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Published: September 16th 2012
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This side of the pond has to be one of the most gorgeous and amazing!! We are in one more small Irish village.
We arrived at Heathrow, London and was met by Sara, a very good friend from about 15 years ago. She lived with us for 6 months. She drove us to her mom and Dad;s house in East Grimstead, just south of London. We had a great dinner with them, then the next day Larry, I and Sara did a drive about. Considering neither Larry or I woke up until 12:45PM on that day, it was a short one. Toured a castle, stopped at a great little pub, where you had to duck to get the door, then went to another pub for dinner. the next day we took the train to Hampton court, toured the grounds and gardens, then took a lovely boat ride down the Thames to Richmond. A lovely little village, just what you would expect in the UK. Met up with Ken and Sheila, Sara's mom and dad for dinner at another great pub. The next day we flew off to Dublin.
We were met at the Dublin airport by Margaret Walsh's brother
in law, Kieran, dropped into the suit rental store to check on the wedding clothes, then to Sheila and Kieran's house for a light lunch, a visit and clean up before we went to the yacht club in Howth for drinks. We met up with friends of theirs and had a great dinner out.
Kieran toured us around the area the next day. Drove past Mike's home and Margaret's home in Bray. Really nice to see. Another dinner out, had an early night because the wedding is tomorrow and it will be very busy. Marg's friend Jackie, from Saskatchewan arrived for the wedding so toured with us that day.
The wedding was beautiful. Kat looked amazing and Damien was beaming. The wedding was in a great old church right across from St Stephs Green, a big park downtown Dublin. Between the wedding and the reception, the whole wedding party and guests trekked down Grafton street to the pub. Where else could you stand out on the street and drink a pint but in Ireland. It was very hot for the wedding. Hottest day of the year in Dublin. About 27C
The next day we had the full
Irish breakfast at Sheila and Kieran's. Eggs, tomatoes in the oven, sausages, rashers, blood pudding and white pudding. A real Treat. Black pudding was not going to cross Larry's lips but it has and he is still around to talk about it. We spent the afternoon over at Kat's very good friend Jo and Simons place where we had BBQ. It was an after the wedding get together. There were many, many big heads but that didn't stop them. Back at it.
Monday morning, Kieran dropped us the Dublin airport, Jackie, Larry and I picked up our rental car and we were gone. It was a nightmare the first few hours but it has gotten better. It is a stick shift and of course you drive on the opposite side of the road and shift with your left hand. I feel like everytime Larry shifts we heads off into the weeds. I was laughing to him saying that if we attached a scythe to our wheel we could wack weeds all over Ireland. The roads are exceptionally narrow. Today was our 5th day and I may have only gasped 3 or 4 times. The weeds and small schrubs are
one thing but when a metal or cement post appears thats a whole different story.
On Monday, we saw the new Titanic Museum in Belfast, drove out to Giants causeway and spent the night in Londonderry/Derry depending who you are speaking to. Don't say the word London to some people. Never did figure out how we were supposed to know. Derry is a lovely small walled city. The evening we arrived we walked down the hill to see the murals. They depicted scenes from the uprising with the IRA in 1972. The next morning we walked the top of the walls around the city before heading out to Westport.
We drove the scenic routes right close to the ocean. It is very rugged with huge waves. Met up with Mike and Marg in Westport. Another lovely little town. We stayed right in the middle of town and wandered around for an extra day just to enjoy the spendor.
Yesterday we arrived in Galway and met up a friend Linda Flynn. Linda and David came to live in our basement suite a couple of years ago. They were fresh off the plane from Ireland. Both got jobs in
Canada and I think enjoyed it,spent their year and went back home. Hard to leave childhood friends and family. Linda came to our B&B, picked us up and we went down the road to the pub. Galway is a very busy beautiful town. Lots of college kids around.
Today we drove from Galway to Dingle, where we will spend 2 nights. A good time to relax and remember what all we have seen. Today the hightlight was the Cliffs of Moher. Massive cliffs with raging water below. I guess the Atlantic Oean. We arrived in Dingle about 5PM, met up with Mike and Marg and will join them for dinner. So far Ireland has been much more spectacular then I ever could have imagined.
Diesel is 1.60euro a litre = about 2.00 cad per litre B&B Very nice small hotel (6-8) rooms with ensuite with a full Irish (sausage, bacon, eggs, tomatoes and all the toast you can eat) costs around 70 euros a night a couple.
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Trevor and Paula
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Wistful feeling
My Mum (maiden name Tate) came from good Irish stock so I am half Irish and felt very wistful seeing and hearing about Ireland. Sound like you are both having a ball and as usual making the most of your visit. As we see in Aussie... 'Good onyer' and keep it up! Trevor