Blogs from County Dublin, Ireland, Europe - page 10

Irish Proverb: What fills the mind, fills the heart! Our lesson today: One can anticipate the road ahead, by your taxi driver! Oh! Aemmon, how you provided us all a window into the next two Dublin days! We won't forget you, our friend! hotel: perfect location, just on the edge of Temple Bar region, 5min in any directions to the magic of Dublin. Beautiful luxury accommodations at the Brooks Hotel & a grand walk around the surrounding blocks looking for restaurant: Cafe InSane! "Can you direct us to Cafe InSane, please? Aemmon suggested it for dinner!" and with a little pronunciation correction, we were treated to an amazing dinner at http://cafeenseine.ie/ ! ... read more

The Big Day is Here. Monday 26th September - Adelaide to Dublin - lets get this show on the road. We woke up to SYSTEM FAILURE SYDNEY AIRPORT - nah we will be fine, we are leaving from Melbourne for the overseas leg. Might be a little delayed but she'll be right. Off we go to the Airport, super early, super organised. Drop the hire car off then over to the terminal to check in. Because Etihad don't have a counter at Adelaide, we go to the VIrgin Service Desk for info. Ask the lady where we check in and get asked, Are you the Cotters? Well yes we are? Straight away we know there is more to come. Lovely Virgin lady proceeds to tell us that due to the Sydney problem our flight has been ... read more

So, jetzt kommt die letzte Etappe. Wir verlassen die wilde Westküste und gehen auf Burgen- und Kloster-Tour in Richtung Dublin. Bei einem Zwischenstopp in Cahir schauen wir uns das hervorragend erhaltene Cahir Castle an. Dann geht es gleich weiter zum Rock of Cashel. Die Ruinen des Schlosses mit Kathedrale sind eindrucksvoll auf einem Hügel gelegen, und der weite Blick von dort ins grüne Umland und das alte Kloster am Fuße des Hügels ist toll. Natürlich wieder ohne Sonne, immer wieder mit Regen, aber trotzdem schön. Für den nächsten Tag ist mal wieder trockenes Wetter angesagt. Wir möchten uns daher erst Glendalough, eine weitere Klosterruine, anschauen und von dort aus eine 13 km lange Wanderung auf den Camaderry machen. Glendalough ist Plichtprogramm für jeden Irland-Reisenden, aber wir haben Glück, und es ist gerade nicht so überlaufen. Die ... read more

Day 15. Dublin. This was our last day and whilst not the most scenic was definitely tough. Setting off from Woodenbridge in the sun was quite good, although when we hit the shade the breeze was cool. We climbed steadily to Rathdrum and up through the town eventually arriving in Laragh where we had a drink and snack to keep up our strength for the climb ahead. Above Laragh there is a spectacular waterfall just before you leave the trees and enter the exposed part of the Wicklow Mountain. We met a nice Belgian lady who took our photograph and then teased off again. The wind was in our face and was quite strong and cold. An extra layer was required to keep warm and I wished I had put on my leg warmers. The route ... read more

It was nearing 3pm in the afternoon (31 August) when we arrived in Dublin airport to be greeted by grandma and grandpa. What a surprise to see them there. It was fun to get hugs and a pinch on my cheek. They say that I'm getting bigger. Even bigger than when they met me in Geneva. Before we reached the baggage collection area we already had an Irish welcome with a mother venturing: "He cleared up" ... referring to the fact that I had been crying in the plane but was then happy and flailing my arms!!! Twenty minutes of talk (rain, children, work / holidays and wordplay) later and with bags collected, we felt as though we had started our discovery of Ireland. Then our mini-bus driver to the hire car pick-up added a few ... read more