A new adventure to Stratford on Avon 17 August 2015

Well here we go again this time off by coach for a few days in Stratford on Avon in the company of Brian and Andy,  oops not forgetting Chico. Its going to be a very early start and a few hours dtive including swapping coaches along the way.
First problem is my left big toe has suddenly decided to be painful, I have tried to ease it but we will have to see how it goes on.
Not sure if will be able to upload photos on here till we get back but hopefully we will capture Chicos adventures along the way

Dun Laoghaire 13 June 2015

Today we had yet another very pleasant full Irish breakfast then had an early start but much of the long drive was on motorway so we did not see as much of the beautiful scenery as we had hoped for.
Eventually we finally reached our next set of accommodation. What a contrast, the owner was out and the young female member of staff struggled to sort us out. Luckily there was off road car parking for our last stay.Somebody had described the b & b as quirky,  well thats one word for it, the whole place smelt very strongly of cheap air freshener, the room had no ventilation other than a sash window but the catches did not work, so I balanced the spare toilet roll at the bottom to let air in( it was only much later we realised the radiator was on full despite the warm weather)
We decided to have a drink and found the sockets near to the floor, the only problem was the lead was not long enough ooops, so Jane had to scrabble about and place on the floor. Next the bathroom, well it was big enough but what a tiny shower, I could just about get in, but then the power was poor and trying to obtain anything other than hot was a struggle.
Margaret our landlady who had now returned,  suggested we could have a sandwich at her local pub, which was another quirky place inhabited by locals, fortunately the sandwiches were okay.  Then off for a walk through the town, stopping at the station for train times,  it was shortly after this Jane noticed she now had a rash on both arms, but no idea what caused it and swiftly it went again. We returned to the accommodation for a rest and found the bed quite comfortable.
In the evening we went for a meal at a local Weatherspoons which was pleasant but the place was very noisy. I vaguely remembered this area from my youth and trips on the boat from Holyhead,  but little was left that I remembered other than the harbour wall. We returned to our accommodation and met the landlord who was quite chatty,  then off for our last nights sleep.

We set off for Dublin and home 14 June 2015

We had an early start today, first our last full Irish breakfast, in the dining room which was quite elegant and a contrast to the rest of the house we had seen, the food was enjoyable.
We then set off to explore Dublin, we found a carpark attached to a department store Arnotts which we had never heard of before and surprise surprise there was a Pandora charm section where we found a shamrock one, for Janes bracelet.  Then on to O Connel Street, which is one of the well known places in Dublin, but is no longer as I remembered. I said we should walk to the river Liffey further up as again its one of the sights of Dublin.

Instead we saw a sign for the Leprechaun museum and decided to visit there, well first problem was further down the street there was no further signs ( maybe a warning) but a helpful man assisted us and we paid and went in, it was wonderful to learn the truth about them, it was fantastic to be told so well about Irelands other inhabitants, Jane was happy to join in particularily climbing at great risk onto the giants chair, it wad a fitting end to our trip. We did see the Liffy but again sadly there was nothing magic about it, so back to the car and a trip to the docks to board the boat.

It was not very full of passengers and we ate before setting sail, guess what a huge portion on CARROT CAKE, then I must of looked underfed by the size of the portion of meat pie on my plate, even I could not win this time. Finally time for a rest, it was peaceful and quiet in the lounge. Soon it will be time for our last meal and trip home.