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| Morgen, Kolya, Will, Scott, Heather, James, Sean and Rowan at the Newcastle Burial Mound |
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| Rowan loved my gloves. We ate out every meal but breakfast and the last week, even that! Rowan eats anything - and I am not kidding. |
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| Kolya is quite a artist and drawing is one of his favorite pastimes. |
Scott and I joined our two younger sons and their families for a trip to Ireland this fall. The impetus was a business trip for our son-in-law Will. Our son Sean and their son Rowan hadn't been able to join him before. His company Hubspot has it's European Headquarters there and he travels there a number of times during the year. As he had a week conference starting 12/2, we decided to go a week early and spend Thanksgiving there. Our son James, wife Morgen, and son Kolya (6) joined us for that earlier week.
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| Kolya, Morgen, James, Scott, Rowan, Sean & Will at Peploe's Stephens Green. |
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| Not your usual pub fare - but in a pub! |
The first week we stayed in an Airbnb in Phibsborough, a northern suburb of Dublin. It was a comfortable 4 bedroom house built in the 1890's. There were lots of things to do close by. We walked along the canal, fed ducks at the reservoir, played in a playground, visited the Botanical Gardens and ate at many great restaurants nearby. Unlike many people's memories of poor food in the past, now Dublin and Ireland as well, is a terrific food destination with cuisines represented from all over the world. Unlike Britain, it's part of the European Union.
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| The Trinity Library was amazing and part of Book of Kells tour. We've all seen the reproductions of the book but the real thing is so unbelievably vivid and made a big impression on us all. |
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| The tour of the Gaol was very interesting, not only for the history but for the two disparate buildings This newer section was inspired by the belief that prisoners could be rehabilitated with a healthier environment. |
That first week with James and his family we toured the Kilmainham Gaol, the Keeling Irish Whiskey Distillery, the Guinness Experience, and the Book of Kells and Trinity Library, and drove north to Newgrange and south to Laoghaire. Newcastle is an exceptionally grand passage tomb built around 3200 BC, before Stonehenge and the Pyramids. It's one of a series of mounds gathered around the River Boyne. The museum was very modern and informative with a gift shop (naturally) and cafe. Laoghaire is a bustling Port Town with charming shops and restaurants. Our main destination was to the "beach", a much requested experience by Kolya. He and Rowan loved it, although it was mainly rocky and a rather cold damp afternoon. Scott and I retreated to a lovely cafe for tea!
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| Walking around the Newgrange Burial Mound |
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| Kolya loved the seagulls. |
Although we adults loved the tour of the Teeling Irish Whiskey Brewery and the tastings, it was less interesting to the kids. But the Guiness Experience was a real hit with everyone. This is a multi media high tech museum with seven floors surrounding a glass atrium shaped like a Guinness glass. Besides the roof top restaurant bar there are other places to sip your Guinness throughout the building. On Thanksgiving Day after the Guinness tour, we had a fantastic dinner at the Winding Stair Restaurant - no turkey but great food and atmosphere!
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| Rowan's nap at the Guinness experience left him a little tired that afternoon for dinner. I love the pulled up pants. |
But our first week came to a close all too soon and James, Morgen and Kolya flew home to Washington, DC. And we five moved to the Hilton Garden Inn on the River Liffey in downtown Dublin for the next 8 days. We had two rooms across from each other, one a larger "family room". Will worked Monday thru Friday and was gone all day and most evenings. We settled into a daily rhythm. In the morning we went sight seeing, had lunch and then came back for Rowan's nap at 2 PM. Sean left then to work for about 4 hours (all he could do given the time difference). Scott and I watched Rowan until he was finished. Then we went out to dinner. Photos and details in my next blog entry!
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| Kolyla at the Newcastle Museum entrance |
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| Rowan and I catching some sleep on the flight to Ireland. Sean and I shared 2 seats with Rowan |
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| Morgen and Rowan examining the rocks and shells |
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| Scott and I enjoy a Guinness at the roof top bar. |
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| Rowan loved playing Peek-a-boo. Here's the big "reveal". |
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