Travel and tourism, both local and global, with a bit of the human condition for good measure! Occasional ramblings on the human condition too.
From Milena Lรณpez and Milojee...
Happy King's Day and Happy New Year ๐๐๐
Enlarge the door father, because I can't get through. You made it for the children, I grew up despite myself. If you don't make the door bigger for me, make me smaller, out of mercy. Take me back to that age in which living is dreaming. Miguel de Unamuno.
Happy King's day!
Moonlight over the trees of Plentzia
No words! ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ถ๐ถ๐ถ Slรกn go fรณill...
Zorrotzaurre is a post-industrial island in Bilbao, with a not-so-derelict former biscuit factory which sports a lively Sunday market and a lively wee DIY bar (our favourite kinda bar actually!) called the Secret Garden...with some excellent cocktails, with and without alcohol! ๐ง๐ง๐ง๐น๐น๐น๐ป๐ป๐ป
A rousing version of Spancil Hill from Shane and Christy.
https://youtu.be/aqlLJXYtRWg?si=lERlpSyQvoBxOzCx
A legend passes, and there will never be one quite unique as he. ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐
Good old-fashioned mixed with the new.
RIP Legend ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช
https://youtu.be/IooPBuFoJCM?si=X0WNxSslC7BCDHl7
Excellent wee book shop close to San Mamรฉs stadium in Bilbao, first-hand, second-hand, any hand!
Glaringly sunny morning...like a celestial candle.
Sometimes cloudy, always lovely...Rathlin Island, looking in at Knocklayd on the mainland.
Could anyone in and around Rathlin Island advise us as to how much overnight accomodation might be available in the week between Christmas and the new year on Rathlin? We're hoping for an overnight stay! Is holiday accomodation available in winter?
There is a better world, but it's pretty expensive ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ We can only hope!
Once upon a time, one of the smallest bars in Ireland, Mary McBride's in Cushendun is up for sale...hope it stays fairly much the same, whoever takes it over ๐ป๐ป๐ป
https://www.irishnews.com/business/2023/10/04/news/iconic_cushendun_pub_mary_mcbrides_put_up_for_sale-3666557/?param=ds12rif76F&fbclid=IwAR3RbJhT8vVtGb15TY5ZmijjRMmkiJr9nAxIe2zffLDxMEytpywb4CbPIsk
AN award-winning Glens of Antrim pub has gone on the market.
Not Saint Patrick's Day in Bilbao but Athletic Bilbao have possibly been appropriate in how they lit up San Mamรฉs stadium on the night Ireland beat South Africa in the rugby World Cup! ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐๐๐
Santiago Cathedral in Bilbao from inside...
Santiago Cathedral in Bilbao, from the inside.
Ideas for who might be Celtic FC fans considering a visit to Madrid to see the grand old team play Atlรฉtico de Madrid this November 7 ๐๐๐
https://travelling.tailtiu.org/football-tourism-in-madrid/
Mount Kobetas, overlooking Bilbao from the southwest, and one of our four-legged friends trying to rid themselves of the summer flies in the sweltering heat. Poor thing!
THE BOOK THAT TURNED DARKNESS INTO LIGHT
The Book of Kells is an ancient text dating from the ninth century. It is on display in Trinity College, a not-so-ancient yet very old and leafy university in the centre of Dublin, just south of the River Liffey.
It is considered a masterpiece of illumination, and its exhibition contains its own insights into the lives of monk scribes working on the text. It tells its own history of literacy in Ireland, and awaits you within the walls of the old library of Trinity.
https://travelling.tailtiu.org/the-book-of-kells-and-long-room-of-trinity-college/
On a bench in the shadow of Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin lies a homeless Jesus. Whether you are religious or not, it is a poignant and potent symbol of the eternal issue of homelessness, especially in modern Ireland.
Christ Church is a good visit, and contains the purported funeral cask of Strongbow, the first of the Normans in Ireland. You can learn more about the Normans and Viking culture in Dublin at the Dublinia exhibition in the cathedral.
Surprisingly enough, it was the Vikings who founded this, the first cathedral in Ireland, in the city of Dublin, which they also founded, so the Norse should be remembered for a little more than the sacking and pillaging which they are normally remembered. All this you can see in and around the cathedral.
https://travelling.tailtiu.org/dublinia-exhibition/
An Absolutely Incredible Price Comparison - With these 5 words, Barr An Chaladh in Galway throws down the gauntlet to Dublin, challenging the
The Book of Kells is an ancient text dating from the ninth century. It is on display in Trinity College, a not-so-ancient yet very old and leafy university in the centre of Dublin, just south of the River Liffey.
It is considered a masterpiece of illumination, and its exhibition contains its own insights into the lives of monk scribes working on the text. A history of literacy in Ireland awaits within the walls of the old library of Trinity.
https://travelling.tailtiu.org/the-book-of-kells-and-long-room-of-trinity-college/
Not a bad oul' heat for the first day of the fiestas in Bilbao.
Yarn bombing or guerrilla knitting might seem to be contradictions in terms, but there are dedicated knitters out there whose goal is to get a bit more colour out into the world...and this definitely helped Milojee and Travelling Tailtiu as we stepped off the ferry on our visit to Friends and residents of Rathlin one cloudy and drizzly morning.
Fortunately enough, the weather cleared up somewhat and we had another great time there, and also on our day visiting Coleraine, which was also adorned in places by welcoming woolly decorations!
From Love Tralee...finally seen in Ireland!
Looking over the choppy Atlantic waves and down on the Rathlin West Lighthouse, the only 'upside-down' lighthouse in Ireland, the skies are grey but the sea and cliffs are where the action can be seen. Beside the lighthouse sits a bird sanctuary on the cliffs and puffins, guillemots and gulls nest and swoop around. The staff of the complex tell us that there have been a ton of interesting sightings from here of marine wildlife this year, including orcas, a basking shark and dozens of pods of bottle-nosed dolphins.
Rathlin is known for strong surrounding currents and there are many shipwrecks in Davy Jones' Locker around the island, making it popular with divers, though fishermen are wary and knowledgeable of the Atlantic currents that sweep in between Rathlin, the Irish mainland and Scotland, towards the North Channel of the Irish Sea, which we know locally as the Sea of Moyle.
It's definitely nice for a visit, there are scenic walks around the island and the locals are welcoming. Bring a jacket just in case though!
HIDDEN GEMS ON THE BASQUE COAST.
Every once in a while, something from the old world still quietly standing jumps out at you. Something that maybe a few years ago was of vital importance but has become defunct with the march of time and technology.
Even books seem to be going that way too as the digital age engulfs us in a haze of high definition screens and a cataclysm of information that short-circuits even the most attentive and focused mind among us.
When such gems do appear, maybe as you are out walking, they have the power to reassure you that as you grow older, you have the ability to grow more adaptable, while invoking memories of your younger days.
One such ageing gem can be found in the form of an old telephone box at the end of Tala Park in Bermeo, on the Basque coast. Locals deposit books there for others to use and an eclectic mix of literature has filled the phone booth to turn it into a post-modern cave of knowledge on old-school print, as it sits quietly on a street corner overlooking the Cantabrian Sea.
As with the defunct and derelict crane bases on Bilbaoโs riverside, now reworked and repurposed into street lights, the Basques have once again shown their ingenuity in rethinking what at one time may have not been considered the most beautiful, albeit practical, landmark, and a new concept of beauty is once more born into the world.
You can read more about Bermeo at the link below in the comments:
Tailtiu Languages.
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Mount Kobetas, overlooking Bilbao from the southwest, and one of our four-legged friends trying to rid themselves of the summer flies in the sweltering heat. Poor thing! #paisvasco #bilbao #horses
Mount Kobetas, overlooking Bilbao from the southwest, and one of our four-legged friends trying to rid themselves of the summer flies in the sweltering heat. Poor thing! @followers #paisvasco #bilbao #horses
Bit of a party going on in Bilbao here! #AsteNagusia #trikileaks Trikimailu Konpartsa
Not a bad oul' heat for the first day of the fiestas in Bilbao. #AsteNagusia
A nice calm sea today, on the stretch between Ballycastle and Rathlin Island. #rathlinisland #causewaycoastandglens #ballycastle #ireland #sea #boat
A nice calm sea today, on the stretch between Ballycastle and Rathlin Island. #rathlinisland #causewaycoastandglens #ballycastle #ireland #sea #boat
Angry Neighbours! Follow us for more stories and articles about travel at travelling.tailtiu.org
Angry neighbours whenever they catch you on staring at them! #prayingmantis #bilbao #paisvasco #basquecountry
Happy New Year from the Basque Country! ๐๐๐
It may not seem so wintery here in Bilbao, but there is plenty of festive cheer. If you are Basque, Olentzero (the Basque coalman) brings the presents, if you are Latin American, the wee baby Jesus brings gifts and of course, Santa comes along for us too, though he seems a bit busy here! Merry Christmas everyone! #christmastime #christmas2022 #bilbao #basquecountry #basquecountry #paisvasco
First time I've ever seen a Praying Mantis (met him on the steps on my way down from Arangoiti Barrio)...seems like an aggressive wee fellow, especially when he starts waving his arms at me like an angry neighbour once he notices me! #prayingmantis #wildlife #arangoiti #bilbao #paisvasco #basquecountry
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