The Emerald Isle
After working through Christmas we set off to Ireland on December 27th for a week plus. We had not been back for 2 years nor on an international flight since March 2020 so it was an adventure alright! We were really lucky that we were able to get the flights on points and fly SAS Plus. It meant we got to skip all the queues at the airport, have breakfast in the lounge and sit in the front row of the plane (which we had to ourselves). Once we arrived in Dublin though it was chaos. We usually rent a car and head straight up to Belfast but the cheapest we could find was over £1500 so there was no way we were paying that. Instead we took the bus which was 90 minutes late!! It was very damp outside and when the bus finally came it looked like for a second we might not make it but praise be we did. The first 3 nights we were spending with the hubby's friend from high school. He has been building a granny flat during the pandemic so we were able to have own space which was nice but we did have to sleep on the floor which was less nice as you can imagine! Oh but his mothers homeade mince pies nearly made up for it ha!
The next day was the best weather of the trip with bright sunshine the whole day. We borrowed our mates car and headed straight to my MIL's nursing home. As I wrote the other day we had been warned she had deteriorated a lot but it was still a shock to see her. But those are 2+ hours we will treasure for the rest of our lives. A few people at the funeral said to us they felt as if Peggy waited for her son to come back before she let go a few weeks later. On the 29th we had to go get our PCR tests done. We had to do a rapid test to get into the South and a PCR for the North. I think all in we spent about £200 tests on tests. Somebody is definitely making money out of this bloody pandemic!! We went to say hello to his sister at the garden centre she has been working recently. I had a slice of banoffee pie the size of my head! That evening she came over with our BIL for dinner. Irish Ski Bunny made the most amazing mushroom risotto and we finished the evening with our friends homemade sloe gin. Our heads were definitely a little fuzzy the next morning. But the dinner itself was wonderful. He even had a chance to go have a 1-1 chat with his sister which was much needed.
On the 30th we headed to the car rental place nearby for a 3 day car rental that was a bit more reasonable thankfully. We were meeting our dear friend from Dublin up on the Antrim Coast to ring in the New Year together. I had not been back to the Antrim Coast for 7 years. Well I mean further along the coast that is. It is utterly stunning and such a special corner of the world. We rented the most wonderful cottage right in the heart of Carnlough. Our first evening we took it easy and had terrible pub food and an early night. New Year's Eve was reported to be the warmest in decades and it was weirdly mild at about 14 degrees!! After a lovely coffee and scone around the corner we set off on a 15K hike. It was pretty challenging at the start and VERY muddy. But making it to the 'Hidden Village' made it all worth it as did the pints of Guinness in front of the fire at the end of it all. After a nap at home we headed around the corner to the Londonderry Arms a historical hotel on the coast for our NYE celebrations. We had booked a table months ago. Besides one other table we were by far the youngest people there! But we could not have had a nicer evening. Friendly staff, live music and rare whisky's made it a special night. It gave me a glimmer of hope that 2022 might just be better. We definitely did not need to share an Imperial Stout when we got in so we were all pretty tired the first day of the year! But we lucked out with some good sunshine later in the day so made our way down to the beach for our plunge into the Irish Sea. It was a bit of a nightmare to get in to the water this time as it was choked with seaweed at the start but once we made our way through that I managed to dive under the water a few times. Our friend also joined us this year! As usual we were buzzing after from the endorphins. We followed up the dip with a wonderful breakfast made by my husband. We all took a nap directly after. Later we made our way out for another hike but much shorter this time but equally as beautiful. Parts of that landscape actually reminded me of South Africa! That evening we had terrible Chinese food and an early evening.
On the 2nd we dropped off our Dublin friend at the bus top and returned our rental car. We were checking into the Europa Hotel for our last 4 nights. My colleague had gotten me a great deal. The hotel is in a fantastic location, has an amazing bed, very outdate rooms and an awful breakfast. Nonetheless it was fun to stay at such a pivotal hotel. At one time it was the most bombed hotel in Europe!! That evening we had pretty good pizza in my favourite area of Belfast and a pint at the beautiful Crown Pub. The next couple of days we took it very easy mooching around town. I got some wonderful dresses in the HOBBS sale. We had an incredible Indian take away one night. Had lunch with our friend RJ (that I had not seen in 9 years!). Oh and I got my haircut!! It was my third time at this salon. Always nice with some pampering. All and all it was just a really nice few days getting to know Belfast better and having some much needed down time. On the 5th we were on the bus again down to Dublin. Our NYE companion joined us at the Gravediggers for dinner and pints. Many believe it is the best pint of Guinness in Ireland and I would be hard pressed to not agree! It was incredibly creamy and the food very good. I can see why Anthony Bourdain rated the pub so highly.
We were in Stockholm for 9 days before we hopped right back on the plane for the funeral. This time the airports were very quiet and we rented a car for peanuts. We had found a really nice flat to rent in the region my MIL grew up in. It was a really nice base for a challenging week. We did a big shop at M&S that night and enjoyed watching Come Dine With Me on British Netflix.
The funeral was on Wednesday the 19th in the mid afternoon. It was going to be about a 12 day wait for Belfast so the service was actually in the South about 90 minutes from us. The sun poured through as we arrived. Peggy had a collie for 6 years before moving into the home that brought her a lot of joy. Lassie moved in with our friends after which was so lucky and he actually was able to bring her to the funeral which was amazing! The service started with my SIL reading a beautiful letter she had written to her Mum. Irish Ski Bunny stood up then and read the most amazing eulogy he had written. We were all tearing up by the end of it. Our nephew read a poem at the end. We finished sitting in the room for awhile listening to a short play list that we had created of some of her favourite music. It was a really lovely way to finish everything. We all headed to a nearby hotel after for a coffee and agreed it could not have gone better. It was a celebration of her life. The day after we slept in before heading out for lunch followed by a visit to the amazing Ulster American Folk Park. We spent just over 2 hours there which was not nearly enough time but it was closing so we did not have much choice! It is incredible when you think how many Irish left during the potato famine. The next day was a very special day as we spent the whole day with Peggy's sister. She is 86 and in top notch health! The woman cycles on a stationary bike 15K a week!! The family only had reconnected with her around the time Peggy got sick so it was really special to have the chance to spend the day with her. She had wonderful old photos to show us. She drove us around to show the village they grew up in and pointing out their childhood home. We visited the family grave. And she served us so much tea we were both bouncing off the walls that evening. That evening our hosts from other trip had us over for dinner. That weekend we stayed nearby our place we had rented. A few friends from Dublin drove up to see us for a coffee which was so kind of them. We have been so incredibly touched by everyone's kindness during this period. Our last night we had dinner at the gastro pub below our rental.
It is weird to think we don't know the next time we will be in Ireland. I am hopeful the hubby can get over for a hiking trip in the autumn for friends.
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The next day was the best weather of the trip with bright sunshine the whole day. We borrowed our mates car and headed straight to my MIL's nursing home. As I wrote the other day we had been warned she had deteriorated a lot but it was still a shock to see her. But those are 2+ hours we will treasure for the rest of our lives. A few people at the funeral said to us they felt as if Peggy waited for her son to come back before she let go a few weeks later. On the 29th we had to go get our PCR tests done. We had to do a rapid test to get into the South and a PCR for the North. I think all in we spent about £200 tests on tests. Somebody is definitely making money out of this bloody pandemic!! We went to say hello to his sister at the garden centre she has been working recently. I had a slice of banoffee pie the size of my head! That evening she came over with our BIL for dinner. Irish Ski Bunny made the most amazing mushroom risotto and we finished the evening with our friends homemade sloe gin. Our heads were definitely a little fuzzy the next morning. But the dinner itself was wonderful. He even had a chance to go have a 1-1 chat with his sister which was much needed.
On the 30th we headed to the car rental place nearby for a 3 day car rental that was a bit more reasonable thankfully. We were meeting our dear friend from Dublin up on the Antrim Coast to ring in the New Year together. I had not been back to the Antrim Coast for 7 years. Well I mean further along the coast that is. It is utterly stunning and such a special corner of the world. We rented the most wonderful cottage right in the heart of Carnlough. Our first evening we took it easy and had terrible pub food and an early night. New Year's Eve was reported to be the warmest in decades and it was weirdly mild at about 14 degrees!! After a lovely coffee and scone around the corner we set off on a 15K hike. It was pretty challenging at the start and VERY muddy. But making it to the 'Hidden Village' made it all worth it as did the pints of Guinness in front of the fire at the end of it all. After a nap at home we headed around the corner to the Londonderry Arms a historical hotel on the coast for our NYE celebrations. We had booked a table months ago. Besides one other table we were by far the youngest people there! But we could not have had a nicer evening. Friendly staff, live music and rare whisky's made it a special night. It gave me a glimmer of hope that 2022 might just be better. We definitely did not need to share an Imperial Stout when we got in so we were all pretty tired the first day of the year! But we lucked out with some good sunshine later in the day so made our way down to the beach for our plunge into the Irish Sea. It was a bit of a nightmare to get in to the water this time as it was choked with seaweed at the start but once we made our way through that I managed to dive under the water a few times. Our friend also joined us this year! As usual we were buzzing after from the endorphins. We followed up the dip with a wonderful breakfast made by my husband. We all took a nap directly after. Later we made our way out for another hike but much shorter this time but equally as beautiful. Parts of that landscape actually reminded me of South Africa! That evening we had terrible Chinese food and an early evening.
On the 2nd we dropped off our Dublin friend at the bus top and returned our rental car. We were checking into the Europa Hotel for our last 4 nights. My colleague had gotten me a great deal. The hotel is in a fantastic location, has an amazing bed, very outdate rooms and an awful breakfast. Nonetheless it was fun to stay at such a pivotal hotel. At one time it was the most bombed hotel in Europe!! That evening we had pretty good pizza in my favourite area of Belfast and a pint at the beautiful Crown Pub. The next couple of days we took it very easy mooching around town. I got some wonderful dresses in the HOBBS sale. We had an incredible Indian take away one night. Had lunch with our friend RJ (that I had not seen in 9 years!). Oh and I got my haircut!! It was my third time at this salon. Always nice with some pampering. All and all it was just a really nice few days getting to know Belfast better and having some much needed down time. On the 5th we were on the bus again down to Dublin. Our NYE companion joined us at the Gravediggers for dinner and pints. Many believe it is the best pint of Guinness in Ireland and I would be hard pressed to not agree! It was incredibly creamy and the food very good. I can see why Anthony Bourdain rated the pub so highly.
We were in Stockholm for 9 days before we hopped right back on the plane for the funeral. This time the airports were very quiet and we rented a car for peanuts. We had found a really nice flat to rent in the region my MIL grew up in. It was a really nice base for a challenging week. We did a big shop at M&S that night and enjoyed watching Come Dine With Me on British Netflix.
The funeral was on Wednesday the 19th in the mid afternoon. It was going to be about a 12 day wait for Belfast so the service was actually in the South about 90 minutes from us. The sun poured through as we arrived. Peggy had a collie for 6 years before moving into the home that brought her a lot of joy. Lassie moved in with our friends after which was so lucky and he actually was able to bring her to the funeral which was amazing! The service started with my SIL reading a beautiful letter she had written to her Mum. Irish Ski Bunny stood up then and read the most amazing eulogy he had written. We were all tearing up by the end of it. Our nephew read a poem at the end. We finished sitting in the room for awhile listening to a short play list that we had created of some of her favourite music. It was a really lovely way to finish everything. We all headed to a nearby hotel after for a coffee and agreed it could not have gone better. It was a celebration of her life. The day after we slept in before heading out for lunch followed by a visit to the amazing Ulster American Folk Park. We spent just over 2 hours there which was not nearly enough time but it was closing so we did not have much choice! It is incredible when you think how many Irish left during the potato famine. The next day was a very special day as we spent the whole day with Peggy's sister. She is 86 and in top notch health! The woman cycles on a stationary bike 15K a week!! The family only had reconnected with her around the time Peggy got sick so it was really special to have the chance to spend the day with her. She had wonderful old photos to show us. She drove us around to show the village they grew up in and pointing out their childhood home. We visited the family grave. And she served us so much tea we were both bouncing off the walls that evening. That evening our hosts from other trip had us over for dinner. That weekend we stayed nearby our place we had rented. A few friends from Dublin drove up to see us for a coffee which was so kind of them. We have been so incredibly touched by everyone's kindness during this period. Our last night we had dinner at the gastro pub below our rental.
It is weird to think we don't know the next time we will be in Ireland. I am hopeful the hubby can get over for a hiking trip in the autumn for friends.
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