After a good night’s sleep in Westport, and a hearty Irish breakfast, minus the black and white pudding (been there, tried that) we managed to lose KB and Ryan on the first turn out of our B and B! In hindsight, we should have told them which way we would be turning, but as Kristelle waited at the top of the hill, we made our way to the bottom, realised our mistake, and backtracked, only to find they had already left. We did another quick sweep back into town, but gave up, and decided to head to Galway and meet there…at least that was the plan! We arrived in Galway at midday and commenced the search for the tourist information center - hopefully to meet up with KB and Ryan and to book the nights accommodation ... read more

Today was the start of a beautiful travelling relationship. Michelle and me winding through the Irish country side with Kristelle and Ryan in hot pursuit. Well that’s how it started anyway. We quickly realised that our car was a bit sluggish and KB and Ry’s had no worries keeping up. We headed out of Belfast after a quick goodbye to the old fella (thanks for the lift Al!) - destination Londonderry. First up was a standard pit stop at a Castle on the Antrim coast at Carrickfergus. The weather was a bit rough so we decided to drive on - hoping that our next stop would be a bit drier. Unfortunately the weather didn’t clear up and we soon arrived at the Carrack-a-rede rope bridge. This must stop of the Irish tour is where, historically, a ... read more

Seeing the coastline was the plan today, so after another lazy sleep in (you can’t avoid them here) we set out towards Donaghadee. Mum and dad always sing a song about ‘Kristelle Leigh from Donaghadee, did a pee under the tree, oh goodness me.’ Nice! I think I have one too, but unfortunately I can’t remember it, and nor can Ryan. Oh, yes he can…’Michelle Brown from County Down, went to town with her pants hanging down, did a fart behind a cart, and blew the bloody thing apart.’ Thanks mum - she yelled it out at the top of her lungs - knock yourself out! Anyway, back to the scenic drive. We stopped in at the famous Cockle Row houses, beside the sea in Groomsport. Dad used to come here as a kid for summer ... read more

After several jam-packed days, it was decided that Thursday would be ‘lazy day’. We all felt like doing different things, so after a sleep in, and no rushing about to get ready, mum and I headed off for a spot of shopping at Bloomfield’s. Dad and Izzy went for a bike ride around the Bangor coastline and Kb and Ryan hit the shops in Bangor. It was great to have a day of doing whatever we liked. That evening, Margaret and Dave came around for some home-cooked spag bol, and a few drinks. It was a really interesting evening, as I had a lot of questions from the day before, about Ireland’s history. The oldies were great at filling in all the blanks, from King Billy to the current day situation. Ireland has a very torrid ... read more

I woke feeling great this morning…but would have been the only one. The rest of the crew were feeling a little sorry for themselves, and were at different stages of ‘hungoverness’. Mum was definitely the worst, and had spent the night on the dunny, ‘wanting to die.’ I don’t think she’ll be having any red wine for a wee while J We had a pretty busy agenda today, the first activity being the hop-on hop-off bus around Belfast. This was a great idea for everyone, including dad, who grew up here for the first 18 years of his life. We all grabbed a spot up the top and cruised around the city. There were two things that stood out in my mind - the first was the Belfast is a lot smaller than I had imagined. ... read more

We had a full schedule on our 2nd day in Ireland, that started with the Ulster Folk Museum. This place is absolutely FULL of old planes, trains and automobiles. We started in the train section, which we had visited as kids. The trains have arrived here from all over Ireland, and vary in size, from tiny guiness carrying carts to massive steam engines. Kids are allowed to clamber all over the trains, and us big kids did as well. Just as we were heading into the automobile section, our Unlce David, and Aunty Jill showed up, with their friendly grandson, Fraser. It was fabulous to see our relies again!! David hasn't changed much...and still loves having a laugh and pulling your leg. We managed to squeeze in the three levels of machines, before heading into the ... read more