Hello from London!
You guys know I couldn't resist posting at least once during our vacation, right? I was going to skip it this time, but our hotel in London has free internet access. It was a sign.
Anyway, Cy and I got into London last night from Dublin. Ireland was fantastic. We did a whirlwind tour of the city and the countryside, and we definitely want to go back. The weather has been a bit of a downer with rain showers almost everyday, but at leat it hasn't been pouring. If we wanted a sunny vacation, we should have gone ... somewhere else.
I loved the Irish countryside. Cy adapted quickly to driving a manual on the leftside of the road. The roads are incredibly narrow with stone walls on either side. The locals, even the truck drivers, speed down these roads at 100 kph, and after a while, Cy didn't blink when cars where whizzing by inches from our car. I was a terrified and helpless passenger screaming, "You're very close to the side. Very close!" However, I, too, became used to it. The countryside was beautiful, so lush with lots of sheep. We couldn't resist a small addition to our stuffed animal family.
So, our first day in Dublin, we went to Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells, an incredibly illustrated copy of the gospels. It was funny to be on a college campus tour because I hated them while I was in college. I told Cy to snap some pictures of real college students, but he resisted. We also got our first taste of Irish music that night with some bawdy songs and a rowdy crowd. It's true that the Guinness does taste better here. A lot better. So does the Heinecken, then again I don't think I've ever had a Heinecken on tap in the US.
The next morning we overslept breakfast and ran across town to pick up our rental car. We had a late start on our most ambitious day--driving all the way across Ireland! We were in such a rush that we forgot to buy a road atlas, a mistake that would come back to bite us in the butt. Anyway, we went the wrong way on the highway once but then we were on our way to Western Ireland with a stop at the Rock of Cashel, the site of a castle and then church on a hill.
Oh, Cy is finally ready to hit the British Library! Old maps, here we come! We'll update more soon.
Anyway, Cy and I got into London last night from Dublin. Ireland was fantastic. We did a whirlwind tour of the city and the countryside, and we definitely want to go back. The weather has been a bit of a downer with rain showers almost everyday, but at leat it hasn't been pouring. If we wanted a sunny vacation, we should have gone ... somewhere else.
I loved the Irish countryside. Cy adapted quickly to driving a manual on the leftside of the road. The roads are incredibly narrow with stone walls on either side. The locals, even the truck drivers, speed down these roads at 100 kph, and after a while, Cy didn't blink when cars where whizzing by inches from our car. I was a terrified and helpless passenger screaming, "You're very close to the side. Very close!" However, I, too, became used to it. The countryside was beautiful, so lush with lots of sheep. We couldn't resist a small addition to our stuffed animal family.
So, our first day in Dublin, we went to Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells, an incredibly illustrated copy of the gospels. It was funny to be on a college campus tour because I hated them while I was in college. I told Cy to snap some pictures of real college students, but he resisted. We also got our first taste of Irish music that night with some bawdy songs and a rowdy crowd. It's true that the Guinness does taste better here. A lot better. So does the Heinecken, then again I don't think I've ever had a Heinecken on tap in the US.
The next morning we overslept breakfast and ran across town to pick up our rental car. We had a late start on our most ambitious day--driving all the way across Ireland! We were in such a rush that we forgot to buy a road atlas, a mistake that would come back to bite us in the butt. Anyway, we went the wrong way on the highway once but then we were on our way to Western Ireland with a stop at the Rock of Cashel, the site of a castle and then church on a hill.
Oh, Cy is finally ready to hit the British Library! Old maps, here we come! We'll update more soon.