It's hard to believe that a week ago today we were flying over the Atlantic to get back home. Resuming normality has been much easier than I had anticipated. I was so tired of living out of a suitcase that we were completely unpacked the next day; a record for the Teaff's following a long trip. Seriously, someone should call the record books. What made our welcome home so wonderful (aside the fact from just being back on Texas soil) was that we were surprised to find that Chris and Erica, two of our good friends, had cleaned our house, mowed the yard, washed our sheets, etc. No gift or party could be a more perfect surprise. I called Erica in tears because I could  not believe anyone could be that kind......or crazy. But if you know these two, kind and crazy sum them up fairly well. :)

I guess I should summarize our last week in Ireland. The weather was a bit more fickle than it had the entire time I was there. The kids quickly learned that they would not melt in the rain. A fine lesson to learn if you ask me. Bless their hearts, they were riddled with jet-lag the first few days, and as a result were exhausted during the day and wondered around at night. They adjusted after about two days or so and we were off and running. Can you guess what they were most excited about as they walked the streets of Dublin? The people, the sites? Nope. Pigeons. Yes, my small town kids spent much of their time scaring and/or chasing pigeons. Go figure.

They both wanted to see a castle, so we took them to Malahide Castle in the initial days. They were so excited to take their first train ride, but excitement quickly wears down when you are exhausted and are fighting with your sibling. It was a bit of a trek to the castle once we arrived in Malahide. They perked up a bit when we passed by an awesome playground. We had to tip the scales in our direction so we told them after the castle we could go play. They reluctantly agreed and we headed up the long drive. Robert and I loved the castle. The kids? Well, you give them castles--they wanted castle ruins. So it goes with kids. They had a blast at the playground and it was cool to see them making friends with all kinds of kids, Irish, Chinese, English, etc.

We went to Bray one day and took them to the beach and them the aquarium. I think, that was one of our favorite trips. The beach is full of sea beaten rocks and we had the brilliant idea to take some so that we could display them once we got home. Robert regretted that idea about a hour after lugging rocks in his backpack. Well, we are home now........and those rocks were a brilliant idea. They are beautiful.

Last big trip was to Powerscourt house and gardens. Gorgeous. All six of us went. A quick train ride to Bray and then caught a bus to Powerscourt. The bus driver even let the kids sit in the driver seat and take pictures. The kids favorite part was Tower Valley, where an old watch tower was built and you could walk to the top. I got some great pictures.

I was sad to say goodbye to Dublin, but it is wonderful to be home. After one eight hour plane ride, (the last two of which I was about to loose my mind since the plane was jolted around with turbulence), a delayed connection and two lost bags, not to mention two tired children--I was ready to get home.

I learned a lot. I learned that I am much braver than I had ever given myself credit for. I learned that I can go after what I want and not have to apologize for it. I learned that the world is much more that what is in my little universe. I learned that the people in other corners of the world pay attention to the US and our actions and reactions. The Irish love to ask about Obama. They are laid back and friendly--not too much of a stretch from my Texas roots. It has been a roller coaster ride, both exciting and scary. I have taken a part of Ireland home with me. But as the story goes, there is no place like home.

Since Northern Ireland

I have seriously neglected this blog. But I think everyone that reads this is also on my FB, so there is not much you have missed. My last entry was about Northern Ireland, therefore I am not sure what was in between that and Scotland. Robert and I went to Edinburgh, Scotland for a few days. Oh, and before that (I do remember this, because it was painful), Robert and I decided to head down to the Brazen Head for a few drinks since it was our last night in Dublin before the kids arrived. Bad idea. I am getting old and my body has a hard time metabolizing any alcohol it consumes--especially alcohol of the Irish variety. It would have been fine if Robert didn't pick up all the strays at the pubs. He went to use the toilet (as they say here) and brings back some Irish guy that wants us to join him at his table. After a pint(s) and some  unintelligible (not to be mistaken with intelligent, I am not real eloquent after 12am) conversation, it was time to go home. Unfortunately our subtle exit was not soon enough, I had to let Colum know that there was no way I could be coherent the next day. Low point. But I suppose I had to initiate myself to a slight hangover before I headed home. Well, I did it right.

The next day, we jumped on a pre-sunrise plane to Scotland. Once we boarded the plane it took less than a hour to land in Edinburgh. I love Europe. Edinburgh was extraordinary. It had to be, hands down, the most gorgeous city I have visited thus far. We did some sightseeing the first day, smiling the whole time--even when we got lost trying to find our hotel. We hopped on the bus tour, our first stop being Holyrood Palace, the residence of Mary, Queen of Scots. I was so excited to go in and see it, but my excitement was quickly squelched as the palace was closed for a royal visit. Queen Elizabeth was about to arrive for her annual garden party. Oh well, how many times to I get to see a royal palace up close. We decided to hop back on the bus and go to Edinburgh Castle. Beautiful. Then Discovery Earth. It would have been something we would have normally saved for the kids, so we felt a little incomplete in that tour, but it was fun nonetheless.

Our apartment was right next to Holyrood Park and to my relief, it was full of runners, hikers, and bikers. Something I don't see nearly as much of in Dublin. I was able to get my runs in in the morning. That always keeps me on an even keel and made me love Edinburgh that much more.

I wanted to make sure we got out and saw some of the Scottish county side while we were there. What are two things you have to see while your in Scotland for only three days? Yep, the Highlands and Loch Ness. Phenomenal tour. The Highlands were wonderful and since we got to see the ruins of Urquhart Castle on the lake (or the loch)--it made the long trip that much more worthwhile. Did I mention we got to take a cruise on Loch Ness as well? We didn't spot Nessie, but it was not for lack of trying.

We did some more sightseeing on our final day. We headed up to Carton Hill which is incredible. We heard music coming from Holyrood Palace and we headed that way to see what was going on. We caught the tale end of the Scottish military rehearsing for the Queen's arrival andgot to visit with a nice older Scottish man who was happy to explain to us what we were seeing. He inquired about our heritage and when I told him that I was told I was part Scottish, he said "Aye, you have Scottish eyes". I took it as a compliment, because we left Scotland loving it. 

We flew out of Edinburgh wishing we could divert Carl, Melissa, and the kids' plane there. But since we could not, we were on pins and needles flying back to Dublin, because we were about to be reunited with the kids. I will stop here and let you know how it is going later, but you can probably guess.

Northern Ireland

My internship is winding down now. I have completed all my hours and Colum is not making me work too much although I offer to stay. It's the polite thing to do....:). Today Robert and I did some shopping in preparation of our Scotland trip this Wednesday. I am so excited to see Scotland. We will be there for three days and when we land, the kids and Robert parents should just be going through customs. I am really ready to see the kids.

Yesterday, we went to Northern Ireland. You forget you are stepping into another country until you see all the UK flags flying around. We went to Belfast first. It was a quick stop and we went on to the Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge. The water gives the Caribbean ocean a run for it's money. The rope bridge is 30 meters above the sea and was used by fisherman for over 350 years so that they could access the best places to catch migrating salmon. It was completely gorgeous. The weather was insane. It rained and shined five times that morning. After a while exploring Carrick Island, it was off to Giant's Causeway.

We did not get to see Giant's Causeway as much as I would have wanted. The weather went nuts again and began to rain. It was not the rain that bothered us, it was the wind. It took your breathe away. Combining that wind with the rain made it extremely difficult to climb the slippery rock of the causeway. Robert even slipped once. He has that gene that makes it difficult to stay on your own two feet; our daughter has the same problem. I climbed up some to look for a minute and take a couple of pictures, then we headed to the restaurant for lunch.

The day concluded with a stop in Derry. Derry has been at the forefront of many of the political struggles within Northern Ireland; including the site of Bloody Sunday. I have seen so many pictures of the murals and political statements around the town, it was crazy to see it in person. 

Scotland bound in a couple of days......

Cliffs of Moher Yesterday + Giants Causeway and Derry Tomorrow = Slow Day Today

Today was a bit of a down day for Robert and I. I got up early for my run and for the first time.....I think ever, Robert didn't even know I had left. He was a tired boy. So, we got out just before lunch. I had not been inside St. Patrick's Cathedral, so we decided to head over there today. St. Pat's is more elaborate than Christchruch, although not as big.  The floors were my favorite part of the church. I was on a mission when I arrived, because Jonathan Swift is buried in the church and I wanted to find him. We did as we were about to walk out the doors. I think he has been the most well-known burial site we have seen thus far. St. Audoen's is still my favorite.

We decided to take in lunch somewhere before we headed back to the apartment and what better place than The Brazen Head--the oldest pub in Ireland. It was established in 1198 and was serving alcohol before official licensing law were intact. Robert was the one that enjoyed a beverage there. Since it looked like a fun place to set up camp for an afternoon of drinking, I opted out of a drink--because I would still be there. Even though it is only a block away from us, tomorrow's trip would have been really tough with a hangover. After lunch was a perfect time for a nap. I was desperately needed, we have an early morning.

Like I said, tomorrow Giant's Causeway and Derry in Northern Ireland. The final piece in my four corners of Ireland. It has to be done....

the Cliffs of Moher

I know, I know--I am neglecting my blog lately. It was really a good friend of mine while I was here alone, so it would be hasty to stop blogging now. Robert and I went to the Cliffs of Moher today. It was the one thing on Robert's list of "things to see". I signed us up for a day tour before he arrived and I am so glad that I did. Although it was a tad chilly and the wind was relentless, the cliffs are so worth the obstacles to get there--rain, wind, driving, tiny European buses. Besides, the company I have been taking all my trips with is really good about informing us about the area and stopping at out of the way little places that we would never never known about, let alone stopped at. We drove through Limerick today and if you haven't heard, Limerick has been dubbed "stab city". We drove by a judges home and our guide point out the fact it was riddled with bullet holes. Apparently, he had recently locked some drug dealer up and was subsequently put on a hit list. Crazy. I only thought that happened in the movies/

We got to the cliffs around noon and the sun was shining. Some people go to the cliffs and never actually see them due to fog and rain. We were considerably lucky. Our first stop was paying 2 Euro to climb to the top of O'Brien's watchtower. Literally, you felt like you were on top of the world. We then hiked down the edge of the cliffs. Some of the hike is lined with a stone wall. At the end of that wall is a sign warning people about going further. Those that ignore the sign have to climb over part of that wall to see an unobstructed views of the cliffs. I won't tell you which group we fell into, but you could probably guess. We found a perfect spot and crawled up to the ledge and laid there looking at the Atlantic Ocean from the edge of Europe. We could have still been there now if the bus would have waited on us, but we had other places to see.

We headed down the road through Doolin. Adorable little village by the ocean. It was here that the universe spoke again. I had taken a picture of another watch tower with the ocean on it's left. I was surprised how good the picture turned out due to the fact it was taken through a plate of glass on a moving tour bus. After lunch, Robert and I walked into a art gallery featuring scenes of areas in Ireland. Yes, exact drawing of my exact picture. Score! I was so excited. I had been wanting a reason to take home some type of art work. Robert couldn't even provide a reason for leaving that piece at the gallery.

Next, the Burren. This is an wild and sparsely populated part of Ireland, but you couldn't help loving it.

Long drive home. But we are here. Robert is uploading pictures of our trip as I type this (yes, we are that lame couple that has two lap tops, then proceeds to comment one another on them, while we sit on the same couch). I will get him to tag me, so my FB friends can see. Our Internet connection is a bit sketchy in this apartment, so uploading pictures has been difficult.

Tomorrow a free day. I think we are going to roam the coast on the DART. Sunday is Giant's Causeway and Derry up in Northern Ireland. By Monday, I will have been to four edges of Ireland. We are also off to Scotland in a few days, so with all the trips coming up hopefully I will have some good stories to tell.

Please excuse grammatical and spelling errors, I am running on empty at the moment.