The Travelling Wombat

The Wombat goes to college

2012-07-14T14:22:00.000+01:00

The Wombat will soon be finishing his stay in Dublin, so he's been looking around some of the places he hasn't been before. Last week, he finally went to Trinity College.

He decided the queue to see the Book of Kells was sadly just a bit too long.

So he had a wander around the beautiful grounds instead (while dodging groups of tourists and wondering what it was like to be an actual student).

The Wombat in an ice age?

2012-07-05T22:04:00.000+01:00

The Wombat isn't really stealing Scrat's acorn: he wouldn't dare!

Down the Liffey

2012-07-01T21:58:00.002+01:00

The Wombat had a nice wander down the quays in Dublin yesterday.

He wasn't too sure why there are Dutch navy ships moored in the Liffey, but he posed for a photo anyway.

He also posed in front of the distant Aviva stadium (it's the curvy thing on the middle-left) and the entrance to the Grand Canal Dock.

And he got a bit creeped out by the pig-mouse-bear-things statue outside the O2. (Anyone know what they are?) The one on the left was definitely giving him a funny look.

The wrong wallaby?

2012-06-26T22:23:00.004+01:00

The Wombat was rather distressed to find out that the wallaby recaptured in Northern Ireland the other day was not the one that had gone missing a couple of weeks earlier! [BBC News story]

On the other hand, he was sort of pleased that there are so many other marsupials roaming around the Irish countryside - he doesn't feel quite so alone anymore.

A chateau and a cathedral

2012-06-24T16:34:00.000+01:00

The Wombat went to France last week! He travelled by ferry from Portsmouth to Saint Malo, but we don't have any pictures of him actually on the ferry because he's too scared to go out on deck just in case something nasty happens to him.
We can't really blame him, since one of his brethren fell off the back of a ferry crossing the Irish Sea and was never seen again.

He spent most of his holiday in the city of Nantes (and the rest going around the wine sections of various supermarkets).
Here he is in front of the Château des ducs de Bretagne (Castle of the Dukes of Brittany), which these days is home to the Museum of Nantes.

And here he is again, admiring the 15th century cathedral.

More marsupial news

2012-06-22T12:09:00.002+01:00

The Wombat is very relieved to hear that the missing wallaby has been found! [BBC News story]. He managed to make it about 30 miles from home, and The Wombat's quite impressed since he's sure his own little legs couldn't take him that far.

Some other news made him a bit sad though. A mass grave of giant wombats has been found in Australia [Yahoo! News story]. He did perk up when he realised that they weren't his actual recent relatives, because they'd died somewhere between 100 and 200 million years ago...

Wallaby on the loose!

2012-06-06T23:06:00.000+01:00

The Wombat spends quite a bit of time in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland - he was there just this past weekend - and he's very very worried about a wallaby that's running loose in Tyrone, having abandoned his mates and babies.

[BBC News item]

Hopefully he's not looking for The Wombat, because he's now back in Dublin... which means Wally's going to wrong way!

London 2012, here comes The Wombat?

2012-06-05T23:16:00.000+01:00

The Olympic flame is currently on its way around the UK, ahead of the London 2012 Olympics, and of course The Wombat wanted to get involved.

On day 17 of the relay (Monday 4th June 2012), he waited patiently in Derry at the Peace Bridge...

... Watched the cauldron being lit by the day's final torch bearer...

... And even got to sit on the torch itself (unlit, thankfully) with the help of his minder.

The Wombat loves Eurovision!

2012-05-26T20:05:00.001+01:00

The Wombat lurrrrrrrves Eurovision!

And this year he's supporting Jedward.

The Wombat meets the almighty Chris Baty again

2012-05-16T21:03:00.002+01:00

A few years ago, The Wombat attended the Night of Writing Dangerously as part of National Novel Writing Month, where he met its founder Chris Baty. (Details of that night) Chris has been visiting Ireland, and met up with some NaNoWriMo participants...
And of course, The Wombat insisted on being there again.

"Wombat is coming..."

2012-05-11T19:10:00.000+01:00

The Wombat loves watching Game of Thrones on TV. (We think he fancies himself another Tyrion Lannister.) So he was delighted to visit one of the filming locations: Ballintoy Harbour, aka the Iron Islands.
It all looks much less forbidding in the sunshine though!

Wombat with a Cause(way)

2012-05-08T18:04:00.000+01:00

The Wombat has been to the Giant's Causeway before of course. But he enjoyed seeing it again on a much sunnier day!

Jazzing things up a bit in Derry

2012-05-07T19:08:00.000+01:00

The Wombat likes a bit of music, and enjoyed himself very much at the Derry Jazz Festival - so much so that we don't have any usable photos of his night out! But here he is on the walls above Guildhall Square (perched by a cannon), listening to some of the live music from the stage below.

And here he is still on the walls, looking out over Derry's new(ish) Peace Bridge, which curves over the River Foyle.

Bobbing around Cardiff Bay

2012-04-22T19:02:00.000+01:00

The song is true as far as The Wombat is concerned - there's always a welcome for him in the hillside and the vales. He was very happy to pay another visit to Cardiff (read about his previousone) and decided to explore Cardiff Bay.

He thought about taking a boat trip, but he really isn't sure about the water. There were ducks in it. Ducks scare him.

The Wombat watches quite a bit of TV, and he recognised this landmark from watching Doctor Who and especially Torchwood (IMDB link).

Scenes from Doctor Who were filmed here too, but it's better known as the Senedd, the home of the National Assembly for Wales.

He'd fallen into a bin right before the last photo was taken (he does like posing in dangerous places). Here he at risking of falling into the bay, looking over towards the Norwegian church where Roald Dahl was christened.

The dolly with the trolley

2012-01-08T20:27:00.000+00:00

Poor old Molly Malone has been called many things (the dolly with the trolley and the tart with the cart among them). But at least she wasn't being swarmed by the usual big-headed leprechauns on the day The Wombat went to see her.

Just checking for spiders

2011-12-16T20:02:00.000+00:00

The Wombat has heard rumours about how spider plants got their name.
He's just checking this one out to be sure it's not true and that there aren't any giant tarantulas lurking inside.

A day out in Dublin

2011-11-06T18:29:00.000+00:00

Determined to get to know Dublin even better, the Wombat went wandering along the River Liffey. He walked down to see the Jeannie Johnston, a replica of one of the ships which carried Irish immigrants to a new life in America.

Finally, he had a surprise encounter with the new President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, at the Famine Memorial.

The white Wombat

2011-10-25T21:37:00.000+01:00

The Wombat is naturally interested in his relatives around the world, and he was very relieved that a rare white wombat found orphaned in Australia has now been nursed back to health.
(BBC news story)

Brief stop in Belfast

2011-09-26T21:16:00.000+01:00

The Wombat was actually in Belfast to attend TitanCon. He didn't get any photos with the famous people there (maybe next year) but he did get a photo of himself outside Belfast City Hall.

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

2011-09-16T18:25:00.000+01:00

The Wombat is going to be spending quite a lot of time in Dublin for the next year or so (although he hopes to travel to lots of other places too).
Hopefully he won't get lost the way he did last time he visited.

He started his sojourn by going to Phoenix Park, where he was very impressed by the great big obelisk.

He visited Dublin Zoo as well, and although he was disappointed not to see any marsupials like himself during his visit, he did make the acquaintance of a meerkat...

... envied the long legs of the giraffes...

... and decided to keep well away from the big white rhinos.

The Wombat in Brazil

2011-08-28T16:22:00.000+01:00

Oh, how The Wombat was looking forward to visiting Brazil! Cocktails, women in bikinis, beaches and sunshine.

The reality of his visit to São Paulo was a little bit different. He saw some palm trees, but he got stuck in one while checking for coconuts...

And then he somehow ended up in a big bird of paradise plant.

He didn't get to a beach, but he did get to sit on a sun lounger by his hotel pool.

And the views from his hotel were impressive. (The flag proves he was actually in Brazil!)

Plus, he sampled rather a lot of the local food... especially at Fogo de Chão.

Keeping The Wombat entertained

2011-08-21T09:36:00.003+01:00

What does The Wombat do when he's stuck in an airport with ages to wait?

He has a beer.

And then he samples his companion's margarita...

Hopefully he wasn't too drunk to be allowed on to the flight!

Portland Bites (but so does The Wombat)

2011-08-16T20:24:00.000+01:00

The Wombat had a great time at Bite of Oregon festival in Portland. He got to listen to some blues music.

He got to try out some local cucumbers...

And later on, he went to a local bar wearing his festival wristband as a fancy head-dress. Best not to ask, probably.

Taking The Wombat to the ballgame

2011-08-05T20:00:00.005+01:00

While in Seattle, The Wombat went to watch a baseball game at the Safeco field - the Seattle Mariners v the Oakland A's.

He cheered on both teams pretty indiscriminately (after all, what does a Wombat know about baseball?) The Mariners won, anyway!

Edited: I got the away team wrong (originally put the LA Angels). Well, I did say The Wombat knows nothing about baseball...

The Wombat does Seattle

2011-08-03T14:46:00.006+01:00

The Wombat was supposed to be visiting the scenic parts of Seattle. However, all the caffeine he consumed at a genuine Seattle Starbucks addled his little brain a bit.

Which meant that the highlights of his visit included the Giant Shoe Museum at Pike Place Market...

He also found this interesting book at the market.

Eventually, the caffeine wore off, and he fell soundly asleep on this very tasteful bedspread in his hotel.