In the Land of Leprechauns

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I have written it before but feel I must repeat myself: travel days feel like six days rolled into one. I got up at 5am after a pitiful night’s sleep. Eliza was, once again, in bed with us and between her tossing and my anxiety over sleeping through my alarm I was up about every half hour checking the clock. When 5am rolled around I got dressed and made some tea. I packed the backpacks into the saddle bags on my bike and took out the recycling. Jonathan got up at about 5:30 and showered. We packed up the computer and double checked on passports and documents. We woke the girls at ten to six (Abigail: I am still tired, come back and wake me later). But we dressed them and got them loaded onto the bikes and Jonathan realized that the bike pump was broken and his tire was flat. Uh oh. We persevered and he biked on a flat tire (poor Emma on the back rack!). The good thing about flying Ryanair was that the luggage limitations allowed us to bike to the train station. We got an earlier train than expected (that never happens!) which made our connection at Brussels Zuid even easier. We arrived at Charleroi at 7:58am and caught the bus at 8:05 to the airport. We were unsure of every step of the way but it all worked out seamlessly. Once on the bus we were chatting and came up to the airport. We assumed that the airport was the only stop or that there would be an announcement or mass exodus. But we stopped and a nice woman who had overheard us said, you need to get off here (on the side of the road) to go to the airport and walk across the street. Okay? It was the second smallest airport I have ever been in (the prize going to the Tbilisi international airport in the Republic of Georgia).

A word here about Ryanair. We got our tickets to Ireland for 1 cent each/each way. So, yes, that is 10 cents total. Then you add in taxes etc and it would up at about $190. Still not bad for the five of us. I was very skeptical as I read more about Ryanair’s policies. For example, if you check in at the counter they charge you 2 euros (about 3.5 dollars) EACH. If you check luggage it is about $18 per piece! If you choose just to carry on your luggage they are EXTREMELY strict about size and weight. Still we opted to carry on our luggage (each girl had their little LL Bean backpacks, Jonathan and I shared a small carryon shoulder bag and he had his camera bag) and check in on line the day before we left. When we arrived at the airport I expected chaos or at least some serious scrutiny, yet it was very relaxing. They even had a play area for the kids inside the terminal (if you can call the hallway a terminal). Because we opted to do the on line check in we had priority boarding status which was a plus because it meant we were able to board a little early and get seats together. We walked out to the airplane on the tarmac and climbed up stairs to board (which the kids thought was really cool) and had a wonderful flight to Dublin. As I told Jonathan, it was the best five cents I ever spent!

Once in Dublin we got our car (which cost double the plane tickets once it was all said and done) and got our route mapped out. We headed to Howth a little town outside of Dublin. Jonathan had spent an afternoon here years ago with his friend Justin and we thought it provide the necessary jump start to our vacation in Ireland. It is such a cute little seaside village. We immediately walked out on the jetty toward the lighthouse. The weather could not have been more beautiful; it was downright hot in the sunshine! There were boats moored throughout the harbor, and the girls (and Dad) had fun snapping pictures. We then had some down time at a playground! The kids had a blast and it was the first time that the girls and I were confronted with so much English language. Jonathan had been to England and back to the States but we have been surrounded by foreign language almost everywhere we have been. It was really strange for all of us. We scoped out a great little place for some quality fish and chips for a late lunch. Eliza and Abigail chowed the fish but Emma opted for sausage and chips. After a nice lunch on a bench in the sunshine we walked up to St. Mary’s Abbey. It is a ruined church up on a hill overlooking the harbor and islands. It was really pretty.

We decided at this point to get in the car and start driving. Jonathan had the fun (?) opportunity to handle the driving responsibilities. It was strange and scary at times but as the day wore on he gradually felt a little more comfortable with driving on the wrong side of the road. We drove up the coastal road which was beautiful and peaceful. Eliza eventually fell asleep as we approached Malahide. Another super cute town, this one had flowers spilling from window boxes at every restaurant and storefront. We were planning to see the Malahide Castle and after some trouble parking Jonathan decided to wait in the car with Eliza while the big girls and I walked to the castle. It took a lot longer to walk through the grounds than I thought it would but we finally made it (it was right past the playground) and it was great to see our first Irish Castle. We returned to Jonathan and Emma and Abigail fell asleep as we started driving again. Ahhh, peace and quiet.

We drove through the town of Swords and past the Castle of Swords right in the middle of the town. One thing we can definitely say about Ireland is that everything is really, really well marked. There are signs everywhere from the local castle to B&Bs. We drove through Lusk towards Skerries and our home for the night, The Woodview Farmhouse (www.woodviewfarmhouse.com). We found it without problem (I was leery since the directions were just follow the road to Skerries and you will see signs, no street address or anything). The owners Joe and Mary Clinton were really nice. We have a great suite here, one room with a double bed, one room with three twin beds and our own bathroom. They have all sorts of animals in the yard and the girls had a lot of fun petting the bunnies in particular. Joe recommended that we head to the castle down the street (it seems as though there are castles on every corner here) because it has a great new playground. Of course we don’t need to suggest a playground twice to the girls.

Ardgillan Castle is literally right down the street (less than ½ mile away). We drove and parked and were treated to a magnificent sight of this castle overlooking the ocean. Jonathan explored the castle grounds while I took the girls to the playground. The playground was in an equally awing location was one of the best that we’ve been to, including some of the best in Belgium. Emma’s favorite part was the zip line. We played until the sun started to go down and it got really chilly. We drove into the next seaside village, Skerries. We went to Nealon’s for our first official Guiness of our trip; it didn’t disappoint. At this point it was almost 7pm (8pm to us with the time change) so we went and found the girls some pizza for dinner. I found a grocery store and got some bread and peanut butter and a few other things for lunch tomorrow on the go. After dinner we returned “home” and gave Eliza and Abigail a shower. They are tucked into their beds and Jonathan and I are enjoying tea in our bed while we watch ENGLISH language tv and I write my journal. We have a big day planned for day two in Ireland!

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Photos

The Girls in Howth
This seaside village was amazing. The boats on the water, the lighthouse, and, oh yeah, a playground, made for a great pit stop.

Malahide Castle
(Abigail's photo with Jonathan's camera) The girls and I trekked through some woods to find this not so crumbly castle: our first Irish Castle!

The Ladies at Ardgillan Castle
Rose gardens and the seascape made this an unbelievable setting for a castle, and right down the street from our B&B!

The Playground
Though we are partial to our playground in Leuven the location of this one could not be beat!