Wednesday 15 March 2006

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 

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

cant wait for the next bit of the story! love Joanne

Anonymous said...

Seen in a loo in Dublin (by me!) 'Pull the chain, and in a jiffy......all your sins will be in the Liffey'!!! I remember that as it was yesterday..............!!! I love Ireland, and the best bits are the west and south west coast.......next stop America, LOL!!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Jan, What an interesting entry.I know that Welsh town? as it is only about an hour away.Even I can't say it properly, never mind write it..I usually say Llanfair gogo..goch..lol. I remember leaving my homeland in Burnam Overy, Norfolk, but was only about 6 years old.I was amazed by the mountains of Wales because we lived by the sea and everywhere was flat..I love Ireland as well, because it is also a beautiful country
Rach.x  
http://journals.aol.co.uk/wrigleyrachey/Weightwatcherswatchthis/

Anonymous said...

I love Ireland too Jan. . .my father was born in County Mayo.I can imagine Maurice feeling very emotional,it does something to the soul,like you have come home or something. . .its a special moment.

Anonymous said...

Looking forward to part two fo you holiday. Bus tours are great you learn so much as the courier or drivers tells you all as you go. Love joan.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jan, really enjoyed todays entry, you did well to remember the welsh name and to spell it.If I remember right you were over there for St Patricks day weren't you ?Glad you both wasn't sea sick.Looking forward to hearing more........Love Jeanxx

Anonymous said...

Can you tell my step-pops that I will be forty - yuck next year! and i want to go to Ireland to celebrate it. Have always wanted to go and hoping that we can make a family outing of it! Don't know about the ferry though, got to get on that aeroplane this year yet! Oh No! Never mind ah, if i don't do it i won't go anywhere different.
Love you both

Anonymous said...

Hi Jan, thanks for a really interesting entry, very Irish too with the St Patrick`s day graphics.  I remember being told that the`Llan` at the beginning of that name means `parish` or `church`.  I wonder what the locals call it?  Surely they can`t call it by it`s full name...lol!  I`d like to visit Ireland though I`m not certain about the ferry crossing, I am a good sailor but I`ve heard, as you said, that the crossing can be really rough.  I`m looking forward to the rest of the story. :o)

Sandra xxxx

Anonymous said...

Jan lovely interesting entry looking forward to the next episode ~ Ally

Anonymous said...

Look forward to the next installment!!!! Love Laine xxx
http://journals.aol.co.uk/elainey2465/MyArtWorld/

Anonymous said...

An interesting Entry...Allan and I went to Ireland in 2004 and stayed at Tuosist Nr Kenmare via the Ferry from Holyhead landing at Dunlaoghaire...I'd show you the pictures if I knew how to do it properly (lol)
Am I the only Person that doesn't like Guiness?
Aileen...X

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a lovely trip. Paula

Anonymous said...

sounds like a good trip. I have never been to Ireland but would love to one day.............Jules xxx
http://journals.aol.co.uk/jules19642001/Itsmylife/

Anonymous said...

Very interesting trip. Helen

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a good trip are you going to write more about it??  Can't wait to read it :-)