8th June – 10th JulyThe week of Monday the 8th of June was a busy week. The great weather came back, and stayed for more than just a day – it was sunny and hot. Work was as busy as ever, trying to get the loose ends tied up. We had the work done on Murphy that was required to get the NCT (Warrant of Fitness) so that was great.
On Friday the 12th of June we came home after work and had a nice evening at home, and then packed our overnight bags. Saturday was an early start, up at 4am, to get to Shannon airport, which was only a 15 minute drive. We'd decided to park in the long-term carpark at the airport. We were on the plane and up in the air by 6:30am, and by 7:45am we had touched down early at London Stansted airport. We had prepaid our train tickets, which was fantastic, so we jumped straight onto the train, and we were in central London by just after 8:30am. From here we were on the tube until about 10am basically, at which time we made it to James and Julie's place. It took us longer to catch the tube to their house than it took to fly from Ireland to the UK. James and Julie are friends of ours from Palmerston North who moved over to London in April. Sadly we missed their wedding in Taupo in April this year.
After dropping off our bags, and starting 18 months of catching up, we were back on the train and into town where we met Russell, Felicity and their 10 month old son Cameron. They too are friends from Palmerston North, who were visiting the UK. After managing to track them down in a busy Victoria station we headed to Southbank on the Thames River, where we found a cafe and had a nice lunch. It was a beautifully warm afternoon, so after lunch we wandered along Southbank until we got to the Borough Markets. Here we said goodbye to Felicity and Russell who were on a tight visiting schedule. The four of us wandered around the markets, which are the markets that Jamie Oliver goes to on his scooter, and also the markets that Hugh Grant visits in the movie Notting Hill, according to Em. They were amazing. So much fantastic food, and stores with foreign beers and wines, fish, meat, fruit and veg, sweets, nuts, chocolate, and much much more. We could have skipped the lunch and went straight to the Borough markets and filled ourselves up on samples.
The afternoon got even hotter, so we decided to go and have an ice cream. Julie's sister also lives in London and had told them about a £20 ice-cream sundae and we all thought that must be amazing so off to Harrods we went. When we arrived we wandered through the jewellery section and looked at the watches. The most expensive watch we spotted was £135,000. Not sure why it was so outrageously priced. After this we made our way to the ice-creamery. It was opposite a pizzeria where you could watch the chefs spin the pizza bases, and one of them also sang opera at the same time. A very good show. Anyway, we got some seats and ordered one sundae between each couple. They were about £15, and they were amazing. The ice cream was very tasty, and they were massive. It was fun! After almost licking our bowls clean we continued to explore more of Harrods. We went to the toy section which was fantastic. It would be dangerous taking kids there. We all played with remote control helicopters, pretend snow, and sticker-kits. We went to the pet department because we had heard that are supposed to have an amazing range of animals. Well it was pretty much the worst pet shop we had been to (it was all about the diamante dog-collars), so we left there and explored the deli section and butcheries which was a lot of fun, and rather safe as we were all still full from our sundaes. We spotted caviar for around £5,000 per kilo.
The afternoon had quickly disappeared so we headed into a pub and had a drink and some dinner, and continued our catch up. After this we went to Liverpool St station and visited platform 9 ¾ from Harry Potter. Em asked one of the staff there and she showed us the platform, and explained that they actually filmed the Harry Potter films on platforms 1 and 2. She also said that an American lady had seen the platform 9 ¾ sign, and made a run for it with a trolley, only to be stopped firmly in her tracks by the brick wall, so she missed the Hogwarts express. From here we were going to go to Abbey Road, but got side tracked, as well as starting to all feel really tired, so we went back to James and Julie's flat and settled there for the night after a long, but very fun day.
On Sunday, June 14, we were ll up earlyish, and went into town for another day of exploring. We went to Chinatown, and found a Yum Cha restaurant (they call it Dim Sum in London) which seemed quite small. It was strange because you ordered all of your dishes and they brought them to you, rather than choosing the food from the trolley. Once we got the food and started eating we soon realised we had made a great decision. It was fantastic. Better than the Yum Cha Em and I had in Chinatown in Sydney in September last year. We also realised that there was a down stairs area and that was where all of the 'authentic' / Chinese people sat, which was a good sign. Once we finished our feast we hit the foot paths again and made our way to the Science Museum. We are all pretty interested in science, but I personally was not prepared for the size of the place. Some of it was a bit boring, but we enjoyed most other things. The younger kids there were a little bit annoying though because we did not get to play on the things we wanted to. Us big kids missed out sometimes. After about 3 hours we were all rather tired, and left the museum, and made our way to Covent Gardens where we picked up tickets to one of the West End musicals, Thriller, the Michael Jackson musical. After we found a small bite to eat at a Middle Eastern cafe, and an ice-cream sundae at McDonalds, we went across the road to the show. It was a fantastic show, which was more of a performance of his songs, rather than a musical with a story. They started off with the Jackson 5, then worked through the years, and then did an amazing encore at the end. There were 3 main singers, including 1 female, and also 1 main Michael Jackson dance impersonator who had actually worked with him. He was brilliant. During the show they got the crowd up dancing and singing, and it was a lot of fun - very enjoyable. That finished off our day of exploring, and we got back to James and Julie's flat at about 11pm.
On Monday morning Em and I were up early again, and left their flat at 5am to get out to Stansted Airport. After 2 hours of trains and tubes we got to Stansted, where we flew out at 8:30am. We landed in Shannon at just after 9:30am, and were back at home just before 10am. EU customs is great. We got changed and headed off to work, albeit a couple of hours late. It was a tiring day and by the end of it we were both happy to be home, where we had an early dinner and an early night.
The remainder of the week was just work, and trying to catch up on things after such a busy weekend. That seems to have been the trend of the past couple of months really. Exploring and adventures in the weekends, and go to work during the week to recover. This week I did manage to make contact with Peg, the sister-in-law of my grandmother, who lives in Dublin, and arranged to go and visit during the weekend. On Thursday at work, after our team meeting I was given a congratulations card and gift which was unexpected and very generous. We were given a dinner for two at one of the best restaurants in Limerick, No. 1 Pery Square. I made a booking for us for Saturday the 27th June.
On Saturday the 20th of June we were up and on the road by around 8:30am. It was a nice drive up to Dublin, and thanks to our GPS we had no problems finding Peg's house. She lives in Blackrock, Dublin which is near Dalkey. When we arrived we had a cup of tea with her. Then she said that she was expecting her daughter, Jacqui, who is my mum's cousin, over from England on the ferry at lunchtime, so we hopped in her car and she took us down to the ferry terminal and picked up Jacqui. After dropping her bags off, Peg took us to Avoca, which is a fantastic cafe and kitchenware shop (one of the best combinations you could have) set in lovely gardens. We were treated to fantastic salads, and massive desserts. It was great. They even have a cook book which includes things on their menu. We didn't buy it this time (we'll have to go back for it), I am sure they must leave out a secret ingredient to keep people coming back.
From here Peg took us up the coastline and back to Dalkey. Here she took us to Narano Rd, which is where my grandmother lived when she was growing up. The house still stands there, overlooking the bay, but the section has been subdivided and another house is also there. While we were there we saw a couple of guys down the road, and one of them grew up in that house as well.
We were a bit sleepy so Em, Jacqui and I went for a walk out along the wharf at Dalkey before we went back to Peg's house. That evening we stayed in and she cooked us a delicious apricot chicken casserole, then berries and cream for dessert. At about 10pm we left to go to our hotel. It was a fantastic day and very kind of Peg to show us around. It was a shame that we had not got in contact earlier, but time seems to have flown by. The sun was still setting after 11pm. After checking into our hotel we went straight to sleep as we were both exhausted.
On Sunday, June 21st, the longest day of the year here we were up quite early. After a shower and checking out of the hotel we were on the road by 8:30am, and drove North to Newgrange. We arrived just after 9am, opening time, and got onto a tour straight away. Newgrange is a circular stone structure on top of a hill – it is 500 years older than the pyramids of Egypt and looks very grand. Em and I were unsure if we would be able to get in because we thought that on the longest day of the year the sun would be rising and goes through a small passage inside to light up the chamber on the inside – it's very popular and you have to go in a lottery to be there and see it happen. Turns out it this occurs on the shortest day of the year, so we did not have a problem. The tour took just over an hour after you are bussed to and from Newgrange from the visitors centre. It was very interesting and great to see up close. Especially to hear the history of it, and how it had only really been uncovered recently. The chamber inside was not what Em or I had expected. Given the size of the outside we were expecting something much larger. There were 24 people in our group and you would not want anymore than that, otherwise it be too tight. Inside they did an artificial recreation of the light shining in as the sun rises on the shortest day which was cool to see, and good enough for us. Once we were finished there we drove back to Limerick, and were home mid-afternoon, to get through a few things that had been left behind in the past few weeks.
On Monday the 22nd we were back to work as per normal. With only 3 weeks to go we were starting to think about sorting things out like changing our address to Eva and Shane's house, and sorting out what we will be taking in the van and what we will be leaving behind. The week flew past. Work was still as busy as ever. On Friday, the 26th after work we went out to Daniel and Kay's house for a nice BBQ. We were treated to a seafood extravaganza, all cooked on the BBQ. It was brilliant. We even had sun and a nice warm evening for the BBQ as well, which was a really nice combo. Their kids love our campervan, so we took that out and they played away in the van for more than an hour as well.
Saturday, the 27th June was the start of our first weekend at home for 4 weeks, and our second one at home for nearly 2 months, so it was very welcome! That morning we set off on a journey to find chemicals for our chemical toilet in the campervan, but with no success. We did manage to do other jobs while we were out, and that afternoon I purchased a small safe to fit into the van to hopefully keep cameras a bit safer if we get broken into. After an afternoon around home we got ready and headed into town to No. 1 Pery Square restaurant to use the gift dinner we were given from my workmates. We were greeted at the door and taken to our table. Our gift included 3 courses, and a bottle of champagne. So after we selected our bottle of champagne we started with our entrees. Em ordered tomato and mussel broth with a hand made scallop ravioli, and I had wood pigeon with rocket pesto, lemon jam, and orange infused beetroot. For mains Em had apricot stuffed rabbit, and I had fish and scallops. Then for dessert I had lemon tart and rhubarb sorbet and Em had a coconut and pistacchio cake with coconut ice cream. It was a fantastic evening. The food was great and the staff were very helpful and friendly. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, particularly as this would not be something we usually would have done ourselves. After we had finished dinner we were both rather tired so we just headed home rather than heading our for a drink.
Sunday was a day spent at home, and very much enjoyed. We just worked through a few jobs we had been meaning to do, and enjoyed a lazy day around home.
Not long to go now before the big trip starts...
June 29th – July 10th
Well this was our last two weeks of 'normality' for quite a while. Work continued to be busy for the week of the 29th. Both Em and I were getting into wind up stages at work, cutting back on the number of kids we were seeing, instead trying to get paper work tidied up, which is always a time consuming process.
On Monday the 29th, we headed over to Eva and Shane's house, which they had moved into a couple of weeks earlier. It was nice to go visiting and get out of the home on a week night. The next couple of days were the norm, go to work, go for a run after work, and then try and do what ever else we had to do.
On Thursday after work Em came to Nenagh, then we drove up to Dublin. We stopped into Portlaoise, checked in our bags, and then got back on the road. The night of the Eagles concert had finally arrived. Unfortunately it did not really go to plan. By the time we got to Dublin, because of traffic, at 7:15pm (start time) we were still 3km from the RDS Stadium, where the concert was. We were sitting in traffic and Em saw the train and thought we should park up and get that, so we parked up, rushed and bought some tickets to Sandyford, and got on a train a few seconds after we had got our tickets. Once we got to Sandyford we hopped out, and looked around. Not sure where to go Em asked one of the taxi drivers where the RDS was, only to be told we were about 10 minutes drive away. We had trained to Sandyford, but needed to train to Sandymount! So we got in the taxi and he got us there by just before 8pm.
When we arrived we walked in the wrong gate, but this was great – security let us in, and we were standing only about 20m from the stage. It was a good size crowd and the evening was warm and sunny so we were happy to have made it. Two songs after we arrived a trumpet player started to play this latin sounding piece, and then Joe Walsh walked out on stage with a twin necked guitar, and it was Hotel California. It was fantastic. They played until about 9pm then went off for a 10 minute break. Just before they finished up, the small crowd around us were asked to move, so we had to move into the proper general admission area. During their break we were talking to a couple who said they only came on stage just before 8pm, so after all the panic, we didn't miss much at all!
When they returned they played until just after 11pm. It was brilliant. They were great performers, and it was great to be able to see them live, even with the chaos of getting there. After the concert finished we had to get back to the car. This was a time-consuming experience, and after a train and a 15 minute walk we made it, just after midnight. From there we had an hours' drive to our hotel, where we were very happy to get in bed for a short sleep.
On Friday, the 3rd, we were up at around 6.45am. I went for a shower. For some reason the water pressure was not too good, but I hopped in anyway and Em rang room service. Well the water pressure got worse and worse, and by the time I was all soaped up, the water had stopped. So Em had to pass me glasses of water to rinse myself off. Unfortunately they were having problems with their water pump. Once we were all finished we checked out. At check out they offered us a complimentary breakfast which we took them up on. It was really good actually, but unfortunately I spilled tomato sauce on my shorts.
Eventually I made it to work. Em had the morning off, so she came to my work and spent the morning skyping on the computer. I still had kids to see, so the day went by quite quickly. In the afternoon Em had a meeting with Rebecca, the Speechie in my school age team. Once they were done we headed home, picked up clothes, got changed and left again.
That evening was a dinner out for my leaving. We went to the 'River Run' a restaurant in Ballina, which is 20 minutes drive from Limerick. It was a very fun night. We were at the restaurant until after 11pm, then went across the road to the local pub until about 2. Em and I stayed with Eimer, a psychologist at work, and her husband Dave. They'd just moved in the day before, so it was very nice them to have us to stay.
On Saturday morning, the 4th, we got up and made a breakfast pie, which we had for breakfast. We left Eimer and Dave's place at about 10am, and headed back home to get stuck into jobs. We managed to get a few things sorted out. We were just happy to be home for the day, and started to get organised for packing our Limerick lives up.
On Sunday after a much welcomed sleep in we got stuck in and did some packing and took a few boxes over to Eva and Shane's who generously offered a wardrobe to put our stuff in. Thankfully we didn't have too much stuff.
Monday the 6th of July, the start of our last week in Ireland, for the time being. It was just a normal day at work but with lots of paper work to get through. That morning I had a call from a guy in Dublin who had seen our ad for Murphy (the car) and was interested. We had put up ads at the start of the previous week after passing the NCT re-test. He said he was very keen, and that he wanted to come down look at it. So after work I picked up Em and the guy at the bus stop in town and we went out to our house. Everything went well and we sold it. We were really happy to have the car sold; one less thing to worry about.
On Tuesday, in the afternoon at work we were supposed to have an afternoon tea at work, again for my leaving. I'm not sure how it happened but all of these things seemed to be arranged for my leaving. Anyway, it didn't go to plan, and we had a meeting and afternoon tea at the meeting instead. After work I went home with Ray Powell, a psychologist at work. He is a New Zealander and as it turns out went to school with my Mum in Waikeria. Em met us at Ray and Jan's house and we had a nice evening there. They have a lovely house in an estate in Ballina, but it is easy to pick they are not Irish, because they have beautiful gardens around their house, which is suprisingly uncommon in Ireland. We went down the road to Goosers for a nice dinner. The evening seemed to run away and we didn't leave there until 10:30.
On Wednesday after work and dinner we took some more boxes over to Eva and Shane's place to fill up one of their wardrobes a little more. We still had a bit more stuff at home to get sorted, but it was good to get rid of some more things. Shane and I also installed the safe in the van. I thought that it is a high possibility that the van may get broken into while in Europe, and wanted to make some things a bit harder to steal. Hopefully it does not get tested.
After a busy day on Thursday at work it was another dinner out in the evening. This time is was Em's workmates. I went along too, out to O'Brien's bridge, to a small pub – 'The Old Mill'. It was a great evening. Em's workmates are all very friendly and I had met most of them over the past 9 months. After a nice dinner, Em had fish and I had bacon and cabbage (a traditional Irish meal), we sat around and heard stories and had a few drinks. By about 11 we were both shattered, so left. We were the first ones to leave as well!
Friday the 10th of July, the last day of our Ireland working experience. I had a good day at work, managed to get through all of my paper work, plus do a few other small jobs as well. We also went out for a nice lunch. Em to had a good day, and got all of her work tidied up, so we both managed to finish on time. It was sad leaving work. Nine months somewhere only really lets you settle in, and I am sure if we stuck around for longer we would have continued to enjoy our work and general Irish life. Lets hope our plan to return to Ireland, next year work out. That evening we came home, had dinner, packed the last of our boxes and dropped them off to Eva and Shane's then did a bit of house work. That was the end of our working time in Ireland. It sure has been good craic.
