Dublin in a day

After a four and a half hour drive, we arrived in Dublin. One would think you would wind down as your trip comes to a close...but no. Sunday, we made our way to the heart of town by late morning, walked around the main street that was blocked off for pedestrian traffic and enjoyed watching the multiple street performers! We did a little shopping, then popped into a coffee shop for lunch. After lunch, we wondered into a darling park in the center of town. It was a smaller version of Central Park, with lots of activity! We stopped into a souvenir shop and looked at all the goofy things people can buy to remember their trip to Ireland. I prefer a beautiful wool sweater rather than a t-shirt or bottle opener.
By late afternoon, we hoofed it across town to make it in time to tour the Guiness brewery. I have to admit, it was not something I had on my list of "must-do's", but Chris was a trooper for me when I "dragged" him from one sweater shop to another.... As the tour commenced, I must say I was impressed with the story of this historic company.
After leaving Guiness, we made our way to Trinity College, where one of Harrison's Cal Lutheran classmates, Matt, is studying this Fall. Additionally, another classmate, Allie, who studied at Oxford with Harrison, happened to be visiting Matt on her way back to the States. We took them to a local hangout where Chris could get his fix for live traditional Irish music. What a treat!
Monday morning we got up early, gathered our bags and the treasures we collected along the way, and headed to the airport for the dreaded plane ride home. Everything went off without a hitch. Our luggage was within the weight limit, so we were able to wear a normal amount of clothing for our flight!
Once we landed in Las Vegas, Harrison's Godfather, George, was there to surprise him. It was only fitting he would be there to welcome him home, since he had come down from San Francisco in August to see him off. We all stayed up until after 2:00am, sharing stories about Harrison's adventures abroad. I'm certain there are some stories being withheld until the five year buffer has passed. We all had some of those stories...
As I reflect on our time in Europe with Harrison, I'm faced with the realization we've moved into another chapter of our lives with him. Although he will always be my sweet baby boy, he's become an independent man, ready and excited to create a life of his own. Chris and I agreed we will do a similar adventure with Cameron and Colin when the time comes.
We thoroughly enjoyed the memories we made on this trip. We desperately missed Cameron and Colin while we were gone (thank goodness for Skype). And we very much appreciate Chris' sisters (Tana and Vicki) for taking care of the boys, house, Duke and Puppy.

Until next time...

(Picture #2 Harrison and his friends, Matt and Allie, picture #3 our Irish music jam session, picture #4 Good times with George in Las Vegas)

Harrison taking "No Shave November" very seriously!

Darling Dingle

What a spectacular place! We got up and had a leisurely breakfast, then strolled into town for a bit, until Chris and Harrison caught their fishing boat. While they were gone, I walked around town, talked with some of the locals, did some window shopping and took in as much of the beauty as I possibly could. Every shop I entered there was a resident visiting with the shop owner. It was like something from a storybook, and exactly what I imagined an Irish village would look like. So darling!
A few hours later, I met my fishermen back at the dock. I quickly realized we would be buying our dinner. Chris caught a fish smaller than his bait and Harrison caught a seal! Thank goodness we made friends with the man who operates "Reel Fresh Fish" (a local fish "take away" restaurant) and ended up sitting at his counter for the second night in a row. Last night we had the fresh Haddock and tonight it was the smoked Haddock. There should be a law against loving food so much!
It was a whopping 8:00 when we crawled into bed. Maybe it was the intake of all the pure oxygen, but we were exhausted! This was the most laid back day yet. I could get used to this...
Sunday we woke up to a traditional breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, tomato, black and white pudding and toast. This was the usual fare nearly every day of our trip, and it sure cut back on the cost for lunch!
As we prepared to leave Dingle, we were advised to take the scenic route around the Peninsula. What a treat! We were also lucky enough to add a golf course as a point of interest on the drive (yes, that's sarcasm)! Sarcasm aside, it was worth the stop. The views were breathtaking and we were regaled by a local golfer who shared some wonderful stories about the area. Chris and Harrison were so sad they couldn't grab their sticks and hit the links.
As we continued around the Peninsula, the roads were so narrow that drivers could high five as they passed each other (I'm not kidding)! And yes, you guessed it, there was nervous laughter coming from our back seat (from me) as we took our nail biting drive.

We sadly said good-bye to Dingle and started our trek to Dublin...

(Picture #3 is my fishermen returning from sea, #4 is Chris and Harrison at Dingle Golf Club, #5 is the Dingle Peninsula, and #6 is Chris and I at the Western most point in Europe)

Darling Dingle

The view from our B&B 

Oh The Places You'll Go

Well we made it to the airport for our flight to Dublin with plenty of time to spare. Thank goodness, because when we put our bags on the scales, they said we were overweight on each bag and the overage would cost us approximately $500! It's a long story, but let's just say after I regained consciousness and (as Harrison said) rebooted, we opened our luggage and began rearranging the weight to lighten our load. When all was said and done, the lady weighing our luggage was the proud owner of a new box of laundry soap and a nice bottle of Italian wine. Chris just kept throwing things away. Additionally, we all put on as many clothes (heavy clothes) as we possibly could! Chris had on at least 3-4 shirts. Harrison was stylish in his t-shirt, sweatshirt, black velvet blazer, trench coat and winter coat. I sported a nice combination of a thermal shirt, turtleneck, thick sweater, my winter coat and another winter coat, topped off with my fluffy scarf (see picture below). Each of us crammed what seemed to be 20 pounds of stuff into our carry-ons. We looked hideous! I'm certain there were some folks who were hesitant to board the plane with us. I haven't laughed so hard in quite some time. As we sat, waiting for our flight, we would just erupt in laughter as we recapped the morning!
Once we landed in Dublin, we rented another car for the five hour drive to Dingle (it's ok to giggle). I'm certain the countryside was spectacular, but I was asleep before we left the rental car parking lot. I did manage to wake up for a late breakfast in this darling little town along the way, but fell right back to sleep when we got in the car. I woke up for the remaining hour of the trip and the views were hard to describe. Green fields with sheep everywhere, some cows and horses, as well. God was certainly working hard in this part of our world!
After checking into our room in Dingle, we walked into town (about 5minutes away) and looked around. We went into a locals pub and sat and talked with the people there for over an hour. What a friendly group. We asked for their input for a good place to eat and they turned us onto a fresh fish shop. When I say fresh, I mean the fish were caught that day, out in the harbor.
Needless to say, we all slept well after our full day of travel and adventure. Good times.

The picture says it all!

Driving on the wrong side of the road

Tuesday, we left Oxford for Liverpool and decided to add a little adventure to our lives (as if there wasn't enough) and rent a car for the three hour trip. I was very impressed with Chris' skills. There were only a couple times when Harrison had to yell out "LEFT SIDE", as I contributed a few outbursts of nervous laughter from the backseat. Who knew a country could have so many roundabouts! Sweet mother of pearl you have to have nerves of steel, or a touch of crazy to get behind the wheel on the wrong side of the car AND stay on the wrong side of the road. It just doesn't feel natural, even as a passenger. We arrived with no issues, checked into our hotel and walked next door to a tiny little casino. Harrison was our big winner!
Wednesday, we hit the Beattles Museum and then took a very brisk walk along the waterfront to another building that was all about the influence Elvis had on their music. The day exceeded my expectations. Then we got back in the car...let's just say the ride back to the hotel was a little quiet, except for a few nervous giggles from the backseat (me). I just couldn't help myself.
We ended up at the marina for some (you guessed it) fish and chips. I did break from the norm and ordered pork belly on a bed of mashed potatoes. Defintiely not from the 'lite' menu.
We turned in early so we could catch a 6:00 am flight to Dublin. There, we're renting another car and driving it to Dingle. Good times!

Getting their bearings before our car trip...good times

Rockin' out at the Beatles Museum in the "Cavern"

Oxford, England

We took the train from London to Oxford Monday morning. Piece of advice...be sure you can dead lift your luggage while schlepping any carry-ons, handbags and treasures you've gathered along the way, because you will encounter stairs everywhere! It's been the kickstart to a fitness routine that has eluded me for years!
We walked to our hotel, called The Buttery. We stopped on the sidewalk (I thought we were lost) and Harrison opened the door to a pastry shop. What a surprise to know this was the entrance to our hotel. It was the cutest, tiny little shop and at the back was a set of stairs (of course) leading up to the reception desk. We checked in, drop our bags in the room and headed across the street to St. John's (one of the Oxford Colleges) to meet with one of Harrison's fellows, Dr. Mattli, who teaches International Political Economy. He was kind enough to greet us and provide us with a private tour that not many receive. He took us to see their private library that held books rivaling those found in the Smithsonian. He pulled out an atlas from 1712 and showed us the US, which consisted of West Jersey, East Jersey, part of Virginia and a lot of frontier. After our tour we went to The Eagle and Child for lunch, where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were regulars. As we were enjoying our lunch, we were totally surprised by one of Harrison's classmate, Blake, who walked in with his stepdad and mother. They were visiting on their way to London. We sat with them and talked about their adventures. Some of which should have been withheld until more time had passed... After we left lunch, we met another of Harrison's fellows, "Dr. Dan", for tea and a brief tour of Balliol (the Oxford College Harrison attended). Dr. Dan teaches Rectifying International Injustice. Let' just say Harrison is on a totally different learning level than I was in school.
As we walked around Oxford I was in awe of the beauty and character. The only words I could find to describe it are, it is perfectly old. It was like a movie set. We took in everything we could in such a brief visit. The next morning came pretty quickly (lights out at 1:30 am). Breakfast was a selection of pastries from their pastry shop and a traditional English breakfast of eggs, sausage, English bacon (American ham), tomato and baked beans! I would definitely stay there again!

(Having some technical difficulty adding captions to the last three pictures. The third picture is of the dining hall at Balliol. It was like something out of Harry Potter. The fourth picture is a view of Balliol from the center courtyard, and the third picture is of our dinner, which is similar to nearly every meal we've had in England)

View of Balliol from our room at The Buttery

Oxford classmates reunited!

London (back by popular demand)

Just when I didn't think we could pack any more fun into a day...we did! We got up early (well earlier than the day before) ate breakfast, hit the Tube and came up from the underground to a beautiful day in London. We went directly to the ticket line for tickets to The Book of Mormon, but it was not meant to be. We ended up with matinee tickets to see a new show called The Commitments. It was fantastic! The music was great and we laughed out loud (really out loud) quite a bit. Very enjoyable.
Before the show, Chris took me shopping for a winter coat. I found THE ONE at a store called Joy. Although it's not the ideal travel coat, it's fabulous! We also grabbed a bite to eat for lunch in Chinatown, because who doesn't got to Chinatown in London.
After the matinee we were off to the East end, where we ate dinner at an extremely old pub that served really good food! Then it was time for the Jack the Ripper foot tour. When in London...
Another day filled with walking, site seeing, shows and rich heavy food! Perfection.

A classic London phone booth photo op!

Diagon Alley from Harry Potter

Our Jack the Ripper tour guide (sorry, it's a little dark)  

Ten Bells. The oldest tavern in London. Creepiest bathrooms, ever!

London

We're in London now. Yesterday was a busy day of travel. We took a boat, plane, train and the tube! After we finally arrived at our hotel, we went across the street to a place called The Goose. It was one of those old pubs with velvet fabric on the booths and wood floors. What a good time we had enjoying the locals. I would venture to say we were the only tourists in the place.
Today we hit the ground running! We went into the theater district and got show tickets for both the matinee and evening shows. We saw We Will Rock You and Jersey Boys. What great shows!
I find it hard to believe this is the off season. Town was packed! The sidewalks were overflowing with theater goers and people out on the town. We made it back to our hotel by 11:30. Not feeling too bad for a 13 hour day! Tomorrow we're heading in again to see if we can score tickets for The Book of Mormon. Hope we get them!
Did I mention it's wet and cold? It rained this morning and this evening. Reminds me a lot of Indiana! I had forgotten how glamorous it is to wear 20 pounds of clothes, mittens, ear muffs, coat and a scarf! Oh well, I'm staying warm and enjoying the trip!

A busy night in the London theater district!