Day 1 : Across the Irish Sea

It is Day 1 of our 10-day Ireland adventure, most of which will be spent in Killarney in the south west of Ireland with a few days in Dublin at the end.  While planning this trip the most logistically difficult decision we made was how we were going to get ME over to this island!  Anyone who knows me knows I am not cut out for a sailor's life! Though I love the sea, there is a voice inside of me that screams very loudly whenever I think going on a boat is a good idea.  It's easy enough to fly to Ireland, flights are cheap at £30 per person with car rentals being pretty average in price.  We ended up deciding to drive because we liked the idea of having our own car and not having to worry about how much we packed.  This meant we had to take a ferry...


After a lot of Sunday morning "over coffee" research we had purchased:

• tickets on the "fast" ferry
• 2 boxes of  "Sea Legs" seasickness tablets
• a pair of sea sickness wristbands; and 
• as a last resort a large rubber mallet which Erik would use to knock me unconscious if none of the above worked.

I decided it was a good idea to start taking the Sea Legs the day prior to really let it build up in my system.  This seemed like a good idea.  What was perhaps not a good idea was having that glass of Tuscan red wine last night.  I admit that I usually ignore those "avoid alcohol" warnings on boxes thinking that they are referring to excessive amounts of alcohol (not one innocent glass).  In this case, the warning should have read "Any amount of alcohol could lead to excessive, drooling sleepiness. And may/will include hallucinations of half human half cartoon TV personalities".  Holy smokes!  What a night! 


We took the ferry from Holyhead (northern Wales) to Dublin, a two-hour ride on a really nice boat.  And the good news - I made it!  It worked (and no, Erik did not have to use the mallet)!  I can't believe it.  This will open up a whole new world of travel opportunities!  One of the first things I see in Dublin is this taxi in front of us, and I am staring at his roof-top sign which says "TACSAI" and I think that is hilarious Ireland is so phonetically driven that they would spell it like that.  But then I notice that all the other taxis signs are normal.  So maybe it was just some freelance taxi driver who likes Jolly Phonics?  Or gosh, is it Gaelic? I have no idea...


Any trip we have gone on with the kids always starts the same.  Upon arrival, we immediately ask the question W....T....F...?  In "parents travelling with children" language, this stands for: Where To Forage?  We need to sort out the basics of keeping everyone happy and figure out where and what and what time we will eat. We ended up finding a grocery store near our cottage in Killarney and doing a quick run though grabbing frozen pizzas for dinner tonight and breakfast foods for morning.  Perfect!


By this time, we have obviously arrived at our cottage, the beautiful Killarney Priory.  Amazing!  A small grouping of cottages made from some old out buildings that have been beautifully renovated into bright, clean    cottages filled with character.  The grounds are lovely and include a play structure, beautiful gardens, fields for the kids to run, and last but not least - real Irish people! with accents!


The kids are in bed and the fire is burning. Except we are burning peat, which makes me think of scotch and how nice a glass would be right now.  But I have learned my lesson and I am avoiding alcohol this evening :)