So I posted pictures before, but here is the written compendium to explain the background behind the pictures.
On Sunday, Betta and I decided to do some exploring outside of Dublin. The DART train is a system which runs along the coast which goes all the way out to the furthest eastern coast: Howth. The town is very Hamptons-esque with tiny villas which probably cost a million dollars. (Apparently, many famous people, like the lead singer from the Cranberries, own properties.) Although the houses themselves aren't all that grand, the view is unbeatable - location, location, location. Being winter, the sky is always gray, but you could still see for miles across the ocean. (Upon looking at the pictures, my aunt asked if I had a tint on my camera. Nope, I replied, but there is a constant tint on the country.)
We arrived relatively early in the morning, and the fresh air markets were just setting up. The aromas of fresh bread, raspberry scones, eggs and sausage all wafted to you as soon as you stepped off the train. Straight-from-the-garden produce and other farmer's market items lined the road. I had to really force myself not to buy everything in sight and stuff my face. Everyone was in such a good mood, and why not? I would be in a good mood if I was surrounded by cupcakes too :-).
We pryed ourselves away from the food and walked down the road to Howth Castle. There is a legend attached to the castle (I suspect that most castles get legends attached to them at some point). In 1575, a pirate-ess named Grace O'Malley landed at Howth on her way to visit Queen Elizabeth. She arrived at the castle looking for a mealand cited Irish laws of hospitality at the gate; however, she was still refused admittance. The baron was having dinner and was not to be disturbed. In retaliation, she abducted his only heir and held him hostage until the baron finally promised to always set an extra place at dinner for a lonely traveller. The family lived in the castle for over 800 years, and although we do not know if the legend is true, the tradition of setting the extra place still existed for as long as they owned the castle. Today, a cooking school operates out of the castle. It seems fitting.
The town of Howth is actually relatively small with most shops lining the docks and two streets. Nonetheless, we still worked up an appetite and we decided to tuck into some fish and chips. Bershoff's is a "fast food' fish and chips place, but it is still amazing! With salt and vinegar added, the fresh haddock and french fries were cooked to a greasy perfection. We ate on the docks, overlooking the water. The weather was freezing, and by the end of the meal, my fingers had quite literally turned bright red, but it was still worth it. There is nothing like eating fresh fish on the ocean.
We had decided to grab lunch early because afterward we hiked the National Looped Trail. This walkway goes along the cliffs. At some points, the trail narrows quite significantly and you must be a bit careful - it's a long way down to the jetties below! The reward, however, is a breathtaking view of Ireland's famous rocky cliffs, green hills, and thunderous water. In the summer, the flowers blossom and vivid violet buds will cover the landscape. Now, the hills are mostly barren, but there is still a cold strength to the mountains. The lack of growth highlights the hard beauty of the jagged stone outcrops.
As we hiked and we looked out across the water, all I could continue to say was Wow. Although not at all eloquent, there was no other words that I could think of to fully capture the brilliance of the views. We would hike thirty feet, stop, and Wow. Continue on, stop, and Wow. The cliffs leave you speechless. Unfortunately, they also leave you breathless too - we were dying about halfway through the hike. My thighs are going to be as massive as Ireland's hills by the time this trip is done. We spotted many birds and a rusted out car at the bottom of one of the cliffs (I thought the "don't drive over the side" sign was a joke, but I guess they were actually having some problems....) Betta and I only got about halfway around the mountain before we decided to head back since it was starting to get dark and no one wants to be stuck on an unlit cliff at dark (the sun goes down at 4:30 - so early just like at home) .
The train ride home was the only negative to the whole day. One of the train cars was full so we went to the next one on the line. The next one was mostly empty, so I figured it would be perfect. However, my powers of observation were severely lacking. I didn't realize that there was a big group of teenagers all huddled at the far end of the car. If I had been thinking clearly, I would have realized that they were the reason the car was empty, but I didn't connect the dots. As we entered, one of the boys actually pulled out a gun.
Believe it or not, I was unphased. I was not being brave nor was I being courageous. I kept my cool simply because I realized right away that the orange tip on the barrell indicated that the gun was just a well-made replica. He pointed the gun at us and said "Stick 'em up" as though he was some imitation gangster. Surrounded by his friends, he obviously thought that he was being funny. I gave them the dirtiest look of disdain that I could muster (knowing myself, I probably looked constipated instead of angry, but at least I tried).
The boys proceeded to say very dirty things which I shall not repeat here. Betta hadn't noticed any of this because the losers were too cowardly to say these things very loud. I whispered to Betta that we should switch cars, and once we were safely in another part of the train, I told her what had happened. I know that I made the best decision (just to leave), but part of me really wishes that I had yelled at them or called a police officer because they made me so angry. Why do some teenagers act this way? Apparently, idiots are not just found at home; there are immature jerks all over the world.
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