It was going to be a long day to get from England to where we were staying in Ireland so we left our Airbnb early and glided down to the airport. We checked in and attempted to progress through security…Mum and R failed the person scan but once patted down and swabbed were fine. BK and C’s carry on bags failed. BK had coffee in his bag but got to keep it, C had a pocket knife in his bag, he didn’t get to keep it! Me and my bag, were not a security risk! It was a very short flight, barely time to get to our cruising altitude before we started our descent. We picked up our rental car and headed to Northern Ireland (the bit still owned by the UK) to a cute seaside village called Castlerock (apparently it is named after a rock that looks like a castle which you can’t see anymore because it’s covered with sand.)

The next eight days in Northern Ireland were a mix of rest and sight seeing. We saw Giant’s Causeway, which is a bunch of pentagon and hexagon shaped rocks all linked together. I loved the rugged West Coast of NZ look. BK visited a whiskey distillery called Bushmills. We had a day in Belfast where C and I went to the Titanic museum. It had lots of Belfast history then it moved on to getting the ship built and launched. Not so much on the actual sinking. Then there was a bit about the aftermath of the sinking and a lot about all the technology used to find the wreck. It was very interesting. I got C a kids audio guide and he proudly told me that when they were building the ship the workers were only allowed seven minutes per day to use the toilet. He also told me that there was only two toilets to serve the 700+ third class passengers onboard! Yucky! The museum was built right beside where the ship had been built. Outside they have indicated on the ground how big the ship was and where the funnels and lifeboats were placed. We walked the whole length, it was huge! There was a cruise ship in port and I pondered how big it would have been compared to that one. While we were doing that Mum bought BK a private tour of Belfast’s history for his birthday (which is in October) so they went on that with R. The day worked out well with everyone seeing what they wanted too.

On another one of the days in Northern Ireland, BK, Mum and Connor took the train to Londonderry. They managed to unknowingly choose the busiest day of the year with 147 marching bands (which was about 10,000 people!) marching down the street celebrating the end of the siege 400 years ago. After a day of rest Mum and I took the kids to the next town over from where we were staying, Coleraine. I’m not normally a person who likes browsing shops but I didn’t mind that day. Also we saw a busker who had a sign saying he was traveling the world and had been to 57 countries so when he stopped for a break I went up and chatted. He’d been on the road for four years including being in New Zealand for three months and had busked outside Countdown in Tauranga! What a small world. Other than that we went for lots of walks and saw the Mussenden Temple (which actually was a library, not anything like a temple!)

Then we moved south into Ireland, and back to the Euro currency. We stayed on a working farm about an hour east of Dublin for three nights. C enjoyed going to the milking shed each morning to help with the last few cows. We only had one day in Dublin itself so we headed in early. Mum, C and I went to see the Book of Kells (Google it) and the old library at Trinity College. The book was a bit of a let down. It could have been displayed better. But the old library! It was amazing, so beautiful. It definitely didn’t disappoint. Then it was a trip round on a Hop On Hop Off bus. We didn’t hop off until we got all the way around the circuit. We met up with BK and swapped him my bus ticket for R. He had wanted to see the Kilmainham Gaol (old jail) but all the tours were full. So around the circuit he went. We met up again later and he took both kids to the Natural History Museum, otherwise known to locals as ‘The Dead Zoo’ and Mum and I did our own walking tour. A full and expensive day but a good day.

After a rest day we moved a few hours further south to a cute riverside town for a week. There are lots of things to do in the south so we set to it. The first day we went into Limerick and drove around. It was very quiet because there was a Hurling final on (their national sport) and Limerick was one of the teams playing. The boys watched it in the pub when we got back and I’m pleased to report, Limerick won! Youtube it. It’s an interesting game!

Next up was a drive 1.5 hours south to Blarney Castle. My Nana went there when I was about 9 years old and I’ve wanted to go ever since. So I did. There’s a stone to kiss at the top, this involves you sitting, leaning backwards over the top edge and kissing it, C went first – he did great, germ-a-phobe me went next. I lent back but kissed my hand and patted the stone as there was no way I was putting my lips near that stone thousands of people kiss a day. Gross. We then had a drive through Cork and out to a cute seaside village called Cobh. This was the last port of call the Titanic set off from before sinking.

The following day we drove another 1.5 hours in the other direction out to one of the most famous landmarks in Ireland, the Cliffs of Moher. After doing the trick of parking outside and walking in for free, it was good to see them. Though I can’t say they were a top attraction for me. There were lots and lots of tourists so we didn’t stay long. Then we headed up to Galway. We saw a lady doing Irish dancing which the kids enjoyed watching and we did a walking tour.

We carried on the touristing the next day with a 35 minute drive to Bunratty Castle and folk park. We turned up at opening time so almost had the whole place to ourselves for a while. It was a  great castle to explore with lots of antique furniture. The folk park is similar to a historic park, there were cottages, shops, a church and a school. The forecast had been for fine weather but it was wrong  so we wandered around in the misty light rain. That afternoon was spent relaxing and doing some school work.

After a couple of days of rest it was time to go back to Dublin to drop the car off and head to our next destination. We had a few hours to spare before our flight that evening so Mum bought me tickets to Riverdance as my birthday present (in November) and BK and the kids stayed at the airport with the luggage. It was a fantastic show, we were glad we went and saw it.

Budget – $753 under

Which is good going because the southern bit of the island or Ireland is really expensive!!!!!

 

Till next time,

Claire