May 19, 2013 - Back in Dublin!

Took a train back to Dublin Ireland today, and it turned out to be the most beautiful, warm day yet. Of course, on our last day in Ireland. WTF?? Galway yesterday was COLD!!! It was hard to enjoy the city and the sites. We just ended up going home early and turning in. But our host Marie in Galway was a delight and her home was magificant! We felt right at home. Almost wish we could stay one more day in Dublin to enjoy Ireland when the weather is nice, but we have a catch a ferry at 8:45am to Holyhead, Wales then train to London!! :)) Very...

May 15, 2013 - Official world travelers!

We are in Ireland! I love saying that! LOL! Our flights were ok, a little cramped, but not too bumpy. We were very tired though, so our first day in Ireland was pretty much a wash. Plus, poor Josh had to finish a motion for a big case he is working on. Took him 7 hours! I just ended up sleeping all day. We did go to one pub at about 11pm that was filled with Americans still on American time. Hilarious! :) It is strange being the tourist for a change. Feeling more rested today and Josh finished his work. Now we are off to Cashel!

May 15, 2013 - Dublin

Finally in the green, green Emerald Isle, after a stopover in brown and smoggy Abu Dhabi. I can't believe it's Wednesday evening already, and tomorrow I leave Dublin to drive north. I love Dublin...friendly people, great pubs, with great music of course. And so much interesting history. Trinity college library...the long room and the astonishing book of Kells; you don't have to be religious to appreciate the dedication that created this elaborately decorated version of the 4 gospels from the 7th century, and that it has survived. I have...

May 13, 2013 - Newcastle to Dublin

Thanks to everyone for the Mothers’ Day wishes yesterday. It’s on a different date in April here so the wishes were quite unexpected. I woke up early this morning to bright sunshine & was packed up & on my way before 9:00. When I got outside I discovered there was a very cold wind blowing & all day there have been periods of sun mixed in with some very heavy showers. At one stage driving into Dublin, my car said it was 6°C outside. Fortunately I was in my warm 24°C car. I started off heading for Kells which is about halfway between...

May 11, 2013 - Pubs, green grass and a memorable concert……

This week we took the ferry from Holyhead in Wales to Dublin, drank Guinness with the locals, witnessed the sun shining for 2 days straight and since then have been deluged with rain and wind. But, the highlight of the week? Eric Clapton live in concert in Dublin – Liz spotted a poster the day before and we had tickets, before you could say “Luck of the Irish”. We love Dublin, with its history, vibrancy, quirky side and its social life. The Guinness is not bad either. The first Irish people we talked to on the ferry were a bunch of guys...

May 8, 2013 - It's Time to Go Home

4am, the alarm is ringing and it's raining. It's time to go home and Ireland seems sad to say good-bye to us. Dennis and I have a 7:50am flight from Dublin to London to start a very long day. It has been an amazing two weeks and it is hard to believe it is over. We have seen so much and accomplished so much more than we had ever hoped we could. Of course, we all wanted to find relatives and the old farm lands, but we were always afraid that we wouldn't. Meeting John and Sheila O'Connor is something we will all remember for the rest of our...

May 7, 2013 - Back to Dublin

Again we woke up to another morning of sunshine. Can't believe we have been so lucky. We had a lovely breakfast prepared and served by Laura and Bernard. Laura made great pancakes (more like crepes), Bernard regaled us with stories of his 40 years in the Navy and granddaughter Lucy who announced after tolerating us for a few minutes "I want my grammy". After checking out and packing the car we headed out to the Rock of Cashel, just a few minutes away. We were given a guided tour by Sara, a young lady who was very entertaining and...

May 6, 2013 - It's not too hard to say goodbye, when a glass of wine is waiting to say hello

Today, we jumped out of bed and walked down to Trinity College. I had wanted to see the Library and book of Kells before we left. The library was huge and filled with very old and beautiful books. After the Library, we walked around the down-town district one last time before saying our goodbyes to Ireland and heading for the airport. After a three hour flight we arrived in Rome. We found a bus from the airport and walked the rest of the way to our hotel. The hotel we are staying at is simple but nice. We finished our day off with a dinner...

May 5, 2013 - Finally, a familiar face!

After a much better sleep, I woke rested and ready for the day! I jumped onto a train and headed for a small town called Dun Laoghaire. This was my favorite spot in Ireland, thus far. The town is right on the water and there are sail boats covering the bay. I headed for the park where a lively farmers market was set up. I walked around and looked at the craft booths, sampled: meats, chesses, olives, breads, and talked with the locals. After a short while, I headed back into town so I could catch a bus to the airport. I was super excited to...

May 4, 2013 - Beer and Jail

Last night, I did not sleep well. There was a train outside my window, the room was very hot, and the other girls (not counting my new German friends) were very loud. I talked with the front desk about my concerns and they agreed to move me to a private room when Kayley gets here, at no additional cost. Even though I did not sleep, I decided to make the most of my day and walked across the entire city (don’t be too impressed, the city is fairly small) to the Guinness Storehouse, which is the original Guinness Factory. One thing that I have...

May 3, 2013 - Counting Sheep

Not all of you that read the last entry knocked on wood because it poured today, thanks a lot! Eager to get to Dublin and out of the rain, I jumped onto an early bus from Galway. The ride is just under three hours, so I impatiently counted sheep…literally. Dublin, to my surprise, is very much a city. It is not the small and charming Irish town, I had imagined. Well, there are many charming aspects to the city itself but in the end, Dublin is a city. I checked into my hostel and hit the streets to explore. I am located near the Temple Bar...

Apr 27, 2013 - Saturday

Sadly, we were one down today. Judi wrestled and lost with some gastric ghoul or other nasty adversary overnight and had to spend the day in recovery mode. The rest of us had another pleasant breakfast and started our trails with a mission of mercy to find some staples for Judi, including some beautiful pastries for later when food would be tolerable again. We then set about to St. Stephen's Green for some serious flower glazing and photography. The weather could not have been more perfect. The puffy clouds made for rich, wonderful colors...