After nearly four months on the road, we arrived in our final country - Ireland on March 19, 2010. This had been one of Charlie's country picks, and we had five full days of driving the southern half of the country from Shannon to Dublin. Our first night was spent in Limerick with a steady rain. We have been extremely fortunate with our weather over the last fourteen countries, and I was wandering if our luck had run out. The next morning came with picture perfect blue skies and nice temperatures. We drove up to the Cliffs of Moher and were able to beat all the tour buses. See " Where in the World are the Reeve boys". The views were incredible and driving through the Irish counrtyside was very enjoyable. Ireland reminded us a lot of New Zealand, both in its beauty and the niceness of its people. Our second night was spent in Cork, which has a small but vibrant downtown with lots of shops and music everywhere.
Our next day was spent going to the most tourist destination this country has - The Blarney Castle. The castle is famous for its Blarney Stone, which upon kissing it bequeaths the Gift of Eloquence on the person. We all took our turn hanging upside down and backwards, fifty feet in the air while the attendant holds us while we kiss this certain stone in the castle wall. I can't say that I feel more eloquent after kissing it, but both of the boys have definitely gotten more "mouthy". Why did I come here again???? Even though this is considered a "tourist trap" by many, we all enjoyed walking around the castle and its grounds imagining how life was hundreds of years ago for these people. Our next stop would be our last on this incredible jouney - Dublin.
Arriving in Dublin felt like a lot of the other towns, but once you are walking around the heart of its downtown, it seperates itself from all others. There is something about Dublin that makes it just a little better than most cities. I don't know if it is the history, the ever present music, the friendly people, or the several hundred pubs!! We were only here for two days but it quickly became one of our favorite cities. My favorite time was spent taking a three hour tour of the Guiness factory at St. James Gate. This is the original storehouse for the brewery and was the tallest building in Europe when it was built. They have just completed a multi million dollar renovation by installing the museum inside of the storehouse and in the shape of a five story pint glass. The tour ends in a roof top circular bar that has 360 views of Dublin and represents the foam on top of a perfectly poured pint. Along the way, you learn the rich history of this company and the incredible philanthopy that the founder, Arthur Guiness bestowed upon his employees. Not only was he a kind man, but also a shrewd businessman. After creating the brewery in 1759, he convinced his landlord to lease him the 4 acre property for 45 pounds/year. In 1759, this most have been a huge amount, but his lease is good for 9,000 years!!! Talk about believing in your Product. I learned a lot including how to pour a perfect pint of Guiness in their "training bar". I would have taken school a lot more serious if I could have drunken my homework. Thank God for Guiness.
Our days and nights were mainly spent roaming the downtown area and exploring the shops, restaurants and pubs, many of which date back over a hundred years. My favorite was The Temple Bar which started in 1840.
Tuesday, March 23rd arrived, and we could not believe it. We were going home. As we boarded the plane for New York, we were all excited to be returning to the States and getting back to our house, our dogs, and our family and friends. We missed our home life and felt like we have done enough traveling for awhile.
There had been many times on this trip where I felt angel eyes upon me, and as we stepped out of the plane in Norfolk, I silently thanked them for keeping us all safe and healthy on this incredible adventure.
Next and final blog - In Conclusion.
Our next day was spent going to the most tourist destination this country has - The Blarney Castle. The castle is famous for its Blarney Stone, which upon kissing it bequeaths the Gift of Eloquence on the person. We all took our turn hanging upside down and backwards, fifty feet in the air while the attendant holds us while we kiss this certain stone in the castle wall. I can't say that I feel more eloquent after kissing it, but both of the boys have definitely gotten more "mouthy". Why did I come here again???? Even though this is considered a "tourist trap" by many, we all enjoyed walking around the castle and its grounds imagining how life was hundreds of years ago for these people. Our next stop would be our last on this incredible jouney - Dublin.
Arriving in Dublin felt like a lot of the other towns, but once you are walking around the heart of its downtown, it seperates itself from all others. There is something about Dublin that makes it just a little better than most cities. I don't know if it is the history, the ever present music, the friendly people, or the several hundred pubs!! We were only here for two days but it quickly became one of our favorite cities. My favorite time was spent taking a three hour tour of the Guiness factory at St. James Gate. This is the original storehouse for the brewery and was the tallest building in Europe when it was built. They have just completed a multi million dollar renovation by installing the museum inside of the storehouse and in the shape of a five story pint glass. The tour ends in a roof top circular bar that has 360 views of Dublin and represents the foam on top of a perfectly poured pint. Along the way, you learn the rich history of this company and the incredible philanthopy that the founder, Arthur Guiness bestowed upon his employees. Not only was he a kind man, but also a shrewd businessman. After creating the brewery in 1759, he convinced his landlord to lease him the 4 acre property for 45 pounds/year. In 1759, this most have been a huge amount, but his lease is good for 9,000 years!!! Talk about believing in your Product. I learned a lot including how to pour a perfect pint of Guiness in their "training bar". I would have taken school a lot more serious if I could have drunken my homework. Thank God for Guiness.
Our days and nights were mainly spent roaming the downtown area and exploring the shops, restaurants and pubs, many of which date back over a hundred years. My favorite was The Temple Bar which started in 1840.
Tuesday, March 23rd arrived, and we could not believe it. We were going home. As we boarded the plane for New York, we were all excited to be returning to the States and getting back to our house, our dogs, and our family and friends. We missed our home life and felt like we have done enough traveling for awhile.
There had been many times on this trip where I felt angel eyes upon me, and as we stepped out of the plane in Norfolk, I silently thanked them for keeping us all safe and healthy on this incredible adventure.
Next and final blog - In Conclusion.
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