On to Ireland.

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Coral: What a whirlwind trip we've been having. I think it's... 9 days in now but it seems like we've done enough for a whole month. Well from Liverpool we got on a ferry to the Isle of Man where my great grandpa and all of his family were from. It was a very windy day and the sea was so choppy I got very sea sick. When we were back on dry land we really enjoyed seeing all the family history there. We went to the Laxey mines where my great great grandpa worked and died. The man who works there handing out hard hats for going into the mine had a newspaper article from the centenial of the mine disaster that listed my great great grandpa James Henrey Corkill as one of the workers killed in the disaster. We saw the Laxey Wheel, Manx Cats, Laughton Sheep, Rushen and Peel Castles, the Manx Museum and the House of Mannana which is a museum which recreates life on the island during Manx and Viking times. The countryside is lovely there and the views of the ocean were simply stunning. Mom couldn't believe the tiny roads the buses were going down, over steep cliffs and around sharps turns overlooking the ocean.

Next we got on a small plane for Dublin Ireland. What a fast flight! Seat belt sign between ascent and descent was only off for about 5 minutes. Dublin is a great city. The first night we just came to our hostel the Avalon Inn which is a destination for many young tourists and is constantly buzzing with people. We went for dinner in the Temple Bar area where we saw street performers and large croweds in all the bars and retaurants. We ended up having dinner in a really nice Japanese restaurent, I think it was called Yamamori's. It had amazing food which was distinctively different from the stuff we get at home. Today we did another crazy tour around the city which luckily turned out to be not so crazy as we managed to get back for 6 and actually eat some lunch in between. We started at Trinity College where we saw the Book of Kells which is amazing but smaller than I thought it would be because all the pictures you see look so detailed you think the page must be huge to fit it all in. Trinity College also had an amazing old library which houses other historical documents and artifacts. Next we went to the Museum of History and Archeology which has a huge collection of celtic pieces from all different eras. Unfortunatley you couldn't take pictures in the college or the museum. Next we went to the Guinness Factory and took the tour. The best part was of course the pint of Guinness at the end in their bar on the 7th floor which looks out over the city on all sides.

Tomorrow we're picking up a car and mom gets to drive again. My feet will be happy for the break but its a bit crazy driving here, moms still getting used to the small roads and round abouts. We're heading out to Newgrange in the morning then heading south. We've decided to take it a little easier from now on, we'll see how that goes. I'll see if I can't get mom to do an entry later with some better details. Talk to you all again soon.

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Comments

[Liam]

(whimper)
I don't know how i will stand another three weeks...And on top of it i wish i was with you so bad. (whimper) miss you both, but of course coral more. Hope you two have more fun in southern Irland

[Lesley]

On To Ireland
You two are having WAY too much fun...YEAH!!!....hmmm...is Ireland ready for you? Two crazy canucks...I love reading your comments...it's almost as much fun as being there with you...so much detail...and you seem to be fitting EVERYTHING in. Everytime I read your updates I sit here laughing to myself. What's the weather been like? Who have you met along the way? Have kissed the Blarney stone (is there such a thing?) It sounds like your planning is paying off and you are seeing all the things/places you wanted to see. I can't wait to look at the pictures. You're half way there...hard to believe you've been gone for two weeks now. I'm looking forward to the next installment. Cheerio!