Ireland

Greystones

Leaving London, we flew into Dublin for our Sit in Greystones Ireland. Greystones is a coastal town just south of Dublin. Our host Beatrice showed us around her home and introduced us to our "housemates" Pandy and Pearl. Pandy and Pearl are Siamese cats, Pandy the older one and Pearl, a teenager, full of mischief, personality and love. We were also in charge of 2 chickens who liked to sneak into the house.

After a wonderful meal the night we arrived, we settled into our room early that night and the next evening Beatrice left for her holiday. Throughout the week we cared for the chickens who in turn provided us with fresh eggs, visited the town of Greystones and spent time with Pandy and Pearl.

Pandy

 Pandy was content most days to sleep on the coach and every once in a awhile pay us some attention. She and Pearl were not great friends and she would occasionally hiss at Pearl if Pearl got too close to her.

Pearl

Pearl didn't seem to care much and she appeared very interested in us. She would sit on the floor watching us with eyes that looked barely open and one front paw in the air. She would do this for minutes at a time. She loved to play as well as seek out our company. She was a character and so easy to love.








Greystones was a charming, walkable town. Several restaurants, pubs and a very cute coffee shop that we liked to frequent. We would take the bus in and back home. Cute novelty stores and a view of the sea. We found the people very friendly which we found out was not unique to Greystones....

Dublin

We took a train into Dublin from Greystones on a Sunday morning. After a mishap with the bus we finally made it to our hotel in the afternoon. Being seasoned travelers now 😊 we feel we can figure out most public transport systems. Dublin's was confusing. Plenty of buses but somehow it always seemed a struggle to get the right bus. Luckily, the people of Dublin were helpful and yes, very friendly. Anyway, we settled in and decided to see what the neighborhood had to offer.

We had a great pub across the street, The Ivy House were we found the bartenders the friendliest of our journey. I found a very interesting beer, Cute Hoor, and found the brewery's glass pretty cute. Asking if I could buy the glass, the bartender got a clean one, wrapped it up and gave it to me, no charge. We watched the Irish soccer team lose to the Danish team and lose the chance to qualify for the World Cup surrounded by many, many college chaps, ate some great food and even had a patron approached us at the bar one night after overhearing our American accent. She was curious of our political views and our new President. It was a fun conversation.

Dublin was full of life and beautiful. We took a tour one day and ended up getting a very personable lad who had a passion for Dublin and an even bigger passion for Irish soccer. The day we took the tour was also the day the team would be playing that night in Dublin to qualify for the World Cup. He pretty much begged all of us to pray to the Lord that the Irish win over the Danish. It didn't work.

He told us great stories of Dublin. We spent the afternoon on the tour and ended the afternoon with a couple of pints in a cute Dublin pub before heading back to our side of Dublin.

We were sad to leave Dublin, the friendliest city we had encountered but we were looking forward to flying back to England for what would be our last Sit of this incredible journey.









You can see more of my photos of Dublin here.


Cheers!
Barb


 

A Storm in London

We left the perfect little English town of Wincanton for our next sit in the big city of London!

This would be our first sit where we would not meet our hosts, at all. Our host and her husband would be leaving for overseas before we arrived and returning after we left their flat. It was odd for us. At the beginning of our journey we would have been relieved, the introverts that we are. But here we were now, after many sits and many wonderful hosts who made us feel at ease, welcomed in their home and became our friends, we wanted to meet Lianne and her husband. My how we have changed!

Artwork in lobby.

We took "the tube" to Islington, a neighborhood in London. Lianne had said the subway station was next door to the apartment building. She was right, literally next door which made getting around London very easy for us. Sometimes at night we could hear the tube underneath us even though we were 7 floors up. The building was ultra modern with keyless entry, a concierge and some very cool artwork in the lobby. The apartment was also modern and the views of London Town were fantastic!

Our "roommate" was Storm. She is a beautiful black and white kitty. She was extremely well behaved and a little shy. She loved sleeping on the heated floors in the bathroom. She was easy to be around and loved rubs and attention. She tolerated us well and liked us to get her toys and play with her.

She loved to sit by the window and take in all the activity down on the streets. I don't blame her, it was fun to just people watch and see the happenings in the neighborhood. One morning we caught a glimpse of an elaborate funeral procession, quite impressive I must say.

The neighborhood had everything we could want including 2 restaurants that we really enjoyed not just for the food but for the service. Both were run by Middle Eastern families that have nailed down customer service. Two doors down from our building was an Italian restaurant. The owner waited on us our first time in. He and his staff were friendly and attentive, making small talk with us and making us feel welcomed. The second time we came in, a few days later, he not only remembered us but also what brand of beer we drank. He engaged us in conversation about where we were from, provided us with great food and again made us feel so welcomed.

The other restaurant was just down the street and featured Middle Eastern cuisine (soon becoming my favorite cuisine!) Our first night we were waited on by the wife and co owner. She was very pleasant and after we ordered she provided us with a complimentary appetizer. She also talked with us about where we were from, how long we were staying and what we liked to do in London. Our food that night was incredible! Two days later we decided to go back. She remembered us, asked what we had done since we were last in and again gave us another complimentary appetizer. Her service was outstanding, we didn't lack for anything. When we get back to London, we will make it back to both these restaurants!

Borough Market.

We explored London outside the neighborhood. We went to Borough Market, our niece Dena said we would love it and we did. We were lucky enough to get to spend an evening with Dena in London during one of her layovers. Dena knows so much about Europe and has been a great resource for us.We met her at a pub and sat drinking pints, laughing and catching up with her before we all caught our trains and tube back "home".

Lobby of the theatre.

We caught a play in a small theatre. We have always liked going to the small theatres. When my mother lived with us, the three of us would attend shows all around south Florida and then in Asheville after we moved to North Carolina. This theatre held around 70 people. It was a great little comedy and afterwards we strolled through the neighborhood and stopped for a late night coffee. A perfect evening in London!

We were in London for Guy Fawkes night. Our host Lianne said we should go up to the rooftop terrace and catch the fireworks. We had no idea who Guy Fawkes was and why he gets fireworks on his day. Turns out, Guy Fawkes is the inspiration for the masks and logo of the activist group Anonymous. Long story short, Guy Fawkes was a member of a group who planned to assassinate King James I and restore a Catholic monarch to the throne. Fawkes was in charge of guarding the explosives placed under the House of Lords. He was found, arrested, tortured and hung. Fawkes became synonymous with the Gunpowder Plot, the failure of which has been commemorated in Britain since November 5, 1605.  There ya go, he's kinda of a big deal in Britain. A great reason to shoot off fireworks not just on November 5 but the entire weekend! We did go to the rooftop, where we met several of the neighbors, all very nice, successful, young and from many different countries. Beer, wine and appetizers were served and everyone seemed to really enjoy the fireworks. The rest of the weekend we could watch fireworks from the livingroom of the flat. Pretty impressive!

We hated leaving London but our next stop was Ireland so we weren't too broken up!

Cheers!
Barb