Our First Full Day in Ireland

Now that we are all here in Ireland, I have some time to write about our first 30 hours or so.  For David and me, the flight was uneventful although sleep was not an option for David.  Typically I'm able to sleep for the better part of the overnight flight, but I wasn't able to get more than perhaps an hour at a time.  David got no sleep so he was beat when we did arrive at 8am on Saturday.

As for American Airlines, this was my first trip of any distance with them.  We flew from Milwaukee to Chicago's O'Hare Airport and then directly into Dublin.  They served a free dinner which wasn't too bad, which also came with complimentary wine.  David enjoy both of our bottles. The dinner options were chicken with rice or a pasta dish, along with salad, cheese & crackers and a brownie for dessert. 

About 90 minutes before arrival, they also served a continental breakfast which consisted of a croissant, strawberry yogurt and OJ.

As we flew over Ireland, there were too many clouds to really see much.  Once we were near Dublin, however, we could see the ground.  I took this photo of an island out in the Irish Sea to the east of the city.

Unfortunately, my mother-in-law (Ellie) was unable to make the connection in Chicago due to mechanical issues with the plane so we had to return Sunday at 8am to pick her up.  With a 2.5 hour drive, we were up before the chickens (literally).

Thanks to the recommendations for some folks on the Trip Advisor Ireland Forum, I was aware of a nice cafe at the Avoca in County Wexford.  This was just about a perfect location as we had plans to stop nearby at the Glendalough Heritage Site.  David was too tired to really get out and about so I enjoyed the 17 minute film in the visitor center, explaining the historical significance of this 6th century monastic city of St Kevin.

After the short hour visit at Glendalough, we made our way to our cottage via mainly narrow two lane roads.  The two hour drive was nerve wracking for both David (who had to deal with driving on the opposite side of the road) and me (who had to keep from white knuckling as he navigated at the direction of our Garmin).

Speaking of the Garmin, we did get the Ireland maps for it, but for some reason, she had a mind of her own relative to how we should plan our route from the airport to Glendalough and on to the cottage.  It took us right through Dublin City, which was not the plan especially given that David wanted to ease into his driving duties!

Once at the cottage we met our host Richard, who is a very interesting man.  He and he wife run the farm where these cottages are, making it very convenient to us should we have any questions or needs.  We received an outstanding dinner recommendation from him at a local pub in a neighboring village.

David was in bed and fast asleep by 7:30p and I was about an hour behind him.  With the alarm clock set for 5:30am, I felt surely we'd both be awake and ready to tackle the new day by 4am.  Nope . . .  we both slept through the night until the alarm went off.  With quick showers, we were out of the house by 6:10a catching a rather cloudy but beautiful sunrise.

Everything went perfectly in getting Ellie at the airport in Dublin.  We went back to Avoca and enjoyed another nice breakfast.  We also picked up a couple of scones for later in the day..  Before returning to our cottage we shopped for groceries for the next few days.  With that chore completed, we returned to the cottage to relax after a couple of hectic travel days.

More photos from our first couple of days

Wool blankets at Avoca

                                       Pub at the Horse & Hounds where David had his first Guinness

Cyclists enjoying a ride near Glendalough and Wicklow Mountains National Park (County Wicklow)

                                          Heading out from our farmhouse cottage for dinner