchen for what was intended to be a couple of minutes, but got engrossed in another task.  It wasn't 'til I could smell burning that I remembered the saucepan was still heating on the cooker. I grabbed the saucepan off the stove top and put it on a wooden breadboard.  The bright green of the sprouts was in stark contrast to the blackness surrounding them.

The smoke alarm then sounded so I switched it off.

The sprouts lifted off the bottom of the saucepan quite easily, leaving behind the layers that were burnt onto the base, and they tasted fine, surprisingly, so we were able to have them as part  of our evening meal.

I left the saucepan to soak in cold water - much hissing - and have floated off the worst of the debris.

It was then that I realised this was the saucepan that was a Christmas present from A and R the first time they visited us.  I shall work hard with the Brillo pads to return it to a better state.

The main problem now is how do I get rid of the smell of burning that seems to have wafted through the whole house.  I can't leave windows and doors open tonight, but tomorrow I shall try that method.