Ireland - The Rest of the Days!

This will be my last post about our vacation to Ireland.  I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get it all up here.  I have posted about all the big things we did while we were there but there are still some things we did that haven't been mentioned, like dinner at Terry and Michelle's, the water park, shopping trips, etc but unfortunately I didn't take any pictures. Here are some of the outings that I did get pictures of.

Aoife and I went shopping one day. Well Dan came too, but he took off on his own. I guess he didn't want to spend the whole day looking at clothes. 

In Ireland they have this awesome store called Penney's. It is so great. Super cheap clothes and super cute too. Look what we found there.  Only 3 euros!!

Twins!!



 I snapped this next shot out the window of the car while we were out and about.  I didn't see the pot of gold or a leprechaun..go figure!

One night a few of the adults went out for dinner at a great French restaurant, then we went to O'Neills for a pint of Paul's beer. Unfortunately they were all sold out. While we were there Auntie Dierdre asked the band to play a song for Dan and I for our anniversary.  It was "You say it best when you say nothing at all by Allison Krauss and Union Station.  It was great. We were on the dance floor all by ourselves. :) 

After the pub, Dan and I took off on our own to go a few pubs.  If you ever make it to Dublin you have to check out the Temple Bar.  So great. They had a live band in there that had everyone up on their feet. The place was packed! A must see of Dublin.

Me in front of Temple Bar!

I can't remember the name of this street, but it's the street that Temple Bar is on

Temple Bar at night

Con and Dymphna had us over for dinner one night and Auntie Dymphna had a special treat for the kids.  She had to take them to the park to feed the ducks. Now, I have never seen ducks so eager to be fed in my life. There were tons, and they came from all around the pond to be fed. There were two swans too!! Check it out!

The ducks and swans on their way over to be fed

And of course, one of the things we had to do was take the kids to a pub for lunch.  Kids are allowed in until a certain hour, then it's adults only.  The kids had sausages and chips (fries).

Lastly, I just want to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who made our vacation one we will always remember. Thank you to Auntie Dierdre and Paddy for allowing us invade their home, and making us feel so welcome. Thank you to all of the cousins and aunts and uncles for taking time for us, making us feel like family and taking us to take us to the greatest places in Ireland.   Last of all I want to thank my mother in law, Anne. She is such a wonderful lady, with a heart of gold. Our trip would not have been possible without her. And thank you for reading about it.

~  I can't wait to do it again!!



Ireland - Day 4 - May 10

Well today we were off to the zoo. Lions and tigers and bears oh my! On the way to the zoo we past by St. Peter's Church. Just an ordinary church, says Auntie Deirdre.

After about a 20 minute drive we arrived at the zoo.

It is an absolutely brilliant place. I'm not going to bore you with many pictures of animals, just a few of my favorites.

I'm not sure what these guys were looking at, but it must have been interesting.

Here's a beautiful waterfall inside the zoo.

And here's one of my favorites :)

And around the zoo, there were many signs telling us what not to do.

And at the end of our visit at the zoo, look who we found. Some lost children.

Hope you enjoyed this day!

Ireland - Giant's Causeway - Northern Ireland

Ireland - Monday May 16 - Giant's Causeway


Today we were off to the Giant's Causeway. One of the most amazing places I have ever been to. Granted the weather was not the best, we made the best of it. Check out this website for more information  http://www.giantscausewayireland.com/.


Now, from where we were at Eoin's to the Causeway is only 172 km's. That would take us, what, an hour and a half in Canada. Yeah, not quite the same in Ireland. The roads are some of the most curvy, windy - um - wine-dee, not win-dee. I didn't realize until now that our English can cause some real issues when trying to explain how windy a road is. It's not windy, you won't blow over, they are windy - you might get dizzy like!).

This was a typical road that we took up to the Giant's Causeway. And it is meant for 2 way traffic. When another car comes you kinda drive into the bushes to pass.

 So anyways, their roads are crazy. What would have taken us 1.5 hrs here, TOOK US 4 HOURS. Crazy hey! Thankfully, it wasn't like driving through the Canadian prairies. Everywhere you look is postcard perfect.

We stopped for a wee break just before the Causeway and Eoin took our picture in front of this castle. I can't remember what it's called, but it's literally right on the coast.

When we got to the Causeway, we stopped for a picnic. Rosemarie whipped up a delicious spread inside the camper van. We were inside the camper van because it was pissing rain outside. And that is the technical term for the amount of rain that was coming down. Thank god for raincoats.


Now you have to walk for about 25 minutes before you can see the giant pillars, but again it is so worth it.

Here are a few pictures, sorry they aren't the best as it is a bit hard to get a good shot when it's raining.

I even brought my poi to play with although it was basically just for this picture. Poi in the rain isn't that much fun either.

I'd just like to thank Eoin and Rosemarie for taking us on a tour of Northern Ireland. We would still be trying to find our way if it wasn't for them.

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.