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 - Family Barbeque

Well, on Sunday we were off to somewhere near CarrickMacross, Ireland for the Cooney annual family barbecue.

 Eoin (Canadian pronunciation is Owen, Own) & Rosemarie usually hold it in the summer but bumped it up for their Canadian visitors. THANKS GUYS!!

Our gracious hosts of the annual barbecue - Eoin & Rosemarie

It was so nice to meet everyone. Here's a photo of most of the brothers and sisters. Now lets see if I can remember who everyone is :)

From top left - Con, Siobhan, Pauline, Terry, Eoin, Bobby, Anne, Deirdre

And their better halves ;)

Michelle, Dimphna, Rose Marie, Paddy

Of course, I brought my fire poi and had a little bit of fun.

Here's Aoife (pronounced E-fa), guess what I introduced her to......GIN!! Bawahahahaha. I swear this girl could have been my sister. Love ya Aoife.

Considering Aoife and I polished off a bottle of gin, the rest of the night is kind of a blur. However I did find this picture on my camera the next day.  Must have been a good night!

That's me and Uncle Terry dancing it up on the picnic table.

 We had a great time, and it was a pleasure to meet everyone. I apologize to those who were there that I didn't mention, but I love you all just as much! Thank you again for the great memories.

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.