January 26, 2017 (Dalkey, Ireland)

I was excited to take John around for some sightseeing. I hoped he had gotten enough rest not to be too jet-lagged. Unfortunately for us, the weather was dreary and stormy. I did not let that daunt me as we had decided to go for a hike that day. Not the wisest of choice but like I mentioned, I was still very determined, rainy weather be damned. And just to highlight how confident (or arrogant) we were, we decided to forgo umbrellas.

Because Grant decided to stay in this day, John and I set off on the train south to a coastal town called Dalkey. Since it started to rain harder as John and I disembarked at the Dalkey train station, I decided to improvise and suggested we visit a castle first, to wait out the weather. But even this got delayed, as the receptionist at the castle said that their tours were booked until 2:45. Still wanting to be a good hostess for John, I decided that maybe a glass of wine would take the edges off our nerves… as nothing was going the way we had planned.

While walking down the main street of Dalkey, getting wetter by the minute, we caught sight of a little wine shop out of the corner of our eyes. We ducked in to find it was rather pleasant with a nice, rustic atmosphere. There was a place to sit down and order coffee or wine. Better yet, we could pick out our own bottle of wine and drink it at one of the cafe tables. Perfect! We had almost two and a half hours to spend before the castle tour would open up.

So amidst a gloomy backdrop of howling wind and rain, we had found our own little sanctuary. And buttered up with wine, we were able to catch up on half a year’s worth of conversation.

 

 

 

 

 

I’m embarrassed to say that we finished the bottle of wine, and happily made our way to Dalkey Castle. The receptionist remembered us and got us set up with our tour. This was fun as the tour consists of people dressed up and talking as if they were from the time of the castle’s heyday, sometime between the 1300 and 1600’s . We first toured the church outside of the castle, which was dedicated to St. Begnet.

These castles didn’t house royalty. Rather they were built to store goods that came into the nearby harbour to later be exported elsewhere. Usually wealthy English families were permitted to live here and watch over the goods.

The archer described what it would have been like to guard the castle and also hunt for the household. He even asked for a volunteer to pull back his long bow. John volunteered me and I was a little disappointed to find that the long bow was about 10 pounds to pull back and I didn’t even get to shoot an arrow. Oh well.

 

 

The church was a ruin without a roof:

 

 

Next we were ushered inside to the 2nd floor where the dining and living room would have been. Here we got a demonstration in Middle Ages bloodletting, that’s how they would heal illnesses, and dining. It was interesting to see the spot, above the main entrance to the castle, where the archers would be able to defend the castle by pouring boiling water or shooting arrows at whomever tried to break in.

Honestly, after reading “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens, I don’t know whose side I would be on. The family who would have been living in the castle or the folks who would’ve have been so desperate to break-in. I’m a pretty fair person, but the French Revolution, as described in the Dicken’s book seemed downright bloody and unnecessarily violent against the ruling class. And tours like these, really make you want to relate to the people who would have been living here. Oh well, that’s what makes learning about history so fascinating.

 

 

 

Also, we got to see where the people would have kept their garments, like the garment room except this is where the toilet would also have been. Our guide explained that the ammonia from urine would have created a vapor that could kill any kind of bugs or lice living in the clothing at the time. Yes, history is interesting.

Then we were led onto the roof where there would have been a person on the lookout.

 

 

 

 

 

By the time we got out, the rain had finally let up. But here was our dilemma, do we go hiking when the sun is starting to set? The sun was setting at 4:45 and we got done with our tour at 4:10. I knew we would be walking back in the dark. We went back and forth about this and finally decided we were competent enough to attempt the hike at this hour. So on our way we went.

There is an obelisk on a hill outside of Dalkey in an area called Kiliney. We got lost a couple of times but were easily able to ask for directions. To our relief, there were other people on the hiking trail, walking their dogs or out for a stroll. The hike was pleasant despite walking in twilight.

 

 

Finally we made it to the top:

 

 

 

And to our delight, with a nod to the obelisk’s roots, there was a pyramid hiding out just below the top of the hill.

 

 

 

As the sun began to touch the hills and then tuck below, we began our descent down the mountain and  back to the train station. This is where we completely got lost and started to get anxious as we didn’t see anyone on our way. We finally found our way to a residential area and were able to ask for directions back. All in all, it was a great day.

 

 

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