Seriously, I Just Can Not Eat Any More!! - Ireland Day 7
September 18
Uncle!!
I warned Mom early on that the food would be my biggest concern on the trip. I knew it would be plentiful. I didn't comprehend how plentiful it would really be. Cause this is almost painful. I feel like I need to eat a largish breakfast, cause then I won't be hungry until lunch time. That usually works well. Lunch seems to always be four courses. Then dinner is about the same. This is too much food to eat for one meal on one day. We have been eating this way twice a day for six days now. I am looking forward to going home to eat like normal. I also pray that I can zip up my jeans when I get home. I'm about 50% positive I will need to wear a skirt on Tuesday...
Today is our last full day in Ireland. I think we're ready to go home. Ireland is amazing. I really love it. The hardest part is being so cut off from the outside world. This is the blessing and the curse of electronic devices. WiFi was plentiful during the first half of the trip. It was easy to use and I could keep in contact with the world. At €20 per day, I'm not about to spring for WiFi in Dublin. I've done better with being WiFi-less than I thought. But there are certain moments when I'd like to be plugged in. Like this afternoon.
We gathered on the bus again today. The last excursion was Powerscourt Garden. Outside of Dublin, a castle and garden was a lovely way to end our visit to Ireland. Except for one thing...it finally rained on us. It rained on and off all day. Sure, it's been raining on and off this whole time, but we had usually beaten the rain. This time...not so much. So the pictures will be a little soggy. Oh well, we had a good run.
Before we made it to our final destination, we drove through the coastal town of Bray. This was almost my favorite part of the day. As we were driving, the tour guide showed us where the coast was. My first thought, "I want to hang out on the coast.". Happily, the driver stopped in his hometown. We saw Sinead O'Connor's house and Oscar Wilde's family house. Cool. Plus, the seaside town was adorable. And I do love seeing the coastline.
The castle/home was lovely. There were a few stately rooms. Mom and I wandered the gardens for a while. They were a bit soggier than I would normally want to be, but they were still lovely. There were plenty of statues and fountains and flowers. It would be really beautiful in the sunshine.
We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering and doing last minute shopping. Realistically, we didn't do a ton of shopping. We barely blew through the money we brought. We both kind of wanted things, but didn't know what and didn't find much that we were excited about. That was not a bad thing. I'm sure I'll come home and moan about how I wanted the Waterford Crystal Harp (something that would sit quietly in my office on the Travel Shelf) or something else, but really, I don't need anything. I might change my mind in the airport, but who knows.
Our last event was the Hooley Night at the Johnnie Fox's Pub in Dublin. Now, I don't know if it is really in Dublin, because it took us 1.5 hours to get there. I told Mom it felt like we were driving to Schaumburg for the Medieval Times (which if I have had the conversation with you about Medieval Times, you know I believe this is the saddest thing I have ever seen another human being be a part of). I knew it would be super touristy and not in any way authentic. Then again, if we wanted authenticity, we'd have gone to the pub during the Gaelic Games this afternoon.
Dinner was in full swing when we arrived. Completely what I expected. Busses came in from everywhere, bringing everyone from all over the world. Germany, Sweden, France, Taiwan, they were all here with us. That was pretty cool.
I finally got Mom to try some cider. Yes, I might have wussed out. I never tried Guinness. But really, I don't like beer. So I don't think I'm going to like Guinness. So why bother?? I like cider. I ordered the cider (Bulmer's Irish Cider) and ordered one for Mom. I thought she might like it. Turns out, she didn't, but she was a champ about it. Go, Mom!!
First out was the Irish Musicians. I recognized some music, which was fun. The best part was when they did a sing-a-long to "Take Me Home Country Roads.". Really. Folks from around the world know the words to John Denver tunes. It was fun. Then, the Irish Dancers came out and did their thing. It made me want to learn to tap dance. Not Irish dance, but just tap dance. I have wanted to do this for YEARS. I should really look into this one day. Sadly, I don't think the whole surgery thing would work well with the tap lessons. Stupid surgery.
There was only one bad part about the pub dinner. We left around 1030p. This means...I completely missed Downton Abbey. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I am a bit heartbroken about this. Though I won't deny, I might get Dad to do some...research on this program. Maybe I'll be able to see it earlier then I expected (cough, Internet, cough).
Where it took us 1.5 hours to get to the restaurant this evening, it took us 30 minutes to get home. That's not right. But it was good, because I had to go to the bathroom and we had to pack. We're going back home tomorrow. It's time. It's definitely time.
Uncle!!
I warned Mom early on that the food would be my biggest concern on the trip. I knew it would be plentiful. I didn't comprehend how plentiful it would really be. Cause this is almost painful. I feel like I need to eat a largish breakfast, cause then I won't be hungry until lunch time. That usually works well. Lunch seems to always be four courses. Then dinner is about the same. This is too much food to eat for one meal on one day. We have been eating this way twice a day for six days now. I am looking forward to going home to eat like normal. I also pray that I can zip up my jeans when I get home. I'm about 50% positive I will need to wear a skirt on Tuesday...
Today is our last full day in Ireland. I think we're ready to go home. Ireland is amazing. I really love it. The hardest part is being so cut off from the outside world. This is the blessing and the curse of electronic devices. WiFi was plentiful during the first half of the trip. It was easy to use and I could keep in contact with the world. At €20 per day, I'm not about to spring for WiFi in Dublin. I've done better with being WiFi-less than I thought. But there are certain moments when I'd like to be plugged in. Like this afternoon.
We gathered on the bus again today. The last excursion was Powerscourt Garden. Outside of Dublin, a castle and garden was a lovely way to end our visit to Ireland. Except for one thing...it finally rained on us. It rained on and off all day. Sure, it's been raining on and off this whole time, but we had usually beaten the rain. This time...not so much. So the pictures will be a little soggy. Oh well, we had a good run.
Before we made it to our final destination, we drove through the coastal town of Bray. This was almost my favorite part of the day. As we were driving, the tour guide showed us where the coast was. My first thought, "I want to hang out on the coast.". Happily, the driver stopped in his hometown. We saw Sinead O'Connor's house and Oscar Wilde's family house. Cool. Plus, the seaside town was adorable. And I do love seeing the coastline.
The castle/home was lovely. There were a few stately rooms. Mom and I wandered the gardens for a while. They were a bit soggier than I would normally want to be, but they were still lovely. There were plenty of statues and fountains and flowers. It would be really beautiful in the sunshine.
We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering and doing last minute shopping. Realistically, we didn't do a ton of shopping. We barely blew through the money we brought. We both kind of wanted things, but didn't know what and didn't find much that we were excited about. That was not a bad thing. I'm sure I'll come home and moan about how I wanted the Waterford Crystal Harp (something that would sit quietly in my office on the Travel Shelf) or something else, but really, I don't need anything. I might change my mind in the airport, but who knows.
Our last event was the Hooley Night at the Johnnie Fox's Pub in Dublin. Now, I don't know if it is really in Dublin, because it took us 1.5 hours to get there. I told Mom it felt like we were driving to Schaumburg for the Medieval Times (which if I have had the conversation with you about Medieval Times, you know I believe this is the saddest thing I have ever seen another human being be a part of). I knew it would be super touristy and not in any way authentic. Then again, if we wanted authenticity, we'd have gone to the pub during the Gaelic Games this afternoon.
Dinner was in full swing when we arrived. Completely what I expected. Busses came in from everywhere, bringing everyone from all over the world. Germany, Sweden, France, Taiwan, they were all here with us. That was pretty cool.
I finally got Mom to try some cider. Yes, I might have wussed out. I never tried Guinness. But really, I don't like beer. So I don't think I'm going to like Guinness. So why bother?? I like cider. I ordered the cider (Bulmer's Irish Cider) and ordered one for Mom. I thought she might like it. Turns out, she didn't, but she was a champ about it. Go, Mom!!
First out was the Irish Musicians. I recognized some music, which was fun. The best part was when they did a sing-a-long to "Take Me Home Country Roads.". Really. Folks from around the world know the words to John Denver tunes. It was fun. Then, the Irish Dancers came out and did their thing. It made me want to learn to tap dance. Not Irish dance, but just tap dance. I have wanted to do this for YEARS. I should really look into this one day. Sadly, I don't think the whole surgery thing would work well with the tap lessons. Stupid surgery.
There was only one bad part about the pub dinner. We left around 1030p. This means...I completely missed Downton Abbey. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I am a bit heartbroken about this. Though I won't deny, I might get Dad to do some...research on this program. Maybe I'll be able to see it earlier then I expected (cough, Internet, cough).
Where it took us 1.5 hours to get to the restaurant this evening, it took us 30 minutes to get home. That's not right. But it was good, because I had to go to the bathroom and we had to pack. We're going back home tomorrow. It's time. It's definitely time.
Comments
Post a Comment