Ireland

The train from Belfast to Drogheda was easily the worst I’ve ever experienced. It was so over-crowded that you couldn’t even walk down the aisle. Getting our bags and ourselves from our seats to the door took over fifteen minutes of shifting and shuffling. You can manage our sheer delight at seeing Bryn and the kids upon arrival at the Drogheda train station

After collecting Karina and having some lunch, our lovely tour guides took us to Newgrange, a 5000-year-old passage tomb with the most amazing slate roof and really cool stone artwork. Afterward Bryn and Paul went to pick up our rental car while Karina and I took the kids to a nearby children’s farm. Aine, Jareth, Elliot, and Oliver had a blast getting to know each other again while riding pedal karts, cuddling puppies and day-old chicks, and getting absolutely filthy building bases in the sand pit. On the way to the Coldrick’s amazingly big and very cosy home, we made a quick stop at Trim Castle so the kids could run off some energy and I could take (way too many) photos of the incredibly photogenic ruins.

The next day we celebrated Bryn’s birthday with a yummy cooked breakfast (with black and white puddings), a trip to the cinemas to see Toy Story 4, and a delicious pub dinner. It was so nice to just hang out with good friends after so long on the road.

Bryn had to work during the rest of our stay, but Karina did an excellent job showing us heaps of beautiful and historic places around central Ireland. We went biking in a reclaimed peat bog, took a Viking cruise down the River Shannon, visited Birr castle (home of what was the largest telescope in the world), and stopped in at the castle house of some of their friends for a cup of tea and a private tour of their really unique home.

After an amazing four days, it was time to leave the Coldrick’s and head to Dublin. Lucky for us, Karina and the kids decided to take the train in to join us for a tour of the Leprechaun Museum while Paul toured the Guinness brewery.

It was very sad to say goodbye, but I’m hopeful that we’ll see our Irish friends in Australia sometime in the near future.