Malahide

As exams are still on and comes the feeling that walls are falling on you and there is just the need to get some air outside Maynooth, What you gonna do? Figured out an idea go to Malahide, place where none of us (we had a group of three people going) haven't been before sounded like a perfect solutions. Malahide is an area on the coast North from Dublin. It is known for it's Malahide castle and nice areas around marina and beach. 

It all started in a grey rainy morning and 1,5 hours train ride there but by the time we reached Malahide, rain was gone. On the way walking to visit the castle our first discovery was a playground that was "designed children under 12 years old", but "designed" doesn't mean that it couldn't be used also "children over 12 years old", right? :P At least that is the way we understood the sign. There was many funny things like "a cable slide" ran to speed up and slide with a swing along the cable track... But I guess that usually it should be manageable without getting ass hit on the ground (Clearly too many pints of Guinness' during year or just the cable was loose...), but it was still fun. Besides that there was rope triangle to climb up the mast or a round table in slightly diagonal position to made it spin around as someone stood on it, like a tester how sometimes it feels to walk on late Thursday nights after an evening at Roost.

Second discovery was the forest that was off track from walking path. Especially after rain when leaves were dripping still some water on the ground, air was so fresh as it highlighting the smell of the nature and only thing you could hear was the sing of the birds. After passing the forest we getting closer to the castle, but before that we passed the botanic gardens of the castle grounds. There the guardian of the gardens, a peacock, was really showing off at that moment. Not that it has only spread out it's feathers, it also kept quite loud noise. Of course the reason for showing off might have been that there was a female peacock walking also around ;)

Finally the castle itself, built in 12th Century and it has been expanded as the centuries has passed on. Home of the Talbot family almost 800 years so seems like that they really enjoyed their time there... Even that it was (again) another castle to visit, it was still worth it. Quite well preserved and told its story throughout centuries as the decorations and furniture in the rooms varied according different times.

Walking, walking, walking... It felt like time for lunch. Delicious beef panini with vegetable soup and after that on the way to the beach. Warm light seawind blowing, sun peaking little bit behind the cloud, lying on a grass playing "uno" with the Moomin playing cards. That is a way to relax indeed. Unfortunately time can't be stopped and it was time to start heading back to Maynooth. On the way girls needed to have something sweet (and I was actually also in a need of coffee) so we stopped in cafeteria and the timing for that was more than perfect! Not much after we sat down a heavy rain shower took over the weather which ended about the time we finished our coffee break or another way around, we finished our coffee break about the time rain shower ended... Anyways, train ride back to Maynooth and another great day was behind (and a good excuse not to read for incoming exams on next week was discovered...)