Part 1 of Ireland.
So Thursday night we've safely seen the kids to Grandma and Poppi, whom I am forever indebted to!!! I ran some errands and picked Tim up from the airport as he was on business in Maryland. Got home and we're packing.. Tim's passport isn't with the other travel docs. I am nearly having a nervous breakdown. Call Grandma, she checks the van, nope. Much searching is done, and just about the time I've decided it HAS to be in the van Tim checks Drews' room.. ta-da. Drew missed Daddy and wanted his picture. WHEW! So at 1:30am we crashed, up at 5:30am the shuttle picked us up at 6:45am. Off we go. LAX wasn't terribly busy so we were all through the screenings, luggage checking, and ready to go with over an hour before our flight. Breakfast in the airport, the food was surprisingly good! Our flight plan was LAX to Philidelphia to Dublin to Shannon. We changed planes in Phili, but not Dublin. In Phili, Tim pulled out our envelope to get itinerary info. and this lady sitting across from us pipes in and says Ireland! Shiela, is now a friend. :o)
I slept most of the flights, really I was only awake for the movie to Dublin, and for lunch on one of the flights. Everyone else was jealous. We arrived in Shannon and waited for 2 other flights to come in, and were off. We stopped at the cliffs of Moher, and the Dormant Portal tomb both of which were amazing. The first picture is Tim and I sitting at the edge of the trail on the Cliffs.
We arrived to our hotel in Galway around 4pm, dinner was at 6pm. Having traveled for 20 hours I wanted a shower!!! Dinner was fun, we got to meet the rest of the tour group and had the pleasant surprise of finding several friends had come that we didn't know were coming.
We toured the Aran Island of Innis Mor, the Dingle Penninsula, Limmerick and Castle Bunratty, Kilkenny,Blarney, Kinsale, Cork, and finally Dublin. I could type pages about each.
Innis Mor is one of 3 islands off the Western coast of Ireland, It is in habited by locals and has been for centuries. The mainstain of the people now is tourism and sheep farming for wool. It is also home to the ruins of the Celtic fort Dun Angaos, my mom made the hike up to the top. Pictures are of the fort, and one of my family, Tim, me, Dad, Mom, Bill jr, and Miranda (my new sis-in-law). That evening we had a yummy dinner and hit the pubs, of course.
