Made it to Las Vegas and had about 4 hours to wait in the terminal for our plane. Kids were able to watch the plane come in and the see what was happening to it as it was prepared for our flight. Our kids were pretty impressed that we all had our own little screens that we could choose movies on. The flight was good and no problems.
May 29, 2013
Landed at Heathrow and the fun began. British airways had a wheelchair for Mike and gave him, Natalie and Grandma Buchanan a ride to the next terminal. Tauna, I and the kids walked and took a shuttle. Heathrow is a crazy airport, there are 5 terminals and no order to any of them. 3 of our group managed to sneak past airport security and were not allowed to get on the plane to Dublin. So half went on to Dublin while the other half went back and caught the next flight. We caught a double decker bus to the hotel. Finally got to the hotel around 9:30 that night and was ready for bed. Sorry to admit it but we had McDonalds our first night in Ireland. Mike will deny that if you ask him.
We slept in and then decided to take a bus into Dublin City Centre. We loved Dublin and spent most of our time in the National Museum. We got to see the Bog people, St. Patrick's Shrine and other amazing artifacts....and of course the gift shop. We had dinner in St Stephens Green, a park right in the middle of the city and had our first proper Fish and Chips. It does not get dark until 11:00 pm and light at 4:00 am so we are having a hard time adjusting to the fact that it really is late. Picture to the right is outside the national museum.
This picture is of Grafton Street downtown Dublin.
the one below is of the Liffey river.
The kids at St Stephens Green Feeding pigeons. We loved Dublin. It's an amazing city and the architecture is indescribable. The Irish are very friendly and willing to help. Several people asked us if we needed help and gave us directions. The fellow that sat next to Dad on the bus gave him a personalized tour of the city as we traveled to the city centre.
May 31, 2013
Rented a 9 passenger van today have to get used to driving on the left again. Forgot that once you get on the roads the traffic goes quickly.
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| A small valley north of Galloway |
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| Kids outside the Dunguaire Castle on the west coast of Ireland |
June 1, 2013
We drove south to Cork and Blarney. First we stopped at the Rock of Dumanse and spent about an hour there. This was interesting to see how the castles were put together to protect the main building. |
| All of us in the Castle Ruins |
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| View from the castle to the west. |
We toured the Blarney Castle and it's grounds. Ireland is truly magical. If a fairy flew from behind a tree or we walked through a forest of elves it would not surprise me. We all climbed to the top of the Blarney Castle and kissed the Blarney Stone. Legend says that if you kiss the stone you will be given the gift of eloquence. You climb to the top of the castle and an Irishman sits next to you, explains how to lay on your back and you lean backwards over the edge of the castle and kiss the stone while the Irishman holds your waist.
We toured the fern garden and the poison garden where we got to see marijuana, wolfsbane and mandrakes. We now have lot's of landscaping ideas (ha ha, not with marijuana) but with ferns. We just don't know how to keep it all from drying up in sunny southern utah.
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| Fern Garden |
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| Blarney Castle |
Wow, you guys are jumping into the culture. I can't wait to hear your stories and the kids accents when you return. My family lived in New England for four year, when my kids were young, and had a slight accent and used new words they had learned. It didn't take long to get back to how we talk in the West though. I love seeing all of the sights and reading of your experiences.
ReplyDeleteEveryone looks great! The pictures are so beautiful. Im jealous, but you already know that. It sounds like you're having an adventure already. Have fun and enjoy everyday. We miss you.
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