Good Bye Dublin... 'Til Next Time.

We left Dublin so early on Wednesday, a 5:00am pick up for our ride to the airport. We checked in and went through security with no problems.

Our flights to London and Edmonton were also smooth and problem free. But arriving back in Canada is when our Irish Luck ran out....

All the flights were full leaving Edmonton to Vancouver, this is good for Air Canada but poses as a problem if you are trying to get home on passes. We waited and tried 3 flights and that was my limit.

So our good friends at Westjet are richer for it, I booked 2 seats one way and full fare... ouch! Saying that, we are home, had a full nights sleep and are happier for it.

Our adventure ended with lots of excitement upon arriving at YVR; Kenny, Macaela and Emma were waiting for us arms full with flowers for Caitlin and I, what a nice surprise. We are so happy to be home and tell of our amazing trip.

We can't thank you all for all the support... the cards, posters, emails, texts and comments on the blog. We hope that you have enjoyed following our trip as much as we did during it and thank you for allowing us to share it all with you.

Thanks to everyone! Christine and Caitlin

Day 7 Hanging around the Hotel

Today was our last full day in Dublin... and it was a dance day for our friends Anna and Olivia.

We woke early and helped Anna prepare for her big day here in Dublin. We started with her make up and then we put on her wig. I must say so myself she looked pretty darn amazing...

We had a quick breakfast and sat with some people we know from the Mattierin School, it was such a nice visit. We are so fortunate to have so many friends in our Irish Dance Family. We are however a little sad that we cannot be here to watch everyone from Western Canada dance this week.

We managed to make it over to the Dance Halls in time to watch most of the first round and the second as well. No recalls today for our Anna and Olivia but Megan and Devan both recalled in each round and overall. We are so happy and proud for all the girls we know that danced today because they are all superstars to us.

We slipped away to walk into the little village down the way to pick up some lunch and take our last photos of this beautiful country. We returned to see the last of the dancing for the girls age group, the recalls . But left to get an early dinner in for the first time in a week.

We had a great dinner with the gang and then we were able to catch the awards for the Girls 12/13 age group. Truly inspiring to see how many talented dancers have been here this week.

So it is now 11:25 and we have a 4:30 am wake up call for our taxi to the airport. I will end off saying that we have had the best week ever... we miss our family at home and know that they have missed us too. So to Kenny, Macaela and Emma... we love you, miss you and we will see you in 24 hours.

Good night and good bye from Dublin!

Happy Valentine's Day

We just wanted to wish you all a very Happy Valentines Day and a Very Happy Birthday to Sarah from all of us!

Lots of LOVE and HUGS to Kenny, Macaela and Emma XOXOXOXOXOXO Christine and Caitlin

Day 6 Train Ride to Dunleary

Finally....we got to sleep in. We woke up at 9:00 this morning and it felt great. We got 9 hours of much needed and well deserved shut eye.

After breakfast with Nora, Jen and Anna we decided to travel into Dublin on the Luas (tram) and then connect onto the DART (train) and travel down the coast about 30 minutes to the town and port of Dun Laoghaire or as Grandad called it Dunleary.

This is the same place that Macaela and I visited as per Grandad's suggestion two years ago. It is a place that they as a family travelled many years ago when they lived in Scotland, a weekend getaway.

We arrived and went straight for a bite to eat because it was already 2:00. I really don't know where time goes in Ireland, it seems to just slip away faster and faster everyday. After lunch we started walking down to the boardwalk that surrounds the port from the west and east with an opening in the middle to let the boats in, it is like a horseshoe. We decided to walk the east just like Macaela and I did and we got a really nice day to do it. It was cold and windy and it had sprinkled a little when we went in to get lunch but it had stopped when we came out.

I must say we seem to have had the "Luck of the Irish" with the weather when we visit Ireland...it has been really nice with the exception of a bit of rain on day 2 and the shower we had yesterday on the tour.

Once again I have posted some pictures from our day including a picture from dinner. We hope you like them.

Day 5 Trip to the Cliffs of Moher and Burren

Another day complete in Ireland...this morning we had a 5:30 am wake up call, I know pretty crazy after such a long night of celebrating. We got 5 hours of sleep but that wasn't going to stop us from our plans that were made for today.

We were going to the Cliffs of Moher .... something that Caitlin and I have wanted to do since our trip to Dublin last year with our family but we ran out of time. Caitlin has been asking me if we could go to the Cliffs for a few months now and Sue and I decided to surprise the Girls yesterday and tell them we booked the day trip for today. You can imagine how excited they were even though they were so tired after such an amazing day.

We met our tour bus in downtown Dublin at 6:40 , we were 20 minutes early but somehow managed to be in the wrong spot for the bus to pick us up.... we did eventually get got the right spot after a few phone calls and a little bit of morning stress.

The bus ride to Galway was about 2.5 hours and then we boarded another bus for the tour of the the Cliffs and the Burren. We spent another 8 hours on and off the bus, with many spots to stop and take lots of pictures. We had a great lunch in a very nice little Pub called O'Connors. They had an amazing vegetable soup and the best Goujons and Chips we have ever had in Ireland. Goujons are chicken strips here and chips are french fries. Kenny, Macaela and Emma we have now had our first goujons of the trip.....you would have really liked them.

The weather was a mixed, some rain, fog and sun for the Cliffs it couldn't have been more perfect. So bright it was too bright , most of the pictures are too dark as the sun was behind the Cliffs when we took most of them. I shot 334 pictures today.... it was so easy to do. We even got a sunset which I missed .... my camera didn't like the reflection from the flash so pictures weren't turning out anymore. Our tour guide told us that sunsets in Galway are very unusual, so I guess we had a lucky day. Maybe that is because we went looking for leprechauns at one point of the tour.

Back to our tour guide...Desmond. He was amazing, an elderly gentleman full of information and humor, he even sang us a song or two. I am telling you he is a man we will never forget, the girls loved him as did Sue and I. He took extra time to make sure the girls could get the best view of everything we saw today and made them feel special all day long. As we were coming into Galway he gave the Girls his two little Seep mascots that he has up on the dash...he called them his

"MooooMaaaa's" Caitlin was given the black one and Jadyn the blonde one because of their hair colour. The Girls were thrilled by his gift and needless to say I was overwhelmed and touched by his generosity.

I have posted pictures from our day today , we hope you enjoy seeing Ireland with us. This country is not only beautiful for its landscape, full of history but mostly because of the people who live here. Every time we encounter a local it is time well spent, stories and information that we will cherish.

Good night from Dublin! Till tomorrow and another adventure.........