I went to Naas again, on Thursday morning, being grateful for my L plates as my driving was all over the place, that morning! And it had to be very foggy and sort of rainy on the mountains, again.. (Every time I drive there, grrr..) I don't mind the rain (well, it reminded me that I still need to replace that windscreen wiper blade..), but I hate driving when I can barely see the road.
Maaria had muffins in the oven, so we had some breakfast first, and then we went to Maynooth, where I hadn't really been before (other than a quick there and back, a few years ago). The underground parking at the shopping centre, reminded me of Dundrum - really clean and lovely.. And it was free! They should have free parking everywhere! It doesn't matter how many "Shop Local" banners you have, if people have to pay for parking - and this is especially aimed at whoever decides about these things in Bray. Jeez, I've even driven to send a small parcel from Kilmacanogue post office, to park for free! (Yes, I did pay for the petrol, but I was vaguely heading to that direction, anyway, so I still saved some money and effort..)
For once, I took pictures of something else than my lunch.. =D (Don't worry, I got the lunch covered as well..)
We'd actually started by doing some shopping at Tiger. I'd seen some Finnish friends talking about Tiger shops online, but I had no idea that they were in Ireland as well, until Maaria mentioned it, last week! I'll tell more about my shopping, later on, with a picture.. Loved the shop, btw, and stayed well within budget!
Then, we went for a walk around the old campus - beautiful!
Yes, I've gone a bit effect happy, with some of the pics.. =)
Like an outdoor cathedral, this path took us to an old cemetery..
Celtic cross factory, I joked.. =) You rarely see so many of them, in such huge size, in one place!
Two pics of the same spot.. Just playing with effects..
So, these two crosses were talkin', and.. =P
From the other end of the 'corridor'..
Earlier on, Maaria had wondered if she should phone a friend who works in the library, to see if she'd be there. She decided to leave it, but just a little while later, we happened to meet that friend outside one of the buildings! So, we ended up getting a private tour of the Russell Library, while it was closed for the lunch hour. Very interesting!
I loved the Very Old globes, where Australia was still New Holland, etc.. And I'd have loved to see their old Bibles, but it's a research library, and you can't just go and paw the books. I liked it more than the Long Room at Trinity, of which it reminded me.
After the library visit, we were both very hungry, so we left the campus, and...
...went to Cafe Bon Bon, where we'd already decided to have lunch.
We totally fell in love with their mint lemonade, which was sort of like alcohol-free mojito, and couldn't believe that we'd never thought of making such stuff at home! As soon as I can find (and afford) some fresh mint, I will definitely attempt making my own version of it.. So Good..
Maaria had mushroom bruschetta, I had a chickpea burger, and the side salad was also very nice. (My burger was a bit difficult to eat, but it was otherwise lovely.)
They had lots of lovely cakes available, but we were so stuffed, that we could only manage a slice of lemon drizzle cake each. I couldn't even finish my coffee, I was so stuffed! =D
We visited some more shops, and then returned to Naas. I took a picture of all my Tiger shopping (above). Two rain ponchos (I'd wanted those for ages, I'll keep them in the car), neck cushion (probably for the car as well), cute tin box of plasters, rye sticks that look like Finn crisp (I haven't tasted them yet), touch screen pen (great buy - makes it much easier to hit the tiny links and buttons on the tablet, and leaves less marks on the screen), finger skateboard (K already sent me one from Finland, but when I saw the cute tiny tools, I had to buy another one..), bead cutting nippers & round nose pliers, sheep tape, heart tape, toothbrush holder (for travel purposes, I think), kitty key chain with a torch & meow sound (I know... we were freaking out Maaria's cats with it..), stickers, and two gift bags, which I also used to carry all my shopping.. €31.32 for the lot! Not too bad.
We continued watching Brave, from where we'd left it the week before, but didn't finish it yet. We also tried to "box" one of Maaria's cats, who refuses to be boxed (for a vet visit), but it wasn't happening.. =) And then it was time for me to head home again - via petrol station.
The weather was gorgeous, and I was hoping to get some lovely sunset pictures on the mountains, but by the time I got there, it was all foggy again! Grrrr!!!
Oh, I saw that badger again - on the very same spot.. Dead.. This time, I was able to slow down enough to take a better look, and its face was flat, looking as if someone had driven over it (before it moved to the side of that small road).. My heart was hurting.. Had I been able to stop somewhere, last week, and go check on the badger, I'd have seen that it was injured, and maybe I could have done something to either rescue it or have it put to sleep (the latter option being more likely, seeing the state that little face was in..) I did have a funny feeling about seeing a badger in daytime, and in such place.. Whatever happened to the poor badger, to cause those injuries, must have happened shortly before I saw it the first time as it was still generally healthy looking (as quickly as I saw it), whereas now I could have instantly told it was dead, even if I hadn't known to look for it on that spot.. There was just something so obviously dead about it.. I have been kicking myself for not reporting it to some wildlife page or such, last week. It would probably have been too late, anyway, but this hindsight stuff never leaves you alone.. There really wasn't anything I could have done, there and then - had I stopped somewhere further on and walked back (quite a hike), I still wouldn't have been able to move the animal, if it was still alive.. Also, I'm not sure if that area even has mobile coverage (mountains..) But I wish I'd thought of reporting the badger sighting, at the time! Had I actually seen the facial injuries, obviously I'd have done something about it - I should have trusted that gut feeling, though. But there's nothing I can do about it anymore, and it's eating me..
I stopped at Lough Tay, to take a few pics.. Above, the fog I'd just driven through.. (Compare to the blue sky, in the previous picture.. It was like that, all the way from Naas to the mountains.. And then it got foggy.)
There was some more fog ahead (above), but it pretty much cleared after the mountains..
I stopped to do some shopping at Bray Centra, and arrived home just before 8pm.
We visited some more shops, and then returned to Naas. I took a picture of all my Tiger shopping (above). Two rain ponchos (I'd wanted those for ages, I'll keep them in the car), neck cushion (probably for the car as well), cute tin box of plasters, rye sticks that look like Finn crisp (I haven't tasted them yet), touch screen pen (great buy - makes it much easier to hit the tiny links and buttons on the tablet, and leaves less marks on the screen), finger skateboard (K already sent me one from Finland, but when I saw the cute tiny tools, I had to buy another one..), bead cutting nippers & round nose pliers, sheep tape, heart tape, toothbrush holder (for travel purposes, I think), kitty key chain with a torch & meow sound (I know... we were freaking out Maaria's cats with it..), stickers, and two gift bags, which I also used to carry all my shopping.. €31.32 for the lot! Not too bad.
We continued watching Brave, from where we'd left it the week before, but didn't finish it yet. We also tried to "box" one of Maaria's cats, who refuses to be boxed (for a vet visit), but it wasn't happening.. =) And then it was time for me to head home again - via petrol station.
The weather was gorgeous, and I was hoping to get some lovely sunset pictures on the mountains, but by the time I got there, it was all foggy again! Grrrr!!!
Oh, I saw that badger again - on the very same spot.. Dead.. This time, I was able to slow down enough to take a better look, and its face was flat, looking as if someone had driven over it (before it moved to the side of that small road).. My heart was hurting.. Had I been able to stop somewhere, last week, and go check on the badger, I'd have seen that it was injured, and maybe I could have done something to either rescue it or have it put to sleep (the latter option being more likely, seeing the state that little face was in..) I did have a funny feeling about seeing a badger in daytime, and in such place.. Whatever happened to the poor badger, to cause those injuries, must have happened shortly before I saw it the first time as it was still generally healthy looking (as quickly as I saw it), whereas now I could have instantly told it was dead, even if I hadn't known to look for it on that spot.. There was just something so obviously dead about it.. I have been kicking myself for not reporting it to some wildlife page or such, last week. It would probably have been too late, anyway, but this hindsight stuff never leaves you alone.. There really wasn't anything I could have done, there and then - had I stopped somewhere further on and walked back (quite a hike), I still wouldn't have been able to move the animal, if it was still alive.. Also, I'm not sure if that area even has mobile coverage (mountains..) But I wish I'd thought of reporting the badger sighting, at the time! Had I actually seen the facial injuries, obviously I'd have done something about it - I should have trusted that gut feeling, though. But there's nothing I can do about it anymore, and it's eating me..
I stopped at Lough Tay, to take a few pics.. Above, the fog I'd just driven through.. (Compare to the blue sky, in the previous picture.. It was like that, all the way from Naas to the mountains.. And then it got foggy.)
There was some more fog ahead (above), but it pretty much cleared after the mountains..
I stopped to do some shopping at Bray Centra, and arrived home just before 8pm.
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