We are slowly wrapping up our "must see" travels for our time in Europe. Scotland and Ireland were our destinations for spring break. We flew (Aer Lingus) from Frankfurt to Dublin late Friday night. Side story---Claire's 2nd grade teacher is of Irish decent. She shared her love of Ireland with Claire who later that year wrote a report about Ireland. Ms. Luckie, her sweet teacher, saved that report and pulls it out every year to show her students. As luck would have it, Ms. Luckie was on our flight to Dublin! It was a great surprise to have her share our arrival to her love.
We stayed at Maldron Hotel near the airport after picking up our rental. Saturday morning we enjoyed breakfast and we were off--navigating the world from the left side of the road and right side of the car. Chris was a tad stressed to say the least, but handled it like a pro! We drove to the other side of Ireland to County Clare where we took in the amazingly beautiful Cliffs of Moher. This stop was a favorite of mine even though the winds were incredibly strong.
We then took a 4 hour detour to Kilarney via Kilkenny and found our hotel there. The following day, our tour guide picked us up at the hotel and we toured the Ring of Kerry. It too was beautiful, rolling hills of green, stone fences on each field to tend the sheep, and blue skies and sunshine. Gorgeous. We stopped for a sheep herding demonstration. It was remarkable. The man hardly spoke above a normal voice and yet, the dogs did exactly as he commanded regardless if they were right next to him or up on the mountain. It was amazing! The kids watched entranced by it all.
We walked to the Troc waterfall, ate lunch (fish and chips) at a nice little pub off of Valentia Island, later saw Moll's Gap, Skellig Ring and Waterville.
Following the tour, we drove to Limerick to spend the night and prepare for our early morning drive to Dublin the next day as our flight to Scotland was at noon.
We flew into Edinburgh via Ryan Air, caught the Airbus to the city, then walked the few blocks to our apartment. It was a great location--just a few steps off the Royal Mile which is a shopping and eating heaven. If you walk to left, you'll walk to Arthur's Seat with magnificent views of the city and if you walk to the right, you'll walk to Edinburgh castle with equally amazing views as it stands above the city itself. We wandered around the Royal Mile, enjoyed our first Scottish meal in a little restaurant. Haggis was tried and surprisingly enjoyed by all! We spent the next days touring the city via HOHO bus and a private tour to the Highlands where we wandered around the grounds of Stirling Castle, hiked up all 246 steps in Sir Wallace Monument, explored Duome Castle where Outlander was filmed and stopped for pictures at Forth's Bridge (UNESCO heritage site). We ate much, learned a lot and enjoyed everything Scotland offered. In fact, Scotland was a favorite of ours.
We left Scotland on Thursday, arriving back in Dublin around 4:00. We quickly got dressed and caught a cab into Dublin so we could attend "Celtic Nights"--a dinner and Irish dance show. The girls were sooo excited. We had amazing seats--right in front of the stage. This excited them even more. It was a great show. The music was fantastic and we learned a few lines. Towards the end of the show, the girls were asked if they wanted to join the dancers on stage. Both girls declined and Gavin was fast asleep. Later Claire was regretting her decision. She wished she had danced.
We spent our last day in Dublin touring via the HOHO and discovering the wonderful Dublin Zoo. It was perhaps the best zoo we had ever seen! They had every animal imaginable in the most natural, large enclosures. It was a great stop and the kids loved every minute of it! The herons were wandering around the tables at lunch, taking hamburgers from people's hands. It was quite the scene, but memorable none the less!
All in all, our trip was one of great family time. Our kids were fantastic. The weather was beautiful and we all enjoyed ourselves. I am so thankful for these memories we make together. I realize our children are young, but I sincerely hope reading through our travels and seeing the pictures of the amazing things we've done together will help them remember the beautiful family we have and our incredibly blessed lives we lead.
We stayed at Maldron Hotel near the airport after picking up our rental. Saturday morning we enjoyed breakfast and we were off--navigating the world from the left side of the road and right side of the car. Chris was a tad stressed to say the least, but handled it like a pro! We drove to the other side of Ireland to County Clare where we took in the amazingly beautiful Cliffs of Moher. This stop was a favorite of mine even though the winds were incredibly strong.
We then took a 4 hour detour to Kilarney via Kilkenny and found our hotel there. The following day, our tour guide picked us up at the hotel and we toured the Ring of Kerry. It too was beautiful, rolling hills of green, stone fences on each field to tend the sheep, and blue skies and sunshine. Gorgeous. We stopped for a sheep herding demonstration. It was remarkable. The man hardly spoke above a normal voice and yet, the dogs did exactly as he commanded regardless if they were right next to him or up on the mountain. It was amazing! The kids watched entranced by it all.
We walked to the Troc waterfall, ate lunch (fish and chips) at a nice little pub off of Valentia Island, later saw Moll's Gap, Skellig Ring and Waterville.
Following the tour, we drove to Limerick to spend the night and prepare for our early morning drive to Dublin the next day as our flight to Scotland was at noon.
We flew into Edinburgh via Ryan Air, caught the Airbus to the city, then walked the few blocks to our apartment. It was a great location--just a few steps off the Royal Mile which is a shopping and eating heaven. If you walk to left, you'll walk to Arthur's Seat with magnificent views of the city and if you walk to the right, you'll walk to Edinburgh castle with equally amazing views as it stands above the city itself. We wandered around the Royal Mile, enjoyed our first Scottish meal in a little restaurant. Haggis was tried and surprisingly enjoyed by all! We spent the next days touring the city via HOHO bus and a private tour to the Highlands where we wandered around the grounds of Stirling Castle, hiked up all 246 steps in Sir Wallace Monument, explored Duome Castle where Outlander was filmed and stopped for pictures at Forth's Bridge (UNESCO heritage site). We ate much, learned a lot and enjoyed everything Scotland offered. In fact, Scotland was a favorite of ours.
We left Scotland on Thursday, arriving back in Dublin around 4:00. We quickly got dressed and caught a cab into Dublin so we could attend "Celtic Nights"--a dinner and Irish dance show. The girls were sooo excited. We had amazing seats--right in front of the stage. This excited them even more. It was a great show. The music was fantastic and we learned a few lines. Towards the end of the show, the girls were asked if they wanted to join the dancers on stage. Both girls declined and Gavin was fast asleep. Later Claire was regretting her decision. She wished she had danced.
We spent our last day in Dublin touring via the HOHO and discovering the wonderful Dublin Zoo. It was perhaps the best zoo we had ever seen! They had every animal imaginable in the most natural, large enclosures. It was a great stop and the kids loved every minute of it! The herons were wandering around the tables at lunch, taking hamburgers from people's hands. It was quite the scene, but memorable none the less!
All in all, our trip was one of great family time. Our kids were fantastic. The weather was beautiful and we all enjoyed ourselves. I am so thankful for these memories we make together. I realize our children are young, but I sincerely hope reading through our travels and seeing the pictures of the amazing things we've done together will help them remember the beautiful family we have and our incredibly blessed lives we lead.
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