ADM Ireland England 2019

So the WiFi at the hotel isn't letting me uploaf photos in any normal timely fashion. I'll make posts after we get back and also share all my photos online with you guys. We've definitely hit all the sites in London and ended the trip with a ride down the London Orbit (except for those of us who may have had a panic attack about it). The kids will have plenty of tales to tell you!

We've been lucky on the trip and not had horribly early mornings. We headed out to Shakespeare's birthplace of Stratford -upon-avon at 8:30 after breakfast. We went to his wife's cottage and then his birthplace. Today instead of dinner being included, it was lunch. We had a Moroccan lunch in our own private dining room. Then it was on to London! Dinner was on our own, so we went to the Piccadilly Circus area. It's basically like Times Square (not my favorite part of town but it definitely gives the kids a look at big city life). Then it was back to the hotel.

Very early start this morning -- we had to be on the bus to leave at 6 am to get to the ferry early enough to catch the 8 am one. We were all sad  to say goodbye to the bus driver, Colm; he was hilarious, slightly hard to understand but amazing overall. The ferry ride was a three hour trip to Holyhead, Wales. We then met up with our new bus driver and headed to Beaumaris to see a Norman style castle and enjoy some fish and chips on the beach. Alex and the bus driver decided we had time to do a few extra things, so we went to the town with the longest name -- that I won't even try to spell -- as well as the mountains/Snowdownia national park. The kids kept commenting how much they liked Wales and how amazing it looks. Most of us may have had a good nap as we entered England, but it was much needed. After dinner, the kids worked out and relaxed. They're all excited to head to London tomorrow!

We got to have a good rest and didn't have to leave the hotel until ten am. EF basically rescheduled our day we missed yesterday to today. So we got a guided tour, saw the main sites of town (Phoenix Park, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and the Book of Kells), and had lots of time for shopping.  Door 46 is the fanciest door in Dublin. They made it when Edward VI was supposed to come to Dublin but he ended up not because he got ticked after the crown jewels went missing. (I also told them this was the proof of life photo for the day when we heard some grumbles). This cross is in Phoenix Park and was built for the Papal visit in 1979. It is also where Pope Francis spoke last year. St. Patrick's Cathedral The long room at Trinity College.  We also celebrated Luke's 18th birthday. Alex got him some donuts and the kids pooled money to get him a lovely hat. And the kids ended the day with some volleyball. I do have more photos on my camera. When I get hom...

We did have a little time to walk around Dublin after we got in. City center is very walkable. Here's some photos from the very long travel day and what little we saw of Dublin. EF had managed to reschedule most of what we missed. I'm not adding captions because I barely remember what the guy said things were. We were all walking zombies at that point.