Ireland

Wicklow
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Monday 7 April Continued

Stayed at Conwy overnight, its on the way to Hollyhead. Pleasant evening with a Chillian red wine, not bad. Avis told us this morning that we needed to fix up the extra insurance for Ireland at their office in Chester, it could not be done over the phone. No problem Avis advised that they had been out of the needed forms but had just got them in so it all could be done. Great from Avis’s point of view but for us it meant nearly an hours drive back the way we had come. That added 2 hours on to the time for us to get to Hollyhead, now 3 hrs away instead of 1 hr. The next problem was it was after 8.30am and we had to be at the ferry by 11.30am.

Wicklow
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The Avis lass was not the fastest but with clenched teeth we calmly waited for her to complete the forms. We made the ferry with a bit of time to spare but the overspeed alarm on the GPS was pretty noisy that morning.

Good crossing to Dublin, just under 2 hrs and we meandered to Bray for the night. What we saw of Dublin was disappointing and drab. Admittedly it was cold and raining but it all looked tired. Colours were dull and dark or grey. The Irish are coming out of winter and their complexions are very pale, look a bit drab too.

Wicklow
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The seaside area of Bray was nice. There were 3 Irish pubs side by side (opposite the bandstand) and we chose the middle one for tea. Very nice, next to a coal fire. Rob moved the car closer to the pub and was caught in a rain/mushy hail storm.

Cider, Coke, mineral water and a draft Guinness (for me) were added to a good feed.

Tuesday 8 April

Set off for the Waterford Crystal factory this morning. Putzed along a narrow coastal road that wound among quaint houses and green fields. Sunny with a few clouds.

Pub Lunch
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Walked around the headland at Wicklow, sleepy port town with breakwater and old ruined cliff defences. Temperature was 6.5 deg.

We stumbled on to a really great pub for lunch. Excellent food and 2 draft Smithwick’s pints for Rob and me. It was poured with a dash of Guinness on the top to give it a head, it was very very nice.

The Waterford Crystal factory was disappointing, nice pieces, Wimbledon and Tiger Woods golfing trophies but nothing that grabbed the ladies. I for one was greatful and relieved.

Somewhere in Ireland
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Drove on to Cork for the night. We walked around the city centre after tea. This city has a well maintained older central business district with grand buildings. Like most places in Southern Ireland there is a lot of development going on. New housing estates and shopping centres are popping up everywhere. Cork is an established city that is on the move.

Everyone in England and Ireland is friendly and there has been no issues wherever we have been or walked.

You might be wondering about the personal affect of a number of pub visits, but there has been little or no positive impact on any of us. When we really get into a holiday routine of (relaxed) torture from our trainer and (relaxed) power walking we will be positively dangerous. Everyone is well.