Night out in Dublin!
Me barely kissing the stone and holding on for dear life :)Saturday, October 30, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Fiddledidoo :)
We arrived in Blarney yesterday afternoon after a very long ride and rushed to see the castle before it closed. Making it 30 minutes before close we ran up to the castle, climbed the extremely steep steps, that I almost didn't make up...never knew I had a fear of heights, then we kissed the Blarney stone in hopes of getting the gift of eloquence! To be honest I wasn't so sure about kissing a stone that every one has put their lips on, but the guy that worked there really convinced me and well I had already gone through the trouble and fear of the stupid steps so I figure I would make it worth my time.
So I laid down, leaned back and well my 5ft frame didn't get me to the stone, so the guy had to basically hold me upside down and I finally managed to kiss the stone! I never knew that the stone was at the bottom of the castle wall and you are looking at the ground below you.
After the castle we walked through the gardens and went to the wishing steps, where they say you have to close your eyes and climb the steps thinking only about your wish. If you make it up and down the steps with your eyes closed then your wish will come true with in one year. Now, if you decide to climb the steps with your eyes closed and backwards then you are even closer to your wish. Of course my cousin and I did it once with our eyes closed and then just in case, I decided to do it going backwards as well. So I wished my wish as hard as I could and didn't peek once!
My cousin didn't go for the backwards bit and once we started heading back she looked at me and said "you think my wish will come true even though I didn't do it backwards...maybe I should do it, just in case". We both busted out laughing and headed back to the steps where she walked up and down with her eyes closed and backwards, so now there are no reasons why our wishes shouldn't come true. So mark the calendar, on 10-25-10 I made a wish that I can not disclose but I will let you know in one year if my wish comes true!
After Blarney we headed to Cork, checked in our hotel and hit the town. We decided on some Indian food for dinner which was a first for me. It was better than I thought it would be and I will definitely go back for more. Once dinner was done we went to a local pub for a beer. We didn't think it would be a crazy night seeing that it was a Monday, but after about an hour they had a live band come on and the party was just starting. People here are so friendly and ready to get to know you. We quickly meet a few people and the drinks started flowing. Every time we looked down our new friends had more drinks waiting for all. We hung out with the nicest couple that were celebrating a birthday and a few others. The band was amazing and we danced the night away. It was a great time and an unexpected night, which to me those are the best ones!
More pics from Broadway
The top of the mountain....we made it!
Our stop to enjoy the view :)
Views from our hike up
These sheep are everywhere!!!
The tower of BroadwayPictures from Broadway!
Broadway...cutest little town!
My Favorite breakfast @ a Mom and Pop's Tea House
It was very cool...the hat was much needed!
Wrapping up England and heading to a happy place!
I have so much to catch up on due to the fact that we have not had any Internet.
The past few days have been full of much excitement and lots of driving! After we happily left Cheltenham, we drove to Broadway for a day stop and it was a site to see. Broadway is a town of maybe a handful roads with one main strip where the city center is. This cute little town won our hearts from the minute we drove in. The buildings remind of you of a time long ago and you feel so cozy and relaxed. We started at a cute mom and pop’s tea house and ate a delicious English breakfast, which has so far has been my favorite meal on this trip. After breakfast we decided to walk the city...which was not to hard to handle. We walked down the streets and looked at all the cute homes covered with beautiful red ivy. People would pass by on horseback and there were rolling fields of grass with wild animals wondering. We decided to take a little hike up the mountain to see a well known tower. We bravely decided to take the steep route, only because it was the shortest way and we were up for a little challenge :) We started our hike pretty cocky and thought it wasn’t even steep, but little did we know what lied ahead. I have to say it would have helped if we had actual hiking boots on or at least some sneakers, but either way after a very hilly and quite steep hike we made it to the top and it was well worth the view. Once we got up there and took some amazing photos we headed down a different route, getting a little lost but we made it down and in time to move the car before our meter was up!
We arrived in Oxford that afternoon and checked in our room. We stayed in one of the colleges and had a single room that was intended for one, but we managed to sleep three in one double bed :) That’s all part of the territory when traveling and we had so much fun just dealing with what we were deal. Oxford itself is a beautiful town with amazing buildings and history, the people on the other hand I can’t say the same. We did however have a wonderful host there which was one of my cousins friends and he was kind enough to take us ladies out the two nights while we were there. Oxford just fits in to every stereo type that you have. We saw people walking wearing outfits that you would never think people wear and having intelligent conversations. I by no means am saying that is bad but it was quite different and they are all in their own worlds.
We left Oxford early on Saturday morning and headed back to the London airport in order to head off the Dublin. At the airport we sadly parted with one cousin who headed back home. I had a few issues at the airport only because we decided to flight with a small airline and they of course had to rip me off as much as possible and charge 20 pounds for every kilo my bag was over. So, after a bit of research, I decided to send one bag to Munich where my cousin is and I will pick it up once I get there. In a way this was the best solution because I don’t have to deal with two bags traveling around Ireland and Scotland. If you really think about it 20 kilo’s is nothing and to charge a per kilo rate is just a rip off. I guess we were getting a deal with the cheap tickets so they had to make up for it.
We arrived in Dublin in the afternoon, rented a car and headed out to my cousin’s friends house. They were kind enough to give us a room and some home cooking! It was wonderful just to be able to do some laundry and eat at a kitchen table. Last night we went out in downtown Dublin and stopped at a few pubs. The Irish are every bit what you think. They are super nice and friendly and at the same time they are heavy drinkers that love dancing to some good old country folk music. It was a sight to see, at one point while we were walking down the street I saw a drunken Irishman fall in the streets and women if ALL ages were getting wasted and dancing the night away. So far I love the simplicity of it here; everyone seems to be happy and easy going. Tomorrow we head out for Cork and will make our way around the country!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Taking a bath in Bath!
After leaving London yesterday I realized how much I was missing some open air. Once we got on the road the scenery was breathtaking. You feel as though you can’t look enough, there are rolling hills of the greenest grass with homes scattered across. You see sheep and horses gazing and the absolute cutest farms. As we drove all that we kept saying is “this looks like a scene from a movie”! Everything is so beautiful that you can’t turn away for one-second.
We got to Bath yesterday after a 3 hour drive. Bath is wonderful, it has the feel of an old town and all the buildings are made of the same limestone, making it a sight to see. They have the old roman baths that were built on natural hot springs and people from all over the world come here. Jane Austin was from Bath and most of here books took place in Bath....just a side note :)
We checked into our cozy B&B and hit the town. Today we actually got to go to one of the thermal baths and go for a dip, which was a blast but a little chilly. The weather was about 7 degrees Celsius so once we were ready to get out we had to make a run for it. After our baths we took a tour of the city and headed out to Cheltenham. This place...well it’s not as nice and I think our hotel is the main cause of that. Some shady hotels are gonna come with the territory. We head off to Broadway tomorrow and then Oxford.
I realize every time I see something breathtaking how amazing this opportunity is and how lucky I am to have it. I am here with my cousins traveling around England and at times I just can’t believe that this is all happening. Realizing this, I keep wanting to take it all in as much as I can. I want these days to go by as slow as possible so I can savor every moment. And I want to remember every detail of this trip forever.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
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