Ireland - Galway Bay

After our first two days in Dublin, we packed up the car once again and made our way to the opposite side of Ireland to Galway Bay, about a 3.5 hour drive.  Galway Bay is beautiful.

We stayed in a privately managed apartment building (a bit of a gamble renting from private parties, but our experience was wonderful).  And flipkey.com a TripAdvisor company, is excellent for finding reviews of privately managed vacation rentals.  Our apartment had 2 bedrooms, living room, and a full kitchen with table and chairs.  And the best part?  A full balcony overlooking Galway Bay.  When we weren't out seeing the sights, we could enjoy a cup of coffee and look at the water.  Perfectly relaxing.



View from our apartment at Galway Bay

C was very excited by the faux fire place

On the first day of sight seeing, we drove to the famed Cliffs of Moher.  A bit of a walk from the parking lot to the overlooks, but breathtaking when you get there.



Cliffs of Moher

O'Brien's Tower, overlooking the Cliffs of Moher

On our second sight seeing day, we took a day trip along scenic Sky Road.  Along the way we experienced a different kind of "share the road."

Lookout for spray-painted sheep grazing on the roadside!

We stopped at a beautiful overlook and enjoyed our lunch.  Another perk of staying in an apartment with a kitchen--you can buy your own groceries and pack meals for long road trips.  There are no drive-thrus where we spent our day--and appropriately so.  There is something so relaxing about spending time in old lands that haven't been developed much beyond paving the road.



Enjoying the sunshine and beautiful view

Family Pic!

On our last day in Galway Bay, we drove out to the port of Ros a' Mhil and took a ferry to Inis Mor, part of the Aran Islands.  This has been on my bucket list for a long time.  And it didn't disappoint.  In fact, I think I will retire on the island in a little cottage, with laundry on the line and a cow out in the pasture.  Very, very windy with wet winters, but so beautiful! 

My retirement plan

We hired a pony and trap to take us all over the island (cars are only allowed for residents, and it is too far to walk in one day--bicycle hire is popular as well).

C was very pleased with our mode of transport



Always bring a backhoe to the beach

View from Inis Mor

Our vacation in Ireland was a success and I am so thankful we were able to enjoy a relaxing week together as a family.

Cheers.

Ireland - Dublin

In April (yes, it's been a while since the last update) we took a family vacation to Ireland.  Two nights in Dublin and four nights in Galway Bay.

This was a road trip style vacation.  We packed up the Honda Insight and made our way to Holyhead on the western coast of England.  At Holyhead we drove right onto a large ferry to Dublin. 

Driving up ramp to board ferry at Holyhead

We spent the duration of the crossing in the passenger lounge. 

C received a new construction set just for the trip.

 
The area we stayed in Dublin was less than exciting.  But we it was the only apartment hotel I could find in the city.  So two bedrooms with a kitchen and living room won out over prime location.  We were still within walking distance of most major attractions we wanted to visit in the city.

First on our list was the Guinness Storehouse: a massive 7-story building full of history and all things Irish stout.

A favorite part of the visit was the Gravity Bar: a circular room on the top floor of the building with a 360 view of the city.  A complimentary pint of Guinness is included with admission ticket prices.

Gravity Bar atop Guinness Storehouse

On our second day we walked around the city to different cathedrals.  This was our first trip without taking a stroller (gasp!). 

Someone's legs got tired on the way to Christ Church Cathedral

The interior of Christ Church Cathedral was closed to visitors due to it being rented out for the filming of 'Reign,' a film about Mary Queen of Scots.  We walked the sidewalks with many an extra dressed in period costume headed to their call time.  St Patrick's Cathedral, however, was open and lovely.  Author Jonathan Swift is buried alongside his dear friend Stella (Esther Johnson) inside the cathedral.  I was touched by the story of their mutual respect and devotion to one another.



Inside St Patrick's Cathedral

Our first two days in Ireland were fun.  On day 3 we drove to Galway Bay.  Another post on that leg of the trip to come...

Cheers.

Scotland

For our celebration of American Thanksgiving, Z took a couple of days off of work.  Thanksgiving is, for obvious reasons, not observed here in England.  We made our own holiday and went on a roadtrip through Scotland.  Stopping first in Edinburgh, then driving further north to Loch Ness, and then completing the visit back through Edinburgh on our way home.


Edinburgh, Scotland

We stayed at an "apart-hotel" which just sounds odd to me.  But it just means apartment-like hotel rooms, i.e. kitchen and living room in addition to the sleeping rooms.  We have found this is the ideal way to travel with kiddo in tow.  Kitchen amenities provide us with a place to inexpensively prepare meals.  And the seperate sleeping quarters from the television/living space is most helpful when putting a pre-schooler to bed a few hours before Z and I are ready to call it a night ourselves.  Sharing a single room while travelling usually results in a kiddo who can't fall asleep early enough and a mom and dad hanging out in the early evening dark, pretending to be asleep in the hopes that the little person will give up trying to talk/play/read stories. 


Living Room in Apart-Hotel

The only major drawback to our apart-hotel room were the mattresses.  They were of the "I'm-so-tired-but-can't-sleep-because-the-bed-is-too-uncomfortable" variety.  I am tempted to bring our pump up air mattress along on the next road trip to circumvent said extreme discomfort.


Lovely Bedroom 1 (with the mattress from hell)

On the second day, we drove up to Loch Ness.  Northern Scotland is very very beautiful.


View of River Ness

 

Zach at the Nessie Exhibition

On our way up to Loch Ness, we drove through Dalwhinnie and stopped at the Distillery.  A bottle of fine Scotch Wiskey was purchased. 


On our last day, we visited Edinburgh Castle.  Very cold and rainy, but impressively historical.


C and Z walking in rain up to Edinburgh Castle



View of Edinburgh Castle at Night

 

Place of Honor on Castle Grounds for Faithful Companions
 

View over Edinburgh from Castle

It was great to get away as a family.  We are looking forward to our next holiday trip. 

Cheers.

Settling In and Catching Up

At the end of August, the movers came to our old apartment, packed, loaded, and unloaded our stuff by mid-afternoon.  Definitely worth it to spring for the packing service--it would have taken me weeks to do it on my own and I'm sure C would have been distressed watching his toys get slowly boxed up.  Nice to have it all taken care of in one day.  Unpacking on my own took a little longer, but not too bad.

We had about a day and a half together in our new place amongst the boxes before Z left for about 3 weeks of international business travel.  Very glad he was able to do more traveling, but the timing was challenging.  Settling in to our new place as a family was a little delayed, but we are now all together under one roof and it is very nice.      

A little travel catch up...

In July, C and I tagged along with Z for a business trip to Zurich, Switzerland.  We found the city beautiful in parts, quite clean for such a large place, a tad boring in other parts, and very very expensive.  It is, after all, one of the top 10 most expensive cities to live in the world.  Z had meetings and work commitments the first couple of days, including in the evenings.  So C and I explored on our own (and relaxed with a couple in-room kids' movies when we grew tired).  One of the first things I did was locate a small grocery store to buy food for our meals.  It was still very expensive to buy groceries, but about 1/4 of the cost of eating out at every meal.  Even breakfast at the hotel would have been about $26 per person.  A loaf of Zopf (Swiss braided bread similar to Challah bread), a pot of yogurt and some apfelschorle was more economical and very yummy.



Tea Time in Hotel Lobby


There is a street in the city of Zurich called Bahnhofstrasse. It is one of the most famous shopping areas in the world. High end fashion designers galore! And window shopping at its best. :) "Someday maybe...someday," I thought as I peeked in to the Prada and Louis Vuitton shops.



Around the corner from Bahnhofstrasse, another favorite.

On the weekend, we took a train up from Zurich to The Uetliberg (a mountain in the Swiss plateau).  The lookout tower was impressive.  C was very brave and went about half way up the tower before the wind got to be too much for him.  Z brought C back down and then he went all the way up to the top on his own.

Lookout Tower at The Uetliberg

From The Uetliberg, we took a trail (for what we thought was a 30 minute hike) to the aerial cable car Felsenegg. Two hours later, we finally got to our destination. But it was totally worth the unexpected duration.

The signage along the trails was a little confusing. 

Z and C on the trail

The view from spots along the trails

More beauty to behold on our hike

The trails meandered through hills and private farms

An abandoned Villa in the middle of our hike

The Cable Car at Last! With view over Zurich

Our room rate for the weekend included a "Rooftop Champange" package.  A little bit plain in the accomodation (between the air conditioning units and the very small seating area), but it was nice to get a view of the city from a rooftop right on the Lake.

Rooftop Champange (for Z & A) with Olives & Peanuts (for C)

 

 

On our last evening in Zurich, we walked along the river and ate dinner at a nice outdoor restaurant, The Zeughauskeller.  It was a lovely evening with beautiful weather.



On one of the bridges over Lake Zurich. Swiss Alps in the background.

Walking through the cobblestone streets in Zurich after dinner at The Zeughauskeller 

Sunset on Lake Zurich with Grossmünster Cathedral in background.

 

 

It was nice to see another part of Europe and experience the culture of Zurich, Switzerland. 

 

Cheers.

 

 

 

4 Nights in Rome: Final Installment

On our last day of sight seeing in Rome, we went to the Colosseum.  It is massive.

The remains of corridors are prominent in the center, built under what was once the main stage, to allow for animals and other entrapments to be hoisted up to the fighting arena from below.

We had beautiful weather in Rome--lots of sun and breeze.

After the Colosseum, we made our way back through town to the Pantheon.  We got in line for tickets just as they were closing the doors at 1pm (apparently, they closed early due to a national holiday).  We did not get to go inside, but peeked through the massive doors as we stood in line.  It too, is impressive.

There are a lot of street vendors in Rome.  From organized markets with tables and umbrellas, to stand alone men selling scarves lining their long wool coats.  And the piazza in front of the Pantheon has a strong vendor presence.  The knock off bags.  Oh, the knock off bags.  So very tempting they were.  I resisited mainly because being caught with a fake Louis Vuitton or Coco Chanel purse can land you in a bit of hot water in customs.  They are technically illegal and can be confiscated by customs and the possessor fined.  Not worth it.  I will hold out for the real thing in my dreams. 

 

At the end of the day before dinner (most restaurants in Rome don't open until 7pm or later) we stopped for our final gelato.  C requested his favorite, fragola (strawberry). 

For dinner we revisited the restaurant we went to on our first night in Rome.  We enjoyed our savory authentic dishes and went back to our rooms happy and satisfied.

We settled in for the night and planned to relax before our flight home the next day.  But the evening did not go quite as planned. 

Note to self: When your 3 year old complains of a "rumbly tummy" before bed--it's best to put down some sort of makeshift drop cloth.  Lest the little tyke end up sleeping on the one clean half of a duvet cover with a bath towel for a blanket.  We went through one bed sheet, a towel, half a duvet cover, two pillow cases, and finally (at Z's wise suggestion) a disposable changing mat placed under his head from the diaper bag.  Something did not sit well with the little guy and it came back up all.night.long.  Poor baby.

All the great online parenting blogs with suggestions on how to fly with toddlers fail to mention what it is like to travel with an awake-most-the-night-due-to-food-poisoning-mommy-I'm-so-hungry-and-thirsty little person.  We skipped breakfast and liquids that morning as I had fears of the "events" continuing on our flight home.  Z and I had to sneak drinks of water around the corner at the airport when C wasn't looking.  We made it through and landed back in the UK without incident.  Thankfully they have a mini grocery store at the Birmingham airport and we were able to rehydrate, all of us, and have a light lunch before driving home.

All in all, Rome is by far my favorite city we have visited.  The history, the culture, the language, the sights and sounds.  It is a wonderful place.

Cheers.