Ireland

17th May

Dublin

We woke up at 5am so we could catch the bus to the airport. Carole drove us all the way into Paris where the bus station was. There were lots of shuttle buses and by 6:30 we were on the hour journey to the airport.

At the airport we had to get our ticket stamped as we didn't have an EU passport. We then lined up.

The line didn't move and the people in charge kept on moving more people onto our line in front of us.

Eventually we figured out that they were only letting the next flight through. I was mad! Why did I have to be here 2 hours early when they wouldn't let us through passport control and security till 45 minutes before our flight. I could've gotten up at a more reasonable hour.

Once we got through the very thorough security check it was straight into the line for boarding.

We then stood in the cold for 5 minutes before we were allowed to baord. I said goodbye to Jay as our seats were on opposite sides of the plane.

When we arrived in Dublin we joined the long queue for passport control. They were very efficient but there were a lot of people do it still took a long time.

Once out of the airport we caught a bus to Dublin City. We were starving! It was past 12pm (which was 1pm in France) and we'd only eaten a crepe which Carole had kindly packed.

So it was Subway for lunch. Next we found a place to store our luggage.

After that we wandered around the city.

O'Connell Monument 

Along the River Liffy

Custom House

Famine Memorial 

Jeanie Johnston Tall Ship 

Samuel Beckett Bridge 

Trinity College 

Trinity College 

Bank of Ireland 

Dublin City Hall 

Christ Church Cathedral 

Dublin Castle 

Dublin Castle 

Temple Bar Area

The Spire

Abbey Church

Abbey Church

Then we retrieved our luggage and waited for the bus to Ballybay. The bus driver was getting very frustrated as the traffic was awful and it took half an hour to do what should have taken 10 minutes.

The bus journey was supposed to take two hours but we arrived half an hour late. Our host Leo was waiting to pick us up.

He drove us around town to show us around before we went to his house. Leo and his family are friends with Carole and her family. Due to the Rolling Stones and the Ed Sheeran concerts finding accommodation in Dublin was impossible. We had no idea about this when we booked our flights.

Ballybay

18th May

Today we did very little before deciding that we should go for an hours walk. We were planning to see the wetlands but it took 30 minutes to get to the entrance so we decided to leave it for another day.

After our relaxing morning we went with Eileen to Leslie's Castle in Monaghan. We had afternoon tea at the hotel and we had a lovely chat.

Then we walked to see the castle from the outside. It was so enjoyable that we lost track of time!

Next we did an extremely quick shop at the supermarket. Eileen is a very organised shopper! We got some ingredients to cook the family dinner.

After dinner Jay went with Leo to see the cows on another of the family's farms.

19th May

There was much excitement this morning as 24,000 baby chicks were being delivered to the farm. Jay woke up early so he could go in the barn and see. I watched from outside the barn. When Jay had finished being a chicken farmer he was grinning from ear to ear. The baby chickens were so cute!

Next we were off to Belfast as the youngest daughter had a gaelic football game to play. It was the finals so Leo and Nicole (her older sister) were going to support her.

Jay and I used the opportunity to see Belfast for a couple of hours.

We walked for 45 minutes to reach the city centre and popped into an Information Centre .

On the way to the Crown Bar we saw the Opera House from across the road.

The Crown Bar had a stunning interior. We were glad that the lady at the Information Centre had recommended it.

Next we went to the City Hall. The building was beautiful inside and out.

After that we followed the signs to St Anne's Church. We were disappointed that there was an admission fee to go inside. Time was up so we headed back to where we started.

On the way back we saw the exterior of St Peter's Church and a few murals along the way. Then it was back to Ballybay.

But the day wasn't over yet. Eileen's neice had her first communion and there was a party to celebrate and we'd been invited along with the family.

Everyone was really nice and Jay had a great time playing with all the children in the bouncy castle!

20th May

Jay and I walked to Ballybay's town centre. It took 45 minutes to get there. The first half an hour was without a footpath so we were glad to see one when we got near the town. People drive fast in the country.

After exploring the few blocks of shops we came across a walk around the lake (Lake Lough Major). So we decided to do it.

The walk was very nice except when we took the shorter route that passes through a farm. There were lots of cows and mud and unfortunately I managed to put my foot right in a mushy bit! (I was trying to avoid it failed tremendously). Some of the walk reminded me of the Panmure Basin.

An hour later we'd completed the walk around the lake and we bought some beef burger patties for our lunch.

Another quarter of an hour and we were back at the farmhouse. Lunch was very yummy.

After that we had a very lazy afternoon watching TV.We even watched an informative documentary about NZ!



21st May

It was raining alot today so we stayed in all day. My only achievement was to bake afghan biscuits.

After dinner Jay checked on the chickens again!

22nd May

The weather was much better today so we finally did the walk at the Ballybay Wetland. Eileen gave us a lift there which was great. It was just a 25 minute walk to do and an hour later we were back at the house.

As it was Eileen's birthday we made a cake to surprise her with later.

In the afternoon Eileen was going to the nearby town of Monaghan so we went too.

They actually had an Information Centre and a suggested walking route. So of course we did that!

Market House

County Museum 

Aviemore House 

St Patrick's Church 

Courthouse 

Rossmore Monument 

Peter's Lake (where we had some hot chips!) 

Presbyterian Church 

We bought some ingredients at the supermarket so we could cook dinner and then it was time to go back to Ballybay.

Jay and I cooked chicken curry, roti and raita and then surprised Eileen with a birthday cake.