4:37 p.m. - 2010-04-26
First leg...
Dublin has deffo changed. It is much more multinational than it was before the Celtic Tiger roared. But then there are signs of the sudden lurch in economy was well. The touristy shoppy thing was going as strongly as ever, if not more. I deffo appreciate the customer service! Also, it used to be that every person was young and thin. Now there are many different ages and sizes. Less surreal...

Trinity College was brilliant as usual. It is where the Book of Kells resides, along with many other ancient, fascinating books. The stacks of books are---simply mouthwatering! Imagine having the space to house all of those books! (I am talking about the long hall...no photos allowed, though...)

The buildings are very peaceful and solid. We were trying to get out of the campus but ended up at a locked gate. Forch, I have no pride and hit the right note to get the guards to unlock the gate and let us out. Yay, me! (It was along the line of "I should have listened to my husband...")

This is a typical Fifi pic. Note that I tend to focus on the grave and serious...

I didn't take any pics in Monahan. There is deffo a difference between the North and the Republic. A vibe, if you will. First off, the North seems more modern, and more like England. Not exactly like it, but closer to it than the Republic is. Not to tread on a sore spot, but signs of the Troubles are more apparent in the North. The people of both are all just lovely, though. Helpful, welcoming, I mean, really each person seemed an excellent ambassador of their country.

I'll tell you all though for certain, SUCH delicious food!!!! In Omagh we did not take any pics either. It was really mostly Biba at a play park. And we chatted away with other parents. Learned tonnes!

We saw snow on the highest hilltops on our way to Portballantrae. Oh, and Biba got carsick. Poor girl. We always forget. When we got to Port B, we were all eager to get down to the beach. And a play park for Biba. I did notice that the accents in the North seem much more varied. Some even sounded just like Scotland! I'll just put up some pics of just Port B and the gorgeous scenery.

That was our car, outside of the place where we stayed. Right on the harbour...I kept calling the restaurant "The Blowhole" by mistake.

This is too far away to see the new modern McCastle but the views are stunning!

This is that closer, but unforch, fuzzy...

Those are sea foam balls washing up on the shore.

The harbour...

Secret kayak dudes...

See seaweed?

Rocks and sea...

Next up will be Dunluce and the Giant's Causeway.

Cavalry - Apache