EXIT TO IRELAND

We found our seats on the Virgin  Line train, so off we started for Wales.  If I thought bringing our car back in Paris was a nightmare, it was nothing compared to what lied ahead for the next 29 hours.
The train went a short distance before we were stopped for an hour while the track was cleared of a mal-functioning train on the same track.  That passed, and then we started again for a short while before we stopped because there was a death on the tracks.  Backwards we went from where we came and got on another train.  Good, then, we thought.  But, we thought wrong. We had to join up twice at different stops, to join up and get on another train,thus putting us back a couple of hours.  We then knew that we were going to miss the connection to the ferry to Ireland.  Having to stay awake for the 2:40 am ferry in the ferry terminal was not a picnic.  Dan beat me at two games of Cribbage.  We were awake since 6:00 am the previous morning.  Finally the huge ferry came and we found a place among sleeping-all-over-the-place passengers covered in blankets, sweaters, coats and what not.
In the midst of all of this, we discovered that we did not have our laptop, the carry bag it was in, and the tickets to get on the ferry, not to mention the 2000 some photos Dan had saved from our travels.
We obviously were helped to get on the ferry, but our spirits were a bit shattered.


If one has wondered why the blog has waned, we were without a computer for several days and without WiFi access and whatever else got in our way of communication.


Picking up our rented car at the terminal, we drove into the countryside to the timeshare we would have for four nights on a golf course.  Exhausted, we slept the first day and missed any touring we would have done.  We liked our accommodations. The weather was very cold.   Dark sky ruled most of the days and wind blew continually.  Undaunted, we did hike the Cliffs of Motor and found that to be great fun and a place for some good photo ops.  Another outing was that of viewing and learning of a Work House built in the 1800s for the desperately poor. A story that will turn a person's stomach. This part of Ireland's history is so sad, but should be remembered and known in honor of the poor folks involved and the awful way they were treated.  A third day out had us looking for a small computer and other things lost with the bag while shuffling trains.
In Ireland, cars are driven as they are in England.  Learn that and how to shift with your left hand in opposite of what you may be used to in another country.  Now be a passenger on the opposite side of the driver from what you are used to.  Also, drive on country roads that are as narrow as a horse cart.
I feared for our lives!!!!  The verges of the roads were lined with vegetation at least 8 feet tall, sometimes taller.  It was akin to being in a topless tunnel.  But, even at that, the countryside was beautiful and fields were sectioned off with shrubs, trees or hedges and sometimes rock walls like you see in the movies.  All is green from light to dark with various shades, thereof.  Wi











With white dots that are sheep happily grazing, the rolling hills and valleys are  breathtaking. We wish we could have spent more time  in Ireland.