England & Ireland

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Sorry about the delay on the Travel blogs. There were a few problems with the internet mixed with new classes and a strong helping of procrastination. Anyhoo... Towards the end of the summer break, and actually cutting into the new semester a bit, Erin and I had to go to Ireland for her friend's wedding. We flew from Bangkok to England where we were met by Erin's mom, Leslie. This was the first time I had met her and I was a little nervous. She picked us up at Heathrow and after checking in at our hotel we went out for dinner. We had forgotten how expensive it was to eat and live in the west! Especially in London. The next day Erin, Lesley and I went to meet one of Erin's cousins, Sarah, who has just had a new baby. This visit was follwed by a whirlwind tour of London. We saw about everything famous in London in only three hours! It was the perfect tour for me. No fuss No muss. London is a very beautiful city. Unfortunately, we didn't know that our camera wasn't charged so after one photo of the Tower of London it shut down. Sorry.
After the tour we picked up Erin's Aunt Marian and headed north to Tewkesbury past lots of towns that shouldn't actually be pronouncable but somehow are. We drove through Oxford and a few other places along the way. The countryside was beautiful. In Tewkesbury Erin's mom owns a restaurant that is currently, due to flood damage, being remade into a gift shop/ cafe. The house is just across the street from the Abbey which is really neat to see. By this time my camera was working! After three days in Tewkesbury and meeting lots of relatives, and getting a chance to get to know Erin's mom, we flew out of Birmingham to Belfast where we rented a car and drove to a town in the North called Moville. The drive took us about three hours through some very beautiful countryside. We stayed in a small B & B there in Moville for the wedding. The wedding was very nice but very rushed for us. We arrived the day before and left the day after. On our way back to Belfast to catch the plane back to Birmingham we took a few detours and did some sight seeing. We drove up the coast to Giant's Causeway, stoping along the way if there was anything interesting to see. Giant's causeway is a massive natural rock structue on the coast. The rocks have naturally formed in octagonal columns. It was pretty neat but not as big as we'd been led to believe. After arriving back in Birmingham we stopped at the National Motorcycle museum. I really enjoyed this part. I think Erin did too but she might just be a good sport. We spent one or two more nights in Tewkesbury and then boarded the plane back to Bangkok and from there to Xian. We didn't see everything we wanted to this time because we were a little hurried but next time we will get more pictures of London.

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Photos

Tower of London
My one and only photo of London.

Tewkesbury Abbey
Erin and I in the gateway to the Abbey

Tewkesbury Alley
The mean back streets of Tewkesbury.

Birmingham Aquarium
Erin with the Otter.

Birmingham Aquarium
Me and the fish

Ireland
Point of interest on our way to Giant's Causeway.

Comments

[Mom]

You're showing promise as writer for Cliff Notes!
Joe, so excited to read your posting even if it is a bit abbreviated. Ireland looks lovely. Sure do miss you. Hope to see you both soon. Love, Mom

[Debi Black]

Hi
Hi Joe! Really enjoy reading of your adventures. Kim took me to London for a weekend a couple of years ago. It is really an interesting city. If you go back, be sure to go on the Eye of London. It was one of my favorites. You are right, it is really expensive in London. But, it was once in a lifetime. Looking forward to your next adventure

[Mary Askins]

Ireland trip
Loved seeing your pictures as they bring back memories of when Martha Lou and I were there. If I hadn't been so old when Ed died I would have moved to Ireland. By the way, I am having the family Thanksgiving dinner so why don't you both just hop over here" Love, Aunt Mary