belgianwaffle

Ireland

Weekend Activities


Posted in: Dublin, Family, Ireland

The weekend before last, we went to the Science Gallery but couldn’t face the queues. As I had never seen the Book of Kells, we trotted off to have a look. On the way in Michael looked around and said, “I’m going to be really bored, amn’t I?” He was correct. I did see the Book of Kells but only for a moment. I thought that the Long Room was absolutely beautiful but, the children were underwhelmed. Even when I pointed out that it was the model for the Jedi archives.

We took ourselves to the college bar and the children had the most fun of the day playing on a sculpture which I trust, given that it is adjacent to the bar, is robust.

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We also had ice cream. Note how the toasty children frolic in the warm May sunshine.

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Reasons to Visit the Midlands


Posted in: Ireland, Twins, Youngest Child

Out of the blue last week, Michael expressed a desire to go orienteering. Ever obedient to our children’s whims, last Sunday we took them to Mullaghmeen Forest with their cousins (expert orienteers, their parents have been known to run around courses).

It was freezing (6 degrees at the end of April, what is happening to the weather? I digress) but once in the forest out of the wind, it was fine. Mr. Waffle had been very excited on the way down as it is one of the very few forests in Ireland which does not consist almost entirely of fir trees. I couldn’t work up any enthusiasm myself until I saw it. And he was quite right, it is lovely.

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And then we went to visit a friend of mine from college who lives in the Midlands. She has her own business, her husband commutes from his job in the UK and she has three children, 8, 6 and 3. I always feel that staying sane in these circumstances is a very significant achievement. Anyway she tells me that she has decided to up the ante and that she is expecting another baby. She seems calm and cheerful in a manner that may indicate that she has finally tipped over into insanity. One can but gasp in awe.

Zoo Again


Posted in: Dublin, Ireland

We went to the zoo again because now that we have an annual membership, I am determined to drag them there whenever possible.

As ever, we spent ages in tiny and, as far as I can see, not particularly attractive playground:
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We lingered to look at not very exotic pigs:

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But I didn’t care because I hadn’t paid €50 for us to get in. So then we saw the tigers close up and the sea lions did amusing things. This only happened because I didn’t care.

Weekend Activities


Posted in: Family, Ireland

On Saturday we went to Four Knocks. Mr. Waffle refused to believe that such a place existed. But it does. It comes from the Irish, na Fuarchnoic which means the cold hills. It’s a passage grave but it’s not a particularly well-known site.

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You get into it by picking up the key from a local.

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We didn’t tell the children what it was but as we approached it, the Princess said, “It’s a passage grave, isn’t it? Like Newgrange.” Some people are very smart.

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When we got there, we opened up the door in the hill with our key.

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We went in and closed the door. As our eyes grew used to the gloom the light shining through the roof illuminated the neolithic carvings on the lintel stones.

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Unlike, Newgrange, the children were free to run around with the torch (essential piece of kit for this outing) and shout and roar. Obviously, this kind of thing is off putting if there are other people about. But we were all on our own.

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And then afterwards, they could roll off the top.

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It was really excellent and appealed to all members of the family in slightly different ways.

And then we went to Ardgillan Castle for a cup of tea and a look at the playground. And that was very pleasant too.

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Out and About


Posted in: Family, Ireland

We went to the zoo. We invested in an annual family membership. At the cost of it, we will be frogmarching them to the zoo at regular intervals from now on.

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We went to visit Castletown House. I got excellent value for my heritage card this year, I think I will renew it. Can this post get more fascinating? You may well ask.

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The children were virtuous. Even though I insisted on reading to them long passages from this book.

Unrelated: I got a quite spectacular migraine yesterday. As well as classic symptoms (for me – aura, nausea, headache), I also got pins and needles in my fingers which I never had before. It was most unnerving. I took to my bed. I am slightly fragile today but otherwise well. Thank you for asking.

Nice, Polite Boys


Posted in: Cork, Ireland, Mr. Waffle, Travel

I was in Cork alone (!) recently. As I sat in to my seat on the train back to Dublin with my newspaper in my sweaty little paw, I was distressed to see that every other seat in the carriage was reserved for school boys. As it happened, 13 year old school boys from my husband’s old school. I felt that my quiet reading would be disturbed.

But I had nothing to fear. Mr. Waffle had always assured me that his old school was full of nerds but I didn’t really believe him until the moment I saw the young men pull out their chess boards and timers and start playing while singing Ave Maria. Unless Ave Maria is sitting high in the charts at the moment, I find this detail particularly baffling.