Ireland 2009

The last day

Dan'l — Sat, 09 May 2009 07:30:22 +0000

Well, lads and lassies, the days have gone by all to quickly and here we are, ready to embark on our final day. And guess what.. it is once again cool and cloudy. We wouldn't have it any other way.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Sheep

Dan'l — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:34:12 +0000

Hello from Becky. Today was an amazing day. We took the train into Bray where we met up with Andrea. Andrea truly is the one who got me my first real job at DU! She took us on a whirlwind (the actual wind wasn't too bad today by the way) tour of part of Ireland's countryside. We started off at Powerscort in Wicklow. The gardens there are amazing and beautiful! Allison and Liam - Papa found even more leprechaun holes. It is amazing we haven't seen the actual little people that live in them. Maybe after the pubs tonight! We walked around the grounds for awhile and the weather was perfect, blue sky, sunshine and NO wind. We had a cup of hot cocoa with Andrea and talked for awhile about the state that Ireland is currently in. Very interestinng to hear from an insider! After that we were off to see the Wicklow Mountains. The scenery was amazing! Dan found some ruins... ok there were actually a lot of tour groups that found them today and evertday... we didn't want to hurt Dan's feelings... This was in the town of Glendalough and the ruins were that of a Monestary dated back to the 6th century. That is really, really old. While there a brief wind and rain storm came through but we pushed on and insisted Andrea show us the lake she had been talking about. And the view was beautiful! At this point we started to see the sheep. They are all over the hillsides in the country. From here we went to lunch in the little town of Arklow at the Ulster Gardens Cafe. Again another amazing little town. Dan ventured outside his comfort zone and ordered a fish pie. First he had to ask Andrea what it was.... the answer... fish in a pie Dan! He is always good for a laugh. From there we went to her house in a small town in the county of Wexford. So small the name isn't even on our map! There are roughly 421 people in the town. On the way there we saw even more sheep. They are like cats here. Her home and town are very pretty. I got to see her two boys, Diego and Luca. I have not seen Diego since he wass a baby and it was really fun to see him now at the age of 9! We met Luca for the first time, he is an adorable 4 year old. They are very much into soccer but I tried to turn them on a little bit to hockey. Diego is familiar with it but Luca asked his dad how it is played as we were leaving. We had a nice visit at the house with the boys, Andrea and John. The gluten free treats were fabulous! After the visit we headed back out and were off again. The driving on the country roads here is really rather interestinng. I am still not convinced there really is enough room for two cars going opposite directions. And there really wasn't as both cars would swerve off the road... We saw more sheep. We went to a seaside pier at Flannigan's wharf and saw Irish surfers and another beautiful view of the sea. After this stop it was time for Andrea to take us back to Bray but she did make one last quick stop to show us either the oldest, biggest or something "est" tree in Ireland. Sadly the place was already closed. She is going to send a picture. She dropped us off in Bray, we said our good-byes and got back on the train to Dublin. Today was one of the best days yet. I got to catch up with a dear friend and see parts of Ireland we never would have seen with out her. And we saw lots of sheep.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

The Winds of Ireland

Dan'l — Fri, 08 May 2009 06:21:02 +0000

The wind blew so hard last night that the hotel creaked and Becky's says her bed actually moved. So it is a very cold, blustery day out, but we are still headed off to the countryside - well layered, although I doubt that any of the layers come off.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Not so warm after all

Dan'l — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:54:56 +0000

Well, the sun was deceptive. It was partly sunny, but turned out to be very cold and windy...and then raining hard tonight. But we are tough... didn't let the weather deter us. The most impressive thing we saw today was the Kilmainham Gaol (Jail). So much Irish history there. We did't realize the events there were so critical to shaping the Ireland of today. That was the "educational" highlight... as for a purely "fun" highlight" - I will let Jill tell you about that.
Hi, Jill here. Guess what? I am an official Irish whiskey taste tester. I was selected from among a group of 50 visitors to be a taste tester of the famous Jameson's Irish Whiskey. And, yes, I was able to tell the difference between Jameson's and Scotch and Jack Daniels. And this is the most surprising of all... I didn't even insist on mixing any of them with Diet Coke. Of course, that would have made them better. The Jameson's was the best and I even received a certificate.
Well, tomorrow we head out of the city once again and go south to Bray. Hopefully, the weather will finally give us a break. But if not, we will still have a great time. Cheers!

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

here comes the sun

Dan'l — Thu, 07 May 2009 07:42:22 +0000

For the first time the sun is out this mornng. We can see blue sky. So we are headed out once again, today to see such things as the Dublin Zoo, the Gaol, Jamesons and who knows what else. We might have to stop by the Guinness Storehouse again... we think we have free admission. The days have flown by, but we are having a great time. Last night, Dan (Patrick to his friends in Ireland) got a leg cramp at the Auld Dubliner - Jill and Becky thought it was the London knee injury all over again... but it really was only a cramp. Nile (read below to see who Nile is) made sure I was okay. Jill's solution was a Coors Light to ease the muscle... and she is a trained nurse. Amazingly, we see Coors Light on ta here everywhere on tap. Nile says it is the new favorite light beer everywhere in Dublin. So, off we go...

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

There was a lot more to the day than the Auld Dub

Dan'l — Wed, 06 May 2009 22:44:09 +0000

Danny Boy here again. After Becky and I saw the U2 wall, we regrouped with Jill and headed downtown... Trinity College was our first stop to see the Book Of Kells and the Long Room. Becky tried to find the Bursars Office but could not. Then Jill and Becky found a Dollshouse (as they call them here) shop and will be bringing home some Irish minis. Then off to Dublin Castle - very interesting and it was being prepared for some important state dinner tonight. That we were not, for some reason, invited to. Oh, well... we went to Temple Bar instead, which is not only an area of Dublin but also an establishment at which to listen to live cultural music and have light refreshments. (We brought our own pretzels... gluten free.) Tomorrow, more adventures.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

The Auld Dubliner part II

Dan'l — Wed, 06 May 2009 22:30:05 +0000

Becky here... tonight we made our way back to the Auld Dubliner... Jill didn't want to... We (or I) made another grand entrance as I tripped up a step to the second floor. Paddy one was there again and remembered us... We found out his real name is Nile. And he took great care of us. So... another flasback to Monday night, Jill is ready to talk about it. Apparently I am engaged but I have no ring... Among the people we met Monday night was Warren. He was great and bought us many rounds, which was what led to my dislike of the Harp. I made the mistake of smiling at him, I had learned thet Dublin is friendly town... he happens to be a used car salesman from CA. Any ways he stuck with us for hours. I thought he might just show up at the 4th of July but Jill says there was a marriage proposal in there some where. Back to tonight, we hd an awsome time back at the Auld Dubliner with Nile and Collins, the 60 something year old I danced with, he is just 20 years older than Warren... we enjoyed the live music and had a great night.
Allison and Liam.... papa did see a Leprechaun... he just happened to be 6 feet tall and cost one Euro to have a photo with.
We won't be posting photos at this time, we are blogging from the hotel room TV and have a hard enough time with that!
Good night from the pond.... I am turning the blog back over to O'Danny Boy... one song we have not heard once!

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

U2

Dan'l — Wed, 06 May 2009 10:43:35 +0000

Becky here again... This morning Dan and I got an early start and headed out to see where it all started for U2. And we got lost. But we had a great walk along the Grand Canal. We ran across a pair of swans and waited for them to cross the street before following. Drivers waited for the swans but Dan and I were not so lucky. We did make it eventually. Once we figured out we had started off the wrong direction we turned around and headed back towards the Liffey river. We followed the canal the right direction and made our way to the river and to Windmill Road. Once we were pointed in the correct direction again by a nice Irish man who could tell we were lost... we found Windmill Road and the Windmill Studios. It was very cool to see where it all began for U2. The U2 wall is very impressive and spans several blocks. Unfortunatly Dan and I forgot our spray paint and couldn't leave our tag. We stopped in at O'Brien's Ferry pub for a pint before making our way back to Jill. Who is happily reading in the room. Now we are off to Trinity College, Dublin Castle and whatever else we stumble upon! Cheers!

Original post blogged on b2evolution.