our stay in Ireland, broken down

Added a few more list to the blog site to track our stay.

In our 11 months to date

• We have made it to 23 castles in Ireland and Europe so far 
• We have visited destinations in 12 counties (out of 32) which makes for 37%...
• We have been to atleast 8 houses/estates (this one is harder to track since some castles are actually houses , decorated to look like castles)
• We have been to 5 countries (or 3 if you count Wales and Northern Ireland as part of UK)
• We have been to 4  beaches (Skerries, Howth, Grange, Sintra (Portugal))

We will be starting or second 12 months with a trip to Barcelona in 2 weeks (beaches, castles, ...),  A trip to Kilkenny for a hurling challenge match (Maynooth U8 GAA hurling vs Black and White GAA in Kilkenny) (yet another county to the list)

Should count the number of pictures taken, that is probably quite a number...

until next time

Rob

Of Ice Cream Trucks and 99's

First, the 99.  It is the UK and Irish national treat as far as I can tell.  It is perfection.  It is ice cream. Specifically, a soft serve sweet cream flavored cone with a small chocolate bar called a "flake" sticking out of it.  A search for the origin of the rather odd name left me flummoxed.  But it is delicious.  It can be served with sprinkles or other bits and bobs on it, or it can be served with strawberry sauce drizzled all over it.  Any way you have it, it's lovely.

Now, on the Irish Ice Cream Van.  Just as in the US, it shows up in your area on any warm day with music blaring and temptation in it's wake.  It plays, here on the Emerald Isle, just one song.  La Cucaracha.  No others, just La Cucaracha.  Now I can't say what a song about a cockroach has to do with food products, but it seems to be the siren song of the Ice Cream Van driver nonetheless.  Here the ICV does have one distinct advantage over its US cousins.  When the Van approaches, the driver pulls into a safe spot - in our case along side the green space directly in front of our house, and stops.  The music of the cockroach continues for a minute or two, then the driver turns off the music.  He waits a few more minutes to see if the bait is going to be taken, and if no potential customers approach, he moves on. In silence.  So, a more judicial use of the music sets the Irish ICV on a pedestal high above the US equivalent.  

If I were a rich man...

turns out there is a website for historic properties
http://www.formerglory.ie/property-rathville-house.html (€595,000 )

http://www.formerglory.ie/property-ballindooleycastle.html(€599,000)

http://www.formerglory.ie/property-rathclare-house.html (€595,000)

http://www.formerglory.ie/property-creaghhouse.html (price on inquiry)

fixer uppers are a little cheaper

http://www.formerglory.ie/property-belvelly-castle.html

only €275,000...

a little out of my pocket change level, maybe after this years raise

Rob

What is a holiday?

What makes a holiday or vacation...
holiday: an extended period of leisure and recreation, especially one spent away from home or in travelling.
vacation: a period of time that a person spends away from home, school, or business usually in order to relax or travel
A little distinction between the 2 terms. For a holiday the goal is leisure and recreation. This would match up to a typical Irish holiday where they will often rent a self-catering cottage at the beach in ireland or in one of the easy sun countries (Spain, Portugal). I suppose that a vacation doesn't have to be leisurely, as long as you are away from work.
Also saw somewhere that holiday is a day off chosen by others (work, school , government) while a vacation is a day off chosen by you..

So far our holidays while living in Ireland have been focused on seeing things (tourism) .
We have been to UK (Wales and Northern Ireland), France and Portugal,also many sites in Ireland. A list of a few sites seen on holiday
Beaumaris Castle, Conwy castile, Penryn Castle, Caernafon Castle, Llechweld Slate Caverns, Belfast Castle, Giant's Causeway, Dunluce Castle, Carrick Fergus, Innis Oirr, Cliffs of Moher, Burren, Hook Head, Moors Castle, Pena Palace, Sao Jorge Castle, Monument of the Discoveries, Santa Justa Lift, Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, Athenry Castle, ...
The busy tourist calendar does not leave a lot of extra time for the relax and leisure components. Do we need a new term for time away from work spent touristing and educating kids?

Might be time for a relax, leisure holiday.... though as Sarah say that is a little more challenging with 2 little people in tow

Rob