Malahide….a Seaside Gem

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…….our last day trip outside of Dublin

On our second last full day in Ireland we decided to take a bus to the seaside town of Malahide. As with Howth, it was just a city bus ride away. We left our hotel early in the morning, caught the bus to the city centre and then made our connection for the Malahide bus. Unfortunately we missed the bus by a couple of minutes and it was almost an hour before the next bus.

Luckily we were in the centre of town and there was a lot to see and do in the space of that hour. When we finally boarded the bus we found a seat on the upper deck right at the front, so we had a great view of the countryside on our journey. I only wish that the windows had been a little cleaner, so some of the photos might appear to have a smudge or two on them.

The drive took us north of Howth and along some very pretty coastline. When we arrived in Malahide we were greeted by a small town with a very touristy feel. Down the centre of the street a small orange train made its way toward the Malahide Castle Estate, past numerous gift shops, travel centres, restaurants and small businesses.

We quickly got our bearings and started to walk towards the grounds of Malahide Castle. K’s cousin highly recommended going there and paying to see the inside of the castle.

As we walked we noticed a large number of young families with small children and babies in strollers making their way to the same place. Not only is there the castle but as we discovered there is an amazing playground and numerous sports fields around the area that is very popular with the locals.

When we got to the visitors centre we paid for the tour and made our way to the castle’s entrance. We passed the old Abby and cemetery that surrounds it along the path and off in the distance we could see the magnificent grounds that surround the castle. One tree on the grounds is over 500 years old and is quite spectacular. The photo really doesn’t do it justice.

Inside the castle, as we were waiting for the tour to start, we were able to visit the small historical museum that gave us some background on the castle itself and its inhabitants over the centuries. It turned out that this was the only place inside the castle that we were allowed to take photographs.

The tour itself was very informative but a tad short. We were allowed into four rooms.

Malahide castle has been a fortress and a private home for over 800 years. The Talbot family lived here from 1185 to 1973, when the last Talbot died. The house is furnished with beautiful period furniture together with an extensive collection of Irish portrait paintings, mainly from the National Gallery.( This is the reason why we couldn’t take photographs of the interior)

The history of the Talbot family is recorded in the Great Hall, where portraits of generations of the family tell their own story of Ireland’s stormy history. Many additions and alterations have been made to this romantic and beautiful structure, but the contours of the surrounding parklands have changed little in 800 years, retaining a sense of the past.(Copied from http://www.visitdublin.com/Asset/See_and_Do/Malahide_Castle)

After exploring the visitor’s centre, making a few purchases from the sportswear store (located next to the centre) and walking about the 250 acre park that surrounds the castle we made our way back into town and down to the quays looking for a place to have lunch.

Much to our chagrin we discovered that all the seaside restaurants were closed and were only open for dinner. We finally found a pub that my husband had been to on his last visit with the Dublin cousins and we sat down to a delicious meal of seafood entrees. Afterwards we easily found the bus stop that would take us back into Dublin and we enjoyed the scenery going in the opposite direction back into town.

Westport Day 2

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..in search of the Atlantic Ocean

When we woke up this morning we discovered that our ham had been stolen from our window ledge. Oh well, nothing ventured nothing gained. I hope that whoever or whatever took our meat at least enjoyed it.

We knew that breakfast was waiting for us downstairs so we quickly got dressed and made our way to the breakfast room. As with most B & Bs, the counter was stocked with croissants, bread for toasting, jams, butter, cereals, milk, fruit salad and juices. What we weren’t expecting was to be handed a menu with more breakfast options, such as the full Irish breakfast, smoked salmon, eggs and bacon and oatmeal.

We placed our orders and were brought a carafe of freshly brewed coffee. While K enjoyed his full Irish breakfast and I my smoked salmon we discussed what we wanted to do for the rest of the day. We had pretty much decided that a hike was in order and I really wanted to see the Atlantic Ocean. One of the things that caught my eye as we perused the travel brochures was a boat tour of Clews Bay.

Overlooking the town along the Greenway.

After our hearty and delicious breakfast we went back to the room to get ready for the hike along the Westport Greenway. This is a popular walking and cycling path that used to be the Old Railway Line. It goes from the city centre down to the The Quays, a distance of 2.5 k one way.

Before we left we bought some water and a couple of sandwiches from the local grocery store and we still had the salad from the night before. The walk was relatively easy and the scenery was magnificent. The mountain in the background is Croagh Patrick.

Croagh Patrick (pronounced Croke Patrick) stands at 764m (2,507ft) and is the third highest peak in Mayo. Best known for its association with Saint Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint, who is said to have fasted for 40 days at the summit in 441AD, Croagh Patrick has been a pilgrimage destination since pre-Christian times.

When we reached the Quays I was disappointed to see that the tide was out and there were only beds of mud and rock to be seen. We rested for a bit, ate our salad and drank our water before we continued on our way. We walked along the Quay and followed the signs to Westport House, the home of the infamous pirate, Grace O’Malley.

The trail and road towards Westport House took us through some beautiful woodland areas. At one point we had a lovely view of the house from the far end of the pond. My only regret is that I didn’t take a photo here because once we got into the park we no longer had a view of the house. The only way to see the gardens, the remnants of the original castle and the house was to buy a pass. Once again my husband wasn’t interested in paying to see a few rooms. After checking out the website, here, I wish we had taken the time and spent the money to see it. The video is quite interesting.

We continued to walk around the park and eventually found ourselves back in town. We stopped to eat our sandwiches and then headed back to the Elephant House. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that we didn’t see the boat tour and I wasn’t sure what we were going to do for the rest of the day.

When we got to the B & B, our host met us at the door and asked what our plans were for the rest of the day. I told him that I had wanted to go on the boat tour of Clews Bay but I knew that we would never be able to walk back in time to catch the boat. To our amazement, Dez, our host offered to drive us back to the pier. We hopped into his SUV and in a few minutes we were back at The Quays.

The tour was 15 Euro, each, for the 1 1/2 hour boat cruise through the bay. This was something I really wanted to do so I paid for both of us. I was really glad to be wearing my hat and having sun screen with me. Not only did we use it but the two passengers next to us also used it on their fair Irish skin. It was a perfect day to be out on the water. It was calm and the tour guide was informative and witty. Did you know that John Lennon actually bought one of the islands there and stayed there for an extended period of time? I can’t really imagine why anyone would want to live on these treeless islands. No power, no water, nothing.

John Lennon’s Island. I wasn’t kidding when I said there was nothing on it.

At the end of the tour our host was waiting for us. He asked us if we would like to go for a pint at his favourite local pub outside of town. Well you don’t have to ask my husband twice. When we got to the Sheebin, K had to insist that we pay

for the round. It was very relaxing sitting outside overlooking the water. It was great talking to our host, learning about the town, how the B & B came to be, and how the town became so famous. As is often the case the success of the Westport can be attributed to the vision of one person.

Dez bought the second round for the guys; I was still nursing my first drink. One of the other things that we talked about was how we missed our vegetables with our meals. He had some great suggestions of where we could eat and probably find what we were looking for. One of the suggestions was the Wyatt Hotel where they had a dinner special for 60 Euro for two.

We checked out all the places that our host recommended but in the end we decided to try the Wyatt Hotel. We weren’t disappointed. We opted for the dinner special that included three courses and a complimentary bottle of wine. The atmosphere and decor were relaxed chic and the food was amazing. Even the wine was good but the best part was the large platter of vegetables that appeared on the table as part of our meal. We were in heaven.

All in all our two day stay in Westport were outstanding, partially due to our wonderful hosts at the Elephant House. We would definitely recommend visiting Westport when you’re in Ireland. Next time we would stay a couple of days longer and check out some of the other activities that the town offers, such as sea kayaking and the 42 k cycling path along the Great Western Greenway.

Time to leave Westport. We’ll be back.

Westport – The Tidiest Town in Ireland

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….2 days away from the hustle and bustle of Dublin

Heuston Station in Dublin. We decided to catch the early train to Westport so that we would have some time to explore when we arrived.

On Thursday, July 18th we booked out of our hotel in Dublin and took a cab to Heuston Station to catch our train to Westport. The train was fantastic. The seats were comfortable and we had a table between us where we could rest our electronic devices, books, magazines and drawing pads. The best part was that we had access to WiFi on the train, so that we could check our emails and write to our family back in Canada.

When we arrived in Westport, 3 1/2 hours later, we walked from the train station into town. Along the way, downhill (thank goodness), we walked past a huge stone wall and growing in between the stones we noticed these lovely flowering plants.

We found our bed and breakfast easily and even thought we were too early for check in, the owners kindly let us drop off our bags so that we could explore the town and get some lunch.

Westport is very much like Niagara on the Lake in Ontario. It’s very touristy and the streets are lined with numerous pubs, restaurants, cafes, and gift shops. All the shops are decked out with flowers and the streets are very clean. It literally did win the Tidiest Town award.

A beautiful small river runs through the town and on the south side, next to the large Catholic church a cozy pub, called the West Pub, advertised their prize winning chowder. Not only did it win once but two years in a row. It sounded like the perfect lunch to me. I wasn’t disappointed. K had a bowl of mussels and he raved about them; said they were the best mussels he’s ever eaten. High praise coming from someone who is very particular about his mussels.

After lunch we checked into our room. It was very small but they had managed to squeeze a king size bed, a dresser. wardrobe and two night tables into this tight space. It also had a self contained bathroom with a toilet, sink and toilet. It was beautifully finished in tile from floor to ceiling. With the windows closed the room was absolutely sound proof from the street below but because there was no air conditioning we had to open our window. This wasn’t a problem the first night but on the second night (Friday) we were entertained by the sounds coming from the pub across the street.

We spent the rest of the day checking out all the stores. K purchased a new over the shoulder bag to carry his camera and our lunch and water for the hike we had planned for the next day. I bought myself a cap to keep the sun off my head. It never occurred to me that Ireland would be so warm and sunny when we were packing our bags for this trip. Luckily the cap was only 4 Euro but I could easily have spent 40.

We were in a bit of a quandary as to what to do for dinner. We didn’t want a big fancy meal and we didn’t want fast food or junk food. We came across a small cafe that advertised a cheese board and wine. Perfect! Well almost perfect. Two things that we were really missing on this trip were fruits and vegetables. After our meal we stopped in the local grocery stored and picked up some veggies and dip and a couple of apples.

Our first night in Westport was quiet and relatively uneventful, outside of losing our package of ham from the window sill. To be continued……..

Getting Back to Normal

Posted on July 27, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….with fitness and eating

We did an incredible amount of walking when we were in Ireland but my eating patterns were out of whack for me. I rarely drink beer so when we went to pubs I would have a pint of cider. I would rarely drink more than one glass and half way into the trip I realized that I could order half pints. With most meals I ordered mineral water but occasionally I enjoyed a glass of wine and one evening my husband and I shared a bottle of wine that came with the meal.

We were hoping we would be able to have a few light meals in our hotel room and only eat out once a day. We quickly discovered, however, that our rooms did not come with bar fridges and we couldn’t keep anything cool. One evening in Westport we went into the local grocery store to buy some vegetables and fruit. We also bought a small bottle of salad dressing and some ham to put into our salad.

Earlier in the evening we stopped at a small cafe and enjoyed a platter of cheese and a few crackers and a glass of wine. After we brought our selection of veggies and fruit back to our room we discovered we weren’t as hungry as we thought we would be. We ate the raw vegetables and hummus.

What were we to do with the salad, ham and dressing that we purchased? I think I’ve mentioned this before but Ireland was going through a heat wave while we were there and the hotels don’t have air conditioning. Well it was a few degrees cooler outside the hotel than in the room so I opened the window on the second story and placed the perishable foods on the window ledge.

The next morning the ham was gone. When I looked down to the street I saw the ’empty’ ham container lying on the sidewalk. We’re not sure what got on the ledge but there were a lot of very large blackbirds in the area. Do they eat meat?

Today, before breakfast, my husband, Frances and I started up our usual 5 k walks again. Frances was in a bit of slump since coming home yesterday. I think she was missing her buddy, Lucy. Going for a walk to the lake was just what the doctor ordered. Frances was in a better mood after she had her swim and K and I were energized for the rest of the day.

Weber’s: A Cottager’s Delight

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..or is it?

On this Canada Day weekend many cottagers who are heading north to Orillia and beyond will be making a pit stop at Weber’s, an Ontario landmark. All the years that I’ve been going to my cottage on Georgian Bay I’ve never been to Weber’s, mostly because it’s not on the way for me.

Last weekend I passed Weber’s on the way to a friends place and on the way home I decided I needed to stop at Weber’s, just to say that I’ve been there and experienced one of their ‘legendary’ burgers.

Weber’s is a family run business that Paul Weber started in 1963. The burger hut became so popular that the Ministry of Transportation put up barriers between the south and north bound lanes on Highway 11 to keep people from crossing the busy highway. It was becoming a serious safety hazard. The barrier, unfortunately, seriously affected Weber’s business so they purchased a section of bridge from the CN Tower in Toronto and were given permission to erect it over the highway in 1983. To this day this is the only privately owned bridge, anywhere in Ontario, that spans a provincial highway.

Travellers now can park on either side of the highway and have easy and safe access to Weber’s. Over the years the business has been passed on to Paul Weber Jr. and many new additions have been made to the property. There are two separate entrances and two separate grilling stations to reduce the line-ups and picnic tables have been set up in well kept park like settings. There is also a diner style car on the property if you want to eat indoors.

I thought the line-ups would a problem for me but they have a very efficient system that gets you in and out very quickly. The burgers were good but I didn’t think they were any better than a Harvey’s burger or Southside burger. In fact these places have more options when it comes to toppings and choice of buns.

The organization has become so large that refrigerated box cars are on the property to store the meat and over 400 stores across Canada now sell Weber burgers. The weekend I went was before the long weekend in July, when the really busy summer traffic begins. I can only imagine that the line-ups will be considerably longer and the wait times as well. Would I stop there again? Maybe but I certainly wouldn’t go out of my way for a Weber’s burger. I know there are people out there that would disagree with me but a least I can say that I’ve been there, done that.

For more information about the history of Weber’s you can check out this link.

Cheers!

Discovering a New Restaurant

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….enjoying a meal with my husband

My husband and I discovered a quaint little restaurant on Eglinton called the Hotel Gelato. As you can probably guess the house specialty is gelato. Today’s menu featured brunch with a variety of egg dishes, French toast, smoked salmon and salads.

I won’t lie I had the French toast made with Challah bread and blueberry preserves. It was yummy and I enjoyed every last bite. I’ll have to go for an extra long walk later today.

My 300th Post and A Great Day After All

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. but not because of the weather

My 2.2k running route

After walking 1k this morning I started to run. I hadn’t planned on running, in fact I haven’t been able to run because of my cold. I’m not sure if it was the rain or what but something spurred me on to start running and I kept running and running. I didn’t stop until I got home. I felt good the whole time and I think I could probably have gone farther but I decided that it probably wasn’t a good idea to push myself much more than I already had.

One year ago I could barely run 50 metres and I remember feeling like a bowl of Jello. Today it felt completely natural and I wasn’t the least bit self conscious about how I appeared in public. I’m not fast but I’ll work on my speed after I can run 5k without stopping. I’m almost half way there now. It’s been 8 hours since my run and I still feel good, no sore muscles or aching joints.

After our walk/run my husband and I picked up our daughter and her partner and headed over to The Junction. It was recently renamed The Junction Triangle but I haven’t heard anyone use the new name. We parked the car and checked out the old record store, the art store, Articulations, and then we crossed the street to The Sweet Potato. We picked up some kale, avocado, almond milk and a few other healthy foods.

There is a new restaurant that’s opened in the Junction and we had heard great things about it so we headed over there to get some lunch. The restaurant is called 3030 which also happens to be address on Dundas St. W.. When we got there they were serving brunch and we each chose different items off the menu. My choice was a spinach, proscutto and bacon rotolo topped with a sweet tomato chutney. It was delicious. It’s basically an omelette that is filled with the ingredients listed above and then rolled,sliced and baked in the oven.

After lunch we continued to head west along Dundas and took in some more of the sights and other little businesses. I’ll post more photographs of our great day tomorrow.

Happiness File:

1. I ran 2.2k without stopping and I feel great.

2. I spent quality time with my family.

3. I treated myself to a new bracelet.

4. I’ve written 300 posts since I started blogging one year ago.

Cheers!

A TV Star I’m Not

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….not even a quick cameo

Two weeks ago I went to see the Steven and Chris show with my friend D. We got quite the workout applauding, cheering and raising our True and False paddles on cue. The entire time cameras were scanning the audience. We never let the smiles leave our faces.

The audience prompter kept telling everyone what a great looking audience we were. Everyone wore their ‘jewel colours’ and were dressed to impressed. After two and half hours we were sent off with some weird telephone gizmo that I’m not sure will ever be used in my home and we were encouraged to watch the show on April 5th when the segment that we participated in would be aired.

Well I was working on the 5th but I was able to catch the show the next day. Did I see myself on TV? No! For that matter there were very few shots of the audience and when there were the cameras seemed to zoom in on the same 5 audience members. Of course they were all young and beautiful women. The overviews of the audience were far away, always on the side opposite to where I was sitting and they were over in a blink of an eye.

After viewing the show via my television I could see immediately that it was not one of the better shows. Maybe, we as an audience weren’t animated enough but the gadget section was a complete bust and the segment with the experts on parenting was pretty serious and somewhat depressing for anyone with adolescent children. Normally the show is very light hearted, informative and funny.

I won’t lie, I was disappointed not seeing D or myself on TV but in the big picture of life it’s pretty insignificant. What matters is that D and I had a good time, had a great lunch together afterwards and experienced something new and different that we can check off our bucket lists.

All the photos are courtesy of the Steven and Chris show.

Cheers!

Spirit Tree Estate Cidery

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. a great little gem north of Toronto

Yesterday I told you about our road trip to the Caledon Hills north of Toronto. The highlight of our trip was our visit to Spirit Tree where we had a wonderful lunch. The first time we heard about this cidery, about three years ago, we were purchasing a bottle of their sparkling cider recommended to us by the proprietor of a local gourmet shop. The same week the Toronto Star did a feature article about Spirit Tree, highlighting all the wonderful features of the store/bakery/restaurant. The next day was Good Friday and it just so happened that they were open to the public. It’s rare for anything to be open on Good Friday in Ontario so we decided to check it out and so did hundreds of other people. It was crazy busy. It’s a weekend that the workers at Spirit Tree wouldn’t soon forget.

Anyway we have made trips since that day and the store hasn’t been nearly as crowded and yesterday was no exception. The restaurant was busy but the atmosphere was relaxed and the staff was extremely friendly and helpful.

One of the many features of the estate is how eco-friendly and green it is. The main building was constructed using straw bales. You can see from the photo with the window how thick the walls are. The breads and pizzas are all baked in the wood burning oven and the place is heated and cooled using geothermal energy. For more interesting information check the link:

Spirit Tree Cidery

If you’re ever in the Caledon Hills, check this place out. It’s well worth the trip.

Cheers!

My Happiness File – Day 5

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..spending the entire day with my husband brought many happy moments today

Today was my first day off the detox cleanse and I was able to enjoy my first coffee in four days. Heavenly!

My husband took the day off work today so that we could spend the day together. After our walk this morning and enjoying the first solid food I had in over three days we got into the car and went for a day trip north of the city. We had a great time checking out the Apple Factory and buying a few vegetables and some specialty items for our Irish dinner on Sunday and then we made our way to Spirit Tree where we had a nice lunch. I’ll write more about our experience in my next post.

After lunch we started driving around looking for the Cheltenham Bad Lands. K set his GPS on his new phone and off we went. We got so lost. I’m sure we drove 20 k in the wrong direction before we turned around. We did eventually find it. For the rest of the afternoon we found our surroundings pretty uninspiring. The one thing that did amaze us was how much snow was still on the ground just 30 k north of Toronto.

On our way home we decided to stop at the movie theatre and take in a show. We ended up seeing Zero Dark 30. I really liked it and I didn’t think I would. Before the show started I made K set his phone so I could play the interactive pre show on-screen game. I came in second and won a slice of pizza that I will probably never redeem. Made me happy anyway.

All in all it was a great day.