Postcard from Northern Ireland

Way back in February it was Gideon's Birthday. One of his presents was an Adventure Smartbox, a voucher to be redeemed on one of many Adventure type activities around the UK. Eg. horse riding, rolling down a hill in a big ball (called Zorbing in NZ), 4x4 driving, wind surfing, etc. Gideon chose to go with an introductory scuba dive lesson in Northern Ireland. The perfect excuse for a weekend away!

I must admit that I was not expecting much of Northern Ireland. Perhaps it was the perfect weather, the scenery, the peacefulness, the company or the lack of mishap that normally accompanies us on our travels (ref. Darwin to Broome, Iceland). Whichever it was, it may well be my favourite weekend of the last year.

On Friday night after work we caught a Ryanair flight (so budget that there is no magazine pocket on the back of the seat in front of you, and the safety card is actually a sticker on the headrest in front of you) to Derry to spend the weekend exploring the Causeway coastal area. We stayed in Portstewart at the Anchorage Inn, a hotel/pub/restaurant/nightclub in the middle of town. For a hotel above a pub and a nightclub, it was relatively luxurious! Recently renovated, you could still smell the paint, our room felt like an executive suite... very nice. The thoughtful staff even provided earplugs on the nightstands for those who might be kept awake by the bass being pumped from the nightclub. For those clientele who prefer to be in the midst of the pumping bass, free entry to the club! Needless to say, Gideon and I were there on Saturday night dancing the night away. :) Sun+scuba+views+food+dancing = the perfect weekend.

Here are some photos from the beautiful northern coast of Northern Ireland (apologies to those who have already had a squiz at these photos on facebook):

Near Portstewart Strand, not a bad piece of property.


Saturday morning: the scuba dive
Ummm...the zip goes at the back.


Yep, better start again.

Push, that's it... push,....

Yay!

Gideon getting kitted up.

The Dominican convent & college in Portstewart

Breathing practice

...and they're off!

The incredible Giant's Causeway.

...from a bit further away...

...a bit closer in now...

...I can't stop taking photos... it's amazing!

Gideon thinks so too!

Along the stunning Causeway coastline

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge
Spans a 20m wide, 23m deep chasm

Don't look down!...oh no, too late!...Doh!

"Piece of cake" says Gideon

Dunluce Castle
well, the remains of.

A Northern Ireland soldier uniform from the 'olden days'

Musket & Archery demonstration at the castle

Reminds me of London Bridge

Could you imagine having to scale the rock to attack the castle?

Outside the Mermaids cave beneath Dunluce Castle

We're off to see the Mussenden Temple & Downhill Demesne

But first, as stop to smell the flowers :)

Mussenden Temple
Originally built by the Bishop of Derry in 1785 as a library, based on the Temple of Vesta in Italy

Mussenden Temple (and a stray arm)
...hmmm... perhaps I should have photoshopped it out.

Oh beautiful day!

Amongst the ruins at the Downhill Estate mansion, where the Bishop of Derry once lived.

Hard to believe people lived in this place less than 60 years ago. After the World Wars, the people who inherited the building could not afford to upkeep it and instead, stripped the building of what they could to sell for money.

From the front, you get an impression of the grandeur that the mansion once had

Relaxing at a lovely stream in Roe Valley Park on our way back to Derry airport.

*Sigh* what a splendid weekend!

Wanted

Well... it has been a while since I have reviewed a movie, hasn't it?

WANTED: 2.5/5

Cast: James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, Terence Stamp

In a nutshell: Disappointing bloody mash of all that have come before

Synopsis: Wesley is a bit of a loser with an anxiety problem. Turns out his murdered father is a highly skilled member of a group of assassins who kill to right wrongs. Perhaps Wesley has inherited his father's supernatural skills and will be able to avenge his death.

This one was a bit like 'Jumper' for me... so full of potential with elements of cool attitude, but somehow it just does not come together. It feels lazily put together, drawing/copying ideas from a bunch of good movies that have preceeded it. Too much use of slow-mo a la Matrix. Lots of violence and blood a la anything Tarantino. The high calibre actors are wasted. Angelina Jolie just broods a lot and not much more. Morgan Freeman's character feels one dimensional. I found myself irritated by McAvoy's American accent, but that's probably because I'm a sucker for his Scottish one. He is not bad in the movie, but his character is not particularly complex. If you are looking for some dark action, this might do the trick, there are also some twists and turns which are a bit of fun, just don't expect too much.

Spring Flowers

The view on the way to work.

'Twas 5 months ago....

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are all well and good.

It's a long weekend here, so I thought it was a good opportunity to update my blog! So, where was I? Oh yeah, our trip to New York ...

A significant motivator in deciding to spend Christmas in Canada was the idea of stopping off in New York on the way home to join the New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square and see the dropping of the ball. So, on the last day of the year, after some intense sight seeing - see photos below - we returned to our hotel to have a bit of of a rest and freshen up before heading to Times Square. It was about 6pm when we got back to the hotel and turned on the TV, only to find that they were already closing down the square because it was already full. Very disappointed and extremley annoyed at our lack of planning, we decided to head to Times Square anyway to see if we could squeeze in somewhere.

As soon as we got out of the subway, we noticed that there were police everywhere... I think it was a very busy night for the NYPD, they must have had the full force on duty. They told us that Times Square was closed, but if we headed north we may be able to able to gain entry to the street directly north of Times Square. However, as we headed north, so did everyone else... as we reached each cross street up, the police had closed it off and told us to keep heading north. Something like an hour later we finally found an entry point... 11 blocks away. There was no way that we were going to be able to see Times Square, let alone the ball.


After standing around in a crowd for about 20 minutes, with only a view of the Ed Sullivan Theatre and Times Square on a large TV screen, we decided to leave the throng. We head dinner at a small Thai restaurant, then headed back to the hotel with a bottle of champagne to watch Times Square and the dropping of the ball on TV! At least we can say we've seen the New Year in in New York! ;P

Sight seeing in Times Square, New York

We happened to be in Times Square for a trial run of the dropping of the ball.
At least we got to see it once!
I was completely surprised at how tiny it is... all this fuss for not much!

After lunch at Sardi's, and some post-lunch strolling,

for my Christmas present, Gideon took me to see Spamalot. :D



A New York Pharmacy

Grey M&M's?

A very Christmassy scene at the Rockerfeller Centre.


Deciding to skip the 2 hour queue to get up to the observation deck of the Empire State Building, we got a view of the building from the observation deck of the Rockerfeller Centre.

Gideon in a room full of movement sensing flashy lights.



A view of Manhatten from the Staten Island Ferry.





Surrounded by buildings and filled with people, there is still something peaceful and beautiful about Central Park.





Horse and Carriage ride in Central Park... it goes around really slowly in a not very exciting circuit and costs a heap, but it had to be done.






Gideon takes some time out in the park



Who knew Hans Christian Anderson was so tall?