Dublin Wrap Up

Twenty Four hours after waking up in Dublin, I lay my head down on my pillow, in my own bed, after another great two weeks with Abby, Becca, Scout, & Jesper.

Scout & Abby enjoying some I-Pad
time in the man loft.

These trips to Europe are thrilling to say the least, I thank God for the opportunity to go on these trips! Of course the most enjoyable parts of these trips is the time we get to spend with Scout. The growth we see in her is amazing! Makes me want more Grand children for sure. This trip alone, we saw growth in her vocabulary, her wit, her warmth!

Scout & Abby on the slide.

Our last couple of days, or I should say my last 2 days, as Abby is still in Dublin for another 2 weeks, were wind down days. Going to the park with Abby & Scout on Thursday, letting Scout play on the playground equipment. She really enjoys the slide!

Friday night supper.

We went out for supper after the park, to the "Schoolhouse Pub", hamburgers were the choice that night. Now burgers are not burgers I've found out in our travels. These were pretty good, but give me a good ole midwestern beef burger anytime!

Talking of food and drink being tasty in certain cases, I have to say there is a big difference between Dublin Guinness and what we drink in the states. There is no comparison, the Guinness as a domestic is great!

Friday we return to Sandymound Hotel for supper. I had not had a Jamison until my last night. A shot, Guinness, & their house pizza did me well. Becca and Jesper had a fish pie. Talking fish, the seafood chowder in Ireland is very good, Abby tried it at various pubs and found them all tasty.

Good byes were said Friday night, Becca and I go to the airport early Saturday morning, she flew out to Portland on business for the week. Scout, Jesper, and Abby remain in Dublin. Goodbyes are hard, but the memories sooth's the pain.....

My lil Flicka, Scout..

1/7/2014 Time winding down on my trip.

Being a tourist is exhausting!

Hard to believe that I'm in my second week of this vacation. We've done just about all of the tourist things that we want to do. We're quite exhausted to say the least. The photo to the right is on our trip to the western side of Ireland.

One of our great pleasures when traveling to places we've never been is to go on a city bus tour. The Hop on/Hop off tours offered are the best for us, the one fare gives you two days to ride and tour.

Having a Pint at Guinness Storehouse!

The first day, we rode a bit, until we got to the Guinness Storehouse. This is quite a place they make this brew and well worth the visit if you're in the area. From the ground level all they way to the top floor, which is a circular bar with almost 360 degrees view of Dublin, you could make this a easy day tour if you had the time. Cost to enter this was 18 Euro, but with that you got a pint and you got to keep the glass, or at least we kept it! Now for you Guinness lovers out there, I'm here to tell you that I find a big difference in the Guinness here, compared to the Guinness we get in the States! Until the trip here, Abby would never drink one, now I think the Guinness sales will be jumping up a percent or 2.

Becca & Scout at the top of
the Guinness Storehouse.

Scout on a slide at the Dublin
Zoo.

Our tour of Dublin continued, around St. Patrick Cathedral, through Temple Bar Area, taking notice of other Churches, that have been standing for century's, along with Pubs having been opened on the same sites for more than 300 years. It is truly amazing when you come to Europe, and you enter areas that have been around longer than our country has been a country! We have eaten in a restaurant in Stockholm that has been a restaurant for more than 350 years. We drove by a Pub that has been a Pub in Dublin for over 300 years.

Scout & Grandma at the Penguin
display.

The 2nd day of our bus tour takes us back to the boarding area with a ride to the Dublin Zoo. Abby and I have always been fans of Zoo's, taking our kids when they were young to several Zoo's, Watertown's, Wapaton's, Omaha, Battle Creek, Minneapolis, to name a few. With Scout we've been to Skanstad(Stockholm), Berlin, and now to Dublin Zoo.

Scout is at the age where she is noticing her surroundings more. For instance, in the Dublin Zoo, they have many areas with slides. I don't think she missed one of them!

Many animals were seen by us, I think Scout liked the Penguins the most! After the zoo, Scout again was exhausted so it was nap time on the walk back to home.

Scout after a long day at
Dublin Zoo!

On this trip I added a pedometer to my phone. The most I've walked in one day is 11 miles, and am probably averaging at least 6 1/2 per day. My feet, hips, and lower back are paying for all of this walking. However, my glucose is also benefitting because of this. So even though the walking is hard, I know the benefits are good, and when I get home, I must continue this life style for my own health benefit!

1/2/15 & 1/3/15 Pictorial Trip to the West

John & Becca on the Atlantic.

Grilled Oyster's at Moran's.

Jesper & Scout at breakfast.

John, Abby, & Becca at the
beach.

Jesper & Becca on the Atlantic Ocean
Beach.

Landscape of  West Ireland

Moran Oyster Cottege at the Weir,
County Galway.

Abby & Becca in front of the
"Quite Man Bridge"

Grandma & Scout in fron of the
French vehicle we rented.

At stop at the "Quite Man Bridge"
a tribute to John Wayne

Seafood chowder at Athenry, haven't
found a bad chowder yet!

Cramped spaces makes for a
great road trip.

1/1/15 Happy New Year from Ireland!

Warming up for New Year Eve.

2015 arrived here 6 hours ahead of most of my American friends, ok, to you that live in the Central Time Zone. Early in the evening we were going online to see the New Year arrive in locations ahead of  us. We saw photos from Sydney, looked for my friends Ron and Lou, didn't see you in any of the photos.

Last year we spent New Years in Berlin. Now there's a city that knows how to party! It came to you, where as in Dublin you had to go to it. We left the house around 11:45 pm, took our short walk to Dublin Bay, saw about, at the most 12 other people, saw a few fireworks in all directions, and that was it. Simply boring! Becca and Jesper took a short walk around the block once we got back, peeked into a pub, there were about 6 patrons sitting at the bar. Very disappointing celebration.

Selfie of John & Becca in the park.

January 1, 2015 is very similar to the USA, most stores are taking it off for the holiday. We did find a petro station open to buy some peat moss for the fire tonight. Also Becca went into work today as there was a small staff working at Air B&B.

Jesper is also working today, so some business is getting done in Dublin today.

Weather wise we have been pretty lucky so far, today by far is the worst with gusty winds and some rain.

Having a "Domestic" beer, they
do taste better over here!

We will be leaving the city tomorrow for a road trip to Galway, which is west of Dublin, spending the night and seeing the sights.

Abby having a cup of Sea Food
Chowder!

We're really looking forward to this side trip, hopefully we'll find some good local places to eat. We did stop today for some Sea Food Chowder which was very good!

     

Tuesday 12/30/2014

The walking begins with a big long walk to Dublin Center and back. Muscles that haven't been used in a while, were quite strained. Thank goodness for drugs!

Abby, Becca, & Scout in front
of the Samuel Beckett Bridge.

Dublin, the population slightly smaller than South Dakota at just over 500,000. The city is on Dublin Bay and the tides do affect the water ways. The scenes are similar to the other European cities. The bridge in the back ground does show some uniqueness to the sky line.

As we get closer to city center, we find more people out and about. We walk across the Beckett Bridge and we see a man with a hacksaw working away to free a bike. I'm sure it was his, lol.

Memorial from Canada in
regards to the Great Famine. 

Like all large cities there is historical markers, like the one to the left, a gift from Canada in regards to the Great Famine. Old architecture marks the sky lines, mixed with the new sky line. Along with Air B&B, Google, Facebook, and others have chosen Dublin as their European base.

Pram time is nap time for Scout
in the afternoon.

Pram time is nap time for Scout. Our daily routine is walks in the morning, letting her run around, and then a little lunch. After lunch will be Scout's nap, as we walk today, to find some Oyster's for John and Prongs for Abby for our New Years Eve supper. Not sure what the plans are for NYE in Dublin, however, we'll venture out to see what's going on. I'm sure it'll be nothing like last years NYE in Berlin.

Plans for the weekend includes a road trip to the West, Galway area, lodging and transportation is secured. More to follow...

Time for a rest in a Irish Pub, Grabby with
a Pint and Scout with "Jamisons" LOL

Well we are off again, this trip to Dublin, Ireland, off course to spend some time with Jesper, Becca, Scout, & Pillar. Before we get there we enjoyed a little side track with some friends in Sioux Falls, SD.

Thumbing a ride and Lady Di picks us
up.

The trip this year begins with AT(alternate transportation). Lady Di gives a lift to Sioux Falls, she is heading for a enjoyable week in the opposite direction of us. Seattle to be more precise, to spend time with first her cousin Carol and then her son Zip and his family. I'm sure she'll have a great time out west.

Larry, John, Abby, Di, & Mary
at Wiley's in Sioux Falls.

Our first stop in Sioux Falls of course is at Abby's favorite store Kohl's, thank goodness it is a short stop. Then off to the Hotel, Holiday Inn, and we thank Julie Wittstruck for the accommodations. Not wanting to venture to far, we find a place to eat supper within walking distance. "Wiley's" at 6th & Main is the pub we choose and our friends Larry & Mary come to meet us.

Having a "Domestic" Beer in
Toronto.

Our flight is on time and we leave Sioux Falls at 10:30 am for the start of our long day. Stops in Chicago, Toronto, & then Dublin is our itinerary for the day. A short lay over in Chicago, with a longer one in Toronto. We have time for a Molson,

Grabby and Scout in the airport.

The only "hitch" to our trip is leaving Toronto, with a delay of at least 1 hour, we finally get boarded and take off. A big 767 300 passengers is a full flight. We arrive in Dublin at 10:30 am, and that in "John time" is a 24 hour day! Through customs goes quickly, picking up the luggage and then meeting our family, with hugs and kisses is great!

A short rest, a walk to the park, our "Irish Christmas Dinner", and our 2nd Christmas of the year concludes the day. Scout enjoyed the opening of the presents, which she got to open of them! It's great to see her enjoy this! More "Irish" stories to come, until then....

Christmas with Scout, words
cannot express this moment.