Ireland - Day 5

Wow. I must apologize. I had totally intended to keep you all up to date while we were away, but time went by so fast. I'll try to fill you in now.

Ireland - Day 5 - Skerries & Ardgillan Castle

We were off to Skerries. Another town on the ever so scenic Ireland coastline. This also happens to be Anne's favorite place on Earth. I can see why. Did I mention that this was the first time Dan drove!! I must say he did great!

While in Skerries we stopped for fish and chips, and a play at the park.

And the weather this day was....

Thanks to Auntie Deirdre for keeping us up to date!

After Skerries we were off to Ardgillan Castle. 

So you park in a car park and it's a little walk before you can actually see the castle. But what a sight it is!!

That's the sea in the background and a huge front lawn. Kinda reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. I was waiting for the Queen of Hearts to make an appearance.

And one of the towers! Such an amazing place.

I hope you enjoyed today! Let me know what you think :)

Ireland - Day 2 - May 8th

Well today was another amazing day! After sleeping in to half ten, we were off to Howth (Pronounced Hout).  A harbour town on the Irish sea. It is absolutely brilliant!

Walking along the pier where the boats come in, we spotted four seals. Did you know in Spanish seals are called focas!! "Look at the little focas ma!"

Around the other side of the pier was a park for the kids to play in. They had an absolutely grand time. They even have different kinds of playground equipment for the kids.

After the park was time for lunch. Now you can't come to the harbour and not eat fish and chips caught fresh from the sea. Soo good.

After lunch we drove up to the top of the hill and went for a little hike up the cliffs to look down on the harbour.  Tell me again why I live in Winnipeg??

After Howth we went to Malahide Castle. Talk about breathtaking. It is amazing to see something so old and full of so much history. The oldest parts of the castle date back to the 12th century. 

James and Justyn were out kayaking with Aoife today, and it sounds like they had a load of fun.  We'll be coming back to Malahide to do the tour when the boys are with us.

I hope you enjoyed Day 2 as much as I did :)

Ireland - Day 1

We set out on our journey to Dublin, Ireland at noon on Friday May 6th.  On flight from Winnipeg to Chicago there were no snags at all. Everything went as planned. The kids were fantastic on the airplane, there wasn't even one...are we there yet.

After landing in Chicago, we had a 4 1/2 layover to grab a bite to eat, stretch our legs, and wait.

I was so scared after seeing the map of Chicago airport. 5 different terminals and a train that connects Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 4 to Terminal 5.  And yes, we had to take the train. 

Not a scary experience at all. The kids had a blast!

Once we arrived at Terminal 5 we grabbed a bite to eat in the food court then checked in for our Aer Lingus flight.

Miss Em and Piston Pete in Chicago Airport waiting for our flight.

Me and Miss Em waiting patiently for Gramma Thompson to arrive

You would think that the only purpose of Emily's trip was to see her Gramma Thompson. About every 5 minutes she would ask "When is Gramma Thompson gonna be here?"

Well when Gramma and Uncle James finally got to Chicago she couldn't be happier.

Shortly after, we got to board the Air Bus to Ireland. Miss Em got to sit by her Gramma and I didn't even hear a peep out of her the entire trip. The whole 7 hours.

A 7 hour flight with a 3 year old who doesn't want to sleep and a mom who does, not very fun.  I did manage to catch a few hours, thank goodness.

After landing in Dublin we had to stand in line to clear customs, which took about 45 minutes or so. And then we got to meet the family. Auntie Dierdre, Uncle Paddy and Aoife were at the airport to meet us and take us home.

This is where we will be staying while we're here. And a picture of the back garden. 

Here's a picture of the kids playing bubbles.

The day we were flying was also Uncle James' birthday. After a delicious supper, a bunch of the family came over for cake! The best cake ever!!

Now, that is not everything that happened, but I can't type it all. Hopefully when I get home I can add to my posts and fill in all the details.