Catch up Time!

At last we have an opportunity to access the internet. It is now Tuesday and I will have to do a catch up now right back to Saturday so here goes. I suggest a good strong coffee to keep you awake! Friday 17 June I last wrote at 2am this morning so I need to backtrack to the rest of the day. After doing a load of washing Dave, John (cousin) and I went to the local swimming pool for a swim. There are only two 50metre pools in the South of England and this is not one of them. It was most strange. Dave's lane started from the left but my lane started from the right and swam in a circular direction. Of course I only discovered this by accident when I calmly started off on the left side of the pool and nearly collided with someone coming in the other direction who explained how it worked. It was a lovely day so after a lovely lunch back at the house the four of us decided to drive out into the country and go for a walk and visit a few old English pubs. On the way we went to a lookout at Box Hill with great views in every direction then on to Gomshall where we went for a 5mile (8km) walk through Little London, Shere and back to Gomshall. We stopped on the way for a drink at a gorgeous old pub. The landscape and gardens everywhere were just gorgeous. It was a great walk but we had to beware of stinging nettles in the narrow pathways. We saw a number of frisky bunny rabbits and green sweeping hills. After our walk we drove to a pub in Wotton Hatch for dinner where we sat out in the beer garden. It was really pleasant. In the UK the popular drink is Pims. It's rather nice. I've never seen it in Oz. It's a bit like vodka or even vaguely like a lemon, lime & bitters only stronger - could be addictive! Saturday 18 June Saturday dawned a beautiful sunny day and in fact reached 30deg by mid-day. Dave and I went for a 52 minute run first thing back to Epsom Downs (where the Derby is held annually) and across the downs and back a longer way than previously. We then packed our bags, said our goodbyes and drove to Messing in the Essex countryside where Dave has an aunt. There we had a yummy lunch and spent a very pleasant couple of hours. We met up with her son (another one of Dave's cousins, his wife and 15yr old daughter who had just sat a music exam) and walked to the local All Saints Church where the first vicar dates back to the 12th century. Next we drove on to Stansted Airport, returned the hire car and were in plenty of time (in theory) to catch the plane for Ireland. What a debacle that turned out to be! The cut-off time for the flight is 40mins prior to the flight (we found this out later) but we were there an hour before and queued up in the line for our flight or so we thought! However after a long wait we discovered by chance that we were in fact queueing for a flight due to take off an hour after ours. The cut-off time for our flight had now passed and as a consequence we had to pay an extra $100 each to catch a later flight. The plane was absolutely choc-a-bloc and nobody was given seat numbers - it was a case of pot luck! We travelled Ryanair - not to be recommended for future travellers. However, we're stuck with it for our return flight on Friday so we'll be very cautious! We collected our hire car (a Toyota Corolla without airconditioning) after our arrival in Dublin and drove through to Arklow, about an hour and a half from the airport where we spent a very pleasant night at a lovely little modern bed and breakfast. We were made very welcome and I have to say we have found the Irish hospitality amazing. We walked into the township just before 11pm and bought a sandwich and yoghurt for tea and returned to our B & B about midnight. It was probably about a 5mile (8km) walk and very pleasant. The streets were lined with pubs and people on the streets. The main street alternated pub, shop, pub, shop and singing and music drifted out the doors. It was a great atmosphere and a balmy evening. Sunday 19 June We started the day with a lovely Irish breakfast. This is typically eggs, bacon, sausages and toast, juice and coffee with Irish soda bread or scones - a great way to start the day. We packed up and drove to Avoca - the town where the tv show Ballykissangel was filmed. It was a delightful quaint town with some great photo opportunities. My new little camera seems to be performing well and is very easy to use. We had a drink at the pub which featured in the tv series - fun. Next stop New Ross where we had a break to walk through the town, then on to Waterford where we had a guided tour of the Waterford Crystal Factory - amazing to see how much work goes into making one piece of crystal. To become a cutter requires a 5 year apprenticeship followed by 3 years of training, to become an engraver requires a 5 year apprenticeship followed by 5 years of training - very specialised work indeed. Next stop Ardmore where we walked down to the beach so that Dave could paddle in the Atlantic Ocean - brrrr, even HIS toes turned blue - it was icy cold! Sunday was a stunning day weather-wise - in fact quite hot. Where is all this cold weather Ireland is purported to have? I only brought jeans with me having been told it wouldn't be warm enough for shorts. Fortunately I have lots of t-shirts - I might need to shop!! Our car has no airconditioning so we drive with the windows open as it becomes very hot and stuffy very quickly. We drove on to Cork where we stayed in a very old B & B. It was very different from the night before but still comfortable. We were really tired and went to bed about 9pm - very unusual for us. It's still daylight here until after 10pm so it was most strange going to bed in daylight! Monday 20 June Had an enormous Irish breakfast again and this time our hostess gave me the recipe for the Irish soda bread they always provide. It's an acquired taste but I have certainly acquired it - especially when it has sultanas in it! This morning we drove to Blarney where we firstly visited Blarney Castle. Here we walked up many many narrow winding steps through the castle ruins past many turrets to the top where we had our opportunity to kiss the blarney stone while being held upside down. This is supposed to give one the gift of eloquent speech so watch out - I'll start talking more than I already do! It was all very interesting and the grounds were very extensive, green and beautiful. From there we walked to the Blarney Woollen Mills - a retail heaven. I bought quite a few little gifts and Dave bought himself a really nice jumper. Next we drove to Cobh (pronouned Cove) - this is the last port of call for the Titanic before it sank. It was after 5pm by then so the museum and heritage centre had closed but we were still able to sight lots of photos and writings about the history of the place. It was a cloudy day today and much cooler than yesterday even requiring a sweatshirt for part of the day. We rang and made a booking at a B & B in the countryside past Kinsale. It was a farmhouse and quite a way off the beaten track along a winding country road. There we had another fantastic welcome and on their suggestion we drove back a couple of kilometres along the road to a restaurant called the Pink Elephant for dinner. The setting was awesome. It overlooked the Atlantic Ocean and a full moon was lightly visible through the clouds. The meal and the service were superb with desserts to die for! I did ask for a decaf coffee afterwards but I rather suspect it was the real thing cos I had a dreadful night - I don't think I slept a wink. In fact I was feeling very chatty so poor Dave had to be kept awake listening to me. I think it must have been the effects of that blarney stone! I do need to make a comment about the Irish townships. They are so gorgeous. The houses are either terraces or semi-detached painted in all different colours and the doors are all brightly painted in bright colours too. There are hangin baskets of flowers on the lamp-posts and everywhere is is green and pretty. A note for CJ and JS - I did have a cappuccino today in an Irish pub (mental note, never order coffee in a pub) - it was bubbly froth and the coffee was so disgusting that I ordered a Baileys which I poured into the coffee to make it much more drinkable! The original coffee rated a 1 but once the Baileys was added it moved to an 8!! Tuesday 21 June This morning we went for a run - our first in Ireland. It was about 5km along a winding country road in a loop back up a steep hill to the B & B. On the way we were met by a herd of cows coming in the opposite direction. A number of them were so anxious to avoid us that they started climbing over each other to get out of our way. We had our breakfast with company this morning - two elderly gentlemen from Wales and an American couple. It was interesting sharing news about our travels. One of the Welsh gentlemen asked us all sorts of questions about running. He said he felt guilty cos he was lighting a cigarette as we ran up the hill! This morning not only included an Irish brekkie but we also had fresh fruit salad and yoghurt and our hostess gave us a doggy bag with left over scones so that we had lunch as well - great. We drove from there back to Kinsale for another look at all the cute nooks and crannies and delightful little shops. Then we drove on to Timoleague Abbey to have a quick look before driving along the N71 to Skibbereen, Bantry and on to Killarney which is part of the Ring of Kerry. The road here showed us quite a different part of Ireland. The terrain is quite treacherous being steep, narrow, very windy and rugged. We noticed the very unusual sheep - more like mountain goats judging by the rocky terrain. They had black faces and horns. The views were magnificent but not being very keen on heights I felt a tad scared on those hills beside sheer drops down the cliff face. What fascinated me was the number of cyclists we came across on those steep narrow roads. How terrifying - I just can't imagine the sheer terror I would feel cycling down those extremely steep narrow hills with sheers drops facing ongoing traffic on every bend - let alone the uphill climbs! I have to say however that the view at the top of those hills is well worth the climb - wow - I just didn't stand too near the edge and I was VERY glad when we reached ground level again. So here we are now in Kilarney. Our B & B is very large and not so personal this time. This seems to be a popular tourist spot as it borders the Ring of Kerry and every second place along the main street is a B & B. Tomorrow we'll drive round the Ring of Kerry, to Dingle and maybe on to Limerick! Now it's 10pm and my tummy tells me it's time for a little something to eat! Phew - I've caught up at last! And there's plenty more adventures to come!