If you ever go across the sea to Ireland

Thankyou Donna for this ,Donnas lovely journal can be reached by clicking on her name in my side bar(one of the few that work !)

Three years ago we decided,or rather Maurice did that he would like to show me his Ireland ,So when a local bus company 'Shaws Tours' advertised this trip , To the South Westcorner of Ireland it was ideal ,so we duly booked ,and on an early Sunday morning the coach company collected us by taxi and took us to the bus departure point,Off we set ,a lovely mix of people and a smashing driver ,who was very knowlegable and all through the trip pointed out places of interest and bits of history ,,up north we went then over to Wales enjoyed some lovely views on the way ,We had a few comfort stops,the last one before the Ferry Port was at ....wait for it !! Llanfairpwllgwngyllgogerychwyrndropylllantysilogogogoch,which translates to  The church of St Mary in the hollow  of white hazel trees near the rapid  whirpool by StTysilio's of the red cave !A little tea room and gift shop ,but right next to the station wth the name on the platform ,so of course we filmed it! At this point I have to confess that the main record of this holiday is on video tape ,Long before I dreamt of doing this journal ! On we went to Holly head ,and waited to go on board the ferry ,The afternoon HSS crossing to DunLaoghaire,or Dunlaire depending on which side of the Irish sea you were born!Some French sailings were cancelled due to rough seas ,but we're made of sterner stuff ,so of we set ,and yes it was rough ,very ,But we are both good sailors and loved it ,though it got abit uppy and downy at parts ,people were using the sick bags ,but we were ok ,we had a look in the shop ,had a snack, went on deck for a ciggy ,and generally loved it ,and then as we got nearer to Ireland and Maurice began to see familiar landmarks I could see he was feeling emotional ,this was the land of his fathers .to borrow a phrase from the Welsh,My first sighting of Ireland was exciting ,this was the place Maurices Dad set out from when he came over in the war,to fight along side our men ,and later sent over for his wife to join him ,and help run the farm he had ,now in England .    

 Off the Ferry and onto the coach we skirted Dublin,and set off for Portlaoise,to our first hotel A family owned hotel ,extremely well appointed and a delicious evening meal,after a quick wash and brush up and cuppa in the lovely room ,we spent the evening chatting to our new friends and enjoying a lovely glass of the only drink in the world Guinness ,Nectar .....to be continued 

                        

Another one from Sandra,thankyou dear xx