Donegal - Galway - Dublin

Ok, so before this gets boring I'll tell the long story short (yes, yes, I can hear the sigh of relief already!).

We decided to go on a little road trip of Ireland, and see as much as we could in four days. Now, if we would have had an extra couple of days, we would have been able to go down to Clare, Kerry & Cork area and see that beautiful part of the world, but we had four days, so had to make the best of it!

We hit the road early in the morning heading West... I had a little detour I wanted to make over in Derrylaconnell, and after that, and while enjoying the beautiful scenery of West Donegal we headed south towards Galway!

Some people have commented that doing a quick road trip like this isn't good, because you don't get to spend enough time anywhere... but I would have to say that it's a good way to see a lot of the country, and to take a broad view of Ireland. I would agree that you don't get to see much in detail, but that's the sacrifice to be made!

We did make a little stop at the ruins of Claregalway Abbey, which I thought were just amazing! It was a beautiful clear blue sky, and we just stumbled upon this abbey!

We reached Galway mid afternoon and had gorgeous weather, so took a walk around the Spanish Arch and the bay, and up into the shopping streets! I really liked Galway, there was something magnetic about it!

That evening we visited the little town of Claddagh, where I had expected to see some mention of Richard Joyce, and the origins of the Claddagh ring and legend. However, there was nothing. The little fishing of Claddagh had been completely torn down, and all that now remains is the name and the legend... I still really enjoyed walking through it, and as we got to the bay at Claddagh we were greeted with a beautiful night sky.We had dinner in a lovely local pub and met my cousin and her fiance for a few drinks. We were hoping to catch some live Trad music, but we had arrived in between sessions, and with all the driving planned the next day, thought it was best to not stay out partying into the wee hours.

The next morning we took a walk again, and saw some sights we had wanted to look at again from the afternoon before, then late morning jumped into the car and headed for Dublin!

By now Cory was a pro at driving on the left, so after driving about half way while he slept it was my turn to chill in the passenger seat & catch 40 winks... thing I know we're at the Dublin toll road!!!

Dublin was great! We were again surprised by the weather! The sky was blue and the air was warm... it was perfect! So, we grabbed lunch and hit Temple Bar!

We saw the Guinness Storehouse the next morning and the Old Jamesons Distillery in the afternoon... we hadn't really planned to make our road trip a hop-on-hop-off brewery trip, but we were both interested, and thought 'feck it'! We got some tour bus passes and saw the city that way... It was nice to just be able to stroll the streets of Dublin, taking in the history and culture... the buildings were amazing too! Oh, and we managed to pop in and see my brother too for a few minutes. He was working at St. Pats Cathedral one of the days, so we stopped by and annoyed him for a bit... it was good to see him!

We were also in Dublin for the US Presidential Election results... so we chilled out watching the news channel, and the next day everyone was asking Cory what he thought of the news etc etc! Everyone seemed impressed to meet a 'real live American' person on the day of the results!

The next day we did a little more sightseeing, and then mid-afternoon hit the road again for Donegal :)(But we did have to make a stop in Derry for dinner, neither of us could wait any longer, and we were both craving fajitas!)

Ireland...

So, after Amsterdam we came back to Ireland and were spending the whole week here before toodling off to London... we had a list as long as my arm of things to do, so there was no time for being idle...

After spending Halloween in Culdaff and waking up a little later than planned, off we head on the Causeway coastal route! Bushmills were offering tours til 2.30pm, and we really wanted to do that, so we had lunch and hit the road! Bushmills was great, I loved the whole experience, and am SO glad we got to do the tour and the tasting. The Old Bushmills Distillery is the oldest distillery in Ireland, and was officially licensed in 1608, although it is believed that troops of King Henry II drank Bushmills some 400 years before.
I liked that we got to tour the fully functional distillery and see (and smell that sweeeeet smell) the product in the making!

As we left Bushmills the daylight was fading, and we had really wanted to see the Giants Causeway, so we hot-footed it over there to make the most of the light left in the day!

I was amazed at the Causeway!
It was completely awe inspiring to be standing at the tip of the causeway, contemplating life and thinking about all those who have stood in that same spot before you...

It was also a beautiful evening, the sky was clear and becoming pink, and the ocean stretched as far as the eye could see... I kept thinking about the legend of Finn McCool... and while I know it's not true, I love the legend that says he built the causeway as a walkway to bring his one true love safely to him from across the sea!

Amsterdam

Cory came over for a visit, and we decided that we'd try and cram as much into the two weeks as possible... so, we start with a couple days in Amsterdam!

It was fantastic!

I am so glad we went... we had perfect weather and I just loved the city! I would highly recommend it to anyone, and will jump at the chance to go back again in the future - maybe when it's a little warmer would be nice!

There were a lot of hi-lights of Amsterdam, but one of the things that tugs at the heart strings was our visit to Anne Frank's house. To see where and how they lived during that terrible time, and to just listen to the story of the Frank family is a real eye opener. To just think that this was not all that long ago, and it's not the kind of thing that could never happen again... it makes you realise that we have to be very careful in this world to not fall into the same situation again...

Here are some pics from Amsterdam :)

Back in town... back to rennovations...

So, when I got back from hols I decided that I really needed to get motivated with the house again, but the weather was so crappy and the garden needed to be left to settle for a while, so I started on the inside...

I didn't realise, and maybe I should of, that everything in old houses takes much longer than anticipated... even little jobs take longer than they should.

I started with stripping the paper in the living room... a simple task really, and it shouldn't have taken long... BUT... there was 30 years of wallpaper on the walls that needed to come off... and it turned out that the wallpaper and adhesive were holding the chimney breast together... at one point I pulled a tiny piece of paper and a HUGE chunk of wall came away with it.... holy crap!

So, I stopped and panicked for a little while... then made a few calls and got a friend and neighbour to come up and have a look at it... he confirmed that it would need to be replastered... but said in order to do that I would need to take the whole top layer off the wall.... ok, no problem (I think) and I start with a hammer and chisel...

It was tiring work and made slow progress... I had to go carefully so I didn't damage the wall underneath... and even with being super careful still a piece of sand/cement came away revealing the brick work underneath! Panic again!

So, with the drama of the living room still going on, I decided to get a tiler in to work on the bathroom... just a little job, no major hassles or anything... take off the old tiles and retile the rest of the room, floor to ceiling...

Well, I should have guessed that nothing in the Friel house could go to plan, and it turned out that some "bleeping bleep" (who I won't name right now) had put the tiles up with cement... YES! Cement! grrrrr, even I know that they shouldn't be cemented to the walls!!! So, with the tiles, off came a huge part of the wall... NOT GOOD!

But, the tilers carried on, and after only a couple more little hitches the bathroom was done and dusted... unfortunately, I couldn't say the same for the living room!

With the wall still being a problem, I decided that I had to get cracking on the rest of the room, or I'd be waiting forever to even start... So, a good friend volunteered to come over and help...

We pulled up the carpet, getting ready for painting... and the floor came away with it... it turns out that the floor had been skimmed... (yes, under supervision of the same bleeping bleep) and that the dampness had come up and just caused it to crumble and bubble!













Thankfully we notice this, but unfortunately it was a Bank Holiday... no shops open!

So, again, I made a few calls, and a family friend said they would open the shop so we could get some materials... After spending all day putting the self levelling stuff on the floor, we started to paint the walls and ceiling!

The next day the floor was almost dry, so another coat of paint was slapped on the walls, and we hot footed it over to the North to get some laminate flooring and underlay...

After a sneaky lunch on the run we got to laying the floor... thankfully the floor was dry enough to put the weight on, and although the flooring itself was a pain in the neck to lay, it was all done and we could move furniture back in and think about getting some dinner!

My new tattoo - 26th August 2008

The Claddagh symbol has a lot of meaning to me, and I have always worn a claddagh ring since I was a child. I had wanted to get this tattoo for years and years, and the timing seemed perfect! There is a significance of me getting this tattoo at this time, but I'm not wanting to share that with you all just now.
I will tell you that the placement was extremely painful though!

The hands are there for friendship.
The heart is there for love.
For loyalty, forevermore the crown is raised above.

More summer hols pics!

Cory and I on the sling shot ride at the state fair
Cory, Bekah and I on the Ferris Wheel
Bekah and the two Mary's
Sabrina, Bekah, Mary and IErm....

Summer holiday!

Well, the last post I was getting ready to go on my summer hols, and it was fab! The weather was a little on the 'hot' side for little Friel, but apart from that it was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends, and to make some new ones at the same time.

This summer seems like so long ago, it feels like so much has happened since then... but here are a few pics, better late than never... right?!?! :)

These 2 pics were taken at Kells Irish Pub, Portland.

Cory came and got us girlies the morning after I arrived and took us to Portland for the day... it was 109 F that day, but it was really good fun! He is just a wonderful person, and I am excited to see where this road leads us. I know that no matter what, he will be in my life for always...


These other pics are from our camping trip up at Detroit Lake. Bekah, Sabrina and I went up there for the weekend... it was just beautiful and the weather was perfect! Sabrina loved her first camping trip!