Ireland

This year we went holidaying in Ireland. We have never been tourists there but always went there to visit Mum, Dad, and the extended family. This time would be different. This time we would be tourists!

We flew into Dublin and picked up our hired car. Then we headed South towards Wicklow to a wee place called Avoca. We would be staying there two nights in a cosy little hotel.

 We arrived around 8.30pm and we were starving! Lucky for us, there was a Chip shop open and so we had the most delicious Fish and Chips down by the River. A good start to the holidays!

 The next morning we were up early and ready for a day of exploring. We visited Wicklow National Park - just beautiful, drove through Sally´s Gap which we just loved! It was so wild and rugged and we ended the day in Wicklow town.

After an other good nights sleep at our wee hotel we were up and on the road again. This time we were heading further South to Killarney. We had a beautiful drive down to Killarney. We arrived at Killarney mid afternoon and as soon as I saw the town of Killarney I feel in love. It was such a lovely place and the people were so friendly - plus it had a Primark which they call Pennys!! I was over the moon!! We did a bit of shopping and exploring, had some dinner in one of the local restaurants and then headed to our Bed & Breakfast, which would be our home for the next two nights. 

The next day we headed out to explore The Ring of Kerry. Oh my, we were not disappointed!! What breath taking nature!!! We totally fell in love with that area.

We ended the day with dinner in one of the local Pubs. What great atmosphere there was there. There was a family there playing music, singing and doing Irish Dancing. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

After an other great sleep, we were up and on our way to the West Coast of Ireland, to a place called Doolin. Here we would also stay for two nights. 

The hotel was wonderful.

On the afternoon that we arrived we headed down to the harbour to see the Cliffs of Moher from there. We discovered that there was a boat trip to see the Cliffs from the water and so we quickly hopped on board that. What a great experience that was. 

After our boat ride, we headed to one of the local pubs for some grub. Once again the food was delicious.

Then after dinner, it was a walk up to the Cliffs of Moher. The weather was perfect!  

The next day we headed towards Galway to explore in and around that area. It was just beautiful. 

It was such a wonderful holiday down in the South. After our two nights in Doolin, we headed up to Belfast to spend the last few days of our holiday. We broke the long journey up to the North by stopping at lunch with some "old" friends.

We spent a day exploring the Titanic Museum, another at the Folk Park in Cultra and we had a day out with my sister-in-law which we ended at a restaurant together with my niece and nephew. It was lovely seeing them again.

I got to see my cousin Lorraine and her family which was wonderful.

 Time was short and there were many people that I would have loved to have seen but unfortunately, we just couldn´t fit everyone in. Next time we will go to Belfast for a longer time. 

I did, however, put a post on Facebook that we would be in Seapark one evening and those that could, could meet up with us there. I brought some snacks along. About 12 people showed up and the weather was fantastic that day. It was wonderful to see and chat with everyone again.

It was one fantastic holiday. Kristian and I loved every minute and it will not be the last time we take a holiday in Ireland. The nature was fantastic, the people were wonderful and we actually had quite good weather even though we were prepared for rain, rain and more rain!! 

Before our holidays.....

.....we had a busy few weeks. 

June was pretty booked with different activities. Here comes a re-cap.....

At the start of June we had our yearly family day with Kristian´s family. It started at Kristian´s brother´s home with breakfast. 

        Kristian with his mum and siblings. The oldest at the right hand side - Hanne, then Anders, Signe, (Mum) Kristian, Søren and Peter. His mum deserves a medal!! haha

 The weather was lovely and we were able to eat our lunch outside - picnic style. We visited the Cold War museum and spent an hour underground seeing the Head Quarters. All very interesting (mostly for the men I think!) 

 We ended the day with a walk and some ice cream at this beauitful place. It is always lovely to hang out with Kristian´s family. 

Another big event in June was our neighbour´s daughter´s Graduation. We were all invited to her Graduation party. Once again the weather was lovely and just as well, as we were holding the party in the garden. 

We helped Laura and Mia get things ready. I made a pavlova which tasted great!!!(even if I say so myself!! haha but you just never know with the things I make, they could be good, but they could also be terrible! haha) 

The day after the Graduation we were invited to our friend 

Pernille´s 50th Birthday. (Strange how I have such old friends!! :-) Once again it was a garden party and the weather was just beautiful.

We had a lovely afternoon there. 

The good weather continued and so we had a spontanous evening out with our friend´s Jette and Filip and their two kids. We went and got ice cream at this really popular place. We had to wait in line but it was soooo worth it.

 I also had a quick trip to Ikea to see if they had anything new in stock. They did - so I ended up buying some new cushions covers for the living room. 

We took the bed out of Andrew´s old room and made it into an office and music room. I am sooo happy with the result.

If Andrew comes to stay we just pop a mattress on the floor:-)

One of my colleagues was retiring and so we who worked closely with him,  organised a surprise party for him. We decorated the school bus and went to his home and picked him up. It was then back to school for breakfast, a few speeches and a song written for him.

In the afternoon we had a party for him with all the teachers from the school. I think he had a great day. We certainly did our best to give him a good send of into the life of a pensioner.

The last weekend of June and Kristian was away on a go-kart weekend so I arranged a girls night here. Three of my girlfriends came for dinner and then we watched La La Land. We had a great night together - loads of chatter and laughter!

There was also biking with the old people, a dinner date with my friend´s Genny and Brit and a visit to the hospital to see my friend Audry who was having a hip replaced. 

On 4th July we usually hold Independence Day with my friend and neighbour Laura, as she is American. This year we decided to go to a 50´s diner that Kristian had taken me to a while back. We decided though that we wanted to have a bit of fun, so we decided to dress up in 50´s clothes. What fun we had - not so our daughers!! haha

We didn´t think there would be many people at the place on a Tuesday evening at the start of July! How wrong we were!! haha It was packed! Good job we had booked a table. 

The Burgers, Milkshakes and Fries were delicious

Laura had invited her Canadian friend and two daughters, and also another one of our Danish friends,  we had such a great night together!

So that was pretty much life before our holidays. Work was busy for both Kristian and I and so we were really looking forward to getting away on holiday. But more about that in the next post......