Harleys Mom

It's sunny, sunny, and hot. Yahoo! Where's my sunscreen? Can't find the tube I know that I packed. This doesn't bode well for a day in the park, I meet up with Pat at Victoria Station, as she comes in from Sutton on a train. We hope on the tube, and a while later we find ourselves at Kew Garden. Where you get off is a little shopping area, that is very quaint. They even have a Starbucks, which we decide is a must to start off our day, and do some catch up. You walk down a street with some nice looking houses, and then you come up to Kew. Impressive gates. Not cheap here either. I think it was £12. I'm trying not to think about the costs, and just hand the money ... read more

Another early morning, as my flight out is at 10:00, but the rain shower and Irish breakfast almost make up for it. The airport is 30 minutes away by bus, and we are supposed to check in 2 hours before hand. Belfast Airport is everything all the other airports I've been in over here, are not. No stairs to drag your bags up, it's small and clean, and you don't have to walk 5 miles to get to your gate. Definitely didn't need to be here this early. So I did what the flight/gate board said - Relax and Shop. Caught up on the news. The Cutty Sark, dry docked at Greenwich, has burned. They don't know if it's salvageable yet or not. I hope they can save it, as I saw it back in '88, ... read more

Woke up feeling semi-refreshed. Would've been much better without the 2 hour alarm interlude. Noted that my jeans and bra were still rolled up besides my runners, just in case... Stepped into the shower, and I'm really not leaving here now. Rain shower head. Ahhhh. After pampering myself a bit, I head down for breaky. A hot Irish breakfast is included, and Black & White Pudding is once again on the menu. Still not going there! Very windy today, and it's sunny one minute, and rain showers the next. Walked around the main area of town. Belfast city (downtown) is actually quite small. It's a real mix of new and old. Can't say that there is anything distinct about it. Wide streets, and while at first it looks clean, you would be shocked by the ... read more

I'm catching up on this many days later - no Internet in Belfast - but more on that later... 5:00 am is much to early to get up when on holidays. Have to be at the train station (across town for 6:40). Shower is a must. It's bad enough I'm not a morning person, but someone has forgotten to turn up the water pressure (pressure is down during the night, so toilet flushing is an experience as well). There is barely enough water to get me wet. Having trouble getting my hair wet and then getting the shampoo out. Dumping my head under the sink is out of the question (it's 2 faucets tight up against the back wall of the sink), and the toilet bowl isn't an option. We do the best we can, ... read more

I'm here. Not sure how, but I'm actually sitting in an internet cafe, here in Dublin. Crazy morning. Packing took much longer than I thought, as I had to pack only what would fit in 1 bag (that's all they allow on these cheap flights), and leave the rest with the hotel. Then decided I really needed to do laundry. Only one more day of undies, and have run out of socks. The laundrette isn't too far away, so I wheeled my bag down there. Everything went into one washer (at £3 a load, sorting whites & coloureds just didn't seem so important). Missed breaky, so found this cafe that makes breakfast all day. Got an omlette and chips, as there was no way on earth I could've even eaten 1/4 of what they served for ... read more