Day 4…

After I good nights sleep I headed to the main Heuston Station on the tram and got there right on time – 6.20am… far too early for my liking but I was psyched for this rail tour!

Got myself a window seat and met the guide for the day – a man called Pat who was dodging his grave in a big way (but oh so lovely!)

And then just before we left a lovely German girl called Sophie sat opposite me and we soon became buddy’s for the journey – it was so refreshing to have a like-minded person to discuss travelling with and at 19 she was very ambitious in her travel plans!

Our trip started with a train from Dublin to Limerick Junction (2hrs) then a quick change of trains and a 20min journey into Limerick where the coach met us. THEN the randomest of random things happened – I was getting on the coach and settling into my seat and the couple in front must have heard me talking to Sophie cos they turned around and said “So which part of NZ are you from?” and they were a couple from Christchurch!! It was so nice to hear from people from home haha they were originally from Christchurch but now lived in Brisbane – small world!  So we set off through Limerick and had a glimpse of King Johns Castle (wow!) then stopped at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park for 1.5hrs. We got a guided tour of the castle by a lady who was dressed in full medieval wear really added to the whole experience! We learnt about the ‘murder hole’ and the ‘ladies window’ and then got to explore the castle on our own so Sophie and I headed straight for the turrets which were up the spiral & narrow staircases. It was hard enough to walk up them so it was amazing to think of them fighting up and down them. Hint: it was better to be a left-handed swordsman when fighting up the straircases!

The folk park was a re-creation of a proper medieval village and it was so impressive.  Then we got some souveniors at the gift shop (so hard to choose!) and got back on the coach – next stop was Doolin for a proper pub lunch!

1.5hrs later we arrived in Doolin and to be honest this was probably the least exciting stretch of the whole trip and we were all well ready for a nice lunch… and the pub didn’t disappoint!  Gus O’Conners was by far the fastest service I’ve ever experienced in my life – I had barely sat down from ordering my fish & chips (along with the rest of the tour) when it was in front of me! And god it was good haha went down a treat with my JD & coke I tell ya.

After our time was up we loaded back into the coach for the short journey to the Cliffs of Moher – the highlight of the trip!  The entrance was a few hundred metres from the carpark  (which cost EUR8.00!!) and then we were there – OMG SO AMAZINGLY BREATHTAKING!  Sophie and I both had quiet moments of reflection and took heaps of photos.  One thing I was a bit miffed about was the scale of the touristy feel there – it had become so commercialised which kind of ruined it a bit.  If I had been there on my own I would have totally put my headphones in and tuned everyone out. We were so lucky with the weather as it just started to rain as we left and got back on the coach.  Next stop was Galway and our train back to Dublin… a non-event really so I snoozed most of the way.  Once back in Dubliln for 9pm Sophie and I said our goodbyes (after exchanging details and promising to keep in touch! I even gave her Mum and Dad’s details back home if she ever needed a place to stay…)

Check out my photos HERE!

…continued in next post…

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Day 5…

Sunday was the South Coast tour and after a bit of a delay we got on the road and AHOY! The drive was Damien again! Hooray!  SO we headed off and down the coast towards the Powerscourt Gardens – amazing coastal views and we made an unscheduled stop in Bray (Damien thought we should – such a rebel!) and it was definitely somewhere I’d like to stay for a night on my next Irish adventure.

The rest of the drive was hilarious as Damien was in top form! He saw some kids giving away crème eggs on the side of the road to promote a new pub and picked them up so they could give us all one! Haha legend – then he dropped them off further up the road.

The Powerscourt Gardens/House were amazing – very grand and (once again) it would’ve been an amazingly tranquil place were it not for the masses of stupid foreigners!

The pet cemetery was really special – one gravestone especially rang true to me-  “Faithful beyond human fidelity”.  After taking in the gardens I got myself a well-deserved icecream and got back on the bus for the un-eventful journey back up to Dublin.

Once back at O’Connell Street I headed to Kylemore Café again to write in my travel diary and do some people –watching… There was this statue outside the Café that was quite fascinating to watch.  It was a statue of James Joyce, the famous Irish writer and poet, and while the tourists were trying to get their photo taken with it there were others who were using it as a seat! These people were obviously locals and it was interesting to me to see how the locals live with these historic statues surrounding them but have just become blasé about them…

Day 6…

Homeward bound!!!

So that was my trip! I had an absolutely fab time and will definitely be heading back at some stage in the future but I want to take my car and do a tour round the whole of Ireland!

Check out my photos HERE…

Thanks for reading!! xx

In other news… and there is a bit as I have been a lazy cow and not updated this thing since 2009!   Over Christmas I did some extra shifts at the University Library which was interesting and met another fellow Kiwi who worked there! I also had a bit of a shitty Christmas day itself because for some reason I was vomiting all morning then totally slept through Christmas dinner – not exactly what I had planned for my first Christmas in the UK but thems the breaks I guess.  Having a week off work was lovely and the fact that it was snowing was fab!

Um…. I’ve planned my next trip and it’s to Dublin, Ireland over Easter!  I’ve booked the flights and accom so no excuses – and I’m going on March 31st and coming back on Monday 5th April.  Loads of bus tours planned and a rail tour over to Limerick and back which should be amazing hopefully.

Of course now that I’m in a new job I won’t have as much freedom with my holidays for the next few months but I’m planning on doing some weekend trips between now and Easter… Edinburgh, York and Loch Ness (again) to name a few!  June/July should hopefully bring my NZ family over for a month or so (including my Dad which is the most exciting bit as I haven’t seen him for almost a flippin year!) and we’re gonna be going to my Auntie’s apartment in Spain for some of that time which will be awesome.

Hmmmm what else…. memory banks rebelling… shit.  3-mins left before my early knock on my 3rd to last day at the Uni so I’m gonna leave it at that for now… more soon!

Rossco over and out xxxx

Well I’m pretty sure there will be snow on the ground on Christmas day but I don’t think it will be falling as insanely it was last Friday!  It was truly another UK WOW moment to add to my list when I looked out the window at my Aunties and saw the snow falling…. like REALLY falling…. I’m talking big fat snowflakes!  I was so excited and like a kid in a candy shop – espeically since I didn’t have to work that Friday!  The other weird thing is the fact that there’s still snow everywhere even though we haven’t had any falling snow since Sunday (in central areas of Newcastle anyways!) It’s just THAT cold that even though we’ve had gorgeous sunny days all this week it hasn’t been enough to melt all the snow… unlike Christchurch where it would snow over night and be gone by the end of the next sunny day! I’m loving it to be honest – even though I’ve had to get the bus to work this week it was lovely to walk to the bus stop in the semi-darkness with the snow falling and also hearing it crunch under my feet… a moment spoilt of course by me hitting an icy spot and gracefully landing on my arse!

So yes… this Christmas will be a totally different one compared with previous ones but that’s what life is all about!  Poor Mum and Dad won’t have any kids at home for Christmas day as my lil brother is working that day… and well I’m thousands of miles away!  I have received a couple of presents from home  though which was awesome! and my curiosity has been sparked because the Postie left a note yesterday saying he had some parcels for me that didn’t fit in the mail box… like THREE parcels! I have an idea who sent one of them but as for the other two I’m completely in the dark… and I have to wait until Xmas Eve to go collect them from the postal depot!

I’ve put some pics on Smugmug of the snow etc… as well as the renovations at my Auntie’s place (Daisy Cottage) so go check it out! – Rossco’s Pics

I’m also going to go visit my Grandad in the hospital on Xmas Eve and take him some chocs and bikkies…. oh and that would be the Psychiatric ward he’s in too – here’s hoping they let me out once I’m in! (For those who don’t know – my Grandad has dementia… and probably won’t know who I am!)

Right… so that’s you updated for another week! Hmmmmm might have to change the name of this blog to “The Randomly Updated When I’m Not Procrastinating Rossco”? or “The Daily, Weekly and Monthly Rossco – Who Know’s When She’ll Update This Bloody Thing!”…. or maybe remove all deadline pressure and have “The Rossco”? …. Hmmmmmm thought is needed so I shall keep you posted!

This is Rossco signing off…. an early knock from work beckons and I have a week & a half of hol’s to fill with loads of drinking and merriment! oh and heaps of Marks & Spencers Xmas Mince Pies – thank you M&S for providing me with these sweet and delicious treasures!   xxxxx

Now I’ve wanted to write this post for awhile… whenever I walk into town during my lunch hour actually!  This is because whenever I walk to Northumberland Street shops I have to walk past Courtney AirSavers. This in itself isn’t unusual as heaps of people do it every day… but for me it brings back memories and reminds me how far I’ve come in the last 6 years.

Courtney AirSavers was the travel agent I went to with my Mum back in 2003.  I had come over with her with the intent to stay on once Mum had returned back to NZ… but just before Mum left I got scared and decided to just go home with her.  It’s funny because whenever I walk past that travel agent now it takes me back to that day and I remember all the emotions rattling around inside me as I sat with Mum while she booked me a flight home… fear, disappointment and I guess embarrasment to some extent - that I hadn’t had the guts to stay.  It comes down to the fact that I just wasn’t ready to do it at that time in my life…  but now whenever I walk past Courtney AirSavers I smile to myself because I’ve finally done it!

Moving away from my family, friends and New Zealand was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my life and even though I often suffer from terrible bouts of homesickness I’m glad I’m doing it!  It’s been amazing to be able to get to know my UK reli’s better as well as experiencing different cultures and workplaces.

Now… on a completely different note here’s my fav pic from home that I quite often put on my desktop at work…

xxx

Whew what a whirlwind weekend I had!  The weekend in question is the 21st & 22nd of November that went from a 3 day one where I was mainly going down to see the All Blacks kick England’s ass at Twickenham…. to a 5 day weekend where I had a job interview as well!

Originally I planned to just drive down to Oxford on the Friday – taking my time this time and taking in some sights on the way -  go to the game on Saturday with Amelia and Mike, then drive back first thing Sunday morning.  That all changed on Thursday morning when I got the call from a job agency asking if I could be down in Reading for an interview on the following Tuesday! Of course I said yes and then kinda freaked out a little as my head exploded a wee bit thinking how I was going to pull this off… so first of all I went through all the scenarios in my head.  Hmmmm drive back up to Newcastle on Sunday and go to work on Monday only to drive/get train back down Monday night/Tuesday morning? Methinks not! so I squared it with the boss to have Monday and Tuesday off (as well as Friday)… good-bye precious annual leave + flexi time I’d built up! So…. I headed down on the Friday, taking a detour via Whitby on the coast (gorgeous!) to have their famous Fish & Chips, and then proceeded to get lost beyond belief around Birmingham once it got dark (at 3.30pm!) and the sat-nav died!  Eventually I made it to Amelia & Mikes and fell onto their sofa and accepted the wine on offer… pffft like I would ever refuse wine!

Up bright and early on the Sat morning for the game… excitement!!!  Massive NZ flag in hand we left and headed off to Twickenham safe in the knowledge that the sat-nav was fully charged.  Or so we thought! Yeah we got stuck in traffic the closer we got to Twickenham and it pretty much died a slow death… so I nominated Mike to write down the directions before it completely shut down.  Meanwhile… we noticed a big white van in the lane next to us with an England flag flying – cool, at least we know we’re in the right place! Ok so they’re getting out of the car to stretch their legs cos we’ve moved like an inch in half an hour… OK so their not stretching their legs – they’re taking a piss on the side of the road in bumper to bumper traffic!!!  Nice… and to add insult to injury one of them had on a really retro All Blacks top on… I’m talking Buck Shelford era haha.   If he hadn’t just done what he did I would’ve tooted my horn and waved the flag…

Alas we eventually got to Twickenham, parked the car and ventured inside to soak up the atmosphere…. and more importantly feed our faces as we were starving!  HELLOOOO fancy sausage in a bun… YUM!

Seats found and would you look at that we’re like 3 rows from the field!  Best seats ever and was so awesome to be able to actually see the faces of the All Blacks when they were near!  Cue Hayley Westenra (my brother went to school with her…) and the Kiwi national anthem…. also cue Amanda to start singing along to the Maori version at the top of her lungs and get weird looks from surrounding people! but hey… impressed with myself that I knew all the words haha.  Have to admit I did get a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat during it (which almost hindered the ‘singing’ aka screeching) and before I know it it’s time for the HAKA… oh yeah!  All in all it was an amazing experience… and I got a pretty damn nice view of Dan Carters ass when he bent over right in front of me! still annoyed I couldn’t get my bloody camera out in time haha. 

Oh and we won of course and the atmosphere was out of this world!  Took me a while to get used to the fact that when the rest of the 82,000 strong crowd were cheering and getting excited it was generally not a good sign for the AB’s haha.  For the first few mins I was cheering for the England team a few times before getting used to it… oh and I was a very vocal Kiwi fan… imagine a moment of silence… then a scream from a lone New Zealander of “C’mon All Blacks C’mon” haha embarrassing? hell yes but well worth it!  Specially when the lady sitting next to me said “I’m supporting the England team… but your guys have got better legs for sure!” haha oh and when the entire crowd kicked in with… “Swing loooowwwww… Sweet Chariot…” it was like something I’ve never experienced before and just had to smile.

To cut a loooooong story short… the rest of the weekend was awesome too!  After the game we went back to Oxford to go to Nandos for tea but couldn’t get a park so went back to Amelia and Mikes & had some drinkies, then on Sunday we slept in like we’ve never slept in before haha and spent the day lazing about (bliss!) then on Monday I slept in a weee bit and went to Reading for a trial run before the interview and to look at the shops, then came back and had Nandos for tea in Oxford with Amelia.  Went to the interview on the Tuesday morning… came out feeling pretty good about it and drove back up to Newcastle, arriving back about 7pm thoroughly exhausted!

The next day I get a call from the agency saying can I go back down the following Tuesday for a 2nd interview as they couldn’t decide between me and one other person… totally awesome that they were impressed with me but on the drive home I thought a lot about what they’d told me about the job during the interview and decided it wasn’t the job for me after all….

Onwards and upwards though… I was super-glad to have this past weekend totally free of any plans whatsoever and after getting chores out of the way Sat morning, then checking on my Grandad’s house, I pretty much did nothing the rest of the weekend…. perfect!

I’ve put some pics up on Smugmug but at this stage they’re just the ones from my mobile… CLICK HERE…been too much of a lazy bitch to get on my laptop and sort my camera photos cos I took a HEAP… maybe this weekend!

Laters gators… xxx

I can’t wait for 2.30pm Sat 21st Nov!  Yet another thing will be crossed of my massive ’TO DO’ list!!  I managed to get some tickets through work for the All Blacks vs England match at Twickenham… not only for myself but for my fellow Kiwi’s-living-in-the-UK  Amelia and Mike!

So I’m driving down from Newcastle this Friday and plan to stop off in York on the way to have a quick look see and hopefully take some nice pics.!

Seeing the infamous Haka performed in front of a possibly 82,000 strong crowd on foreign soil will no doubt bring a tear to my eye… nothing like a bit of good old Kiwi pride!

Well last week I decided to make a move.  I’ve done all the exploring I can in and around Northumberland & all the way up to Scotland so I’m going to move on to another part of the country to explore!  My NZ best friend Amelia and her hubby Mike have generously said I can stay with them in Bladon, Woodstock until I get a place to live so now all I have to sort is a bloody job!  So far so good on that front – I’ve applied for a few and already got an interview lined up for Nov 6th so I’ll be heading down for that. SO totally excited! I can’t wait to spend more time with Amelia as well as explore London and the surrounds – shall be grand!

Who knows when the move will take place but I’m hoping before Xmas… I will definitely be coming back up to Newcastle for Xmas though as it’ll be the first one away from NZ  (cue sad face…) but the first one with my UK family in ages! (Last time I was about 8 I think… all I remember was that it snowed and we made snowmen in the field next to my Nana’s house… please happen again!)

On another note… I came across the opportunity through work  to buy some tickets to the All Blacks vs England rugby match at Twickenham, London on Sat Nov 21… how could I resist! So Amelia, Mike and I are gonna be cheering the boys on… me decked out in Kiwi gear so there is no confusion on who I am supporting of course!  I’ve always wanted to go to a big match of some sort in the UK just for the experience and I’m sure it won’t disappoint.  I spoke to my Dad in NZ the other night and he was super excited about it too so here’s hoping he’s watching it on tele and I get some camera time haha.  Hmmmm…. this calls for a huge mad crazy banner/sign of some sort to grab the attention of the camera-man methinks?

Ok so after we got back from Paris on the Tuesday I was back at work on the Wednesday absolutely shattered haha.  I was hanging onto the dream of a lovely Sat morning sleep in… but Mum and Vicky had other ideas!  Instead of a Sat morning sleep in we headed off to the Lake District first thing in the morning – Vicky had sorted accommodation on the opposite coast in Whitehaven so we headed there!  We drove through Keswick on the way which was absolutely lovely – then we hit Whitehaven… and found the place Vicky had booked over the phone. Horrid! Seriously, seriously rank – it didn’t even look like a B&B so we had to resort to plan B… ringing the owners and using the old ‘we’re having engine trouble so won’t make it there tonight” excuse haha. Now before Vicky rang she told both Mum and I to keep quiet (as we’d just gotten over a giggle-fest over something) and what did Mum do!? the second Vicky said the blatant lie Mum burst out laughing, which of course almost set me off and Vicky was struggling to keep a straight face! Whoops… oh well. Onwards and upwards! We had brought a wee picnic so we headed back down to the harbour and plonked ourselves on the wharf and had ourselves a wee feast of, amongst other things, some scrummy chicken, cheese and pineapple – and a lovely cuppa tea while we planned our next move.

After feeding our faces we continued on down the coast, which beared a shocking resemblance to the West Coast of NZ funnily enough, and kept on the look out for accommodation.  By this stage it was about 3pm from memory so we weren’t toooo worried… yet!  We got to Broughton in Furness which looked like a nice place to stay so we had a wee drive round to try and find a place. Vicky got out at a place that was offering self-catering accommodation, but was full, and asked if they knew of anywhere that was available – and the guy was lovely and said his wife ran the information centre which had a list of all accommodation places!  The fact that it was so late in the day and we didn’t have accommodation secured in the Lake District was obviously a stupid thing to do… we knew this by the look of shock and surprise on peoples faces when we told them haha. Apparently we were shit out of luck here but oh well… on to the next place –  Coniston! That turned out to be a bust too tho so at this stage we were kinda thinking “oh shit” haha.  We were told we would probably find some accommodation in Windermere so we headed there – and had to take the car on a ferry to get there! Upon arrival we had a drive round and EVERYWHERE was booked… so we went to the Info centre and saw this sign…

This is when we really started to think we were either gonna be sleeping in my car… or just going home!

It was about 7pm at this stage so we headed out of Windermere and our luck finally came in and we found a decent place on the way out of town! Relief is a word that came to mind… bourbon was the next word that came out of my mouth haha.  So we put our stuff in the self-catered apartment and headed back into town for a meal and a well earned drink!

After a good’s night sleep we headed off in the morning back into Windermere to have a proper look around and then up through Ambleside  to Grasmere.  Now this was completely gorgeous! Despite the fact that it hadn’t stopped raining all morning it was really picturesque.  It was also the site of the great poet William Wordsworth’s grave which was really interesting.  We stopped and had a coffee and took some photos – Beatrix Potter is also well-known in that region because back in the day she had a farm nearby – which we think we caught a glimpse off but can’t be sure haha. Lots of Peter Rabbit and  Jemima Puddleduck nick-nacks in the souvenir shops so I got some for my friend Emma’s birthday back in NZ cos she’s a big fan of Beatrix Potter.   On the way out of the car park  I managed to drive through a huge puddle… not noticing the Japanese tourist walking on the footpath… she got COMPLETELY soaked and we all burst out laughing! Sorry!!

We then headed back up into Keswick planning on having our lunch there but the weather was just so shocking with the rain that it just turned into a quick dash to the toilet and we were back on the road to Newcastle. Homeward bound!  All in all it was a good weekend away with Mum and Vicky but the rain made it hard to do anything really! Taking photos espeically Oh well… it was the Lake District after all.  (Not a patch on the Southern Lakes of NZ though that’s for sure!)

High Point = The laughs we had in the car and sitting on the wharf having our picnic lunch feast.

Low Point = The rain!

Wow I really am becoming a bit of a slack bitch when it comes to this ‘daily’ blog haha!  Forgive me?

Well what’s been happening of late… Mum and Vicky have jetted back to New Zealand and have been home for over a week now. I spoke to Vicky on the phone the other day and she’s not happy with the NZ weather…. Spain and it’s 30 deg seems like a million miles away and she’s eagerly hoping she’ll win Lotto so she can come back!  While they were here I did take almost every Friday off and we headed off for multiple long weekends in my car – fabulous! I think I’ll do a few different posts on those trips tho – here’s hoping the memory  banks are still fresh! (People who know me will be laughing now because I have a memory like a fish… a retarded fish at that.)

OK well this is gonna look a bit naff but I’ll sign off this post now and go get cracking on my other ones   Oh and here’s the latest pic of me… taken on my phone at the beach in Northumberland… on what I’m not convinced was the last sunny day we’re gonna have for a while!

Rossco x